The Heat's In

Started off a quick morning with Hogan's Heroes and the season 3 episode "Two Nazis for the Price of One." The boys are ordered to London after two generals try getting information from Hogan about an Allied top secret program called "The Manhattan Project." They end up staying to help Hogan keep the generals and a lovely lady from finding out anything too revealing.

Once again, rushed off to work before the episode ended. Things only went slightly better today than they did yesterday. At least the afternoon bagger actually turned up this time. The manager wanted her to focus on the carts and kept me inside for the last few hours. I ended up sweeping the store and helping her put a dent in the carts of returns leftover from the holiday weekend. It's still deadly hot and humid, too. 

When I got home, I changed, then tried to get the TV hooked up to the Internet again. I just couldn't do it, no matter how often I reset or fiddled with it. Finally went looking for the router in Jodie's side of the house; reset it when I found it near the fireplace in the former office area. The TV worked perfectly fine after that.

Got some writing in between messing with the TV. As the procession of the cards begins, the three Card Guards drop to their stomachs before their monarchs. Brett tells her sons that them doing that isn't necessary. They can just bow.

Initially ate a quick dinner at my desk before I got the TV working. Tonight's Match Game '76 began with Charles and Brett bickering over his lack of socks again. While Charles didn't have them, the contestant proved to be wearing nifty red and white striped socks when Gene asked him to take his shoes off, so he wouldn't be taller than him! 

Match Game PM was another late-run favorite of mine. Poor cue-card boy Roger Dobowitz came in for a major ribbing when Gene pointed out how he'd written "parachute" as "pair of shoes." The show ends with Dick Martin happily following Elaine Joyce in her flame-red dress off-stage.

Took down the 4th of July decorations while the show ran. I meant to do it yesterday, but I didn't have the energy after the mess at work and with the TV. Nothing else will be going up for a while besides what little I have for summer. Likely, by the time I do put up anything else, I'll be moving. 

Got the TV going in time for Sale of the Century. The current champ had the devil of a time with the one woman tonight. No one bought any Instant Bargains, but they did pick up money on the Fame Game. In the end, the champ came back on the Speed Round and left everyone else in the dust. He opted to return when he found out that, not only would he get the shopping spree at an expensive LA clothes shop being offered, but he'd be the first one to have a choice from the new Match the Prizes board.

Finished the night at the Watch TCM site with The Time, the Place, and the Girl. I go further into this charming backstage musical from 1946 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Time, the Place, and the Girl

(Incidentally, the sky rumbled all evening, but to my knowledge, it hasn't rained yet.)

Spring at Home

Began the morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. Came in as a solo lady played a brother-sister team. She finally beat them, then won the Gold Run after a shaky start. She was on the first round with a mother/daughter team as the show ended.

Took a stroll to Dollar General after the episode ended. It wound up being a rather nice day, despite the continuing heavy wind. At least it was dry and cloudless, if a bit chilly. They were a bit busier than I expected, given the decent weather. I finally picked up a can of mandarin oranges, cooking spray, a kitchen towel to go along with the one Linda Young sent me for my birthday, and dry cloths for my dust mop. Thought I'd try Squirt, a brand of Mountain Dew-like citrus soda I'd heard of, but never seen until today.

Got home in time for an orange-strawberry smoothie and the second Match Game '75 episode. Years before Joan Collins became the most beloved villainess on prime time, she turned up in a memorable week with Scoey Mitchilll and Patti Deustch. Charles' answer for "Bi __" on the Audience Match was "bisexual"...and surprisingly for 1975, not only did the contestant choose it, but it was the second answer on the board. (Charles looked quite satisfied after they revealed the answer.) Later, Gene literally climbed the audience to get to a camera that wouldn't cut to a commercial!

After the lunacy with Match Game, I turned to cable-based apps on my new TV that were a lot safer. Activated Disney Now, Cartoon Network, TCM, Nickelodeon, and Nick Jr. Watched a recent episode of Bluey to test Disney Now. Bluey and Bingo are disappointed when they wake up on "Easter" to find that the Easter Bunny didn't leave them any colored eggs. He did leave a clue in their baskets, leading them on a merry chase all over the house looking for clues leading to the hiding place of their eggs.

Checked out the first episode of We Bare Bears to test Cartoon Network. The bears are ready to take prisoners when a backpack with "Our Stuff" is stolen after a basketball game. They try to retrieve it with the help of some shady pigeons, but end up making a worse mess all over town.

Ran the 1944 Kismet to test TCM and to watch while I worked on Honey White Bread. Ronald Coleman is magician and "King of the Beggars" Hafiz, who passes himself as the Prince of Hassir to gain entry to the home of the Grand Wazir (Edward Arnold). He's hoping the Wazir will marry his lovely young daughter Marsinah (Joy Page), but she's in love with the man she believes to be the gardener's son (James Craig). Hafiz wants to run away with the Wazir's head wife Jamilla (Marlene Dietrich), but he's caught and arrested for stealing clothes. He gets out of it only by promising to murder the Caliph...but he's the one who's surprised when he realizes whom the Caliph really is. Now he has to dodge the Caliph's men, save Marsinah from the Wazir, and get out of Baghdad with Jamilla, before they all end up losing a lot more than their hands.

Coleman makes for a charming rascal in this Technicolor Arabian Nights confection. Dietrich isn't the first person you'd drop in a story set in old Baghdad, and indeed, she does seem a little out of place. Arnold has more fun as the scheming Wazir. The sets and costumes are gorgeous, looking like illustrations from my old Arabian Nights book come to life. The musical remake has its own fun, but if you're a fan of Coleman or Dietrich or are looking for something closer to the original play, this is worth making appear.

Switched back to the second half of Super Password, just in time to see Jamie Widdoes try to help a lady through the bonus round. He and his new contestant only had slightly more luck with the next puzzles. Comedians Marty and Frenchie Allen were the big winners on Tattletales - and I do mean big, with over 500 won for the red section. 

Everyone got slammed with Whammies in the first half of Press Your Luck. The second half went better. The champ eventually just picked up enough money to beat the one guy and exceed what was then the money limit at CBS, entering the "hall of fame."

Heard giggling on Jodie's side of the house as Press Your Luck ended. Rose was visiting briefly with the kids. Finley was dying to come and see the Cabbies. We bounced on my mattresses (I don't have a real bed) for a few minutes before she played with my Cabbage Patch Kids at their little table and with my stuffed black kitty Luna. Mom, Khai, and one of the neighborhood kids came around a few minutes later to retrieve her...and a few minutes after that to find her favorite blanket.

Worked on writing as the dough rose on the window ledge in my bedroom. Gene explains to Richard that the railroad bought a lot of the land vacated by settlers that the Wild Rider Gang drove away. Sheriff Michael Landon was looking into this before he died...and likely died because someone didn't appreciate his meddling.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched Match Game '79 while having crab cakes and leftover asparagus with my Honey White Bread. (It baked well enough, but the dough came out too cakey and bland.) This week finished with jokes about what a lazy dog chases and Fannie helping a contestant win 10,000 on "__ Harry."

Tonight's Match Game PM episode was hilarious...and actually, rather sweet. A poor lady was so nervous, she couldn't even remember her husband's name! Gene held her hand until she calmed down. Joyce Bulifant was only a little less nervous when she had to help her win 12,000 on "__ Inn." 

It was another close one Sale of the Century. Everyone bought something or won something, and no one pulled ahead until the champ pushed out slightly in the second half. She finally won the Speed Round by two questions, but had more trouble in the Bonus Round.

Finished the night on The Roku Channel with The A-Team. "The Battle of Bel-Air" from the second season introduces reporter Tawnia Baker, who is undercover as a clerk in a security firm. She warns the A-Team that Decker's after them, then recruits them to help her save an oil-sheik from being murdered by corrupt company executives. 

Wind Storm

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Jem on Tubi. It's a "Culture Clash" when the Holograms' agent hires an eccentric creator of wacky modern sculptures to be the art director on their new video. The Holograms don't think much of his creations or his avant-garde ideas, especially when they get in the way of their performing. For once, it's the Misfits who cause trouble when they find out that the owner of the art gallery who sells his sculptures is using them for criminal activity. The Misfits' manager Eric Raymond inadvertently helps Jem and the artist prove their innocence - he's a genuine fan of the man's work. 

Headed off to work shortly after the cartoon ended. It was sunny and relatively warm when I rode to the Acme this morning, and it remained so...until around 1:30. Clouds built up on the horizon, and the wind picked up from a gentle breeze to a howling, thrashing gale that send carts and flower petals spinning everywhere. I hurried all over the parking lot, gathering as many carts as I could before the storm began. 

The storm never came. Customers reported a shower for about 10 minutes around 2:30-3, when I was on break and sweeping the store. Other than that, it remained gale-force windy and cold for the rest of the day. No thunder, no lightning, no more rain. It got cloudy, but that never resulted in anything more than it being a little darker than usual around dinner. 

Hurried straight home after work, hoping to beat the weather. When I got in, I changed and turned on my new TV. Added it to the accounts for most of the apps I stream regularly, including Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Video, YouTube, and Peacock. I'll get the cable-based apps moving when I have more time on Friday.

Did a little bit of writing next. Richard admires the well-appointed City Hall. Gene admits that, though the town's doing relatively well, it's mostly due to the man who owns half the businesses in town, Mark Goodson the railroad magnate. His representative, Ira Scutch, is with Mayor Allen Ludden as they speak.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Got a surprise when I opened the refrigerator and saw a plate covered in foil. Turns out Jodie left me a tasty dinner of chicken and rice in (likely jarred) gravy and steamed asparagus. 

Ate while watching Match Game '79. This took place later in the week of the infamous excited contestant who attacked Gene. By this point, she'd been defeated by players who were a lot calmer. Meanwhile, the panel has fun with figuring out what an Eskimo cheerleader likes to rub and the answer to "__ Tender" in the Audience Match.  

Made Chocolate Chip Muffins while Match Game PM was on. As goofy as he can be, Jon "Bowser" Bauman can occasionally be a pretty decent player, as he is here and on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. He's the one who has to help a contestant get 10,000 on "Benjamin __." 

Slid the muffins in the oven towards the end of Sale of the Century. The champ and the one guy started out pretty close, but she jumped ahead towards the middle of the show, even after buying an Instant Bargain. She won the Speed Round by a wide margin, but continues to have trouble with the Bonus Round.

Tested Disney Plus with an earlier episode of Muppet Babies. Gonzo is so into winning, he creates "The Great Gonzo's Desert Grand Prix" so he can compete with the others. The race isn't as much fun when he uses Mario Kart-style obstacles to ensure he wins. Statler and Waldorf, who were acting as commentators and referees, remind him that it's more important to enjoy a race with your friends than to win. Animal becomes "Animal Kong" when he can't get his drumsticks during quiet time and gets so angry, he grows to ten times his size. The others do everything they can to calm him down.

Finished the night online after a shower with Charlie's Angels. "Angel Flight" lets Kelly and Kris fly the not-so-friendly skies as they investigate who's sending black roses and making threatening phone calls to a friend of Sabrina's. She runs a school to train stewardesses...but someone is determined to spook her into obeying them. After one of the stewardesses is killed, Sabrina's friend is a lot less willing to discuss the matter. Now Kelly and Kris need to figure out who's making those phone calls, before the experimental plane they're taking their test run in has a very bumpy flight. 

Springtime In New Jersey

Began my day with breakfast and Springtime In the Rockies. I go further into this Canadian-set vehicle for Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Springtime In the Rockies (1942)

Did a few chores around the house while I worked. Moved the children's picture book anthologies and fairy tale collections to the bottom of the kids' books shelves in the hall to make more room for my books on media history. Made the bed - the sheet was almost falling off. Grabbed a huge box off the porch - my TV arrived! I'd fiddle with it when I got back from doing the laundry.

It was such a lovely day, I might have done my load at the laundromat, even if Jodie wasn't home. The beautiful weather was reflected in the largely empty building. It did start to pick up a little later, enough for me to sit outside on the concrete barrier and enjoy the warm 70-degree day and fresh breezes as I worked on story notes.

Tried to get the TV set up when I got home, but it proved to be very different than my old set and a lot more complicated. First of all, I had to screw on the rather spindly little legs. It took me at least five tries to hook my Roku account up to the new TV...and then the darn thing spent most of the rest of my time there updating and adding new software. I also had to figure out where to put it. It's a 32 inch TCL, almost twice the size of my old 19-inch Sylvania. I quickly ate leftovers for lunch, threw on my work clothes, grabbed a banana for a snack, and dashed out.

Got incredibly lucky at work today. I'd been in the register for a half-hour when one of the college students came in for me. Seems they had no afternoon bagger today. They didn't even call out. They just didn't schedule anyone. I gleefully took over sweeping and pushing carts until the evening bagger arrived at 6, after which I turned the sweeping over to him and focused on pushing carts and enjoying that stunning weather for the last half-hour.

Returned to messing with the TV when I got home. First of all, none of my previous electronics come with an HDMI port - not the DVD player, not the Wii. I could probably get one for the cable box from Jodie, and Lauren told me there's HDMI cords you can buy for the Wii. I did replace the DVD player, though. I've had it for about four or five years, since the old DVD recorder died. It works just fine, but it's also not made for the new up-to-date smart TVs. The one I ordered is about the same size and is even region-free. I've always wanted to see British and European musicals like Jessie Matthews' 30's vehicles and German operettas of the pre-war era.

Thought I got the TV working, but it kept blinking in and out while I watched Match Game PM on Pluto TV. Turns out the reception is poor, no matter how much I turn the darn thing around. After resetting it twice, it finally started behaving during Sale of the Century. Good thing, too. This was an interesting game. The one guy kept jumping in with the wrong answer and couldn't get near the ladies. The champ easily won the Speed Round, but still had trouble with the Bonus Round. 

It's a Wonderful World

I'm so happy I got a lot done today. First of all, Dad did come over this time to help get the old TV downstairs. We both finally decided that it wasn't worth the drive to Best Buy for a $10 gift card when salvagers and recycling trucks drive around all the time, picking up old furniture and electronics.

Taking the TV out went so well, after Dad left, I brought my old upright computer, tube monitor, and the printer that was replaced with a wireless version last Christmas to the curb as well. I also had a package waiting for me on the porch. It was the copy of the original 1974 LP version of Mickey's Christmas Carol I won on eBay. I've seen this mentioned in a few places and have always wanted to hear it.

My next stop was the Oaklyn Library. Since Storybook Hour was in full swing when I arrived, I concentrated on the DVDs and the young adult series. I never did get to the kids' books.

I was delighted to see that someone did, indeed, pick up the electronics as I walked down the street. Every last bit of it was gone. I noticed my old computer and TV in the back of a truck that picks up local salvage. Good. Maybe they can make it into something that runs faster or find someone who can use it.

It was sunny when Dad and I took the TV out, humid but cooler than it has been. Dad said it probably wouldn't rain today. Mother Nature said differently. The clouds were starting to build up, and they continued to build as I organized things in the back room and worked on finishing last night's DVD and starting the next one.

The 1957 musical Silk Stockings was the last movie to go on the disc I started yesterday. This movie was the last for director Rouben Mamoulien, who made two favorites of mine, Summer Holiday and Love Me Tonight, and one of the last musicals for Fred Astaire. In this remake of the 1939 comedy Ninotchka, Astaire is a Hollywood producer who convinces a Russian classical composer to stay in Paris and write the score for his newest movie. But it's the late 50s, and Russia is still under Communist rule, which frowns on such things. The Russian government first sends three commisars to bring him home, and when THEY want to stay in Paris, too, they send a very straight-laced young military woman. Will she fall for the charms of Paris...and the movie producer...as well?

Not the best MGM musical in the world, but the second paring of Astaire and Cyd Charisse (after Band Wagon) does have some fine numbers. "All of You" is the standard, and as appropriate, gets one of the movie's best duets.

Bob Hope had less luck with Joan Fontaine in Casanova's Big Night. One of Bob Hope's later 50s vehicles, Casanova is somewhat reminiscent of another Hope swashbuckler comedy I have, The Princess and the Pirate. Here, Hope is Peppo the Tailor's Assistant who finds himself pushed into playing the great Italian lover Casanova when the real Casanova sneaks out without paying his creditors. Hope must get a petticoat from the daughter of a duke to prove she's faithful to her betrothed. Fontaine and Casanova's valet go along to make sure Hope isn't any more cowardly than usual.

Highly recommended if you're a fan of Hope, Fontaine, or comic swashbucklers. There's some really fun gags here, including Bob "Orson Welles" Hope's attempt at a happy ending and him and Fontaine cross-dressing to get the petticoat back to the right person.

It started raining lightly as I went to work, and apparently continued showering on-and-off for the rest of the night. The weather didn't deter the crowds. We were steady right up until about a half-hour before I left. There were no major problems, and I was in and out quickly.

Digitalizing Memories

Started off a hot, sunny day with Blueberry-Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Brunch With the Beatles. The album in the spotlight was Hey Jude: The Beatles' Again, a US-only Capitol records release that more-or-less collected all of the Beatles songs which had only been heard as singles on this side of the pond before then. Along with the title number, these included "Paperback Writer," "The Ballad of John and Yoko," "I Should Have Known Better," "Revolution," "Rain," and "Lady Madonna."

Called Mom after I finished breakfast. Our chat was brief. She'd just finished a long session in the garden and was about to start another one. Keefe was only just tumbling out of bed. His girlfriend Vicki's birthday was yesterday, and they spent the day together, from enjoying a brunch to spending the evening at the Wildwood Boardwalk.

I also told Mom to pass my birthday greetings onto my nephew Skylar, my sister Anny's oldest son. He's turning 7 today! Mom suggested to just send him money; everyone else in the family had showered him with presents, and at his age, he's just starting to enjoy shopping for himself.

Swept the porch while Brunch With the Beatles was ending. I'd put it off for a while. The mosquitoes have been really bad this year. I just couldn't put it off any longer. There were cobwebs and large, round, peppery-smelling nuts (and the leftovers from my "neighbors" the squirrels and chipmunks eating those nuts) and sticks and dry leaves everywhere.

After I finished, I went for a long walk to Newton River Park. It was a lovely day for it. There were puffy white clouds in the sky, but at 12:30, they were hardly threatening. It was sunny and a little breezy. Lots of people were out and about, jogging, biking, or walking dogs.

I hiked up a long, steep stone stairway and up to Oaklawn Avenue in Oaklyn. Walked to East Clinton, then across the White Horse Pike to Dunkin' Donuts. I don't usually go in there. I don't like donuts (too sweet and sticky) or their prices. To celebrate my rare Sunday off, I decided to treat myself to a Frozen Hot Chocolate...i.e, a slushie with chocolate syrup. Not bad, but not worth 3 bucks, either.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at home. I was determined to get the DVD recorder and the VCR playing together. I finally removed the thick cable all together. Shining a flashlight on the VCR revealed that I had the audio hooks in the wrong spots. It's hard to read the writing on the VCR in that part of the living room, which is pressed against the back wall and has no windows. I arranged the audio and video cables in the right places...and this time, it worked. Everything recorded right, video and audio. And yes, I now feel very silly for not figuring that out earlier.

Under any circumstances, I was able to record my first home-made DVDs this evening. The first one I did was very special to me. In 1988, my father Bruce and his wife Kaye borrowed a camcorder from friends and taped my sister Rose's 8th birthday party, which they held with their friends when we visited their then-home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida over our spring break. Bruce, Kaye, and their friends also recorded our antics in their friends' pool over the next few days.

Rose and I visited Bruce and Kaye again in the summer of 1990. This time, we were off to Walt Disney World for most of the week. Dick Tracy was the big movie being advertised at the theme parks that summer. The movie-oriented park that was then known as Disney-MGM Studios had a show in one of the shops where they pulled random people from the audience to perform in a Dick Tracy-themed skit. Yes, I was one of those people. I played Tess Trueheart confronting Breathless Mahoney and two of her back-up singers after she found Mahoney's sheet music in Dick Tracy's office. I eventually "knock out" the girls (via cartoon-y "punching" sound effects). The girl who played Breathless actually sang part of a credible "Vogue" and was pretty funny when she had to collapse after I "hit" her, including singing part of "Vogue" again! (The director's ad-lib was the best line, though - "It's Madonna after a long concert." ;) )

I believe the third item was from about a year or so later, from my reference to the Cher song "Love and Understanding" and Rose's oh-so-cool short hair-do. We stayed in Ft. Lauderdale this time, joining two young teens named Amy and Kelly on a night when our parents and their little brother had all gone out to eat. We spent the night filming each other acting silly. I in particular was overly-excited about my rare chance to spend time with peers and was a bit shrill (to the point where Rose took me aside and complained). (We'd done it earlier in the week, but alas, that footage remained in Florida.) We mostly made jokes about how bright the light the girls attached to the camcorder to be able to film at night was, what we planned to do (and never did), and goofed off on their brother's playground equipment in the backyard.

The next disc was all cartoons. My Muppet Babies Video Storybooks and two videos of public domain Felix the Cat and Three Stooges animated shorts were so cheap, no one bothered pulling off the tabs despite them being commercial copies. They transferred easily to DVD.

I also transferred the Schoolhouse Rock video Linda Young sent me a while back. Though I will eventually get the 30th anniversary Schoolhouse Rock DVD set as well, Linda's tape has live-action introductions to each short and cartoon featuring Glenn Close and a passel of kids in extremely 80s clothes. You probably won't see those today outside of the original ABC videos.

Jodie and Dad called to invite me to my cousin CJ's birthday party on August 20th. I added to Dad that I needed him to pick up his old TV, which is currently sitting in the middle of my living room. I've already tripped over it once and nearly killed myself. Dad said he really didn't want it anymore, either. He and Uncle Ken apparently have at least three or four similar tube TVs sitting in their garage. He finally agreed to come over on Tuesday to help me get it downstairs and leave it for scavengers.

Oh, and we did have a rather nice little storm tonight. It started getting darker while I was working on the cartoon DVD. By the time we were on "Science Rock," there was a very noisy storm going on.

Might As Well Be Walking On the Sun

I didn't get to post last night because my internet has been a pain for the last two days. It was down for almost all of last night, from 8:30 to nearly 2AM, and for the entire afternoon today. And when I finally did get back on, I discovered Verizon reset me for no good reason and I had to download everything all over again! I would have switched to another carrier ages ago, but Verizon is the cheapest local Internet service and is said to be faster than Comcast.

I did get out to the usual yard sale/farm market run yesterday. I found some really good records at an estate sale:

Two Disney LPs from the 80s, Yankee Doodle Mickey (a collection of American folk music and one song from the Disney Theme Parks' Liberty Square) and the very Greed Decade Splashdance (check out Minnie in her off-the-shoulder sweatshirt on the back cover).

A Blossom Fell, Nat King Cole

Two Christmas collections, The Sound of Christmas and one of True Value Hardware's Happy Holidays LPs.

Golden Treasures, a 3-disc set of 50s and 60s rock music that came with two more records from another early rock-themed set, Dynamic Treasures.

I also found a mint-condition Wilton teddy-bear shaped cake pan. I remember using that pan for a project in my Cake Decorating and Candy Making class in high school, but I haven't seen it since. Perhaps I'll make myself a bear cake when the weather starts cooperating again.

Stopped at another yard sale on the way to Collingswood. I picked up two good double-CD greatest hits collections for the Doors and the Supremes, but the owner insisted on downloading both to her computer before I could buy them. (I don't know why she didn't do it before selling them, but at least she was nice about it.)

The Farm Market wasn't quite as busy as usual, with far fewer dogs, thanks to the hot and humid weather. I saw the first lima beans and small apples of the season and several unusual varieties of tomatoes. I'm not fond of lima beans, but I did get the apples. Also bought blackberries, blueberries, peaches, two regular beefsteak tomatoes, a cucumber, golden beets (I hope they're less messy than regular red beets), and an ear of corn.

When I got in, I did the windows, then went out to Leo's Yum Yums and got some Orange-Vanilla Yum Yum (creamier water ice). I walked over to Uncle Ken's to go swimming after I finished my treat. I'm glad I did. The water was so warm, it was in the 90s. Blake and I floated around on inner tubes, rafts, and noodles while Uncle Ken, Dolores, and Blake's dad watched the Phillies-Padres game. (I do NOT envy those guys having to play in the 100-degree heat.)

I think I've figured out why the DVD recorder won't record, too. I have to figure out how to get the DVD recorder and the VCR on the same channel...literally. The VCR shows up on Channel 3. The DVD recorder plays on Video 1. The DVD recorder will pick up the audio from the VCR, but not the picture. I need to find out how to get both on the same wavelength.

Made some very tasty Blackberry-Peach Pancakes for breakfast, then called Mom. She'd just gotten off the phone with her chatty sister Terri and wasn't eager for a long conversation, but she did tell me that she was worried about her garden not getting enough water and a sinus infection that really made my brother Keefe sick. This happens to him from time to time, thanks to his really nasty allergies.

Brunch With the Beatles was pretty interesting today. The emphasis was on the US-only album Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, it's infamously short-lived "butcher" cover, and other songs that were released as singles in the spring and summer of 1966. Songs from that album and the time period include "We Can Work It Out," "Act Naturally," "Eleanor Rigby," "Paperback Writer," and "Yellow Submarine."

I was off of work yesterday. It was long-lines busy when I came in, but a heavy shower around 7:30-8 cleared out the customers. By the time I left, it was pin-drop quiet.

The rain was gone by the time I finished as well. It remains humid, if not anywhere near as hot as it was.

Hot In Philadelphia

Yes, the temperature reached 100 here today. 103, to be exact. It was humid and hazy and way too steamy for words. Needless to say, the only time I was out in it before I went to work was to check the mail. Yay, the TV I ordered on Amazon.com finally arrived! I easily carried the 15-inch, flat-screen, two-year-old Sylvania set upstairs...much to my surprise. My old TV is a 19-inch tube model that nearly gave me a hernia just moving it across the living room. (And it actually belongs to my dad - I borrowed it from him when the TV I'd had since high school started dying around 2007.)

I got the apartment vacuumed before the TV arrived and dusted the heavy antique table I use as a home entertainment unit after it arrived. Spent an hour setting up the DVD recorder and VCR - they both work just fine. I love the TV. The picture looks nice, everything plugs into it (no more modulator), and I can now easily dust under it and dust it, instead of having to dust around it. It's what I've wanted for years. Actually, it's the size I wanted in high school, but my stepfather insisted on a larger, 22-inch console. (He claimed it was on sale. Mom blamed his "bigger is better" complex.)

Didn't get too much of a chance to watch it. I ran some cartoons during lunch, then went straight to work. Yes, I rode the bike. I wasn't going to drag anyone out in 100 degree heat. Besides, I worked until 10. Everyone I know is either in bed by that time, out with friends, or tending to children.

It was surprisingly steady when I came in and during rush hour. I figured everyone would avoid the heat as much as possible. It did die a bit later and was quiet when I finally left.

She's Got the Power

If any cartoon brings me back to my childhood, it's Jem and the Holograms. My sisters and I were huge fans of this show between it's mid-80s debut and around 1991-ish. You might call it the first animated American soap opera. No goofy dogs or cutesy babies here. The issues may have been overblown, but they were real issues, from parental abandonment to adoption and foster children to business ethics and moral codes.

The title characters are an extremely 80s pop group, right down to their colorful hair and makeup, the huge shoulder pads on their clothing, and the heavy reliance on technology. Jem's real name is Jerrica. She uses the hologram computer her father created to create two distinct personalities, like an older Hannah Montana. Her back-up group consists of her tomboy sister Kimber and two adopted sisters, one black, one Asian. (A later addition to the group was from Mexico.)

This show is as 80s as you can get. At least three or four songs were incorporated into every episode as flashy MTV-style "music videos." The women wear elaborate, ruffled gowns with enormous shoulder pads and are slathered with makeup that would make Kiss jealous; the men are either sleazoids, dumb goons, British pretty boys, or obvious love interests. (And some of them have interesting hair colors, too.)

Despite still being very much of it's era, this is probably the best of the childhood favorites I've been watching in the past week or so by far. Other than the dated feel, there's some minor complaints. This show can be ridiculously melodramatic, and there is some violence. It's not for the littlest misses, but pre-teen girls who are into Hannah and High School Musical and don't mind the crazy look may still enjoy it.

These two moving episodes from the series' third season are the ones I always remembered best...because they're so different from anything else I've ever seen in an American animated TV show. Jerrica and her sister Kimber recalls how their late father created the Starlight music company and the orphanage it provides money for, the death of their mother, and the adoption of the other Holograms.

Out of the Past - Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Father's Day - Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The girls and I had a lot of the toys, too. Rose was the most into the show and had the most dolls from the line - Aja, the original pink-clad Jem/Jerrica, Roxy of the Misfits, their choreographer friend Dance, and the computer-generated female character who gave Jerrica her Jem personality, Synergy. I had Kimber and the head of the Misfits, Pizazz. (I still like Pizazz a lot. She's one of the major inspirations for the villain character Sheila Saunders in our Monkees role play story.) Anny had the later "Gitter and Gold" Jem/Jerrica and the bright pink stage playset that doubled as a cassette player, along with a lot of the clothes from the "Glitter and Gold" line. I remember setting up all the dolls we had on the stage, playing a Jem cassette, and pretending I was at a concert on their show.

Even Mom wholeheartedly embraced Jem, despite the toys' high price tag. Maybe she liked the catchy music. Or perhaps she appreciated the fact that the show was not only very well-written and performed, but one of the only 80s animated shows written and created almost entirely by women. Or maybe she just liked that the dolls were much larger and more life-like than Barbie dolls, and their huge, glittery shoes were a lot harder to lose or get caught in the vacuum cleaner.

The Digital TV Revolution Is Wasted On Me

The morning started out gloomy, wet, and humid again. I watched the second disc of Get Smart, baked Molasses-Oatmeal Cookies, dressed the Sailor Soldiers in their summer outfits, and worked on editing the role-play. (All the Soldiers got their usual retro minidresses and poodle skirts except for Sailor Moon. Her cullottes were stretched so badly, I had to tie a ribbon around her waist to keep them on, and her "top" was an old baby doll shirt wrapped several times around her chest. I ditched them and gave her a short silver skirt and the pink and silver tank top from the 80s/90s gown collection instead.)

One of my all-time favorite Get Smart episodes was on the second disc. I couldn't remember if it was the third or the fourth season that had "The King Lives?", the wonderful spoof of The Prisoner of Zenda. Max takes the place of the king of a fictional European country after he's shot right before his coronation. If the king is not crowned, his half-brother will take over...and cooperate with Kaos. They did a pretty accurate mock-up of Zenda, right down to Max falling for the King's betrothed. And for a guy who is clumsy at just about everything else, Maxwell Smart is one heck of a swordsman!

Work was steady-to-dead, no major problems. I even got to finish a little early in order to take a work-related survey. Maybe the weather cleared things out. It was still cloudy when I went to work, but the sun was just starting to come out as I came home, despite it remaining sticky, hot, and humid.

As for tonight's digital TV revolution...to paraphrase Oscar the Grouch, "I stick out my tongue!" I don't see what the big deal is. How many people are there left with antennas on their TVs anyway, two?

I'm not old enough to really remember the Golden Age of Analog Television, between approximately the early 50s and the early 80s. I do remember Mom having one of those huge old wooden box TVs, but it was always in color, and both sides of the family has had cable since the early 80s, so we never had bleeding channels or channels skipping or whatever. (I wonder if this is what it was like when TV started broadcasting in color?)

One of my fondest memories of no-longer existing TV phenomenons involves the beginning and end of the broadcasting day. It was well into the 80s before many cable channels ran programming 24/7. I would get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings and creep into the living room to watch test patterns and the daily listing of programming on Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel. (Yes, I was that much of a couch potato as a kid.) At 6AM sharp, the translucent glass Mickey Mouse head would fly across the satellite in space, or the Nickelodeon ball would bounce through the air, and I'd know Cableland was ready to begin it's broadcast day!

The Daze of Winter

I never heard from Rose this morning, and I slept too late to do Yogawood anyway, so I ended up doing my laundry and running errands. Dad and Jodie went up to the hospital to see Uncle Ken. I ran to CVS for eggs and a bag of peanuts I had a coupon for, enjoying a sunny, windless, mid-30s February day. I tried to find something good on TV, but most of the usual stations were running marathons of shows I could live without. It was The Suite Life of Zach and Cody On Deck on The Disney Channel. Like The Disney Channel's other pre-teen oriented TV shows (I've mentioned Hannah Montana before), it's cute but bland and a bit shrill. Boomerang was running The Smurfs. Great for nostalgia, but not much else. The Pokemon marathon on Cartoon Network were mostly the newer episodes I'm not familiar with. On the other hand, it was nice to see good ol' James, Jessie, and Meowith again, and that Piplup penguin Pokemon is waaaayyy too cute for words. Phineas and Ferb, a goofy comedy about two boys and their wild ideas for the perfect summer vacation, was a little strange, but generally fun.

Marlene, one of the managers, was on my answering machine when I finally got in, asking me to come in early. It was quarter after one by then. I did get in a half-hour early. If you ask me, 2 - 7 makes a lot more sense than 2:30 to 7, anyway. Marlene told me we'd been really busy, but we were more off-and-on this evening and were dead when I left.

Oh, and I asked our head manager, Steve, if I could switch to the bakery. I like my co-workers, but I really have had enough of working the front end. I'd like to really DO something besides shove other people's food around and listen to them whine. Steve said he'd see what he could do. I really hope so. I'm still debating culinary school, and I want some experience. Besides, the bakery has more flexible (and earlier) hours. The manager of the North Cape May Acme asked me if I wanted to move to the bakery when I was there after the Wildwood Acme closed down in fall 2005. Alas, she asked me too late - I was less than a month from moving at that point.

Historic Inauguration

I did get to see bits and pieces of today's historic Presidential Inauguration. I watched about 20 minutes of it before I went to Dad and Uncle Ken's to do my laundry and a half-hour after I came back around 12:30. No, I didn't get to see the parade or Obama be sworn in. Dad and Uncle Ken were watching their usual 24 hours of nothing but thrillers and crime shows, and I didn't want to tell them what to watch on their TVs. If they wanted to miss history, that was on them. And alas, by the time the parade started, I was at work.

I still got to see enough to make me feel like I saw history. I've seen some history on TV before. I was five when the Challenger space shuttle exploded in 1985. Not that I cared at the time; I was more upset that they pre-empted The Price Is Right to cover the explosion and NASA's reaction. I was far more interested when the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989. I still remember seeing all those people yanking away at it clear as day, even on my little black and white TV. And of course, I was in college when 9/11 happened. Ironically, I was in a class on 20th century American history when the Towers were hit. I didn't find out until I went to work at the Stockton Media Center, by which time they were almost on the ground.

As for today, I could have done with fewer talking heads and more actual footage (this is why I don't watch network or cable news more often). I did get to see former President Bush leave Washington for Texas (not a moment too soon, if you ask me) and the beginning of the Inaugural Lunch.

Work was, in the opposite of the last few days, dead when I came in and when I left, but busy during the usual rush hour, by which time most Inaugural festivities were over or nearly so. A lot of people apparently called out this morning, either due to family trouble or the Inauguration, but there was no trouble whatsoever by the time I was there. Other than it was a little windy and icy going home, I had no trouble getting to or from work.

Pipe Dreams

My day went fine...until I got to work, of course. A plumber showed up first thing this morning after my landlady Miss Ellie reported seeing leaks under my shower on Saturday. As it turned out, my shower merely needs to be re-caulked. Miss Ellie's grown nephew, who lives down the street, will probably do it in the next few days.

I spent the rest of the morning doing my laundry, going for a walk, and watching cartoons at Dad's. Dad and Jodie are still on vacation, Uncle Ken and Dolores were out running errands, and Jessa had school. One of my favorite Playhouse Disney cartoons is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a much better way of re-using older characters than the somewhat similar My Friends Tigger and Pooh. In this case, Mickey and the gang hold a carnival at their clubhouse to help Clarabelle Cow (who has traded her trademark long skirt for a yellow hair bow and wide-legged trousers) gather enough corn to feed the new chickens at her petting zoo. The fun-park setting allows us to see other classic Disney characters who only turn up from time to time, along with Clarabelle. Chip and Dale toss bean bags to dunk Donald in the Dunk the Duck tank (of course). Big Pete runs a Guess-His-Weight game. (Hint: he's not QUITE as big as an elephant.) Professor Ludwig Von Drake is in charge of the hot dog stand, and Willie the Giant of Mickey and the Beanstalk fame is his best customer.

The Backyardigans had an even more exciting adventure. Tyrone played mythical sailor Sinbad, who sails the seven seas all alone and makes amazing discoveries. Ever-eager Pablo, however, is determined to join his buddy. Tyrone's not as happy to have him around, especially when his attempts to be an able-bodied sailor wind up losing their water and food...and lands them in some odd games of Simon Says and Freeze tag with Uniqua the Siren and Medusa Tasha respectively!

I went on a lovely walk between shows. Other than being on-and-off cloudy, it was a perfect fall day, in the upper 60s and breezy. The leaves are on the verge of turning colors here. Some are a little red-and-yellow around the tops. Others are still full green. Mums grace every garden, and most homes who don't go the garden route have anything from banners with pumpkins on them to elaborate Halloween displays with huge ghost and goblin statues and massive orange pumpkins.

I wish work were as pleasant. Lots of cranky people today, especially around the 4PM rush hour. One older woman threw a fit when she said she gave me a coupon and I told her I hadn't seen it. I really hadn't. She'd dropped her coupons in an untidy, wrinkled heap on the register. I had to dig around to find coupons that pertained to her order, and the one she was angry about wasn't among them. She didn't pull it out until after the order went through; the bagger confirmed this. She could have taken it up to customer service. People miss coupons all the time. Another woman got mad when her order didn't come out exactly as she'd counted. Sorry, but I'm not the one who prices these items! It's not my fault when they don't come up right.

I finally got a hold of Mom when I got home and ate dinner. I almost wish I hadn't. We ended up arguing over the economy and the Acme and my not saving money. I'd save money if I had any to save. I know the economy's bad, but I don't think it'll hurt the Acme. People still need food, and the only large (business-killing) Wal-Mart in this area is in Deptford 30 minutes away. Mom thinks every single business in the whole universe is in jeopardy just because some of them have shut down in Cape May County. Of COURSE they shut down in Cape May County. There aren't enough people down there year-round to keep them open! (That was one of the big reasons I moved.)

TV Post

Saw this at En's LiveJournal:

- Bold all of the following TV shows which you've ever seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime.
- Italicize a show if you're positive you've seen every episode of it.
- If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).


24
7th Heaven
8 Simple Rules
Adam-12
Aeon Flux
ALF
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
All in the Family
American Idol/Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol/etc.
America's Got Talent
America's Next Top Model/Germany's Next Top Model
Angel
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Arrested Development
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: Crusade
Battlestar Galactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beavis & Butthead
Bewitched
Beauty and the Beast
Beverly Hills 90210
Blackadder
Blake 7
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Public
Boy Meets World
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Caitlin's Way
Chappelle's Show
Charlie's Angels
Charmed
Cheers
CHiPs
Clarissa Explains It All
Cold Case
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Coupling
Cowboy Bebop
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dallas
Dancing with the Stars
Danny Phantom
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci's Inquest
Dawson's Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who (2005)
Dragnet
Due South
Earth 2
Eerie, Indiana
Emergency!
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Facts of Life
Family Guy
Family Matters
Family Ties
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Father Ted
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Felix the Cat
Firefly
Flash Forward
Forever Knight
Frasier
Freaks and Geeks
Friends
Full House
Futurama
Get Smart
Ghost Hunters
Gilligan's Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Green Wing
Grey's Anatomy
Growing Pains
Gummi Bears
Gunsmoke
Hannah Montana
Happy Days
Hart to Hart
He-Man
Heroes
Highlander
Hogan's Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Instant Star
Inuyasha
Invader Zim
Invasion
Hell's Kitchen
JAG
Jackass
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
JEM
Joey
John Doe
Just Shoot Me
Keen Eddie
LA Law
Laverne and Shirley
Law & Order
Lexx: The Dark Zone
Life With Derek
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Malcolm in the Middle
Married... With Children
Matlock
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission: Impossible
Moonlighting
Monk
Mork & Mindy
Murder, She Wrote
Murphy Brown
My Life as a Dog
My So-Called Life
My Super Sweet 16
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
NCIS
Night Court
Nip/Tuck
North Shore
Numb3rs
One Tree Hill
Oz
Perfect Strangers
Perry Mason
Phil of the Future
Pokemon
Power Rangers
Prison Break
Profiler
Project Runway
Psych
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (UK)
Red Dwarf
ReGenesis
Remember WENN
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
Robotech
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Sabrina The Teenage Witch
Sailor Moon
Salute Your Shorts
Samurai Jack
Saved by the Bell
Scarecrow and Mrs King
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sesame Street
Sex and the City
She-Ra
Silverhawks
Six Feet Under
Skins
Sliders
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
So Weird
South Park
Spaced
Spongebob Squarepants
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teen Titans
That 70's Show
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Original)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
That's So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The Apprentice
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Brady Bunch
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Famous Jet Jackson
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Honeymooners
The Invisible Man
The Jeffersons
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Lucille Ball Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Muppet Show
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Pretender
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real World
The Sentinel
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Transformers
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Men (animated)
The X-Files
Third Watch
Three's Company
Thundercats
Top Gear
Torchwood
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Two and A Half Men
Ugly Betty
Veronica Mars
Voltron
Welcome Back, Kotter
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Will and Grace
Wings
Without a Trace
Who's The Boss
WKRP in Cincinnati
You Can't Do That On Television