Citizen Redmer

I ended up spending most of the morning finishing off Avatar. I didn't realize how long it is! I did enjoy it. It takes a long time to get where it's going, but it really picks up in the second half. That final battle is beautifully done and very intense! It's still not anything I'm going to buy, but it was definitely worth the rental. Those of you who are more into technology or science fiction may find this far more compelling than I did.

Finally made a few calls around quarter of noon. I still couldn't get a hold of Jodie, but I did talk to the Foot and Ankle Center. I had no idea my ortheopedics take six to eight weeks to arrive! They do want to see me for another appointment, though. I'll be going in next Tuesday afternoon.

Headed to the Haddon Township Library next. It was the warmest it's been since the beginning of last month! It had to be at least in the 70s, sunny and breezy under a glistening sky. This was reflected in Newton River Park being far busier than usual for this time of year. I saw picnickers, dog walkers, joggers, and various couples out for strolls. The playground was filled with kids and parents, with little girls playing house in the huge stone barbecue shelter and the little boys trying to climb it.

The Haddon Township Library was busy, too. There were pre-teen girls having a study group in the kids' section, and almost every computer was full. I shelved a few DVDs, but I mostly worked on the large stack of children's books. The majority of them were books about Halloween or fall, which makes sense, since we're now really past that holiday.

I wanted to take out Citizen Kane, but it wasn't in. I settled on two cartoon DVDs, the last of the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake sets, Growing Up Dreams, and animated Disney Three Musketeers with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in the title roles. (This is the only version I know of with Clarabelle Cow as Lady DeWinter.)

It was past 2:30 when I finally got out of there. Decided to try something different for lunch and opted for Wendy's. The have a menu option where you can choose a salad, then pick something small on the side, like a burger or a wrap. I went with something a tad healthier - a baked potato with ketchup and a little whipped butter spread. I don't like sour cream anyway, fattening or not. It's a little too sour for me! Added an Apple Pecan Salad and an unsweetened lemon iced tea and enjoyed a late lunch as I admired the view from the long windows in front of Wendy's.

Instead of going to the Westmont Plaza, I went in the opposite direction, past the Haddon Township High School to the Westmont Acme. I was dismayed to discover that Dollar Depot, the wonderful little dollar store between the Acme and the CVS, is shutting down. I love that place. I've bought quite a few wonderful retro-style holiday decorations and cardboard hangings there. They have an amazing cheap spice selection, too. That's also where I found three Rankin-Bass specials, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, and the Going My Way/Holiday Inn DVDs a few years ago.

I made equally good scores this afternoon. I found the cutest little Christmas folk-art-ish bear with red and green streamers. I'll hang him outside on the porch. Picked up some Christmas Coca-Cola-ad-themed gift tags and holly-ringed mailing labels. My last item from the spice/food shelves was apple cider vinegar, which I ran out of over the weekend.

As I browsed amid the Christmas decorations, I encountered a shelf filed with small stacks of videos. Most of them were fairly recent copies of old movies. I ended up with five to dub to DVD - Support Your Local Sheriff, Charade, Captain Blood, Anchors Aweigh, and ironically, Citizen Kane, the one I looked for in vain earlier in the afternoon. Everything in the already-cheap store was 40% off, bringing my order to a little over 8 dollars.

Rode back to Oaklyn the way I came, via Newton River Park. It was only slightly less busy at 4PM than at 1. There were still lots of joggers, dog walkers, and kids in the playground. I wanted to head over to Dad's to see if he and Jodie were at home.

They were indeed there when I pulled my bike into the driveway. In fact, Jodie was just going on the porch to enjoy a cigarette. Turns out they'd been in Eastern Pennsylvania, helping Jessa's grandmother with a broken hip, for over a week. Jodie reinforced Mom's suggestion about medical billing. I'll send for Camden County College's catalog and application, but I'm still not sure. It costs money, it sounds complicated, and I don't really want to be a doctor or a nurse. It's also, however, a well-paying job I can do at home that's at least a little closer to what I'm interested in than being a cashier.

When I finally got home, I made a quick dinner of leftovers and Brussels sprouts and ran political-themed cartoons and Citizen Kane. Tiny Toon Adventures's "Citizen Max" is a spoof of "Kane," right down to Hampton Pig as the reporter chasing an expelled Montana Max's last words before he was booted out of school and going to the other toons to find out how it happened. In You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, Chuck was the gang's original choice for school president, but when Lucy decides he's just not popular enough, Linus is nominated in his place. Charles Schultz gets some wicked jabs in at politics and long-winded politicians as Linus tries to win support while campaigning for his favorite cause - advocating the Great Pumpkin.

Went right into Citizen Kane after the cartoons ended. As with another oft-referred-to classic, North By Northwest, I came into this one at a bit of a disadvantage. This is one of those movies that have been spoofed and stolen from so frequently, it's kind of hard to just take it at face value.

For all that, I did enjoy it and can see why so many directors have been inspired by it. Welles, just 24 when this came out in 1941, uses unusual photography, camera angles, dark lighting, and a biting screenplay to tell the story of the rise and fall of Charles Foster Kane, a media magnate who started out as a driving newspaper owner determined to show the side of the "little people." After 50 years, two wives, and the loss of his empire, he finally learns a lesson in how power can corrupt good intentions...and that no amount of money can buy true happiness.

Oddly enough, it reminds me of a much earlier Social Network with more interesting characters. I especially liked Joseph Cotton as Kane's best friend and the long-time drama critic on his paper. For all the controversy involving real-life media magnate William Randolph Hearst thinking it too closely resembled his own biography, it richly deserved its Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. (I might have to look up the HBO movie on the making of Citizen Kane with Liv Schriber as Welles now, too.)