Way Down In Oaklyn

Started off another lovely fall morning with Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, made from an apple that had a huge brown spot. Paired it with grapes and chai tea. The pancakes came out perfectly, for once. Maybe slightly too brown on one side, but otherwise very tasty.

Listened to the soundtrack from The Princess and the Frog while I ate and cleaned up after my meal. This inventive Disney retelling of The Frog Prince as a tale of a waitress determined to own her own restaurant and a spoiled prince who learns that money isn't everything is an underrated favorite of mine. The jazzy music reflects the New Orleans in the Roaring 20's setting, written by real-life Big Easy native Randy Newman. My favorite numbers are Tiana's driving declaration "Almost There" after she's found the perfect place for her eatery and the touching ballad "Evangeline" for Rufus, the love-sick Cajun firefly.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon starting my next story. I have a long list of Star Wars fairy tales and fantasy novellas I put off doing while writing those two historical novels. Began with Beauties and the Frogs, a Star Wars Sequel Trilogy retelling of Beauty and the Beast and The Frog Prince.

Queen Leia and King Han lived happily in the Kingdom of Alderaan, until their son Prince Benjamin ran away from home to learn more about the dark magic his uncle, Sir Luke of the Jedi Guards, wouldn't teach him. His parents search for him, but he's disappeared without a trace. Sir Luke disappears into his tower to find the right spell to bring him home, while his parents mourn his loss.

Several years later, the Kingdom of Alderaan is invaded by the evil clan of the First Order. Their leader, King Snoke, is a powerful black magician whose Knights of Ren destroy all that they come in contact with. King Han swears to his wife that he will seek help from the outlying kingdoms.

Many years later, he finally comes home with three hearty princes who are traveling back with him, all from lands that have agreed to help. Prince Temmin, or "Snap," is a hearty fellow from Wexley, strong-willed Prince Poe is from the jungle land Yavin, and gentle Prince Finn is from the mountain kingdom Bespin, home of Han's good friend King Lando. The quartet are traveling through a dark forest with Han's faithful manservant Chewbacca when they start to hear noises in the shadows...

Broke for lunch at 1:30. Put on the soundtrack to the original 1984 Ghostbusters while I ate and got ready for work. The title song is the most famous number from this one; it was a smash hit, one of the biggest  hit songs of that year, and continues to be associated with Halloween and horror to this day. Most of the other vocal numbers, except for the fun 50's-inspired "Cleanin' Up the Town" and the genuinely eerie "I Believe It's Magic," are generic 80's pop songs. I love the two cuts included from Elmer Berntstein's score, though. "Dana's Theme" is especially haunting. (Appropriate, given what happens to her.)

Work was pretty much the same deal as yesterday - busy when I came in, steady but not too horrible when I left. I spent the first half of my shift doing carts and enjoying another gorgeous, sunny fall day. Returned two carts of loose items and mopped the bathroom floors during the second half.

(And while the Eagles play tomorrow night, I did get to catch a bit of the Bengals - Steelers game in the back room during break. The Steelers were up 7 - 0 when I was watching it. They ultimately went on to out-run Cincinatti 29-14.)

Did another spooky soundtrack when I got home and had sauteed spinach and mushrooms and leftover orange chicken legs for dinner. The album for Young Frankenstein includes not only the musical score, but a lot of the dialogue from Mel Brooks' 1974 horror homage, up to and including the infamous "Puttin' On the Ritz" tap dance number in it's entirety. If nothing else, I realized how dialogue-heavy this movie is. There actually isn't much score, though the lilting violin tune that calls the creature back is quite lovely.