Song of the Busy Woman

I slept in today, then ran two early Three Stooges shorts during breakfast. Men In Black, a spoof of hospital dramas, was their only short that was nominated for an Oscar. Horses' Collars is the boys' first western story. The Stooges are detectives who have to find an IOU in order to save Nell's ranch. It's Curly who may end up the hero, though, thanks to his going crazy every times he sees a mouse!

Ran to the Haddon Township Library for this week's volunteering session. I really didn't feel like waiting until Thursday to do it. It was sunny and chilly but not abnormally so for this time of year when I headed out around 11:30. Newton River Park was busy with dog walkers, joggers, and friends out for a stroll before the weather gets worse later in the week. I dodged Canadian geese looking for lunch as I made my way to a busy Cuthbert Road.

The Haddon Township Library was also busy with people looking for DVDs on their lunch break. I had plenty of DVDs to shelve, both children and adult. Took out more of the animated Avengers, along with the Oscar-nominated animated movie The Pirates! Band of Misfits and the final film in the Thin Man series, Song of the Thin Man.

Stopped at the Westmont Bagel Shop for lunch. I decided on a simple cheeseburger and fries while watching The Chew. I was disappointed. The burger was grilled nicely, but gristly and probably not real. From now on, I'm going to stick to bagel sandwiches, soup, and small items when I stop there.

Not only did I not have any other errands in mind for today, I wouldn't have really had the time for them if I had. I went straight home after lunch. Popped Song of the Thin Man in the DVD player while making a Strawberry-Orange Coffee Cake for a snack.

Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) haven't changed much by 1947. Other than Nick Jr. (Dean Stockwell) is probably about 10 years old, they're still solving mysteries and swilling cocktails. This time, the case takes them into the world of hipster swing musicians. A bandleader (Philip Reed) is murdered on the verge of a huge tour, and one of the musicians (Bruce Cowling), who was seen fighting with him earlier, is sent to jail for the crime. The wife he just eloped with (Jayne Meadows) claims he's innocent and enlists Nick and Nora to find out who really did it. Was it the rich couple (Patricia Morison and Leon Ames) who paid the bandleader's debts? Or the chanteuse (Gloria Grahame) who knows more than she's telling? Or the father of the new bride, who didn't want her running around with musicians? Nick and Nora make friends with another musician (a young Keenan Wynn) as they try to make their way through hot jazz, weird music slang, and gunshots.

If you're a fan of the Thin Man series and have gotten this far, by all means, jump right in. The hipster argot makes it slightly more dated than most of the other movies starring the Charleses, but it's still fairly interesting, with a nifty cast and some pretty good jazz music. Most newcomers and casual fans will want to start with the first three movies and work their way through.

I just barely made it out to work in time. Work wasn't too bad. It was a bit busier than it was last week. We are getting close to the beginning of the month. I was still able to shut down without a relief at the end of the night.