Kicked off the morning with breakfast, then tried to work on the Facebook page. Trouble is, I'm not sure what to put there. I'd like to promote my blogs, sure, but...I'm not really sure what my goals for them are, other than "make enough money to supplement my income" and "write things I enjoy." I've never been very good with goals. I come up with ideas, and then I talk myself out of them or put them off when I realize they're not possible for me or how hard they'd be to do. I've never really had a goal or a plan for anything. When I come up with an idea, I'm never sure how to break it down into smaller pieces.
Broke at 1 for lunch, then headed out around 1:30 to run a few errands. First stop was the Oaklyn Library. They were just about ready to close for the day. (The Oaklyn Library is only open from 10 to 2 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.) I had just enough time to take a look at the DVDs and shelve a few kids' books before moving on.
Took the long way down Nicholson Road to the Acme for this week's grocery shopping session. Truth be told, I didn't really need that much. Thanks to all the leftovers on the 4th of July, I've been eating out of the fridge all week. Acme's generic almond milk pint ice creams and sorbets were on sale, and I had online coupons. Went with coffee caramel fudge and lemon respectively. Oatmeal Squares and Belvita cookies were also on good sales, and I had an online coupon for the latter. Decided to try the Pepperidge Farm Strawberry Cheesecake cookies, since their large bagged cookies were on a rare good sale. Had a good online coupon for the Crest Gum Detoxify toothpaste, too. I'm hoping it'll help with my gum problems. Only needed to restock yogurt and skim milk.
Not terribly happy with my schedule next week. In good news, I have Sunday and next Friday off, and I work in the middle of the week almost the entire week. I still don't have enough hours, and I work too early next Saturday to hit the Collingswood Farm Market.
Went straight home and put everything away, then did some writing. Harris manages to run two Empire vans off the road before they can get them. He tells Leia and Charlie he'll take them to Takodana, a hotel and bar run by his friend Maz Kantana, before they're attacked by Captain Edward Needa of the Empire in his Mercury. Harris turns around and attacks him, before seeming to vanish into thin air. Needa's more than a little worried about how his boss Vader will take this...
Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. Made a cheese omelet and cucumber-tomato salad, then moved on to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Was able to finish out "Death Star Escape," which I only needed two pieces for, but I had hard time finding the remaining pieces in "Jedi Destiny" and only got about half of what I needed. Went back and finally completed the Pod Race, which gave me the Red Brick Finder. That helped me pick up the red brick from "Darth Maul." Went back to "Ruin of the Jedi" to get True Jedi.
Finished the night with the second half of Gone With the Wind, which I'd watched throughout the day. Scarlett O'Hara (Vivian Leigh), a vivacious and spoiled belle in Georgia in 1861, is determined to marry handsome and gentle Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), despite his not really loving her back. He eventually weds his sweet and kind cousin Melanie (Olivia DeHaviland). Gambler and mercenary Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) has his eyes on Scarlett, but she'd rather marry Melanie's brother Charles (Rand Brooks) to make Ashley jealous. It backfires, only ending with her a widow when Charles dies in the Confederate Army. She goes to Atlanta and makes a scandal dancing with Rhett in her black widow's gown, but she still has Ashley on the brain. She promises Ashley she'll take care of Melanie and darn makes good on that promise, delivering her baby with the help of her maid Prissy (Butterfly McQueen) and getting her out of Atlanta as it burns with Prissy and Rhett.
Things don't go well - for Scarlett or the south - after the war. She returns to the Tara plantation to find that it stands, but was raided and many of the outbuildings destroyed. Her mother is dead, her father has cracked under the strain, and only a few slaves and servants remain, including the sensible Mammy (Hattie McDaniel). After her father dies, Scarlett first marries her sister Sue-Ellen's (Evelyn Keyes) older lover Frank (Carroll Nye) in order to get the money from his general store and pay for the taxes on Tara. When he dies in a raid on a shanty town, she finally accepts Rhett's proposal...but even then, troubles follow. In the end, Scarlett may be alone, but she has Tara, and "tomorrow's another day!"
Mixed feelings on this one. I've never been a really huge fan of this movie. The performances are marvelous. Vivian Leigh really gets into Scarlett's mind, DeHaviland is a lovely Melanie, and no one at the time probably could have done Butler better than Gable. Hattie McDaniel made such an awesome Mammy, she won Supporting Actor, the first Oscar won by an African-American. The costuming is exquisite, and the Technicolor is absolutely gorgeous, especially during the burning of Atlanta. The score, mostly done by Max Steiner, is as sweeping as the movie it accompanies, especially the famous "Tara's Theme."
There's two really big problems here that bog things down, especially for modern viewers. First, there's the second half. The exciting and horrifying Civil War sequence that ends the first half is a tough act to follow. The ridiculous melodrama with Scarlett's second failed marriage and her problems with Rhett aren't nearly as interesting and just pad out the film's already-long running time. Second, while care was taken to make things slightly less offensive than in the book, there's a lot that's dated rather badly here. Screechy Prissy is an unfortunate contrast to level-headed Mammy, and while most of the blacks are treated better than expected, it's also assumed that they'll always be servants - and even some of the smarter ones like Mammy don't mind it. The movie isn't so kind to women, either, putting down Scarlett for attempting to run the mill and the plantation more-or-less on her own.
While I am glad I got around to seeing it again (especially in honor of its 80th anniversary this year), this is another one in the "I don't like enough to buy or actively seek out again" category. Those of you who are more into romance, southern-set stories, or heavy melodrama than I am may find a lot more of interest than me in this one.
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Stormy Weather
Kicked off an early and very cloudy and humid morning with work. This time, everything went fine. I spent the first half of the morning rounding up carts and the second half shelving a full cart of loose items, sweeping, bagging, and cleaning the bathroom. We were steady but not really busy, and there were no major problems whatsoever.
Dark clouds were converging overhead, even as I rushed home from work. The storm arrived about an hour after I started writing. The thunderstorms have been off and on since then, including one noisy and heavy one around 7, when I was playing video games.
Tried to work on my Facebook page when I got home, but I have no idea where to take it next, and I get so distracted! I'll start out writing or looking at my page, and I'll end up looking up something on Wikipedia or find a link that looks interesting, and sooner or later, a whole hour's flown by. I did manage to get some writing in. Harris takes off with Leia, Charlie, and Chewie...for five whole minutes. They end up back on the road when his flying apparatus and turbo engines refuse to work. He does manage to dodge the vans and Stingrays belonging to the Shadow Men, Vader's mooks before heading for Takodana, the home of an old friend of his.
Since I started early, I broke for dinner early, at 5:30. Ran an episode of Goof Troop while finally eating that panzarotti Jodie gave me last week. It's "Midnight Movie Madness" when Max drags PJ to a showing of a slasher flick, despite Goof's worries that Max won't handle it well. He was right - Max does freak out, even though he won't admit it. Pete teasingly tells them that the story was real, then pretends to be the slasher in the movie...but Goof's the one who ends up scaring everyone when he's accidentally locked out of his house in the rain.
Moved on to a long Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga session after dinner. I was almost done with "Jabba's Palace" anyway. Just needed one piece that was in the very beginning of the round. "Speeder Showdown," "Great Pit of Carkoon," and "Battle of Endor" took much longer. "Showdown" took so long, I missed a piece. Did manage to complete the other two, though. Got the Super Ewok Catapult, Regenerating Hearts, and x8 extras (though it'll be a while before I can afford the last-named).
Finished the night with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. I go into more details on the sequel to Mamma Mia! from last year at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Dark clouds were converging overhead, even as I rushed home from work. The storm arrived about an hour after I started writing. The thunderstorms have been off and on since then, including one noisy and heavy one around 7, when I was playing video games.
Tried to work on my Facebook page when I got home, but I have no idea where to take it next, and I get so distracted! I'll start out writing or looking at my page, and I'll end up looking up something on Wikipedia or find a link that looks interesting, and sooner or later, a whole hour's flown by. I did manage to get some writing in. Harris takes off with Leia, Charlie, and Chewie...for five whole minutes. They end up back on the road when his flying apparatus and turbo engines refuse to work. He does manage to dodge the vans and Stingrays belonging to the Shadow Men, Vader's mooks before heading for Takodana, the home of an old friend of his.
Since I started early, I broke for dinner early, at 5:30. Ran an episode of Goof Troop while finally eating that panzarotti Jodie gave me last week. It's "Midnight Movie Madness" when Max drags PJ to a showing of a slasher flick, despite Goof's worries that Max won't handle it well. He was right - Max does freak out, even though he won't admit it. Pete teasingly tells them that the story was real, then pretends to be the slasher in the movie...but Goof's the one who ends up scaring everyone when he's accidentally locked out of his house in the rain.
Moved on to a long Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga session after dinner. I was almost done with "Jabba's Palace" anyway. Just needed one piece that was in the very beginning of the round. "Speeder Showdown," "Great Pit of Carkoon," and "Battle of Endor" took much longer. "Showdown" took so long, I missed a piece. Did manage to complete the other two, though. Got the Super Ewok Catapult, Regenerating Hearts, and x8 extras (though it'll be a while before I can afford the last-named).
Finished the night with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. I go into more details on the sequel to Mamma Mia! from last year at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Hot Times In the Summer
Started off another hazy, sunny morning with Goof Troop. This is the second Disney Afternoon show to turn up at the Haddon Township Library. Unlike Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers, I didn't get to see this one when it was new. The show debuted in September 1992, six months after Mom had our cable turned off due to high rates. I occasionally caught episodes in re-runs when I was in college, but I never saw the original run. It's more of a typical sitcom than Chip n' Dale or Ducktales. Basically, Goofy and his son Max live next door to Pete and his family, including his son PJ. Max and PJ are friends. Goofy and Pete aren't as friendly. Max concocts schemes while their fathers try to compete and help raise their sons.
In the first regular episode, PJ is feeling "Axed by Addition" when his father threatens to ground him for life if he gets a bad grade on a test. Terrified that he'll never be allowed out again, PJ creates a list of all the things he's always wanted to do but never did. Max has him fake illness to get out of school so he can do everything, which leads Pete to think his son is deathly sick. He follows them all over town while they try to finish out the list.
Pete adores his boat more than anything...except his wife Peg, a real estate broker. In "Unreal Estate," Peg wants Pete to pay a handyman to take care of a certain property she wants to show off. Pete spends it on a fish finder for his boat and ends up hiring Goofy to do it instead.
Headed out to work shortly after the episode ended. Work was a bit of a pain. I was alone for most of the afternoon, until about 3 PM. I alternated between doing the carts and sweeping the store. I might have done this faster if I didn't end up in the register a few times. One of the cashiers called out, a teenager who takes off at least once a week. You'd never know we were between quiet and mildly steady for most of the day, given how fast the carts vanished. Didn't help that it was humid and hot as heck. Two young men arrived later to take over the carts and sweeping, giving me a chance to round up baskets and the outside trash and recycling before I ended up in the register again.
Wanted to get a few things after work. I like eating Fig Newtons during the summer when it's too hot to bake. The good Nabisco cookies are usually too expensive, but Acme was having a decent sale. Also grabbed a bagel for lunch tomorrow and a Snickers Almond Butter Bar.
Went into writing when I got home. Harris insists that Leia leave with him. She's not thrilled with the idea, but Charlie runs out and says they really don't have a choice. Most of the other Rebel League members have left, and the remaining transport vehicles are full or out of commission. It looks like the Falcon might not work for a minute, before it finally takes off into the winter sky...to the frustration of Darth "Father of Death" Vader, who wants his family together at any cost.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Squeezed a little more Goof Troop in. Max and PJ get into trouble playing pranks on the first day of summer vacation, prompting their fathers to take them camping. The four guys learn that "You Camp Take It With You" when the dad's competing against each other first makes a mess of Goof's tent and Pete's attempt at fishing, then pits them against Humphrey the Bear and his own son.
Moved on to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga after dinner. Worked on the rest of the Empire episodes. Considering how long it is in Story Mode, "Dagobah" didn't take nearly as long as it usually does. Easily got all the pieces there. "Falcon Flight" was more complicated, involving switching from the Millennium Falcon to one of the TIE Fighters in order enter special TIE-only areas and get the remaining pieces. I had such a hard time with "Hoth Battle," I got the red brick but still missed one piece. I'll go back for it another time.
Finished the night after a shower with Colette. Colette (Keira Knightly) is a Frenchwoman living the countryside when she falls for and marries Willy (Dominic West), who has several people ghostwriting books for him but can't make the money to cover his lavish lifestyle. Colette threatens to leave him when she learns he's having affairs, but he convinces her to return and write novels for him based after her school days. When he does release her book, about a school girl named Claudine, they become a sensation. He buys a house in the country and locks Colette in, telling her to write more stories. They become one of the most famous couples in Paris, but Colette isn't happy. She has an affair with a woman, only to learn that Willy did, too...and her next story about the affair prompts the woman's husband to destroy the copies. Fortunately, Willy has the copyright.
Emboldened by her first taste of real freedom, Colette begins an affair with the mannish Marquise de Mornay (Denise Gough) and convinces her to start a stage act. The act shocks Paris, but that just makes Colette even bolder. She's ready to take her life and her work back from Willy, and realize that she's so much more than a schoolgirl on the page.
Impressive story of a woman who learns that she doesn't have to be the things her husband or society wants her to be. Knightly and West dominate the film as the man who revels in his newfound fame, even if it isn't his, and the woman who writing provides the way to finally free her from the constraints of gender and society. If you're a fan of either of the stars or Colette herself and her work, you'll want to take a look at this.
In the first regular episode, PJ is feeling "Axed by Addition" when his father threatens to ground him for life if he gets a bad grade on a test. Terrified that he'll never be allowed out again, PJ creates a list of all the things he's always wanted to do but never did. Max has him fake illness to get out of school so he can do everything, which leads Pete to think his son is deathly sick. He follows them all over town while they try to finish out the list.
Pete adores his boat more than anything...except his wife Peg, a real estate broker. In "Unreal Estate," Peg wants Pete to pay a handyman to take care of a certain property she wants to show off. Pete spends it on a fish finder for his boat and ends up hiring Goofy to do it instead.
Headed out to work shortly after the episode ended. Work was a bit of a pain. I was alone for most of the afternoon, until about 3 PM. I alternated between doing the carts and sweeping the store. I might have done this faster if I didn't end up in the register a few times. One of the cashiers called out, a teenager who takes off at least once a week. You'd never know we were between quiet and mildly steady for most of the day, given how fast the carts vanished. Didn't help that it was humid and hot as heck. Two young men arrived later to take over the carts and sweeping, giving me a chance to round up baskets and the outside trash and recycling before I ended up in the register again.
Wanted to get a few things after work. I like eating Fig Newtons during the summer when it's too hot to bake. The good Nabisco cookies are usually too expensive, but Acme was having a decent sale. Also grabbed a bagel for lunch tomorrow and a Snickers Almond Butter Bar.
Went into writing when I got home. Harris insists that Leia leave with him. She's not thrilled with the idea, but Charlie runs out and says they really don't have a choice. Most of the other Rebel League members have left, and the remaining transport vehicles are full or out of commission. It looks like the Falcon might not work for a minute, before it finally takes off into the winter sky...to the frustration of Darth "Father of Death" Vader, who wants his family together at any cost.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Squeezed a little more Goof Troop in. Max and PJ get into trouble playing pranks on the first day of summer vacation, prompting their fathers to take them camping. The four guys learn that "You Camp Take It With You" when the dad's competing against each other first makes a mess of Goof's tent and Pete's attempt at fishing, then pits them against Humphrey the Bear and his own son.
Moved on to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga after dinner. Worked on the rest of the Empire episodes. Considering how long it is in Story Mode, "Dagobah" didn't take nearly as long as it usually does. Easily got all the pieces there. "Falcon Flight" was more complicated, involving switching from the Millennium Falcon to one of the TIE Fighters in order enter special TIE-only areas and get the remaining pieces. I had such a hard time with "Hoth Battle," I got the red brick but still missed one piece. I'll go back for it another time.
Finished the night after a shower with Colette. Colette (Keira Knightly) is a Frenchwoman living the countryside when she falls for and marries Willy (Dominic West), who has several people ghostwriting books for him but can't make the money to cover his lavish lifestyle. Colette threatens to leave him when she learns he's having affairs, but he convinces her to return and write novels for him based after her school days. When he does release her book, about a school girl named Claudine, they become a sensation. He buys a house in the country and locks Colette in, telling her to write more stories. They become one of the most famous couples in Paris, but Colette isn't happy. She has an affair with a woman, only to learn that Willy did, too...and her next story about the affair prompts the woman's husband to destroy the copies. Fortunately, Willy has the copyright.
Emboldened by her first taste of real freedom, Colette begins an affair with the mannish Marquise de Mornay (Denise Gough) and convinces her to start a stage act. The act shocks Paris, but that just makes Colette even bolder. She's ready to take her life and her work back from Willy, and realize that she's so much more than a schoolgirl on the page.
Impressive story of a woman who learns that she doesn't have to be the things her husband or society wants her to be. Knightly and West dominate the film as the man who revels in his newfound fame, even if it isn't his, and the woman who writing provides the way to finally free her from the constraints of gender and society. If you're a fan of either of the stars or Colette herself and her work, you'll want to take a look at this.
Tuesday, July 09, 2019
Summer Hair Day Adventures
Began a sunny morning with breakfast, then finishing this month's cleaning. The dust wasn't really that bad, but I wanted to get everything done. I only went around the parts that showed. I won't be doing any heavy dusting again until the fall and we get closer to the holidays.
Ran San Francisco while I worked. I just read "The Scarlet O'Hara War" segment of Moviola this morning, about the search for a southern belle to play the main character of Gone With the Wind and how crazy it got. This is the only movie I own that stars Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable. He's Blackie Norton, the owner of a Barbary Coast nightspot who want to enter politics and push for more fire regulations. He falls for Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald), the new singer at his club, but she's looking for an operatic career. Wealthy Jack Burley (Jack Holt) hires her for his opera company, but Blackie manages to get her back with promises of marriage. She leaves him after he has an argument over her dance costume with his best friend, priest Father Tim Mullin (Spencer Tracy). After his performers are arrested, she steps up and sings for him in a local contest. He turns her and the prize money away...then majorly regrets it when the world shakes, San Francisco starts coming apart around his ears, and all he wants amdi the devastation is his Mary.
The granddaddy of all disaster films, from In Old Chicago to 2012. The melodrama can get to be a bit much at times, but the effects for the earthquake remain incredible and effective to this day. Tracy was nominated for an Oscar as the pugnacious priest; Gable and MacDonald aren't bad as the lovers.
Headed out a little earlier for my errands today, around quarter of noon. I really needed to get my hair cut. I'm not letting it go again. It just gets too frizzy and unmanageable when it's long. Once again went to the Hair Cuttery in Collingswood. I had to wait a half-hour while two boys got theirs finished, but I didn't mind. This time, a young lady named Kia did my hair. She did very well, too, taking off a few inches to bring it up to just over my shoulders. That's all I wanted. She also suggested a leave-in conditioner to help with the frizz, and gave me free small packages of shampoo and conditioner that would help with my dry scalp too without being too harsh like the dandruff shampoos in stores.
Had lunch at the Pop Shop. They were still pretty busy when I got there, despite it being past 1:30. I ended up at the counter. Just ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese, and dijon mustard on a ciabatta bun. It was huge and messy, but very tasty.
Rode over to the Haddon Township Library next for this week's volunteering session. It was even busier over there when I arrived, mostly with programs for kids out of school. The DVDs were so overflowing, even with lots of teenagers helping, there was still plenty for me to return.
I took out movies for the first time in weeks after I finished. I'll be reviewing Mamma Mia!, it's sequel Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, and the TV special Anything Goes for my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog this week. Though Gone With the Wind isn't a huge favorite of mine, I figured, since I just read about it, I'd give it another try. Also grabbed Collette, the film biography last year on the French writer who eventually takes credit for her own work from her husband, and the first Goof Troop set.
Stopped at Wawa for a quick drink on another hot, humid day. WaWa always has the new and limited edition soda flavors before anyone else. This time, I tried Sprite's "lymonade," presumably lemon Sprite. It's...ok. Doesn't taste all that different from regular Sprite. It's just yellower.
Went into writing as soon as I got home. Luke does manage to blow up one of the monster tanks, but almost blows himself up in the process. Rudy manages to get him away to his car before they can both be flattened. Likewise, Harris gets Leia and Charlie out of town when he's one of the few people left to drive her. But Vader may not be far behind...
Broke for dinner at 6. Had leftovers while watching a quick episode of the original She-Ra. Even "Horde Prime Takes a Holiday," leaving his underling Hordak in charge of his newest spaceship. Hordak proceeds to use it to try to freeze the Whispering Woods. She-Ra can't hold off this menace from the stars alone...which is why she's very glad to see her brother He-Man come around to help her out. His regular villain Skeletor fights with Hordak, giving She-Ra and He-Man the chance to stop Horde Prime's new toy for good.
Did Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga after dinner. Completed "Escape From Echo Base," "Betrayal at Bespin," and "Cloud City Trap." I only needed one in "Betrayal," but the other two were a lot more complicated. There's one in "Cloud City Trap" that you have to throw a thermal detonator in just the right spot to get, and it always takes forever. In "Echo Base," there's one part where you have to jump on black bricks over a slippery slope. If you misjudge your jump even a little bit, you slide back down. At any rate, all three rounds are finished, and I got the x6 and Fast Build extras.
Finished the night with Mamma Mia! I go more into this energetic ABBA jukebox musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Mamma Mia: The Movie
Ran San Francisco while I worked. I just read "The Scarlet O'Hara War" segment of Moviola this morning, about the search for a southern belle to play the main character of Gone With the Wind and how crazy it got. This is the only movie I own that stars Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable. He's Blackie Norton, the owner of a Barbary Coast nightspot who want to enter politics and push for more fire regulations. He falls for Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald), the new singer at his club, but she's looking for an operatic career. Wealthy Jack Burley (Jack Holt) hires her for his opera company, but Blackie manages to get her back with promises of marriage. She leaves him after he has an argument over her dance costume with his best friend, priest Father Tim Mullin (Spencer Tracy). After his performers are arrested, she steps up and sings for him in a local contest. He turns her and the prize money away...then majorly regrets it when the world shakes, San Francisco starts coming apart around his ears, and all he wants amdi the devastation is his Mary.
The granddaddy of all disaster films, from In Old Chicago to 2012. The melodrama can get to be a bit much at times, but the effects for the earthquake remain incredible and effective to this day. Tracy was nominated for an Oscar as the pugnacious priest; Gable and MacDonald aren't bad as the lovers.
Headed out a little earlier for my errands today, around quarter of noon. I really needed to get my hair cut. I'm not letting it go again. It just gets too frizzy and unmanageable when it's long. Once again went to the Hair Cuttery in Collingswood. I had to wait a half-hour while two boys got theirs finished, but I didn't mind. This time, a young lady named Kia did my hair. She did very well, too, taking off a few inches to bring it up to just over my shoulders. That's all I wanted. She also suggested a leave-in conditioner to help with the frizz, and gave me free small packages of shampoo and conditioner that would help with my dry scalp too without being too harsh like the dandruff shampoos in stores.
Had lunch at the Pop Shop. They were still pretty busy when I got there, despite it being past 1:30. I ended up at the counter. Just ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese, and dijon mustard on a ciabatta bun. It was huge and messy, but very tasty.
Rode over to the Haddon Township Library next for this week's volunteering session. It was even busier over there when I arrived, mostly with programs for kids out of school. The DVDs were so overflowing, even with lots of teenagers helping, there was still plenty for me to return.
I took out movies for the first time in weeks after I finished. I'll be reviewing Mamma Mia!, it's sequel Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, and the TV special Anything Goes for my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog this week. Though Gone With the Wind isn't a huge favorite of mine, I figured, since I just read about it, I'd give it another try. Also grabbed Collette, the film biography last year on the French writer who eventually takes credit for her own work from her husband, and the first Goof Troop set.
Stopped at Wawa for a quick drink on another hot, humid day. WaWa always has the new and limited edition soda flavors before anyone else. This time, I tried Sprite's "lymonade," presumably lemon Sprite. It's...ok. Doesn't taste all that different from regular Sprite. It's just yellower.
Went into writing as soon as I got home. Luke does manage to blow up one of the monster tanks, but almost blows himself up in the process. Rudy manages to get him away to his car before they can both be flattened. Likewise, Harris gets Leia and Charlie out of town when he's one of the few people left to drive her. But Vader may not be far behind...
Broke for dinner at 6. Had leftovers while watching a quick episode of the original She-Ra. Even "Horde Prime Takes a Holiday," leaving his underling Hordak in charge of his newest spaceship. Hordak proceeds to use it to try to freeze the Whispering Woods. She-Ra can't hold off this menace from the stars alone...which is why she's very glad to see her brother He-Man come around to help her out. His regular villain Skeletor fights with Hordak, giving She-Ra and He-Man the chance to stop Horde Prime's new toy for good.
Did Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga after dinner. Completed "Escape From Echo Base," "Betrayal at Bespin," and "Cloud City Trap." I only needed one in "Betrayal," but the other two were a lot more complicated. There's one in "Cloud City Trap" that you have to throw a thermal detonator in just the right spot to get, and it always takes forever. In "Echo Base," there's one part where you have to jump on black bricks over a slippery slope. If you misjudge your jump even a little bit, you slide back down. At any rate, all three rounds are finished, and I got the x6 and Fast Build extras.
Finished the night with Mamma Mia! I go more into this energetic ABBA jukebox musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Mamma Mia: The Movie
Monday, July 08, 2019
How I Spent My Summer Day
I awoke to a light shower. It was still going when I had breakfast, then vacuumed the apartment. Watched Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation while I worked. The Toons are all delighted to be out of school and have very different ways of passing the time. Plucky joins Hampton on his family's trip to Happy World Land, only to discover they're an annoyingly naive smiley-happy bunch who would give the Osmonds cavities. Buster, Babs, and Myron the hound spend their summer on the river, dodging hungry swamp critters who think they're on the barbecue menu. Elmyra terrorizes the animals in a safari park. Fifi follows a handsome skunk matinee idol in an attempt to get an autograph, but he most definitely does not share her devotion. Shirley the Loon is also having guy problems. Fowlmouth drags her to the movies, where he proceeds to talk over the film, cut in line, and pretty much make everyone in the film and the audience want to kill him.
An old favorite of mine since we used to rent the video fairly frequently in the early-mid 90's. A lot of the gags are dated and the animation isn't any better or worse than the TV show, but if you're a fan of the show, the Toons, or the animation from this era, it's worth checking out.
It was still raining when I headed to work, but not heavily. I arrived only a little damp. The rain was starting to clear out, even as I rounded up carts. Good thing, too. Other than alternating sweeping with the head bagger, I was outside with the carts or trash the whole day. It was pretty much the same as yesterday inside - mostly dead, and never more than mildly steady. Everyone is on vacation or recovering from last week's festivities.
Thankfully, by the time I went home, it was a little humid, but otherwise sunny and much cooler. I was even able to leave the air conditioning off. Took out my own recycling, then did a little writing. Luke and Wedge are part of the Jet Pack Squadron who go up against giant robot lizard-tanks. Wedge flies so fast around them, they fall over. Luke cuts into one and uses his light powers to blow it to smithereens.
I was working on the last-named part when the phone rang. It was Rose. Our cousin Guy and his family were visiting from Taiwan. Did I want to come see him at Dad and Jodie's house? Sure! He hadn't been in the US for a while, and I had to pick up the pan from the cake I made on the 4th of July anyway.
Threw on shoes and socks, grabbed my purse, and hurried out. Everyone was there when I arrived, Rose and her family, Dad and Jodie, and Jessa, along with Guy and his wife and daughter. Guy lives in Taiwan, and his wife is a very pretty and soft-spoken Taiwanese lady. Their daughter Serena is getting so big! The last time I saw her, she was a toddler. Now she's 7, and seemed to be quite happy to play big girl cousin to an admiring Finley as they watched The Secret Life of Pets. I got to have the last of the cheese and pepperoni pizza Jodie bought, then we all shared the last of my (well-received) strawberry-lemonade icebox cake. Chatted with Guy about his life in Taiwan, the differences between here and there, and how much things had changed since the last time he was here.
Ended the night at home with more Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Picked up the remaining pieces and red bricks in the New Hope levels. This gave me tractor beam, Super Blasters, and finally, times 2. Tomorrow, I'll see how far I can get with Empire.
An old favorite of mine since we used to rent the video fairly frequently in the early-mid 90's. A lot of the gags are dated and the animation isn't any better or worse than the TV show, but if you're a fan of the show, the Toons, or the animation from this era, it's worth checking out.
It was still raining when I headed to work, but not heavily. I arrived only a little damp. The rain was starting to clear out, even as I rounded up carts. Good thing, too. Other than alternating sweeping with the head bagger, I was outside with the carts or trash the whole day. It was pretty much the same as yesterday inside - mostly dead, and never more than mildly steady. Everyone is on vacation or recovering from last week's festivities.
Thankfully, by the time I went home, it was a little humid, but otherwise sunny and much cooler. I was even able to leave the air conditioning off. Took out my own recycling, then did a little writing. Luke and Wedge are part of the Jet Pack Squadron who go up against giant robot lizard-tanks. Wedge flies so fast around them, they fall over. Luke cuts into one and uses his light powers to blow it to smithereens.
I was working on the last-named part when the phone rang. It was Rose. Our cousin Guy and his family were visiting from Taiwan. Did I want to come see him at Dad and Jodie's house? Sure! He hadn't been in the US for a while, and I had to pick up the pan from the cake I made on the 4th of July anyway.
Threw on shoes and socks, grabbed my purse, and hurried out. Everyone was there when I arrived, Rose and her family, Dad and Jodie, and Jessa, along with Guy and his wife and daughter. Guy lives in Taiwan, and his wife is a very pretty and soft-spoken Taiwanese lady. Their daughter Serena is getting so big! The last time I saw her, she was a toddler. Now she's 7, and seemed to be quite happy to play big girl cousin to an admiring Finley as they watched The Secret Life of Pets. I got to have the last of the cheese and pepperoni pizza Jodie bought, then we all shared the last of my (well-received) strawberry-lemonade icebox cake. Chatted with Guy about his life in Taiwan, the differences between here and there, and how much things had changed since the last time he was here.
Ended the night at home with more Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Picked up the remaining pieces and red bricks in the New Hope levels. This gave me tractor beam, Super Blasters, and finally, times 2. Tomorrow, I'll see how far I can get with Empire.
Sunday, July 07, 2019
Out of the Sunshine
Kicked off the morning with work. Thankfully, considering it was still hot, hazy, and killer humid, I was only outside with the carts for my first hour. I otherwise swept the store, shelved loose items and gift cards, and bagged. Got stuck in the register very briefly, for less than a minute before the actual cashier came in. It really wasn't that bad. We were mildly busy or most of the morning. I'm guessing most people went away for the holiday weekend.
Went straight upstairs and on the computer when I got home. Spent the next few hours writing. Luke and Leia take off with the Jet Pack Squadron. Luke and Wedge discover tanks made to look like massive snow beasts. Wedge flies at the speed of light, going through the legs of one and knocking it over. Luke has less luck with another that sends him crashing into the snow.
Broke for an early dinner at 5:30. Listened to Mack & Mabel while I ate. I'm in the midst of re-reading Moviola by Garson Kanin, about the early years of Hollywood through the eyes of a fictional mogul. The first few chapters heavily discuss Mack Sennett and his tempestuous relationship with one of his biggest stars, party-loving Mabel Normand. Mack (Robert Preston) just wants to make two-reel comedies, but Mabel (Bernadette Peters) has had a taste of the big time, and now she wants to do drama. Mack has no intention of ever doing anything more dramatic than tying a woman to a railroad track. Mabel turns to director William Desmond Taylor to star her in something more serious...but she ends up in serious trouble when he gets her hooked on drink and drugs. Meanwhile, he does well with his Kops and Bathing Beauties, but can't change with the times when sound comes in. He promises Mabel a happy ending...but real-life isn't like the movies, and there was no happy ending for these two.
Pretty dark, huh? The downbeat story definitely isn't reflected in the wonderful music, possibly Jerry Herman's best score. "I Won't Send Roses," Mack's attempt to explain to Mabel why their relationship won't work (and Mabel thinking she understands), is probably my favorite Herman ballad. Other good ones here include Mack's "I Want to Make the World Laugh," "Look What Happened to Mabel" for Mabel and the chorus, the classic torch song "Time Heals Everything" for Mabel, and another fun chorus routine, "Tap Your Troubles Away" for Sennett leading lady Lottie (Lisa Kirk).
The story is so depressing that the original show only ran for a little under two months in fall 1974, and no amount of re-writing has made it work in subsequent versions. The cast album, however, is a personal favorite of mine and is highly recommended.
Finished the night with more Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The Minikit Detector proved to be a godsend, helping me finish or close to finish at least 6 rounds tonight. The extra-long "Mos Eisley Spaceport" and "Invasion of Kashyakk" were the toughest; they were helped by finding the Invincibility, Super Lightsaber, and Super Jedi Slam extras along with many pieces. I still haven't found a lot of red bricks, though, including all of the times ones.
Went straight upstairs and on the computer when I got home. Spent the next few hours writing. Luke and Leia take off with the Jet Pack Squadron. Luke and Wedge discover tanks made to look like massive snow beasts. Wedge flies at the speed of light, going through the legs of one and knocking it over. Luke has less luck with another that sends him crashing into the snow.
Broke for an early dinner at 5:30. Listened to Mack & Mabel while I ate. I'm in the midst of re-reading Moviola by Garson Kanin, about the early years of Hollywood through the eyes of a fictional mogul. The first few chapters heavily discuss Mack Sennett and his tempestuous relationship with one of his biggest stars, party-loving Mabel Normand. Mack (Robert Preston) just wants to make two-reel comedies, but Mabel (Bernadette Peters) has had a taste of the big time, and now she wants to do drama. Mack has no intention of ever doing anything more dramatic than tying a woman to a railroad track. Mabel turns to director William Desmond Taylor to star her in something more serious...but she ends up in serious trouble when he gets her hooked on drink and drugs. Meanwhile, he does well with his Kops and Bathing Beauties, but can't change with the times when sound comes in. He promises Mabel a happy ending...but real-life isn't like the movies, and there was no happy ending for these two.
Pretty dark, huh? The downbeat story definitely isn't reflected in the wonderful music, possibly Jerry Herman's best score. "I Won't Send Roses," Mack's attempt to explain to Mabel why their relationship won't work (and Mabel thinking she understands), is probably my favorite Herman ballad. Other good ones here include Mack's "I Want to Make the World Laugh," "Look What Happened to Mabel" for Mabel and the chorus, the classic torch song "Time Heals Everything" for Mabel, and another fun chorus routine, "Tap Your Troubles Away" for Sennett leading lady Lottie (Lisa Kirk).
The story is so depressing that the original show only ran for a little under two months in fall 1974, and no amount of re-writing has made it work in subsequent versions. The cast album, however, is a personal favorite of mine and is highly recommended.
Finished the night with more Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The Minikit Detector proved to be a godsend, helping me finish or close to finish at least 6 rounds tonight. The extra-long "Mos Eisley Spaceport" and "Invasion of Kashyakk" were the toughest; they were helped by finding the Invincibility, Super Lightsaber, and Super Jedi Slam extras along with many pieces. I still haven't found a lot of red bricks, though, including all of the times ones.
Saturday, July 06, 2019
Beating the Storms to the Punch
The sun was still out when I rolled out of bed this morning. Threw on the last disc of that Looney Tunes set I bought last month as I ate breakfast. Porky, Warners' every man and perennial straight-pig, is mostly the focus of this set. It kicked off well with "Tom Turk and Daffy," as Daffy tries to outrun Porky and his dog and avoid ending up on the Thanksgiving dinner table. "Wagon Heels" is marred by a few Native American stereotypes as a certain young pig heads west. A "Mouse Menace" is driving Porky crazy, until he buys a robot cat to get rid of it.
It was past 11 when I finally made it out the door. Made my way past Charlie working on the deck, then headed to the Collingswood Farm Market. While they weren't quite as busy as usual that late in the morning, there was still a fair crowd picking up produce for barbecues and pool parties. And no wonder. The summer harvest continues to roll out. Along with seeing the corn truck for the first time this year, I also saw Chinese beans, cucumbers, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, and green beans. Ended up with mushrooms, two ears of corn, blueberries, a tomato, nectarines, a giant cucumber, and an even bigger zucchini.
Stopped at the WaWa across the street from the parking lot really quickly for a drink. It was so hot and humid, I was sweating to death without one. WaWa is having a dollar sale on their 32 ounce cups. They also use the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that allow you to choose unique soda flavors. I went with Minute Maid Sparkling Cherry Limeade.
Went straight home after that. Dark clouds had begun to gather while I was at WaWa. They burst when I was on my way home, but only for a second or two. I managed to rush back to my place as soon as it ended, put the groceries away, grab my laundry, and rush back out.
The laundromat was pretty busy when I arrived, despite the weather. Dodged at least two families and two college students to get a washer; ignored golf and news on TV and worked on story notes until my pen ran out of ink. Browsed through two Women's Day magazines while the dryer was on.
It was getting darker and darker as I unlocked my bike. I literally raced the clouds home, just managing to get my clothes in and cover my bike as it started pouring. That shower ended after a few minutes, but it's been storming on-and-off, sometimes hard, for the rest of the day.
Made a smoothie for lunch after I put the clothes away, then figured it was time to clean the bathroom and the kitchen. They both needed it, especially the bathroom. I cleaned as well as I could with my sore fingers and arm.
Finished out the Porky disc while I worked. Thankfully, unlike the Tweety and Sylvester disc, there were only two cartoons that had turned up before, "Wagon Heels" and "Boobs In the Woods." The rest were new releases. It's "One Meat Brawl" when Porky goes hunting again, this time for a groundhog. Daffy is "The Pest That Came to Dinner" when he tries to get rid of Porky's termite. Porky throws him out of the park for being a vagrant in "Riff Raffy Daffy," but Daffy ends up settling down in Macy's.
"Curtain Razor" has Porky as a producer who finds himself auditioning a wide variety of very strange talents, from a trio of spoof crooner birds to a dog with his own flea circus. A shaggy, lovable mutt falls for Porky in a big way in "Dog Collared." "Thumb Fun" has Daffy as an annoying hitchhiker, while "Fool Coverage" returns him to salesman territory as he tries to shove home insurance at Porky. "Corn on the Cop" has policemen Daffy and Porky chasing after a bank robber dressed as a little old lady on Halloween. Granny just thinks they're hooligan kids after candy.
The disc ended with a few cartoons centered around Elmer or one-shot characters. Elmer has to chase ants away from his camping spot in "Ant-Pasted" and takes care of a dog who acts more human than humans in "Dog Gone People." "Gone Batty" has a skinny, short baseball team being blasted by their far larger opponents...until their mascot, a cute little elephant, goes up to bat. The last two cartoons, "Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches" and "The Great Carrot Train Robbery," spoofs the Warners movie Bonnie and Clyde with two outlaw rabbits who steal carrots from banks and trains.
Worked on writing after the cartoons ended. Luke and Leia prepare to take off with the Jet Pack Squadron. Leia leads the groups who will be escorting the non-powered workers down into the valley. Luke, Wedge, and the rest of their squadron will cover them.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Ate leftovers while watching Garfield In Hollywood. Garfield, Odie, and Jon win a local pet talent contest and head to California, where they'll compete to become stars. Garfield thinks he was born to be famous, but Jon's worried that fame may mean leaving him behind.
Worked on Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga after I ate. I'd love to finally finish this one in full, but it doesn't seem to be working. I only got 9 pieces each on "Jabba's Palace" and "Escape From Bespin," and 8 on "Death Star Rescue." I did manage to get the red bricks on the latter two, though. Can't afford Invincibility now, but I was able to get the Minikit Detector.
Finished the night after a shower with Jack and the Beanstalk. I go into more details on this hybrid live action/animated TV special featuring Gene Kelly at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Jack and the Beanstalk (1967)
It was past 11 when I finally made it out the door. Made my way past Charlie working on the deck, then headed to the Collingswood Farm Market. While they weren't quite as busy as usual that late in the morning, there was still a fair crowd picking up produce for barbecues and pool parties. And no wonder. The summer harvest continues to roll out. Along with seeing the corn truck for the first time this year, I also saw Chinese beans, cucumbers, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, and green beans. Ended up with mushrooms, two ears of corn, blueberries, a tomato, nectarines, a giant cucumber, and an even bigger zucchini.
Stopped at the WaWa across the street from the parking lot really quickly for a drink. It was so hot and humid, I was sweating to death without one. WaWa is having a dollar sale on their 32 ounce cups. They also use the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that allow you to choose unique soda flavors. I went with Minute Maid Sparkling Cherry Limeade.
Went straight home after that. Dark clouds had begun to gather while I was at WaWa. They burst when I was on my way home, but only for a second or two. I managed to rush back to my place as soon as it ended, put the groceries away, grab my laundry, and rush back out.
The laundromat was pretty busy when I arrived, despite the weather. Dodged at least two families and two college students to get a washer; ignored golf and news on TV and worked on story notes until my pen ran out of ink. Browsed through two Women's Day magazines while the dryer was on.
It was getting darker and darker as I unlocked my bike. I literally raced the clouds home, just managing to get my clothes in and cover my bike as it started pouring. That shower ended after a few minutes, but it's been storming on-and-off, sometimes hard, for the rest of the day.
Made a smoothie for lunch after I put the clothes away, then figured it was time to clean the bathroom and the kitchen. They both needed it, especially the bathroom. I cleaned as well as I could with my sore fingers and arm.
Finished out the Porky disc while I worked. Thankfully, unlike the Tweety and Sylvester disc, there were only two cartoons that had turned up before, "Wagon Heels" and "Boobs In the Woods." The rest were new releases. It's "One Meat Brawl" when Porky goes hunting again, this time for a groundhog. Daffy is "The Pest That Came to Dinner" when he tries to get rid of Porky's termite. Porky throws him out of the park for being a vagrant in "Riff Raffy Daffy," but Daffy ends up settling down in Macy's.
"Curtain Razor" has Porky as a producer who finds himself auditioning a wide variety of very strange talents, from a trio of spoof crooner birds to a dog with his own flea circus. A shaggy, lovable mutt falls for Porky in a big way in "Dog Collared." "Thumb Fun" has Daffy as an annoying hitchhiker, while "Fool Coverage" returns him to salesman territory as he tries to shove home insurance at Porky. "Corn on the Cop" has policemen Daffy and Porky chasing after a bank robber dressed as a little old lady on Halloween. Granny just thinks they're hooligan kids after candy.
The disc ended with a few cartoons centered around Elmer or one-shot characters. Elmer has to chase ants away from his camping spot in "Ant-Pasted" and takes care of a dog who acts more human than humans in "Dog Gone People." "Gone Batty" has a skinny, short baseball team being blasted by their far larger opponents...until their mascot, a cute little elephant, goes up to bat. The last two cartoons, "Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches" and "The Great Carrot Train Robbery," spoofs the Warners movie Bonnie and Clyde with two outlaw rabbits who steal carrots from banks and trains.
Worked on writing after the cartoons ended. Luke and Leia prepare to take off with the Jet Pack Squadron. Leia leads the groups who will be escorting the non-powered workers down into the valley. Luke, Wedge, and the rest of their squadron will cover them.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Ate leftovers while watching Garfield In Hollywood. Garfield, Odie, and Jon win a local pet talent contest and head to California, where they'll compete to become stars. Garfield thinks he was born to be famous, but Jon's worried that fame may mean leaving him behind.
Worked on Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga after I ate. I'd love to finally finish this one in full, but it doesn't seem to be working. I only got 9 pieces each on "Jabba's Palace" and "Escape From Bespin," and 8 on "Death Star Rescue." I did manage to get the red bricks on the latter two, though. Can't afford Invincibility now, but I was able to get the Minikit Detector.
Finished the night after a shower with Jack and the Beanstalk. I go into more details on this hybrid live action/animated TV special featuring Gene Kelly at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Jack and the Beanstalk (1967)
Friday, July 05, 2019
Sudden Summer Showers
Spent a cloudy, humid morning after breakfast by taking down the 4th of July decorations. Replaced the starburst patriotic ribbon on the front door with a sunflower-and-garden-themed wooden banner. Otherwise, I left the remaining summer decorations alone. I won't be changing those until September.
Watched Summer Rental while I worked. John Candy plays Jack Chester, an air traffic controller who is told to take a vacation after getting into trouble at work. His trip to Florida with his family doesn't begin well. They first settle in the wrong house, then discover that their actual house is a dilapidated hulk on a noisy party beach. On the first day, Jack gets on the wrong side of snotty local big shot Al Pellet (Richard Crenna), who turns out to be the new owner of their house. He'll throw them out if they can't come up with enough money for the rent for the rest of their stay. Jack has been taking boating lessons from crusty sailor Scully (Rip Torn) and recruits him and the men who work with him to turn his restaurant into a working boat and beat Pellet at a local regatta. Jack's wife Sandy (Karen Austin) and their children join him...and learn that the family that works together, kicks snob rear together.
Typical comedy of the time enlivened by decent performances by Candy, Crenna, and Torn. Nothing you need to go out of your way for, but fun if you're a fan of Candy or enjoy the "slobs vs snobs" movies of the 70's and 80's.
Went out to run errands as soon as the movie ended. Started at the Oaklyn Library. There were a few people on on the computers, but they otherwise weren't that busy. I looked over the DVDs and shelved children's books that were left out in a bin. Left after about an hour.
I parked my bike next to the Acme, but walked behind it to the shopping center for lunch. Though the Vietnamese place had finally opened, they looked like more of a sit-down restaurant than I was in the mood for. I may try them for dinner sometime. Went two-doors down to Tu Se Bella's for a slice of mushroom, a slice of white broccoli, and a bottle of Orange Vanilla Coke.
The Acme wasn't busy when I arrived (though a co-worker I ran into claimed it had been earlier in the morning). I didn't really need much under any circumstances. The leftovers I got from Jodie yesterday and what I already had in my fridge should cover my dinners for a week or more. Just restocked ground turkey, breakfast cookies (Belvita this time), Fig Newtons, skim milk, peanut butter, Jello (pudding and gelatin), and cereal. Had a free coupon for shredded cheese from the online rewards program. Turkey Hill ice cream was also on a good sale; treated myself to their divine Southern Lemon Pie. I badly needed Liquid Plumber for the drain in my tub, which has been running slow for days.
My schedule for next week is...pretty much the same as this week. Earlier hours on Sunday, same days off. In good news, that will give me plenty of time to clean the apartment and start looking for social media platforms to push my writing on. It's still not enough hours, though, and this time I won't have the holiday to make up for it.
Put everything away quickly when I got home. Ran Garfield In the Rough as I got organized and poured the Liquid Plumber down the drain. Garfield would rather be eating raisins than going camping with Jon and Odie. He's ready to pack it in when it's announced that there's a panther loose in the area...but when those he loves are attacked, Garfield finds himself able to rise to the occasion.
Worked on writing for the rest of the afternoon. Chewie hurries over Luke to give him lots of good-bye kisses and nearly lands him on the floor. Harris isn't quite as affectionate, but he does make sure to say good-bye to his buddy. An alarm indicates that Vader and his Shadow Men are getting close. Harris prepares to leave, while Leia and Luke go to help evacuate the others.
(Incidentally, it had been hot, sunny, and killer humid for most of the day, but dark clouds started building as early as 3 PM. By the time I was half-way through writing, a small thunderstorm had moved in. It wasn't anywhere near as crazy as a few days ago and seems to have come and gone without doing much more than leaving the porch a bit wet.)
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Started putting a dent in those leftovers, then switched to finishing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. After I finally found the remaining two compass points in Port Royal, I was able to build up that last barrel. That opened the door to the final round, based on the actual "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride from the theme parks. This involved finding random objects with Jack's compass and fighting three bosses you had in previous rounds. It wasn't hard at all. Finishing that gave you the last gold brick and 100 percent completion.
Mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it was a lot of fun, and this was the first game I've completed in full since I did The Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo sometime in the late 90's-early 2000's. I just wish it was a lot longer. It's neither as complicated, nor as long as the Lego Indiana Jones and Star Wars games. It's also filled with glitches (although thankfully, unlike the first Lego Indiana Jones, they don't get in the way of you completing the game).
In the end, I'm glad I bought it, but I'm also glad that I didn't pay more than 5 dollars for the Wii disc. If you're a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, it's worth a look if you can find it for cheap.
Since I still had some time left, I returned to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Got all but one piece on "Invasion of Naboo" and all but two pieces on "Darth Maul." I think I'll stick with this one for a while and see if I can finally 100 percent finish it.
Ended the night with A Night at the Opera. My favorite Marx Brothers movie begins in Italy, where Mr. Driftwood (Groucho) is hoping to hire handsome but arrogant opera star Laspari (Walter Woof King) for Mrs. Claypool's (Margaret Dumont) new opera company. What he gets is a poor young singer named Baroni (Allan Jones) who loves the beautiful female star Rosa (Kitty Carlisle). Tomasso (Harpo) and Fiorello (Chico) manage to get him on the boat to New York, where they all proceed to stuff them and everyone in the boat into their tiny stateroom.. Even after they arrive, the cops are after them due to their being in the US illegally, and Gottlieb (Sig Ruman), the director of Mrs. Claypool's opera company, has his suspicions about Groucho. It'll take all the Brothers' know-how and cunning to evade Gottlieb and the Sargent (Robert Henderson O'Connor) and get these lovers on the stage where they belong.
This is by far the funniest movie the Marx Brothers ever did, with quips flying fast and furious. Other great sequences include Groucho and Chico's "party of the first part" routine in the beginning and end and the hilarious destruction of the Il Trovatore opera. If you're a fan of the Marxes or classic comedy, this one is a no-brainer.
Watched Summer Rental while I worked. John Candy plays Jack Chester, an air traffic controller who is told to take a vacation after getting into trouble at work. His trip to Florida with his family doesn't begin well. They first settle in the wrong house, then discover that their actual house is a dilapidated hulk on a noisy party beach. On the first day, Jack gets on the wrong side of snotty local big shot Al Pellet (Richard Crenna), who turns out to be the new owner of their house. He'll throw them out if they can't come up with enough money for the rent for the rest of their stay. Jack has been taking boating lessons from crusty sailor Scully (Rip Torn) and recruits him and the men who work with him to turn his restaurant into a working boat and beat Pellet at a local regatta. Jack's wife Sandy (Karen Austin) and their children join him...and learn that the family that works together, kicks snob rear together.
Typical comedy of the time enlivened by decent performances by Candy, Crenna, and Torn. Nothing you need to go out of your way for, but fun if you're a fan of Candy or enjoy the "slobs vs snobs" movies of the 70's and 80's.
Went out to run errands as soon as the movie ended. Started at the Oaklyn Library. There were a few people on on the computers, but they otherwise weren't that busy. I looked over the DVDs and shelved children's books that were left out in a bin. Left after about an hour.
I parked my bike next to the Acme, but walked behind it to the shopping center for lunch. Though the Vietnamese place had finally opened, they looked like more of a sit-down restaurant than I was in the mood for. I may try them for dinner sometime. Went two-doors down to Tu Se Bella's for a slice of mushroom, a slice of white broccoli, and a bottle of Orange Vanilla Coke.
The Acme wasn't busy when I arrived (though a co-worker I ran into claimed it had been earlier in the morning). I didn't really need much under any circumstances. The leftovers I got from Jodie yesterday and what I already had in my fridge should cover my dinners for a week or more. Just restocked ground turkey, breakfast cookies (Belvita this time), Fig Newtons, skim milk, peanut butter, Jello (pudding and gelatin), and cereal. Had a free coupon for shredded cheese from the online rewards program. Turkey Hill ice cream was also on a good sale; treated myself to their divine Southern Lemon Pie. I badly needed Liquid Plumber for the drain in my tub, which has been running slow for days.
My schedule for next week is...pretty much the same as this week. Earlier hours on Sunday, same days off. In good news, that will give me plenty of time to clean the apartment and start looking for social media platforms to push my writing on. It's still not enough hours, though, and this time I won't have the holiday to make up for it.
Put everything away quickly when I got home. Ran Garfield In the Rough as I got organized and poured the Liquid Plumber down the drain. Garfield would rather be eating raisins than going camping with Jon and Odie. He's ready to pack it in when it's announced that there's a panther loose in the area...but when those he loves are attacked, Garfield finds himself able to rise to the occasion.
Worked on writing for the rest of the afternoon. Chewie hurries over Luke to give him lots of good-bye kisses and nearly lands him on the floor. Harris isn't quite as affectionate, but he does make sure to say good-bye to his buddy. An alarm indicates that Vader and his Shadow Men are getting close. Harris prepares to leave, while Leia and Luke go to help evacuate the others.
(Incidentally, it had been hot, sunny, and killer humid for most of the day, but dark clouds started building as early as 3 PM. By the time I was half-way through writing, a small thunderstorm had moved in. It wasn't anywhere near as crazy as a few days ago and seems to have come and gone without doing much more than leaving the porch a bit wet.)
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Started putting a dent in those leftovers, then switched to finishing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. After I finally found the remaining two compass points in Port Royal, I was able to build up that last barrel. That opened the door to the final round, based on the actual "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride from the theme parks. This involved finding random objects with Jack's compass and fighting three bosses you had in previous rounds. It wasn't hard at all. Finishing that gave you the last gold brick and 100 percent completion.
Mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it was a lot of fun, and this was the first game I've completed in full since I did The Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo sometime in the late 90's-early 2000's. I just wish it was a lot longer. It's neither as complicated, nor as long as the Lego Indiana Jones and Star Wars games. It's also filled with glitches (although thankfully, unlike the first Lego Indiana Jones, they don't get in the way of you completing the game).
In the end, I'm glad I bought it, but I'm also glad that I didn't pay more than 5 dollars for the Wii disc. If you're a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, it's worth a look if you can find it for cheap.
Since I still had some time left, I returned to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Got all but one piece on "Invasion of Naboo" and all but two pieces on "Darth Maul." I think I'll stick with this one for a while and see if I can finally 100 percent finish it.
Ended the night with A Night at the Opera. My favorite Marx Brothers movie begins in Italy, where Mr. Driftwood (Groucho) is hoping to hire handsome but arrogant opera star Laspari (Walter Woof King) for Mrs. Claypool's (Margaret Dumont) new opera company. What he gets is a poor young singer named Baroni (Allan Jones) who loves the beautiful female star Rosa (Kitty Carlisle). Tomasso (Harpo) and Fiorello (Chico) manage to get him on the boat to New York, where they all proceed to stuff them and everyone in the boat into their tiny stateroom.. Even after they arrive, the cops are after them due to their being in the US illegally, and Gottlieb (Sig Ruman), the director of Mrs. Claypool's opera company, has his suspicions about Groucho. It'll take all the Brothers' know-how and cunning to evade Gottlieb and the Sargent (Robert Henderson O'Connor) and get these lovers on the stage where they belong.
This is by far the funniest movie the Marx Brothers ever did, with quips flying fast and furious. Other great sequences include Groucho and Chico's "party of the first part" routine in the beginning and end and the hilarious destruction of the Il Trovatore opera. If you're a fan of the Marxes or classic comedy, this one is a no-brainer.
Thursday, July 04, 2019
Yankee Doodle Girl
Kicked off the morning with short stories from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Among the material are a chapter from Little Town on the Prairie that has Laura and Carrie joining their pa for an outing in town. They watch their friend Alfonso win at the local horse races and enjoy lemonade from a barrel, while Laura hears the reading of the Declaration of Independence and thinks of the meaning of liberty. Other material in Colliers included The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and several patriotic poems.
Also did a more straightforward prose story about Paul Revere in Disney's vintage Storybookland anthology, along with Ben and Me. The "me" is Amos, a mouse who moves in with Ben Franklin and helps him invent most of his famous creations, including bifocals and the Franklin stove. He parts after Ben uses him in his electricity experiment, but Ben claims he's the only one who can help him and Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence.
Watched Yankee Doodle Cricket during breakfast. Amos isn't the only mouse who claims to have shaped significant events in American history. Tucker the mouse insisted that an ancestor of his wrote the Declaration of Independence as a treaty between cats and mice and created the colony's original "Don't Tread On Me" flag, and that Chester's ancestor wrote "Yankee Doodle."
Did a quick short while getting ready to go to work. "Patriotic Popeye" is ready to celebrate the fourth, but not for his nephews to be setting off fireworks. Their uncle shows them safer ways to enjoy the holiday.
Today was my one early work day this week. It wasn't bad when I got in, but it picked up when people started getting ready for the parades around 9:30-10, to the point where I kept getting called in from the carts to do registers. I also kept getting six orders at once when I'd be trying to get back outside. Thankfully, I got more help later, giving me a chance to bag and sweep later.
Went straight home after work. Watched cartoons while relaxing and getting organized. Donald tries to get a night picnic together for him and Daisy in "Donald's Failed Fourth," but the blanket and chairs won't cooperate. "The Yankee Doodle Mouse" has Tom and Jerry take their usual cat-and-mouse antics to a fireworks factory. The Pink Panther is "Pinky Doodle," who has to tell Philadelphia that the British are coming, if the redcoat horse he's riding will let him! The Walter Lanz Studio's "Hysterical Highspots in American History" spoofs US history up to that point, from Columbus' first landing to the 1940 peacetime draft. "Yankee Doodle Bugs" claims he knows everything about American Revolutionary history to his nephew Clyde, but the little rabbit discovers the hard way that his uncle doesn't know as much as he thinks.
Started Yankee Doodle Dandy while reading Summer In America. I've had this coffee table book for so long, I forget where I found it. I think I got it from a thrift shop over a decade ago. It discusses how summer in the US went from being just another time of year to a time for play, rest, and travel, thanks to the Industrial Revolution pushing working people out of the cities and the rise of trains, and later cars. Among the many wonderful photos are several of Cape May, including one of the Hotel Cape May, which later became the Christian Admiral that was torn down in the 90's.
Headed out around 4:30 to Dad and Jodie's. Craig, Finley, and Craig's parents were in the pool when I arrived. Rose and Dana had just gotten out. I managed to squeeze into my new suit and join them briefly. Ooh, it was like bathwater! Much warmer than it was when I stuck my legs in last week. I wasn't in there for long, though. Jodie announced that dinner was ready at 5.
While Jodie's spread wasn't as big as previous 4th of Julys, there was still plenty of food. Rose and Craig donated steak, hot dogs, big juicy burgers, and bowls of watermelon chunks, super-sweet pineapple, grapes, and blueberries. Jodie made pasta salad, potato salad, broiled asparagus, and a strange bacon-celery concoction that still tasted really good. Craig found Finley's beach-themed birthday cake at the Acme. Khai added Teddy Grahams and gummy sharks and turtles to make it look more festive. There was my strawberry-lemonade icebox cake, too.
Finley opened her presents after we ate. I'm glad I bought her the sparkly purple boa. It goes well with all the play jewelry and accessories her grandparents bought her, including tiaras, necklaces, a Moana necklace (at the moment, that's her favorite movie), a pretty play dress from her grandmother in Cape May County, and a lovely ballerina jewelry box and her own little cat-shaped purse and wallet from Craig's parents. She also got two plush-and-satin blankets that looks so comfy, I'm tempted to see if they make adult sizes. Her favorite presents were the play eggs that open and have to be aligned with the right colors and number of pegs. She played with those eggs the whole rest of the time she was there.
After Finley finished, Khai insisted on setting off some fireworks. His friend Chloe came around to see what the noise was all about. Most of them were tiny little pink or purple or green flames, but there were larger ones in red, green, and gold that crackled and popped like cereal. Khai told his dad and Dana that he wanted to save at least a few for later that night, so he and Chloe switched to waving around sparklers, pretending they were casting Harry Potter spells.
The party finally broke up around 7:30. I went home, changed, and listened to the second disc of America the Beautiful before heading back out. Though it was still humid, it was also cloudy, cool, and windy by this point. Along with a towel and a bottle of water, I brought an umbrella, just in case.
The umbrella was unnecessary. We never got anything worse than a nice, cool breeze and continuing clouds. I settled down at Newton Lake Park and was just listening to the families and kids around me when the first fireworks went off. They were gorgeous, as the Collingswood fireworks always are. I especially loved the interlocking rings of red, white, and blue. That just looked cool.
Considering what a mess the White Horse Pike always is after the fireworks, I took the first opening I could and crossed over with a couple of families near CVS. Strolled down the back roads to avoid the continuing traffic. Walking home from the fireworks is actually my favorite part of the holiday. It's peaceful, with just the crickets, the hum of air conditioners, and the occasional firework going off in the background. Though one family was dragging damaged furniture to the curb for trash tomorrow, most people were probably either still getting home from the fireworks, already at home and in bed, or on vacation.
Finished the night after a much-needed shower with the rest of Yankee Doodle Dandy. I go further into this biography of ultra-patriotic songwriter George M. Cohan (who also has a birthday the day before the 4th) at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Yankee Doodle Dandy
And whether you're celebrating your birthday today or America's, I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July (and that our neighbors the north enjoyed their Canada Day on the 1st).
Also did a more straightforward prose story about Paul Revere in Disney's vintage Storybookland anthology, along with Ben and Me. The "me" is Amos, a mouse who moves in with Ben Franklin and helps him invent most of his famous creations, including bifocals and the Franklin stove. He parts after Ben uses him in his electricity experiment, but Ben claims he's the only one who can help him and Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence.
Watched Yankee Doodle Cricket during breakfast. Amos isn't the only mouse who claims to have shaped significant events in American history. Tucker the mouse insisted that an ancestor of his wrote the Declaration of Independence as a treaty between cats and mice and created the colony's original "Don't Tread On Me" flag, and that Chester's ancestor wrote "Yankee Doodle."
Did a quick short while getting ready to go to work. "Patriotic Popeye" is ready to celebrate the fourth, but not for his nephews to be setting off fireworks. Their uncle shows them safer ways to enjoy the holiday.
Today was my one early work day this week. It wasn't bad when I got in, but it picked up when people started getting ready for the parades around 9:30-10, to the point where I kept getting called in from the carts to do registers. I also kept getting six orders at once when I'd be trying to get back outside. Thankfully, I got more help later, giving me a chance to bag and sweep later.
Went straight home after work. Watched cartoons while relaxing and getting organized. Donald tries to get a night picnic together for him and Daisy in "Donald's Failed Fourth," but the blanket and chairs won't cooperate. "The Yankee Doodle Mouse" has Tom and Jerry take their usual cat-and-mouse antics to a fireworks factory. The Pink Panther is "Pinky Doodle," who has to tell Philadelphia that the British are coming, if the redcoat horse he's riding will let him! The Walter Lanz Studio's "Hysterical Highspots in American History" spoofs US history up to that point, from Columbus' first landing to the 1940 peacetime draft. "Yankee Doodle Bugs" claims he knows everything about American Revolutionary history to his nephew Clyde, but the little rabbit discovers the hard way that his uncle doesn't know as much as he thinks.
Started Yankee Doodle Dandy while reading Summer In America. I've had this coffee table book for so long, I forget where I found it. I think I got it from a thrift shop over a decade ago. It discusses how summer in the US went from being just another time of year to a time for play, rest, and travel, thanks to the Industrial Revolution pushing working people out of the cities and the rise of trains, and later cars. Among the many wonderful photos are several of Cape May, including one of the Hotel Cape May, which later became the Christian Admiral that was torn down in the 90's.
Headed out around 4:30 to Dad and Jodie's. Craig, Finley, and Craig's parents were in the pool when I arrived. Rose and Dana had just gotten out. I managed to squeeze into my new suit and join them briefly. Ooh, it was like bathwater! Much warmer than it was when I stuck my legs in last week. I wasn't in there for long, though. Jodie announced that dinner was ready at 5.
While Jodie's spread wasn't as big as previous 4th of Julys, there was still plenty of food. Rose and Craig donated steak, hot dogs, big juicy burgers, and bowls of watermelon chunks, super-sweet pineapple, grapes, and blueberries. Jodie made pasta salad, potato salad, broiled asparagus, and a strange bacon-celery concoction that still tasted really good. Craig found Finley's beach-themed birthday cake at the Acme. Khai added Teddy Grahams and gummy sharks and turtles to make it look more festive. There was my strawberry-lemonade icebox cake, too.
Finley opened her presents after we ate. I'm glad I bought her the sparkly purple boa. It goes well with all the play jewelry and accessories her grandparents bought her, including tiaras, necklaces, a Moana necklace (at the moment, that's her favorite movie), a pretty play dress from her grandmother in Cape May County, and a lovely ballerina jewelry box and her own little cat-shaped purse and wallet from Craig's parents. She also got two plush-and-satin blankets that looks so comfy, I'm tempted to see if they make adult sizes. Her favorite presents were the play eggs that open and have to be aligned with the right colors and number of pegs. She played with those eggs the whole rest of the time she was there.
After Finley finished, Khai insisted on setting off some fireworks. His friend Chloe came around to see what the noise was all about. Most of them were tiny little pink or purple or green flames, but there were larger ones in red, green, and gold that crackled and popped like cereal. Khai told his dad and Dana that he wanted to save at least a few for later that night, so he and Chloe switched to waving around sparklers, pretending they were casting Harry Potter spells.
The party finally broke up around 7:30. I went home, changed, and listened to the second disc of America the Beautiful before heading back out. Though it was still humid, it was also cloudy, cool, and windy by this point. Along with a towel and a bottle of water, I brought an umbrella, just in case.
The umbrella was unnecessary. We never got anything worse than a nice, cool breeze and continuing clouds. I settled down at Newton Lake Park and was just listening to the families and kids around me when the first fireworks went off. They were gorgeous, as the Collingswood fireworks always are. I especially loved the interlocking rings of red, white, and blue. That just looked cool.
Considering what a mess the White Horse Pike always is after the fireworks, I took the first opening I could and crossed over with a couple of families near CVS. Strolled down the back roads to avoid the continuing traffic. Walking home from the fireworks is actually my favorite part of the holiday. It's peaceful, with just the crickets, the hum of air conditioners, and the occasional firework going off in the background. Though one family was dragging damaged furniture to the curb for trash tomorrow, most people were probably either still getting home from the fireworks, already at home and in bed, or on vacation.
Finished the night after a much-needed shower with the rest of Yankee Doodle Dandy. I go further into this biography of ultra-patriotic songwriter George M. Cohan (who also has a birthday the day before the 4th) at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Yankee Doodle Dandy
And whether you're celebrating your birthday today or America's, I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July (and that our neighbors the north enjoyed their Canada Day on the 1st).
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
American and Galactic Patrol
Kicked off the morning with breakfast and the "America Rock" shorts from Schoolhouse Rock. "No More Kings" and "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" covers the American Revolution. "Fireworks" is a jaunty ragtime tune about the creation of the Declaration of Independence. "The Preamble" explains the Constitution. "Elbow Room" shows how Americans expanded westward in the latter half of the 19th century. "Mother Necessity" reveals how scientists and inventors turned the wheels of the Industrial Revolution, and "The Great American Melting Pot" salutes the immigrants who filled the factories. The dynamic "Sufferin' 'Till Suffrage" discusses how women won the vote in the US after over a century of protests. "Three Ring Government" compares the US government to a typical circus. "I'm Just a Bill," which has an actual bill explaining just how long it takes for a bill to become a law, is probably the best-known of these.
"Tyrannosaurus Debt," a pointed commentary on the US debt and how it keeps growing, is from the much later "Money Rock" in the 90's but fits in with the "America Rock" shorts as well. "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College," which uses a spoof of college fight songs to discuss the Electoral College, was made for the DVD set I have.
Headed out for work shortly after the cartoons ended. Work was very busy for most of the day. I spent three hours outside in the heat and high humidity, rounding up carts and gathering the trash and recycling, because I was the only bagger there in the morning. Dodged the men filling pot holes in the parking lot as well as I could. Other baggers started to arrive by around quarter of 2, allowing me to switch to sweeping and doing returns. I picked the right time to go inside. Dark clouds had started gathering as early as noon. By 3 PM, we were in the middle of a noisy thunderstorm, complete with torrential rains. Thankfully, it had long finished by the time I was done.
Saw Jodie while I was doing returns. Thanks to the weather, it looks like their 4th of July party is now combined with the birthday dinner for Finley, whose birthday is today. It also sounds like they're inviting a few more people. (That doesn't surprise me.) I'll be over their house around 4:30-5 PM tomorrow.
I did need to pick up a few things after work. After the ice box cake I made two years ago was more of a mess than anything, I wasn't going to take any chances. I bought ladyfingers for the "crust" and cream cheese, strawberries, and Cool Whip for the filling. (No messing with home-made whipped cream this time.)
Charlie had a new deck leading to my apartment half-finished when I arrived. I put my bike against the fence, left him to his work, and went upstairs to change and do some writing. Leia wishes Luke would stay with her and Harris instead of rushing off to Dagobah. Luke tells her he'll learn more from a great master like Yoda. She helps him get ready to take off with the Jet Pack squad.
Broke for a quick leftovers dinner at 6:30. After I ate, I made the icebox cake. Added lemon juice to the cream cheese, Cool Whip, strawberries, and powdered sugar, then layered them over the ladyfingers to make a strawberry lemonade icebox cake. Decorated the top with blueberries and sliced strawberries in a flag pattern.
Finished out the second season of Clone Wars as I worked. Anakin is saying "R2 Come Home" when he and Mace Windu are trapped in the debris from a crashed spaceship and only his little droid can get the word out to the others. Artoo not only has to get around droid-eating gundarks, but avoid Boba Fett and Aura Sing and their crowd, who are holding the downed crew members for ransom. Ahsoka and Plo Koon find themselves on a "Lethal Trackdown" as they pursue Boba and Aura and their prisoners from the lower levels of planet-wide city Coruscant to desert planet Florrum.
I can definitely understand why this still has a huge fandom that was thrilled to hear about its return later this year. This is well-written and exciting in a way the first two Prequel films mostly weren't, with enjoyable and interesting stories, decent animation, and engaging characters. Between this and Rebels (and the mixed response to the Sequels), I'm starting to think Star Wars makes an even better TV series than a movie series. The serial format gives it more time to develop characters and bring its world to life. If you're a fan of the Prequels or Rebels, you'll absolutely want to give this earlier series a look as well.
Moved on to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean after the cartoon ended. Finally completed "Isla Del Muerta." There was a cave just to the left of the underwater statue in the secret cave that was practically invisible. It brought me to a hidden bay, where I shot ducks and slid onto a ridge to pick up the last three pieces and finish that round...but not the game. As it turned out, I missed three of Jack's compass points. Easily found the one in "Norrington's Choice," but I'm having a harder time with the ones in "Port Royal." I'll try again tomorrow or Friday.
Charlie called while I was playing, claiming that there was a package for me around front. He'd drop it at my steps when he took his dogs for a walk. That was a surprise. I hadn't ordered anything. It was from Lauren. She and her parents apparently had an overabundance of tea, so they sent me every tea under the sun - Bentley's in a tin, Twinings, Celestial Seasonings, and various brands in a plastic container. They'd also thrown in a set of three Hershey's Kisses-themed lip glosses. I really appreciated it, especially the Bentley tin. My identical tin is scratched and dented from years of being shoved on the top shelf of my cabinets.
Finished the night with honey ginseng green tea and America the Beautiful, a 2-disc LP set of patriotic music compiled by Reader's Digest in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. I always listen to at least the first disc of this set on or around patriotic holidays. Favorites here include "This Land Is Your Land," "God Bless America," "American Patrol," the clip-clops of "The Grand Canyon Suite," and a Boston Pops concert of George M. Cohan songs that's so much fun, you can hear people singing along in the background.
"Tyrannosaurus Debt," a pointed commentary on the US debt and how it keeps growing, is from the much later "Money Rock" in the 90's but fits in with the "America Rock" shorts as well. "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College," which uses a spoof of college fight songs to discuss the Electoral College, was made for the DVD set I have.
Headed out for work shortly after the cartoons ended. Work was very busy for most of the day. I spent three hours outside in the heat and high humidity, rounding up carts and gathering the trash and recycling, because I was the only bagger there in the morning. Dodged the men filling pot holes in the parking lot as well as I could. Other baggers started to arrive by around quarter of 2, allowing me to switch to sweeping and doing returns. I picked the right time to go inside. Dark clouds had started gathering as early as noon. By 3 PM, we were in the middle of a noisy thunderstorm, complete with torrential rains. Thankfully, it had long finished by the time I was done.
Saw Jodie while I was doing returns. Thanks to the weather, it looks like their 4th of July party is now combined with the birthday dinner for Finley, whose birthday is today. It also sounds like they're inviting a few more people. (That doesn't surprise me.) I'll be over their house around 4:30-5 PM tomorrow.
I did need to pick up a few things after work. After the ice box cake I made two years ago was more of a mess than anything, I wasn't going to take any chances. I bought ladyfingers for the "crust" and cream cheese, strawberries, and Cool Whip for the filling. (No messing with home-made whipped cream this time.)
Charlie had a new deck leading to my apartment half-finished when I arrived. I put my bike against the fence, left him to his work, and went upstairs to change and do some writing. Leia wishes Luke would stay with her and Harris instead of rushing off to Dagobah. Luke tells her he'll learn more from a great master like Yoda. She helps him get ready to take off with the Jet Pack squad.
Broke for a quick leftovers dinner at 6:30. After I ate, I made the icebox cake. Added lemon juice to the cream cheese, Cool Whip, strawberries, and powdered sugar, then layered them over the ladyfingers to make a strawberry lemonade icebox cake. Decorated the top with blueberries and sliced strawberries in a flag pattern.
Finished out the second season of Clone Wars as I worked. Anakin is saying "R2 Come Home" when he and Mace Windu are trapped in the debris from a crashed spaceship and only his little droid can get the word out to the others. Artoo not only has to get around droid-eating gundarks, but avoid Boba Fett and Aura Sing and their crowd, who are holding the downed crew members for ransom. Ahsoka and Plo Koon find themselves on a "Lethal Trackdown" as they pursue Boba and Aura and their prisoners from the lower levels of planet-wide city Coruscant to desert planet Florrum.
I can definitely understand why this still has a huge fandom that was thrilled to hear about its return later this year. This is well-written and exciting in a way the first two Prequel films mostly weren't, with enjoyable and interesting stories, decent animation, and engaging characters. Between this and Rebels (and the mixed response to the Sequels), I'm starting to think Star Wars makes an even better TV series than a movie series. The serial format gives it more time to develop characters and bring its world to life. If you're a fan of the Prequels or Rebels, you'll absolutely want to give this earlier series a look as well.
Moved on to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean after the cartoon ended. Finally completed "Isla Del Muerta." There was a cave just to the left of the underwater statue in the secret cave that was practically invisible. It brought me to a hidden bay, where I shot ducks and slid onto a ridge to pick up the last three pieces and finish that round...but not the game. As it turned out, I missed three of Jack's compass points. Easily found the one in "Norrington's Choice," but I'm having a harder time with the ones in "Port Royal." I'll try again tomorrow or Friday.
Charlie called while I was playing, claiming that there was a package for me around front. He'd drop it at my steps when he took his dogs for a walk. That was a surprise. I hadn't ordered anything. It was from Lauren. She and her parents apparently had an overabundance of tea, so they sent me every tea under the sun - Bentley's in a tin, Twinings, Celestial Seasonings, and various brands in a plastic container. They'd also thrown in a set of three Hershey's Kisses-themed lip glosses. I really appreciated it, especially the Bentley tin. My identical tin is scratched and dented from years of being shoved on the top shelf of my cabinets.
Finished the night with honey ginseng green tea and America the Beautiful, a 2-disc LP set of patriotic music compiled by Reader's Digest in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. I always listen to at least the first disc of this set on or around patriotic holidays. Favorites here include "This Land Is Your Land," "God Bless America," "American Patrol," the clip-clops of "The Grand Canyon Suite," and a Boston Pops concert of George M. Cohan songs that's so much fun, you can hear people singing along in the background.
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
Dolls on a Summer Day
Began a hazy gold morning with breakfast and Clone Wars. Duchess Satine isn't the only senator to be targeted by assassins. In "Senate Murders," Padme's dear friend Onaconda Farr of Rodia is killed by a poisoned drink after he advocates a bill in the senate that would end the creation of clones and slow the war. She and Bail Organa make their own inquiries to find out who wanted him gone.
Dressed the dolls for summer and the 4th of July after the cartoon ended. Samantha wears her sailor's middy and tam with the black stockings and black-and-white boots from her Flower-Picking Outfit. Josefina is in her original school outfit, the Indigo Skirt and Camisa. Jessa wears the red t-shirt from the original Blue Jeans Basics with a pair of shorts I bought from a craft show and Springfield collection socks and sneakers. Molly also wears a sailor-style blouse with her Camp Gowanigan shorts and baseball hat and saddle shoes. Whitney's ready to dance in the 4th of July Parade in her white dance dress with the red and blue sequins and bright red tap shoes that was originally sold at American Girl store shows. Ariel got the patriotic-themed peasant blouse Lauren sent a few years ago and Springfield Collection capris and white Swiss lace espadrilles. I left Felicity in her white and blue dress and cap. I really don't have much to change her into, and it works for the holiday.
I was going to have yogurt and a peach for lunch, but almost every peach in the bag I bought on Friday but one had begun to get too soft. I sliced them and make Peach Flummery instead. Returned to Clone Wars while I ate. Anakin plays a "Cat and Mouse" game with a notorious Separatist leader who was thought to be dead in a new ship that can turn invisible. He's supposed to be getting past the Separtist blockade and bringing supplies to the troops, but he would really rather use their new toy to break up that blockade.
"Bounty Hunters" honors Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, whose work inspired George Lucas as well as The Magnificent Seven films. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan crash on the Seuss-like planet of Felucia after they discover that drone droids destroyed their hospital base. They end up helping a group of bounty hunters help farmers fend off pirates lead by Hondo Ohnaka.
Headed out to run errands around 1:30. First stop was the Haddon Township Library. I mainly wanted to return The Jazz Palace, which I finished this morning. Spent an hour shelving kids and adults DVDs. Both were overloaded - several didn't fit. I once again didn't take anything out. Don't know when I'll be in next week, and I still have movies I haven't watched at home.
Needed to make a few stops on my way home. Craft stores carry feather boas in all sizes. I found a sparkly purple boa at AC Moore that was just the right size for a toddler girl. Picked up a few items at Target that were cheaper there than at the Acme, including mouthwash and bandages. Realized I'd forgotten a card for Finley; ended up at a busy Dollar Tree, where I also picked up party cake ice cream sandwich for a treat.
Went into writing as soon as I got home. Rudy insists on going with Luke to Dagobah. He has a better idea of where it is than Luke and knows Yoda. He's not entirely happy that Luke is leaving the others, but Luke insists he has to complete his training, and Yoda is the only one who can do it.
Broke for dinner and more Clone Wars at 6:30. Made ground turkey and vegetable stovetop casserole for a quick dinner. We move from The Magnificent Seven to Godzilla with "The Zillo Beast." The Republic has awoken the beast from its underground slumber with a droid-destroying bomb. They have to figure out how to get past its near-indestructible skin. "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back" when they take it to Coruscant and it gets loose and ends up destroying part of the city.
The young Boba Fett is reintroduced in "Death Trap" when he joins a group of young clone cadets who are visiting the Jedi ship. Fett just wants to kill off Mace Windu, who killed his father...but he puts half the ship and the other young clones in danger when he destroys the controls.
It had been humid, hot, and sunny for most of the day. The clouds didn't move in until around dinner, and the thunder didn't arrive until I was online. The storm was brief, but it was big, very noisy and with buckets and buckets of rain. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to have done anything since.
Finished the night after a shower with 1776. I go further into this musical retelling of the creation of the Declaration of Independence at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
1776
Dressed the dolls for summer and the 4th of July after the cartoon ended. Samantha wears her sailor's middy and tam with the black stockings and black-and-white boots from her Flower-Picking Outfit. Josefina is in her original school outfit, the Indigo Skirt and Camisa. Jessa wears the red t-shirt from the original Blue Jeans Basics with a pair of shorts I bought from a craft show and Springfield collection socks and sneakers. Molly also wears a sailor-style blouse with her Camp Gowanigan shorts and baseball hat and saddle shoes. Whitney's ready to dance in the 4th of July Parade in her white dance dress with the red and blue sequins and bright red tap shoes that was originally sold at American Girl store shows. Ariel got the patriotic-themed peasant blouse Lauren sent a few years ago and Springfield Collection capris and white Swiss lace espadrilles. I left Felicity in her white and blue dress and cap. I really don't have much to change her into, and it works for the holiday.
I was going to have yogurt and a peach for lunch, but almost every peach in the bag I bought on Friday but one had begun to get too soft. I sliced them and make Peach Flummery instead. Returned to Clone Wars while I ate. Anakin plays a "Cat and Mouse" game with a notorious Separatist leader who was thought to be dead in a new ship that can turn invisible. He's supposed to be getting past the Separtist blockade and bringing supplies to the troops, but he would really rather use their new toy to break up that blockade.
"Bounty Hunters" honors Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, whose work inspired George Lucas as well as The Magnificent Seven films. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan crash on the Seuss-like planet of Felucia after they discover that drone droids destroyed their hospital base. They end up helping a group of bounty hunters help farmers fend off pirates lead by Hondo Ohnaka.
Headed out to run errands around 1:30. First stop was the Haddon Township Library. I mainly wanted to return The Jazz Palace, which I finished this morning. Spent an hour shelving kids and adults DVDs. Both were overloaded - several didn't fit. I once again didn't take anything out. Don't know when I'll be in next week, and I still have movies I haven't watched at home.
Needed to make a few stops on my way home. Craft stores carry feather boas in all sizes. I found a sparkly purple boa at AC Moore that was just the right size for a toddler girl. Picked up a few items at Target that were cheaper there than at the Acme, including mouthwash and bandages. Realized I'd forgotten a card for Finley; ended up at a busy Dollar Tree, where I also picked up party cake ice cream sandwich for a treat.
Went into writing as soon as I got home. Rudy insists on going with Luke to Dagobah. He has a better idea of where it is than Luke and knows Yoda. He's not entirely happy that Luke is leaving the others, but Luke insists he has to complete his training, and Yoda is the only one who can do it.
Broke for dinner and more Clone Wars at 6:30. Made ground turkey and vegetable stovetop casserole for a quick dinner. We move from The Magnificent Seven to Godzilla with "The Zillo Beast." The Republic has awoken the beast from its underground slumber with a droid-destroying bomb. They have to figure out how to get past its near-indestructible skin. "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back" when they take it to Coruscant and it gets loose and ends up destroying part of the city.
The young Boba Fett is reintroduced in "Death Trap" when he joins a group of young clone cadets who are visiting the Jedi ship. Fett just wants to kill off Mace Windu, who killed his father...but he puts half the ship and the other young clones in danger when he destroys the controls.
It had been humid, hot, and sunny for most of the day. The clouds didn't move in until around dinner, and the thunder didn't arrive until I was online. The storm was brief, but it was big, very noisy and with buckets and buckets of rain. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to have done anything since.
Finished the night after a shower with 1776. I go further into this musical retelling of the creation of the Declaration of Independence at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
1776
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