I slept in a lot longer than I planned today! When I did roll out of bed, I kicked off a sunny, warm day with a quick breakfast and an episode of Sailor Moon's fourth season. "Forest of Illusion: A Beautiful Fairy's Invitation" proves to be nothing but trouble for Chibi-Usa and her new friend, the author of a book on the fairy world. He thinks he sees a real fairy in the woods, but she's far from what she appears to be!
It was past noon when I finally made it out to the laundromat to get that done. Everyone must have been at lunch. The laundromat was dead as can be when I arrived. I worked on story notes and half-listened to soap operas. Two people walked through the entire time I was there. I didn't have anywhere near as huge of a load as I did yesterday, anyway. I was in and out in less than 40 minutes.
(I noticed while I was there that they're finally starting to rebuilt the Amato Bros deli across the street after it was gutted by a fire last year. It must have been worse than I thought. They tore it down to the bare wood and are pretty much starting over. I hope they're finished soon. I miss their hoagies, especially the Mama's Turkey.)
As soon as I got home and put my clothes away, I went right back out again. First stop was Phillies Phatties for a quick lunch. It was almost 2 by this point, and they were relatively quiet, with a couple of college guys eating pizza while watching the Science channel. I took my slice of cheese, slice of mushroom, and can of Pitch Black outside to one of the benches to enjoy the afternoon sunshine.
Cut across Newton Lake Park to the Haddon Township Library. It couldn't have been a nicer day for a ride. It was warm and still a bit humid, but that deliciously cool wind helped. The park looks absolutely glorious at this time of the year. The trees are still mostly green; lacy goldenrod waved in the breeze. I've seen some algae down by the ramp at Kendall Boulevard, but none here. The water sparkled like a newly-polished antique glass bottle.
The Haddon Township Library wasn't busy when I initially arrived. Since almost everything had been shelved that morning, I worked on organizing the adult and children's DVDs and pulling TV sets that had somehow ended up with the regular titles. Dodged the kids who came in after school let out as I worked. Took out Sing (which I never got to last week after the DVD recorder died), The LEGO Batman Movie, and Divergent, the first movie in the series of that title. Found more Mercedes Lackey Elemental fairy tale retellings; opted for the World War I-based Cinderella story, Phoenix and Ashes.
Since it was past 4 PM when I left, I took the short way home down Cuthbert Road. Stopped briefly at WaWa. They used to carry plain rolls. I couldn't find any today, but I did buy the Perrier Watermelon Sparkling Water. (It's good - really tastes like watermelon.)
Richard was working on the outlet when he got home. Turns out it wasn't the outlet. Some wire downstairs was crossed or something. He gave up intially...then came back and said he'd try something. Whatever he did worked. The outlet's been running fine since he left.
While he worked, I went on the computer and did some writing. Leia is taken to the Royal Suite, a pink, gold, and white confection of feminine frills and pseudo-Victorian furnishings. Maids wash her in a huge sunken tub, then dress her in a lacy nightgown and tuck her into a massive silk canopy bed with gold trim. Jasper's second-in-command Babe Fortuna brings her tea and muffins. The tea is drugged; it drops her into a deep sleep. He doesn't like Jasper's interest in the girl, especially given how strong-willed she is, but boss' orders.
It wasn't until after 7 that I finally broke for dinner. Made a quick scrambled eggs with tomato, onion, and cheese while watching more Sailor Moon episodes. Ami jumps to conclusions when she sees Mamoru with an attractive woman in "Drive to the Heavens: The Dream Car Fueled With Love." Turns out he's just helping the woman with a vintage car that she and her late husband had dreamed of restoring. Ami's suspicion quickly turns to enthusiasm. The other Guardians are so delighted with her dream, they help out, too. Their dreams may end up off the road when a look-a-like of her husband shows up, trying to encourage her to give up on her dream. But some dreams are too good to be true...
Finished off the disc with "Aiming for the Top: The Pretty Swordswoman's Dilemma" while having Tomato-Spice Cake for dessert. The "pretty swordswoman" is actually a little girl Chibi-Usa's age who is learning the art of samurai swordsmanship. She trains hard and lives harder in order to impress her mother, who is also an excellent swordswoman. Chibi-Usa thinks the mother is abusive, but Usagi can tell she loves her daughter and is worried about how intense she is with her training. Her mother is right to be worried. The girl is so absorbed with her desire to be a warrior, she doesn't realize she's the Black Circus' next target...
Put on The LEGO Batman Movie while going online. In this homage to all things Dark Knight, Batman (Will Arnett) is the top crime-fighter in crime-ridden Gotham City. New police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) is fed up with his brooding, his vigilante ways, and his working outside the law. She's restructured the police department to eliminate the need for him. Things get worse when all the villains in Gotham break in and surrender. Batman just wants to dump The Joker (Zack Galafinakis) in Superman's Phantom Zone. He recruits his newly-adopted ward Dick Grayson, aka Robin (Michael Cera), to help him steal the Phantom Zone Projector. Unfortunately, the Joker gets it first, forcing Barbara to arrest the boys. She changes her mind when they learn the Joker has recruited all the villains in the Phantom Zone to help him destroy Gotham! Now Batman has to learn how to work with real friends if he's going to stop this menace...whether he likes it or not.
Cute take on Batman's lone wolf image and how it's evolved over the years, from Adam West to Ben Affleck. To be honest, I'd probably get more of this movie if I were a bigger fan of Batman, but even I enjoyed seeing Barbara take the "Caped Crusader" down a peg and how adorably nerdy Robin was. The animation was amazing, too, especially in the action scenes. It's incredible how they manage to do all those crazy Gotham buildings with plastic bricks. I was less impressed with the Joker. Galafinakis just sounds too...cuddly...to pass for Gotham's nastiest villain.
Your enjoyment of this one will depend on how big of a fan of Batman you are...but even those who aren't that into the Dark Knight will probably have fun with some of the gags and the bright brick-by-brick animation.
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