The Jedi and the Con Men

Awoke to a gorgeous and fairly cool morning. Enjoyed breakfast while doing more Clone Wars. "Lightsaber Lost" has Ahsoka pursuing the thief who swiped hers. She's helped by kindly old Jedi master Tera Sinube, who teaches her to slow down and have patience.

It was so cool in my kitchen, I was able to make Chocolate Chip-Orange Muffins from the Hershey's 1934 Cookbook without turning my house into a sweat box. Did more Clone Wars as I worked, and then as I did the dishes and got ready for work. The next three episodes introduce Duchess Satine, Obi-Wan's love interest, and the planet of Mandalore. Satine is determined to have her eternally warring home sit this galactic conflict out. "The Mandalore Plot" has a terrorist organization known as Death Watch target her for assassination. Obi-Wan is supposed to guard her - but they had once had a relationship, and he ends up falling for her again instead.

Obi-Wan has to endure a "Voyage of Temptation" when he, Anakin, and Artoo are supposed to protect Satine on her way to Coruscant to talk to the Senate. Artoo and Anakin discover assassin droids in the cargo who attempt to murder the Duchess. Obi-Wan has to figure out who aboard is the traitor.

Headed out to work as soon as the cartoon ended and the muffins were out of the oven. Work didn't start well. Every time I tried to help the head bagger fill the carts, I'd get pulled in to return cold items or take a register. Everything calmed down after that first hour, allowing me to spend the majority of the rest of the day outside with the carts. It was a good day for it. While not as windy or cool as yesterday, it was still really beautiful, sunny and dry.

Ran into Charlie on my way in. My bike had been moved further down the fence this morning, and the bricks they used to lean on had been removed. Charlie told me he's going to finally upgrade the walkway to my apartment so that it's even and extends to front of the house. The bricks will be replaced by a small shed or patio for my bike and the bike that belongs to a friend of his. He'll be outside working on them for a couple of weeks.

Did writing when I made it upstairs and changed. Harris admits to Leia and Rieekian via walkie-talkie that their location has likely been compromised. Leia says they'll have to evacuate. Harris is more interested in grabbing his stuff and leaving, or so he claims...

Broke at 6 for leftovers for dinner and Clone Wars. The "Duchess of Mandalore" herself is the one in trouble when they do finally make it to Coruscant. A senator is murdered giving her information on Death Watch's plot to encourage the Republic to establish a military presence there, overthrowing her peaceful government.

Moved on to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean after dinner. Finally found those last two pieces in "Tortuga." They were actually on a separate island you have to take a boat over to that's behind the main area. "Isla Del Muerta" is a lot more complicated. There's two secret areas, one underwater, that requires a lot of back and forth. It took me over 40 minutes, and I still missed three pieces.

Finished the night with The Sting.  This Oscar-winning caper comedy takes us to Chicago during the height of the Great Depression. Young con man Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) is looking for revenge against mob boss Doyle Lonnigan (Robert Shaw), who had his partner murdered. He looks up Chicago grifter Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), who agrees to help him. Aided by Henry's girlfriend Billie (Eileen Brennan) and a group of experienced cons, they create a phony betting parlor and draw Doyle in. Meanwhile, cop Snyder (Charles Durning) pursues Hooker, lead by FBI Agent Polk (Dana Elcar).

One of the best comedies ever made. A terrific cast of character actors back a top-of-their-game Newman and Redford as they navigate through the twists and turns of the delightfully complicated plot. The Marvin Hamlisch ragtime score might be anachronistic, but it's so catchy you can overlook that. Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" became a top 10 hit more than 70 years after it was written, and you can't hear it and not think of this film. If you're a fan of Newman, Redford, caper comedies, or Joplin, this is absolutely recommended.