Round Robin: Heroic Toys

It's Round Robin time again, and this week we're doing "Favorite Toy" as the topic. Hey! That's one of mine! Now, what did I have in mind when I first suggested it? I've no idea. I do, however, have some toys to show you. After photographing some of them, I realized that several were hero-related. So that's my hook for this entry: heroic toys.

My sonic screwdriver, and the Doctor's.

From my Picasa album Round Robin Photo Challenges

First off, here's my actual current favorite toy. I've had it for a year or so, and it's still on my desk, in case I should need at at any moment. The "real" one on Doctor Who can unlock doors, light candles, repair barbed wire, increase the power of various devices and do lots of other marvelous but unlikely things. But what does mine do?

The sonic screwdriver in action!

Taa-dah! It lights up! It makes two different, entirely canonical noises! Also, there's a UV pen nib buried under the tip at one end. This can be used to write messages on the second toy that comes with it, the psychic paper. The latter is a piece of white plastic in a leather wallet, a replica of the Doctor's all purpose flimflam for showing people invitations, fake ID or whatever else he wants them to see. Shine the sonic on the message you wrote, and the writing appears, much like the messages the Doctor occasionally receives on his psychic paper. Hooray!

As much as I go on about Doctor Who and its heroic title character, the Doctor, one might think he's my only fictional hero. Au contraire! There's also Sam Beckett, and Sherlock Holmes, and Zorro. Zorro? Si! El Zorro! And here he is!

The bold renegade, El Zorro!

Now, I do like George Hamilton's Zorro, The Gay Blade, but for me the definitive Zorro will always be Guy Williams from the 1957-1959 Disney tv series (plus a few stories on The Wonderful World of Color through 1961). Guy's Diego de la Vega and black-masked alter ego add up to one great character: clever, brave and principled. I love the way Diego can think and talk his way out of almost any situation, even as Zorro does all the swashbuckling stuff. I have had my toy Zorro with me at work through my jobs with First Magnus and Beaudry, a reminder of the value of ethics, cleverness, and having the courage to fight for what you believe in. I haven't had occasion to battle injustice as an accountant, but I'd like to think that my little plastic hero would stand with me, encouraging me to do the right thing.

Zorro and his horse Tornado.

The last of my toy heroes is the only fast food premium to have a place on my desk. I expect you'll recognize him:

Snoopy, still writing about that dark and stormy night.

I have a few things in common with Snoopy. I live in my head a lot, not so much becoming a flying ace and other heroic figures as imagining the lives of heroes and writing down some of their adventures. (I actually need to do much more of this.) And like Snoopy, I have unsold novels, with a daunting number of rejections but a need to keep trying.

Now let's go see everyone else's favorite toys!

Linking List:

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Connie - Posted!
Far Side of Fifty Photos
http://farsideoffiftyphotos.blogspot.com/

Marina - Posted!
Milepebbles
http://milepebbles.blogspot.com

Em Dy
Captured Beat
http://intentiontotreat.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Suzanne R - Posted!
SuzyQ421's Photo Blog
http://suzyq421sphotoblog.blogspot.com

Marie - Posted!
Photographs & Memories
http://photographsmemoriestoo.blogspot.com/2008/12/round-robin-challenge-favorite-toy-this.html

Linda **Welcome new member!** - Posted! 12/28
Mommy's Treasures
http://www.mommystreasures.blogspot.com/

Sherrie - Posted!
Sherrie's Stuff
http://sherrie-plummer.blogspot.com/

Molly - Posted!
Return of the White Robin
http://returnofthewhiterobin.blogspot.com/

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Terri - Posted!
Ways I See the World
http://teelgeephotos.blogspot.com/

Valerie
Rosemary's Other Baby
http://rosemarysotherbaby.blogspot.com

And remember, you're welcome to join in, too, even if you're a day or two late. See the Round Robin Photo Challenges blog for details!

Karen