Thursday, April 19, 2018

Winds of Spring

Started off the morning with a quick breakfast and the Tiny Toons episode "New Class Day." In "The Just-Us League of Superheroes," Super Buster, Wonder Babs, Aqua-Byron, Beeper Flash, Pink Canary (Sweetie), Scentanna (Fifi), and Calamity Arrow invite Batduck (Plucky) and Decoy (Hamton) to join their group, then turn them away when it's revealed they have no superpowers. They regret it when they're attacked by Wex Wuthor (Montana Max) and the duck and pig are the only ones who can save the day. "Sound Off" spoofs Out of the Inkwell and other silent and early sound shorts. Buster and Babs are enjoying a picnic, until Dizzy spins through and ruins it. They find a (dialogue-free) way of getting even. Babs is Groucho, Buster is Chico, Hamton is Zeppo, and Gogo is Harpo in "A Night in Kokomo." They have to help Mrs. Rittenhouse get the money to save her hotel to Mr. Mayonnaise in time.

(This was by far my favorite episode on this set. "Sound Off" in particular was very well done. Someone at Warners did their homework - the cartoon does look very much like the silent Felix the Cat and Out of the Inkwell shorts. "A Night at Kokomo" was pretty accurate, too. Babs was born to play Groucho. And "League of Superheroes" may actually be more relevant now than it was in 1992. In the early 90's, the joke was Batman and Robin were by far the most famous of pretty much any of those characters except for Superman and maybe Wonder Woman, and they were still rejected. Now, almost every one of those characters has appeared in at least one major movie or TV show.)

Camden County called me for an interview about renewing my food stamps around 10:30. Basically, it was the same thing and the same questions as last time. They're going to send me another packet that I'll have to get off to them. I don't know how I'm going to get those pay stubs, though. I direct deposit my paychecks.

Worked on a little bit of writing. Han tells Leia that his friend Lando might be able to help get them back to Coruscant unseen. He's living in a mining town in Bespin that isn't friendly to Palpatine and his monsters. Maz reminds him that Lando may not be speaking to him after having lost his horse Falcon to him in a rigged poker game. Han waves this off, claiming he'd probably have forgotten about it by now.

Finally broke after messing around with the computer for an hour at noon. Despite the showers and blustery, cold wind, I had laundry to do. I got in just in time, and not only to avoid the weather. It wasn't too bad when I dropped my load in the washer. By the time I was pulling them out of the dryer, the place was packed. I half-listened to the news and worked on story notes.

There was an Amazon box waiting for me when I got home. Lauren's birthday present to me was a box of healthy snacks - whole wheat fig bars, fruit bars, granola bars, the Kind nut bars. Yum! That was literally very sweet of her. I was especially happy with the fig bars. The Acme used to sell the Nature's Bakery whole-wheat fig bars, but they've disappeared since the remodeling, and I haven't seen them anywhere else. 

After I put the laundry away, I considered calling it a day. While the rain showers weren't heavy, it was windy and still fairly cold for this time of year, 51 according to the digital marquee at Oaklyn's City Hall. I finally compromised and did a few small things. Had lunch at Phillies Phatties. They were surprisingly busy for 2 PM on a rainy Thursday, with another person having lunch and others coming in to order food. I had a slice of cheese pizza, a slice of broccoli, and a can of Pepsi Cherry Vanilla while watching ESPN discuss the NFL Draft next week. 

Dodged road work on the corner of Manor and West Clinton as I headed up to the White Horse Pike. I needed a few things at Dollar General, notably cooking spray (theirs is much cheaper than the Acme's), underwear, a card for Khai's 8th birthday today, and applesauce cups. They were also busy; thankfully, the line went fast.

Did a little bit more writing when I got home, then had leftovers for dinner while watching the remaining Toons episodes. "Fox Trot" has Babs and Buster being chased by two foxes they claim are "Fox Network executives." (The show moved from syndication to the then-new Fox Network for its third and final season.) Plucky thinks a tape of loud bagpipe music is "My Brilliant Revenge" for Hamton destroying his bagpipes. Hamton has a better way of handling their feud. Elmyra learns that you "Can't Buy Me Love" when her spoiled new neighbor demands her way in everything, or she won't be Elmyra's friend. But even Elmyra has her limits, and she finally turns the girl away when she demands that she give up Furball. Steven Spielburg is on the "Phone Call from the 405." He wants Babs and Buster to do their scenes with the foxes over and over. Babs and Buster finally pull him into the scene.

Got Khai's birthday present and card together and called Rose to ask her when to bring it over (she said Saturday) as the last episode on the set finished out. Buster and Calamity goes back in time to find out "What Makes Toons Tick." Dizzy has a literal "Whirlwind Romance" when he falls in love with a whirlwind that he thinks is a fellow Tasmanian Devil. "Going Up" is another adventure with toddler Plucky Duck, this time in an elevator. A monster who normally lurks in closets learns that going up against Lil' Sneezer is "Nothing to Sneeze At."

Incidentally, while this was probably my least-favorite of the four Tiny Toons sets, there's still some fun episodes to be found here. My favorites were "Toon Physics," "Acme Cable TV," "Love Disconnection," "Kon-Ducki," and "New Class Day." If you're a fan of this show, go ahead and get the entire series. There's only three seasons spread out over four sets anyway, and you can probably find all four sets for as little as ten dollars each in some stores. (My copy of Volume 3 was $9.99 at Rite Aid.)

Spent a lot of time working on Wii Sports after dinner, since I didn't really do much walking or moving around today. KO'd at least four guys in boxing, although the last took me two rounds. I also did much better at tennis, losing one set and winning another, got my best-ever bowling score, and didn't do too badly at beginner golf. Worked on a few mini-games later. I'm really getting the hang of hitting balls in tennis, to the point where I got a silver medal in that with a different character.

Switched to Lego Star Wars after about an hour. I finally found the red brick in the Pod Race round...which turned out to be the extra that helps you find the red bricks. I used it to find the few remaining red bricks I didn't have, including the 4X extra. Attempted to find the blue pieces in "Escape From Echo Base" and to do the Bespin stud-gathering extra; didn't do especially well in either.

Finished the night after a shower with Hot Shots! Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) is called back to the Navy to help with a top secret mission. He immediately gets into a feud with a stuck-up fellow pilot (Cary Elwes) and is sent to the base psychologist (Valeria Golino) to deal with his father having flown in a mission that went wrong. After he's late for a flight and his wingman Dead Meat (William O'Leary) dies, he's almost thrown out, but the eccentric and slightly senile Admiral Benson (Lloyd Bridges) insists he lead the mission. Now Topper has to overcome his fears that he'll end up just like his father, save the free world, get the girl, and figure out who on the base is trying to sabotage the Navy's planes. 

While this is mainly a spoof of Top Gun, references range from Ghost to Dances With Wolves. Sheen, Golino, and Elwes are funny as the main trio, but it's Lloyd Bridges as the cheerfully impenetrable (seriously, nothing can penetrate him - he's had a part replaced in every major war) Tug Benson who really makes the movie, along with some decent gags. Also look for Jon Cryer as a sight-challenged pilot, Kristy Swanson as the only female pilot, and Bill Irwin as Topper's dad in the opening segment.

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