Once Upon a Spirit of the Forest

Started off the morning with breakfast and Moon Madness. This very peculiar French animated film from 1983 tells the tale of how Baron Munchausen and his loyal companions discovered the Selenites, the people of the moon, and rescued them from their sworn enemies the Green Means. The animation is terrible, jerky and stiff, and the story meanders and has no real plot before the Green Means invade. The saving graces are some really colorful and unique character and background designs (I love the creative creatures that live among the Selenites) and catchy synthesizer music. The theme song "The Secret of the Selenites" remained lodged in my head long after I'd forgotten the rest of the film.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon writing and updating Pinterest (which is now working fine after being glitchy for the past couple of days). Leia's contacts are Jyn Erso and Captain Cassian Andorez, both Rebel Society members. Jyn's father and three close friends from the Rebel Society were among the victims of the fire in the shipyard. The fire also claimed the life of a friend of Cedric and Rusty who had been a secretary to Tarkin before he quit and joined the Rebels. They brought Leia to the navigational room to show them the controls for the deadly cannon that can obliterate anything in a second. They just passed the pilfered blueprints to Leia when they hear soldiers coming upstairs...

Broke around 2 for lunch and errands. Finished out Moon Madness while eating pineapple muffins and celery with peanut butter. After the movie ended, I ran out to get the laundry done. Picked a good time to do it. It was dead as a doornail when I arrived. One Hispanic man...I had a hard time understanding him, but I think he expected the manager to be there to wash his load. When they weren't, I ended up helping him figure out how to use the washing machines. I didn't have a lot to do myself. Finished in less than an hour.

As soon as I put everything away, I went right back out. There's was lot I needed to ask Dad and Jodie about without the rest of the family distracting them, starting with Rose's baby shower. According to Jodie, it's going to be on May 21st, which means it'll be going on when Lauren is here. We're both invited. I volunteered to make a pudding pie. Sounds like Anny and her brood and Keefe will be there, but Dad-Bill and Mom may not.

Ran the idea of them buying my train tickets to visit Lauren in July for my birthday instead of the usual gifts. Not only did they agree to it, but they also said they'd give me spending money to go with it, so I could save at least some of the money in my accounts for my rent. Jodie said she wanted to give me new sandals, too.

Jodie did finally get in touch with the darn doctor. The doctor is apparently starting a new program and won't be able to take me until April. I think I'm just going to give Camden County a second shot and at least try to get food stamps (if I can get through to them).

I ended up having shrimp stir-fry with them while watching the news on Channel 6. That was really nice. I don't often get them completely to myself. No one else showed up this evening, not even Dana and Jesse.

Finished the night at home, making chocolate cake while watching Princess Mononoke. Ashitaka, the prince of a small village, is injured while fighting an evil demon. The demon turns out to be a forest spirit. His scratches are poisonous, and leaves the young prince cursed. He leaves the village before anything worse can happen, hoping to learn more about the boar and the spirit. The trail leads him to Irontown, whose forges make it valuable to a strong-willed noblewoman and a samurai warlord. The noblewoman is at war with the spirits of the forest, who hate her for cutting down their trees to feed her forge. Ashitaka befriends both the former prostitutes the noblewoman took in as workers and San, a girl raised by wolves who fights the humans alongside them. Now he has to do what he can to save the Great Spirit and prevent the wars and the destruction from getting any worse.

This reminded me quite a bit of a darker Nausicaa, with many of the same themes. My favorite characters by far were the women of Irontown. They may have been lowly workers, but they were funny, tough, and a heck of a lot more sensible than any of the menfolk.  Lots of blood, violence, severed limbs, and the dark tone make this absolutely not for children. Young teens on up who enjoy anime, darker "nature vs. humans" stories, or dark action may enjoy it far more.

The Tale of the Merc With the Mouth

I way overslept this morning and just barely made it to work on time. I wish I hadn't. Work was a pain. Every time I'd try to get something done, one of the managers would call me to do something else. I'd start mopping the freezer leaks, then someone would want me to return cold items...and while I was doing that, I'd get called to do carts. And then another manager would want me to mop up the dirty spots in the narrow alley between register 1 and the self-checkout registers. They even called me during my break. I was trying to help the other bagger round up carts when I got called in again. I got stuck on the register for a half-hour. Today was the last day of a huge 4-day sale, and we were really busy. I was not very happy when I got out.

When I got home, I changed and rested for a little while, mainly reading the novelization of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was quarter of 4 when I finally got moving to do the laundry. I didn't have a huge load, but I did want to get my work clothes done. I'm actually glad I waited. The laundromat was pin-drop quiet when I got in. The only other people there were the anchors on NBC's 4 o'clock news show. It did pick up a little later, but by that time, my clothes were in the drier.

Spent the rest of the afternoon working on fanfic. Leia asks Ezra where Hera and the rest of the crew of the Ghost are. Here, Hera is a fisherwoman, and Zeb and Chopper are part of her crew. Kanan works at Ackbar's as a cook. He's teaching Ezra about surfing, having been one of the youngest members of the Jedi Knights before they disbanded.

Ate leftover summer vegetable-ground chicken casserole and honey-glazed carrots while watching Deadpool. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is "The Merc With the Mouth," a wisecracking mercenary who tracks down deadbeats and guys making love with other people's women for a price. He himself is happy in with life, having found a wonderful girlfriend in Vanessa (Morena Baccarin)...until he's diagnosed with terminal cancer. An agent claims there's a government project that can "cure" him. The cure turns out to be far worse than the sickness when he's tortured and maimed by an insane doctor, Ajax (Ed Skrein) and his assistant Angel (Gina Carano). When he escapes the labs, he covers his damaged body with a red suit and calls himself Deadpool. Now he's out for revenge on Ajax and the people who did this to him...if Colossus and one of the teen mutant girls of the X-Men can't slow him down first...

So, yeah, the R-rating on this one is justified, from a couple of sex scenes to lots of swearing, blood, and violence, not to mention the fairly graphic torture sequence. Reynolds' constant stream of jokes (along with his breaking the fourth - and probably fifth and sixth - walls) makes the blood a lot more bearable. Colossus and his friend seem kind of shoehorned in to make this feel more like an X-Man film, though they are a big help in the end.

While I didn't love it as much as Ant-Man, this was still fun, and once again another try at something different. The black comedy lifts this one out of the current glut of superhero films and gives it a different, wackier feel. I can't emphasize enough that this is NOT for kids, or even young teens. For older teenagers on up, especially comics fans, if you love superheroes or black comedy, you'll probably have a lot of fun with this.

Before the Rain Came

I started a cool, gloomy morning with music. I couldn't really decide on anything to watch, so I settled on CDs. I love the Varasae Sarabande Cinderella album I bought a few years ago. It includes songs from many different versions of the Cinderella fairy tale - animated ("A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Disney), darker ("On the Steps Of the Palace" from Into the Woods, two ballads, "What Has Love Got to Do With Getting Married" and "Suddenly It Happens" from the British film The Slipper and the Rose), even gender-flipped (the adorable "Spread A Little Happiness" from another British musical, Mr. Cinders.) It's so much fun to hear how one story can be told many different ways, and how different versions advance the story. (Incidentally, for Remember WENN fans, Johnathan "Mr. Pruitt" Freeman sings "What Has Love Got to Do With Getting Married.")

Spent the next hour and a half writing. The kids have gotten Scott out, and Mr. Eldridge has reappeared to help with the trolls. Now, they have to get back to the Christmas Festival and stop Barnaby from harming Santa...but how? He has the trolls. Lisa remembers that they have an army, too - the toy soldiers! They wind them up and follow them out of the factory.

Headed out around quarter of noon to run a few errands. The Oaklyn Library was actually a bit busy for them. There was one guy working on his laptop, with quite a few others at the computer. I organized DVDs and gave a look over the kids' section while CNN droned on in the background about Bill Cosby and why the Eagles fired Chip Kelly.

(My own take on Kelly's firing...I'm not surprised. The guy was a decent coach, but not so great at choosing personnel. He didn't bother me - it's ONE bad season, folks, they happen - but everyone else, from sportswriters to my customers, have pretty much been crying for the guy's' head since it became obvious the Eagles weren't going to get anywhere this year.)

Ran to WaWa really quick after I left the library. Needless to say, since it was past 12:30, they were busy. I needed eggs and milk (both are cheaper at WaWa). Since I was there, I bought a Tuscan Turkey hoagie and Pumpkin Cheesecake Smoothie for lunch.

When I got home, I ate while listening to one of my 80's CDs. A Year In Your Life 1983 features quite a few hits I loved as a child, notiably "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. I was grateful it was still just cloudy when I finally packed up and headed for work.

Work was steady all evening. It wasn't really that crazy, but it wasn't dead, either. People are starting to buy party food for tomorrow or use their beginning of the month money. It moved very fast. My relief was on time, and I had no problems getting in or out.

There was one last present waiting for me when I got in. The Bearclaw boots I got from Mom for Christmas arrived! They're honey-colored, with heavier fur lining than the old ones. Oh boy, are they soft! The lining is amazing. I've never felt anything this soft. They're also a tad tight, despite being a size 8, which is what I wear in every other shoe. I'm hoping they'll stretch as I wear them.

Oh, and it did finally rain...about an hour ago. According to the National Weather Service and Channel 6, today is the last day of precipitation for a while. It'll be back in the 40's and sunny for the rest of the week and into next week, including tomorrow and New Year's Day.

Scooby Doo and the Science Fiction Mysteries

First of all, let me make this simple announcement - if you do not have anything nice to say to me, don't comment on this blog. Period. End of story. Comment on another blog that says what you want to hear. This is my life, and I'm going to live it the way I want to. I've been bullied for almost three decades, and I'm sick and tired of people who don't even know me thinking they have the right to control how I live.

That said, I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen (which needed it - I've had a problem with flying insects, probably leftover ants from earlier in the spring) and watching Scooby Doo episodes. Once again, the first episode was a special, this time involving a huge robot dog that gets out of control at NASA. Mystery Inc. is there for a science competition and end up being the ones who bag the robot...and the person controlling it.

Except for the early Scooby Doo, Where Are You? episode "Foul Play In Funland" (which also involves Mystery Inc. and an out-of-control robot, this time in an amusement park), the remaining episodes on this set are from late 70s and 80s shows that featured Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and sometimes Daphne. Most of these episodes are weird bordering on bizarre, like "Way Out Scooby," in which Shaggy and the dogs accidentally stow away on a spaceship and end up on Mars. Others, like "The Scary Sky Skeleton" and "The Dinosaur Deception," are par-for-the-course mysteries that end with the usual uncovering a villain masquerading as a monster (or controlling a monster-like robot). "A Code In the Nose," is a spy spoof that has Shaggy, Daphne, and the dogs somehow chosen to find a government decoding machine made to look like an ordinary appliance hidden in a department store.

(And all of these episodes but the first two feature Scrappy, so those who have problems with him would be advised to avoid this set.)

Work was busy and annoying for most of the day. Not only is it the beginning of the month, but that government shutdown has a lot of people upset...which means a lot of people were taking it out on us. Not to mention, this was my 7 hour work day. I was so glad that my relief was right on time and I was able to get out with no problems.

I'll Be With You In Summertime....

Started the day with another episode of Lois & Clark. Superman is the only one who can stop a comet from hitting Earth...but he gets "All Shook Up" when it proves to be even more than he can handle. Clark ends up with amnesia and has to try to retrace his identity...both of them. Meanwhile, a fragment of the comet is still on its way to Metropolis and could do some serious harm.

Headed out to do the laundry around quarter of noon. I read LuLu In Hollywood as CBS blared news of the house explosion in South Philly. The laundromat wasn't too busy for the lunch hour, despite the absolutely amazing weather. I didn't have a huge load, anyway. I was in and out in less than an hour.

The day couldn't have been nicer, especially compared to yesterday's deluge. The sun was out, the sky was blue, the clouds were tiny puffs, and the breeze felt wonderful. While there's a few dry patches in areas that get unrelenting sun, most of the grass and trees are still green, far more than normally for this time of year. Gardens are flourishing; the flowers not only haven't wilted, but look stunning in shades of flame red, sunset orange, sun yellow, and pale lavender. While the community pool was surprisingly quiet for a nice day (everyone must have been eating lunch), there were quite a few people out doing their yards and cleaning up from the mess left by flood waters.

I ran Buck Privates as I made Blueberry Corn Muffins for lunch, using a recipe that requires fruit concentrate instead of sugar. Comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello became one of Universal's most popular attractions in this 1940 vehicle. The duo are con men who join the army to avoid being arrested...only for the cop who was after them (Nat Pendleton) to end up being their superior officer. Meanwhile, a playboy (Lee Bowman) and his former chauffeur (Alan Curtis) go after a pretty female officer (radio singer Jane Frazee). The company cook (Shemp Howard) has to deal with Lou on KP, while the Andrews Sisters are mainly around for some memorable background numbers.

Actually, this is probably best-known today for introducing the Andrews Sisters standard "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and their hit rendition of "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time." At the time, it was the blockbuster smash that launched Abbott and Costello as Universal's top non-horror box office draws, prompting two more Armed Services comedies featuring the two and a direct sequel, Buck Privates Come Home. For fans of those two, the Andrews Sisters, or the swing music of the late 30s and 40s.

I did some work on the computer, then headed to the Acme, still enjoying the late-day sunshine. Everyone else must have been, too. We were steady through rush hour. Things quickly died after about 7. It was so quiet by 10PM, I was able to leave with no relief.

A Long Way Down the Track

The day started sunny, bright, and beautiful. I had a lot of errands to run in the morning before I went to Atco in the afternoon. Started with grocery shopping and my paycheck. I was surprised and delighted to see that my paycheck was much higher than anticipated. I was also able to get most of what I needed groceries-wise. The only thing I forgot was mushrooms, and I can get them tomorrow. Otherwise, I needed a fruit restock, dried beans, and grabbed the cheapest chicken legs they had. They were having an awesome sale on the Lipton "pyramid bag" tea; got my favorite flavor, Vanilla Caramel. Bought coconut, chocolate chips, and mousse mix for baking.

Went straight home after that. I put everything away quickly, rounded up my packages, and headed out. Stopped at a quiet bank to deposit my paycheck first, then rode over to the Oaklyn Post Office. Much to my surprise, there was no one in the tiny building but the women behind the counters. This may be the first time since I moved here that I was able to send my Christmas packages and cards in less than five minutes.

(Oh, and Linda & James, Lauren, and Amanda...all of you have packages coming on Monday or early next week.)

Things did not go as well after that. I was able to pick up the PATCO train at Collingswood and the NJ Transit train at Lindelwauld with no problems...but after I got off at Atco, I had no idea where to go. I'd walked out without bringing the address or phone number with me, and my cell phone is so old, I couldn't look it up quickly. I thought I'd take a bus to the White Horse Pike, but the next one wasn't until 1:11. I didn't want to be late, so I thought I'd walk.

I'm going to make a very long story short. I made a wrong turn and ended up half-way down the road before I finally made it to the White Horse Pike...and then, I couldn't find the insurance company. I hiked for what seemed like miles but was probably only a mile or so. Atco turned out to be almost literally in the middle of nowhere, mainly a collection of medical and insurance offices, small local businesses and shopping centers, and basic franchise banks and drug stores. It was more than 40 minutes after I was supposed to have arrived when I finally asked first a construction office, then a post office for directions.

I got lucky at the post office and ran into Donna, one of the women managers at work. Turns out she lives near Atco and was dropping off her own packages. We looked up the address online, and I showed her the original e-mail the Chief Executive sent me. We finally came to the conclusion that the executive said he wanted people to join his sales team. I am not a salesperson. I don't want to sell things. I finally just agreed with Donna that it probably was a waste of time to even go to the interview, especially since it was past 2 by then and I was tired, hungry, and frustrated.

I asked Donna to drop me off at a pizzeria in the small shopping center I saw on my earlier hike. I hadn't eaten since breakfast! When I came in, all of the cooks and bus boys were gathered around the TV. I was shocked when I heard the news about the gunman who had killed 20 children in an elementary school in Connecticut.  God, that is just horrible. Why do people think they can do this, especially to kids? My heart goes out to everyone who was effected by this tragedy.

After all that, I just wanted to get home. I thought of waiting for a bus, but I was tired of standing. I walked back to the train terminal, making it well before the train arrived. The train to Lindenwauld was on time; the PATCO train to Collingswood actually left a few minutes early.

When I finally got in around 4:30, I put on White Christmas to get my mind off the tragic news and continued my Christmas baking with the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. In this smash hit musical from 1954, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye play two old army buddies who fall for a pair of cute sister singers (Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney). They follow them up to Vermont, where they hope to cozy up to the girls in the snowy mountains. Turns out it hasn't snowed in Vermont in weeks. The lack of precipitation is causing the inn belonging to their old general (Dean Jagger) to lose business. The two first bring the show they're currently starring in and producing up to the inn to draw business. Then Bob gets the great idea to cheer the General up by inviting their army buddies for a reminder of how much he meant to them, but Clooney thinks he has other ideas. Of course, everything clears up smoothly, just in time for the title to come true...

While I prefer the earlier "White Christmas" movie Holiday Inn (the movie the song was introduced in), this one has its moments, too. Irving Berlin provided some decent new music, including the Oscar-nominated "Counting Your Blessings" and the hilarious "Sisters." Some fairly odd numbers were created for his older ones as well. (Check out the bizarre color scheme on "Mandy.") The movie works best in the first half, where the couples are meeting each other and we're putting on a show. The romantic contrivances with Clooney and Crosby in the second half drag things down quite a bit.

Actually, my favorite number from this film is the first, and the one of the simplest and most touching musical numbers ever committed to celluloid  Bing sings "White Christmas" to an audience of soldiers while accompanied by nothing but a tinkling music box, while bombs go off in the distance. It's such a lovely moment, it's almost hard for the rest of the film to measure up to it.

Oh, and I e-mailed that executive when I got home and told him I wasn't interested in a sales job. Yes, I know I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth...but they never even called me. The only message on my phone when I got home was from a telemarketer. You'd think they would have wondered where I was. I don't regret the trip, though. I did get a good, long walk in, and I got to be outside on a gorgeous, sunny day.

Let's Make the World A Better Place

With the Armed Forces doing their part in getting rid of world-wide menaces (much to the delight of every front-page in the country), I started the first of three morning shifts I have this week. None of them are as long as last week's, but they're also much busier. It wasn't bad when I came in at 10, but business picked up around 11:30 and was on-and-off the rest of the day. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month customers, there were no major problems. My relief was just on-time, and I was in and out with little fanfare.

It was cloudy and windy when I rode to work this morning. The clouds broke up around noon-1PM. When I arrived home, it was still windy, but the clouds were replaced by bright sunlight and picture-perfect upper 60s temperatures.

I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my laundry and purse, and headed for the laundromat. I debated doing the laundry tomorrow, but finally decided I had too much going on already. Once again, I hit it just right. When I arrived, the only person there was one of the older ladies who manages the place and NBC10 News running several pieces about local reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death. By the time I left, two couples were working on several very large loads of laundry.

When I got home, I put everything away and ran Minnie's Masquerade again. Ran through that and Max and the Three Bunnies while making Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins and salmon and spinach salad for dinner.

The Internet was down originally when I tried to get on. It did come back up, but I'm not happy. I'm debating what to do. I've heard that Comcast's customer service is as bad as Verizon's, if not worse. Right now, I'm debating either switching to FIOS and hoping that works better or seeing if I can find another Internet provider all together.

A Little Dignity Goes A Long Way

Racist Remarks Cost Imus CBS Job

Good. I don't know what people see in "shock jocks," anyway. They obviously don't work in a grocery store. I hear enough ranting from many of my customers without hearing it on the radio and TV, too.

New Jersey is up in arms over this; Rutgers is one of New Jersey's largest colleges. (It actually has a campus in Camden.) The girls lose one big game, and some idiot makes racist comments? I don't care how long he's been on the air or how many fans he has, it shouldn't have happened.

While I don't believe in censorship, per se, sometimes, a little dignity and respect can go a very long way, in this case to keeping your job.