Kicked off the morning with breakfast, then tried to work on the Facebook page. Trouble is, I'm not sure what to put there. I'd like to promote my blogs, sure, but...I'm not really sure what my goals for them are, other than "make enough money to supplement my income" and "write things I enjoy." I've never been very good with goals. I come up with ideas, and then I talk myself out of them or put them off when I realize they're not possible for me or how hard they'd be to do. I've never really had a goal or a plan for anything. When I come up with an idea, I'm never sure how to break it down into smaller pieces.
Broke at 1 for lunch, then headed out around 1:30 to run a few errands. First stop was the Oaklyn Library. They were just about ready to close for the day. (The Oaklyn Library is only open from 10 to 2 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.) I had just enough time to take a look at the DVDs and shelve a few kids' books before moving on.
Took the long way down Nicholson Road to the Acme for this week's grocery shopping session. Truth be told, I didn't really need that much. Thanks to all the leftovers on the 4th of July, I've been eating out of the fridge all week. Acme's generic almond milk pint ice creams and sorbets were on sale, and I had online coupons. Went with coffee caramel fudge and lemon respectively. Oatmeal Squares and Belvita cookies were also on good sales, and I had an online coupon for the latter. Decided to try the Pepperidge Farm Strawberry Cheesecake cookies, since their large bagged cookies were on a rare good sale. Had a good online coupon for the Crest Gum Detoxify toothpaste, too. I'm hoping it'll help with my gum problems. Only needed to restock yogurt and skim milk.
Not terribly happy with my schedule next week. In good news, I have Sunday and next Friday off, and I work in the middle of the week almost the entire week. I still don't have enough hours, and I work too early next Saturday to hit the Collingswood Farm Market.
Went straight home and put everything away, then did some writing. Harris manages to run two Empire vans off the road before they can get them. He tells Leia and Charlie he'll take them to Takodana, a hotel and bar run by his friend Maz Kantana, before they're attacked by Captain Edward Needa of the Empire in his Mercury. Harris turns around and attacks him, before seeming to vanish into thin air. Needa's more than a little worried about how his boss Vader will take this...
Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. Made a cheese omelet and cucumber-tomato salad, then moved on to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Was able to finish out "Death Star Escape," which I only needed two pieces for, but I had hard time finding the remaining pieces in "Jedi Destiny" and only got about half of what I needed. Went back and finally completed the Pod Race, which gave me the Red Brick Finder. That helped me pick up the red brick from "Darth Maul." Went back to "Ruin of the Jedi" to get True Jedi.
Finished the night with the second half of Gone With the Wind, which I'd watched throughout the day. Scarlett O'Hara (Vivian Leigh), a vivacious and spoiled belle in Georgia in 1861, is determined to marry handsome and gentle Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), despite his not really loving her back. He eventually weds his sweet and kind cousin Melanie (Olivia DeHaviland). Gambler and mercenary Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) has his eyes on Scarlett, but she'd rather marry Melanie's brother Charles (Rand Brooks) to make Ashley jealous. It backfires, only ending with her a widow when Charles dies in the Confederate Army. She goes to Atlanta and makes a scandal dancing with Rhett in her black widow's gown, but she still has Ashley on the brain. She promises Ashley she'll take care of Melanie and darn makes good on that promise, delivering her baby with the help of her maid Prissy (Butterfly McQueen) and getting her out of Atlanta as it burns with Prissy and Rhett.
Things don't go well - for Scarlett or the south - after the war. She returns to the Tara plantation to find that it stands, but was raided and many of the outbuildings destroyed. Her mother is dead, her father has cracked under the strain, and only a few slaves and servants remain, including the sensible Mammy (Hattie McDaniel). After her father dies, Scarlett first marries her sister Sue-Ellen's (Evelyn Keyes) older lover Frank (Carroll Nye) in order to get the money from his general store and pay for the taxes on Tara. When he dies in a raid on a shanty town, she finally accepts Rhett's proposal...but even then, troubles follow. In the end, Scarlett may be alone, but she has Tara, and "tomorrow's another day!"
Mixed feelings on this one. I've never been a really huge fan of this movie. The performances are marvelous. Vivian Leigh really gets into Scarlett's mind, DeHaviland is a lovely Melanie, and no one at the time probably could have done Butler better than Gable. Hattie McDaniel made such an awesome Mammy, she won Supporting Actor, the first Oscar won by an African-American. The costuming is exquisite, and the Technicolor is absolutely gorgeous, especially during the burning of Atlanta. The score, mostly done by Max Steiner, is as sweeping as the movie it accompanies, especially the famous "Tara's Theme."
There's two really big problems here that bog things down, especially for modern viewers. First, there's the second half. The exciting and horrifying Civil War sequence that ends the first half is a tough act to follow. The ridiculous melodrama with Scarlett's second failed marriage and her problems with Rhett aren't nearly as interesting and just pad out the film's already-long running time. Second, while care was taken to make things slightly less offensive than in the book, there's a lot that's dated rather badly here. Screechy Prissy is an unfortunate contrast to level-headed Mammy, and while most of the blacks are treated better than expected, it's also assumed that they'll always be servants - and even some of the smarter ones like Mammy don't mind it. The movie isn't so kind to women, either, putting down Scarlett for attempting to run the mill and the plantation more-or-less on her own.
While I am glad I got around to seeing it again (especially in honor of its 80th anniversary this year), this is another one in the "I don't like enough to buy or actively seek out again" category. Those of you who are more into romance, southern-set stories, or heavy melodrama than I am may find a lot more of interest than me in this one.
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