Frightening Fantasy

Began the day with a spooky Three Stooges short during breakfast. "The Ghost Walks" when Moe, Larry, and Shemp discover a talking suit of armor in an old castle. Turns out the armor is haunted by a man who was beheaded for peeking out at Lady Godiva. Now he won't leave until she's ridden through again.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working on my story. I'm just about finished with it. Hank gets a brilliant idea after Officer Madine and the Ocean View Police Department arrive. He poses as Jerrod on his walkie-talkie, telling Piett that the pier is burning and the others are gone. They should bring the Death Star back to Ackbar's Restaurant. He's hoping to lure them right into the waiting arms of Madine and his cops.

Meanwhile, Luke's wrestling with Vader. Palpatine's downright elated to see them at odds. Vader manages to push the boy away...but Luke attacks even more violently after his brother threatens to bring Leia to his boss. He finally breaks his hand, just like Vader had broken his. That and Palpatine's encouraging him to kill his brother finally makes him realize what the head of Empire Industries wants. He finally tells him that he's not his brother, he's a Jedi Knight, and he's not going to join him, thank you.

Palpatine is livid at Luke's refusal. He gets his bony fingers around the boy's neck and throttles him...until Vader slams his boss in the head with a heavy metal vase, killing him instantly. Needless to say, they're both in bad shape, shaky, weak, and in shock. Not to mention, something's rocking the boat...and it's not waves. Vader helps his brother onto the deck, just in time to see the Falcon and Ghost pull up on either side, shooting harpoons and throwing balloons filled with oil.

Broke for lunch at 1. Ran most of Halloween Hall of Fame while I ate. Johnathan Winters headlines this Wonderful World of Disney special from I believe the 1970's, from Winters' references to the Minnesota Vikings during his monologue with the props. Winters is a security guard for the Disney Studio who's working late on Halloween night. While goofing around in the prop room, he runs into a jack o' lantern (also Winters) in a glass ball. Jack's hiding because he doesn't think Halloween is scary enough anymore. Winters uses the shorts "Trick or Treat" and "Pluto's Judgement Day" and the featurette "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to prove otherwise.

Work was...well, it was quiet all afternoon, and didn't seem to have been much busier earlier. Even rush hour was quiet. Beyond it being the day before our new sales flier begins, it was really too nice of a day to be inside shopping. The weather was even nicer today than yesterday, breezy, dry, and just warm enough, probably in the mid 70's. The sky was the most brilliant shade of blue I'd ever seen, without a cloud in it. I gathered baskets and inside trash and did a few returns, but I was mostly outside rounding up what few carts needed to be done.

As soon as I got home, I changed clothes, signed and put birthday cards for Lauren (today) and Amanda (a few weeks ago) in envelopes, and headed back out. I'd been meaning to send out the cards and return the bike I borrowed for a while now. I was tired of putting things off that should have been done ages ago. I get so caught up with writing, I neglect other chores.

It's just as well that I was returning the Schwinn. The chain had come off again, for the second time since I've had that bike. Thankfully, the lady I borrowed it from was outside with her kids when I came by. She offered it to me to keep. It was a nice thought, but first of all, I don't have the room for two bikes. Second, I don't really need two bikes. Third, the Schwinn is a two-speed bike. Changing gears gets annoying after a while, and I really prefer my brakes on the wheels, not the handlebars. I suggested that she donate it to the Collingswood Bike Share (she apparently has a friend who works there), Goodwill, or another organization that takes bikes for the less fortunate.

Finished off the night with a quick scrambled eggs dinner while finishing Halloween Hall of Fame, then while watching The Black Cauldron. This was Disney's entry into the sword-and-sorcery craze of the early-mid 80's. Taran, an assistant pig-keeper in medieval land, is told to keep his future-seeing pig Hen-Wen safe from the Horned King (John Hurt) by his guardian Daulben. If the Horned King gets his hands on the pig, he'll use her to find the Black Cauldron, an object of immense power that can bring creatures back from the dead. Taran does save Hen-Wen, only to end up a prisoner himself with magic-bearing Princess Ellonwy and Fflefldor Flam, a troubadour with a truth-telling harp. This trio of misfits, along with cowardly critter Gurgi, have to find the Black Cauldron before the Horned King can use it to create an army of the undead that'll destroy the kingdom!

This was a monumental flop on first release in 1984. Audiences didn't know what to make of it at the time...and neither did Disney. While the animation is still top-notch, especially the Horned King and his creepy undead army, the story has plot holes galore, and neither Taran nor Ellonwy are very interesting characters. Fflewfedor, Gurgi, and the witches whom they seek come off slightly better.

The fantasy violence and general creepy atmosphere definitely puts this out of the reach of the really little guys. If you have older kids and young teens who think they've seen every Disney movie and are fans of other fantasy tales like Lord of the Rings, try this on them.