Started a late morning with more Three Stooges shorts during breakfast and some online work. "When You Wish Upon a Fish" is a Stooges adaptation of an old fairy tale. The Stooges find a magic fish while trying to catch their lunch, but are quickly reminded of the old saying "be careful what you wish for." They have even less luck with a nasty genie whose wishes do nothing but cause trouble for the Stooges in "3 Lumps and a Lamp." We get another fairy tale spoof when a little girl bear breaks into the Stooges' house and eats their pease porridge in "Goldibear and the Three Stooges." Curly Joe calls on ants to help him stop a mad scientist bent on shrinking the world in "It's a Small World." A lion helps the trio escape from a witch who uses her gingerbread house to lure them into her clutches in "Boobs In the Woods." And in "Curly In Wonderland," Curly Joe has a bizarre dream that lands him in a strange world where his friends look like everything from rabbits to the Queen of Hearts.
Headed to Collingswood to run errands after I got offline. My first stop was the PNC Bank there to deposit that check. After that, I decided it was time to get my hair done. This dry, cold winter has done it no favors - it's a frizzy mess. I went to Haddon Hair Designs this time. Denise, a tall, pretty woman with curly blond hair, did wonders. It's now layered to just above my shoulders and looks so cute.
I strolled around for about an hour after my hair cut. I didn't see any clothes I liked at Frugili Consignment Shop, but I did find a very early Wilton cake decorating book, probably from the mid-late 60s. (The women in the cake decorating classes either have huge beehives, flips like Mary Tyler Moore, or long, straight hair, and several wear very short skirts.) Much to my surprise, the Collingswood Variety Store, a gift shop/party store that's been closed for a few years now, was open when I arrived. A very old woman behind the counter kept insisting that all merchandise was a dollar. I have a ton of decorations and just ended up with a green shamrock tinsel garland for St. Patrick's Day. A stop at the Two Oaks Thrift Shop yielded no finds.
Went to lunch after leaving the thrift shop. The Pop Shop is always busy, especially at lunch time, but they were really crowded today. The main dining area was decorated with red and black balloons and cut-outs of The Cat In the Hat and other Dr. Seuss characters. Turns out this was Dr. Seuss Week at The Pop Shop. I had just missed a visit by the Cat In the Hat himself.
It was clearing out, even as I ordered my lunch. The Pop Shop has a wide selection of grilled cheese sandwiches, all of them named for streets in Collingswood, Oaklyn, and Haddon Township. I went with the Cambridge and a cup of that tomato soup I loved so much the last time I was there. "The Cambridge" turned out to be a roast beef sandwich with cheddar cheese, mayo, and caramelized onions on ciabatta bread. It was messy but delicious, and unlike most Pop Shop meals, not too much to eat in one sitting. The tomato soup was more disappointing, thinner and not as spiced as the last time.
I went to DiBartalo's Bakery next to buy some of those coconut macaroons I loved so much when Amanda visited at Christmas. Made a brief run to WaWa for milk before heading home. It was cloudy and cold, though not nearly as cold as it had been, and getting chilly for walking. Besides, I still had other things to do.
The moment I got in, I grabbed my laundry and went right back out again. I had a big load to do that included towels. Much to my annoyance, I discovered that more than half of the washers had been replaced by the newer ones that cost slightly more, but otherwise don't do much that's different. Thankfully, it wasn't busy, and I was able to use one of the older cheap ones and get my stuff in and out with no trouble. The traffic on the White Horse Pike wasn't even that horrible.
Spent the rest of the evening at home. I baked a Dark Chocolate Cake and made baked chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner while watching the version of The Great Gatsby that came out last year. Broker Nick Carraway (Toby Maguire) moves into a small cottage next door to the fabulous castle-like mansion of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonard DiCaprio). Gatsby's known for his amazing, carnival-like parties and for the stories swirling around him that has him as everything from a bootlegger to a killer. He invites Nick to one of those parties, but his real interest is in Nick's delicate cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan). Jay was set to marry Daisy, until World War I intervened, and she ended up marrying old money jock Tom Buchanon (Joel Egerton). Jay is determined to win Daisy back and recreate their past. Even when Jay's interest - and his own shady business dealings - finally catch up with him, he still refuses to let the memory of Daisy's love go.
What separates this from earlier attempts to film this difficult-to-adapt novel is director Baz Lutherman's signature phantasmagorical style. No wonder this won Oscars for production design and costumes. The eye candy in this film is incredible, from the eye-popping Technicolor costumes to Gatsby's amazingly detailed shindigs that put the "roar" in "the roaring 20s." The opening (with Nick in a sanatorium writing his and Gatsby's story) and hip-hop-by-way-of-jazz music reminds one a lot of Moulin Rouge, another Lutherman fantasy that begins with detailed partying and ends in tragedy.
Like Man of Steel, this sharply divided audiences and critics last year. Either you love Lutherman's style, or you just find it to be too much. I loved it, but I also love the book and several of his other movies, including Moulin Rouge and Australia. Your mileage may vary, depending on how fond you are of the book, the cast, or Lutherman's over-the-top style.
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