Scooby Dooby Superheroes

The day began promising, despite the rain. It was really coming down when I pulled the covers off around 8:30. I was glad my only plan I really needed to do was go grocery shopping. The rain was coming down so hard, I could hear it like boulders on my roof.

I ran Scooby Doo and the Mask of the Blue Falcon as I had "spinach pancakes" (spinach, eggs, and cheese - an old quick meal favorite from when I lived in Wildwood) for breakfast. The Mystery Inc crew is heading for California for a big comics convention. Scooby and Shaggy are thrilled that they'll get to see their favorite superheroes, the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, the Dog Wonder (who appeared with the gang in their late 70s incarnation). Daphne wants to collect a series of pricey stuffed animals. Fred's just happy to be on an adventure. Velma isn't - superheroes and cutesy stuffed toys don't make much sense to a girl who relies purely on logic.

As it turns out, Velma's not the only one who isn't thrilled with the convention. The producer and star of the new, darker Blue Falcon movies only care about playing up to their audiences, not doing the character justice. The original 70s Blue Falcon seems to be a lunatic, raving over how the new owners won't allow him to play the character anymore. The owner of a comics book booth keeps wandering off under strange circumstances. And then, a villain called Mr. Hyde appeared...the main nemesis of the 70s Blue Falcon! When he tries to shut the convention down, Scooby and the others are determined to stop him, and to show the movie producers how to take a lighter look at their material.

By far the best Scooby film Warners has done in ages, a vast improvement over last year's so-so Big Top Scooby and Mark of the Vampire. For fans of animation in the 60s and 70s, this is a must-see, thanks to references not only to the Blue Falcon, but to earlier Hanna Barbara heroes like the Herculoids and Space Ghost. There's also a surprising amount of mild "bite the hand" humor, especially with regards to the Batman franchise (DC, after all, is also owned by Warners). Recommended for fans of Scooby and/or 60s and 70s Saturday morning favorites.

I got a call towards the end of the movie. Yes, it was the Acme. Could I come in five minutes ago? No. I had to call Jodie for a ride. (Dad couldn't drive me; he's still recovering from that surgery.) The rain was far lighter than it had been, but it was supposed to shower on and off all day. I left around 12:30; good thing Jodie had to go grocery shopping anyway.

I left in such a hurry, I didn't have the time to make lunch or my grocery list! I bought a hoagie and made my list between customers. Ironically, after all that fuss, work was the same as it has been, on-and-off busy, maybe a little busier than yesterday during rush hour. There were no call-outs. The manager pulled people from stock and the registers to clean again. He wants to keep the store much cleaner than it has been. That's all well and fine, but it shouldn't come at the expense of handling customers.

It slowed down enough for me to get off at 4:30, as I'd requested. I wanted enough time to get my grocery shopping done before Jodie arrived. The Acme was having a lot of really big weekend-only sales. I took advantage of them to pick up Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares (which is a favorite of mine), Acme generic whole-wheat elbow macaroni, and a can of Hunt's no-salt tomato sauce. I mainly needed to restock vegetables and fruit. Grabbed apples and bananas. Strawberries were on sale. Those clementines I bought last week were so good and sweet, I had to have another bag, even though they weren't on sale. I found more of those packs of chuck vegetables (asparagus and summer squashes this time). Was surprised at how cheap chicken breasts were. Found a lamb chop on sale that was the perfect size for my dinner.

When I got home, I put everything away, slipped the Apple Cinnamon Muffin batter I made before work in the oven, then went right in the bath after they came out. A warm, soothing bath with lots of bubbles felt absolutely fabulous after a long, trying day. I read that Oprah book I took out of the library and listened to my CD of music written by Jules Styne, just enjoying the peace and quiet.

The music felt so good, I put on the American Tail soundtrack during my dinner. I'm not a big fan of the weepy, sometimes frightening movie, but it does have some pretty decent music, both in the score and vocally. "Never Say Never," performed by a French cat who cheers up Fivel while he searches for his family, is especially charming.

And I just got my first birthday present. Mom sent me a $60 gift card for Amazon.com online. $60 bought me a new pair of capris (two old pairs didn't close to fit), the 2-disc set for Mulan (I don't want the one Disney just released - not only do I have no interest in the sequel, but the Haddon Township library has it for rental if I did), the WebKinz Rockerz Fox (I couldn't find it anywhere else), a 2GB USB drive (I'm almost out of the Durcells I bought on clearance from the Acme a while back), and the last two Vesper Holly books I didn't have, The Jedera Adventure and The Philadelphia Adventure. The gift card covered all but $5, which was probably the shipping on the capris (the capris and The Jedera Adventure were the only items I bought that didn't qualify for free shipping).