Slept in, then kicked off the morning with breakfast and wartime Looney Tunes shorts in honor of Veteran's Day Weekend. Termite Terrace seem to have made three different types of World War II shorts. The character shorts involved either a regular like Bugs or Daffy or a one-off bedeviling the Nazis or showing their patriotism. The best of these on this disc is "Daffy the Commando," which has him going up against a goofy nameless army (that's pretty obviously the Nazis). "Weakly Reporter" is my favorite of the skit comedies depicting life in the barracks or on the homefront. This one discusses the city and suburbs during the war. I love the woman who fixes a whole factory with her one bobby pin! "The Duckinators" is the best of the allegories on how we intended to win the war.
Headed out to get the laundry done around quarter of noon. I think I should have gotten out earlier. They were busy as heck when I arrived. I forgot that this is the weekend of the New Jersey teachers' convention. All the kids are off of school. At least I managed to get a washer and dryer. I had a bigger-than-usual load, including towels and sheets. I worked on story notes, half-listened to the news on Channel 6, and ignored the crowds.
Got home, put everything away, finished the Looney Tunes shorts, and went back out. Had a quick lunch at Phillies Phatties around the corner. Even at around 2, they were still busy with local kids checking their phones and having sodas and Powerade together. Picked up a slice of pepperoni, a slice of "Margarita" (tomato, basil, and mozzarella), and a can of Cherry Vanilla Pepsi. Ate it there while Sports Philadelphia and the radio ran in the background.
Made a few fast stops on the White Horse Pike next. I wanted butter at Dollar General, but they were out. I did pick up decently priced light bulbs. At least two were out in my apartment. Grabbed laundry detergent at CVS. I just used up the last of mine on today's load.
Vacuumed the apartment and aired out the rag rug and front door mat when I got home. I'll be doing heavier cleaning Thanksgiving week, but did at least want to unload the vacuum canister and run it really fast. I'll leave the dusting for later in the month.
Worked on writing after I put the vacuum away. Everyone splits up the next day. Charles, Richard, and Bobby agree to seek the Princess Elaine in a hidden tower in the woods, while the others will rent a boat in the next town over to find the Princess of the Sea. Betty will remain with the fairies in their realm.
Broke for dinner at 7. Had leftovers, then made Stir n' Drop Lemon Sugar Cookes from the Betty Crocker Good and Easy Cookbook. They're just oil, eggs, sugar, flour, lemon rind, and baking powder. They're easy to make and usually come out pretty well, though I burned part of the first batch.
Watched three classic Bob Clampett Looney Tunes shorts and a featurette while I worked on the cookies. "Super Rabbit" is Bugs, who eats a carrot that gives him Superman-like abilities. He uses his newfound powers to go up against a rabbit-hating cowboy and his horse. "Draftee Daffy" will do anything to avoid that pesky Little Man from the Draft Board, including blowing both of them to smithereens. My favorite of the wartime Toons shorts is "Falling Hare." For once, Bugs goes up against an antagonist that gives as good as they get when he tries to stop a gremlin from sabotaging planes.
Finished the night with one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. A grandpa (Peter Faulk) reads his sick grandson (Fred Savage) the story of Buttercup (Robin Wright), who loves Westley (Cary Elwes). Unfortunately, he's thought to be killed by pirates at sea. She's betrothed to Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), but she doesn't really love him. Three goofy goons kidnap her, but her beloved Wesley isn't as dead as she thinks he is. The course of true love never did run smooth, but as Wesley and Buttercup discover, even death can't stop a force as powerful as real feelings for one another.
My whole family has loved this movie for years. We taped it off Showtime during a thunderstorm in 1987 and the copy was terrible, and we still watched the heck out of it. A classic romantic comedy-fantasy with enough action to make even jaded elementary school boys start believing in fairy tales.
No comments:
Post a Comment