Monday, August 16, 2021

Of Dogs, Harts, and Heroes

Began a late morning with blackberry pancakes and Hogan's Heroes. Hogan convinces "Killer Klink" that Schultz is really a tired old man in the body of a pudgy middle-aged man. Klink denied Schultz the right to take leave after he lost his weekend pass. Hogan wants Schultz to make a delivery, and will do anything to get him out of town.

Switched to Match Game '75 as I cleaned up from breakfast and got ready to run to the laundromat. Gossip queen Rona Barrett and R&B singer Clifton Davies joins in for two hilarious episodes. The second ended with an especially funny question asking whom Richard Dawson would marry. Rona said then-popular busty star Raquel Welch, but the others all said Brett or Charles...which is hilarious if you know the show. Richard and Brett apparently didn't get along, probably because they didn't like sharing the spotlight (and Richard didn't drink). I have no idea how Charles felt about Richard, but I do know Charles was gay and Richard was very straight. 

Clouds built up on the horizon, even as I rode to the laundromat. By the time I bundled my small load into the dryer, it was dark as evening. Oddly enough, though it remained dark for the rest of the afternoon, it never rained. No storms. Not even a rumble of thunder. I spent my time at the laundromat catching up on writing down the story notes I took at work. I got so caught up in organizing my thoughts, I didn't get out until past 2:30.

Threw on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood after I put the clothes away. He loves "Daniel's Tiger-tastic Car" which he brings to the playground to show the others. He's not as eager to let Prince Wednesday play with it, until his father reminds him that it makes friends happy when we share. Generous Miss Elaina is more than happy to let him play with her noisy pink truck instead. "Katerina Shares Her Tutu" when she needs it to play a flower and Daniel wants it for his lion costume, so they can do a jungle dance for Katerina's mother Henrietta.

Switched to new Muppet Babies while making lunch and baking chocolate butter cookies. It's a "Rootin' Tootin' Sheriff Showdown" when Piggy and Gonzo both want to be sheriff. They spend so much time competing with each other, they let the Snack Time Bandits (the chickens) steal the milk and cookies! It's up to them to save their snack and learn to work together. Animal learns "The Trouble With Chickies" when he sneaks an alien chicken from the planet Koozebane on board Piggy's starship. The chicken turns into whatever it eats, and it's eating half the ship. Animal is the one who has to drive them back to Koozebane to return his new friend, and discover why it's best to leave wild animals in the wild.

Moved on to Press Your Luck next. Whammies abounded in this episode...but even they couldn't stop the champ. He got slammed with a Whammy in the second round, but still came back to win a trip to Denver for him and his fiancĂ©e. 

Worked on writing for a while after the show. Brett has absolutely no difficulty flat-out confronting the Red King about his strict rules. He sees her as a threat, especially after Queen Betty half-jokingly suggests that she could be a queen in Looking Glass Land. He finally does take a hike after Brett tells him to leave the boys alone, but she's also made an enemy out of him...

Returned to Match Game '76 as I had scrambled eggs and tomato-cucumber salad for dinner. We had a classic episode tonight, starting with Gene making his entrance sitting in a chair and looking out at the audience through hand goggles. Richard made up for asking a pretty contestant a rather tacky question about what she made a year with making some good jokes about playing "Hard Ball" and getting a very tough Head-to-Head on "Stewed __." (He also does a cute Jerry Lewis impression about mid-way through the episode.)

While I was writing, Jodie brought in my latest eBay acquisition. I finally found The Complete Goofy Walt Disney Treasures set for a good price. Goofy is my second-favorite regular Disney character after Donald, and I've wanted more of his shorts for years. 

Started off with "Goofy and Wilbur." Wilbur is Goofy's pet grasshopper, who helps him lure fish into his barrel. Goofy's more than a little terrified when Wilbur's attacked by hungry fish, but his friend knows how to get out of sticky situations!

Skipped "Baggage Buster" and "The Art of Skiing," which I have in full elsewhere. Most of the remaining shorts on this disc were Goofy spoofs of sports or "how to" shorts, with a stuffy narrator providing instruction that's the exact opposite of what Goofy does on screen. "How to Play Baseball" gives us a world of Goofys, who turn the World Series into a noisy brawl. Wish I thought of running "The Olympic Champ" while the Olympics were on. It's basically "How to Do Track Events," with Goofy attempting to demonstrate several major running and throwing games. "The Art of Self-Defense" is actually "The Art of Boxing," as even Goofy's shadow has an easier time throwing a punch than he does.

Tried a new recipe today. Those chocolate butter cookies were put together with vanilla buttercream frosting I made tonight for my own home-made Oreos. The recipe originally called for self-rising flour. I don't do self-rising flour. I used baking soda instead...and the cookies got too fat. Otherwise, the cookies came out well and were fairly easy to make. I think next time, I'll use baking powder and try another filling, like jam or peanut butter.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart on The Roku Channel after a shower. "Murder Is a Man's Best Friend" when Max reluctantly allows the Harts' mutt Freeway to appear in a dog food commercial. Turns out the creators have a special formula that makes the dogs addicted to the food, then rabid when they withdraw...and they'll kill anyone to keep the secret from being discovered. 

The most recent Goofy short is "How to Stay at Home" on Disney Plus. It's actually a series of three shorts done in the style of the original "How To..." series. Goofy demonstrates how one puts on a mask (especially when one has a long dog nose and buck teeth), how to cook when there's almost nothing in the fridge, and how to properly binge-watch your favorite streaming shows. 

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