Rainy Day Adventurers

It wasn't raining when I first got up this morning, just humid and wet. It didn't really start until right before I left for the Haddon Township Library, of course. By then, there was a nice little shower going. I couldn't put the library off, weather or no weather. I flew through the wet path in Newton River Park. There wasn't a soul around, not even a Canadian Goose. Even the drive-in at McDonald's was quiet. (Of course, I was there around 10:30, too.)

The Library was quiet as well. There wasn't much to do at first. I just organized the children's DVDs. More books and DVDs came in as the morning went on. I went through the adult's DVDs to clear out foreign titles that were in the wrong place as well. Shelved the few kids' books that were there. It got busier as the morning wore on, not surprisingly given the weather and the fact that most kids are getting out of school this week or next week, if they aren't out already.

I'm going to be out of town for a couple of days next week and may not be able to get to the library, so I didn't take anything out this week. I was originally going to take a train ride to Atlantic City today, but the shower was still coming down steadily after I left the library. I decided that it was better to be dry than sorry and opted to do things in Westmont and at home instead, starting with a tasty lunch at the Crystal Lake Diner under the Library. I had a Spinach-Chicken-Mozzarella Wrap with cole slaw and a yummy cup of chicken dumpling soup. (They called it the Marinara Wrap, but it had no marinara sauce in it.) It was nice to listen to the murmur of the lunch crowd (mostly old folks or parents and their teenagers coming out of school) while the rain continued outside.

Ran to Super Fresh next. They're clearing out their Old Orchard frozen fruit concentrates at $1.17 a can. I picked up three - Grape, Apple, and Blueberry Pomegranate. Grabbed Super Fresh's generic butter cooking spray on sale. They're the only ones who have blue sugar sprinkles. For some reason, Acme doesn't carry that color, and I'm almost out. Also grabbed one Backyardigans and two Max & Ruby DVDs that the libraries don't have. They were overpriced (as most cartoon DVDs are), but I figured I deserved a splurge on a day like this.

I debated stopping at Dollar Tree, but the shower was growing heavier. It was no day to be out running around. I dodged traffic on the White Horse Pike and Cuthbert Road and just headed home for the rest of the evening, getting very wet on my way.

Did the Backyardigans DVD Join the Adventurer's Club as I got home and changed into dry clothes. This is, for some reason, the only later-seasons Backyardigans DVD none of the libraries have. Tyrone is the main character in "Follow the Feather," as he leads fellow explorers Tasha and Pablo on a hunt for the fabled Polka-Dot Flying Pony, with the help of an errant feather and Uniqua the Mysterious Lady.

Uniqua's in the spotlight in "Flower Power," yet another superhero spoof. This time, she's Flower Girl, who has gained her powers from the thorn of an unusual bloom. Austin is the Gloom Meister, spreading darkness over Garden City. Uniqua works on controlling her powers and saving the others from Austin's Gloom Machine.

The remaining stories focus on smart, silly Austin. He's a Beetlejuice-style spook who loves to make people laugh in "The Funnyman Boogyman." Trouble is, ghostbusters Pablo and Uniqua would rather capture him than hear his act. Will he ever make these two crack a smile?

My favorite episode on this disc was "Dragon Express." Austin is a new dragon rider for the Dragon Express in Norway, who deliver packages on dragons to the frozen Scandinavian mountains. Pablo and his dragon Maverick are the fanciest fliers around, getting into tight spaces that Austin and his slower, gentler mount Windy couldn't dream of. Windy and Austin have something to teach them, too, when they use their brains to find the mailbox in the mirrored Ice Tower.

I switched to dubbing Johnny Dangerously as I baked Chocolate Feather Mint Cake (from one of my British baking books) and had leftovers for dinner. This 80s spoof of gangster films features Michael Keaton as the title character, who starts in on a life of crime as a child when his mother (Maureen Stapleton) needs an operation. By the time he's an adult, he has his own nightclub, is dating a gorgeous singer (Marilu Henner), and is in charge of one of the top mobs in New York. Things go downhill quickly when his little brother (Griffin Dunne) becomes a D.A and dedicates himself to fighting crime. Neither he nor his mother know Johnny's a mobster, but that changes quickly when one of his own gang frames him for killing the crime commissioner. Johnny now has to get his brother to help him clear his name and save his mother from his own mob!

Not great, not bad. It's probably funnier if you're familiar with the movies being spoofed (like the James Cagney vehicle The Roaring Twenties, which is seen in the finale). Keaton's a bit miscast as the cocky, Cagney-like hero; Henner and Stapleton are better as his sweet-natured chanteuse girlfriend who just wants to settle down and his tougher-than-she-looks mother.

Started Overboard during dinner. This is an extremely 80s romantic comedy, featuring long-time lovers Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. She's a spoiled socialite whose yacht gets stuck in the harbor of the Oregon town he lives in. He's a carpenter who remodels her closet, only to be rebuffed and thrown off the yacht when it isn't as perfect as she wants. He sees a way of getting even when she falls off the boat and loses her memory. He brings her home, convinces her she's his wife, and gets her to clean and cook for him and his four wild boys. The best-intended practical jokes have a way of going very differently from how we planned, and while he begins to understand her refined nature, she learns that under the snooty rich dame beats the heart of a creative, fun woman who hasn't gotten to really enjoy life until now.

To be honest, the basic premise is extremely mean-spirited. Neither Russell nor Hawn are particularly likeable at first. The obnoxious kids don't really help. Things do improve in the second half, when they're more comfortable with each other and start showing the chemistry that has made them a real-life couple for over 30 years. Cute enough if you can get past that first half-hour.