Started the day with early work. It was once again on-and-off steady. I alternated between doing carts and doing returns, shelving candy, and bagging for most of the day. It actually wasn't as bad outside as I thought it would be. The sun was warm when you could get out of the chilly wind. I went to work and back with no trouble.
Cleaned the bathroom when I got home. The sink in particular needed it; between weird weather and my financial problems, I've been at home a lot more often lately. Watched Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero while I worked. Stubby is a stray dog who follows a young World War I doughboy named Robert Conroy (Logan Lerman) to basic training. He's determined to stay by his human, even marching and training with him. Not only do the head of the base eventually let him stay, but they make him the unit's mascot. He sneaks on board Robert's transport and follows him to war-torn France. He remains with Robert and stays by his side and that of his partner, older French soldier Gaston Baptiste (Geraud Depardieu). Gaston calls them "The Three Musketeers" as Stubby helps sniff out gas attacks, chases rats away, finds wounded soldiers, and even unmasks a German spy. The two stay together through thick and thin, with Stubby hurrying to Robert's side even after he's wounded. Stubby eventually becomes the most decorated dog in American history, and the only one honored with the rank of Sargent.
I thought this was so sweet! The relationship between Gaston, Stubby, and Robert is genuinely touching, and there's some nice animation later during the war scenes.It's too bad this opened to heavy competition last April, including Rampage and Isle of Dogs, and later in the month, Avengers: Infinity War. If you have older kids with any interest in dogs or history, this is a really interesting movie that deserves far more than it got at the box office last year.
Did a quick Popeye short that also involved dogs while I finished. He has to "Proteck the Weakerest" when Olive makes him take her pampered Pekingese for a walk. He's embarrassed to be seen with such a small dog...until they run across Bluto and his tough bull dog, and Fluffy proves that even pooches can benefit from a can of leafy greens.
Moved to writing around 4. Han and the others find Luke being thrown around by Vader and Palpatine in Palpatine's palatial rooms. Vader reveals to Leia and Luke that they're siblings, and his children. While Luke tries to keep his newly-discovered sister from killing their father, Yoda holds off Palpatine.
Broke for dinner at 6. I had leftovers, then turned a mushy pear into Vanilla Pear Cookies from the one-bowl cookie cookbook Lauren sent me a few years ago. Ran one of the most beloved musicals of all time, The Sound of Music, while I baked, and later as I went online after a shower. I go into further details at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
The Sound of Music (1965)
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Monday, March 04, 2019
Winds of March
I slept longer than I planned this morning and had just enough time for an episode of The Backyardigans and breakfast before heading to work. Did another episode revolving around straightforward and occasionally bossy hippo Tasha. She's in her element as a spoiled Egyptian princess who holds "The Key to the Nile." She and her servants Tyrone, Austin, and Pablo set off to find the presents that'll convince the Sphinx (Uniqua) to tell them how to refill the river. The boys help Tasha find the items, but she never thanks them for it or acknowledges their contributions. Uniqua finally points out that the real secret to anything is being polite and treating others as we'd like to be treated.
Work was pretty much the same it's been for the past few weeks - between quiet and mildly steady. I did some returns this morning and gathered baskets, but I was mainly outside, rounding up carts and doing the outside trash and recycling. While it was chilly and very windy, it wasn't quite as cold as it's supposed to get starting tomorrow. The sun was nice, when you could get out of the wind.
When I got home, I tightened my bike seat (it had gotten loose again) and went upstairs to change and make chocolate muffins. Did a longer Backyardigans episode while I worked. Pablo is an "International Super Spy" in the first of three hour-long specials. This parody of the James Bond/Avengers-style spy capers of the 1960's takes the crafty penguin around the world to find three containers that may hold "a recipe for disaster!" He must them out of the hands of the Lady In Pink (Uniqua) and her hench-moose Tyrone.
Did some writing for a while after that. It's Artoo (and his nose) who leads Han, Leia, and the others upstairs. Chewie's big fist gets them into Prince Palpatine's rooms. They walk right into a fight between Sheriff Vader and Luke Scarlet. Leia runs to Luke when he's thrown against the wall, while Han and the others move to defend their friend.
Didn't break for dinner until 7. Had roasted broccoli and cauliflower with a meatball sandwich while watching a couple of Danger Mouse episodes. "Rogue Robots" was the very first episode of the series. DM and Penfold have to figure out who's been sending robots to attack agents DM's worked with. The duo head north in "Ice Station Camel" to figure out how Greenback has stopped the Earth's rotation and get it moving again.
Moved on to Angry Birds Star Wars after dinner. The Boba Fett Missions return to Cloud City for 10 rounds that involve having to set the Fett pig off and let him crash into things. Most of them weren't that hard, and there were only ten rounds. With all of the rounds having been open, I went back to the Tatoonie rounds to see if I could get three stars on some of the earlier ones.
Finished the night with Attack the Block. This British sci-fi action film involves a group of hoodlums in a British tenement who attack young nurse Samantha (Jodi Whittaker) on her way home from work. She manages to flee when they see a meteorite hit a near-by car. Turns out that was no meteorite; it was the home of a small but fierce alien. They do manage to kill that one and think they'll be famous. Turns out there's a lot more aliens coming, and these are far larger, with sharp glowing teeth and fur that doesn't reflect light. Samantha joins them as they run from the cops, then from an angry drug dealer (Juamayn Hunter) whom they'd brought the other alien to. After she treats one of the boys for a bite on the leg, Samantha decides she's better off working with these kids than against them...and that they may be the only ones who can stop this extraterrestrial menace from killing everyone in their entire neighborhood.
Intense and weird little sci-fi movie, with Whittaker and John Boyega stand-outs as the fed-up nurse and the leader of the gang. Very violent, with lots of swearing and blood (alien and human), but also quite funny in spots, with a not-bad hard rock and rap soundtrack. Too heavy and violent for kids, but older teens who love sci-fi comedy or wacky and violent British action-horror comedies like Sean of the Dead will really enjoy this one.
Work was pretty much the same it's been for the past few weeks - between quiet and mildly steady. I did some returns this morning and gathered baskets, but I was mainly outside, rounding up carts and doing the outside trash and recycling. While it was chilly and very windy, it wasn't quite as cold as it's supposed to get starting tomorrow. The sun was nice, when you could get out of the wind.
When I got home, I tightened my bike seat (it had gotten loose again) and went upstairs to change and make chocolate muffins. Did a longer Backyardigans episode while I worked. Pablo is an "International Super Spy" in the first of three hour-long specials. This parody of the James Bond/Avengers-style spy capers of the 1960's takes the crafty penguin around the world to find three containers that may hold "a recipe for disaster!" He must them out of the hands of the Lady In Pink (Uniqua) and her hench-moose Tyrone.
Did some writing for a while after that. It's Artoo (and his nose) who leads Han, Leia, and the others upstairs. Chewie's big fist gets them into Prince Palpatine's rooms. They walk right into a fight between Sheriff Vader and Luke Scarlet. Leia runs to Luke when he's thrown against the wall, while Han and the others move to defend their friend.
Didn't break for dinner until 7. Had roasted broccoli and cauliflower with a meatball sandwich while watching a couple of Danger Mouse episodes. "Rogue Robots" was the very first episode of the series. DM and Penfold have to figure out who's been sending robots to attack agents DM's worked with. The duo head north in "Ice Station Camel" to figure out how Greenback has stopped the Earth's rotation and get it moving again.
Moved on to Angry Birds Star Wars after dinner. The Boba Fett Missions return to Cloud City for 10 rounds that involve having to set the Fett pig off and let him crash into things. Most of them weren't that hard, and there were only ten rounds. With all of the rounds having been open, I went back to the Tatoonie rounds to see if I could get three stars on some of the earlier ones.
Finished the night with Attack the Block. This British sci-fi action film involves a group of hoodlums in a British tenement who attack young nurse Samantha (Jodi Whittaker) on her way home from work. She manages to flee when they see a meteorite hit a near-by car. Turns out that was no meteorite; it was the home of a small but fierce alien. They do manage to kill that one and think they'll be famous. Turns out there's a lot more aliens coming, and these are far larger, with sharp glowing teeth and fur that doesn't reflect light. Samantha joins them as they run from the cops, then from an angry drug dealer (Juamayn Hunter) whom they'd brought the other alien to. After she treats one of the boys for a bite on the leg, Samantha decides she's better off working with these kids than against them...and that they may be the only ones who can stop this extraterrestrial menace from killing everyone in their entire neighborhood.
Intense and weird little sci-fi movie, with Whittaker and John Boyega stand-outs as the fed-up nurse and the leader of the gang. Very violent, with lots of swearing and blood (alien and human), but also quite funny in spots, with a not-bad hard rock and rap soundtrack. Too heavy and violent for kids, but older teens who love sci-fi comedy or wacky and violent British action-horror comedies like Sean of the Dead will really enjoy this one.
Sunday, March 03, 2019
Brides, Birds, and Men of Steel
Began a cloudy morning with Banana Pancakes two musicals by director Stanley Donen, who passed away last week. Began with the soundtrack from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which I have on the B-side of an LP with the 1954 Rose Marie. While there isn't enough space for "The Barn Raising Ballet," all of the other songs from the film are included. This tale of a feisty lass who marries an Oregon farmer and eventually encourages his six younger brothers to marry as well is a long-time favorite in my family, especially with my brother and late stepfather. My favorite numbers are Jane Powell's "Wonderful, Wonderful Day," "Goin' Courtin'" for Powell and the brothers, and "Spring, Spring, Spring" for the brothers and their ladies when they're celebrating the end of the snow and the arrival of new life.
Decided to do something different with Singin' In the Rain. I have the deluxe 2-disc CD edition that includes the original versions of the songs in the film on the second disc. These are the music from the films the songs were taken from, ranging from Charles King performing the title song of The Broadway Melody to Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney's spirited "Good Morning." I also like Jeanette MacDonald's rendition of "Would You" from the early disaster film San Francisco and June Knight and a surprisingly decent Robert Taylor having fun with "I've Got a Feelin' Your Foolin'" from The Broadway Melody of 1936.
Played some Angry Birds Star Wars next. The Wii comes with 10 "Bonus Rounds" representing each world...but not with the rounds for Return of the Jedi, which apparently came out online after the disc was released. Bummer. There's only 10 rounds for The Boba Fett Missions as well, but I'm going to move on to them next time anyway, if only to finish out the game.
Finally headed to the laundromat around 1:30-2 PM. I should have gone earlier. They were packed when I got there. For once, I actually had a harder time finding a dryer than a washer. I worked on story notes and half-listened to the New York Rangers-Washington Capitols game that was on the TV. (The Capitols eventually won, by the way, 3-2.)
Put everything away that I could (some things still needed to dry), then went on the computer to start winding down my Han/Robin Hood story. Instead of going straight upstairs, he and Yoda are surrounded by Admiral Piett and a squad of guards. They're rescued by the arrival of Chewbacca, Leia, Thomas, Artoo, and several diminutive but aggressive peasants from the fair. It takes Artoo's nose to figure out where Vader has taken Luke and lead the others to him...
Since I had a little bit of extra time, I wound down with a bath. Ahhh. After everything that's gone on in the past month, never mind the past week, I seriously needed it. I looked over some of my self-help books while listening to my George Shearing Quintet Black Satin/White Satin CD.
Finished off the night online with something unique on YouTube. Musicals and superheroes are not normally the best combination - witness the failure of Spider Man, Turn Off the Dark about a decade ago. An earlier musical, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, did even worse, shuttering after three months. For some reason, they attempted to do it as a 90 minute TV film in 1975. On one hand, there's a terrific cast, including Leslie Ann Warren as Lois Lane, Kenneth Mars as egotistical columnist Max Mencken, Loretta Swift as his secretary Sydney, and David Wayne as mad scientist Dr. Abner Segwick. The by-then offensive villainous Chinese acrobats were replaced by goofy mobsters who aren't any fonder of Superman (one of them is Al Taliferro of Happy Days and The Odd Couple).
On one hand, there's a couple of decent numbers. The gangsters get the one new song written for the show, the hilarious "It's a Free Country," while Mars and Warren have a great time with "You're the Woman for the Man." Mars and Wayne make great villains, too, especially in their reprise of "You've Got What I Need."
Alas, some of the songs (including the only standard from this score, "You've Got Possibilities"), are marred by attempts at updated tempos. Warren is too gushy and gosh-golly, and the Superman, David Wilson, is skinny, bland, and annoying whether he's the Man of Steel or Clark Kent. No wonder Lois doesn't see him. Not to mention, the sets are ridiculously cheap, with Superman easily breaking through them (though this does lead to a decent gag when bricks spill out whenever he leaps into the obviously thin paper).
If you're a fan of musicals, Superman, or anyone in the cast, this is worth a look once for curiosity's sake if you can handle the cheese.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!
Incidentally, it started raining lightly on my way home. By the time I was writing, the rain had turned into a downpour, and then into about an inch of snow. It switched back to rain sometime around dinner, and from what I can hear, has been rain ever since.
Decided to do something different with Singin' In the Rain. I have the deluxe 2-disc CD edition that includes the original versions of the songs in the film on the second disc. These are the music from the films the songs were taken from, ranging from Charles King performing the title song of The Broadway Melody to Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney's spirited "Good Morning." I also like Jeanette MacDonald's rendition of "Would You" from the early disaster film San Francisco and June Knight and a surprisingly decent Robert Taylor having fun with "I've Got a Feelin' Your Foolin'" from The Broadway Melody of 1936.
Played some Angry Birds Star Wars next. The Wii comes with 10 "Bonus Rounds" representing each world...but not with the rounds for Return of the Jedi, which apparently came out online after the disc was released. Bummer. There's only 10 rounds for The Boba Fett Missions as well, but I'm going to move on to them next time anyway, if only to finish out the game.
Finally headed to the laundromat around 1:30-2 PM. I should have gone earlier. They were packed when I got there. For once, I actually had a harder time finding a dryer than a washer. I worked on story notes and half-listened to the New York Rangers-Washington Capitols game that was on the TV. (The Capitols eventually won, by the way, 3-2.)
Put everything away that I could (some things still needed to dry), then went on the computer to start winding down my Han/Robin Hood story. Instead of going straight upstairs, he and Yoda are surrounded by Admiral Piett and a squad of guards. They're rescued by the arrival of Chewbacca, Leia, Thomas, Artoo, and several diminutive but aggressive peasants from the fair. It takes Artoo's nose to figure out where Vader has taken Luke and lead the others to him...
Since I had a little bit of extra time, I wound down with a bath. Ahhh. After everything that's gone on in the past month, never mind the past week, I seriously needed it. I looked over some of my self-help books while listening to my George Shearing Quintet Black Satin/White Satin CD.
Finished off the night online with something unique on YouTube. Musicals and superheroes are not normally the best combination - witness the failure of Spider Man, Turn Off the Dark about a decade ago. An earlier musical, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, did even worse, shuttering after three months. For some reason, they attempted to do it as a 90 minute TV film in 1975. On one hand, there's a terrific cast, including Leslie Ann Warren as Lois Lane, Kenneth Mars as egotistical columnist Max Mencken, Loretta Swift as his secretary Sydney, and David Wayne as mad scientist Dr. Abner Segwick. The by-then offensive villainous Chinese acrobats were replaced by goofy mobsters who aren't any fonder of Superman (one of them is Al Taliferro of Happy Days and The Odd Couple).
On one hand, there's a couple of decent numbers. The gangsters get the one new song written for the show, the hilarious "It's a Free Country," while Mars and Warren have a great time with "You're the Woman for the Man." Mars and Wayne make great villains, too, especially in their reprise of "You've Got What I Need."
Alas, some of the songs (including the only standard from this score, "You've Got Possibilities"), are marred by attempts at updated tempos. Warren is too gushy and gosh-golly, and the Superman, David Wilson, is skinny, bland, and annoying whether he's the Man of Steel or Clark Kent. No wonder Lois doesn't see him. Not to mention, the sets are ridiculously cheap, with Superman easily breaking through them (though this does lead to a decent gag when bricks spill out whenever he leaps into the obviously thin paper).
If you're a fan of musicals, Superman, or anyone in the cast, this is worth a look once for curiosity's sake if you can handle the cheese.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!
Incidentally, it started raining lightly on my way home. By the time I was writing, the rain had turned into a downpour, and then into about an inch of snow. It switched back to rain sometime around dinner, and from what I can hear, has been rain ever since.
Saturday, March 02, 2019
Tonight, Tonight
I'd been up for a half-hour this morning when the phone rang. Yes, it was the Acme. When could I come in? They'd had a call out. I originally said noon, but they talked me into 11:30.
That at least gave me enough time for leftover pepperoni pizza and strawberries for breakfast and an episode of Wonder Woman. It's "A Date With Doomsday" when a man who stole a vial containing a deadly virus from a government research lab turns out to have recently been to a certain dating service. Diana Prince checks out the service after the older cleaning lady who works at the lab reveals they also tried to brainwash her and Diana becomes concerned that they have something even more sinister in mind for the vial.
Headed straight to work as soon as Diana ended. To my surprise, work was on-and-off steady all afternoon. The way the manager talked this morning, I thought it would be a lot busier. I got stuck in the register all day. I spent half the day standing around, especially early-on. The manager said I was fine, but I'm not so sure. I felt frazzled, stressed, and even more tired afterwards than I ever was pushing carts. Dealing with people constantly is really wearying for me. I bought a few things for dinner, including a loaf of Italian bread that was free with a coupon from the Monopoly game, and a set of Gene Kelly musicals that included one I didn't have, Brigadoon.
Did some writing when I got home. Han and Yoda head upstairs, trying to find Luke and Leia. Han hears Luke shouting and rushes to Palpatine's suites, where he proceeds to smash the door down.
Broke for dinner around 7. Had a meatball sandwich and salad while watching an episode of Sailor Moon from the fourth season. In "Makoto's Friendship: A Girl Who Admired Pegasus," she reveals to the Guardians that she had known the author of a popular novel about a girl who loves a Pegasus in school and had encouraged her to publish her work. When they visit her, they learn that the young woman has lost her inspiration and her muse and believes she'll never write again. Makoto is determined to prove that inspiration can come from anywhere, and to protect her friend when she's targeted by Tiger's Eye.
Played Angry Birds Star Wars for an hour and a half after dinner, while sipping hot chocolate for dessert. Cloud City adds vents of steam that can direct your bird upwards and let them hit higher objects. This made for a couple of especially difficult rounds, including the "boss round" where you have to use each character to break barriers and get to Vader. Leia also gets an upgrade and is now able to pull apart larger structures.
Ended the night on a more sober note with West Side Story. I go into further details on this tragic romance on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
West Side Story
That at least gave me enough time for leftover pepperoni pizza and strawberries for breakfast and an episode of Wonder Woman. It's "A Date With Doomsday" when a man who stole a vial containing a deadly virus from a government research lab turns out to have recently been to a certain dating service. Diana Prince checks out the service after the older cleaning lady who works at the lab reveals they also tried to brainwash her and Diana becomes concerned that they have something even more sinister in mind for the vial.
Headed straight to work as soon as Diana ended. To my surprise, work was on-and-off steady all afternoon. The way the manager talked this morning, I thought it would be a lot busier. I got stuck in the register all day. I spent half the day standing around, especially early-on. The manager said I was fine, but I'm not so sure. I felt frazzled, stressed, and even more tired afterwards than I ever was pushing carts. Dealing with people constantly is really wearying for me. I bought a few things for dinner, including a loaf of Italian bread that was free with a coupon from the Monopoly game, and a set of Gene Kelly musicals that included one I didn't have, Brigadoon.
Did some writing when I got home. Han and Yoda head upstairs, trying to find Luke and Leia. Han hears Luke shouting and rushes to Palpatine's suites, where he proceeds to smash the door down.
Broke for dinner around 7. Had a meatball sandwich and salad while watching an episode of Sailor Moon from the fourth season. In "Makoto's Friendship: A Girl Who Admired Pegasus," she reveals to the Guardians that she had known the author of a popular novel about a girl who loves a Pegasus in school and had encouraged her to publish her work. When they visit her, they learn that the young woman has lost her inspiration and her muse and believes she'll never write again. Makoto is determined to prove that inspiration can come from anywhere, and to protect her friend when she's targeted by Tiger's Eye.
Played Angry Birds Star Wars for an hour and a half after dinner, while sipping hot chocolate for dessert. Cloud City adds vents of steam that can direct your bird upwards and let them hit higher objects. This made for a couple of especially difficult rounds, including the "boss round" where you have to use each character to break barriers and get to Vader. Leia also gets an upgrade and is now able to pull apart larger structures.
Ended the night on a more sober note with West Side Story. I go into further details on this tragic romance on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
West Side Story
Friday, March 01, 2019
March Goes In Like a Lion
A lot of people mentioned yesterday that we were supposed to get snow early this morning. We did, about the same two inches we've been getting all winter. It was still cloudy when I was watching Frosty's Winter Wonderland and making oatmeal and mandarin oranges for breakfast. Frosty has returned, but he's lonely when the kids go home. To help him feel better, the kids create a "snow wife" to his specifications. Trouble is, she's not "all livin'" like he is. Meanwhile, a jealous Jack Frost wants to get his hands on Frosty's top had and eliminated the competition once and for all!
Went to work shortly after the cartoon ended. By the time I got in at 10:15, the snow was winding down. Only the grass was white; the snow never stuck to paved surfaces. The roads and parking lot were perfectly fine. I spent most of the morning finishing the candy and doing returns, and most of the afternoon doing carts. Other than getting briefly stuck in a register when we were crazy-busy around noon, there were no problems whatsoever. It snowed briefly again around 12:30, but otherwise was cloudy, damp, and chilly, but not as bad as yesterday.
My schedule next week is pretty darn good. I have Sunday, Thursday, and next Saturday off, two early days in a row, and the latest I work is 4 on Friday. Good. I'll get a lot done, including online job hunting and cleaning, and be able to avoid at least some of the nasty cold and rain we're supposed to get next week.
Did my grocery shopping as soon as I finished work. It was pretty dead by quarter after 4, which was a very good thing. I needed a lot of groceries this week! Two-pound containers of strawberries were on sale; pears are cheap, too. There was a really good coupon online for the Acme's generic frozen pizza. I picked up pepperoni for dinner. Also restocked brown sugar, peanut butter, jelly (actually, orange marmalade), ground turkey, shampoo, tomato sauce, skim milk, yogurt, butter, molasses, and canned mandarin oranges.
Headed straight home after work. Since it was already so late, I tossed the pizza in the oven for an early dinner, along with a baked apple. Ran Jack Frost while I baked and put everything away. Technically, this is a Groundhog's Day special, but it does involve winter. The title character falls in love with Elisa, romantic human girl. He convinces Father Winter to make him a human for one winter in order to woo her. He's not the only one interested in the girl, though. Elisa is far more interested in a handsome knight who's returned from the Crusades than a human Jack. There's also the Cossack King, a man so nasty, his army and household are all made of metal, to contend with. Jack commands a huge blizzard to keep the Cossack King and his army from causing trouble...but he needs a sign from a certain little groundhog to be able to continue...
Switched to a Backyardigans episode as I cleaned up from dinner. Uniqua, Tyrone, and Pablo are convinced that Tasha's "High Tea" will be boring. Not the way she does it! She leads the kids from the treetops of Borneo to the palace of the grumpy Chinese emperor Austin to the geysers of the Gobi Desert in the search for the perfect cup of tea.
Did a little bit of writing after the cartoon ended. Yoda offers to lead Han into the castle to find Luke and Leia. He sends Lando to use his horse Falcon and his cart to get around Prince Palpatine and aid the villagers.
Took a shower around quarter after 8. Finished the night with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. After learning how Indy got his hat and whip and sought the Cross of Coronado in the opening sequence, we return to the college where he works. Indy turns the Cross over to his good friend, museum owner Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot). Two men bring him to industrialist Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), who has clues to the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, the cup that belonged to Jesus. He's not that interested, until Donovan tells him that his father, Grail expert Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), has gone missing in Venice. Indy knows something's wrong when he finds his father's much-loved Grail diary, a record of his long search, in the mail.
He's met by Austrian professor Dr. Elsa Schinder (Allison Doody) in Venice. She not only helps him find the next clues in the catacombs under a church, but helps him deal with the Brotherhood, a group of men determined to keep the Grail safe. Even after Indy finds his father, he learns that several of his co-horts are not what they seem. He'll have to dive into the heart of Nazi Germany, and then to a temple filled with heart-stopping traps, to find the Grail and keep it out of the Nazis' hands.
This is my favorite of the Indiana Jones films, mainly for the byplay between Connery and Ford. They're so funny and natural together that they make the movie a treat to watch. There's also some of the best action sequences of the entire series, including the chase through the desert in the Middle East, the boat chase in Venice, and the motorcycle ride in Germany. Highly recommended, especially if you're new to the series - this and Raiders are good places to start.
And...it started to rain hard around the time I started writing, and has been pouring ever since. I didn't think the snow would last long again. Considering how cold it's supposed to get next week, maybe it's just as well.
Went to work shortly after the cartoon ended. By the time I got in at 10:15, the snow was winding down. Only the grass was white; the snow never stuck to paved surfaces. The roads and parking lot were perfectly fine. I spent most of the morning finishing the candy and doing returns, and most of the afternoon doing carts. Other than getting briefly stuck in a register when we were crazy-busy around noon, there were no problems whatsoever. It snowed briefly again around 12:30, but otherwise was cloudy, damp, and chilly, but not as bad as yesterday.
My schedule next week is pretty darn good. I have Sunday, Thursday, and next Saturday off, two early days in a row, and the latest I work is 4 on Friday. Good. I'll get a lot done, including online job hunting and cleaning, and be able to avoid at least some of the nasty cold and rain we're supposed to get next week.
Did my grocery shopping as soon as I finished work. It was pretty dead by quarter after 4, which was a very good thing. I needed a lot of groceries this week! Two-pound containers of strawberries were on sale; pears are cheap, too. There was a really good coupon online for the Acme's generic frozen pizza. I picked up pepperoni for dinner. Also restocked brown sugar, peanut butter, jelly (actually, orange marmalade), ground turkey, shampoo, tomato sauce, skim milk, yogurt, butter, molasses, and canned mandarin oranges.
Headed straight home after work. Since it was already so late, I tossed the pizza in the oven for an early dinner, along with a baked apple. Ran Jack Frost while I baked and put everything away. Technically, this is a Groundhog's Day special, but it does involve winter. The title character falls in love with Elisa, romantic human girl. He convinces Father Winter to make him a human for one winter in order to woo her. He's not the only one interested in the girl, though. Elisa is far more interested in a handsome knight who's returned from the Crusades than a human Jack. There's also the Cossack King, a man so nasty, his army and household are all made of metal, to contend with. Jack commands a huge blizzard to keep the Cossack King and his army from causing trouble...but he needs a sign from a certain little groundhog to be able to continue...
Switched to a Backyardigans episode as I cleaned up from dinner. Uniqua, Tyrone, and Pablo are convinced that Tasha's "High Tea" will be boring. Not the way she does it! She leads the kids from the treetops of Borneo to the palace of the grumpy Chinese emperor Austin to the geysers of the Gobi Desert in the search for the perfect cup of tea.
Did a little bit of writing after the cartoon ended. Yoda offers to lead Han into the castle to find Luke and Leia. He sends Lando to use his horse Falcon and his cart to get around Prince Palpatine and aid the villagers.
Took a shower around quarter after 8. Finished the night with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. After learning how Indy got his hat and whip and sought the Cross of Coronado in the opening sequence, we return to the college where he works. Indy turns the Cross over to his good friend, museum owner Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot). Two men bring him to industrialist Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), who has clues to the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, the cup that belonged to Jesus. He's not that interested, until Donovan tells him that his father, Grail expert Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), has gone missing in Venice. Indy knows something's wrong when he finds his father's much-loved Grail diary, a record of his long search, in the mail.
He's met by Austrian professor Dr. Elsa Schinder (Allison Doody) in Venice. She not only helps him find the next clues in the catacombs under a church, but helps him deal with the Brotherhood, a group of men determined to keep the Grail safe. Even after Indy finds his father, he learns that several of his co-horts are not what they seem. He'll have to dive into the heart of Nazi Germany, and then to a temple filled with heart-stopping traps, to find the Grail and keep it out of the Nazis' hands.
This is my favorite of the Indiana Jones films, mainly for the byplay between Connery and Ford. They're so funny and natural together that they make the movie a treat to watch. There's also some of the best action sequences of the entire series, including the chase through the desert in the Middle East, the boat chase in Venice, and the motorcycle ride in Germany. Highly recommended, especially if you're new to the series - this and Raiders are good places to start.
And...it started to rain hard around the time I started writing, and has been pouring ever since. I didn't think the snow would last long again. Considering how cold it's supposed to get next week, maybe it's just as well.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Green Eggs and Sweet Treats
Kicked off the morning with two of my favorite vintage Dr. Seuss specials while I had breakfast and got ready for work. Dr. Seuss On the Loose is an anthology of three short Seuss tales. "The Sneeches" are yellow creatures who live on the beaches. Sneeches with green stars on their bellies snub those who don't have them, until a monkey con-man and his star-removing and creating machines teaches them a lesson in equality. "The Zax" are a pair of stubborn critters who refuse to move for one another, even when the world continues around them. Sam-I-Am wants everyone to love his favorite dish, "Green Eggs and Ham," and chases one poor guy everywhere to make sure he likes it too!
The Hoober Bloob Highway is even more unusual. Mr. Hoober Bloob and his walking mandolin assistant are in charge of preparing babies in space for their life on Earth. He shows the infant a film that depicts all the ins and outs of being human and what makes us what we are, from where we live to our education to answering life's big questions.
Headed to work even before the cartoon ended. Work was pretty much the same thing as yesterday - dead as a doornail, only getting mildly steady during rush hours. This time, I alternated between gathering carts and baskets and doing the few returns. I also did inside and outside trash and recycling. There was plenty of help for once, and most of it was standing around during the downtime. Besides it being the last day of our sale week and the month, it was just too nice to be doing a lot of shopping. It was sunny and warm when you could get out of the wind, and certainly much nicer than it's supposed to be next week.
Went straight home after I finally got off. Willa called me the moment I got in the door, reminding me to bring the lease and the rent over. I really don't want to agree to her demands, but I have no choice until I can find another place. There's nowhere else I can go. My mother and stepmother are in the midst of preparing to sell their homes, and my sisters don't have enough room.
Rushed downstairs briefly to tighten the seat on my bike. It's been loose ever since I put it back on last week. I don't want to fall off! It seems all right now, but if it starts wiggling again, I may have to see if I can find a new one online.
I tried to work on my story, but I was too darn tired from all the rushing around. I was almost nodding off when I finally broke for dinner at quarter after 7. Had leftovers while finishing Hoober Bloob Highway, then went into making Apple Cinnamon Donuts. They were pretty much Mom's standard recipe with added spices and chunks of apple. I covered the tops in cinnamon sugar instead of glaze. They came out delicious, but even with all the ingredients, more than half of them fell apart when I pulled them out of the pan. Maybe I'll stick to making mini-donuts from now on.
Finished the night with the 1958 musical Gigi. I go further into this elegant tale of turn-of-the-20th-century Paris at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Gigi
The Hoober Bloob Highway is even more unusual. Mr. Hoober Bloob and his walking mandolin assistant are in charge of preparing babies in space for their life on Earth. He shows the infant a film that depicts all the ins and outs of being human and what makes us what we are, from where we live to our education to answering life's big questions.
Headed to work even before the cartoon ended. Work was pretty much the same thing as yesterday - dead as a doornail, only getting mildly steady during rush hours. This time, I alternated between gathering carts and baskets and doing the few returns. I also did inside and outside trash and recycling. There was plenty of help for once, and most of it was standing around during the downtime. Besides it being the last day of our sale week and the month, it was just too nice to be doing a lot of shopping. It was sunny and warm when you could get out of the wind, and certainly much nicer than it's supposed to be next week.
Went straight home after I finally got off. Willa called me the moment I got in the door, reminding me to bring the lease and the rent over. I really don't want to agree to her demands, but I have no choice until I can find another place. There's nowhere else I can go. My mother and stepmother are in the midst of preparing to sell their homes, and my sisters don't have enough room.
Rushed downstairs briefly to tighten the seat on my bike. It's been loose ever since I put it back on last week. I don't want to fall off! It seems all right now, but if it starts wiggling again, I may have to see if I can find a new one online.
I tried to work on my story, but I was too darn tired from all the rushing around. I was almost nodding off when I finally broke for dinner at quarter after 7. Had leftovers while finishing Hoober Bloob Highway, then went into making Apple Cinnamon Donuts. They were pretty much Mom's standard recipe with added spices and chunks of apple. I covered the tops in cinnamon sugar instead of glaze. They came out delicious, but even with all the ingredients, more than half of them fell apart when I pulled them out of the pan. Maybe I'll stick to making mini-donuts from now on.
Finished the night with the 1958 musical Gigi. I go further into this elegant tale of turn-of-the-20th-century Paris at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Gigi
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Finishing the Photos
Started off a cloudy morning with early work. I spent most of the day alternating between doing carts and helping one of the managers to shelve two full carts of candy. Once another bagger came in, I stuck to the candy for most of the rest of the day. I just wish they didn't keep throwing me into a register every time they saw one person on the end of the line. It got a little steady during the noon rush hour; otherwise, it was pretty quiet. I ended up being a little late leaving when the manager wanted me to take back one of the carts of the leftover trash from the candy. Bought myself a pretzel to cheer myself up a bit and because I was a bit hungry from doing the carts earlier.
Went straight home after I finished my snack. Changed and went in the back room to retrieve the Christmas photo albums. I only have three small ones, not nearly as many as the regular photos, and one was literally falling apart. It took me less than an hour and a half to half-fill a shoe box with pictures, weeding out some repeats and photos that were too dark or blurry to tell what they were. At any rate, all of my photos are now in three boxes. Even the regular shoe box I used for the Christmas photos holds more and looks a lot better than those old photo albums! All but the one that fell apart will eventually be donated to Goodwill or the church thrift shop.
Watched more Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I organized. Learning about the great outdoors is the theme of this set. "Daniel Explores Nature" when his family goes to the park for a picnic. Katerina thinks it looks like so much fun, she joins in. They watch birds make their home in a next and get Daniel Sr. to put the nest back in the tree when it falls out. "Daniel's Nature Walk" has him joining O and X the Owl as they go for a stroll in the park. Even a shower can't deter them from their stroll. The boys love seeing a wiggly worm in the mud.
Katerina rejoins Daniel for day at the beach with his mother. They want to collect shells and find a starfish, but Mrs. Tiger warns them not to go too far, not to run, and not to get into the water without her. The kids can't always remember, but they're mostly pretty good at practicing "Safety at the Beach." It's "Neighborhood Clean Up Time" when a windstorm makes a mess of the playground. Everyone pitches in to help gather the debris...except for Katerina, who'd rather dance. Even she learns how important it is to pick up after ourselves when she falls into a pile of debris.
The final two stories revolve around Prince Tuesday's delight in playing with his brother and the little kids in the neighborhood. "Daniel Plays Ball" when Miss Elania makes up a game called Animal Ball that involves making animal sounds before you catch a ball. Dan just cannot catch it, until Prince Tuesday gives him some tips and encourages him to keep trying. He's less happy with Dan and his little brother Prince Wednesday when they play in "The Royal Sandbox" and use his crown to top one of their sand pies. He appreciates them saying "sorry," then asks them to clean up his crown to show that they mean it.
(Skipped "Fruit Picking Day" and "A Trip to the Enchanted Garden," both of which I've done before.)
And I definitely can relate to Dan's inability to catch that ball. I've never been good at catching balls, especially after one hit me hard in the face when I was in the Special Services School. I'll have to see if I can remember Prince Tuesday's suggestion to "give it a hug" when it comes near.
Moved to writing for a while after I cleaned up my mess from the photos. Han manages to get Boba of Gisbourne in the moat. Lando and Zeb bring over a couple of Merry Rebels to fish him out. That's when Han realizes that his three best friends in the world are missing. He, Yoda, and Zeb manage to strong-arm Lando into telling him where Leia, Luke, and Chewie went.
Had dinner at 6:30. Along with the last leftover chicken sausage, I made the most delicious warm salad of boiled broccoli and cauliflower and pasta over romaine lettuce, with home-made Caesar dressing and cheese. Made Ally's "Snappy" Ginger Snaps from my Beanie Baby handbook/cookbook for dessert.
Watched Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie while I ate. The Sailor Guardians are horrified to learn that strange beings have been kidnapping children all over the world. When Chibi-Usa becomes their next target, they spring into action. Turns out that they're dream fairies who have been ordered by a witch to bring her children to feed her Black Dream Hole in the hopes of swallowing the Earth! Sailor Moon teams up with a dream fairy to befriended Chibi-Usa to stop her and save her daughter.
Finished the night while the cookies cooled with more Angry Birds Star Wars. Returned to Dagobah for the final rounds of "Path of the Jedi." These were really hard. You could only use Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, or occasionally one of the pilot birds that split into threes. More often than not, it involved Han shooting or Luke aiming shots from a round droid just the right way to bring down objects that would make the whole frame collapse. At any rate, I did get the award, and Luke now has a longer and more powerful lightsaber.
Went straight home after I finished my snack. Changed and went in the back room to retrieve the Christmas photo albums. I only have three small ones, not nearly as many as the regular photos, and one was literally falling apart. It took me less than an hour and a half to half-fill a shoe box with pictures, weeding out some repeats and photos that were too dark or blurry to tell what they were. At any rate, all of my photos are now in three boxes. Even the regular shoe box I used for the Christmas photos holds more and looks a lot better than those old photo albums! All but the one that fell apart will eventually be donated to Goodwill or the church thrift shop.
Watched more Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I organized. Learning about the great outdoors is the theme of this set. "Daniel Explores Nature" when his family goes to the park for a picnic. Katerina thinks it looks like so much fun, she joins in. They watch birds make their home in a next and get Daniel Sr. to put the nest back in the tree when it falls out. "Daniel's Nature Walk" has him joining O and X the Owl as they go for a stroll in the park. Even a shower can't deter them from their stroll. The boys love seeing a wiggly worm in the mud.
Katerina rejoins Daniel for day at the beach with his mother. They want to collect shells and find a starfish, but Mrs. Tiger warns them not to go too far, not to run, and not to get into the water without her. The kids can't always remember, but they're mostly pretty good at practicing "Safety at the Beach." It's "Neighborhood Clean Up Time" when a windstorm makes a mess of the playground. Everyone pitches in to help gather the debris...except for Katerina, who'd rather dance. Even she learns how important it is to pick up after ourselves when she falls into a pile of debris.
The final two stories revolve around Prince Tuesday's delight in playing with his brother and the little kids in the neighborhood. "Daniel Plays Ball" when Miss Elania makes up a game called Animal Ball that involves making animal sounds before you catch a ball. Dan just cannot catch it, until Prince Tuesday gives him some tips and encourages him to keep trying. He's less happy with Dan and his little brother Prince Wednesday when they play in "The Royal Sandbox" and use his crown to top one of their sand pies. He appreciates them saying "sorry," then asks them to clean up his crown to show that they mean it.
(Skipped "Fruit Picking Day" and "A Trip to the Enchanted Garden," both of which I've done before.)
And I definitely can relate to Dan's inability to catch that ball. I've never been good at catching balls, especially after one hit me hard in the face when I was in the Special Services School. I'll have to see if I can remember Prince Tuesday's suggestion to "give it a hug" when it comes near.
Moved to writing for a while after I cleaned up my mess from the photos. Han manages to get Boba of Gisbourne in the moat. Lando and Zeb bring over a couple of Merry Rebels to fish him out. That's when Han realizes that his three best friends in the world are missing. He, Yoda, and Zeb manage to strong-arm Lando into telling him where Leia, Luke, and Chewie went.
Had dinner at 6:30. Along with the last leftover chicken sausage, I made the most delicious warm salad of boiled broccoli and cauliflower and pasta over romaine lettuce, with home-made Caesar dressing and cheese. Made Ally's "Snappy" Ginger Snaps from my Beanie Baby handbook/cookbook for dessert.
Watched Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie while I ate. The Sailor Guardians are horrified to learn that strange beings have been kidnapping children all over the world. When Chibi-Usa becomes their next target, they spring into action. Turns out that they're dream fairies who have been ordered by a witch to bring her children to feed her Black Dream Hole in the hopes of swallowing the Earth! Sailor Moon teams up with a dream fairy to befriended Chibi-Usa to stop her and save her daughter.
Finished the night while the cookies cooled with more Angry Birds Star Wars. Returned to Dagobah for the final rounds of "Path of the Jedi." These were really hard. You could only use Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, or occasionally one of the pilot birds that split into threes. More often than not, it involved Han shooting or Luke aiming shots from a round droid just the right way to bring down objects that would make the whole frame collapse. At any rate, I did get the award, and Luke now has a longer and more powerful lightsaber.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Blasts From the Past
Kicked off the morning with breakfast and An American In Paris, the Oscar-winning Gene Kelly musical from 1951. I go into further detail on this romantic French tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
An American In Paris
The movie was almost done when Charlie called and said there were packages for me downstairs. That was a surprise. I hadn't ordered anything. Turned out they were from my mom. She sent me all my remaining childhood and school paraphernalia that she had at her house, including photos, my college degree (I have my high school degree - don't know how she ended up with the college one), and various awards and notices from high school. She even dug up the first poems I ever wrote, one entitled "Blue" that I believe I wrote around fourth or fifth grade, and one called "Snow" that I wrote in the Cape May County Middle School in 1991. The latter was even published in the school's newsletter. (And they were surprisingly mature for short poems I wrote when I was between 10 and 12.)
Mom sent all my childhood photos in a pretty black-and-cream box with fuzzy flower details. Not only were there pictures of me going back to when I was born, but she tossed in a couple of photos of Keefe, my sisters, her and Dad-Bill, and even one of a too-cute toddler Jessa. I was inspired by this to finally put all my photos together into boxes and get them out of aging, falling-apart photo books.
I called her to thank her for the boxes. She said she's been going through her house, trying to clear out things that she thought we'd want while she was still around. She spoke highly of all the awards Keefe, Rose, and I won for sports, music, and academics in high school (Anny...did her own thing) and praised the wonderful children she raised...and the wonderful adults we've become.
Went back to Buck Rogers while I worked on the photos. "The Satyr" reminds me a bit of another pioneers-in-unusual-places TV episode from the early 80's, "The Lady and the Tiger" from Tales of the Gold Monkey. Rather than being menaced by a tiger, the pioneer woman and her son whom Buck discovers on a mostly-uninhabited planet are under attack by a strange group of satyrs, men with horns and legs like goats. One seems especially interested in the mother and her child. Buck doesn't understand why, until he's bitten by a Satyr and starts turning into one himself.
Finally got hungry enough for lunch and put the photos aside around 1:30. Had a slice of cheese pizza, a slice of mushroom, and a can of Pepsi Cherry Vanilla at Phillies Phatties down the street. There were a couple of guys eating at tables and watching the NFL Live on ESPN, but it was mostly pretty quiet.
Next stop was the Haddon Township Library. They were saving all the DVDs but the regular titles to be returned later in the week, which didn't leave me with much to do. I put away the regular titles, then picked up a couple of movies and two more novels. I'm not up to anything really heavy this week. With all the trouble I've had lately, the British sci-fi movie Attack the Block is about as dark as I'm in the mood to get. I also decided for another blast from my past with Top Gun, and found more Daniel Tiger and the World War 1-set Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero in the children's section. Continued with the next Bryant and May title (after White Corridor, which I've already read), The Victoria Vanishes. Having had luck with one pair of quirky British detectives, I thought I'd go even stranger with one of the two Thursday Next novels the library has, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing.
Made two quick stops on the way home. AC Moore did have boxes for photos (and shoes), but they were all up high. I was glad I found a step ladder sitting around so I could reach one. They didn't have any boxes or anything for photos at Target. (And I forgot the other reason I was there, which was for shampoo.)
Returned to the photos after I got in. I decided I really wanted to get at least the regular photos finished. (The Christmas pictures will require at least one box to themselves and will be done tomorrow after work.) There were so many wonderful memories in those pictures! My favorite of the many with Keefe was an adorable shot of him beaming while looking over a coffee table with his stuffed Pikachu. (I'm pretty sure I'm the one who bought that Pikachu for him from the KayBee toy store in the Hamilton Mall.) Found photos of the last wedding I attended before Dana and Jesse's last year, the union of two of our neighbors (whose daughters I frequently babysat and were friends of Keefe's) at the fire hall in North Cape May in I believe the late 90's.
It was especially nice to see the childhood pictures again. There were a lot of Mom and a heavily bearded Bruce and tiny little me in their original home in Roseman's Boatyard in Cape May in the early 80's. Mom, Rose, and I spent my toddler years at her mother's home on the northern end of Cape Island. There's a couple of pictures of the great Alice In Wonderland costume Mom made for me when I was about 4.
She even sent my old school pictures and elementary class photos. I can't believe how early 90's I dressed in the Special Services Middle School and my freshman year of high school, in chunky floral pantsuits and tunics and long, dangling earrings that had to hurt my ears. (Not because they were heavy, but because my ears are sensitive and don't like cheap metal backs.)
The elementary class photos are also pretty interesting. Having started kindergarten in 1984, the outfits on the kids ran the gamut from little girls in frilly pink and flowered dresses with drop waists and boys in ties and tight slacks, to girls in skinny ties, vests, frizzy hair, and suspenders and boys in thick primary-colored sweaters, heavy jeans, and high tops by the time of fifth grade in 1989. (And some of the boys made some pretty goofy faces in the late 80's, too.)
Finished out Buck Rogers while I worked on the photos, and later as I ate leftovers for dinner. It's Snow Wilma and the Seven Generals when the Searcher come across seven little men on a bomb-running mission in "Shgoratchx!" The little fellows prove to be more of a harm than a help, using their telekinetic powers to get into everything on the ship and constantly annoying Wilma, who looks like no other woman they've ever seen. They accidentally damage the brain of obnoxious main brain robot Crichton...which may prove more damaging than any of their pranks when the ship heads straight for a star, and only Crichton's abilities can steer them clear of it.
"The Hand of Goral" gets even stranger. Buck, Hawk, and Wilma pick up a distressed pilot, but they return to a Searcher that's much-changed from the one they knew. The layout is different, and almost everyone is acting the opposite of their usual selves. Crichton is even friendly towards them! They have to figure out what's going on...and keep that seemingly innocent pilot from doing any real damage.
Buck himself is under fire in "Testimony of a Traitor" when an Earth general accuses him of working with the people who brought about the nuclear holocaust that destroyed the planet. Buck has no memories of any of this. Dr. Goodfellow uses a machine to uncover his repressed memories...and then, Wilma and Hawk race him to Mount Rushmore to see if they can prompt anything else.
It's the Searcher that's in trouble in the final episode, "The Dorian Secret." A race of masked beings known as the Dorians demand that Buck hand over a young woman of their own race hiding among a group of passengers who has been accused of murder. While Buck tries to convince both the crew and the Dorians that the woman is innocent, the Dorians' altering of the temperature in the ship cause the passengers to riot and decide to turn the woman in themselves.
(Disc 4 ends with the original two-part TV versions of the pilot episode. I already did that one once and wasn't really eager to do it again.)
And...that's it. The show was evidently canned mid-season. To be honest, I sort of agree with Buck himself, Gil Geraud, about the series' all-over-the-place tone. The second season in particular could veer from deadly serious ("Mark of the Saurian," "Testimony of a Traitor") to ridiculously over-the-top ("Shgoratchx!", "The Golden Man") in the space of an episode or two. I also suspect that neither season used much of Buck's original comics adventures besides Wilma, Kane, and Ardala (and the latter two vanished after the retool). Both seasons felt more late 70's/early 80's disco than 30's sci-fi, with everyone running around in short skirts and tight pants and tons of cleavage seen on both genders.
That said, I really enjoyed the series as a whole. It may be goofy, but there's a lot that does work, from some nice performances to some of the more interesting stories, like the first season's "A Dream of Jennifer" and "Mark of the Saurian" from the second season. Mel Blanc was a hilarious Twiki (glad they brought him back for the latter half of season 2), and Gray and Geraud made a fetching pair. I also enjoyed some of the more fun characters in the second season; genial Dr. Goodfellow and stuffy Crichton have a lot more personality than Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis.
I'm actually a bit surprised no one has tried to reboot this for a modern audience. It might actually be pretty cool to see what they could do with this story now, especially with the current drive to adapt anything that comes from a comic book. At any rate, if you have fond memories of this show like I do or are a fan of the campier sci-fi shows of the late 70's and early 80's, you'll have as much fun visiting this literal blast from the past as I have.
An American In Paris
The movie was almost done when Charlie called and said there were packages for me downstairs. That was a surprise. I hadn't ordered anything. Turned out they were from my mom. She sent me all my remaining childhood and school paraphernalia that she had at her house, including photos, my college degree (I have my high school degree - don't know how she ended up with the college one), and various awards and notices from high school. She even dug up the first poems I ever wrote, one entitled "Blue" that I believe I wrote around fourth or fifth grade, and one called "Snow" that I wrote in the Cape May County Middle School in 1991. The latter was even published in the school's newsletter. (And they were surprisingly mature for short poems I wrote when I was between 10 and 12.)
Mom sent all my childhood photos in a pretty black-and-cream box with fuzzy flower details. Not only were there pictures of me going back to when I was born, but she tossed in a couple of photos of Keefe, my sisters, her and Dad-Bill, and even one of a too-cute toddler Jessa. I was inspired by this to finally put all my photos together into boxes and get them out of aging, falling-apart photo books.
I called her to thank her for the boxes. She said she's been going through her house, trying to clear out things that she thought we'd want while she was still around. She spoke highly of all the awards Keefe, Rose, and I won for sports, music, and academics in high school (Anny...did her own thing) and praised the wonderful children she raised...and the wonderful adults we've become.
Went back to Buck Rogers while I worked on the photos. "The Satyr" reminds me a bit of another pioneers-in-unusual-places TV episode from the early 80's, "The Lady and the Tiger" from Tales of the Gold Monkey. Rather than being menaced by a tiger, the pioneer woman and her son whom Buck discovers on a mostly-uninhabited planet are under attack by a strange group of satyrs, men with horns and legs like goats. One seems especially interested in the mother and her child. Buck doesn't understand why, until he's bitten by a Satyr and starts turning into one himself.
Finally got hungry enough for lunch and put the photos aside around 1:30. Had a slice of cheese pizza, a slice of mushroom, and a can of Pepsi Cherry Vanilla at Phillies Phatties down the street. There were a couple of guys eating at tables and watching the NFL Live on ESPN, but it was mostly pretty quiet.
Next stop was the Haddon Township Library. They were saving all the DVDs but the regular titles to be returned later in the week, which didn't leave me with much to do. I put away the regular titles, then picked up a couple of movies and two more novels. I'm not up to anything really heavy this week. With all the trouble I've had lately, the British sci-fi movie Attack the Block is about as dark as I'm in the mood to get. I also decided for another blast from my past with Top Gun, and found more Daniel Tiger and the World War 1-set Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero in the children's section. Continued with the next Bryant and May title (after White Corridor, which I've already read), The Victoria Vanishes. Having had luck with one pair of quirky British detectives, I thought I'd go even stranger with one of the two Thursday Next novels the library has, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing.
Made two quick stops on the way home. AC Moore did have boxes for photos (and shoes), but they were all up high. I was glad I found a step ladder sitting around so I could reach one. They didn't have any boxes or anything for photos at Target. (And I forgot the other reason I was there, which was for shampoo.)
Returned to the photos after I got in. I decided I really wanted to get at least the regular photos finished. (The Christmas pictures will require at least one box to themselves and will be done tomorrow after work.) There were so many wonderful memories in those pictures! My favorite of the many with Keefe was an adorable shot of him beaming while looking over a coffee table with his stuffed Pikachu. (I'm pretty sure I'm the one who bought that Pikachu for him from the KayBee toy store in the Hamilton Mall.) Found photos of the last wedding I attended before Dana and Jesse's last year, the union of two of our neighbors (whose daughters I frequently babysat and were friends of Keefe's) at the fire hall in North Cape May in I believe the late 90's.
It was especially nice to see the childhood pictures again. There were a lot of Mom and a heavily bearded Bruce and tiny little me in their original home in Roseman's Boatyard in Cape May in the early 80's. Mom, Rose, and I spent my toddler years at her mother's home on the northern end of Cape Island. There's a couple of pictures of the great Alice In Wonderland costume Mom made for me when I was about 4.
She even sent my old school pictures and elementary class photos. I can't believe how early 90's I dressed in the Special Services Middle School and my freshman year of high school, in chunky floral pantsuits and tunics and long, dangling earrings that had to hurt my ears. (Not because they were heavy, but because my ears are sensitive and don't like cheap metal backs.)
The elementary class photos are also pretty interesting. Having started kindergarten in 1984, the outfits on the kids ran the gamut from little girls in frilly pink and flowered dresses with drop waists and boys in ties and tight slacks, to girls in skinny ties, vests, frizzy hair, and suspenders and boys in thick primary-colored sweaters, heavy jeans, and high tops by the time of fifth grade in 1989. (And some of the boys made some pretty goofy faces in the late 80's, too.)
Finished out Buck Rogers while I worked on the photos, and later as I ate leftovers for dinner. It's Snow Wilma and the Seven Generals when the Searcher come across seven little men on a bomb-running mission in "Shgoratchx!" The little fellows prove to be more of a harm than a help, using their telekinetic powers to get into everything on the ship and constantly annoying Wilma, who looks like no other woman they've ever seen. They accidentally damage the brain of obnoxious main brain robot Crichton...which may prove more damaging than any of their pranks when the ship heads straight for a star, and only Crichton's abilities can steer them clear of it.
"The Hand of Goral" gets even stranger. Buck, Hawk, and Wilma pick up a distressed pilot, but they return to a Searcher that's much-changed from the one they knew. The layout is different, and almost everyone is acting the opposite of their usual selves. Crichton is even friendly towards them! They have to figure out what's going on...and keep that seemingly innocent pilot from doing any real damage.
Buck himself is under fire in "Testimony of a Traitor" when an Earth general accuses him of working with the people who brought about the nuclear holocaust that destroyed the planet. Buck has no memories of any of this. Dr. Goodfellow uses a machine to uncover his repressed memories...and then, Wilma and Hawk race him to Mount Rushmore to see if they can prompt anything else.
It's the Searcher that's in trouble in the final episode, "The Dorian Secret." A race of masked beings known as the Dorians demand that Buck hand over a young woman of their own race hiding among a group of passengers who has been accused of murder. While Buck tries to convince both the crew and the Dorians that the woman is innocent, the Dorians' altering of the temperature in the ship cause the passengers to riot and decide to turn the woman in themselves.
(Disc 4 ends with the original two-part TV versions of the pilot episode. I already did that one once and wasn't really eager to do it again.)
And...that's it. The show was evidently canned mid-season. To be honest, I sort of agree with Buck himself, Gil Geraud, about the series' all-over-the-place tone. The second season in particular could veer from deadly serious ("Mark of the Saurian," "Testimony of a Traitor") to ridiculously over-the-top ("Shgoratchx!", "The Golden Man") in the space of an episode or two. I also suspect that neither season used much of Buck's original comics adventures besides Wilma, Kane, and Ardala (and the latter two vanished after the retool). Both seasons felt more late 70's/early 80's disco than 30's sci-fi, with everyone running around in short skirts and tight pants and tons of cleavage seen on both genders.
That said, I really enjoyed the series as a whole. It may be goofy, but there's a lot that does work, from some nice performances to some of the more interesting stories, like the first season's "A Dream of Jennifer" and "Mark of the Saurian" from the second season. Mel Blanc was a hilarious Twiki (glad they brought him back for the latter half of season 2), and Gray and Geraud made a fetching pair. I also enjoyed some of the more fun characters in the second season; genial Dr. Goodfellow and stuffy Crichton have a lot more personality than Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis.
I'm actually a bit surprised no one has tried to reboot this for a modern audience. It might actually be pretty cool to see what they could do with this story now, especially with the current drive to adapt anything that comes from a comic book. At any rate, if you have fond memories of this show like I do or are a fan of the campier sci-fi shows of the late 70's and early 80's, you'll have as much fun visiting this literal blast from the past as I have.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Against the Wind
The wind was still howling violently when I awoke this morning. I drowned it out with more Buck Rogers as I ate breakfast and made my bed. "The Golden Boy" is a gold-skinned lad that the Searcher crew finds in a life pod. Shortly after, they get trapped in a an asteroid and can't get loose, even with the boy's metal-altering powers. He claims his larger friend who landed on a near-by planet has stronger powers and can help them. Buck, Hawk, and the boy have to find his taller companion among the members of a medieval-like prison colony, before they use him for their own purposes and an ion storm destroys the ship.
Headed out to get the laundry done after the episode ended. Maybe because it was almost noon by that point, but they were pretty busy. It didn't help that I had a big load, thanks to having put it off for so long. I was lucky to get a washer, but driers were easier to come by. I read a book on finding your calling and ignored the news and soap operas.
Put the laundry away when I got home, then had a quick Coffee-Chocolate-Banana Smoothie for lunch. Cheered myself up with the the Rainbow Brite record I found a while back as I worked. Some of the songs here are just so fun, and they're all much better than the music on my somewhat similar Care Bears record. "Starlite - Rainbow Brite," about Rainbow and her brilliant-maned equine friend, is insanely catchy. I've had it stuck in my head on and off since I listened to it. I also like "Make a Room For a Rainbow Inside" and the Color Kids' "The First Part of Friendship Is Friends."
I had a few errands to run, but the wind was way too wild for the bike. I had a hard enough time getting home from the laundromat! Opted for a short walk instead. My first stop was the Oaklyn Library. I had just enough time to do some quick organizing on the adult DVDs. They're still finishing re-labeling them. The labels for the fantasy/sci-fi section was now done, or mostly done (doesn't look like they finished it) in red. They were surprisingly busy for them, with several people grabbing books or looking up something on the computer before they closed for the afternoon.
I ran into the mother of my friend Erica, Miss Helen, while I was organizing the DVDs. She said she and her other daughter Debbie were on their way to Collingswood and would be willing to take me to Dollar General, which was my next stop. Between the wind and all the hiking I did last week, I wasn't about to look a gift ride in the mouth.
Unlike the library, they actually weren't that busy when they dropped me off. I mainly needed eggs. They're only $1.25 there, much cheaper than they are at the Acme. I was hoping to pick up shampoo, but while their larger Pantene bottles are smaller than the Acme's, they're not that much cheaper. I'll wait for a good sale or hit Rite Aid tomorrow. I did get rubber bands for my hair. I've had mine forever, and they're all stretched out.
I was walking down Manor when Miss Linda, the wife of my former landlord, drove by and offered me another ride. Once again, I figured why not. We had a short chat before I got off at my place. As the grandmother of Khai's friends Bree and Chloe, she knows what's going on with Dad. I told her I'm feeling worthless and stuck...and I am. I feel like I'll never find a use for my abilities. She said I wasn't worthless, and that I shouldn't talk that way. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that.
Did some reading on my newly-made bed for the next hour and a half. Finished out Work Reimagined. I've begun to realize that I've never really had any concrete ideas of what I wanted work to look like. As a young child, I wanted to be a marine biologist because I'd always been around the ocean; a little later in my childhood, I wanted to write because everyone always said I was such a good writer. No one ever said what I should write, or what I should do with it, or what else I could do. The career center at Stockton sat me down in a room filled with books on jobs and told me to pick one. They were otherwise no help whatsoever.
I presumed, after I got out of college, that I'd get a job with a local newspaper or radio station, or I'd become a secretary at a local office, and that would be that. No one in Cape May County wanted me. Turnover at most Cape May County media is rare to non-existent. People keep their jobs down there for as long as thirty years or more - and then they turn their job over to a friend or relative. No one ever needed help. I took the Acme job to earn money while I was in college, not for the rest of my life.
That's the trouble. I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life, besides write and volunteer. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, or what I should be doing. I know it's not retail. I just want something I enjoy to supplement my income, and maybe help me figure out what I can do beyond pushing carts. I'm just so nervous about pushing forward. It's easier to read than it is to move.
Worked on writing around quarter after 4. I think I'm going to try to wrap up my current Robin Hood/Han Solo story earlier than planned. It's not going as well as I'd like. Not only do I have a lot of other things on my mind, but there's at least three or four ideas that I have in my head that are probably more developed than this one. Han tries to get to Luke and Vader, but he's stopped by Sir Boba of Gisbourne, who knows he, Luke, and Leia are in charge of the outlaws. Han gets him to cut off his bonds, and they end up dueling.
Decided I needed a decent dinner for a change, and not just something thrown together. I finally had the pasta with chicken meatballs I was originally going to make last week. Used the spaghetti sauce mix packet from the buy-one, get-one Acme spice pack deal to make my own tasty pasta sauce. Had it over whole-wheat penne pasta, with a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Yum! Ooh, I love the Acme's spaghetti sauce mix. My sauce was nice and tangy; the meatballs were incredibly tender.
Returned to Buck Rogers as I made my meal. Finished out disc 2 with "The Crystals." Buck, Hawk, and Wilma are among a group searching what they believe to be an uninhabited planet for crystals to power the Searcher. They find a muck-covered creature that Buck calls a mummy. They think it's dead, until it goes after their crystals. Meanwhile, Buck encounters a pretty young girl who can't seem to remember anything about herself or where she's from...but the mummy sure seems interested in her. Buck and the others try to save her from this wrapped-up menace, while Crichton and Twiki (the latter now performed by Mel Blanc again) learn more about the planet's previous inhabitants.
Went back to Angry Birds Star Wars after I ate. I'm still working my way through the "Path of the Jedi" rounds to earn an upgraded lightsaber for Luke. The space rounds alternated between being annoyingly tricky and actually kind of easy. A lot of them involve just needing to hit a Darth Porker helmet that's using the Force to hold things up just the right way, causing everything to fall down and destroy the structures and the other pigs.
Finished the night with Three Billboards Outside of Ebbings, Missouri. We head down to the deep south for this story of what people will do when they're grieving, and how different folks handle grief. Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) handles the death of her daughter by buying and painting three billboards with messages that basically indicate that Chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) isn't doing his job. Her daughter was raped and murdered, and no one has caught the killers yet. No one's happy that she did it, especially since Willoughby has cancer and isn't in good shape. While Willoughby is understanding, his obnoxious and racist officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) is far less so. He threatens the man who sold Mildred the billboards and arrests a friend of hers on trumped-up charges. Even her ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes) thinks she should let the billboards go. Mildred is determined to make them stay and have her voice heard, no matter what.
Yow. This is a very, very dark story of how grief and anger can lead people to do some pretty frightening, violent things. McDormand, Abbie Comish as her equally troubled friend, and both of the leading men are excellent; McDormand and Rockwell won Oscars for their strong performances.
This isn't for kids (there's a ton of swearing, some occasionally nasty violence, and a lot of discussion of rape and how justice isn't always done as fast as we'd like), but for adults who are looking for something thoughtful with some incredibly courageous performances, this is a very dark but very interesting look at what grief can do to all of us.
Headed out to get the laundry done after the episode ended. Maybe because it was almost noon by that point, but they were pretty busy. It didn't help that I had a big load, thanks to having put it off for so long. I was lucky to get a washer, but driers were easier to come by. I read a book on finding your calling and ignored the news and soap operas.
Put the laundry away when I got home, then had a quick Coffee-Chocolate-Banana Smoothie for lunch. Cheered myself up with the the Rainbow Brite record I found a while back as I worked. Some of the songs here are just so fun, and they're all much better than the music on my somewhat similar Care Bears record. "Starlite - Rainbow Brite," about Rainbow and her brilliant-maned equine friend, is insanely catchy. I've had it stuck in my head on and off since I listened to it. I also like "Make a Room For a Rainbow Inside" and the Color Kids' "The First Part of Friendship Is Friends."
I had a few errands to run, but the wind was way too wild for the bike. I had a hard enough time getting home from the laundromat! Opted for a short walk instead. My first stop was the Oaklyn Library. I had just enough time to do some quick organizing on the adult DVDs. They're still finishing re-labeling them. The labels for the fantasy/sci-fi section was now done, or mostly done (doesn't look like they finished it) in red. They were surprisingly busy for them, with several people grabbing books or looking up something on the computer before they closed for the afternoon.
I ran into the mother of my friend Erica, Miss Helen, while I was organizing the DVDs. She said she and her other daughter Debbie were on their way to Collingswood and would be willing to take me to Dollar General, which was my next stop. Between the wind and all the hiking I did last week, I wasn't about to look a gift ride in the mouth.
Unlike the library, they actually weren't that busy when they dropped me off. I mainly needed eggs. They're only $1.25 there, much cheaper than they are at the Acme. I was hoping to pick up shampoo, but while their larger Pantene bottles are smaller than the Acme's, they're not that much cheaper. I'll wait for a good sale or hit Rite Aid tomorrow. I did get rubber bands for my hair. I've had mine forever, and they're all stretched out.
I was walking down Manor when Miss Linda, the wife of my former landlord, drove by and offered me another ride. Once again, I figured why not. We had a short chat before I got off at my place. As the grandmother of Khai's friends Bree and Chloe, she knows what's going on with Dad. I told her I'm feeling worthless and stuck...and I am. I feel like I'll never find a use for my abilities. She said I wasn't worthless, and that I shouldn't talk that way. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that.
Did some reading on my newly-made bed for the next hour and a half. Finished out Work Reimagined. I've begun to realize that I've never really had any concrete ideas of what I wanted work to look like. As a young child, I wanted to be a marine biologist because I'd always been around the ocean; a little later in my childhood, I wanted to write because everyone always said I was such a good writer. No one ever said what I should write, or what I should do with it, or what else I could do. The career center at Stockton sat me down in a room filled with books on jobs and told me to pick one. They were otherwise no help whatsoever.
I presumed, after I got out of college, that I'd get a job with a local newspaper or radio station, or I'd become a secretary at a local office, and that would be that. No one in Cape May County wanted me. Turnover at most Cape May County media is rare to non-existent. People keep their jobs down there for as long as thirty years or more - and then they turn their job over to a friend or relative. No one ever needed help. I took the Acme job to earn money while I was in college, not for the rest of my life.
That's the trouble. I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life, besides write and volunteer. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, or what I should be doing. I know it's not retail. I just want something I enjoy to supplement my income, and maybe help me figure out what I can do beyond pushing carts. I'm just so nervous about pushing forward. It's easier to read than it is to move.
Worked on writing around quarter after 4. I think I'm going to try to wrap up my current Robin Hood/Han Solo story earlier than planned. It's not going as well as I'd like. Not only do I have a lot of other things on my mind, but there's at least three or four ideas that I have in my head that are probably more developed than this one. Han tries to get to Luke and Vader, but he's stopped by Sir Boba of Gisbourne, who knows he, Luke, and Leia are in charge of the outlaws. Han gets him to cut off his bonds, and they end up dueling.
Decided I needed a decent dinner for a change, and not just something thrown together. I finally had the pasta with chicken meatballs I was originally going to make last week. Used the spaghetti sauce mix packet from the buy-one, get-one Acme spice pack deal to make my own tasty pasta sauce. Had it over whole-wheat penne pasta, with a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Yum! Ooh, I love the Acme's spaghetti sauce mix. My sauce was nice and tangy; the meatballs were incredibly tender.
Returned to Buck Rogers as I made my meal. Finished out disc 2 with "The Crystals." Buck, Hawk, and Wilma are among a group searching what they believe to be an uninhabited planet for crystals to power the Searcher. They find a muck-covered creature that Buck calls a mummy. They think it's dead, until it goes after their crystals. Meanwhile, Buck encounters a pretty young girl who can't seem to remember anything about herself or where she's from...but the mummy sure seems interested in her. Buck and the others try to save her from this wrapped-up menace, while Crichton and Twiki (the latter now performed by Mel Blanc again) learn more about the planet's previous inhabitants.
Went back to Angry Birds Star Wars after I ate. I'm still working my way through the "Path of the Jedi" rounds to earn an upgraded lightsaber for Luke. The space rounds alternated between being annoyingly tricky and actually kind of easy. A lot of them involve just needing to hit a Darth Porker helmet that's using the Force to hold things up just the right way, causing everything to fall down and destroy the structures and the other pigs.
Finished the night with Three Billboards Outside of Ebbings, Missouri. We head down to the deep south for this story of what people will do when they're grieving, and how different folks handle grief. Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) handles the death of her daughter by buying and painting three billboards with messages that basically indicate that Chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) isn't doing his job. Her daughter was raped and murdered, and no one has caught the killers yet. No one's happy that she did it, especially since Willoughby has cancer and isn't in good shape. While Willoughby is understanding, his obnoxious and racist officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) is far less so. He threatens the man who sold Mildred the billboards and arrests a friend of hers on trumped-up charges. Even her ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes) thinks she should let the billboards go. Mildred is determined to make them stay and have her voice heard, no matter what.
Yow. This is a very, very dark story of how grief and anger can lead people to do some pretty frightening, violent things. McDormand, Abbie Comish as her equally troubled friend, and both of the leading men are excellent; McDormand and Rockwell won Oscars for their strong performances.
This isn't for kids (there's a ton of swearing, some occasionally nasty violence, and a lot of discussion of rape and how justice isn't always done as fast as we'd like), but for adults who are looking for something thoughtful with some incredibly courageous performances, this is a very dark but very interesting look at what grief can do to all of us.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Sunday Morning Coming
I'd been awake for ten minutes around 6:30 when my phone rang. It was Rose, finally calling me back. First of all, she came to the same conclusion I have - between Dad's shaky condition and my even shakier finances, this is a bad time to move. I still want to move - like I've said, I don't feel comfortable here anymore - but not right at this moment. Maybe later this year or early next year.
Second, Rose suggested Uber for a ride on bad-weather days instead of calling or a ride. She, Craig, and Jodie don't always have the time. Only if I absolutely have to. They cost money, and I've never really done anything like a cab or Uber before.
Third, she wants to start a joint account to help me pay for my rent until I get back on my feet. It's nice of her, but I have reservations. That money should be going to her family, not to me. I feel guilty enough about having borrowed money from Dad and Jodie in the past.
It was raining fairly hard when I was talking to Rose. Thankfully, by the time I left for work, it was down to a mild shower. Good thing it did start slowing down. Other than doing a cart with a few returns, I was outside for most of the morning, rounding up carts and doing the trash and recycling. I was supposed to have help later, but I saw the teen girl for all of 20 minutes.
The rain was gone by the time I went home, replaced by heavy winds. I decided to just avoid them and spent the rest of the day at home. Had banana pancakes for lunch while listening to one of my K-Tel albums, Hot Ones. I mainly have this one for the original version of "Thank You For Being a Friend" (which later became the theme song for The Golden Girls). Other good cuts on the one disc I have (the set's second disc is missing) include "Imaginary Lover," "We Just Disagree," and "We'll Never Have to Say Good-Bye."
Played Angry Birds Star Wars for a little while after lunch. Finally finished off the Hoth rounds, including another moving one that requires you to hit Pig Mynocks. While that one wasn't too bad, some of the later ones in space were kind of hard, especially those that needed Han or Luke to aim their lightsaber and gun shots in just the right place.
I had a long week last week, including that hour-and-a-half walk on Tuesday, and I got up early today and immediately had a heartfelt conversation with my sister. Not to mention, it was totally quiet for once. No one was home downstairs or next-door. It was the perfect time for a nap. I hit my bed at quarter of 3 and didn't get up until past 4.
Read Ten-Second Staircase for a little while, then did some writing. Han pushes Chewie and Leia out of the area, then tries to find out what happened to Lando or Luke. He's blocked by Sir Boba of Gisborne before he can get far. He tries to slip away, but Boba's not about to let this bounty go...
Broke for dinner at 6:30. The blueberry preserves and cheese omelet I had earlier this week was so tasty, I made it again tonight, along with leftover green beans and almonds. Listened to the Mary Poppins Returns soundtrack while I ate. I thought this movie was really cute, and there's some wonderful music here. The touching "The Land Where Lost Things Go" got an Oscar nod; other good numbers include the big chorus routine for the lamplighters "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" and "Can You Imagine That?" for Mary and the kids as she gets them to take their baths.
Went back to Angry Birds after a shower. Instead of moving to the next level, I went to "Path of the Jedi," which is basically Luke's Dagobah segments from The Empire Strikes Back. From what I've gathered, if you complete it, Luke's lightsaber increases in length and strength. Thought that might be useful in Cloud City. Ironically, most of the rounds on Dagobah itself weren't that hard. Things didn't pick up until they tossed you back out into space with those tricky curving shots.
Spent most of the rest of the night chatting with Lauren and checking up on the Oscars. (I'm not paying to stream it.) For once, there's a couple of nominees that really interest me. I did enjoy Black Panther (and thought it totally deserved its wins for Costumes, Score, and Production Design), and am dying to see Bohemian Rhapsody (Best Actor, Editing, and - appropriately - both sound awards) and A Star Is Born (Best Song). I may look around for Green Book (the Best Picture winner) and Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse (the Animated Film winner) eventually as well.
Second, Rose suggested Uber for a ride on bad-weather days instead of calling or a ride. She, Craig, and Jodie don't always have the time. Only if I absolutely have to. They cost money, and I've never really done anything like a cab or Uber before.
Third, she wants to start a joint account to help me pay for my rent until I get back on my feet. It's nice of her, but I have reservations. That money should be going to her family, not to me. I feel guilty enough about having borrowed money from Dad and Jodie in the past.
It was raining fairly hard when I was talking to Rose. Thankfully, by the time I left for work, it was down to a mild shower. Good thing it did start slowing down. Other than doing a cart with a few returns, I was outside for most of the morning, rounding up carts and doing the trash and recycling. I was supposed to have help later, but I saw the teen girl for all of 20 minutes.
The rain was gone by the time I went home, replaced by heavy winds. I decided to just avoid them and spent the rest of the day at home. Had banana pancakes for lunch while listening to one of my K-Tel albums, Hot Ones. I mainly have this one for the original version of "Thank You For Being a Friend" (which later became the theme song for The Golden Girls). Other good cuts on the one disc I have (the set's second disc is missing) include "Imaginary Lover," "We Just Disagree," and "We'll Never Have to Say Good-Bye."
Played Angry Birds Star Wars for a little while after lunch. Finally finished off the Hoth rounds, including another moving one that requires you to hit Pig Mynocks. While that one wasn't too bad, some of the later ones in space were kind of hard, especially those that needed Han or Luke to aim their lightsaber and gun shots in just the right place.
I had a long week last week, including that hour-and-a-half walk on Tuesday, and I got up early today and immediately had a heartfelt conversation with my sister. Not to mention, it was totally quiet for once. No one was home downstairs or next-door. It was the perfect time for a nap. I hit my bed at quarter of 3 and didn't get up until past 4.
Read Ten-Second Staircase for a little while, then did some writing. Han pushes Chewie and Leia out of the area, then tries to find out what happened to Lando or Luke. He's blocked by Sir Boba of Gisborne before he can get far. He tries to slip away, but Boba's not about to let this bounty go...
Broke for dinner at 6:30. The blueberry preserves and cheese omelet I had earlier this week was so tasty, I made it again tonight, along with leftover green beans and almonds. Listened to the Mary Poppins Returns soundtrack while I ate. I thought this movie was really cute, and there's some wonderful music here. The touching "The Land Where Lost Things Go" got an Oscar nod; other good numbers include the big chorus routine for the lamplighters "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" and "Can You Imagine That?" for Mary and the kids as she gets them to take their baths.
Went back to Angry Birds after a shower. Instead of moving to the next level, I went to "Path of the Jedi," which is basically Luke's Dagobah segments from The Empire Strikes Back. From what I've gathered, if you complete it, Luke's lightsaber increases in length and strength. Thought that might be useful in Cloud City. Ironically, most of the rounds on Dagobah itself weren't that hard. Things didn't pick up until they tossed you back out into space with those tricky curving shots.
Spent most of the rest of the night chatting with Lauren and checking up on the Oscars. (I'm not paying to stream it.) For once, there's a couple of nominees that really interest me. I did enjoy Black Panther (and thought it totally deserved its wins for Costumes, Score, and Production Design), and am dying to see Bohemian Rhapsody (Best Actor, Editing, and - appropriately - both sound awards) and A Star Is Born (Best Song). I may look around for Green Book (the Best Picture winner) and Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse (the Animated Film winner) eventually as well.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Swinging On a Star
Kicked off another cloudy morning with breakfast and the remaining two Daniel Tiger episodes. I skipped "Daniel's New Friend," which I've already done, and went right into "Daniel's Friends Say 'No.'" Daniel wants to play with Miss Elania at school, but she's reading and doesn't want to. O the Owl doesn't, either. He's disappointed, but Teacher Harriet encourages him to find other things to do.
"Prince Wednesday Doesn't Want to Play" with Daniel because he's playing with his older brother Prince Tuesday before he has to work. This time, Daniel distracts himself by having his own sibling time with his baby sister Margaret, and then inviting O the Owl to join them.
(And yeah, I do understand about having to turn down offers to play. When Keefe was little and I was in high school, or home from college for school breaks, he often asked me to play with his Pokemon toys or Star Wars action figures with him. Most of the time, I would...but occasionally, I'd be reading or studying, and I'd tell him 'no.' He'd be disappointed, but Mom would give him other things to do.)
Worked on writing for an hour after the show finished. Sheriff Vader shows up with Luke, revealing that he's his son, and he intends to force him into Palpatine's guards. Lando claims he'll sing a song for the Prince...but he plays a loud enough note and sings loud enough to distract the Prince and bring in his own men. They manage to free Leia and Chewie, but Han gets knocked out and taken away...
Broke for lunch at almost 1. Ran an episode of The Backyardigans while I ate leftovers quickly. Pablo is pretending to be "The Yeti" and is yelling and leaving raisins all over the Frozen North. Uniqua insists that they're on the trail of a real Yeti. Tasha is just as adamant that there's no such thing. Tyrone just wants them to stop arguing and follow that strange sound.
Headed for work even before the episode ended. Once again, other than doing trash and recycling and gathering a few baskets, I was mostly outside with the carts. It was off-and-on busy all afternoon, not overwhelming, but not quiet, either. It started spitting lightly somewhere around 3; it didn't start raining harder until I was on my way home. Thankfully, it wasn't so hard that I was more than a little damp when I finally got in.
I'd texted Rose earlier in the day, telling her to call me. She texted me back and said she'd text in a few minutes. I waited a half-hour, and she never did. She said she had to put her kids to bed. I guess there were complications there. If I don't hear from her by the time I get home from work tomorrow, I"ll text her again or call her.
Finished the night with Going My Way, the Oscar-winning dramady about Bing Crosby as a priest at a New York parish who clashes with pastor Barry Fitzgerald. I go into more detail on this sugary drama with songs at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Going My Way
"Prince Wednesday Doesn't Want to Play" with Daniel because he's playing with his older brother Prince Tuesday before he has to work. This time, Daniel distracts himself by having his own sibling time with his baby sister Margaret, and then inviting O the Owl to join them.
(And yeah, I do understand about having to turn down offers to play. When Keefe was little and I was in high school, or home from college for school breaks, he often asked me to play with his Pokemon toys or Star Wars action figures with him. Most of the time, I would...but occasionally, I'd be reading or studying, and I'd tell him 'no.' He'd be disappointed, but Mom would give him other things to do.)
Worked on writing for an hour after the show finished. Sheriff Vader shows up with Luke, revealing that he's his son, and he intends to force him into Palpatine's guards. Lando claims he'll sing a song for the Prince...but he plays a loud enough note and sings loud enough to distract the Prince and bring in his own men. They manage to free Leia and Chewie, but Han gets knocked out and taken away...
Broke for lunch at almost 1. Ran an episode of The Backyardigans while I ate leftovers quickly. Pablo is pretending to be "The Yeti" and is yelling and leaving raisins all over the Frozen North. Uniqua insists that they're on the trail of a real Yeti. Tasha is just as adamant that there's no such thing. Tyrone just wants them to stop arguing and follow that strange sound.
Headed for work even before the episode ended. Once again, other than doing trash and recycling and gathering a few baskets, I was mostly outside with the carts. It was off-and-on busy all afternoon, not overwhelming, but not quiet, either. It started spitting lightly somewhere around 3; it didn't start raining harder until I was on my way home. Thankfully, it wasn't so hard that I was more than a little damp when I finally got in.
I'd texted Rose earlier in the day, telling her to call me. She texted me back and said she'd text in a few minutes. I waited a half-hour, and she never did. She said she had to put her kids to bed. I guess there were complications there. If I don't hear from her by the time I get home from work tomorrow, I"ll text her again or call her.
Finished the night with Going My Way, the Oscar-winning dramady about Bing Crosby as a priest at a New York parish who clashes with pastor Barry Fitzgerald. I go into more detail on this sugary drama with songs at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Going My Way
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