Friday, May 31, 2019

Cherry Sweet Spring

Awoke to hammering and cursing downstairs around 8:30. Charlie was already at work. I read in bed and wrote in my new journal for a while, then had breakfast. I discovered that most of the cherries I bought from the Acme last week were getting too soft and starting to go bad, so thought I'd add them to the Lemon Snaps cookies I was making from that Duncan Hines Bakery In a Box book. I put juice in with canola oil because I was using a yellow cake mix and made the mix much too runny. Not only that, but the cherries were too soft and made a mess, including on my favorite t-shirt.

Watched episodes of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes as I worked. Tony Stark is "Alone Against AIM," a terrorist group that has stolen his technology. His friend James becomes War Machine and joins Captain America and Black Panther to help him clear them out of Stark Industries.

The Enchantress commits "Acts of Vengance" against the Baron Zemo and his men, killing them off one by one. The Baron is finally forced to turn to the Avengers to help stop her and keep himself from becoming her next victim.

Ms. (now Captain) Marvel is saying "Welcome to the Kree Empire" when she and space spy organization SWORD are attacked by the aliens the Kree. Her boss Abigail Brand stays with the ship while she joins the Avengers to get rid of the Kree on Earth.

Hank Pym is considering hanging up his ant feelers in "To Steal an Ant Man," but someone takes off with his suit before he can. He hires mercenaries Luke Cage and Iron Fist to figure out who did it. Turns out it's Scott Lang, who uses the suit to rob banks and get gangsters to release his daughter Carrie.

Ran a few errands after the cookies came out of the oven. The Oaklyn Library was relatively busy for them, with several people reading or at the computers, despite it being a nice day. I organized both the adult and kid DVD titles and shelved books in the kids' area. Made a quick stop at WaWa for money; picked up a sparkling water to make change.

Went home and had muffins for lunch; continued with the Avengers while I ate. "Michael Korvac" is a man who claimed to have been tortured by aliens. When a strange group from outer space that includes a wisecracking raccoon and a talking tree show up and try to capture him, they assume that they're the ones who tortured him. But looks can be deceiving...

Headed to the laundromat next. There were a few people around, including a family, but they weren't that busy. It was just as well. Didn't really have a big load, anyway. I mainly wanted to get work clothes done and wash the cherry juice stains out of my shirt (which I did).

Went straight home and did some research, not on jobs, but on how to get rid of fear. All this fear is holding me back, but it just doesn't seem to want to go away. It's hard to believe when everything is going wrong. I've had a hard time staying positive lately, with everything going on.

Tried to cheer myself up by finally finishing The Rebel League and the Death Ray. Even as Luke, Leia, Han, and the others team up, Vader - Chief Darren Vedder, the head of Coruscant's police force - is meeting with tough-guy bounty hunter Bob R. Fettman. Fettman knows quite a bit about Harris Arietta, including what he was doing when he took that job from Jake Hunter. Vedder introduces Fettman to his boss, Mayor Stephan Palpatine, who has his own plans for the Rebel League...

Whew! That took a lot longer than I thought it would. Hopefully, the two follow-ups I have planned won't be quite so difficult. I didn't get the chance to put it on my blog or Fanfiction.net before dinner, but it is up at Archive of Our Own.

Archive of Our Own

Made thin chicken cutlets with mushroom sauce and the last of the spinach for dinner. Continued on with the Avengers as I cooked. "Who Do You Trust?" when Earth is invaded by a group of shapeshifting aliens known as the Skrulls? Nick Fury tells Tony Stark and Maria Hill not to trust anyone...and the ensuing accusations eventually drive the rest of the Avengers apart. But the real Skrull is closer than they think...

"The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill" tells of a mysterious creature that attacks Thor...but turns out to be able to wield the hammer Mjolnar. He's Beta Ray Bill, an alien who is transporting his people from their destroyed planet to a place where they can start over. Thor and his people help him save his race and his ship from a possessed Enchantress.

Moved on to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean next. Thanks to a glitch, I only had time to do "The Brethren Court." The round isn't nearly as hard as some previous ones. You have to do a series of puzzles to find the members of the Court and get them to move to open the door to their meeting place. Once inside, you have to find the book of their rules and get them to help deal with Davy Jones.

Finished the night after a shower with The Amazing Spider Man, Sony's 2012 reboot. Unlike the previous version, we start with the past, as young Peter is taken by his parents to live with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Years later, a teenage Peter (Andrew Garfield) finds his father's papers and learns he was experimenting on genetics with fellow scientist Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). He's bitten by a spider who was one of their test subjects and immediately develops spider-like abilities, such as shooting webs and sensing danger. Peter gives Connors a bit of data that he wanted, and he tells him more about his father. But all is not well. Peter's uncle died in a hold-up at a deli that he did nothing to stop, and now he's determined to find his uncle's killer. Though he tells his crush Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) who he is, her policeman father George (Dennis Leary) thinks he's meddling.

Meanwhile, hoping to regrow his lost arm, Connors has taken the genetics formula. It turns him into the Lizard, a super-strong, scaly green menace that can regrow limbs. Peter is the only one who can stop his dastardly plan to turn the whole world into lizards, but can he get there in time?

Maybe it's because I'm not the biggest fan of the character, but while this wasn't bad, it wasn't great, either. Garfield and Stone did well enough as the title character and his crush, but they were outshown by the supporting cast. Leary was suitably stoic as Gwen's cop dad, Ifans had a great time as the limb-growing villain, and Sally Field and Martin Sheen made a warm and wise Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Some nice special effects too, especially in the finale, when Peter and the Lizard were climbing around in the rain.

If you're more of a fan of Spider Man than I am, you'll probably find a lot to enjoy in this one.

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