Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Little June Showers

First of all, sorry I'm late with this. The internet went down last night and only just came up about an hour ago.

Spent most of the morning puttering around. I looked up some job ideas online. I liked the idea of making a Facebook page for my writing. I'd really rather push my writing than myself. I might find other ways to get myself on social media that might not be so nerve-wracking. Cleaned up the table with the printer next to my desk, putting various papers in folders. Decided I liked the big basket I got from Mom in January as a holder for small things on the dining area table when I don't have guests.

Finished Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers while I worked. Dale wants to be "Double O Chipmunk" in a a James Bond spy spoof. The others dress as gangsters and a moll to make his wish come true...but the game suddenly turns real when they run across spy rats and Dale accidentally mixes up his film canister with their microfilm.

"Gadget Goes Hawaiian" when she meets a female mouse named Lahwinie who is her exact double...on the outside. On the inside, Lahwinie is selfish and spoiled, caring only about becoming queen of a tribe of mice who live just outside a resort hotel. She's rigged the hotel's fiberglass volcano to blow its top on cue, and she'll scorch the others if Gadget doesn't take an obstacle course for her.

Dale goes from Ranger to superhero in "It's a Bird, It's Insane, It's Dale!" He finds a sliver of a meteor that gives him stretching powers like Mr. Fantastic of The Fantastic Four. Unfortunately, so does a slimy travel agent, who uses his powers to steal monuments from around the world and demand ransom for them. Dale gets a big head at first, until he's accused of the crimes and turns to the others for help.

Monterrey Jack and Zipper take over a diner kitchen to make cheese chowder after they blow up the Rangers' pressure cooker. They're not the only ones with an interest in the diner. A couple of "Short Order Crooks" intend to tunnel from there to the bank. The Rangers fight food with food to keep them from getting there.

Monty's told to "Mind Your Cheese and Qs" after his obsession with cheese almost gets the crew killed. His swearing off cheese proves to be easier than he thought when there's a cheese shortage in town. Rat Capone has cornered the market on all the cheese in town...but he didn't reckon with Monty and his cheese attacks!

Chip and Dale are "Out of Scale" when their constant feuding lands them in the mitts of the bratty daughter of a gangster who wants them for pets. Her dad kidnapped Professor Nimnul and is using the reverse of his Gigantic Ray from the previous season to shrink buildings and not only steal their valuables, but turn them over to his daughter for doll houses. The two chipmunks have to figure out a way to work together to evade the spoiled kid and reveal what her father is up to.

Gadget's tired of violence and her menfolk always getting hurt in "Dirty Rotten Diapers." She insists that they find kinder, gentler ways of dealing with their cases. That works until they run up against two women running a phony adoption agency...and "kinder and gentler" doesn't cut it with the midget posing as a baby to rob rich childless couples. It may take a little elbow grease to put this guy behind bars that aren't a crib.

Unfortunately, despite there being at least 20 more episodes, that seems to be all Disney's released on DVD at press time. They did finally put out the rest of Tale Spin and released the last of the original DuckTales on their Movie Club, and there's been rumblings of a live-action version in the works, so maybe that'll happen down the line.

Mixed feelings here. I liked the show a lot. It's well-written and animated for a cartoon from its era, with some of the most enjoyable characters of the entire Disney Afternoon. Gadget in particular is one of Disney's strongest non-princess female characters and retains a considerable fan base to this day.

On the other hand...this show could get really, really weird. There's a couple of episodes I'm not sure they'd even get away with today, notably "The Case of the Cola Cult" and the Asian-stereotype-ridden "Song of Night n' Dale." The occasionally juvenile humor, cliched plots, and rather silly villains will probably go over better with the target audience than someone my age.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it again, but it's not something I'm going to buy or actively seek out. If you're into the furry fandom, have older elementary school or tween-age kids, or have fond memories yourself, you may find a lot more in this one than I did.

Headed out as soon as the cartoons ended and I had my smoothie lunch. First stop on a cloudy and killer humid day was the PNC Bank in Collingswood. I needed to print out checks for my rent. I went in, ordered the checks from the young bearded gentleman behind the counter, and got out.

Rode across Collingswood and Westmont, then up the hill past McDonald's for this week's session at the Haddon Township Library. They weren't a whole lot busier than the bank was, and there really wasn't that much to do. I mainly shelved the few DVDs that were there. Didn't take out any movies - I have plenty to watch, and I don't know when I'll get to the libraries again - but I did find the next Daisy Dalyrumple book, Corpse at the Crystal Palace, and a book about a trio of friends running a jazz club in Roaring 20s Chicago.

Rushed home just as it was starting to shower lightly. Thankfully, unlike the last few weeks, that's all we got. The shower ended shortly after I got in, and to my knowledge, it didn't rain the rest of the night.

Went straight into writing. Harris takes Chewbacca upstairs to tell Rieekian they're leaving. He's not happy, but he does understand. Leia, who just came from contacting the White Queen, is not happy and doesn't understand. She wants Harris to stay. He just wishes she'd actually respond to his flirting.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Started the first season of Clone Wars while eating leftovers. We witness the "Downfall of a Droid" when Anakin loses Artoo during a fierce battle with the Separtists. Anakin's fondness for the little droid isn't the only reason he wants him back. Artoo has a lot of sensitive military information stored in his memory. He and his padawan (student) Ahsoka search half galaxy to find him.

Did really well with Lego Pirates of the Caribbean tonight. Picking up Blackbeard allowed me to use his power to open black and red doors I couldn't before. I totally completed "Port Royal" except for Jack's compass and got more pieces on "The Black Pearl Attacks." Made enough money to buy the x6 red hat extra and more characters.

Finished the night with The Blues Brothers. I go further into this much loved 1980's comedy at my Musical Dreams Musical Reviews blog.

The Blues Brothers

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