Began a steamy-hot morning with oatmeal, an apple, and an episode of The Backyardigans. Uniqua and Pablo say "It's Great to Be a Ghost" as they haunt an old house. Tyrone's less certain. All this ghost business makes him nervous. Tasha arrives, claiming she can't be scared...but it's the least-likely kid who finally does frighten her.
Spent the next few hours dressing the dolls and pulling out their winter clothes. Whitney got to try on the "Sweet Memories" Our Generation Retro outfit I bought on vacation. It looks so cute on her! I like it with the black strap shoes from Sam's current meet outfit. Speaking of, that's what I put Sam in. She wears it with white stockings and her black and white boots from her Flower Picking Dress. Ariel's a groovy 70's babe in a blue paisley print blouse Lauren sent from a yard sale in her area a while back, beaded AG jeans, and Whitney's meet outfit boots. Felicity was changed into her original Rose Garden "meet" dress. Josefina also wears her current red-and-blue meet outfit. Molly got Kit's original "meet" outfit with the lavender sweater and flowered skirt. Jessa's sporting a mix of the AG white button-down shirt from the original mid-90's modern meet outfit, capri leggings, and a purple plaid "wrap" skirt with suede loafers.
Broke for a Mocha-Banana Smoothie (coffee yogurt with a banana, peanut butter, and dark chocolate cocoa) for lunch around 12:30. Ran more Backyardigans as I sipped my treat. Tyrone and Uniqua are "Monster Detectives" who are trying to find Uniqua's soccer ball, which was stolen by Soccer Monster Pablo. If you play soccer with him, he'll turn you into a monster, too! Tyrone's worried, but Uniqua can't help wondering if being a soccer-playing monster might actually be kind of fun.
I had just started to write out my rent check when I realized I was out of checks, and I'd forgotten to order them. Darn it! Instead of going to the Oaklyn Library, as I originally planned, I rode to the PNC in Collingswood to see what I could do. Though it took the girl a few minutes to figure out how to print it out (with the help of the teller working the drive-in window), I did get my check, and an envelope as well.
Stopped by Dollar General on the way home. I needed eggs and sugar, both of which are cheaper there. I also discovered that they had a whole huge shelf of Crystal Pepsi, which I thought had disappeared after it's brief revival last year. Glad to see it's still around. It's one of the few "revived" foods that's as good as it was when I was a young teen in the early 90's.
Spent the next few hours after I got in and dropped off the rent cleaning. Scrubbed the kitchen, especially the top of the stove. Washed the windows. The floors really needed to be vacuumed. I'm not sure why they're so dirty. I guess there's been a lot of debris and dust coming in from the repairs on the porch and all those storms we've had.
Ran The Rocketeer as I worked. Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) is a pilot in 1938 Los Angeles who discovers a futuristic-looking rocket pack in the cab of his destroyed plane. Desperate to have something to race in an upcoming air show, he goes against the wishes of his mechanic Peevy (Alan Arkin) and uses it in the show. He manages to rescue a friend and becomes a hero and a sensation...but this attracts the attention of the FBI and the group of gangsters who stole the pack from Howard Hughes (Terry O'Quinn) in the first place. The gangsters were hired by swashbuckling film star Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton). Cliff's actress girlfriend Jenny Blake (Jennifer Connolly) is getting tired of his constantly throwing her off and accepts a date from the romantic Sinclair. Turns out the star isn't as glamorous as he seems. Jenny discovers he's a Nazi spy, but he holds her for ransom. Now Cliff has to figure out how to save his girlfriend and the free world, while keeping the rocket pack from blowing sky-high.
I badly wanted to see this when it came out in 1991, but never got to it. It was a flop when it came out that summer, mainly due to competition from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and City Slickers. It's since become something of a cult favorite, especially with comic book fans. If you love older superhero tropes, the 30's, or Indiana Jones-style action, you'll want to check around for this one.
Moved onto writing after the movie ended. Harry, Leia, Luke, and Yoda manage to dodge the three boulders coming their way by jumping up onto vines. The boulders eventually run into each other in a pit and smash to smithereens. Luke and Yoda are on one side of the pit, Harry on another, and Leia above him. Harry climbs up to her, even as Vader and his men arrive on the scene and start shooting. He does manage to get to her ledge, barely, giving them a chance to escape into the temple.
Broke for dinner at 6. Made a quick omelet with mushrooms and cheese and a salad with home-made orange dressing while continuing with early superhero tales. One of the influences of The Rocketeer may have been the Paramount Superman cartoons of the early 40's. They were the first true action cartoons, with amazing effects for the time and Art Deco designs. The pilot short "Superman (The Mad Scientist)" introduces the Man of Steel, his alter ego reporter Clark Kent, and a feisty Lois Lane, whom he saves from the title evildoer.
"The Mechanical Monsters" are robots who rob banks. Lois hitches a ride in one, prompting Superman to save her and end their reign of terror. Lois boards the "Billion Dollar Limited," a train carrying a billion dollars worth of gold. Gangsters sabotage the train, but Superman makes sure they get safely to their destination. Superman must stop "The Arctic Giant," a defrosted dinosaur, from destroying downtown New York. He also saves the Big Apple from a bullet car that rams city buildings in "The Bulleteers." "The Magnetic Telescope" may draw a meteor that will destroy the city, unless Superman can stop it. A Native American man threatens to destroy Manhattan with an "Electric Earthquake" unless it's returned to his people. Superman finds a way to destroy the electricity, before New York is shaken to its core.
It had been hot, sticky, sunny, and humid for most of the day. The clouds didn't arrive until I was writing, and it didn't rain until I was sitting down for dinner. No pyrotechnics, but we did have a pretty good shower at one point. It rained again briefly, but seems to just be chilly right now.
Finished the night with the 2009 film Nine, which I discuss in more detail at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog.
Nine
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