Daydream Believers

Got a quick start to the morning with breakfast and some classic late 60's rock. I have two AM Gold CDs representing the mid-late 60's. I had just enough time for the first half of the 1967 disc. There's some gems here; along with my favorite Monkees song "Daydream Believer," I also love "Up, Up, and Away" by The 5th Dimension, "Happy Together" by the Turtles, and "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

As soon as I finished eating, I hurried out the door. Rode straight to City Hall and locked my bike at the fire department, then went to catch the bus. It was on time, and not really full. There was no traffic and no major problems, and I was in Somerdale by 11:30.

I originally was thinking of seeing Once Upon a Time In Hollywood today...but it runs almost three hours! I'm not sitting in the theater for three hours. I finally decided on Spider Man: Far From Home. Since I had almost an hour before the movie began, I took a fast walk back down to the White Horse Pike to enjoy Pizza Hut's buffet. I had a small salad, two slices of cheese and thin-crust vegetable pizza, and more Parmesan and cinnamon bread sticks than I probably should have.

On my way back, I discovered a service road that winds around the side of the Super Wal Mart near Pizza Hut and back down to the shopping center parking lot. Took me back to the theater with twenty minutes to spare. I didn't mind taking a seat up front. I had the first two rows entirely to myself.

I'm not going to give the plot because of spoilers, but I did enjoy this. Tom Holland is such an adorable Spider Man, and Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are hilarious as MJ, the darkly sarcastic girl Peter has a crush on, and his goofy best friend Ned. JB Smoove and Martin Starr also had some great moments as the kids' teachers, who are in way over their heads with superheroic antics. Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury is on more familiar turf here than in Captain Marvel, and Jake Gyllenhaal is both charming and delightfully deceptive as Mysterio. There's some amazing special effects, particularly with the water Elemental in Venice and the finale in London.

There's a few minor complaints. First of all, many references are made to the events of Avengers: Endgame. I've read enough about that movie to not mind being spoiled, but if you haven't seen Endgame and don't want spoilers, I'd pass on this one. This isn't the place to start if you want to get to know the Marvel Universe. It's also a more conventional superhero tale, which may disappoint some coming after the unique Into the Spider Verse.

If you're a fan of the character or the Marvel Universe who has either seen Endgame or don't mind being spoiled, you'll want to swing on over the theater and check this one out.

Headed back to the White Horse Pike to catch the bus after the movie ended. I had enough time to relax on the bench behind Taco Bell and enjoy the much hotter but still dry and sunny day and even take a brief walk down the block. The bus, for once, was right on time, and there was only a tiny bit more traffic than there had been late in the morning.

My throat was so dry, I needed some kind of a drink. I rode over to Dunkin' Donuts a few blocks away to wet my whistle. Ended trying their Kit Kat Coolatta, which was pretty much a vanilla slush with Kit Kat pieces. It was...ok, even if the Kit Kats sometimes blocked the straw and oddly tasted more like Snickers.

As soon as I got home, I went into writing. Luke discovers Darth "Father of Death" Vader in a strange machine-like ice object. They fight, but when Luke cuts his head off, he sees his own face behind the mask. Rudy realizes that Luke is upset and goes to let him lean on his shoulder.

Didn't break for dinner until 7. Had an egg wrap with cucumber-tomato salad while watching a movie-themed episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. Buster and Babs are "Cinemaniacs" when they hit their own local multiplex to catch a couple of films. "Super Babs" has Babs as the Girl Bunny of Steel, saving Acme Acres from the schemes of Wex Wuther (Montana Max). Plucky, Hamton, and Furball go to where no Toon has gone before in the very hairy "Duck Trek." Monty's back, this time antagonizing Buster as Indiana Jones in "Pasadena Jones and the Meaning of Life."

Finished the night with Lego Star Wars. I finally got through The Empire Strikes Back Super Story, and with five minutes to spare! I think I actually did better here than with New Hope, where I barely made it through at the last second. Next, I'll try to finish "Hoth Battle" and move on to Return of the Jedi.