You Can Dream at Any Age

Started off a sunny, breezy morning with a couple of episodes of Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater. "Peter Penguin" has Tuxedo Sam as the penguin who won't grow up, My Melody as Tinkerbell, Catnip as Captain Hook, and Kitty and Chip as the kids who fly with him to Never-Say-Never Land on a great adventure. Chip's in the spotlight as Arthur, the boy king, in "Paws of the Round Table." He and Lancelot Sam have to dodge Grinder the Black Knight and Catnip Le Fay to rescue Lady Bunnyvere (Melody) from a not-so-terrible dragon.

Spent the rest of the morning writing. Leia, Luke, and the servants Cyril and Artello manage to get Han to Maz Kantana at her massive inn and tavern. She calls him Henry and confirms what Leia's suspected for some time - that Han Solo is Henry of Naboo, the supposedly dead prince who vanished shortly before her parents died. Han's struggles to recall his past leave him with such blinding headaches, he's screaming with pain when Luke and Leia get him into Maz's room. Maz explains that his mind is being attacked by the demons of his past...and that if he can't get past them, he may lose his mind and his memories all together. She gets Han calmed down, then helps Luke and Leia use their powers to go into Han's head and help him defeat his demons.

Broke for lunch at 11. Ran another fourth season episode of Sailor Moon about childhood vs adulthood as I ate and got read for work. In the Amazon Quartet's introductory episode, they encounter Chibi-Usa, her best friend Momoko, and the older Guardians at the arcade. While the girls are impressed with their gaming skills, they're not as happy with the way they put down Momoko and Chibi-Usa for wishing they were older. They insist that only children can have dreams, and that big dreams fade in adulthood. Though they seem to relent later and give the girls tickets to the circus, this is only to take a look at Momoko's dream mirror. But the Guardians are around to prove that anyone can have a dream, at any age.

Thankfully, my first day back at work since Friday was no sweat. While it did get a little busy around the usual rush hours, we were mostly dead all afternoon. This gave me plenty of time to clean the bathrooms, gather carts and baskets, shelve loose items, and do the indoor and outdoor trash. A beautiful day probably helped. Though it remains chilly and windy, it was also sunny and very warm when the wind was blocked.

Had a quick dinner when I got home. Put on a Rick Steves episode while I ate. Barcelona is a center of culture and business in Spain nowadays. Though the tapas bars and that crazy cathedral that people have been working on for over a hundred years are interesting, my favorite thing in Barcelona itself was its Moderne (aka Art Nouveau) architecture. Outside the city, I loved the little fishing towns and Salvador Dali's crazy home and art.

Played some Wii Sports after dinner. Didn't do any games, but did practice quite a bit. I've gotten much better at hitting short balls in baseball, Hitting the Green and Target Practice in golf, and Target Practice and hitting balls in tennis. For some reason, I just couldn't pick up spares at bowling today. I'm normally much better at it. And I can really wail some punching bags! The rest of boxing, I'm  not so good at. I can't move fast enough to dodge, and I tend to hit the trainer instead of his targets.

Switched to Lego Star Wars after a good half-hour workout. Mostly finished off flying rounds I'd put off. Got the last pieces I needed and True Jedi on "Battle Over Coruscant" and "Death Star Attack" and True Jedi on "Betrayal at Bespin" and "Mos Espa Pod Race." (I just can't seem to find the red brick on the latter - I'll have to look it up somewhere.)

Ended the night online with April In Paris. This 1952 musical has Doris Day as chorus girl Ethel "Dynamite" Jackson, who is excited when the government is sending her over to an arts festival in Paris. Turns out it was all a mistake, and government official Winthop Putham (Ray Bolger) sent her the wrong letter. His boss (Paul Harvey) gets so many encouraging letters, they end up sending her to Paris anyway. She and Winthrop get so drunk on the boat ride over, they actually get married...or think they do. They were married by Frenchman Phillipe (Claude Dauphan) on-board ship. He's not the captain, which renders their marriage void, to the relief of Winthrop's sarcastic fiancee Marcia (Eve Miller). Even so, Ethel remains in love with Winthrop, even after a fight with Marcia...but it may take a trip to the nighclubs of Paris for Winthrop to put his feelings ahead of his career.

Not one of Day's better musicals. She has no chemistry with a stiff Bolger, who is completely out of place in a leading man role. Other than one good number on board the ship to France, "We're Gonna Ring the Bell Tonight," the music is equally dull. Ok piece of fluff if you ever run into it on TCM or are a huge fan of Day or Bolger.