We Have All the Time In the World

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and The Best of James Bond. This is an older CD collection of Bond themes up to License to Kill, plus instrumental music from the films and "We Have All the Time In the World" by Louis Armstrong on a second disc. I only had time for the Sean Connery Bond films - the iconic "Goldfinger," the title ballads from From Russia With Love and Thunderball, the lovely title song from You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra, the searing Shirley Bassey title song from Diamonds are Forever - and the first two Roger Moore movies. The dark hard rock title song from Live and Let Die is one of Wings' best songs, but Lulu's title number for The Man With the Golden Gun is as bland as that movie is strange. 

I got such a late start, I ended up taking Uber to work. I think I made the right choice. It took less than 3 minutes for the morning driver to arrive. The afternoon driver came in 8 minutes. No trouble either way, absolutely no traffic - it was all going in the opposite direction. I got to work with time to spare.

No trouble at work, either. It was off-and-on busy all day again. I did have to shelve some cold items, but I was mostly sweeping or outside pushing carts. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Once again, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for April, mid-60's and sunny and breezy as can be. They did send one of the college boys who had been cashiering to help out later. Otherwise, there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

Soon as I got home, I changed and went down for a nap. I'm sooo tired. I'm not used to working five days in a row at the Acme anymore. Passed out a little after 2:30 and didn't get up until 4:30.

Listened to More of the Monkees after I rolled out of bed. I found a double-disc vinyl version of the Monkees' second album at the FYE in Deptford two years ago. The Monkees may not have been fans of their second album, especially the bland cover they had no input in, but you can't argue with the results. Their biggest hit song, "I'm a Believer," came from this album, along with "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" and "Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow." I'm more partial to one of the group's best ballads, the lovely "Sometime In the Morning." The second vinyl disc features rarities that were recorded around the same time like "Apples, Peaches, Bananas, and Pears," "I Never Thought It Peculiar," "I'll Spend My Life With You," and the early versions of "Words" and "Valleri." 

Finished the night with the Sunday Match Game marathon. Plaid seemed to have been extremely popular for suits in the 1970's, especially early in the decade. Richard Dawson made plaid work in two jackets, one purple plaid, one brown, that he wore into 1977. He also seemed fond of a black and white houndstooth jacket. 

Gene Rayburn never seemed to quite figure out plaid. Probably the most infamous suit he ever wore was that green and red plaid monstrosity from late 1973. The panelists wouldn't even look at him when he came out. Jack Carter said he looked like a station break in Poland. (And given what Jack's shirt looked like, he wasn't one to talk.) Brett Somers and Pat Harrington teased him about his gray and white check with the pink shirt and bow-tie later in 1973, too, saying he looked like half of a vaudeville team. Richard thought he looked like a used car salesman.

Check out the checks and plaids in this hilarious and well-dressed marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Best Plaid Suits & Fashions On Match Game

Night of the Haddon Avenue Excursion

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Hattie is thrilled to share "A Hat-Tastic Hanukkah" with his friends and his father, especially after his dad says all the holiday food will be cooked on the hibachi grill. He's upset when Fergie the White Rabbit is better at cooking vegetables than him, but Alice reminds him there's still other things he can do well. It's "A Snow-Drop Summer" when Alice shares her snow cone Snow-Drops with their caterpillar friend who has never seen snow. The Snow-Drops do their work a little too well, making it snow all over Wonderland! The kids finally admit they got carried away with the snow and figure out a way to melt it.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I wanted to go for a walk in Collingswood before the rain we're supposed to get all weekend arrived. Started at Occasionette. This is a lovely little gift shop filled with fancy stationary, cookbooks, ornaments, and kitchen items. Nice store, but even the sale items tend to be expensive. 

Peeked at Innergroove Records next. They were too busy with record lovers and college students looking for new music for me to prowl the dollar bins, but I found some great stuff in the 2 dollar stacks and elsewhere anyway. One was a spurge, but I've never seen it anywhere else:

The soundtracks from Diamonds are Forever, Bugsy Malone, and the 1972 animated Charlotte's Web. (The last-named has a really cute pop-up cover depicting Zuckerman's farm. It was the splurge at $17, but this is the first I've seen of it, and I do love that film.)

Something Festive, a unique Christmas collection from A&M Records that includes everyone from Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass to Liza Minnelli. Honestly, some of the titles aren't all that Christmas-y, and the cover isn't, either. You'd never know it was a holiday album unless you looked at some of the instrumental numbers. Supposedly, this is pretty rare, and it was one of the two that came out of the 2 dollar bins. (The other was Bugsy Malone.) 

Went across the street to the Collingswood Library next. Dug a book set among both wealthy blacks and poor ones migrating from the South in early 20's Chicago off the for sale shelves: 

The Mayor of Maxwell Street - Avery Cunningham

Since it's only on the next block over from the Library, I had lunch at the Pop Shop. They were very busy with hungry families and kids off for Christmas break, but I still had no trouble getting a booth. Tried their Banana Foster Bettys pancakes. Caramelized bananas and toasted walnuts with powdered sugar. I'm not the biggest walnut fan, but these weren't bad. They were also too big for me to finish in their entirety. 

I was originally going to hit the pop culture thrift shop Time Lapse next, but they were closed for their own Christmas break. I peered briefly around another thrift shop, the more elegant Clutter, before moving on. Hurried down Haddon Avenue to Samaritan Thrift in Westmont. I made it in just ten minutes before closing. I didn't really see a whole lot I wanted there, anyway. Ended up with a bright blue L.L Bean turtleneck in perfect shape.

Westmont Party is next-door to Samaritan Thrift. Though they had birthday party napkins and plates on a table outside, I was really interested in their New Year's decorations and noisemakers. I've had my New Year's accessories for at least a decade now. I found metal and paper horns, two metal twirlers (one of mine broke ages ago), a glittering gold banner, and two tiaras, one trimmed with feathers, one with garland.

Dodged traffic on Cuthbert all the way down to the Westmont Plaza. Wanted to hit up Sprouts to do my grocery shopping there. I didn't need a whole lot. Got two Nixie sodas, two more probiotic sodas, a box of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies on clearance, and a bag of loose dried cranberries. They were busy, too, but I managed to catch one of the self-checkouts when it didn't have a line.

It was almost 4 by the time I finished there. Not only was traffic on Cuthbert getting worse, so were the kids at the Westmont Plaza. Local pre-teens hang out there, probably due to the Target and Dollar Tree, but they also tend to use the parking lot as a skate park and playground...and get into the way of pedestrians, shoppers, and cars. I rushed out in a hurry.

Put on The Wild Wild West while I got organized. James and Artemis realize they've been rooked when the Albanian princess they're supposed to be protecting turns out to be an impostor. Her brother claims he wants to find her. but he really has something more sinister in mind. They must rescue her when she's hidden during a ball that turns into "The Night of the Dancing Death" and keep her brother from letting the criminal organization he belongs to take over.

Worked on the inventory next. Added the four records I found today, plus two CDs Lauren made me for our first Christmas as best friends in 2004. I made her a cassette of my favorite Christmas music, so she sent me two CDs of hers. It's mostly country and rock holiday songs, with a smattering of songs taken directly from cartoons and Christmas TV episodes. 

Checked my schedule after that. In good news, I am indeed off until New Year's Day. Two of those are just plain old days off because I ran out of vacation time, but I still wanted to enjoy my holiday week. At least I work four hours each day for the remainder of the week, and only Thursday is early.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated while I worked. They first finished up the week with Fred Grandy, Marjorie Wallace, and Gary Crosby. After that, Betty Kennedy took over Brett's seat while she was out doing a play, and we get big George Kennedy and Phyllis Diller as a very unlikely ingenue. 

Finished the night at YouTube with more Christmas game show episodes. Christmas 1988 on Card Sharks brought in a very funny older lady and a brand-new bonus round. Here, they hear a question and slide a marker to the right answer. If they're right, they win the car. Awkward and not as much fun as turning over cards, but the lady did win.

Gene Rayburn had his own trouble on Match Game '76. Near the end of the episode, he literally ran over and beat up on a cameraman when he forgot his cue! The panelists for next week are also missing (and apparently are on GSN's airings as well - CBS must have forgotten to edit them in). 

The ladies finished dominating the week on Password Plus with Gina Hecht getting to Alphabetics with Dick Gautier. They missed the big money by literally less than a second! Debralee ended up being the big winner that week, followed by Gina, Dick, and David Doyle.

Family Feud was the biggest game show on TV when the 1981 Christmas episodes debuted. All the families brought Richard Dawson something here, including a T-shirt and a stuffed mouse. The 1982 holiday episodes were lost for 40 years before Buzzr unearthed them last year. At least one family was brought back over the judges mistaking "driftwood" for "shipwreck."

We're ending our Christmas game show week with grand championships, angry hosts, and a double dose of the Feud!

Match Game (1976)

Card Sharks (1978 and 1988)

Password Plus (1980)

Family Feud (1981)

Family Feud (1982) 

Of Doctors and Eagles

Got a quick start today with breakfast and Bluey. Bingo is "The Doctor" when the kids all play hospital at school. Honey, a beagle, wants to see Bingo, but she keeps getting pushed aside for patients with alligators on their heads. She finally gets Bingo's attention when she cheers up the "patients" in the "waiting room" with her goofy routine.

Even with rushing out to Collingswood Family Medicine, I was still three minutes late. No matter. There was no trouble after that. I had a perfectly normal check-up with Dr. Jessica. First of all, the coughing and itchy throat I've had for weeks is allergies, a reaction to this dry and dusty weather. I'd pick up allergy medicine later in the day. I intend to put off the colonoscopy until after the holidays. This is no time to be going on liquid diets and having people stick things in your body. Had no problems with getting a flu shot, though. Otherwise, I'm doing just fine. Won't need another appointment for six months.

Had lunch a few blocks down at Sabrina's Cafe. They were so busy at 11:30, they put me in the back dining area. I had "The Pumpkin King's Spooky Stack" of pancakes, Pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon swirl, streusel topping, and cream cheese drizzle. Oh, yum. Tasty, but so decadent, I couldn't finish a little bit. 

Did my grocery shopping next. I didn't need a ton of food anyway. Restocked yogurt, probiotic soda, bagels, and granola bars at the Westmont Acme. Sugar Bee apples and yogurt were on good sales, so I grabbed those. Grabbed more dried cranberries from the bins, Zevia soda, and grapes at Sprouts. The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were so good, I bought a box even though they weren't on sale. 

Finished out the first season of The Monkees when I got home. "Monkees at the Movies" are extras in a cheesy Beach Party imitation featuring obnoxious romantic lead Frankie Catalina (real-life teen idol Bobby Sherman). When the Monkees' antics drive Catalina off the production, they push for Davy to be hired in the lead role...at least until his ego gets even bigger than Catalina's. It's up to his friends to bring their diminutive British buddy back down to Earth.

"Monkees On Tour" takes a different route as we get a Bob Rafelson-directed documentary about what the guys do on the day of their concert and the concert itself. I don't mind the cute footage before the concert (especially the guys on horseback and Davy chasing a swan), but I wish he'd shown as much of the concert as he could get away with instead of constantly cutting away to meaningless bits from the guys. The concert looks fabulous, especially Peter going to town on the banjo in "Cripple Creek." (And people still say the guys couldn't play their own instruments?) 

"Monkees In Manhattan" are in the Big Apple to star in a Broadway show. First, however, they learn that the young producer is about to be kicked out of his hotel room and do everything they can to stall the manager and hotel owner. After the backer drops out, they dress as wealthy men and go across the street to a millionaire's club to find a new "angel." 

And that's that. I generally prefer the wilder and more creative second season, but there's certainly no shortage of fun episodes in the first season too. "Monkees On the Line" is probably my favorite, followed by "Monkee Mother," "One Man Shy," "I've Got a Little Song Here," and "Monkees at the Movies." I will say that, in all honesty, a lot of the first season hasn't dated terribly well, including two episodes ("Son of a Gypsy" and "Monkee Chow Mein") with heavy stereotypes that you'll want to discuss with younger kids before and during viewing. On the other hand, this one also has episodes that are more appropriate for little guys like "Don't Look a Gift Horse In the Mouth" and the pilot. 

I'm going to say, for older kids on up, show them the first season initially to give them a good idea of the characters, then dig up their first two albums and Live 1967 online or at your local record store. Either way, this show is still a blast to watch, especially for classic rock fans and real teens and young adults who'll get a kick out of seeing young people controlling their own destinies and taking care of each other.

Switched to South Pacific after The Monkees ended. I go further into this massive 1958 retelling of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Rodgers and Hammerstein show with Mitzi Gaynor as Nurse Nellie Forbush at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

A Salute to Mitzi Gaynor - South Pacific

Worked on the inventory for a while after that. Added Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, The Producers, and Ragtime. I seem to remember picking up The Producers when it came out on a trip to the Freehold Raceway Mall while visiting my (now-ex) boyfriend in 2002. I also got Ragtime when it came out, way back in 1999.  Rent was a  yard sale find in 2019. The other two came from thrift shops and record stores within the last year.

Broke for dinner and Match Game Syndicated at 7 PM. Some of the funniest episodes of the entire syndicated run came during the week with Phyllis Diller and Fred Grandy, including the one where Charles claims he can stand in for Gene...right before Gene is accidentally "electrocuted" by the faulty question holder! "I'd never take over a part that badly acted," Charles quips into Gene's microphone while the host is still on the floor.

Moved to Amazon for the Thursday night game between the Eagles and the Commanders next. The Commanders were up for most of the first half, leading 10-6 at halftime. The Eagles almost always play better in the third and fourth quarters. They were sensational in the fourth quarter in particular, roaring back to win 26 - 18. 

Finished the night with more music I've acquired lately. Soundtrack and film of A View to a Kill, the last Roger Moore James Bond movie, are very, very 1985. While the dynamic Duran Duran title song would be the biggest hit number from a Bond movie until Skyfall in 2012, John Barry's score is pretty standard stuff. Some of the music from action sequences brings out the best in this weird film, including the climatic "Golden Gate Fight" and "Destroy Silicon Valley."

Listened to Bruce Springsteen's The Ghost of Tom Joad next. This may have been too dark to see the kind of success his 80's and early 90's albums got in the US - it just missed the top 10. It's his first primarily acoustic album in over 15 years...and really, his most depressing. The slow, folksy ballads sound all alike. It was certainly too dark for most people in the mid-90's, but its folksy sound might wear better now. "Straight Time" and "Across the Border" are the best of a very similar lot. 

On the Boardwalk In Atlantic City

Began the morning with breakfast and PAW Patrol. Mr. Porter of the Adventure Bay Cafe is using drones to deliver orders, but they go out of control and start dropping food when his remote control breaks. The "Pups Save the Flying Food" and save Adventure Bay from out-of-control meal-dropping drones. "Pups Save the Ferris Wheel" when Mayor Humdinger tries to steal the one Mayor Goodway has for rides outside city hall, but it ends up rolling away with him. 

Switched to The Monkees while getting organized. Rip Taylor makes his first of two appearances on the show in "Monkees On the Wheel." The groovy quartet are playing a gig in Las Vegas when drummer Micky Dolenz wins a pile of money on a rigged roulette wheel, to the consternation of its fussy operator (Taylor). The cops think the boys were in on it, so they dress as gangsters and get in with the real ones to learn more about their scheme.

The moment Mike and Micky finally figured out how to say "Save the Texas prairie chicken," I rushed out the door. Hurried to the PATCO station, bought my ticket, and dashed up the stairs. Thankfully, the train to Lindenwold was right on time. I made it to the NJ Transit station with literally no time to spare. They're also in the midst of remodeling, and there's only one ticket machine. I was the second one in line. If I'd been even the third in line, I probably would have missed the train. It arrived less than a minute after I bought my ticket.

No trouble whatsoever after that, other than it was quarter of 12, and the train was full of lunchtime commuters on their way home or to Atlantic City. The only seat I could find was along the wall in the way back. At least the train was on time the entire way there. I lay back and listened to my iPod until it pulled into the station at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

I haven't visited Atlantic City in almost a decade. I figured I was overdue for a stroll on their famous boardwalk. That, and it was too nice of a day to do anything else. It was so nice, I changed into capris before I left. The sky was blue, the wind was cool and fresh, and the combination of salt air, grease, and fried food felt great. Given the stunning weather, I wasn't surprised to see how busy it was. Crowds of people strolled alongside me, rode in tram cars down the boardwalk, or were pulled in rolling carts. 

My first order of business after getting on the boardwalk was finding somewhere for lunch. This was easier said than done. Most places on the boardwalk are way overpriced, especially for pizza. I ended up doing a little bit of shopping first. Shopping wasn't really my goal for today. I really came to soak up the atmosphere, but I did want a t-shirt. Most of the Atlantic City t-shirts I saw on the boardwalk were gaudy multi-colored affairs that were a bit much for me. I finally found a simpler tan shirt with a nifty sea-themed Atlantic City logo and a bottle of Gatorade Zero at a gift shop called Ilene's. 

Ended up having lunch a few doors down from Ilene's at Billy's Gyros and Souvlaki, a narrow bar and diner between larger shops. I plopped down on a chair and next to a wall that were papered over with what looked like prints of dollar bills. Made up for the overly expensive pizza with a pizza burger, fries, a salad, and coleslaw. The salad and slaw were nothing special and the fries, despite having their skins, were bland. The burger was enormous, and so dripping with mozzarella that I ate cheese for five minutes before I even got to the patty. Though the patty was a little thin, it was also nicely cooked and juicy.

Started out again after lunch, heading towards the Hard Rock Casino and Steel Pier. It's not really "The Showplace of the Nation" anymore, but it is the only amusement park in Atlantic City. They were busy with many families whirling around in kiddie rides like the balloon wheel and the bumper cars. I was surprised to see how crowded it was for a Tuesday, until I noticed rides only cost two tickets each on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. 

I'm saving my riding for next month when I visit Lauren, so I started out playing games first. I couldn't sink any baskets in the first game, but I still got a small stuffed cow. I did well enough in the throw the bean bag at the balloon game to trade up the cow for a slightly larger blue and magenta metallic dolphin, whom I named Atlantica. Had far less luck playing against a large family on a water gun game. 

There was one ride I couldn't leave Atlantic City without trying. I read about their huge observation wheel at their website online. I'm so glad I did that. The view from that gondola was spectacular. You could see for miles, from the Borgata and Golden Nugget in the Marina District on one side to the vast green Atlantic on the other. Steel Pier looked like a model of an amusement park from above, populated by tiny moving action figures. Even the view of the beach from the deck under the wheel was amazing. I was surprised at how many people were jammed on the beach. I figured it would be too chilly for the beach and swimming today. There were a lot of folks in the water, too. 

It was past 3 when I got off the wheel and lost at the water gun game. Time to start heading back. I wanted my favorite fruit gel slices, but I couldn't find the at the two Fralinger's stores I stopped at. I ended up buying them and a decent lightweight emerald green Atlantic City hoodie at Peanut World, the jumble of ancient junk and racks of Atlantic City clothing about a block from Bally's. Stopped at Rita's and got a Pina colada Misto Shake to wet my whistle. 

Since the arcade on Central Pier was closed when I went by, I decided to try the new Dave & Buster's a few blocks from Caesar's that opened last year. They were smaller than they looked from the outside. No room for skee ball, but I saw plenty of everything else. Had a lot of luck with the wheels in particular, probably amassing 500 points just from them. Played Mario Kart Deluxe too, Yoshi this time. Thought a nifty underwater-themed course was appropriate. I came in second. I just couldn't pass Mario.

I was barely there 40 minutes, and I still earned enough points for another big Care Bear. This Dave & Buster's had a much better selection than the one at Blackwood. I walked out with a sweet Wish Bear. 

(I didn't find out why the Central Pier was closed until I went online. Alas, the arcade side of the pier burned down in a massive fire this past April. Apparently, they're still doing repairs.) 

Had just enough time to stop at Starbucks for a Pineapple Refresher and an orange cream cake pop before heading a block down to the Atlantic City Convention Center. This time, I got there with plenty of time to buy my ticket. Once again, there was no trouble. The trains were on time, they were full but not too crowded, and I was able to get a normal window seat on the Transit and the PATCO. The PATCO wasn't even crowded when I got off at Collingswood.

Went straight into Satin and Spurs when I got home. I go further into the first 90 minute TV "spectacular" featuring Betty Hutton as a brash cowgirl who falls for a photographer in New York at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - Satins and Spurs

Finished the night with more of my recent record finds. It's a Short Summer, Charlie Brown is the Vince Guaraldi underscore from one of two summer camp-themed Peanuts specials, along with cuts from a few other lesser-known specials. In addition to the familiar "Linus and Lucy" and "Charlie Brown Theme," Freida, the girl who is always preening about her naturally curly red hair, and Peppermint Patty gets their own themes here. I will absolutely be picking up You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown on record when that comes out next month, and I think I'll finally get It's the Great Pumpkin, too. 

Wish You Were Here holds a unique place in the annals of Broadway history. It's the only musical I know of to revolve around a swimming pool and actually have one onstage. It's also one of the few musicals that ignored a critical bashing to become a hit, lasting almost 600 performances in 1952. It revolves around the members of a summer camp for adults who are looking for rest and a little fun in the sun. Harold Rome's first score for a book musical is no masterpiece, but it does have some pleasant tunes, including "Goodbye Love" as the women decide to forget their guys back home for the summer, the bouncy "Summer Afternoon," and hilarious "Don Jose of Far Rockaway."

The big hit from For Your Eyes Only was its slinky, passionate Sheena Easton title song. Most of the remaining score heavily reflects the early 80's when it was made. There's still a lot of disco influences here, especially on side one with "Melina's Revenge" and "Gonzales Takes a Dive." 

All Time High

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Mickey's Fishy Story" has him and his friends heading to the jungle to find a friend for Daisy's goldfish Goldie. Not only are Goofy and Donald distracted by Coco the Coconutty Monkey's jungle party, but then they have to get help from mischievous Jungle Pete, too. 

I actually spent most of the time looking at all the new goodies on American Girl website. Their groovy 70's miss Julie got the lion's share of the attention this time. I knew there was a reason they recently retired the vast majority of her merchandise. They gave her two brand-new outfits and re-released one from about 14 years ago. 

Julie never had an actual school outfit. Her "school outfit" has always been her basketball uniform, since basketball is important to her story. American Girl finally corrected this by giving her a really cute "School Outfit" with a purple, blue, and white crocheted granny square vest over a purple turtleneck and a blue miniskirt. She has a second roller skating outfit, bright blue shiny shorts with a pastel heart print shirt and matching striped socks and skates. The last outfit I expected them to re-release was her Floral Jumpsuit, a white zippered turtleneck under a floral pants jumper. This version comes with sandals (the original release didn't come with shoes). It disappeared in 2015 and has been pricey on eBay ever since. 

The other big news with the historicals is yes, they finally re-released the much-requested 1850's pioneer  Kirsten Larson, along with her birthday dress. They also put Addy and Josefina out in their original meet outfits and re-released their birthday dresses. I am happy that all outfits now come with shoes or boots. Out of the four re-released outfits, the only one that originally came with shoes is Josefina's birthday outfit. Supposedly, the re-released dolls are limited editions, but we'll see how long that lasts. (And I wouldn't be surprised if Felicity reappeared in a year or two for America's 250th birthday bash.) 

Kirsten is a lovely doll, but I never did get into the pioneer era. I'm mildly interested in Addy. I'm not that into the Civil War, either, but she does have local connections. The bulk of her story takes place in Philadelphia, and she has a short story that's set in Cape May. You can still find a lot of Addy merchandise in both places. However, I did just pick up Kit last year, and I'm not really in the market for another doll at the moment. I found Josefina's Feast Day outfit on eBay over a decade ago. 

So, yeah, I just ended up with Julie's School Outfit and Floral Jumpsuit for Ariel. The roller skating outfit is cute, but I found the original red and blue version at the Cottage Shoppe in Marlton last year. I also finally dug up Kit's Bathing Suit for a half-way decent price on eBay. It was retired ages ago and is hard to find without the umbrella and other little accessories that came with it. Kit can go barefoot or borrow someone's sandals. Ari will have a new late fall-winter outfit and something for back to school, and Kit can cool off in August with my other 20th century dolls who have bathing outfits. 

Switched to Press Your Luck as I got organized. I only caught the second half of the noon episode. A young man from Parsippany in North Jersey won the first episode hands down, picking up money there. He had a harder time with a guy who definitely had a New York accent in the second, but managed to win with more cash and a "Heritage Tour" of American history sites on the east coast.

Headed out after the second episode ended. My first stop was the Shamrock Deli down the street on Cuthbert. They were busy with older women coming out from their walks for deli meat or sandwiches, but I did get a bottle of Coke Zero, a roast beef and provolone hoagie, and two chocolate chip cookies fairly quickly.

Cut across Audubon, heading down Market and around winding streets to Haddon Lake Park. I thought the spot by the Audubon Recreation Center where they held Audubon Day last week was lovely, and I wanted to check it out without thousands of people milling around. Found a unique spot at two teardrop-shaped yellow vinyl and metal tables. The grassy area was surrounded by four different forms of xylophone. There was one that looked like a larger silver metal version of a toy xylophone a kid might play, a wooden one that made a softer sound, a tower line of huge silver tubes, and one tube one that was larger than the xylophone, but smaller than the tall ones. I ate lunch, then got to play a few tunes. 

My back got stiff reading fairy tales at the table, so I moved to a low bench near the playground. At that point, it was still pretty quiet. One little girl played on the spring animals with her mom. Otherwise, it was mostly me, the birds chirping, and the breeze rustling through the new pale green leaves. It was really a gorgeous day today, all sunshine, fresh wind, and insanely warm temperatures for early May, in the mid-80's. When more teenagers started showing up from the high school across the street on their way home, I knew it was time for me to go as well.

(I really enjoyed my picnic and will absolutely do it again...later this summer, after pollen season ends. I spent the rest of the afternoon sneezing.) 

Went straight into job hunting and Rio Rita when I got in. I go further into this MGM remake of the 1929 hit with Abbott and Costello as pet-store workers who get caught up with Nazis south of the border at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rio Rita (1942)

Worked on writing for a while after the movie ended. I've been trying to figure out exactly what to do with Sir Michael. I considered taking out Lord Jerrick, but I ultimately restored him. Kathleen tries to run off in the woods, but the snow is getting thicker. She needs shelter. Then she sees one of the rabbits who raised the flower garden earlier. It almost seems to be beckoning to her...

Switched to Buzzr and Match Game '77 during dinner. We met Buzz in these two episodes, an older gentleman in a yellow coat who claimed he got his neat coat and tie from his job as the proprietor of a junk yard. This led to many junk jokes, including Charles bringing out a trash can and his sock-less loafers to make Buzz "feel more at home." There were so many tiebreakers in the first episode, they barely got the Audience Match in at the last minute.

Finished the night working on my review for Rio Rita and listening to my newly-acquired James Bond soundtracks. The Spy Who Loved Me was a massive hit that is generally regarded as the best of Roger Moore's Bond vehicles. It's Oscar-nominated theme song "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon was a huge hit in its own right. Moonraker takes an odd left turn into sci-fi territory, but its lovely title ballad is one of the most underrated Bond songs in the entire series. Most critics don't give high marks to Octopussy, likely because of it's fairly absurd plot. It was probably the first Bond movie I saw as a kid, and for that reason alone it has a special place in my heart. It's theme song "All Time High" is one of the better Bond ballads of the 80's as well. 

Shaken, Not Stirred

Got a quick start to the morning with breakfast and the most recent episode of Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures. Goofy and elephant kid Elroy are "Magic Tricked" when they try to perfect their act to show popular rabbit magician Trikini. Their act is a disaster in front of the others, but they have so much fun putting everything away, they decide it might be worth auditioning after all. Minnie, Daisy, and Cuckoo Loca fill in for a pregnant art teacher who is about to have her baby and teach her students how to make "Art from the Heart."

Dashed off to work shortly after the episode ended. The Acme was quiet when I came in, but it picked up at noon and continued to be busy for the rest of the day. It's not normally that bad in the middle of the week, but it's also the beginning of the month. A lot of people want to use their money while they have it. Other than a few annoying customers (including one man later in the afternoon who insisted the register counted everything up wrong when it didn't), there were no major problems. My relief was on time, but is new and couldn't actually come in for me. Thankfully, I was able to finish just in time.

All most people talked about all day was how gorgeous the weather got. They were right. I took the long way home down Nicholson to enjoy the warm-but-not-hot temperatures, bright blue sky, and soft breezes. Rush hour started as I left. I dodged quite a bit of traffic on Nicholson. It ended once I went into Oaklyn, where I saw a few bike riders and not much else.

Went straight into writing when I got home. Gene, Richard, and Charles are saved from Captain Peter Marshall (of rival celebrity game show Hollywood Squares) and his men by Brett, Joyce, and several ladies. Brett announces that the ship is secured, and they're ready to take their booty to the harbor to be given to the townspeople and divided among the crew.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had tortilla-crusted tilapia, steamed broccoli, and mashed sweet potatoes while watching Match Game '74. While Loretta Swit and Brett Somers picked on each other, the others answered a question about what Loretta's MASH character Hot Lips lost on the operating table. Charlene Tilton of Dallas turned heads on Match Game PM; Bob Barker of The Price Is Right settled for helping a contestant win $5,000...and help him get a kiss.

Made Banana Muffins during Sale of the Century. The show returned to its original format with adult contestants this evening. The lady and the champ were pretty close the whole night, but the champ jumped way ahead in the Speed Round. He picked up a nice men's watch and won the Bonus Round with seconds to spare.

Finished the night with Dr. No in honor of Sean Connery, who passed away on Saturday. Dr. No was the first official film in the James Bond series and introduced the character - and Connery - to most people. Bond is called to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of the English Secret Service chief there. He eventually hooks up with American agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) and Jamaican fisherman Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), who are also looking into the man's disappearance. 

Turns out the chief was checking rock samples off the coast of Crab Key, which has seen a lot of mysterious activity lately. James finds out what when he and Quarrel finally make their way over, despite Quarrel's claim of there being a dragon on the island. Beautiful beachcomber Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) also claims she's seen the dragon. The beast isn't what it seems...and neither is what's on the island. Bond eventually finds himself and Honey in the clutches of mysterious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) and his SPECTRE organization. The two have to escape and find a way to shut down his base, before he leads the US and Russia into all-out war.

The first Bond film may come as a surprise to many casual viewers. There's no pre-credits sequence, no big ballad in the opening, just the theme song and some nifty early 60's graphics. James has a regular girlfriend, Sylvia Trench, whom he visits before he heads off to Jamaica, Q is played by a younger man, and the Bond girl doesn't show up until nearly the end of the movie and, despite Honey's iconic emergence from the surf, is barely used. Dr. No is pretty stoic for a James Bond villain, and though he does invite him to dinner and have a pretty nifty lair, is otherwise not quite as over-the-top as some bad guys from these movies would be in the 70's and 80's. 

Even with all that, this is highly recommended for fans of the series who want to know where it all started, or those who remember when Bond and spy spoofs were the hottest things going in the mid-60's. 

Musical and Rainy Day Dreams

It was sunny out when I started off the morning with music and breakfast. Listened to my Best of James Bond CD while I ate and got organized. I picked up this double-disc set from Abbie Road a few years ago. The first disc covers all the Bond theme songs up through License to Kill. In addition to obvious favorites like the title songs from Live and Let Die, A View to a Kill, and Goldfinger, "All Time High" from Octopussy, and "Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me, I rediscovered two underrated gems. The searing title song from Diamonds are Forever is a high spot in that enjoyable but very strange film, while the title number of Moonraker is a lovely ballad that tends to be forgotten amid that film's sci-fi plot.

I only had a few errands to run today, starting with the Oaklyn Library. They were fairly busy for them; a paper on the door said a program was in progress. I had a lot to do. Both the adult and the kids' DVDs were a mess. The librarian has removed the DVDs for sale and is now using those shelves for a DVD "theme." This month, the theme is the 80's. They already had a bunch of titles out and were talking about ordering more. I helped them find The Goonies (which they also mentioned).

Dark clouds had moved in, and it had just started raining as I rode over the finally-finished train bridge and into Audubon. They didn't last long, and wouldn't all day. The sun was out before I made it half-way down Market Street. By the time I was riding up to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center, the sky was blue, and the humidity and heat had returned.

Since I was there, I poked around in Marshalls and Ross Dress for Less for a while. There's only a few things I really need right now. I rather badly need new errand-running sneakers. My EasySpirits are falling apart. While my backpack isn't in quite as bad of shape, I use it fairly often, and it's pretty battered. The drawstring that's supposed to close it came out ages ago, which means I haven't been able to close it in ages, and it really doesn't have enough pockets. I didn't see anything at either store I had to have, but I have a better idea of what I want now. The Shoe Depot had EasySpirits (that's where I got my current pair), but I think I'll wait for better sales a little later in the month.

The main reason I went to Audubon was I left my blue raincoat in the back room at work. Since I was there, I also grabbed the Irwin's spice wafers (it's going to be way too hot to bake this week) and an orange sparkling water. I can understand why my hours were lousy this week. None of the stores I went to were busy, not even Marshalls or Ross. I easily got into the express line at the Acme.

Had a quick green smoothie lunch when I got home. Listened to Copacabana while I finished it and went into writing. Barry Manilow adapted his TV movie based around one of his most famous songs for the stage in the 1990's. My favorite additional material includes a comic number for the owner of the Copa and it's aging cigarette girl, "Who am I Kidding," and a lovely duet for Tony and Lola, "This Can't Be Real."

Worked on writing for a while as a second, heavier thunderstorm came down. Vader reports to his boss that he lost his kids but got the maps. Palpatine insists that the time is right to move along to Guatemala and begin searching for the remaining Sword of Strength. He also insists on teaching Luke and Leia himself, despite Vader's protests...which leads Vader to wonder who's really in charge here...

Went over to Dad and Jodie's between storms around 4:30-quarter of 5. We ordered the tickets for my vacation at Lauren's, which is a month from today...or we tried to at first. Seems NJ Transit will be upgrading equipment for the Atlantic City Rail Line for the rest of the year starting September 5th, and the track will be shut down for the rest of the year, including the Cherry Hill station. I'll just have to get a ride into Philly and leave from there. (I really, really owe them for all of this.) It started raining on my way home; I hung around at their porch briefly to avoid the weather.

Finished the night with a BST (turkey bacon, gray squash, and tomatoes) wrap for dinner and Funny Face...and my newest venture! My review for Funny Face, and all subsequent musicals, can now be found at my blog for musical movie reviews, Musical Dreams. I'm hoping to get affiliates eventually. For now, it's a work in progress.

Musical Dreams Reviews

Chilled Spring

Cheered up a cloudy, blahh day with breakfast. Made Apple-Cinnamon Muffins after I finished. Started the second disc of Tiny Toon Adventures as I ate and worked. "Playtime Toons" parodies toys and how kids play with them. "Happy Birthday Hampton" has Buster, Babs, and Plucky buying cool new toys for Hampton's big day...but they love them so much, they opt to keep them and give Hampton their old toys. They switch old for new when they remember how much they liked their old things. After he destroys his toys, Montana Max learns about the importance of the imagination when his father gives him nothing but a paddle ball to play with in "Fit to Be Toyed." Furball has a different type of toy in "Strung Along Kitty" - a ribbon he likes to chase.

Orson Whales narrates "Toon Physics," pointing out how impossible things that don't happen in nature occur in animation. Elmyra wishes her Babette doll was real in "Once Upon a Star." She instantly regrets it when Babette's attitude and vanity gets on her nerves. Furball chases Li'l Sneezer outdoors in "A Cub for Grub," but Li'l Sneezer's knowledge of camping manages to get him out of trouble. Plucky and Babs compete to be "The Year Book Star" and see who can be in the most photos in the Looniversity year book.

Buster and Babs are home sick with the flu. Instead of doing the planned show, they watch "Acme Cable TV." TV show parodies include The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Hollywood Squares, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Walt Disney Presents, Lassie, and the Bugle Boy jeans commercials of the early 90's, among others.

"Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian" was partially written by three teen fans of the show for a big contest. They also appear in animated cameos in the early part of the episode as Buster tries to explain that he's afraid of flying, including the airplane that'll take them to Hawaii. Things don't go much better after they arrive. They're targeted by pickpockets, Dizzy eats their luggage, and Buster's coconut tossed into an active volcano brings an explosive end to their vacation.

Headed out as soon as the episode was over and the muffins were out of the oven. We were even quieter than we were yesterday. The most that happened all day two more groups of adorable preschoolers came through, and I got frustrated when the managers kept telling me to do things I'd already done a half-hour before. Otherwise, there were no real problems. I spent the morning doing trash, cleaning the bathrooms, and putting away the very few returns and most of the afternoon outside with the carts, despite the weather being a cold, blustery, cloudy mess all day.

The worst thing that happened all day had nothing to do with work. Lauren texted me during my break. She had to move our vacation up a week. Her train going to Albany had been moved to Grand Central Station due to the ongoing remodeling and track work at Penn Station. She's never taken a taxi or a subway and is afraid to walk in New York on her own. I put in a request that explained the change. We'll now be be getting together from the 16th to the 24th. This also means that I'll have to find some new things for us to do, since some of my plans revolved around Memorial Day weekend activities.

Worked on a little bit of writing when I got home. Han - Prince Henry - explains everything the next morning. He was engaged to Princess Amilyn Holdo in the hopes that their kingdoms would unite after his father died mysteriously. Afraid of commitment and uninterested in the flighty princess, he ran away rather than marry her.

Returned to Tiny Toons while eating leftovers for dinner. A fowl caricature of Catskills comedian Henny Youngman narrates "Henny Youngman Day." He's a substitute teacher whose corny lines annoy the whole class, except Hamton. The shorts go over far better. Babs takes center stage as a stand-up comic in "Stand Up and Deliver." She's frustrated when she follows wildly popular comedian Red Robin Gilliams (a parody of Robin Williams) and almost bombs, untiil Gilliams lends a wing. "The Potty Years" has toddler Plucky flushing pretty much everything he owns down the toilet. Buster's only joke literally dies in "Lame Joke," until his friends finally get it.

Did some Wii Sports after dinner. Focused on bowling, tennis, and baseball tonight. Did my best ever on hitting short balls - got 21 and a silver medal - and actually managed to get two home runs. Got a bronze on returning tennis balls and am doing better at Target Practice. Did my best bowling game too, including three strikes in a row.

Finished the night after a shower with Octopussy. After a British agent is killed in the line of duty, James Bond (Sir Roger Moore) is brought in to bid on a Faberge egg that happens to be linked to a smuggling ring. The other bidder was Prince Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan), whom he follows to India. With help from a local agent (Viljay Amitraj), he manages to infiltrate Khan's hideout, thanks to listening devices in the real egg. The head of the smugglers is a woman named Octopussy (Maud Adams) who runs an all-female crime organization that uses a circus as a cover. General Orlov (Stephan Berkoff) has his own plans for the organization, using it to replace fake Russian treasures with real ones...and to plant a bomb that will destroy the circus and half the East German government. Now Bond has to stop that bomb and the smuggling, before Orlov and Khan get away with their schemes.

I believe this was the first James Bond movie I ever saw as a child. As such, I have a soft spot for it. It's overlong, with about three climaxes too many, and the East German circus trip is just ridiculous. The first half, with its Indiana Jones in India feel and broader comedy, is a lot more fun. Adams is a bit stiff as the sexy thief; Jordan is better as the prince who is determined to keep every treasure for himself...including Octopussy. Great music too, including the hit ballad sung over the credits, "All Time High." Fun for fans of Moore's Bond run if you have time on your  hands.

Late Summer of '17

A cooling breeze blew through my apartment as I awoke to another beautiful late summer day. Listened to the original cast album for 42nd Street as I ate a far more leisurely breakfast than yesterday. Jerry Orbach and Tammy Grimes were the headliners in this 1980 version of the 1933 Warners musical movie, but the real stars were the famous Harry Warren-Al Dubin songs and Gower Champion's energetic staging. My favorite number is "Lullaby of Broadway," cribbed from Gold Diggers of 1935. Orbach leads the cast in persuading former chorus girl Peggy Sawyer (Wanda Riechart) to stay with the show and take over the lead.

Work was a lot easier than yesterday. I spent the entire day outside, doing the trash and rounding up carts. Fine by me. It was too nice to be inside all day, anyway. The sky was blue, and while the sun was warm, the wind had a slight nip of fall. It couldn't have been more than the lower 70's. I'd never seen a nicer day in early September.

Went straight home after work and on the computer. As soon as the group gets Luke in Lance's Lincoln Continental, they rush to his condo to pick up his and the others' things. Lance has decided Bespin Island is a little too hot for him at the moment. As they're leaving, they're chased by Vader and his boys. They manage to give them the slip at the marina, where the Falcon awaits them...if it can get started...

Broke around 6 for dinner and more music. I had leftover chicken legs and made a smaller batch of Cucumber-Tomato Salad. Made Butterscotch Chip Cookies while listening to my The Best of James Bond 30th Anniversary CD. The first disc has all the Bond theme songs up to License to Kill. Along with the title songs from Live and Let Die, View to a Kill, and Goldfinger, "Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me, and "All Time High" from Octopussy, I was surprised to discover two lesser-known gems. Shirley Bassey's last Bond theme, the title song from Diamonds are Forever, is a stand-out in that strange but fun Connery film. You're more likely to think of space than music when you consider the sci-fi-themed Moonraker, but it has a surprisingly decent theme song.

Finished out the night as I baked the cookies with a couple of orchestral scores. One of the Acme employees had "The Imperial March" as the phone ring on his cell phone this afternoon, inspiring me to put on the full soundtrack from The Empire Strikes Back. Digging around for more orchestral scores, I came up with my LP for Summer of '42. Most of the lovely score is actually from the film The Picasso Summer, but it does have the famous theme song "The Summer Knows." I thought it was a fitting way to end the summer season.

Oh, and I've been enjoying something I've looked up on YouTube. One of my earliest record finds was Satin Affair, by the George Shearling Quintet. I'd never heard of them, but I loved the luxurious, late 50's-early 60's feel of the jazzy music. It's perfect for listening to on a lazy afternoon or evening in late summer. The back listed four other fabric-themed album titles, Velvet Carpet, White Satin, Blue Chiffon, and Black Satin, that I could never seem to find. I tried looking them up on YouTube instead. I've so far found Black Satin and Velvet Carpet. Here's the latter in full:

Velvet Carpet on YouTube

And I'm a little annoyed with myself. I got caught up in a book and wasn't paying attention to my cookies. Some of them are fairly edible, but most got burnt. Darn it. I'll still eat them. I don't like to waste food. I'll just dunk them in tea or something.

Who'll Start the Rain?

Began another cloudy morning with breakfast and a couple of episodes of The Backyardigans. Did "The Key to the Nile" from the first season in honor of the book I'm currently reading, The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters. Princess CleoTasha expects her pages Austin, Tyrone, and Pablo to fetch and carry for her without a word of thanks. She learns a lesson in manners when the Nile dries up, and she and the boys have to gather three gifts for the Sphinx (Uniqua) to fill it again.

Moved onto "Pirate Treasure," the series pilot, while I prepared my grocery list and got organized. Uniqua, Austin, Pablo, and Tyrone are two sets of pirates, each with one half of a treasure map. At first, Pablo and Tyrone capture the other two and try to force them overboard. When they run aground, they realize they both have halves of the same map, and decide they're better off splitting the treasure.

It was a little warmer, much sunnier, and murderously humid as I headed to the Acme to pick up my schedule and do this week's grocery shopping. My schedule for next week is the simplest I've ever had. I work 2-6 all week, Tuesday and Friday off again. Fine by me. I'll get some writing and cleaning in and actually make it to the Collingswood Farm Market next Saturday. Had a neon-iced cupcake in the back employees room, evidently remnants of a birthday cake for one of the oldest employees at the store.

The Acme was actually pretty dead as I did my shopping. Everyone must have been scared off by the rain we were supposed to have had all day. Found 99 cent bags of Acme M&M bakery cookies on the bakery markdown shelves. Restocked peaches, blueberries, cherries, cake mix, chocolate chips, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, yogurt, AA batteries (the Acme's were cheaper than Family Dollar's, $3.99 for an 8-pack), Wheat Chex (which were on a rare sale), cooking spray, and skim milk. Had online coupons for two cans of Dole mandarin oranges, a box of Nature Valley "Granola Cups," granola rounds filled with nut butter (I went with almond), and a bag of Snyder's Pretzels.

Ran more Backyardigans as I put everything away. One of my favorite episodes of the series is "Sinbad Sails Alone" from the second season. Tyrone is the legendary sailor, who is determined to find the end of the rainbow all by himself. His best buddy Pablo wants to help, but isn't as experienced a sailor. His mishaps cause them to stop at the islands of Siren Uniqua and Medusa Tasha, who want them to play games with them to get the water and food they need. The catchy mambo music in this episode is especially infectious.

It remained sunny and hazy as I made my way back out, this time across Newton Lake Park. For a killer humid day that wasn't supposed to be as nice as it got, they were fairly busy. I dodged other bikers, dog walkers, a family sunning by a bench, and a gaggle of Canadian geese looking for a late lunch by the Cuthbert Road entrance. (I also noticed a tree that had been cut down by the stone pavilion. Cut, or fallen down and then cut - the exposed insides were moldy and rotten.)

The Haddon Township Library was also busy, likely with families and older people avoiding the heat and humidity. There wasn't a whole lot to do. They didn't want anyone to shelve DVDs, and only one audio book needed to be put away. I mainly went through the DVDs, making sure they were organized and pulling TV sets that needed to go on the spinning racks.

Took out quite a few items today. Figured I'd finish off my Star Trek run with Star Trek: Generations and would continue the Jurassic Park series with Jurassic Park III. Found another Charlie Chan movie, Charlie Chan In London. The next DC Superhero Girls book, Kantana at Superhero High, just came in. (It sounds like the next one will revolve around Harley Quinn.) Also took out The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre, the latest fantasy tale by Gail Carson Levine, Blackberry Pie Murder, the next Hannah Swenson mystery I hadn't read, and Big Magic, on getting past your fear to reach your creative impulses.

Dark clouds were starting to gather again as I headed home down Cuthbert Road and across the White Horse Pike, but they still refused to burst. Since I was still relatively dry, I decided to check out the second Oaklyn Final Friday Festival of the summer. It was too early for it to be really crazy yet. Studio LuLoo was still setting up its offerings, including hanging their colorful t-shirts between tent poles. Most of the food truck offerings were still too expensive for my budget. I settled on a 2 dollar soft pretzel. Picked up two green peppers and a tomato from the lone farm booth to make up for not being able to get to the Collingswood Farm Market tomorrow.

When I got home, I settled in for a little bit of writing. No one's thrilled when they land in the stinky dumpster...and things just get worse when the Empire Industries guards start shooting at them. They climb out after the guards head off and split up, Hank and Charlie chasing after several Imperial Gang members.

Finished the night with leftovers while watching The World Is Not Enough. When a billionaire (David Calder) is killed by a bomb-ridden suitcase delivered by Bond (Pierce Bronsonan), he goes after the killer in a wild high-speed boat chase, then goes into action to find out who did it. The trail leads him to King's daughter Elektra (Sophie Marceau), who is finishing an oil pipeline in Azerbaijan. He's supposed to protect King from Renard (Robert Carlyle), who had once kidnapped her. A failed assassination attempt left him with a bullet in his brain that makes him impervious to pain. Thanks to his old friend Zukovsky (Robbie Coultrane), Bond learns that Elektra's chief of staff is in league with Renard. When he tries to replace him, he encounters tough-minded but delicate-looking scientist Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) who blows his cover, but ends up aiding him when it turns out that Elektra isn't as innocent as she seems...

This is one of two Bond movies I got to see in theaters. (GoldenEye is the other.) My then-boyfriend Max and I caught it on its release in November 1999. I do remember that neither of us were especially impressed and made jokes about it throughout its running time. (In fact, when the "James Bond Will Return" title appeared in the credits, Max quipped "Is that a threat?")

It's holds up a little bit better than I thought it would. I have no idea why they felt the need to throw in Christmas Jones. I don't actually mind her being a scientist. I do mind her being one of the more useless Bond girls, pretty much just there to snog with James in the end. Elektra King and even M are far more interesting. I really wish we'd spent more time with them and the intriguing Renard and less with wacky set pieces like the opening boat chase. If nothing else, this is notable as the last movie for the long-time actor who played Q, Desmond Llewelyn. He died in a car accident shortly before its release.

Not my favorite of Bronsonan's run, but not the worst, either. Check it out if you're a fan of the 90's and 2000's Bonds, but do see GoldenEye to have some idea of this version of the characters before you come here.

(Oh, and by the way, it still hasn't rained at press time.)

Turtle and Bond Power

I started off another cloudy, cool day with breakfast and an episode of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon from the late 80's. Baxter Stockman joins the ranks of mutants in "Enter: The Fly" when, instead of frying him, Krang accidentally merges his body with a fly. Shredder somehow convinces him that the Turtles were the cause, not his boss.

As I did yesterday, I worked on my story throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Leia is locked in a closet by Vader after Tarkin threatens the Cottages. She bangs on the door with a broom until Luke finds her...and then accidentally wallops him with it. He, Hank, and Charlie are all dressed as Imperial Gang members. They're attacked by not only the gang members, but the Empire Industries workers. Leia manages to take out a few with her broom long enough to jump out a window and into a dumpster. Not having many other options, the boys follow.

I got so into my writing, it was late when I broke for lunch. Did another Turtles episode, since I was in a hurry and the disc was already there. "New York's Shiniest" is a robot cop created to take some stress off the human police officers. April breaks into the lab where he's being developed to get a scoop, but ends up with him following her. Shredder is able to get his blueprints and create an army of robot cop clones to do his bidding. The Turtles have to figure out a way to avoid the clones and keep an eye on April and her new silver buddy.

Work was actually pretty quiet. I did a very small cart of returns, bagged, and gathered carts, baskets, and trash. There wasn't even really much of that to do. I was in and out. Grabbed two more containers of Talenti Gelato while they're still on sale (our sales end Thursdays), Black Cherry and Caramel Apple Pie.

Made Pasta With Broccoli to go with my leftover turkey hot dogs for dinner. Switched to the second season of Moonlighting while I ate. "The Lady In the Iron Mask" is a veiled woman who comes to Maddie and David asking them to find the man who disfigured her...because she wants to marry him. Turns out, the guy is an ex-con who found God and isn't so eager to marry her, especially since she has a husband. Even as Maddie debates whether it's right to take this woman's money, the man they visited is killed. After getting into an argument over how to solve the case, they each decide to go their own way and solve it themselves...which involves drag, breaking and entering, and lots of veils.

Finished out the night with Never Say Never Again. This is the 1983 remake of Thunderball, with Sean Connery playing James Bond for one last time on the big screen. This time, Bond is on holiday when he's called to investigate the disappearance of two nuclear warheads. His search takes him from a health spa in London to the Bahamas, where he first encounters industrialist Maxmillian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandaur) and his current flame Domino (Kim Basinger). After winning a dance with Domino in a video game, he reveals that Largo's henchwoman Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) used and then killed her beloved brother. They both end up in North Africa, where Largo has hidden the bombs. Now it's up to James, Domino, and his CIA buddy Felix Leiterer (Bernie Casey) to track down Largo and his explosive cargo.

First off, I'll admit that the original Thunderball was never my favorite Connery Bond movie. Some of that film's problems (length, slow pacing) are repeated here, and Basinger is a stiff Bond girl. On the other hand, the wonderfully nasty Brandaur is a vast improvement on the broader Adolfo Celi from 1965, and Carrera is obviously having a ball as Fatima Blush. Also look for Rowan Atikinson in a small role as the British Foreign Office representative in the Bahamas and Max von Sydow as Blofeld.

If you're a hard-core fan of Sean Connery's run or must see every Bond film, then you might get a kick out of this. For everyone else, it's completely skip-able.

Guardians and Secret Agents

Started a sunny morning with Blueberry Pancakes and more Sailor Moon S. "Protect the Pure Heart: The Three-Way Battle" starts off with a bang as a monster steals the pure heart of Unazuki, the younger sister of Mamoru's best friend Motoki. She wants her first kiss to be magical...but without her pure heart, she's trying to kiss everyone in sight! When the girls go after the monster, they discover that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are also after pure heart crystals...and unlike the other Guardians, they're willing to let the heart's original owner die if it has the powers they need.

Had relatively early work this morning. Despite the carts needing to be done, the manager insisted I do the bathrooms first. I don't know why. The bathrooms weren't messy. Then he wanted me to clean registers, despite it being relatively busy and the carts still needing to be gathered. I wish that man would learn to get his priorities straight. The carts are necessary to people's shopping experience and should come first. The bathrooms and cleaning can be done when there's less going on.

I was still worn out. It wasn't just the traveling this time. I've had a horrible sinus headache and a running nose since I came back. I went straight home and into bed for a nap.

This time, I managed an hour and a half before I finally got up for good. Got a little bit of writing for the next few hours. Hank isn't happy that old Ben wants to cover his boat with fishing net, but he thinks it'll allow them to blend into the foliage long enough to sneak onto the island.

Finished out the Sailor Moon disc as I made scrambled eggs with broccoli, cheese, and mushrooms for dinner, with blueberry shortcake for dessert. "Let Moon Help With Your Love Problems" insists Usagi when she enters her best friend Naru and Naru's nerdy boyfriend Umino in a contest for couples. Haruka and Micheru have entered, too, even though Haruka thinks the whole thing is silly. No one is laughing when the heart statue that's the symbol of the contest comes to life and attacks Umino...and Sailor Uranus and Neptune try taking the pure heart again.

The last episode on the disc was "Coldhearted Uranus: Makoto In Danger." Makoto gets some bisexual stirrings when she develops a girl crush on Haruka. The older girl encourages it, hoping to learn more about her pure heart crystal. Makoto is targeted by a monster, but the creature doesn't get away with her heart...at first. When the monster attacks again, it's her friends to the rescue, but Sailor Uranus and Neptune aren't acting so friendly.

Finished the night chatting with Lauren online while watching For Your Eyes Only. James Bond (Sir Roger Moore) is assigned to find out what happened to a sunken ship that held a special computer used to control British submarines. The archaeologist who was to have gone after the computer was murdered, along with his wife, by a Cuban hitman. Bond witness the hitman in turn be killed by the archaeologist's daughter Melina (Carole Bouquet) who wants revenge on her parents' killers. Bond knows where that can lead...especially when a wealthy but shady Italian who admires the English (Julian Glover), his youthful ice-skating prodigy (Lynn-Holly Johnson), and a Greek smuggler (Topol) get involved.

This was meant to be a return to form after the over-the-top sci-fi lunacy that was Moonraker...and for the most part, it works very well. Bouquet in particular is effective as one of the more interesting and proactive Bond girls. There's some nifty chase scenes as well, including one across the Spanish countryside in a tiny Citroen car and one of the best ski chases in the entire series.

Those who like their Bonds on the darker side may enjoy one of Moore's less wacky outings. Definitely one of my favorites of Moore's tenure (along with The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy).

More Yard Sales Than There are In the Heavens

The weather was absolutely amazing when I awoke this morning. It was sunny, bright, and hot, but a cool wind kept it from feeling unbearable. Did a couple of random movie-related Looney Tunes to celebrate while I ate breakfast. "Daffy In Hollywood" has the kooky duck driving a director crazy on the set of his big romance. Porky and his buddy Beans don't have much more luck trying to get their big break and avoiding a robot that looks like Frankenstein's Monster in "Hollywood Capers."

It was almost 10 before I finally got out the door. Today was not only the day of Oaklyn's Town-Wide Yard Sale. Collingswood's got rained out last Saturday, so they tried again this week. I'd never seen so many yard sales at one time before! Ironically, considering most Oaklyn yard sales tend to be heavy on kids' stuff and knick-knacks, everything I got today I bought within walking distance of my apartment.

The first find of the day was a smaller sale on Landis. They had a big box full of DVDs, mainly comedies and action films. I've wanted to grab Roman Holiday at a decent price for a while now. Also finally picked up three James Bond films I didn't have, The World Is Not Enough, Moonraker, and Connery's 80's Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again.

The Oaklyn Library always has their annual book sale in conjunction with the Town-Wide Yard Sale. No good fiction books, but I did find the 1988 and 1992 Christmas With Southern Living books and The Little Red Writing Book on grammar and syntax.

There was so much going on, I didn't make it to the Collingswood Farm Market until past 11. Cherries and snap peas are out now, just in time for birthday parties, graduation parties, and barbecues. It was still pretty busy there as I dodged elbows and bought mushrooms, cherries, carrots, the small organic red and green romaine lettuce, and bananas.

Stopped at Rite Aid for a quick Dew SA and to peek at the magazine rack. They finally had that Vanity Fair issue with the Star Wars cast on the covers I've been looking for. They even had the Carrie Fisher cover.

Headed over to Oriental and then down to Park Avenue, but didn't see any good sales. Cut through Knight Park to return to Oaklyn. I did stop at a house near CVS and the car wash and buy a flower-shaped Wilton cake pan.

Rode up and down the side streets on Newton, where I found several good sales. The best had rows and rows of collectibles, including bags of loose Sectaurs and He-Man toys from the 80's that Matt from Dinosaur Dracula would have loved. I just bought a set of Sherlock Holmes radio shows featuring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

I'd looked at a really nice dark wood shelf at a sale two blocks down Manor earlier in the day. It was dirty, but otherwise in really good shape. The old man who owned the house said he'd made it himself. I ended up getting not only that for a dollar, but two small wooden wall shelves, too.

Charlie was there when I got back. I asked him about the air conditioner again, since it's going to get really hot starting tomorrow. Turns out neither he nor his mother are under any obligation to either provide or help with the air conditioning at all, according to the lease agreement. That would explain why the other air conditioner suddenly disappeared. I asked him to help me install it as a neighbor. I really don't know anyone else who can. He said he'd do it tomorrow.

He also told me that he's going to start the heavy work on raising the roof over the door on Monday and Tuesday. Which means everything in the living room is going to have to be covered. Great. I don't know why he wants to do it in 90 degree heat, but that's on him. I guess he's tired of waiting after the rain last week.

Went to work a little early to get this week's schedule. More-or-less the same as last week, only with a later day on Sunday. Tuesday and Friday off again. Other than I wish they'd give me more hours, that's fine. Par for the course at this time of year.

The Acme was fairly busy with people coming in from various events when I arrived. They cleared out fairly quickly after that. I mainly cleaned the bathrooms and did the carts. Wish I had more help with the latter. The teenager they kept sending outside with me would only push two or three carts per round. It takes forever to do it that way. You have to push at least five or six or more.

And after several attempts to try to remember a user name and password I hadn't touched in three years, two managers were able to help me log onto the Acme's system and print out my paycheck stubs for the last 30 days. Now all I need to do is find a place to print out my telephone/internet bill and make copies of a few things, and I'll be able to send out the food stamp application.

Had leftovers and a green salad for dinner when I got in. Made Banana-Chocolate Chip "Old School" Muffins while watching the second half of Moonraker, which I began during lunch. James Bond (Sir Roger Moore) is out of this world...literally...when he investigates the theft of a US space ship. His search leads him to the mysterious astronaut Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles)...and to Jaws (Richard Kiel), the hulking, metal-toothed killer who is still after him. Bond's search takes him from a wild gondola chase through Venice, to a motorboat romp in the Amazon...and to the farthest reaches of space when it turns out Drax's plans are far more sinister than just stealing space ships.

As a kid, I always thought this was too weird for words, especially that wild finale in space. I kind of like it better now. There were some really nice action chases and set pieces (I liked the second boat chase in the jungle far more than that crazy gondola), and really, outer space isn't that strange for a Bond movie when you think of it. Wish Holly Goodhead was a bit stronger. Her going from scientist to spy for no reason in the middle of the movie seemed kind of random. Drax wasn't much better. His plot was almost identical to Stromberg's in The Spy Who Loved Me, except in space instead of under the ocean.

If this seems like an odd choice for Bond, the next Bond film after the hit The Spy Who Loved Me was supposed to be For Your Eyes Only. Then Star Wars happened, and flashy sci-fi was suddenly the hippest thing going. The change worked, at least at the box office. Moonraker was a massive blockbuster in 1979, the biggest Bond hit of the Moore years and the biggest hit in the franchise until Goldeneye in 1992.

Definitely one of the most "love it or hate it" of the Bond films. If you're a fan of Moore's run or like some of the more out-there Bond films or late-70's sci-fi, this might just be your cup of vodka martini.

Oh, and speaking of camp, a final "POW!" to Adam West, the original TV Batman, who passed away today. I was actually never that big on the 60's show (Rose is more into Batman than I am), but I did appreciate how the guy never took himself or the show seriously, especially in his many later appearances that often spoofed the original show and his "Caped Crusader" persona.

Nobody Does It Better

Today was Lauren's last day here. We spent the morning quietly, playing Kirby's Epic Yarn. We were able to finish off the main rounds of Treat World, including the boss for this round, Squashini. We did the extra patches...but we ran out of time to play the rounds. By the time we finished the boss level, it was 11:30. Dad was going to be around to pick us up at 11:55. Lauren finished stuffing everything into her suitcase and backpack before taking the suitcase down early.

Dad was on time picking us up, and there were no problems on the road. We pulled into Cherry Hill well ahead of the train's scheduled time. I hugged Lauren at the platform, and we said our good-byes there. She said she had a great time, and despite a few bobbles with yesterday, so did I. We always have fun when we get together.

After I got home, I went right upstairs, put my blue rain coat away, and headed back out. I wanted to run a few errands, starting at the Oaklyn Library. They were slightly busier than they were when Lauren and I dropped by yesterday. Several folks were using the computers, including a grandmother who was trying to calm a fussy baby. The kids' DVDs and the board books badly needed to be organized. The adult titles weren't nearly as bad. I was out in about a half-hour.

Took out a few movies from the Oaklyn Library. They don't have as large of a collection as Haddon Township, but they get the latest titles right when they come out (instead of a month or so later), they have them around for longer, and they do have a few titles that Haddon Township doesn't. I opted for one of the newer titles I wanted to see too badly to wait (Moana, the latest Disney princess film) and two that the Haddon Township Library doesn't have (Sean the Sheep: The Movie and the live-action Disney Swiss Family Robinson).

I didn't have much of a choice about hitting the Acme. I needed my schedule. I'm working in the morning tomorrow and afternoon Saturday and am off Friday. I'll have time to work on writing, clean up from my visitor, and do some volunteering at the Haddon Township Library, plus I work late enough on Saturday to get away with a quick run to the Collingswood Farm Market.

Only needed a few things there. I cheered myself up with a vanilla creme doughnut, using my last free doughnut coupon. Restocked sugar, cereal (Quaker was on sale - I got Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares), black beans, tomato sauce, and honey. I wasn't going to do major grocery shopping this week, so I figured I might as well get anything now that couldn't wait.

Had a quick lunch of yogurt, a granola protein bar, and a banana when I got in. Watched The Backyardigans as I ate and put everything away. Tyrone, Uniqua, and Pablo are on a "Secret Misson" to return an object to the museum. They have to navigate their way around booby traps and three halls filled with artifacts before they find the one they're looking for. But will Tyrone's "spy maple syrup" ever come in handy?

Spent the rest of the day at home, working on my story. Vader does invite them to dinner. He's trying to get information from Henry and Leia about Luke, where he is and his arrival. He taunts them both before Bob "Boba" Fettson arrives as well, revealing that he told Vader where they were going and intends to take Henry to the notorious gangster Jenkins Huttman.

Broke around 5;30 to make Apple-Cinnamon Muffins and have leftover chicken tenders, asparagus and a toasted hamburger roll for dinner. Watched A View to a Kill while I ate in honor of Sir Roger Moore, who passed away yesterday. James Bond (Moore) is trying to figure out who's been putting microchips in race horses. The trail leads to Zorin (Christopher Walken), an industrial genius with an interesting past, and his intimidating lady friend May Day (Grace Jones). Zorin isn't just using microchips on horses. He's hoping to destroy all of San Fransisco's Silicon Valley and dominate the world's microchip industry. James, with the help of Stacy Sutton (Tanya Roberts), heads from France to Frisco to stop him.

Definitely one of the stranger Bond movies. It's also one of the slowest-moving. I have no idea why all that nonsense with the horse racing was even necessary, other than giving Patrick MacNee something to do and letting Bond prance around in a palace. Moore was really showing his age at this point as well - this would be his final Bond movie. Some of the action set pieces are just too campy for words, even for this franchise, including the chase in a cab in Paris and the wild chase in San Francisco involving a fire truck and half their police force. Roberts is one of the worst Bond women, dull and fairly useless. The saving graces are Walken and Jones as two of the series' more intriguing villains, some action that does work (including the finale on the Golden Gate Bridge), and an awesome title song by Duran Duran,

Finished out the night with a much-needed bath. I haven't taken one in ages, and I badly needed it after having spent the last week and a half hiking all over Camden County. I kicked back, listened to jazz, and looked over cake decorating magazines.

(Oh, and I last heard from Lauren a half-hour ago. She said she was at home, showing her parents her goodies. There were no problems at all on the trains or at the station.)

The Leaning Stacks of Fruit Cups

It was cloudy and cool when I climbed out of bed this morning. Got a quick start with breakfast and the soundtrack from Goldfinger (the latter to drown out Charlie's constant and obnoxious cursing outside). The Star Wars and Superman albums I listened to last week and on Tuesday put me in the mood to dig more largely orchestral soundtracks out of my collection. John Barry did the music for this one, including incorporating the famous "James Bond theme." I didn't know Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, one of the most popular British songwriters of the 1960's, did the lyrics for the much-loved theme song.

Work was on-and-off busy, and a bit of a pain. Someone keeps stacking heavy boxes of fruit cup 4-packs too high in aisle 5. Like most buildings in this area, the Audubon Acme is on a hill. Things are going to tilt, especially if they're stacked high. I'm glad me, the self-checkout cashier, and a manager found the mess early in the morning and got it cleaned up quickly. (And according to the self-checkout cashier and another bagger, this was the third time this week it happened. Hopefully, they got the hint this time. They're losing inventory.)

I got stuck in the registers for a little while around noon, covering for someone's break. Thankfully, I spent the rest of the day rounding up carts, gathering baskets, bagging, and helping old ladies get the flowers they wanted and take them to their cars. There were otherwise no major problems. I ducked out as quickly as I could when I was done.

Had an apple and a snack when I got home. Did another Sailor Moon episode after finishing out yesterday's. Chibi-Usa's friend Kyusuke is totally fearless when it comes to sports...except for the vaulting horse. An accident when he was younger left him afraid to go near it. Tough-minded Jun Jun helps him train for the upcoming sports meet by teaching him not to be afraid. Chibi-Usa also fears the vaulting horse. It takes the need to rescue her friend to show her and Kyusuke not to let fear get in the way of their dreams.

Worked on my story for the rest of the afternoon. Henry leads them to the junkyard where the Junk Pickers worked. The shack they have there turns out to be a laboratory and headquarters, with maps indicating their next move. Henry orders them to bring his engine, grabbing their maps and any papers he can find. The Falcon is kept in a hanger deep under the trash piles. They blast out just as Vader arrives.

The man with him knows what his plans are, though. Robert Fettman tells Vader that Henry's likely heading towards Bespin, the home of a friend of his. He also admits that he lost Luke and Rusty at the Regatta. No matter, says Vader. He knows how to lure the lad out of hiding...

Did a second season episode of Wonder Woman while turning the last of the leftover Tex Mex Bean Dip into Bean, Egg, and Cheese Wraps. "The Queen and the Thief" takes Diana and Steve to Palm Beach to protect jewels belonging to the female monarch of an unstable country. Wonder Woman has to stop a charming professional cat burglar from stealing the jewels from under the queen's nose.

Played Kirby's Epic Yarn for a half-hour or so after dinner. Got through a second "training" mini game. You had to take out 20 enemies in the same amount of time. Definitely not as easy as it sounds. It took me five or six tries to manage it. Tried Yin Yarn again, and still couldn't get those extra patches.

Gave up around 7:30 and put on The Road to Zanzibar instead. This time, Bing and Bob are traveling through Africa, with Bing coming up with increasingly outlandish stunts for Bob to perform. After one of those stunts burns down the carnival they were working for, they go on the lam. First an eccentric millionaire (Eric Blore) sells them a phony diamond mine, then Bing spend more money rescuing a beautiful girl from an auction. The girl (Dorothy Lamour) and her buddy (Una Merkel) hit them up for a ride into the Congo to marry Lamour off to a rich man. The boys chase her, then get mad when they find out they've been taken for fools. They run off again...and this time right in to a native tribe who think they're gods, then want Hope to wrestle a gorilla!

My only problem with this entry is the ending, which feels rushed and anti-climatic after Bing and Bob went native. Otherwise, this is one of the better movies in the series; the opening, with all the crazy stuff Bing gets Bob to do, is especially fun.

Cloudy With a Chance of Bonds

Began a gloomy, gray morning with early work. It wasn't too bad when I got in. I spent most of the first hour doing carts. (Including moving carts from the Nicholson Road entrance to the more-frequented one on the Black Horse Pike.) Managed to get about half the returns done before break...and only got to them for about 20 minutes or so afterwards. It had picked up considerably by noon. For some reason, one of the cashiers had been called to produce. Not only did I get stuck in the register, but so did the other bagger they had there. This, of course, meant nothing else got done, including carts.

Went straight home after that. Did a couple of Rick Steves' Europe episodes while eating a quick lunch. I love Rick's visits to Scandinavia. Such beautiful, clean, simple countries! The fjords of Norway looked all glowing and majestic, like something out of the book of Scandinavian fairy tales I used to take out all the time in high school. Bergen, Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki are all simple, elegant cities. I especially love the domed cathedrals of Helskini, remnants of their years under Russian rule.

Headed to the laundromat after Rick ended. I was originally going to do the laundry tomorrow, but it's supposed to rain for a lot of the day. I'm glad I didn't put it off this week. The laundromat was pin-drop quiet when I arrived. I saw maybe one or two other people for the entire 40 minutes or so I was there. Pretty much concentrated on story notes and ignored everything else. I didn't really have a lot of laundry, anyway.

Put everything away when I got home, then went on the computer to work on writing. Leia spies a man in a green and red suit across the street from them. He's hiding his face...and he's armed with a gun and a knife. Luke brushes it off. Henry isn't so quick to ignore the man a few days later. They see him again after he, Leia, and Charles emerge from a vehicle exhibition. He does recognize the man...and he's not someone he wishes he knew. Charles immediately pulls them both along to the nearest carriage.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. I baked the fish cakes I picked up on Friday, along with the last of the green beans and some cherry tomatoes drizzled in olive oil. After I finished dinner, I worked on the crocheting project I've been doing for a while.

Finished out the night with Diamonds are Forever while I crocheted. Sean Connery's last Bond film for over a decade has him trying to ferret out a diamond smuggling ring, first in Denmark, then in Las Vegas. He's helped by mouthy Tiffany Case (Jill St. John), one of the links in the ring. The links keep ending up dead, thanks to a pair of very peculiar hit men. His search takes him to the Whyte House, a luxury hotel and casino run by Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean), a reclusive millionaire. Is he behind the thefts, or is there someone else who wants the diamonds? And what do they have planned for them?

By far the strangest movie of the Connery Bond run. I've always had a soft spot for this one, from the garish neon lights of Vegas to several odd chases (including the one with the moon buggy in the desert) to Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, the world's weirdest killers. Extra points for an awesome theme song by Shirley Bassey. If you love the older Bond films or enjoy the campier aspects of the series, this is one of the most unusual and gets a major recommendation from me.

Rainy Day at Home

It was pouring cats, dogs, pigs, and chickens when I awoke this morning, and would pretty much continue to rain off and on all day. I brightened up the gloomy weather with breakfast and an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. "Rainy Daze" from the first season shows what Buster and Babs do during wet weather. The first short has Buster ending up at Montana Max's house as his "rent-a-friend." Rent-a-punching-bag is a bit closer to what Monty's doing...but Buster has a way to turn the tables. In the second short, Babs uses her imagination to turn a boring wet afternoon into one filled with fun. Babs and Buster flee the rain in the third story. They were aiming for hot weather, but end up chasing a poacher who is after a seal in the Arctic.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon cleaning and listening to a couple of Christmas albums. The Perry Como Christmas Album is my favorite of his two holiday albums that I have. It features the sweet "Christmas Eve" and "There's No Christmas Like a Home Christmas." Merry Christmas With the Williams Brothers introduces "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells," "It's the Holiday Season," and Andy Williams' familiar version of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Barbara Streisand's A Christmas Album is mostly hymns, but it does have her very funny version of "Jingle Bells."

Got the bathroom and the kitchen done this morning. They weren't too bad. I did just do them at the beginning of the month, but I like to get major cleaning done before I put up the Christmas decorations. Actually, the worst of it should be the dusting, which I probably won't get to until at least Friday. I didn't get to the dusting when I did the rest of the cleaning.

Had fried eggs and a salad for lunch while finishing A Walt Disney Christmas, which I began while I was working on the kitchen. I dubbed this collection of Christmas and winter-themed Disney shorts off of a very old clamshell tape from Blockbuster. It's so old, "Donald's Snow Fight" and the Santa Claus Silly Symphonies are shown in their entirety. (I'd never seen a non-censored version of "Santa's Workshop" until I bought this tape.) "Donald's Snow Fight" is probably my favorite. It's war when Donald knocks down his nephews' snowman and they retaliate by ruining his winter coat. It somehow ends with flaming snowballs taking down giant ice boats and Donald getting that sinking feeling.

Worked on my story for a few hours after lunch. The Nutcracker and Chewie finally help Rey to the top of the pit. Leia and Luke are with them. Leia has turned them all into mice to get past the guards. The human girl tells them what the mice have planned for Han. Leia and the Nutcracker are both livid and want to go after them right away, but Rey points out that he'll be guarded. They'll need another plan...

Broke for dinner around 5:30. I made chicken salad, steamed broccoli, baked acorn squash, and roasted acorn seeds. Yum. Roasted acorn squash seeds are some of the great hidden delights of fall. Scoop them out of the squash, wash off the guts, spread them in a pan, spray them with olive oil or butter spray, shake a little salt on them, and roast them as you would other seeds. So delicious, and much better than throwing them out.

Switched to making Cranberry-Orange Muffins and Cranberry Flummery while watching The Spy Who Loved Me. The fourth Roger Moore James Bond movie takes us to Egypt (after an interlude in the Alps). Someone's been hijacking British and Russian submarines. James is supposed to pick up microfilm with the blue prints for the machine that's causing the damage. Turns out Moscow has also sent their best agent, the woman XXX (Barbara Bach). XXX has her own reasons for wanting this mission - James killed her agent boyfriend on his last mission. The two find themselves working together to discover the secrets of the ocean-obsessed billionaire Stromberg and his strange Atlantis hide out...and dodge the metal toothed and immortal Jaws (Richard Kiel).

This is the by far the best of the Roger Moore Bond movies, and my personal favorite of his tenure along with Octopussy. They hit all the right notes here - it's just campy enough but still fairly dark, with one of the best Bond women ever and probably the best henchman, nice locations, and an interesting plot. Great music, too - the Marvin Hamlisch score is awesome, and the theme song, Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better," was nominated for an Oscar and was a hit in its own right.

My only complaint is that, as cool as Jaws is, his boss Stromberg is fairly bland by comparison. He comes off as a dull imitation of Dr. No and Blofeld. His ultimate plan is pretty ridiculous, too, even for this series. I do like how Bond eventually gets rid of him, though - no invitations to dinner, just quick and neat.

If you ever wanted to check out the Roger Moore Bond movies, I'd recommend starting here. It's by far one of the best Bond films and Moore's best Bond film.

The Rain, the Malls, and Other Things

I was up by 8 this morning. It was hazy and sunny but not nearly as hot as it's been in Oaklyn. I finished Lando Calarissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, and wrote in my journal. Had cereal and an apple for breakfast, eating in the living room to avoid waking up everyone else. Lauren was finally up by 9; we were out the door by 9:30.

The countryside in Western Massachusetts and Upstate New York is absolutely gorgeous. They're just so GREEN for mid-August. Southern New Jersey's barely had any rain. The grass looks more like it should be piled in a barn to feed cows. Up here, the grass is brilliant and soft and smells sweet. Colorful wildflowers, black-eyed susans and Queen Anne's Lace, dot the roadsides. We wound our way through lovely historic towns with whitewashed old churches and chrome-covered diners, and rugged farming villages dotted with ancient, peeling barns and wind-blown farm houses.

An exit off the highway took us directly to our first mall of the day. Crossgates Mall has a good-sized Best Buy. I didn't see anything I wanted, but Lauren had a real reason to be there. Her stereo speaker is old and keeps sputtering. I browsed the store while she bought a new one.

I've never seen a Best Buy that opens directly into a mall. In Camden County, big box stores and malls tend to end up in separate buildings. They seem to be more common as anchors up here. After Lauren stowed her new stereo in the trunk of her van, we headed into the main mall to explore.

Our first stop in the mall proper was Jay Street Video Games, a chain that sells vintage used games along with recent titles. Lauren didn't get anything here, but I found a book with detailed maps and tips for Lego Indiana Jones 2.

We both hit pay dirt at FYE. This one was not only pretty big for a mall store, but it looked like it had been recently opened or remodeled. The sign was orange letters in simple white circles, very different than the old blue logo. I took advantage of a buy two used DVDs, get one for a dollar sale to pick up three of the four Daniel Craig James Bond movies. (Spectre is still kind of pricey, even used.) Also found the only "official" Bond film I haven't seen at all, Roger Moore's second outing The Man With the Golden Gun, on sale for $4.99. (I saw bits and pieces of For Your Eyes Only on cable as a kid.) None of the films were expensive. I got all four for around $18. (Incidentally, Quantum of Solace was the dollar movie.)  Lauren picked up wrestling t-shirts for her and her dad.

I didn't do well anywhere else. Lauren wanted to check out Bath and Body Works, but despite some tantalizing new fall scents, we didn't walk out with anything. Her local Macy's just closed a few months go. She's been trying to check out every one she can to find outfits for her job as the head teller in a Pittsfield bank. She bought two colorful blouses. I'm still mad about the pants I bought for work from the Moorestown Macy's in June barely lasting a month. She bought shirts for her and her parents at the Disney Store. I settled for admiring the Star Wars toys and Animator's Collection toddler dolls. Checked out Game Stop on the way out. Lauren found the Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker puzzle game.

It was showering when we made it out of the outdoor Best Buy entrance. We rushed to the other end of the parking lot as fast as we could. Good thing our next stop was less than a minute from the mall. Lauren's constantly been seeing ads on Albany-based TV stations for a local fast-food chain called Ted's Fish Fry. The prices seemed decent and I love fish, so we thought we'd give it a shot.

The Ted's we ate at was based in what clearly was once an older Wendy's, but left (intentionally?) unpainted and whitewashed on the outside to give it that fish shack look. Inside was more polished, with black and white checked floors and shiny black vinyl booths. We both had the Fish Fry meal. The "fish fry" turned out to be a very long, salty fried cod stick on a hot dog roll with fries and a cup of cole slaw. The fish was amazing, hot and flaky, and even better on the bun (once it fell apart enough to fit on the bun). The cole slaw was even better. I've never had such tasty fast-food cole slaw. It was crunchy and savory, with just enough mayo, and unlike the fish, not too salty. Even Lauren loved it, and she says she usually doesn't like mayo-based cole slaw because the mayo gets too soupy. Watched the US women play Japan in Olympic Indoor Volleyball as we ate. (The US eventually won.)

Headed a few minutes down the road to the Colonie Center. If it was odd to see a big box store as an anchor, seeing a grocery store anchor a mall was downright weird...and yet, we parked outside of a massive Whole Foods.

Our first stop was L.L Bean. I tried on a pair of black suede flats. They were comfortable, but way too big, and I couldn't find another pair closer to my size. Lauren looked at socks and sweaters, but didn't have much more luck.

Once again, we did far better at FYE. While not as new as the Crossgates store, it was even bigger. I settled on Zootopia and two Looney Tunes sets for Pepe Le Pew and Wile E Coyote and Road Runner for that buy two, get one for a dollar sale. (Wile E Coyote and Road Runner was the dollar title here.) Lauren bought wrestling sets.

The Colonie Barnes and Noble was the first time I ever saw that store as a mall anchor. It was even bigger than the massive freestanding store in Moorestown, with a good-sized CD/DVD area and kid's areas for toys and for books. I actually got lost in there. I couldn't find the Star Wars paperbacks, but I did pick up Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead and found Red Velvet Cupcake Murder in hardback on the Bargain Priced shelves.

While I was book shopping, Lauren found a place for dinner. I've only seen Moe's Southwest Grill twice in Camden County, in Moorestown and Cherry Hill. It's a Mexican fast-food restaurant that lets you choose the fillings for your tortilla-based meals. I had a quesadilla with cheese, chicken, salsa, and fresh cilantro. Lauren had a layered fold-over burrito. The girls at the counter were a little rude, but the 70's and 80's music was great, and the food was worth it, hot and saucy.

Colonie has a Boscov's, one of the only ones in the area. I found a pair of jean capris for $10. (My old jean capris don't fit anymore.) Lauren bought more blouses for work. She found something unusual in with the board games in the toy area - a mini table-top pool table, It was only 20 bucks, too. I can't carry that home and have no one to play with, but Lauren thought it might be fun for her and her folks.

We browsed through the Jay Street and Game Stop next. Lauren found a Mario game; I came up with nothing. She bought more blouses at Macy's. I just used the bathroom. She wanted to look at Christopher & Banks, and I had no problem going there, either. They're one of the few boutique clothing stores who sell a good selection of plus sizes. Alas, neither of us found anything we needed.

Finished the night at Christmas Tree Shops. She bought light-up, personalized teddy bear keychains for herself and her parents. I found more cheap tea, this time the now-discontinued Bigalow's Girl Scouts Caramel and Coconut.

After hiking through two large malls for nearly 7 hours, we were both sore and dead tired. We finally headed home around 7. Thankfully, by this point, the clouds and the traffic was long-gone. Lauren got a little turned-around at first, but that had its good points. We went right by a Rite Aid...just as Mr. Miller texted his daughter to pick up something for him there. (Lauren didn't walk out with it - she said the store's stock was too close to expiration.) After we left there, we got back on the highway and went straight home the way we came, through darkened historic towns and hazy moonlit mountain vistas.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller were watching WWE Smackdown! when we got in. We showed them our finds, then joined them for the show briefly. Mrs. Miller cut slices of raspberry strudel from their local grocery store for us.

We're online now, chatting and watching YouTube videos. The weather's looking much better tomorrow. It's finally time to hit Six Flags Great Escape in Lake George, New York.