Thursday, April 04, 2019

The Guardians and the Superman

I had a quick breakfast, then spent the rest of the morning vacuuming and dusting the apartment. The dust was really bad this month. I don't know if it's from Charlie working on the windows, or what. It wasn't just in the living area, either. The bedroom was almost as dusty. Maybe it's from all the moving stuff around I've done in the past few months. At least it's easier to clean under the Star Wars dolls than the Effanbees.

Went right into putting up the Easter decorations next. Obviously, the tinsel garland and Mom's wood and raffia Easter egg garland couldn't go up over the living area and kitchen windows like they used to, and if Charlie's going to remove the windows in the bedroom, I didn't want to put up anything on them. The cardboard hangings went on other walls; the porcelain bunnies from Mom are in front of the TV. The mini-garland with the tiny wooden bunnies and carrots is on top of one of the DVD shelves. Flora and Freddie, the rolly-polly bunny and frog musical toys, went on one of the book shelves in my bedroom. The stuffed Peeps, pink Beanie Baby bunny, and small blue Build a Bear chick went on the shelves with the musical and TV DVDs.

Speaking of TV, I ran the first four episodes of Smallville while I worked. "Crusade" brings Clark (Tom Welling) in after his friend Chloe (Allison Mack) is presumed dead, but his body seems to have been taken over by Kal-El, his Kryptonian side. His mother Martha (Annette O'Toole) is keeping a silent vigil on her sick husband Johnathan (John Schneider). She's delighted when young journalist Lois Lane (Erica Durance) brings Clark to the hospital, but he doesn't remember them. A friend of eminent Dr. Swann, Bridgette Crosby (Margot Kidder), gives Martha a new form of Kryptonite that may help save her son and husband's lives. Clark's fellow student Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) falls in love while she's in Paris, but has more problems when she goes to a church and sees a certain symbol on a countess' tomb...and then the symbol appears on her back...

Everyone says that Chloe is "Gone," but Lois and Clark don't believe it. They try to investigate, but are stopped by Lois' military dad, General Sam Lane (Michael Ironside). Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has more than a few secrets of his own, including kryptonite and what his incarcerated dad Lionel (John Glover) is really up to. Lois and Clark set out to find Chloe, before someone really does kill her.

We head to class for "Facade." Clark joins the football team, but his dad is worried that he'll neglect his chores and start to show off, while Lois enters Smallville High to gain a few extra credits for college. Abby, a shy, plain girl who is bullied by members of the football team for her skin problems, suddenly appears as a beauty a few days later. Her mother, a cosmetic surgeon, gave her a kryptonian-enhanced plastic surgery makeover, but it makes anyone she kisses have hallucinations that they're ugly. Clark and Lois try to figure out just how skin deep Addy's new beauty runs after she hurts Lana and her boyfriend Jason, Clark's coach.

"Devoted" also revolves around Clark and the football team. The cheerleaders, tired of their boyfriends paying more attention to the game than to them, have spiked the team's Gatorade with a potion that will make anyone who sees them devoted to them. It works too well, with boys going into jealous rages, including Jason, and Chloe joining the cheerleading squad to devote herself to Clark. Clark just gets sick when he drinks it, which makes him and Lois wonder how the cheerleaders did it.

Switched to a more feminine superhero story while making a Banana-Chocolate-Coffee smoothie and a pear for lunch. Clark's not the only teen who has to deal with strange events going on at his high school. Early in the first season of Sailor Moon, Usagi Tskino handles boys who pull pranks and damage property after going to a fortune teller who is really from the Negaverse in "Punishment Awaits: The House of Fortune Is a Monster Mansion." She goes undercover to investigate a mysterious radio talk show after her teacher and her best friend are put to sleep by flowers sent by the show in "The Mysterious Sleeping Sickness: Protect the Girls In Love."

Headed out as soon as I finished lunch and the cartoon. My first stop was PNC Bank in Collingswood. Along with the reminder of the increase in rent and the security deposit, Willa gave me a 5-dollar check for the interest from the security deposit. I figured it meant I wouldn't need to take out money for the laundromat next week. The bank was dead when I arrived, and I was in and out.

It was a gorgeous day for a ride across Collingswood and Haddon Township. While it was windy, the wind wasn't anywhere near as fierce at it was yesterday. The air had gotten much warmer and closer to what it should be at this time of year, probably in the lower 60's. The sky was a glorious robin's-egg blue. I dodged the tail end of lunch hour traffic as I headed down Cuthtbert to the Haddon Township Library.

They were almost as quiet as the bank. Most of the DVDs were being saved for other volunteers. I shelved the few adult titles that were there and made sure they were organized. Didn't take anything out this week. I've bought plenty of movies to watch recently.

Cabana's Water Ice on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike was already open for the season. I decided it was time for my first water ice of the year. Went with Triple Chocolate Marshmallow. The marshmallows were tiny, barely-there bits, but at least it was very chocolaty. Enjoyed my treat while watching the cars go by and two more girls come up to the girl behind the counter for ice cream.

Went straight home after my treat. Lois and Chloe in Smallville inspired me to add a new character - red-headed beauty Mara Jadeson, TV reporter and ward of corrupt Mayor Stephan Palpatine. She asks Luke a few too many questions about the fire and his uncle's suspicious death that he's not ready to answer. Ben manages to whisk him away before she can get him on the local news. He suggests that they go to see a friend of his who hangs out at a shabby local bar, one who might be able to help them get past Vader's goons to Aldera Hills...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Added spinach and broccoli to the last of the baked ziti for dinner while watching one more Smallville episode. A young man who can "Run" faster than Clark saves his dad from being run over...and steals his wallet, too. When Clark goes to get it back, he learns that the boy is Bart Allen, aka Kid Flash, a runaway who is in hock to some pretty nasty people. He tries to introduce the kid to Smallville, but he's not interested in the rural life. Meanwhile, Lex has bought a Medieval manuscript with some familiar symbols, including a map that may lead to one of the Kryptonian stones of knowledge. Bart steals it, but ends up helping Clark with the thugs instead.

Played Kirby's Epic Yarn after dinner. Made it through Hot Land this time. I got the extra patches with no problems, but I had to go back to at least three rounds to get items I didn't find the first time. There were two other rounds that I didn't return to. I'll try them again another time.

Finished out the night with Bohemian Rhapsody. I go more into this hit biopic of Queen singer Freddie Mercury from last year on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Bohemian Rhapsody

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