Rhythm of the Rain

I had been up for about ten minutes, listening to the rain, when the phone rang. Yes, it was the Acme. Could I come in early? The head bagger's car broke down, and she might not make it in. I told them an hour. I hadn't had breakfast or gotten anything done.

The rain had slowed by the time I was eating breakfast. Dusted the living room while finishing out the first disc of Rescue Rangers. They're "The Carpetsnaggers" when they witness rugs flying off with valuables from wealthy homes. Monty thinks they're under a spell, but Gadget insists there has to be a more scientific explanation for how rugs can fly.

"Flash the Wonder Dog" is Dale's favorite TV star. Fat Cat and his crew can't stand a dog being popular and set out to kidnap and discredit him. Dale's upset when they rescue him and it turns out he's afraid of heights, among other things. Dale has to deal with his hero not being what he thought he was while the others figure out who's trying to frame the beloved pup.

It was down to misty rain and heavy humidity when I hurried to work...and discovered that the head bagger had found a ride and was only slightly late getting in. They hadn't bothered telling me that they no longer needed me early. I stayed anyway. While it was a bit busier than yesterday, it was far from crazy. I rounded up carts and did trash and recycling during the first hour or so of my shift and spent most of the rest of the day shelving two full carts of items.

Thankfully, when I rode home, it was cloudy and humid, but the rain was long gone. I'd just changed and was starting leftovers for dinner when I heard thunder. Yes, the precipitation was back, this time in great torrents on the windows. It didn't last long. The rain was gone within 20 minutes, and to my knowledge, it hasn't returned.

(Oh, and the tape was gone from my steps when I got home. I'm going to assume they're ok to walk up now. I went up them coming home, and they seemed all right. They're white and brown now, likely still wood or at least fiberglass like the porch.)

Went back to the Rescue Rangers while I ate and cleaned up from my meal. Chip's the big fan in "Pound of the Baskervilles." He's a devotee of Sureluck Jones (Sherlock Holmes) mysteries. He gets to use what he's learned when they crash-land in a mansion owned by a nasty British lord. He's usurped the family manor from his younger brother. The Rangers help MacDuff the dog find the will to prove that his master is the real owner.

Monty's dad Cheddarhead Charlie comes to visit in "Parental Discretion Retired." He's an adventurer who's been everywhere and seen everything...but he's also used to jumping into a situation, fists flying. That doesn't go well with Chip and Gadget's more methodical natures, especially when the group has to figure out why Fat Cat is stealing sturgeons from the bay.

 It's "Risky Beesness" when a queen bee recruits the Rangers to help her find her runaway swarm. Zipper the fly is smitten with the pretty bee and is determined to prove that him being a little guy doesn't mean his heart is small. They have to rescue the others when a bug exterminator who is obsessed with becoming a rock star uses the bees to take over a heavy metal concert.

Did some writing for a little while. Bob R Fettman manages to get Luke on the ground while his men get in the van. Leia's not happy with that and tries blasting him with her fire. Meanwhile, Harris is trying to get out of the net he's trapped in, with a little help from his tools and his dog Chewbacca.

Broke at 7:30 to play a little Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. Had no trouble with "Isla Cruces" in Dead Men's Chest. Got four more pieces and a lot more studs, finding at least two areas I hadn't been able to get to before.

Finished the night with Ralph Breaks the Internet. We return to the arcade where video game characters Wreck It Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) are still best buddies. Ralph's happy with his life, but Vanellope is tired of going around in circles in her too-sweet racing game. Ralph tries to create a bonus round for Vanellope, but she ends up overriding the control of her player, whose attempts to regain control ends with her breaking the steering wheel. Leaving the displaced Sugar Rush characters with their friends Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) and Calhoun (Jane Lynch), they travel into the Internet to buy a steering wheel on YouTube. \

Vanellope loves the Internet and how free and unpredictable it is. She falls in love with the online racing game Slaughter Race, befriending the tough, realistic driver Shank (Gail Godot), along with the Disney princesses. After an attempt to steal a car doesn't go so well, Ralph earns the money by flooding the Internet with videos. But now, Vanellope doesn't really want to go home. Desperate to keep his closest friend, Ralph turns to J.P Spamley (Bill Hader), a clickbait add salesman, and Double Dan (Alfred Molina), a worm on the dark web, to help him. The virus they give him to slow Slaughter Race not only destroys that game, but half the Internet as well. Now Vanellope, Ralph, and their friend Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) have to stop the virus, before it does further damage...and Ralph has to admit that maybe it's time to let his friend go.

Mixed feelings here. On one hand, it's an interesting exploration of our relationship to the Internet and why people fall in love with what they find online. I really like how they handle Vanellope and Ralph here. I wish they'd been able to stay friends (and I wonder what happened to Sugar Rush without Vanellope), but I can understand why Ralph ultimately decided that his friend was better off in her new home. Some of the internet gags were pretty well-handled, especially a couple of references to other Disney properties and the Princesses coming to the rescue in the end.

A big part of the problem is the nature of the Internet itself. A lot of the references to current trends online and how people use the internet will likely be dated within a few years. The much-vaunted sequences with the Disney princesses didn't really last that long and wasn't a major part of the movie, and the short sub-plot with Felix and Calhoun taking care of the Sugar Rush kids felt like it had been dragged in from another movie entirely.

While I didn't enjoy it as much as the original, I still liked it a lot. If you're a fan of the first movie or know more about online trends than I do, you may want to explore the world online with Ralph and Vanellope, too.