Gone the Rainbow

 I noticed something about the Yummy Yummy Chicken Man today. He doesn't just say those words, along with "Free sample!" and "Teriyaki chicken!" He sings them.

Yes, John and I were at Park Place again. We went to another movie together. This time, we both went to the same one. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is every bit as pretty as you think it is. Although the story is kind of lightweight and silly, it's also a lot of fun. Can someone tell me what mountains are a ten minute drive from Manhattan? Never mind, I get it. They're alternate universe mountains, somewhere near LaGuardia. Overall, the writing and acting were both better than I expected from the reviews. The last line of dialogue will be remembered for years to come. And no, it's not "there's no place like home!" They do play Over the Rainbow, though, during the end credits.

Almost as remarkable as the wonderful retro look of the film is the fact that one of the antagonists is played by a well-known dead actor. He was dead before they even started making the movie. There he is anyway, through the magic of CGI. Early in his career as an FX wizard, John Berton told an audience at Marcon (yes, the same Marcon I mentioned before) that it would always be cheaper to hire a real actor than to render him digitally.  That was at least twenty years ago, when computer animation could only be done on room-sized supercomputers. Berton's observation may still be true, but it's pretty cool, and a little creepy, that dead celebrities can be made to walk and talk again on someone's computer for our entertainment.

Speaking of well-known dead guys, one of the trailers before the movie was for a Ray Charles biopic, executive produced by Ray Charles Robinson himself.  "Well, I'm interested in the soundtrack, anyway," John said. The intro to What'd I Say was heavily featured in the trailer.  Great song.

After the movie, John bought some shirts using a couple of Dillard's gift cards, and we stopped off home for a bit. When he tried on his purchases, John was surprised to discover that he can no longer wear an extra large.  Well, gee, love, you've lost over 100 pounds. What did you think was going to happen to your shirt sizes? Some of his shirts these days are mediums, but John wanted extra roomy ones.  Turns out the XL was too roomy. 

So we went back out, to Trader Joe's and then to Dillard's so he could exchange the shirts. It had been raining earlier due to moisture from Cyclone Javier (cyclone? They have those in this hemisphere?), but it was clearing up a little. Between Speedway and the mall, a rainbow grew brighter and more complete, fed by the setting sun. Soon it was a vivid, continuous arc from horizon to horizon, with parts of a second rainbow at the edges.  It was the most amazing rainbow I've seen in my life.  I can't prove this, however, because John refused to rush home for the digital camera. It was only five minutes out of our way, but John said, "I'm not going to let your blog run my life." So I don't have a picture for you.  By the time he finished exchanging the shirts, the sun had set and the rainbow was gone. Pity. It was especially spectacular as seen from the roof of the parking garage outside Dillard's. The photo I'm substituting here was taken from the parking lot adjacent to that, at roughly the same time on a completely different day.

I'll get to the courtship story, but not tonight. I promised myself that I'd write one new Mâvarin piece every weekend, even though hardly anyone ever comments on them. (Hi, Becky! Hi, Mike! Hi, Linda!)

Karen