Kicked off the morning with breakfast and Hooked On Swing. Larry Elgart and His Manhattan Swing Orchetra recorded this series of medleys in the early 80's. It's mainly collections of classic jazz, swing, and big band music, but there's also songs associated with Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire, blues numbers, and songs from or associated with Broadway shows. (Including then-recent numbers like "One" and "Tomorrow.") Not for folks looking to relax, as most of the tempos are pretty upbeat, but it makes nice background music for when you're doing things at home or getting ready for your day.
I wish work had been as much fun. On one hand, I was able to get outside this time and get the carts done, I finished shelving what little candy remained, and it wasn't busy enough for me to end up in a register. I just wish they'd let me finish one thing at a time. I can understand disrupting me to clean up a spill, but I'll get to everything else eventually. At least one of the new cashiers was able to help me with the carts later. I was ready to tear out my hair by the time I finished and hurried out the door.
It was sunny, humid, and not too hot when I went to work. By the time I was taking the long way home down Nicholson Road, the sky was starting to cloud over, and it was far warmer and even more humid. I still felt like I needed to calm down a bit after work. We weren't busy at the Acme today, and Nicholson wasn't bad either, not even around the entrance to the department stores. It was even quieter on Atlantic. You could hear the wind rustling the bright green leaves on the trees.
When I got home, I had a snack, then took a nap. I worked early and hard this morning. I was bushed. Slept for over two hours, by which time the clouds had gotten a bit darker, but otherwise seemed to have not done a whole lot.
Worked on writing for a few hours after that. Fettson is about to shoot Luke and Bossk the lizard-like bounty hunter grabs Leia when Harris, "The Millennium Falcon," arrives in his van. Leia manages to shove Bossk off, while Luke destroys 4-Lom's gun and Harris confronts Bob A. Fettson.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Pan-fried thick turkey bacon to make a variation on that bacon spinach salad Lauren and I had when she was here. It tasted nice with my own home-made Caesar dressing. The rain that had been building up all afternoon finally rolled in just as I shut down my laptop. The torrential rain and thunder made an oddly soothing backdrop to my meal.
Finished out Avengers: The World's Mightiest Heroes while I ate. "Operation Galactic Storm" and "Live Kree and Die" is a retelling of how the Avengers - including Captain Marvel - stopped the Kree from connecting their galaxy and ours and destroying the sun. They're helped by former Kree Mar-Vell, who would rather see his people evolve than take other's energy.
"Avengers Assemble" - all of them - to stop Galactus, an alien who has devoured countless worlds. Almost every hero in the Marvel roster, from Iron Man to Spider Man to Captain Marvel to Wolverine and the Fantastic Four fight this alien menace and his four nature-based heralds to keep the world safe...and bring out the hero in all of us.
I was a little disappointed with the second season. The first season was really fun, but they got a little too dark for me in the second. They never did let Janet reconcile with the now-rogue Hank Pym, for instance, and neither Hulk nor Black Panther actually rejoined the group. I did enjoy meeting some characters I'd never heard of before, notably "Heroes for Hire" Luke Cage and Iron Fist, who were hilarious in their three appearances, and seeing Captain Marvel and Black Panther almost five years before they had their own movies.
I still recommend the entire series for fans of the Marvel universe, especially the comics, which this apparently sticks a bit more closely to.
Move to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean after I finished dinner. Finished up the Story Mode rounds with "The Fountain of Youth." While the round was long, it wasn't nearly as hard as some previous rounds. It did take me a few minutes to figure out how to take out Bluebeard. You need to get the guys to conk him over the head, then have the mermaid use the cup to give Angelica some of the water from the Fountain of Youth, taking Bluebeard's life and giving it to her. I made enough money to buy two characters and the Fast Build extra afterwards. Tomorrow or later this week, I'll start with the Free Play rounds.
Finished the night with last year's version of Robin Hood. Young Lord Robin of Locksley (Taron Egerton) has been drummed out of the Crusades when he protests his commander Guy of Gisbourne (Paul Anderson) killing prisoners. He returns to find himself declared dead by the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn), who wanted his lands. The people now live in the Slags, the coal mines outside of town. The peasants, lead by Will "Scarlet" Tillman (Jamie Dorman) and Robin's former lover Marion (Eve Hewson), are hoping to revolt against the Sheriff's high taxes. His Arab friend Yahya - aka Little John (Jamie Foxx) - suggests they start a revolt of their own by robbing the rich to feed the poor. Robin trains at his former home, posing as a playboy to gain the favor of the Sheriff and the court. He, Marion, and Will learn that Cardinal Franklin (F. Murray Abraham) and his church are funding the Crusades in the hope of killing off the king and taking over England. Marion, Robin, and Will have to round up the peasants to take on the Sheriff and end his and the Cardinal's hold over the land.
Uh...no. I can definitely see why this was a huge flop last November. While Egerton actually wasn't bad as Robin and Mendelsohn and Abraham had fun as the villains, almost no one else was well-cast. Jamie Foxx sleepwalked through his role and was obviously only here for the paycheck. Other than a few basic details, the story had little or nothing to do with the real Robin Hood legends. The cinematography was murky, dark, and dull, and the sets and costumes were likewise, when they weren't anachronistic. This didn't look medieval. It looked like any ordinary action movie that's come out in the last decade. It reminded me entirely too much of the equally murky and dull version of King Arthur that came out the year before.
Hopefully, the failure of this and King Arthur will encourage the studios go for a lighter and less murky tone the next time they want to adapt classic British folk stories. This is for fans of the cast or dark fantasy retellings only.
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