It's a Heat Wave, Charlie Brown

Started off a very hot, humid, sunny day with breakfast. After I ate, I worked on a collage while watching The Peanuts Movie. Poor Charlie Brown desperately wants to do something, anything to impress that new Little Red Haired Girl. As usual, the entire universe tends to conspire against him. From kite-eating trees to learning to dance to a last-minute book report, Chuck tries his best, but none of it ever goes like he wants it to. Meanwhile, Linus' runaway toy airplane has given Chuck's eccentric beagle Snoopy an idea for a great story. He spends the movie writing the epic tale of a World War I flying ace up against the Red Baron and the beautiful poodle he loves...

Awww. This was so sweet. I loved it. I loved the nods to the specials and comic strips, including whole sections lifted directly from the comics. Though the animation was mostly CGI, there was also some 2-D on it to make it feel more like the Peanuts specials. It kind of looked like a stop-motion movie, which was really cool. It felt closer to the Peanuts' world than the later two 70's-80's movies.

If you're a fan of the Peanuts or unusual animation, this one is a no-brainer. It's also a great way to introduce kids (especially little ones) to the Peanuts' universe outside of the holidays.

Headed out as soon as the Peanuts ended. My first stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library. They were surprisingly busy for a sunny day. Other people must have been escaping the heat as well. I organized DVDs and looked the kids' section over while listening to the sad news in Dallas on CNN.

After taking money out of the ATM at WaWa, I hit Friendly's for lunch. I needed ice cream. It was quarter after 12 when I got in. They were still busy with the lunch crowd, mainly older couples and grandparents treating their grandchildren to lunch. I tried the Grilled Chicken Caeser Wrap from the Combo-Oh! menu. The combos come with sundaes. Mine was butter pecan with marshmallow sauce and a pile of whipped topping.

Next on the list was the Haddon Township Library. They were even busier than the Oaklyn Library, with lots to do. There were a ton of kids' DVDs to organize. When they were done, I dug around for items that the librarians had been asked to put on hold. I did pretty well with that. The librarian seemed rather impressed. I was able to find all but five or six out of thirty or so items on five pages.

Took out more movies myself this week. I enjoyed Air Force One enough to give Patriot Games a shot. I still haven't gotten around to watching Spy. I've only seen the TV show a few times in passing, but The Man From UNCLE sounded like a lot of fun.

Made two quick stops on the way home. I needed toilet paper at Thriftway, who has the cheapest individual rolls I can find locally. They also had strawberries for $1.97. I thought I'd try something. Needed sponges at Dollar Tree. I also bought Propel Water, the only cold drinks they had besides Mountain Dew. Got out of there fast. Their air conditioning was down again, and they were warm as heck in there.

When I finally got in, I worked on writing for a few hours. Leia and Han go out on a balcony that overlooks the ocean. Han tries to flirt with her, but she's having none of it at first. Just as they're finally about to kiss, he sees that the moon is almost at its height. He's about to run off, but Leia doesn't want him to go...

Finished the night with an omelet with cheese and blueberries and some cartoons. Mr. Piper is a series of animated fairy tales, presumably from the 1960's, from the design. The jolly live-action title character begins and ends each story, spinning lesser-known tales from around the world. My favorites are Brave Molly (Molly Whuppie) and Coat O' Rushes. A take on Hans Christian Anderson's The Swineherd called The Proud Princess is also interesting.

"We're Gonna Need a Bigger Park."

Started the day with more work. It was so hot, even at 9 AM. Thank goodness there weren't that many carts to gather. I spent about 40 minutes after I got in doing them and another hour or so after lunch. It was too hot to be outside all day. I spent most of the time doing returns. It was between dead and steady the whole day - they didn't even need me on the register. I got out with no problems.

Went straight home. I tried to do a little bit of writing, but I didn't get very far. I get so easily distracted online! I'll look at a few blogs for inspiration...and before I know it, two hours have suddenly zipped by. Han's arrived. He's trying to be smooth, but Leia is suspicious and Lando is suspicious and a bit jealous. Leia's wondering about the collar he has around his neck....

When I gave up on writing, I figured I might get some cleaning done instead. I had leftovers for dinner, then scrubbed the kitchen. Ran Jurassic Park while I worked. An island filled with real dinosaurs created from found DNA is the dream come true of reclusive millionaire Hammond (Richard Attenborough). He invites two paleontologists (Sam Neill and Laura Dern), a snarky agent (Jeff Goldblum), a lawyer, and his two grandchildren to the park for a tour. He may be excited, but the scientists have reservations. Humans and dinosaurs have never interacted in real-life. Nature isn't like a theme park, and it doesn't always behave the way you expect. Not to mention, the park was rushed to get it done and and ready for the public faster. There's little security, and its computer infrastructure is unfinished. It's easily hacked by a shifty employee (Wayne Knight) who wants to sell dinosaur DNA samples to a rival company. His messing with the computer shuts the whole park down. Now, people are getting killed, dinosaurs are on the loose, and the kids and the scientists have to learn how to deal with each other...while discovering why it really isn't nice to mess with Mother Nature.

Steven Spielburg directed this fast-paced tale that completely changed the way people looked at dinosaurs and special effects. Though some of the creatures were done with audio-animatronics, most of them were CGI. The human cast is just as interesting, especially Goldblum and Neill as the two very different men who learn a little about courage, dealing with tragedy, and the strength of children. (Also, despite the prominent kids and the dinosaurs, lots of blood, scares, and several disturbing deaths make this not for really little guys.)

If you're a fan of dinosaurs, the cast, action, or Spielburg's work and can handle the blood and scares, this is still a rousing good adventure yarn with a surprising dark side.

Escaping the Heat

Once again, started off the day with work. It was already hot and sunny when I arrived, steamy but not quite as bad as yesterday. And once again, I rounded up carts for a half-hour when I got in, then spent the rest of the morning indoors. I did get a lot of returns done, which is good. They keep appearing out of nowhere. I also got stuck in the register a lot, which is not good.

The water from the freezer leaking under aisle 11 was overflowing again. I tried to clean up that mess, but first of all, the manager kept calling me up front to take the two-person lines for no reason. When I did finally get to cleaning, the mops and the buckets were filled with...I don't know what they were filled with, but it was greasy and gross. Another bagger was nice enough to clean out a bucket, but he neglected to clean the mop. I had to get a new one, after having made the floor even more slippery than it already was.

I was so happy to finally get home and get writing. I got an idea last night that I'm hoping to finish by the weekend. It's another fairy tale, this one a Han/Leia-focused one-shot. Leia lives in a palace by the sea with her parents. She'd rather be sailing on the ocean and having adventures like her brother Luke, but the king and queen want her to settle down. Her parents have been holding parties to introduce her to the local courts, including Baron Lando Calarissian. She likes him, but she's already met another guy she liked more, a handsome, rugged fellow with red-brown hair and mischievous hazel eyes. Trouble is, he won't tell her his name or where he's from. She wants to know more about him, but he insists on remaining elusive...

This is going to be a Cinderella/Little Mermaid/Beauty and the Beast combination. I'm hoping to get this done within a few days, since it's really just a last-minute idea and I've already worked a lot of it out.

When I finally got off, I had leftovers for dinner, then took down the patriotic decorations while watching Backyardigans episodes. Pablo and Tyrone go "Into the Deep" in search of mermaids to film. Mermaids Tasha and Uniqua would do anything to keep their garden safe and try to head them off. Pablo, Uniqua, and Tyrone are Coast Guard rescuers out to "Save the Day." Tasha just wants to catch a big fish, but the others keep disrupting her plans when she continually goes out into dangerous waters.

Finished off the night by returning to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. After finally getting out of the last round of Revenge of the Sith (it took me less time to take down Anakin than it did to try to Jedi double-jump around all that blasting lava), I moved onto the first two rounds of New Hope. The first level, getting Leia to the Artoo with the plans, then getting the droids off the Tantive IV, wasn't too hard. The second, which involved Luke and the elder Obi-Wan traveling across the Tatoonie wastelands, first to rescue the droids from the Jawas, then to get to Obi-Wan's house, was much longer and far more complicated. (But it was kind of fun to ride a bantha.)

The Taking of the President

Started off a cloudy and humid day at work. What a difference from the weekend! When I arrived, the carts were already close to full. It only took me about a half-hour to gather them, rather than the entire five hours. It helped that we were dead during most of the morning. I did have to take people when it started to pick up a little around 12:30, and I gathered baskets twice. Other than that, I spent the whole day shelving three carts filled with returned items. Got most of them done, too. I had absolutely no problems getting in or out - stopped to pick up milk on the way home.

When I got in, I went right into writing. Leia, and then Luke, ask Benton Kenobi about the Force and the Swords. The Force gives the Swords and the crystals that make them their power. The Jedi had once protected the Guardians, right up until 20 years before. Vader ordered most of the remaining ones killed after his last dig went wrong. Only Ben and old Professor Yoda Chiang remain.

I got off around 5:30. I had the leftovers from yesterday for dinner, then cleaned the bathroom. Some parts were worse than others. Thankfully, it didn't take me that long to finish. (My bathroom isn't that big.)

Ran Air Force One while I worked. President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) has just announced a policy of being tough on terrorists. A group of Russian radicals (lead by Gary Oldman) who don't like that policy one bit manage to get on the plane and take almost everyone on board hostages, including Marshall's wife and daughter. The radicals want Marshall to free a Russian radical general who is being detained in the US. Meanwhile, the vice-president (Glenn Close) has to figure out how to deal with trouble on the ground, including when people find out that the president is among those missing on the ship. But Marshall is tougher than anyone wants to believe, and there's no way he's going to let anyone hurt his family or his country.

While I will say I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse games of The Fugitive a bit more, this wasn't bad. I actually wish Ford and Oldman had gotten to interact a bit more - Oldman's killed off a bit too early. It's also very noisy and very tense. If you're a fan of thrillers or patriotic-tinged action movies or love the cast, you can do far worse than this one.

And I decided to skip the fireworks. The sun did come out later, but it got hot and humid. After all the running around I've done lately, I wasn't up to it.

Star Spangled Woman

Started a cloudy, cool Fourth of July with poems and book excerpts. Collier's Book of Holidays featured a chapter on the Ingalls' Fourth of July celebration in a small backwoods town from Little Town on the Prairie, Paul Revere's Ride in its entirety, a couple of poems, and "The Star Spangled Banner." I next did the last chapter of Kirsten Saves the Day, which details Kirsten's family's trip to the nearest town for their Fourth of July festivities.

Finished up with three short stories from the Disney America anthology book from the 60's. One was Ben and Me, the cute tale of a mouse who helped create many of Ben Franklin's most famous inventions. The other two detailed Paul Revere's famous ride and adapted the Disney Davy Crockett TV mini-series.

After I finished my journal, I moved onto breakfast and a few quick shorts before early work. "Donald's Failed Fourth" is one of the Mickey Mouse Works shorts from the early 2000s. Donald wants to set up a Fourth of July picnic in front of the fireworks for Daisy, but the blanket and chairs keep giving him trouble.

Bugs is a "Bunker Hill Bunny" when he has to defend his American fort against Sam the Hessian Soldier. Porky Pig learns about the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance in the unusually stirring "Old Glory."

In "Pinky Doodle," the Pink Panther wants to send out pamphlets detailing American independence to all of Philadelphia. He makes the mistake of choosing a Red Coat horse who may not let him get very far!

Headed to work around 8:30. Despite the gloomy day, work was busy for almost the entire morning. I did get a few returns in, but I was mainly either retrieving carts or stuck in a register. I would rather have been doing carts. They kept vanishing all morning.

I was so happy when it slowed down long enough for me to head out! I went straight home. I spent the next few hours making whipped topping for the Summer Berry Cupcakes (with the Acme generic Cool Whip, powdered sugar, and the last of the coconut milk) while watching 1776. This rousing musical tells how John Adams (William Daniels), Ben Franklin (Howard Da Silva), and Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard) created the Declaration of Independence to convince Congress to vote for the US breaking away from England. It's a lot more suspenseful and interesting than the American Revolution ever comes off in textbooks. (For those of you who are fans of another musical about a Founding Father, Hamilton, this one might make a nice companion show.)

As much as I love 1776, it's one of the last of the big 60's-70's Broadway adaptations and is over 2 and a half hours long. I didn't make it to Dad's house until after 4:30. Dad and Jodie are away, but they let Rose and their neighbor Sandy use the house and pool for a party. Along with Sandy, Rose, and her family, I saw Craig's parents, Jodie's son Jesse, his girlfriend Dana, and their spaniel mix Helio, and several neighbors and their children.

I arrived just as they were bringing the food out. Rose and Sandy laid out quite a spread. I saw cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, veggie-pasta salad, deviled eggs, more traditional macaroni salad, potato salad, a vegetable salad with a spicy ranch dressing, a bowl of strawberries and blueberries, a vegetable plate, small loves of crusty bread, and Parmesan flatbread crackers. Dessert included a cake from the Acme, my Summer Berry Cupcakes, Rose's divine Key Lime Pie, and sliced watermelon. I had a burger, watermelon, the veggie-pasta and spicy salad, a couple of strawberries, two slices of cake, one slice of Key Lime Pie, and some crackers. (I later took home macaroni salad, two pieces of chicken, spicy salad, bread, and the last two deviled eggs.) I ate while chatting with the adults and listening to a family across the street play a noisy and intense game of softball in the street.

After I finished dinner, I hit the pool with the kids and Craig's parents for an hour. The pool was surprisingly warm for a day that couldn't have been hotter than the upper 70's - lower 80's. The dark clouds continued to build, even as I watched the three boys and one girl (someone's cousin visiting from Puerto Rico) cannonball into the water.

Thankfully, we got everything and everyone inside or under wraps well before the rain finally started. I chatted a bit with Jesse, Dana, Rose, and one of the neighbors. Rose and her neighbor talked about their travels to Cancun and Costa Rica in their younger years. I told Jesse and Dana my problems with the Acme job. I don't like it, but I'm not good at networking, and I don't know how I could apply my Communications degree to real work. They suggested temp agencies and talking to family.

By 8, I was just hanging out with Khai and his friends from the neighborhood in the den, watching the Nickelodeon cartoon The Loud House (about a boy who is constantly trying to avoid his ten sisters). The rain was still coming down at a pretty good clip. Craig ended up driving me, my leftovers plate, and my bike home.

Ran a few remaining cartoons while I got organized. Popeye's nephews want to spend their holiday setting off fireworks. Their uncle teaches them how to play it safe on the Fourth in "Patriotic Popeye."

"The Yankee Doodle Mouse" was the first Tom & Jerry cartoon to win an Oscar. The cat and mouse celebrate their Fourth by waging their own kind of war in a fireworks factory.

As  you may have guessed from the rain, the fireworks were canceled in most places today. Collingswood will be holding theirs tomorrow. I should be able to go. At any rate, I hope all of you had a wonderful (and dry) Fourth of July! (And that our neighbors to the north enjoyed their Canada Day on the 1st.)

Listen to That Ragtime

The day did not begin well. It took longer than I thought it would to finish Heirs to the Body. I ended up having to rush my Blueberry Pancakes and ended up burning them. I had maybe five minutes to eat them before I had to run off to work.

Work wasn't too bad when I arrived...but as early as 10:30, the crowds started arriving. I was outside gathering carts for most of the day, except for the half-hour I was on a register because we were that incredibly busy. Thankfully, it slowed down long enough for me to get off with no fuss.

I had to pick up a few things I forgot Friday. The big one was peanut butter. The only good sale was the Acme's generic brand (which I'm not a fan of). I went with their generic natural brand - a little more expensive, but I like it better. I also needed whipped topping for the cupcakes tomorrow, pads, and paper towels. Thankfully, the lines weren't long at all by then. Everyone must have gone to their barbecues.

As soon as I got home, changed, and put everything away, I went right back out. I wanted to get my laundry done. I'm not going to do it on a holiday. I picked the right day. By 3:30, the place was dead except for the manager wiping the tops of the washers. A few people came in and out, but it was never really busy. I wrote story notes and half-listened to the Wimbledon tennis tournament on the TV.

When I got home, I put everything away, then had leftovers and a romaine lettuce salad for dinner while listening to records. I got America the Beautiful at I think a thrift shop short after I moved here. It's a collection of patriotic music, ranging from choral numbers to "On the Trail" from The Grand Canyon Suite to a sing-along medley of George M. Cohan tunes, originally compiled in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. I listen to at least the first disc on or right before most major patriotic holidays.

Finished the night in the bath. Listened to my original cast CD's for Ragtime while I soaked, and later while I was online. I've been a huge fan of the late 90's musical version of the E.L Doctorow novel since it came out. My favorite numbers are "New Music" and "Our Children." (I'm also rather fond of "Let's Run Away to Atlantic City" and the wonderful "Journey On.") It's too bad this show may be a bit too complicated to work on Broadway. The overproduced original did all right but was no world-shaker; a revival a few years ago floundered. Great cast, though, including one of my favorite Broadway singers, Audra Ann McDonald, as Sarah.

Yankee Doodle Dolls

I couldn't believe how gorgeous it was when I got up this morning. Swung open my front door to discover a sunny, beautiful, breezy day. Yesterday's heat and humidity had dissolved overnight, leaving perfect upper 70's-lower-80's temperatures, cool breeze, and dry air.

Celebrated the nice weather and the upcoming holiday with America Rock while I ate breakfast. This series of animated music videos discussing American history and how the government works were made as inter-stiles on ABC in 1975 and 1976 in honor of the US' big bicentennial celebration. The most famous number is probably "I'm Just a Bill," on how a bill becomes a law (and how long that takes). My favorite numbers are the jaunty ragtime-based "Fireworks" (on the Declaration of Independence) and the lovely "Preamble."

Headed out to the Collingswood Farm Market around quarter of 11. Even that late, they were packed with people buying produce for their 4th of July weekend barbecues. Talk about a lack of "Elbow Room" - I could barely get in the lines at some booths. More of the summer harvest has debuted. I saw green beans, bean sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, raspberries, garlic, and New Jersey blueberries for the first time this year. I ended up with strawberries (I'm surprised they're still around - they're usually long gone by now), blueberries, three small cucumbers, a tomato, and bananas from the tropical fruit booth to take to work this week.

It was such a nice day, I rode home via Newton Lake Park. The sun sparkled on the green waters. The cool breeze ruffled the glossy green leaves overhead. I saw many boaters in colorful kayaks on the lake, and dodged quite a few dog walkers.

The other reason I went through the park was I wanted to hit CVS on the way home. I needed laundry detergent, and I've been forgetting dryer sheets for weeks. Also grabbed the dollar scouring sponges, which they haven't had at Dollar Tree.

Stopped at Viola's International Deli for lunch. Despite it being almost the lunch hour when I arrived, there was no one eating inside or at the benches. I ordered a turkey wrap, but the lady must have heard me wrong and gave me a turkey club panini. Oh well, it still tasted good. Tossed in a can of Diet Mountain Dew as well. It was too nice to eat indoors. I had lunch outside, on the picnic benches.

It was so nice, I was able to make Strawberry and Blueberry Cupcakes (yellow cake mix with coconut milk and farm market-fresh strawberries and blueberries) for Dad and Jodie's party on Monday without turning my apartment into a sweat box! Watched Yankee Doodle Dandy while I baked. James Cagney won an Oscar as George M. Cohan, the early 20th century dynamo who ruled Broadway as an actor, singer, dancer, producer, and director. Joan Leslie is his beloved wife (or at least, a composite of Cohan's two real-life wives). Walter Huston again plays a supportive dad dealing with a short, cocky son. Though Cohan's shows are mostly considered un-revivable due their corny, overly patriotic books, many of his songs live on - "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Mary Is a Grand Old Name," and "Over There," among others, are still performed and played today.

I dressed the American Girl dolls for the 4th of July holiday and warmer weather during the second half of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Samantha's in her sailor-themed Middy Dress and Tam, with black stockings and the black and white button boots from her Flower-Picking Dress. Josefina's wearing her striped Indigo Skirt and Camisa and her soft "suede" meet outfit boots. Molly's in her Camp Gowanigan uniform and navy and white saddle shoes. Put Jessa and the red, white, and blue "antiqued-look" blouse Lauren sent me for Christmas two years ago, a pair of jean shorts I found at a craft show, and white Springfield Collection sandals. Whitney's ready to perform in the red and blue sequin-trimmed AG Revue Tap Costume that was sold in the stores during the mid-late 2000s. I especially love the shiny bright red tap shoes that go with this outfit! Left Felicity in her blue and white gown. I really don't have much to change her into.

Listened to the original cast album for George M! while dressing the dolls. Joel Gray was Cohan in this 1968 Broadway take on his life story. With Cohan having passed away in 1942, they could be a little more honest about some of the less-attractive aspects of life, such as his having married twice and his siding with the producers during the big Actor's Equity strike of 1919. It also included many lesser-known Cohan songs that are rarely heard anymore, such as "Push Me Along In Your Push Cart" and "Twentieth Century Love."

Spent the next few hours working on my story. Vader's goons show up just as Han is about to get the Silver Falcon in the air. Leia may have joked about the rough shape the plane is in, but her captain is genuinely good at his job. He and Charel manage to get the plane out just before the goons close the doors.

Han, of course, has to brag about their narrow escape. Leia's just glad they still have her godfather's research. It'll help them find at least one of the two remaining swords in Guatemala after they rescue Vader's sword from Coruscant. Han tells her he'll take her and Luke all the way to Guatemala if he gets a percentage of their payment for finding the treasure. She snaps that he'll get his reward and storms off.

Had some quick leftovers for dinner and the last of the chocolate sorbet while finally finishing off the story portion of Lego Indiana Jones 2. The most difficult of the three remaining rounds in Last Crusade was Level 3, which was set in Berlin during the book burning. Indy has to use his whip to pull the bridge out from under Nazis shooting bombs at him, not easy when there's soldiers running all over the place and men in vehicles blasting you. Level 4 was yet another car crash-and-bash, this time involving tanks. The last level started out normal enough, with Indy and Sallah solving the puzzles in the Grail's hiding place. For some reason (perhaps because the real end of Last Crusade is a tad anti-climatic), Donovan turns into a wind-based monster when he drinks from the wrong Grail. You have to shoot at him with one of the rocket launchers from the Berlin round. It's really, really weird. (And Elsa doesn't die, either.)

At any rate, I'm now finished with the story levels of Lego Indiana Jones 2. I'll go back and do the bonus levels I didn't get to with Lauren eventually. I'd like to finish Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and give the first Lego Indiana Jones game a shot first.

Summer Holiday Weekend

Began a steamy hot and humid day with breakfast and Spectre. James Bond (Daniel Craig) is suspended by the new M (Ralph Fiennes) after going on a rogue mission in Mexico City. That doesn't stop him from investigating a video message from the late previous M (Dame Judi Dench) that leads him on a trail to an all-encompassing organization that all of the head villains from the other (Craig-era) films belonged to. With the help of a lovely psychiatrist (Lea Seydoux) and his co-workers Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), he tracks down the head of the group known as Spectre. Things get a lot more complicated when it turns out the the leader (Christoph Waltz) has a personal vendetta against Bond...and connections to C (Andrew Scott) and his new computer system that can track any information in the world.

I've mostly been a fan of the Daniel Craig Bond, and this one is no exception. I really enjoyed some nice action set pieces (especially in the first half of the film) and the return of some elements from earlier movies that had been missing in the Bond films of the 90's and 2000's (Spectre as the bad guys, Blofeld, wacky villain hideouts). I also love that the rest of Bond's coworkers (including the adorable Whishaw, who is just as charismatic as the previous Qs) get in on the action.

On the other hand, a lot of people have been kind of rough on this, partially because it is a comedown from the well-received (if slightly depressing) Skyfall. The Bond girls barely rate as anything besides dolls to be saved; Seydoux has no chemistry with Craig whatsoever. The plot, especially in the second half, really reaches to tie the previous films together and comes off as bizarre, even by Bond standards. The movie goes on for far too long and has at least two climaxes too many.

I'm going to say, if you loved the previous Craig Bond movies, check this one out, too...but start with the 2006 Casino Royale to get to know Craig's version better if you're new to his darker Bond or the Bond series in general. (Incidentally, the credits do say "James Bond Will Return." Given MGM's current financial problems, we'll see how long that takes.)

I headed out around quarter of noon, right after Spectre ended. Started this week's errands at the Oaklyn Library. Though there was a family with kids there when I arrived and a few other folks came and went, the librarian said it had otherwise been really quiet. She didn't even have the TV on. I organized the DVDs and the kids' books in silence.

Made a quick stop at WaWa for money after I left the library, then went across the White Horse Pike to Jalapeno's Grill for lunch. They either finally hired more help or replaced the other waitress. There was a different girl today who was much, much faster. My tasty chicken quesadillas came in record time and were nice and hot, with lots of shredded chicken and melted cheese. I was less fond of the mushy, box-mix Spanish rice and the refried beans, but at least it was filling. I was in and out in record time.

Dodged the tail end of the lunch-hour traffic on my way to the Haddon Township Library for this week's volunteering session there. There was actually less to do than at Oaklyn. I shelved a few DVDs, CDs, and audio books and organized the kids' DVDs. I took out a few movies. They finally had last fall's The Peanuts Movie in, as well as the original Jurassic Park. I've only seen bits and pieces of that - I figured I'd better check out the rest of the series before giving Jurassic World a shot. Air Force One is one of the last of Harrison Ford's big 80's/90's thrillers I have any interest in.

The sun had been in and out of clouds as early as my arrival at the Oaklyn Library. That didn't make things any cooler or less humid. I was sweating bullets by the time I finally pulled in at the Acme to get my schedule and do this week's shopping.

Mixed feelings on next week's schedule. I work at 9 AM all week, including on the 4th of July. Friday and Saturday off again. On one hand, this means I'll have plenty of time to write and check out the barbecues and fireworks on the 4th, not to mention avoid the 90 degree heat we're supposed to get late next week. On the other hand, working all this week was a literal pain, I have no idea when I'm going to get to the laundry, and I'll have to miss the 4th of July parade in Oaklyn for the second year in a row.

Grocery shopping went a little better. I didn't need much, anyway. I found ground turkey on a decent sale and chicken sausages with manager's coupons. Restocked milk, eggs, cereal (Quaker was on sale - went with Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares), crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, canned chicken, cake mix, brown and white sugar, and white flour. Found more rolls of the older generic Acme brand tape on clearance. The Acme has these adorable Finding Dory bags on the registers right now. I'm not the biggest fan of Finding Nemo, but I couldn't resist the one that had all of the characters done in a cute, flat cut-out style, showing off Dory's big smile.

It was too hot to linger outside, and the clouds were getting thicker and thicker. Thankfully, it waited until I had been at home for at least a half-hour to start pouring. We did get a nice, heavy shower, but it didn't last long. It was sunny again well before I finished my writing.

Leia catches this universe's version of the Han/Greedo incident. She's appalled that he would kill someone. He points out that he was defending himself, and in his business, it's kill or be killed. She asks Maz, the crusty old lady who owns the pilot bar, why he did that and is he trustworthy? She more-or-less says he's doing his job and yes, he's trustworthy. She then goes on to say Leia seems familiar. She's seen eyes like her's before...perhaps during the Great War era...

I had chicken sausages cooked in a lemon-wine sauce and steamed broccoli for dinner. Tried something different for dessert. I'm craving chocolate, but it's too hot to bake. I tried a variation on the "Frozen Hot Chocolate" recipe in the Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts cookbook I picked up a few months ago. It's just milk, cocoa, and sugar made into a paste, then cooked until the right temperature and thickness. Instead of freezing it all the way and breaking up the pieces for a smoothie-style drink, I let it freeze half-way and made my own version of Edy's long-gone Chocolate Sorbet. Wow, was this chocolate-y. It's so sweet and rich and decadent, you'd never believe it's made with skim milk. I think it came out even better than Edy's.

Watched Summer Holiday as I enjoyed my meal. This cute musical from 1948 depicts a typical family in Connecticut in the early 1900's. The dad, a newspaper owner (Walter Huston) is fed up with his middle son Richard's (Mickey Rooney) increasingly outlandish ideas about the rights of the common man. Richard just wishes his girl Muriel (Gloria DeHaven) would be less scared of falling in love. When his attempts to enlighten her get them both into trouble, he tries to prove he's grown-up enough for the real world when he courts a floozy (Marilyn Maxwell)...and discovers that maybe he's not quite ready for adulthood just yet. Meanwhile, Uncle Sid (Frank Morgan) wants to court Lily (Agnes Moorehead), but she disapproves of his drinking and inability to hold down a job.

One of director Rouben Mamoulien's last major projects, this does have some nice touches, including the use of his signature flowing dialogue-into-song in the opening. Though Rooney and DeHaven are way too old for their roles, the supporting cast comes off better, especially Huston as Rooney's (mostly) supportive father.

Front and Back at Odds

Started the day with my only early work shift this week. Good thing it was gorgeous again, warm and dry and breezy. I was outside for three of the six hours I worked. I also did some returns in the morning. I did briefly get stuck in the register later in the afternoon when the people let out early for the holiday weekend started arriving, but I mostly bagged.

I do wish the front end and the stocking and bagging people would coordinate a little better. No one up front has any idea where anything in the back is or how it works, and no one in the back knows much about prices or how the front end runs. It's frustrating for people who work in both places. Often, I'll ask two or three different people where something is and get two or three different responses. And they all complain about each other.

When I finally made it home, I got right on the computer. Leia calls UCLA to wire for the money to pay Harry Solomon. Dr. Mothma's thinks Leia is crazy, but she's determined to get the Sword of Light before Vader and Tarkin use it for their cannon.

Leia goes to the bar next-door to the hangar for lunch. While she eats, she overhears a conversation between Han and an Italian man who seems to be threatening to take his plane and turn him over to his lady boss. The altercation ends with Han shooting the man, to Leia's shock. (Yes, he shot first.)

Finished the night with a nice, simple dinner. I made a quick chicken salad over a bed of farm-fresh romaine lettuce, scallions, and radishes. Tasty and filling. I started Spectre, but it's a long movie, and I didn't get a chance to finish it before I went online. I'll do it tomorrow.

Sunshine Days

Honestly, I can't believe Lauren just went home a week ago. It feels more like a month.

Anyway, it started raining hard just as I got offline and went to bed last night. One good, hard storm did the trick. When I awoke this morning, the humidity was gone. It was still hot, but without the stifling humidity, the air was far more bearable. The wind was nice enough that I was able to turn off the air conditioners.

I had breakfast while watching an episode of Max & Ruby. "Ruby's Loose Tooth" has gone missing! Ruby wants to find it, so she can put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. Max just wants a muffin. "Ruby Scores" against her guy friend Roger when she practices her soccer moves. Will Max's robots be more of a help or a hindrance? "Max's Sandcastle" will be a masterpiece...if Max can stop trying to get in the water long enough to bring his sister the items she needs to build it!

Spent the rest of the morning and some time this evening working on my 30's story. Vader and his men chase them down the hills towards the back roads of Los Angeles. As Leia holds them off, Ben tells them that the Jedi who watched over the Swords of the Guardians for centuries still exist...or their powers did, until Vader killed them all off shortly after the end of the Great War. Ben finally turns around several tight corners that leave Vader and his boys in a gorge.

Leia's in for a shock when they arrive at the air field. Harry's much-loved cargo plane, the Silver Falcon, is a piece of dilapidated, heavily patched junk. He claims it runs, and that's all Leia cares about. She wants him to take them to Coruscant. He says no way, that's Empire territory. If he's going to fly into danger, he wants $10,000. She tells him he'll get $5,000 and another $6,000 for rescuing the Swords. He finally agrees - he needs the money to pay off his very nasty boss.

Had middle-of-the-day work. It wasn't bad in the late morning and early afternoon. The nice day kept people out of the store and outside. I rounded up carts for a while, but I mostly did returns. I did go in for a cashier for a half-hour. It was just supposed to be for his 15-minute break, but that cashier always takes way too long on breaks.

The trouble started after my 1 PM break. We were already missing one cashier, and another had gone home sick. A second one went home sick shortly after I got off break, and we were getting busier. I got stuck in the register for over an hour. I barely had enough time after that to gather baskets and do some bagging.

One good thing did come out of being up front. Dad came through my line. He said he'd be around for August and would be happy to drive me whenever I wanted to go to Cherry Hill on the 15th. I'll buy the tickets next week, but this pretty much confirms that yes, I'll be up in New England from August 15th through August 21st.

Went straight home after work. When I got in, I made leftovers for dinner, then baked Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (a modified version of the Cupcakes recipe from The Holly Hobbie Cookbook).

Watched Nauticaa and the Valley of the Wind while I worked. In a post-apocalyptic future, Nausicaa is the princess of one of the few peaceful kingdoms left in the world. Humanity was almost wiped out by amazing giant creatures that could destroy in an instant. A toxic jungle grows and grows, but it hasn't reached the Valley of the Wind...yet. When a huge plane from across the sea crash-lands, it digs up a 1,000-year-old secret...and brings invaders from the East. One kingdom wants to make war and use the giant creature to take over the world. The other wants to use the huge, billion-eyed bugs from the toxic jungles to kill the war-making kingdom and burn the jungle to bring humanity back into prominence. The jungle, however, holds more secrets than anyone knows, including how to purify the jungle. Nausicaa goes with the war mongers, determined to prove that compassion and sacrifice, not death and war, are the answer to their problems.

My favorite thing about this was the title character. Nausicaa was amazing - strong, intelligent, and caring. She's devoted to her island and to trying to preserve its harmony with nature and its way of life. She can fight with the best of them when she has to - and you don't want to get her mad - but in the end, it's her good heart that really saves the day.

Unfortunately, not only is the supporting cast not at her level, but the anti-war and pro-nature messages were spread on fifty feet thick. I don't know if it's the translation, or if it was like this originally, but it's not subtle at all, and it gets annoying when they constantly bash you over the head with it. Also, the "dark, destroyed future" wasn't as overdone when this came out in the 90's. Though it's more colorful and less depressing than something like The Hunger Games, it still seems a little cliche now.

There was enough I enjoyed to put this in the "like" column. If you're a fan of anime, fantasy, or tales of dark futures or strong heroines, you may want to look this one up (if you can ignore the heavy-handed messages).

You Can Cut the Air With a Knife

After I finished breakfast this morning, I put up the patriotic decorations. I usually get them up earlier, but I just hadn't gotten around to it until now. Most of what I have came from dollar stores, including a large cardboard flag and a "God Bless America" banner I found at a dollar store in Philly. The folksy "USA" doll sign, Uncle Sam cardboard container, and the two US-themed Teeny Beanies came from yard sales. The bell door knob hanger and the red-white-and-blue striped bow for the front door were CVS finds. The cardboard stars - both small and large and covered in Mylar - are from a party store. The Mylar is coming off the big stars. I put them up, but I may end up getting rid of them after this year.

Listened to music as I decorated. Yankee Doodle Mickey has become a favorite of mine. This recording from the early 80's includes a rousing version of "The Liberty Tree" from Disney's version of Johnny Tremain and a cute medley of the theme songs of the Armed Services, performed by the Disney gang. The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band may be a strange musical (it's about a contested election in the Dakotas in 1888), but its soundtrack has some lovely tunes. My favorites are the dance songs "Ten Feet Off the Ground" and "West O' the Wide Missouri" and the adorable ballad "'Bout Time."

Work was quiet for almost the entire afternoon. I guess everyone's waiting for the holiday weekend and the beginning of the month. The weather didn't help. While it wasn't really hot, it was on-and-off cloudy and killer, cut-the-air-with-a-knife humid. I was dripping after both times I rounded up carts. I did a lot of returns, too. Thankfully, there were no problems getting in or out. I picked up the Acme-brand Fig Newtons on the way out. One of the younger employees asked me if she could take my shift tomorrow. She needs hours. I would have loved to, but she had nothing to switch to. I need the hours, too. I have rent and bills to pay.

When I got home, I changed, put away my cookies, and worked on my story. More re-writing - the Sword of Light has already been sent along to Coruscant. The Death Star cannon will be following it there shortly. Everyone manages to get out, then separates into two cars to get to Harry's air field.

I decided I wanted a decent dinner, for once. Made Italian chicken meatballs with whole-wheat pasta and steamed snap peas while watching Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. When huge robots invade downtown Manhattan in 1939, intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwenyth Paltrow) is on the case. The robots are fended off by the titular Sky Captain (Jude Law), who happens to be Polly's former lover. Though Sky Captain saves New York, he's unable to come to the rescue of his sidekick and builder Dex. Polly smells a story and won't leave her Captain's side until she gets it. Now, the two travel from Shangril-La to a flying station run by Frankie (Angelina Jolie),  another ex-lover of the Captain's, to a hidden tropical island to find out what's the real meaning behind the sinister World of Tomorrow.

This unusual experiment tries to recreate a 30's atmosphere with Sepia-toned film and CGI Art Deco backgrounds...but the first time I saw it, I thought it was just weird. I still think it's pretty strange, though I did enjoy it a little bit more the second time. Not a bad time-waster for fans of the real sci-fi and action serials and B-films of the 1930's.

Oh, and I updated the stories and ideas page to include the revised Star Wars 1980's story idea.

Upcoming Stories and Ideas In Development