Thursday, July 06, 2017

Showers, Showers Everywhere

Began a soggy, humid morning with my second day of early work this week. It was showering lightly when I rode there, so lightly I was barely damp. This state of affairs continued throughout the day, which could be one of the big reasons we weren't that busy. Traffic spiked a little around 11, then promptly quieted down again. I only had to do carts once, right when I got in. Otherwise, I gathered baskets, did two carts loaded with returns, and bagged.

The shower had picked up by the time I headed home. I arrived at home a bit more wet than I was earlier. Livened up the gloomy day with lunch and another episode of Wonder Woman. Lynda Carter gets to show off her excellent real-life singing voice in "Amazon Hot Wax" from the third season. Diana is undercover cutting an album at a small-time recording studio in LA. An extortionist wants money from the studio's owner, or she'll destroy the final album of a star who recently passed away. While Wonder Woman stops him from paying them off, a goofy KISS-like hard rock band puts two and two together and figures out that the "dead" star may not be as gone as everyone believes.

While the showers did slow somewhat, they never stopped all together. I opted to ignore them and get my laundry done anyway. I'm glad I did. It was dead when I arrived and was never busy. I think I saw maybe one or two other people the entire hour I was there. Good thing, because I had a really big load this week, including towels. I half-listened to talk shows and soap operas and worked on story notes.

After I got home and put everything away, I worked on writing for a few hours. Henry and Leia join Jyn and Cassian, Wedge and Luke, and Ahsoka and a Naboo officer in a romantic waltz. Their night of romance comes to a screeching halt when they catch sight of Boba Fettson skulking around, working security for Vader. He recognizes them and has every intention of telling Vader they've arrived. Henry tries to stop him, but Fettson belts him on the chin and takes off. The lovers don't have time to follow him before a courier announces that Palpatine's coronation has begun.

Ran two summer-themed episodes of Sailor Moon from the fourth season while eating chicken poached in a sauce made from white wine and home made vegetable broth, a green salad, and pasta for dinner. "Shining Summer Days: Ami Under the Sea-Breeze" has the Guardians hanging out at their local beach. Usagi's little brother Shingo has a huge crush on Ami and follows her around for a lot of the day. Tiger's Eye is also after Ami, trying to get her dreams. When he makes the mistake of picking on Shingo, Ami and the Guardians spring into action, making him wonder if he has anyone in his life who cares for him the way the girls and Shingo care for each other.

It's festival time in Tokyo! Usagi and Chibi-Usa aren't the only one enjoying the games, food, and fireworks. The Princess of Amethyst flees her royal duties to have a little fun with the tourists in "Juban Holiday: The Carefree Princess," a riff on Roman Holiday. Usagi and Chibi-Usa fear she may be in danger of becoming the Dead Moon Circus' next target and follow her, while Mamoru and the cats try to get her to return to her hotel and her people.

Hit the shower, then ended the night with Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country. The Klingon Empire is in turmoil after one of their moons and a primary source of energy explodes. Seeking aid, the Klingons finally attempt to make peace with the Federation. Kirk (William Shatner) is not overly happy with being assigned to rendezvous with the ambassador, especially after a Klingon killed his son the year before. They do manage to have dinner with them, but it's tense at best. The peace talks look like they may be off all together after the ambassador is assassinated by two men who resemble Kirk and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley). The two are arrested after a tense trial and sentenced to a snow-bound mining colony. While they await their friends, Kirk's best friend Spock (Leonard Nimoy), his protege Valeris (Kim Cattrall), and Captain Sulu of the Excelsior try to figure out who really wants the wars to continue.

This is one of three Star Trek movies my parents taped off cable in the late 80's and early 90's, and I do have some fond memories of it. Inspired by the real-life end of the Cold War, the story is darker and far more interesting than chasing whales or chasing God. There are some goofy parts when Kirk and Dr. McCoy are trying to escape the mining colony, but they're better-incorporated into the script and aren't as obvious. Nice cast, too, including David Bowie's wife Iman as a shape-shifting alien on the mining colony and Christopher Plummer as Chang, the villainous Klingon.

Once again, the big complaints are some special effects that are only slightly advanced beyond the last movie. The lower budget on this does show at times, especially any point they use early CGI. The Klingon blood flinging around looks more like jam than blood.

Probably the best of the original Star Trek movies with Wrath of Khan, this is a welcome return to form after the ridiculous Final Frontier...but do see at least Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock before you come here.

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