[fannish brain dump]

[hackthis_archive]

We all know I'm a fannish raccoon. If it's shiny to me, I will write about it until I find another piece of foil. Doesn't matter if it's brand-spanking (have I done a spanking fic? Wait, digression!) new or hanging out in the garbage. My current lust is the Olympics. Yeah, I know they over. In fact, let's have a brain dump about this:

1. So far we have i. The Golden Rule and ii. The One Chair Rule of Heterosexuality. I didn't think they were going to be connected, but now I think it's going to be a trilogy. Maybe I'll call it 'I'll Be on the Water' after the Akron and the Family song.

1a. I haz no more Olympics. This is causing me all kinds of withdrawl issues.

1b. This has not seemed to stop my desire to write Michael Phelps/Ryan Lochte. It's kind of scary. I would apologize to sparky77, serialkarma, antheia and alethialia for my nonstop babble, but, I don't see much hardship in 'Oh look, I haz pictures of (mostly) naked men! Let me show you them!'

1c. People, come and talk to me about Gainesville, Florida. (Stop doing the victory dance alethialia). Tell me what typical houses are like. One level or two? Layouts? Pools? Where do people skateboard? What's the weather like? Where's the best cheap food? What do you do at three a.m.? How far from the beach? Where would you go to hear live music and *not* be seen? How long does it take to get to Daytona if you're commuting to your swim club? What's the airport like? What are the town quirks? Random factoids? I'm assuming a lot of Ryan's life (including his home) is near the university. what's that neighborhood like? I'd rather you tell me more than less, so I have things to choose from.

1d. sparky77 loves me a lot.

1e. While we're on the subject of the Olympics. I've been trying not to get all fandom involved, BUT, I highly recommend reading the following three stories:

* four times ryan watched michael touch other swimmers by lifescript. a story about jealousy and observation and boys doing that crap they do.

* right at home by canarycreams, where Michael and Ryan go to Puerto Rico and swim. And smoke some weed. And have some sex. And you laugh your ass off the entire time.

* Scaly Dicks by thorne_scrach, which is a WIP (but really does work on its own) about Michael waking up with scales on his dick. No, I couldn't even make that one up. She also wrote about Michael's mom marrying Ian Thorpe. I kind of died.

1f. What the fuck is up with Ryan and lizards and snakes? Does he have a fear of them, because I've read at least two stories where he was woken up suddenly and was like 'no snakes!'


2. I have seen 'Bomb in the Garden' (1.07 Generation Kill), but I can't talk about it yet, because that would be admitting that there is no more coming and that makes the baby Ari really fucking depressed. FYI: There is a buy one get one 1/2 price sale happening at HBO.com, too, so, if you buy some stuff...

3. I've been given to undestand that the only three network shows I watch (Chuck, Gossip Girl and The Sarah Connor Chronicles) are going to be on a the same fucking time (Mon, 8p). Way to fail networks!

Comments

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Okay, first of all, THANK YOU. Fuckin' A my flist is awesome. I think Ryan has a scooter, actually I'm 90% positive that he crashed it at one point. Maybe it's in a heap in the front yard I wouldn't be surprised.

I like the summers are a ghosttown thing, except school is back in session yes? So, back to the crazy. 60,000 people though? That's... I've never lived in a college *town*; everything for me is a major city. UF has horses on campus? I feel like we got mixed up here. ETA: I am taking a virtual UoF tour! I see the alligator sanctuary! I was telling strawberryelfsp that this is totally Ryan's idea of a destination spot. As long as you stay in the car.

Tell me more about Tim & Terry's. Brick building? Brick indoors? Sports bar or people bar. Dirty and shabby or just dark and clean. Darts? Pool? When do you think would be the least busy time to go. I'm thinking around two on a Tuesday or Wednesday as those a typically when people try to be in class so they can drink after 4 or 5.

Lots of parks and playgrounds for skateboarding, yes? And skinny streets. Excellent. I think we're going to the park to get caught in a humid torrential downpour. Wet men are always good, right?

Also, I know not what you mean by a cracker house. Plz to explain. Also, finally, something about lizards! This totally explain it. I know Ryan's place has got to be overrun or something. I'd be afraid too.

Did I say thank you already? I did? Well, thank you again.

[lifeinwords.livejournal.com]

This (http://www.oldhouseweb.com/architecture-and-design/cracker-farmhouses-1840-1920.shtml) is a cracker house. made of wood, one story, longer than they are wide, set up off the ground so as to avoid the flooding (no basements in Florida, man!), big front porch. There are tons of them in the yet-to-be-gentrified portions of town; you'll drive by and see the whole family outside because there's only four rooms inside and eight of them.

Since there's an agricultural school and animal husbandry and whatever, there's a small fenced in area south of campus with actual horses in it--I have no idea why. I mean, bat sanctuary. Tim & Terry's is a cracker house, with a porch, a small front area with a bar on the left, cold lane for beer on the right wall, and a narrow walkway between. You can get burgers there too, even a garden burger. Through the entryway (wood floors, low ceilings, narrow halls, old-style building) and past the bathrooms is a slightly more open area clogged with amps and other music equipment, some chairs. You go out the door and down some wooden steps to the patio, with metal tables and chairs, umbrellas and everything. It's clean-ish, with no games, but recycling tubs on the front porch for your bottles, which is nice. It's very laid back, a 'people come here to chat' place, so I thought it might fit your characters. Very home-grown and authentic; grad students stop by there after seminars. And it's within a block of a Chipotle and a Burrito Brothers, so convenient for food runs.

Oh, and don't forget the trees, the 100+ year old live oaks covered in moss and vines hanging down everywhere. I was totally disoriented when I moved here because I'm from the desert and NYC, and I couldn't navigate--the streets don't connect and the names change, and every 25 feet there's a wall of fucking trees, so you can never see where you are. The lizards don't come inside much, and they're definitely less creepy than the giant cockroaches and palmetto bugs, but yeah--every time you move you can see them scattering. In my old house, I'd be taking a shower at night and I'd look out the frosted glass window and see the underside of lizards, just hanging out near the heat. That was creepy.

Oh, and one other thing! One of my favorite places to go in Gainesville is the enormous butterfly sanctuary attached to the Florida Museum of Natural History. It's so zen and calming, and if you stay still, various types of butterflies will just come up and land on you. Plus, if you come during the day, you avoid the children. There are doves, and they feed the butterflies with trays full of mango and banana, and a small stream, and koi--it's really a minature rain forest, at least 25 feet tall. It would be an amazing place to go while stoned, I just realized. Check it out. (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/butterflies/)


...Am I in this fandom now? Oh fuck, I think I am. I blame you! And you're welcome.

One last question

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

At Tim & Terry's do you get wait service on the patio or do you have to go inside to order food?

Re: One last question

[lifeinwords.livejournal.com]

You go in to order, and then when it's ready they come outside and give it to you.

Thank you.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

So, the story has been written and posted and I just wanted to thank you (again) for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.