Accentuate the Positive

Began a cloudy morning with breakfast and more Sailor Moon S. Chibi-Usa from the second season returns in "The Arrival of a Tiny Pretty Guardian." She ends up helping Rei and Usagi rescue the pure heart of a drummer Rei hired to play at a local festival. We also have a new witch, Eudial. Her driving skills may leave something to be desired, but she's a heck of a shot with her pure heart-removing gun.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon writing. Leia is brought to Peter Tarkin, Empire Industries' lawyer, who is acting on its behalf. Vader, the ruthless head of the Imperial Gang, is with him. Tarkin threatens to send the Imperial Gang to do more damage to the Cottages and her uncle if she doesn't tell him where the plans for the mall and resort are. She lies and says they're in a small town on the mainland. To her horror, Tarkin sends the Gang anyway, saying the mainland is too far away to make an effective demonstration of their powers.

Did more Sailor Moon S as I ate a quick lunch and got ready for work. The youngest Sailor Guardian is in the spotlight in "Making New Friends: Chibi-Moon's Adventure." She explains to the others that her mother sent her to the future to be trained as a Guardian, as well as to make some friends her own age. The girl thinks she's found a chum in a young tea ceremony master, until Eudial and her decidedly unfriendly monster appear.

Makoto is having her own problems in "I Want Power: Mako Lost In Doubt." After an especially upsetting defeat, she travels to a mountain temple to learn from a handsome, monk-like trainer. The other girls, who are more interested in a vacation in the mountains, follow. Turns out there's more to the trip than long runs and sunning by the pool when a monster attacks, and Makoto discovers just how important her friends' support is.

Work was, once again, a pain. I had to go back and re-do the monitors and tops of the counters on the registers I cleaned yesterday because I missed spots. I'd barely gotten half-way through my next register when the fussy manager wanted me to do carts. I don't know why he wanted me to do carts. The teenage boy outside was doing just fine. I thankfully was able to finish cleaning all but the three registers being used after break.

Changed and had leftovers when I got home. Finished out the first Sailor Moon S set as I made Blueberry Crumble Bars from The Cake Doctor cake mix cookbook. We learn more about Haruka and Micheru's relationship in "The Bond of Destiny: Uranus' Distant Past" when Eudial's latest creation attacks an old track team buddy of Haruka's. She'd once been on the track team herself, desperate to outrun the visions she sees and the changes she's not sure she wants. When she's attacked by a monster and Micheru is hurt defending her, she finally decided to stop running and accept this as part of her life.

"Art Is an Explosion of Love: Chibi-Usa's First Love" has her trying to impress a boy in her art class she has a crush on. It turns into a triangle when she learns that the boy has a crush of his own on their teacher, Micheru. Meanwhile, Usagi, who is trying to apologize to her daughter for eating a pie she'd baked earlier, is more than happy to nudge their romance along. It's Chibi-Usa who finally proves herself worthy to the boy when an art-based monster appears.

The last episode on the set and the disc was a favorite of mine. The Guardians are invited to a ball held by an older British friend of Mamoru's where "Usagi Dances the Waltz." Poor Usagi is so nervous, she drinks way too much wine and gets drunk in front of everyone. That turns out to be far from their only problem when a party-crashing Eudial shows up with a tone-deaf monster whose musical notes crack floors.

Finished the night with Here Comes the Waves, one of the movies in the Bing Crosby set I bought from the used DVD seller. I thought it would nicely compliment last night's Anchors Aweigh. Betty Hutton plays twins Susie and Rosemary Allison, singers who join the WAVES, the Women's Navy Reserves. Susie is blond, boisterous, and a bit of a goof. Rosemary is brunette and more sensible; even Susie says she does all the thinking for the act. Susie's not thrilled about enlisting, especially since she won't get to see her favorite singer Johnny Cabot (Crosby). She's happier when she learns that his friend Windy (Sonny Tufts) has gotten him into the Navy. Johnny wants to be assigned to the boat where his father once served, but Susie wants to keep him around and sends a note suggesting he appear in a show to help WAVES recruitment instead. Johnny thinks Windy sent the note; Rosemary thinks he's shirking his duty. There's a lot of twin-mixing amid some wonderful Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen music.

For the most part, this was really cute. Hutton had fun doing double duty, while Crosby seemed to enjoy spoofing his crooner image. Too bad the Oscar-nominated "Accentuate the Positive" was introduced by a stereotype-laden blackface number that's hard to watch today. Otherwise, if you're a fan of Crosby, Hutton, or Mercer and Arlen, this is worth catching for the music alone.