Rhapsody In the Rain

Began a gloomy morning with work around the house. I'm still clearing a lot of stuff out. Went through my bag with the crocheting and sewing projects and the plastic container with the yarn. Decided to compromise and keep the bags of small yarn balls that I may actually use, while shoving the larger yarn balls into a plastic trash bag. The miscellaneous Christmas stuff that I put out first - the garlands, linens, nativity, bows, mistletoe, and the box with the New Year's party supplies - went in the now-empty plastic container. (The wreath still didn't fit. I'll keep it in the felt Santa bag.)

Ran Manhattan while I worked. Issac Davis (Woody Allen) is a TV comedy writer who loves the city he lives in, but has a much harder time with the women in his life. His previous wife Jill (Meryl Streep) left  him for another woman and is now writing a memoir about their unfulfilling relationship. His current girlfriend Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) is a teenager who is pretty and sweet, but can also be annoying and silly. He becomes interested in his best friend Yale's (Michael Murphy) mistress Mary (Diane Keaton), an intellectual who shares his love of New York and is much closer to his age and neurotic temperament. He breaks it off with Tracy after Yale gives up Mary and she becomes available. He thinks he's found the right woman, but love isn't always a simple thing in the Big Apple...

The music and some truly stunning black and white cinematography are the things here. I'm a Gershwin fan and really love some of the instrumental jazz numbers used in the background, including the opening montage to "Rhapsody In Blue." There's some amazing shots of the city here, notably the one of the Queensboro Bridge, with Allen and Keaton sitting and and admiring it from the street. It's just gorgeous. Hemingway was Oscar-nominated for her performance as the energetic young woman enjoying her first romance with an older man.

If you're a fan of the cast or Allen's style of quirky, talky romantic comedy, this is one trip to Manhattan you'll be wanting to make, too.

Headed out to run errands around 1. Started off at the Oaklyn Library to drop off the bag of yarn. Not really a whole lot going on there. The librarians chatted while the Weather Channel blared warnings about the snow and freezing cold we're supposed to get over the next few days. I mostly organized DVDs and looked over the kids' section.

Next stop was Genova's Pizza for lunch. Had two quick mostly-heated slices of cheese pizza and a can of Coke while the guys watched talk about the Super Bowl on ESPN. Despite the sandwich board outside, the slices were not $3.00 anymore. Between that and there's other, cheaper places in the area that have pizza that's just as good, I don't think I'll be coming here for a while.

It was starting to sprinkle as I rode over to the Haddon Township Library. They weren't much busier than Oaklyn had been. I had no trouble shelving and organizing DVDs. Along with more Daniel Tiger and renewing Cabaret, I took out E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial (which I probably haven't seen in at least two decades), High School Musical 2 (to review with the original on either Thursday or Saturday), and the British jazz drama All Night Long. Since I enjoyed the 60's epics Spartacus and Cleopatra so much last winter, I thought I'd give the Russian romance Doctor Zhivago a shot.

The rain was starting to pick up a little as I got out of the library. It wasn't really that cold, probably in the lower 40's, but the gusty wind had returned in full force. This was no day to linger. I just went straight home, dodging the beginnings of rush-hour traffic on Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike.

Worked on writing for a little while when I got in. Han and Chewbacca overhear Vader and his man Tarkin claiming that they're going to take the Rebels by surprise and capture them. Han follows them back to the bridge, arriving just in time to shoot the arrow that saves Luke from being killed by the Sheriff.

Broke for dinner at quarter after 6. Had leftovers while watching Daniel Tiger. Poor Daniel! I could so relate to "Daniel Feels Better." He's chasing his baby sister Margaret when he trips over his toy car and hurts his ankle. His mom takes him to Doctor Anna, who assures him that he should see a grown-up when he hurts himself. She takes an x-ray and tells him that he has a sprain and needs to keep it elevated. (Yeah kid, I've been there. I've broken my toe and hurt my ankle and my right knee twice. And I broke my toe in high school while goofing off with my sister, too.)

Dan goes over to Miss Elania's house to play astronaut with her and her mom Lady Elaine. "Miss Elania Gets Hurt" when she scrapes her arm and needs a cool robot band aid. Dan also hurts himself, getting a nasty bump on his knee, but he's more reluctant to tell a grown-up he doesn't know well.

"Daniel Gets a Cold" on the day of Prince Wednesday's big in-class birthday party. Despite him badly wanting to try the strawberry cake, he has to go home with his dad and rest anyway.

Kids aren't the only ones who need looking-after when they're sick. Considering both my sisters have been very sick themselves lately, I suspect they'd probably be able to really relate to "Mom Tiger Is Sick." Mrs. Tiger gets her own bad cold just as she's trying to finish up the invitations for Fruit Picking Day. Her boys not only finish the invitations, but make her toast and vegetable soup, too.

Unfortunately, this is another older DVD that was so scratched, half of it really wouldn't play. I finally gave up and switched to The Muppet Show while doing the dishes. Joel Gray, of Cabaret and Broadway's Wicked, starred in the show's third episode. He encourages Gonzo to "Razzle Dazzle" the audience, while Fozzie drives everyone crazy working on his "jokes on any subject" routine.

I ran that episode as a lead-in to tonight's Musical Dreams Movie Review, the decadent Bob Fosse film version of Cabaret featuring Gray and Liza Minnelli. I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid and thought it would great to revisit it.

Cabaret