Cinnamon Sweet

Began the morning with oatmeal for breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. Niddler is frustrated with too many orders from the humans on the Wraith and too few melons. He's thrilled to be declared "King Niddler" on an island inhabited by non-flying colorful monkeys. What he doesn't know is they expect him to kill the monster that has been terrifying them for decades. Niddler learns just how important his friends are to him when they and one of the female monkeys end up helping him beat the monster and get the treasure he was guarding. 

Went online after the cartoon ended and made an appointment with PNC Bank. I need to talk to them about a loan and what I can reasonably afford in a condo. They told me to wait two years last year, but...I can't do that. I need a home of my own. I can't stay in an attic forever. I tried calling Alyssa again, but I still didn't get her. If I don't hear from her by next week, I'm going to assume she's not interested and will start looking for other ways to get loans.

Went downstairs next to make Cinnamon Strusel Muffins. Krusteaz mixes are on a really good sale at the Acme this week. I thought muffins would be easier to store than a coffee cake or loaf and make a nice lunch or snack. I also wanted to use up ingredients leftover from the baking on St. Patrick's Day and Easter. The last of the buttermilk replaced the water the box called for, and I added the last of the white chocolate chips from the Easter lemon cookies. Oh yuuuummm! They came out perfectly. The buttermilk made them super moist, and the little morsels of white chocolate added a sweet, creamy note. Smelled great baking in the oven, too.

Had a quick lunch while watching Sailor Moon. I felt like something goofy, so I went to the second half of the first season for "Love and Chased: Luna's Worst Day Ever." Usagi's cat Luna is having a rough time when she's twice chased by local alley cats. She's rescued both times by a plump cat named Rhett Butler who is sweet on her. The Sailor Guardians think his little girl owner holds the Rainbow Crystal they're looking for, but Mamoru - and nasty Zoycite - know it's much closer than they think.

Headed out to the Thomas Sharp School with plenty of time to park my bike before my shift began. I found the kids and the other teachers in the hall, with the kids and their backpacks leaning against the wall. They couldn't use the cafeteria because the music class was finishing, and they couldn't use the library because of the book fair. The kids weren't complaining too much. Most of them were happily reading, coloring, or playing with their purchases from the Book Fair.

We had quite a crowd today. There were 24 kids all together, 10 in my group. Honestly, they all could have been a lot worse. Mine were mostly fine in the bathrooms. They did get a little noisy in the cafeteria, but the head teacher headed off any attempts at beating each other up by cutting off their play time early and reading to them instead. I did have to pull one of the boys away from another when he tried to grab his toy cars. The kid was so grateful, he sat next to me until we went outside.

Things went much better once we got out to the playground. For one thing, there were far fewer of them by that point. Most of them went home between 4 and 4:30. By 4:30, we figured there was few enough for them to go on the swings. They were so funny! One little boy pretended he was an airplane. A little girl asked to go higher and higher! I did have to tell one of the older boys not to throw mulch while he swung, but I think he liked it when I grabbed a swing and joined him. We listened to "You've Got a Friend In Me" from Toy Story, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, and songs from KPop Demon Hunters before the battery on the speaker finally died. By the time I left at 5:15, they took the remaining two little boys inside to play with the remaining six older kids.

When I got home, I took out the trash, grabbed leftovers for dinner, and finished cleaning up the baking mess. Watched Match Game '91 while I ate. Most of the episodes finished the week with three queens of supreme sarcasm, Marcia Wallace, Pam Stone, and Vicki Lawrence. Deadpan Stone with her dry Southern wit is honestly one of my favorite panelists who is exclusive to Match Game '90. Brad Garrett and Sally Struthers returned to join Charles Nelson Reilly in the last episode.

Switched to The Persuaders! after dinner. Brett's saying "That's Me Over There" when a friend of his is murdered after gathering evidence on a crooked businessman, who then has Brett himself kidnapped. Danny has to play his friend and partner at a big auction in order to get evidence from a pretty female informant (Suzan Farmer).

Finished the night with some Good Eats. Not only was "Top Banana" the last episode from the DVDs I found on vacation last fall I hadn't watched, but I did just have a banana with lunch. Alton shows how sweet, nutrition-packed bananas can replace eggs in ice cream, make terrific Bananas Foster, and how the plaintain differs from your typical Cavendish banana. It kicks off with a hilarious spoof of Raiders of the Lost Ark that makes use of the fact that someone apparently fibbed and told Alton he had a banana plantation, when it was really just a lot of banana trees in his backyard. 

Very Good Friday

Began the morning with breakfast and Peter and the Magic Egg on YouTube. I went further into this charming and unique 1983 special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2024.

Spring Short Subject Special - Peter and the Magic Egg

Did a few things online, then headed out to run errands in Westmont. My first stop was the Great Clips at the Westmont Plaza...but the wait there was over 75 minutes! I wasn't hanging around there. I left my name with the young lady and headed back out.

By default, I ended up getting brunch at the Westmont first instead. This time, I had a waffle, a small cup of cantaloupe and fresh pineapple chunks, Pepsi Zero, and bacon. Oh, yum! The waffle was a huge brick, the approximate size of a life raft, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside. It was topped with spicy honey butter and real syrup. The bacon was melt in your mouth crispy. It was even tastier than last time, even if that enormous waffle was too big to finish.

I got the 15-minute warning text for Great Clips just as I was heading back up the hill to the Westmont Plaza. This time, it only took 10 minutes to get a stylist. I just needed it cut a bit shorter. My hair gets so frizzy when it's too long! Considering the young woman who helped me had her own considerable curls, she knew how to handle them. I now have blunt-cut, very cute chin-length curls framing my face. They're still a little frizzy and dry, but nothing to the degree that they were.

The other reason I was in Westmont was to go grocery shopping. I didn't really need a ton of food at any rate. I got coconut milk, white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies, dried raspberry lemon mango slices from the bulk bins, and two cans of sparkling water at Sprouts. The cookies and Hint sparkling water were on clearance. The coconut milk is just cheaper at Sprouts. 

Rode past the Haddon Township Library, the Burger King and McDonald's, and the high school to the Westmont Acme next. They were surprisingly not that busy. Sprouts was actually a bit busier. Everyone must have come earlier - the carts were empty. I restocked blood oranges, apples, soda, yogurt, granola, and granola bars. Picked up lemon cake mix and white chocolate chips to make cookies later.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It was cloudy at this point, but not too chilly, probably in the mid-60's. It certainly looks like spring in the park now. Buds and new bright green leaves swell on the trees. Thick green grass and sunny buttercups carpet the shore of the lake. I pushed my bike on the path that goes over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center, and it was thickly padded with green undergrowth and dusky pink and white flowers on the trees.

Made the Lemon White Chocolate Yum Yums when I got home. This is based on that Chocolate Yum Yums recipe from Christmas Is Coming 1987, with lemon cake mix replacing the devil's food mix, white chocolate chips replacing the nuts, and no sprinkles or chocolate bar topping. Yum! I tried one that fell apart, and they came out perfectly, light, sweet, and zesty. I'm going to give them to Jessa, Rose and her kids, and friends for Easter.

Checked my schedule when I got upstairs. In good news, I have Easter off, along with Monday and Tuesday. I took Tuesday off for a dental appointment. I work straight through the rest of the week from Wednesday onwards, including an 8 1/2 hour day on Saturday. I have no idea why the 8 1/2 hour day. I know the head bagger probably went on vacation this week, but couldn't they have gotten one of the college students or high schoolers who are on vacation this week to take at least part of the time? 

Watched Match Game '90 after I finished the cookies. Most of the episodes finished the run with Fred Travelena and Brett Somers. It's always good to see Brett again. She was technically retired by this point, but Charles had talked her into being on the show, and his instincts were solid. They were just as funny as they were in the 70's. Edie McClurg makes her debut on the show in the next week, joined by game show host Jonathan Prince, Ronn Lucas and Scorch, and Khrystyne Haje from Head of the Class. 

Finished the night with The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town. I went further into my favorite Rankin-Bass Easter special at the first Easter review for my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2019. 

The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

The Children Wore Green

Top O' the Evenin' to ye! I got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. It's a "St. Patrick's Day Dilemma" when Doc's brother accidentally scribbles on her new paper doll Fiona's Irish dance dress. She won't wear anything else to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Doc and the others have to convince her that it's better to change clothes when they've gotten dirty. Doc's new doll Gillian thinks she's too tall to play with the other toys, but she's the one who makes "A Giant Save" when Professor Hootenberg is stuck in a tree and she's the only one who can catch her.

Called Uber shortly after that. Once again, I had a surprisingly easy time getting rides. The driver to West Collingswood came in 4 minutes! The one going home arrived in 7. No trouble or traffic either way.

Since I was a little early, I went for a short walk down Magill Street. Despite the sun, it was cold and blustery, barely in the 40's. It wasn't even that in the shade. I saw a container of water in the deep shadows that was frozen solid! On the other hand, I also saw the first blooming flowers of the season. Beautiful purple and white crocus and tiny white snowdrops were nestled among the green and dry yellow grasses in several sunlit gardens.

Thanks to the cold, the younger kids never went outside today. Almost every kid wore green of some kind - green dresses with shamrock prints, adorable green and black pants outfits trimmed with ruffles, green sweaters, Eagles t-shirts and jerseys. Two of the boys announced that their kindergarten class had captured a leprechaun. They didn't indicate if it was a "real" leprechaun, but they did say he'd left behind a mess of toilet paper and extra treats for them. All of the kids got bags with chocolate coins (most of those were eaten before lunch was over), tiny bubble wands, slap bracelets, and shamrock beaded necklaces. 

Though we started with 26 kids, things were a bit disorganized at first. The kids played wherever they could fit in the cafeteria while the music class finished their rehearsal. The library is being used for parent-teacher conferences this week, so we can't go there. After they left and the kids ate lunch, they colored Healthy Kids paper bags they could use for all that loot. While some continued to draw, I showed two best friends the Storyland Disney anthology book and its gorgeous vintage artwork. (The artwork depicting Donald's less-than-sterling driving skills from "Donald Duck, Prize Driver" was especially popular. Even the older girls thought it was hilarious when I showed them later.) By 4 PM, we were down to three younger kids and six older ones, and another teacher had come to help. I was let go early.

After I got home, I took out the trash, then made Irish Soda Bread. This is extremely easy to make, especially if you do what I did and cut the recipe down to make one loaf, instead of two. All it requires is flour, baking soda, baking powder, a little sugar, buttermilk, an egg, raisins or currants, and butter or shortening to cut into it. Oh yuuuum! I think that good organic buttermilk I got from Sprouts helped, but this was the best Irish Soda Bread I ever made. Dense, chewy, soft, just sweet enough, and it smelled incredible in the oven. 

I got the bread out just before Jessa arrived. We were originally going to celebrate the Westmont (formerly the Westmont Diner) having reopened, but they're only serving breakfast right now. We drove a little further down to the Club Diner in Bellmawr instead. I think we made the right call. They had a big and very Irish St. Patrick's Day menu. She had corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage (and shared some of it with me) with soup. I had Irish Lamb Stew with a rather watery iceberg lettuce salad. The stew came with shredded lamb and big pieces of potato and carrot. She had a slice of carrot cake for dessert. I had Oreo Cake (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting topped with an Oreo cookie). 

Put on Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Fannie Flagg and Lee Merriweather wore their green St. Patrick's Day blouses in the episode I saw. Fred Grandy had to spend the night listening to Charles and Brett complain about the contestants ending up in a tie.

Finished the night with The Quiet Man at Pluto TV. Sean Thornton (John Wayne) has come home to the tiny village of Innisfree in Ireland to buy the cottage that once belonged to his mother and settle down. He falls for spirited Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara), but her big stubborn brother Will (Victor McLaghlen) is angry Sean got the cottage instead of him and refuses. Father Lonergran (Ward Bond) and matchmaker Michaeleen Flynn (Barry Fitgerald) convince Will that the Widow Tilane (Mildred Natwick) wants to marry him. When she refuses, he gives the bride away, but not her dowry. Mary Kate is furious, even after the townspeople manage to get all of her things but her money. Sean doesn't get it. Money isn't important to him. For Mary Kate, it means her freedom. 

Sean refuses to fight her brother, which leads everyone to think he's a coward. Reverend Playfair (Arthur Shields) is more understanding...but he does encourage Sean to put aside his bad memories and fight for his bride. When Sean finally does confront Will about the money, it leads to a gigantic knock-down, drag out donnybrook that gets so big, half of Ireland come to Innisfree to start taking bets!

This was John Ford's love letter to his own homeland, made in gorgeous Technicolor and shot so glowingly on location, it won a Best Color Cinematography Oscar. Almost every Irish character actor in Hollywood has a delightful time with the hilarious script, especially Bond as the fishing-obsessed Catholic priest and Fitzgerald as the impish and very traditional matchmaker. Highly recommended around St. Patrick's Day, or whenever you're in the mood for O'Hara and Wayne sparring or want a taste of a slightly stereotypical but still lovely Ireland. 

My Funny Valentines

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Madame Razz mistakes Adora for the "Hero" Mara, the She-Ra of a thousand years ago, when she visits her to get some answers. Mara had come to Etheria to study magic for a secret weapon called the Heart of Etheria. To her horror, it involved draining magic from Etheria and storing it in the planet's core. She sacrificed herself to make sure it was never used by anyone, pushing Etheria into Despondos, She also encourages Adora to not listen to Light Hope, who was programmed by the First Ones to set off the Heart weapon, without thought of what it would do to the planet and its residents.

Moved on to Miles Ahead next while cutting paper in half for the kids and having lunch. I go further into this biography of temperamental jazz genius Miles Davis at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Miles Ahead

Called Uber just as the movie ended. I really had a hard time getting one at quarter after 12. They didn't show up for 19 minutes, and I was 6 minutes late. Couldn't get an Uber at 4:30, either. That one took 11 minutes to get there. At least there was no trouble with traffic or on the road either way.

Today was a half-day in the Collingswood School District. The kids are off tomorrow for a teacher's meeting. Since they won't be there tomorrow, the kids had their Valentine's Day parties today. I couldn't believe all the stuff they had in their white and pink and red bags. When I was their ages, we got paper Valentines with popular characters on them from everyone in the class and maybe cupcakes and some candy. In addition to the paper valentines, candy, and (for some of the younger ones) cupcakes, their bags were bursting with stamps, toys, tiny Slinkys, mini containers of slime, stickers, little plastic animal figurines, and plastic bead bracelets. 

After lunch, we settled some of the kids down with an art project. The head teacher (who thankfully was feeling better) handed around pages with a huge heart drawn on them. The pre-schoolers tore bits of pink tissue paper and glued those on the heart, along with metallic and die-cut bits of paper and colored feathers leftover from the turkey hand project at Thanksgiving. The older kids glued beads onto their hearts. Not all of the kids did the project, but those who did seemed to enjoy themselves well enough.

For the most part, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon playing with magnetic tiles, Duplos, or their new Valentine's toys. I brought Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever, Disney's Storybookland, and Strawberry Shortcake and the Winter That Would Not End with me to read. One of the littlest girls requested Snow White. A boy building with magnetic tiles asked for a Mickey Mouse story, so I went with the relatively short Mickey Mouse and Pluto Pup. They all got a kick out of making sure Hilda Hippo had the right alphabetic foods when we read Feed Hilda Hippo Her ABCs. Near the end of the day, I refereed a boy and a girl as they rolled a magnetic tile car into their towers to knock them over.

Honestly, for a four-hour day where we couldn't use the library (the teachers were meeting there), the kids weren't generally that bad. I did argue with one girl about using both sides of the paper when she drew. One of the other teachers brought some paper, too, and we didn't want to run out again. Two of the older boys roughhoused later and had to be separated (twice). One of the boys dumped his bag of loot everywhere and had to finally be admonished to clean it up when too many of the other kids wanted to play with his stuff. 

Oh, and we had a fire drill later in the day, when we were down to 15 kids all together. No one was really happy about that, least of all the kids. Though the sun was finally peeking out of the clouds by 3:30, it was colder than it has been, in the mid-30's, and still a bit breezy. Needless to say, the kids turned around and trooped back fast as they could after we counted them.

Three of the older kids even gave me Kit-Kats and a mini Rice Krispies Treat. I took a couple of the girls to the bathroom a few times and had good conversations with them. Danced as well as I could with another girl who could do some darn good gymnastic tricks while the music was on and the boys were wrestling. I read a story about the months of the year to her later. I'm so glad I took this job. I have 40 of the nicest Valentines anyone could ever wish for. 

When I got home, I went straight into making Strawberry Cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I thought they would be easier after my cake mix cookies spread too much last year. I added frosting in the middle, hoping for a Tastycake-cupcake cream filled effect. Alas, the cupcakes weren't firm enough. The frosting just seeped into the middle and made them very gooey. The crushed freeze-dried strawberries I used in the cupcakes and on top of them worked out much better.

Watched Match Game Syndicated after I had a shower and grabbed dinner. We're now on the week with comedienne Louise Sorrel, with Fred Grandy sitting in Charles' place. There were a couple of amusing matchmaking jokes when a single young lady and a single Hispanic man were contestants together. (Too bad the last episode of this week is currently unavailable, due to being on a tape with one of the Jimmie Walker weeks GSN hasn't shown yet.)

Finished the night with classic jazz music, starting with the soundtrack from Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. "Heartburn Waltz," heard throughout the special, is the big one here. I also like the jangly "Paw Pet Overture" and the arrangement of Bach's "Minuet In G Major" as the "Music Box Dance." 

Ended with two of the most beloved albums by the real Miles Davis. Kind of Blue is from 1959 and Sketches of Spain from 1960, the height of Davis' original fame and artistic powers. Davis may not have appreciated the softer blues music on Kind of Blue later in his life, but "So What" and "Blues In Green" are among the most powerful songs he ever wrote. Sketches of Spain features genuine Spanish melodies like "Will 'o the Wisp," traditional Hispanic covers like "Saeta," and Gil Evans' "Solea." 

Baking Matches

I woke up at 7 AM...and promptly called out. My knee was too sore for pushing carts. If I had worked in the morning, I might have reconsidered, but I wasn't supposed to be in until 1:30. Working in the afternoon means I'm just helping with the carts. They'd live without me today. 

Went back to sleep after that. When I got up for good, I had a nice, warm breakfast while watching winter-related animated specials. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty the Snowman (Jackie Vernon) back, to the delight of all his kid friends. Frosty's lonely when they're inside at night, so they create a "snow wife" (Shelly Winters) they dub Crystal to keep him company. Trouble is, they can't figure out how to make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous of Frosty's popularity and would love to blow those snow people right off the map.

Frosty Returns from 1992 was one of the last cartoons made by Bill Melendez, and as such, comes off as more of a cross between Rankin-Bass and a Peanuts holiday special. This time, Frosty (John Goodman) appears to two kids in a town whose winter carnival is threatened by an industrialist (Brian Doyle Murphy) who created a spray that quickly removes snow. The kids know that the kind of magic winter needs can be found in good friends and cozy days, not quick ideas.

I went further into another Rankin-Bass winter special, Jack Frost, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2020. 

Jack Frost

After that ended, I switched to YouTube for Dot and Keeto. I also go further into the fourth movie in the long-running Dot series from Australia at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and Keeto

Spent most of the afternoon looking over my Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN story. With The WENN Nutcracker Suite having stalled and it being past Christmas anyway, I thought I'd double back and take a look at this Game of Thrones-esque fantasy I've been working on for a decade. I started it in August 2015, worked on it off and on through early 2016, then dropped it after I got into Star Wars. Started it again last May, but ultimately switched to Hilary and the Beasts instead. 

It's the early 4th season, between "And If I Die Before I Sleep" and "Hilary's Agent." Betty is writing a new series for a sponsor who was inspired by her When In Rome script and asked for a deeper fantasy story than usual for a radio show. As usual for Betty, her problems, including the three men in her life, intrude...and explode into the story of Elizabeth Roberts (Betty) who discovers her destiny as the Light Guardian even as she deals with the two men in her life, noble King Victor (Comstock) who is currently a spy, and former Prince Scott (Sherwood), who now steals from the rich in the woods and leads the rebel faction. 

After Dot and Keeto ended, I decided to try something downstairs. I still had buttermilk and coconut leftover from Christmas baking. I made Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread from The Taste of Home Baking Book, adding coconut to the batter and sprinkling it along with the cinnamon sugar between the layers. Oh yuuuummm! It came out perfectly, sweet and spicy and moist, and smelled amazing in the oven. I haven't made anything this good in ages. And it only took me about 10-15 minutes to put together, too. 

Finished my night with a late lunch-early dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. I'm not the only one who loves good food. Despite Gene Rayburn's frequent admonishment that they weren't supposed to be eating on the air, food was often consumed in front of the cameras by panelists anyway. Charles brought a burger with him during a syndicated episode. In a 1974 show, Richard stole an apple given to Brett by an audience member. Also in syndication, opera singer and avowed pasta lover Diana Sorvino handed plates of spaghetti and meatballs to the panelists. Gene once let everyone try out caviar. There was the contestant who brought kiwi from his farm for everyone to test, too. There were also all of the jokes about the "Russian" club soda Brett and Charles imbibed, and the time Bill Daily spilled water and ended up out of his chair to wipe it up. 

Food also turned up in Audience Matches and Head-to-Heads. Betty helped a Naval officer in a nighttime episode whose answer to her Head-to-Head was a brand of beer. Another one in 1975 had "Pie __." "Mama" Cass Elliot got teased quite a bit about her weight and what she ate during her one week in 1973. There was also the obvious answer to "Club __," given how much of it the panelists (supposedly) consumed. 

Enjoy dinner and a show with the Match Game panelists in this tasty and rib-tickling marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - What's for Dinner Marathon - Featuring Food & Drink Items On Match Game

Oh, and at press time...it still hasn't snowed, iced, or done anything but look ugly and be cold. It hasn't all day. I don't think it's supposed to arrive until later in the morning. 

It's a Marshmallow World In the Winter

Didn't have the time this morning to start with anything but breakfast! I overslept. It was 20 after 8 when I woke up, and I had work at 9. Thank heavens I was able to get an Uber driver in 4 minutes and arrived at work right on time. It was snowing hard, but the snow was only sticking to the grass. The roads and sidewalks were clear. The driver going home only took 7 minutes to come. There were no problems or traffic either way, and I got where I was going in the usual 5 minutes.

Maybe that's why it was so busy today. The morning Uber driver said it would probably be dead, due to the weather and the holiday weekend, but he couldn't have been more wrong. We were off and on crazy for a lot of the day. Everyone must have come out once they saw that the snow wasn't sticking to the streets. I was alone during the morning, but by the time I went on break around 11:30, one of the college-age boys had taken over sweeping and helped me with carts. 

Unlike yesterday, however, the snow only stopped briefly once before it started up again. It never stuck to the street or sidewalks while I was at work, or even the parking lot. Like I told one of the managers who also waited for an Uber driver later, it amounted to not much more than very pretty rain. I did help figure out what to do about a ceiling leak in the women's bathroom. I remembered the purple bins used when the back storage area had a leak in the ceiling and grabbed one of those. 

After I got home, I changed and did a few quick chores, then decided it was the perfect day for cooking and baking. I still had that Scone Goddess scone mix Amanda gave me in late November that I hadn't used and a bag of fresh cranberries waiting to be made into sauce. I bought the heavy cream for the scones, but didn't have the chance to make them until today. Oh yum! I added a little too much cream to the chocolate chocolate chip scones and made them into drop scones instead of rolling them out, but they still came out tasty. The cranberry sauce was edible, if too soupy. 

And...for some reason, there were a couple of guys playing football outside as I worked on the scones. This despite East Clinton being a block from the White Horse Pike and the snow continuing to come down. It finally started to stick to the road later in the afternoon, too. Thankfully, they'd finally fled by the time the cranberry sauce was as done as it was going to get.

Listened to recently-acquired records while I worked on yesterday's blog entry. The live-action Disney Little Mermaid has its good points (Melissa McCarthy was a hilarious Ursula, Eric had a lot more spirit, Ariel was somewhat more proactive), but its songs are a mixed bag, to say the least. I actually like the slower tempo on "Under the Sea." I can finally catch all the words to that one! "Kiss the Girl" is just as much fun here as it is in the original, and McCarthy has a blast with "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Of the new songs, my favorite is Eric's "Wild Uncharted Waters," which perfectly outlines his adventurous personality and desire to find that elusive voice that rescued him. "The Scuttlebutt," a rather ridiculous rap for comedienne Awkwafina as Scuttle, works far less well. Ariel's "For the First Time," as she describes the wonders of the land in her head, is a bit better. 

Ehh, the original animated Little Mermaid was never my favorite Disney movie either, and this one isn't going to change my mind. Fine if your kids loved the movie. Everyone else is better off looking for "Wild Uncharted Waters" as a single somewhere. 

The Spinners were at the top of their careers when their self-titled album debuted in 1973. As the album cover mentions, "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" and "I'll Be Around" were the million-selling hits here. We also have one of my favorites of their songs, the charming "One of Kind Love Affair," along with "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You" and "We Belong Together." 

Finished the night with more classic Betty White episodes. Betty appeared on pretty much the entire run of Match Game, on every version from 1961 through 1991 except Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. She joined Charles Nelson Reilly in the character actress seat in 1990 and got to hear Vicki Lawrence answer a question in her "Mama" voice and Joe Alasky do Porky Pig in front of Ross's "That's All, Folks!" entrance. She strutted her stuff in 1981, wearing a gorgeous red dress a friend of Sharon Farrell's made, then watched Sharon land on Richard Paul during a question about mud wrestling. Betty loved strutting her stuff. She stripped earlier in 1980 (or at least, took off her jacket) and in 1978, too. 

She could be even funnier on nighttime episodes. She appeared on one of my personal favorite PM episodes of all time when she saw Richard Dawson bet Gene Rayburn that "Color TV" wouldn't be on the "Admiral ___" Audience Match. Gene should know better than to ever bet against Richard, who always knew. Betty spent the episode tossing out quips with an on-fire Brett. Her last appearance on the show with Allen Ludden was a few months before his death in 1981. Though the full week with them sitting next to each other in the bottom row is currently unavailable, the PM is in circulation. Jimmie Walker and Jonnelle Allen look on as Betty appreciates that her beloved hubby is still thinking about sexual matters and teaches him a lesson in comedy sounds. 

Betty's love of animals also turned up on syndication. Gene brought along his daughter's dog Trotter for an episode and a PM in 1980. Betty adored the dear old mutt and took good care of her. Charles kept calling her a vicious dog, but she was really a sweetheart who was probably prettier, smarter, and better-behaved than most of the panelists that week. There was also the time in 1977 when she "borrowed" Charles' glasses and pipe and imitated him in his seat next to Brett. (And regretted it later, complaining about how awful Charles' pipe tobacco tasted.) 

There's lots more Betty in this hilarious and heartfelt tribute to the Queen of Game Shows!

Match Game Sunday Classics - A Celebration of Life: Betty White "Best Episodes on Match Game" (Part 2)

Light Up the Neighborhood

Began the morning with breakfast and It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special. Buster is directing the Toons' big holiday show, but nothing is going right. Montana Max, who is stuck in a wheelchair after a skiing accident, sabotages the show, and Babs gets jealous of Cher when she sees Buster whispering in her ear. Upset after Monty is giving the directing job, Buster is literally ready to jump out of the film. He's stopped by a large white bunny with a familiar laid-back accent who shows him what life in Acme Acres and for his friends would be like if he was never on Tiny Toons.

Watched Card Sharks while getting organized to make my last batch of cookies. Looked like Christmas 1978 or 1979, from the men's hair and suits. We had two guys with accents playing, a young Hispanic man and a somewhat older British man. The Brit won the round and did all right on the Money Cards.

I spent the rest of the morning working on the Cherry Coconut Bars. These are basically lemon bars with a cherry-coconut custard filling instead of lemon. They're rich, super-sweet, but oh-so tasty. This may have been the best they came out in years. The cookie base baked perfectly and smelled terrific. The custard came out just right. (And at least I didn't almost forget the coconut this time, like I did last year.) 

Watched Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol while I ate lunch and packed up the bar cookies. I went further into this classic TV animated special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2019.

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

Hurried out after the show ended. I arrived at the Thomas Sharp School just in time. Once again, we were busy, with 20 pre-schoolers and kindergartners who hadn't been outside at home or school in almost a week. The blacktop was clear enough for the older kids to go out and play a ball game, but the younger ones still had to stay inside. Once again, they were incredibly rowdy until we got them settled down with toys, coloring, and books. I spent most of the evening working with the kids at the table with the magnetic tiles. I helped one boy build a space station, admired the geometric shapes another made, and shook my head as two more built a tall tower they kept knocking over, screaming with delight, before they'd build it back up again. One of the little girls wandered in and out. Another little girl and her family even gave me a gift card to Dunkin' Donuts and two Christmas shortbread cookies.

Had dinner at Crust n' Cravings on Collings after I left the kids. They were quiet except for the two guys making pizza and vacuuming and Action News. I ate a slice of chicken bacon ranch and a slice of broccoli tomato while half-listening to Channel 6. A mother and her grown daughter were just settling down with cheese steaks when I left.

Spent the next hour riding around, looking at lights displays in West Collingswood and Oaklyn. I traditionally do this about a week before Christmas, on a night after I've spent the day baking cookies on a hot stove. Since I was already out on the bike, I stayed on the bike instead of walking. I love how festive the local towns get at this time of year! I saw houses with electric candles in the window, with just the roof outlined, with the entire house wrapped in lights Clark Grizwauld-style. My favorites of the inflatables were the two Santas riding dinosaurs (Finley and the kids in the after-school program would love those) and a pig in a Santa hat. 

When I got home, I took a shower, then watched This Christmas. I go further into this R&B musical about a black family gathering for a memorable and melodramatic holiday season at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

This Christmas

Finished the night with two more holiday variety specials on YouTube. The Perry Como Winter Show is a more general holiday special from 1973 (complete with commercials that include recipes using Kraft products). Perry takes Sally Struthers, Jack Burns, and Avery Schriberer from the Metromedia Studios in sunny Califoria to wintry Vermont. Struthers, Burns, and Schriberer play broken toys who admit that they're glad they have each other. Schriberer insists that Como take him to sit on Santa's (Burns) knee. Como and Struthers have a romantic moment in the kitchen late at night over a sandwich. The group the Establishment perform chorus numbers and join in for a very peculiar tribute to vintage Hollywood. Struthers does Mae West, while the Establishment parodys Astaire and Rodgers and MacDonald and Eddy.

The 1966 Andy Williams Christmas Show is far more homey. Though we do have a very strange Osmond Brothers number "Whistle While You Work" with them as elves and a comic opening to "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," most of the show revolves around either Williams singing "Winter Weather" with his brothers, or Williams, his huge family, and his French then-wife Claudine Longet. He and Claudine get to sing a very sweet "Love In a Home" from Lil' Abner together. Williams finishes with a simple "Silent Night" on a bare stage.

In the Cold Late Autumn

Began the morning with breakfast and the 2018 Muppet Babies. "It's a Wonderful Elf-Bot," which Bunsen and Beaker invent to help the Muppets make a wreath for Statler and Waldorf. They're supposed to put art supplies in and get a present, but end up creating presents for themselves. They learn a lesson in giving when the Elf-Bot overloads, and they're out of art supplies to make a wreath. "A Merry Litter Christmas" has Bunsen learning a lesson about littering when he throws his shrimp-flavored milk into outer space to get rid of it, only to find the boxes are raining down on Gonzo's home planet of Gonzonia and blocking the shipping lanes.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon making more cookies. Did the two from-scratch batches today. The oatmeal chocolate chip recipe came from Prevention Magazine when Linda Young gave me that subscription in 2010. I got a lot of great recipes from Prevention that year, but that one is my favorite. The cookies are made with egg whites, and they come out moist and chewy every time. The ginger molasses recipe comes from the Cookie Classics Made Easy cookbook Lauren sent me a decade ago. I've never done a bad cookie from that book, and these are no exception. I didn't even burn anything this time. The ginger molasses spread slightly more than I would have liked, but they tasted great and smelled amazing in the oven. The oatmeal chocolate chip came out perfectly. 

It was so late when I finally ate lunch and got everything cleaned up, I called Uber to get to work. Or tried to, anyway. I must not have pushed the prong for the charger all the way in. It was down to 1 when I picked it up. I had to wait for it to get up to 4 to use it. (At least there's places in the cafeteria where you can charge your phone!) When I did finally call them, they took 13 minutes to arrive. Thankfully, there was no traffic anywhere once they did get there, but that did mean I was 5 minutes late to work. 

Which was not a good thing. We were crazy today. We had at least 22 pre-school/kindergarten kids and 20 older kids, and it's still too cold and messy for them to play outside. Ironically, we did end up outside anyway at one point. The head teacher (who's watching the older kids this week) called a practice fire drill about mid-way through the session. Everyone trooped outside...and then all the kids complained because there was no time to bring their jackets, and it was sunny but still pretty cold. I told one of the shivering girls they could lean on me for body heat.

They were still pretty rowdy even inside. They were crazy in the bathrooms, and crazy in the cafeteria...and once again, the library was being used, and we couldn't separate the two groups. Things settled down slightly once one of the teachers pulled out the Duplos and magnetic tiles along with coloring. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening coloring with the kids. I did two scenes from The WENN Nutcracker Suite, Betty trying to convince Queen Gloria to let Christmas go on despite what the Mouse King told her, and Scott changing back into a human. I was about to start a grove of Christmas trees when there was few enough kids to let me go. The parents of one of the little boys even gave me a $20 WaWa gift card and a lovely Christmas card for doing such a good job watching their son. 

Called Uber again after work...and once again had to wait 14 minutes for a driver. At least I spotted them fast when they did arrive. There was a little traffic around Collings and the White Horse Pike, but not enough to make it more than a five-minute ride home.

Did a few quick chores before Jessa picked me up a little after 6. We had dinner at Ponzio's Diner in Cherry Hill. Jessa has never been to this long-standing Cherry Hill institution, and I've only been there twice. (Once was with Dad when he took me to the near-by bike shop in March 2018.) Jessa had salmon cakes, broccoli, mashed potatoes, and a cup of chicken orzo soup. I had a shrimp salad sandwich on rye toast that was absolutely delicious, tasty hot fries, and a tiny cup of soupy Cole slaw. Jess had a gigantic black and white cookie for dessert. I had a massive slice of German chocolate cake that was slightly dry, but made up for it with its rich flavor and wonderfully thick chocolate and coconut-pecan icing. We talked about Dad, video games we liked, and childhood memories.

Finished the night watching Christmas On the Square at Netflix. I go further into this melodramatic Dolly Pardon TV musical that won an Emmy for Best TV movie in 2021 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - Christmas On the Square

(Oh, and Rose texted me earlier in the day. Yes, she and her family are not going away for Christmas this year. Did I want to come over and do a big appetizer spread, like I did at Thanksgiving? Sure! I have presents to give them all anyway.) 

Christmas Cookie Time

Began the morning with breakfast and the original Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman. Given our current weather, I figured this couldn't be more appropriate. Frosty comes to life on Christmas Eve thanks to a magic hat that was thrown away by lousy magician Professor Hinkle. Little Karen and Hinkle's rabbit Hocus Pocus take it on themselves to get Frosty back to the North Pole to keep from melting. Professor Hinkle follows, hoping to get his hat back. He thinks he's won when he traps Karen and Frosty, but as Santa Claus reminds Karen, snow never really goes completely away.

Spent the rest of the morning beginning one of my favorite parts of the holiday season - cookie baking! I made the recipes that use cake mixes as bases today. I first made Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies in 2012, when I was broke and looking to cut corners. The resulting cookies were so delicious, I've used the recipe for Christmas every year since. Chocolate Yum-Yums come from the craft book Christmas Is Coming 1987. The original recipe calls for devil's food cake mix and nuts, but I thought red velvet cake mix and white chocolate chips were more festive. I even replaced a little oil with some buttermilk, which many red velvet cake recipes call for.

Listened to unique Christmas music collections while I worked. Something Festive! doesn't look like a Christmas album. It's bright bird pinata cover screams Cinco Del Mayo, not Epiphany. The song selection is a bit more holiday-oriented. A&M founder and owner Herb Alpert gets two numbers with his Tijuana Brass, "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bell Rock." Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 do "The Christmas Song." Liza Minnelli performs the heartbreaking ballad "Raggedy Ann and Andy," while Claudine Longet gets the gentler "Snow." 

Things picked up with the first volume of A Very Special Christmas. This 1987 collection ups the energy quota with The Pointer Sisters' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and John Cougar Melloncamp's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Bon Jovi is a "Back Door Santa," Stevie Nicks does a gorgeous "Silent Night," and Run-D.M.C tosses rap into the mix with "Christmas In Hollis." (Hey fellas, mind if I join your Christmas? I love chicken and collard greens!)

Switched from rap and hard rock to soul and R&B for Soulful Christmas. Brook Benton's "This Time of the Year" and a lovely Patti LaBelle "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" are my favorites here. We also have Sonny Til and the Oreoles asking "What are You Doing New Year's Eve?" and claiming "It's Gonna Be a Lonely Christmas."

Returned to the world of Frosty during lunch after I packed up the cookies and put everything away. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty back, but he's lonely when the kids go inside. They make him a "snow wife" he dubs Crystal, but she's not "all livin'" like him at first. It's not until Frosty makes Crystal a simple gift of love that she's finally able to be with him. Meanwhile, Jack Frost is jealous of Frosty's popularity with the kids. He'll do anything to get Frosty's hat and his magical ability to move.

Called Uber after I finished lunch. Alas, I couldn't get a driver for 20 minutes. Maybe it's just as well. I was able to do some quick chores. The driver did pick me up on time, but it still meant I was 5 minutes late to work. It took them almost 13 minutes to arrive going home. At least there was no traffic either way.

On one hand, we had 22 little kids and 20 older ones today, and as you can likely guess, no one went outside on a snow-covered playground. On the other hand, they were surprisingly not that bad. Bathroom breaks got a little crazy, but that was the worst of it. They mostly colored or played with magnetic tiles. I joined the kids coloring. Drew myself making cookies this morning on one side, Hilary the Sugar Plum Fairy and Jeff the Cavalier dancing while Annie the Rag Doll watches happily on the other. Read one of the littlest girls The Bernstein Bears Go to the Dentist when she requested it. 

There was a box waiting for me when I got home. I hadn't ordered anything. It turned out to be a revival of my annual Kimberly Clark box from Lauren. She and her parents own small stocks in the company and usually send me a box of their products. I kept the box of Kleenex tissues, the packs of tissues, the Cottonelle wipes, and the Thermos cup. I'll give a friend the Viva paper towels. Might see if I can donate everything else somewhere. (Oh, and incidentally, Lauren says she got my box today. She loved everything I gave her, and her parents loved their CDs.)

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner, after I took the laundry downstairs. No idea why Buzzr jumped way, way ahead to the second week of the syndicated series. Debralee Scott and Patty Duke joined in to hear David Doyle attempt impressions (and Brett and Charles not get what they were supposed to be).

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next. Betty hears Mr. Eldridge and Gertie talking as she prepares porridge for the next day. Gertie tells Mr. Eldridge that Princess Pirlipat, the Betty look-a-like who rejected Prince Scott after he became a Nutcracker, now has the music box with Cavalier Jeff. Jeff was turned into a wax doll dancing on a music box by the Mouse King. She also suspects he has the Christmas Star Sword, the family heirloom that had been stolen from Scott when he turned into a Nutcracker. The Nutcracker insists on sitting next to Betty's bed, though he can't sleep. He insists that his name isn't Scott, that he doesn't know who he is, but Mr. Eldridge knows better. 

Finished the night with holiday episodes of favorite game shows when I finally remembered to get the laundry out of the dryer and bring it upstairs. I had no idea Fun House had a Christmas episode until tonight. It was pretty cute, too. Kids dressed children in the audience as Rudolph, pushed a "sleigh" with flying "reindeer" while dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, and raced through a Fun House decorated with tinsel garlands and fake snow.

Christmas goes way back on game shows. What's My Line's holiday episode in 1955 featured the Salvation Army Band and Johnny Marks, who wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (Which the Salvation Army proceeded to play.)  Christmas 1972 on To Tell the Truth introduced three female mall Santas and three gentlemen who claimed to be snowmobiling across the colder parts of the world.

Bob Barker was out sick during Christmas 1974 on The Price Is Right, so Dennis James filled in for him. Alas, he didn't have much luck with the games. I don't think anyone won their Pricing Game in this episode. The Showcases went better. One brought in Santa Claus (Johnny Olsen) to give a list of gifts. The other was gifts that represented A Christmas Carol.

Christmas is for families, too. Wheel of Fortune brought in family duos to play together during Christmas week 1992. A mother and her son had apparently dominated all week, and continued to do so that night. They were the only ones to get any money or prizes, and they won the bonus round, too.

Hollywood Squares got their Christmas party on in 2001 with Terri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Mull, Andrea Martin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Loretta Divine, Brad Garrett, and author John Saul, among others. The contestants played equally well, with one lady getting to the bonus round and choosing to keep her big bucks rather than risk an extra question (that she would have been wrong about anyway, as it turned out).

Celebrate the holidays game show style with these festive episodes!

What's My Line (1955)

To Tell the Truth (1972)

The Price Is Right (1974)

Fun House (1989)

Wheel of Fortune (1992)

Hollywood Squares (2001)

Winds of Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and A Christmas Carol on Tubi. This is the half-hour version animated by Richard Williams in 1971. No wonder it won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film a year later. Williams' work on this is haunting, from Marley and the ghosts outside Scrooge's window to Want and Ignorance under the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe. 

Hurried out even before the cartoon ended. I was ten minutes late to my appointment with Bryanna. She really just wanted to touch up with me anyway and see how the after-school program is going. That is mostly going fine. I love working with the kids, and I like the Thomas Sharp School. I don't like the constant turnover in the program. No wonder I got a job so easily despite my lack of experience working with kids. Since I don't have kids, it's also hard for me to keep up with the school schedule and remember when they have half-days and holidays. I'm going to stick with the after-school program until at least the end of the school year and see how I feel. The kids don't need to lose anyone else.

I do still want out of the Acme, however. I also still need to find a decent place to live that isn't an attic. Bryanna suggested calling my counselors at DVRS after the holidays to ask about low-income housing. Isn't all of that in Camden, and don't you have to sign a long, long waiting list to get it? I'm probably better off just trying to see what I can afford in Deptford and Cherry Hill.

Made a quick stop at Target on my way home. I was mainly there to get something for my nephew Collyn's birthday tomorrow. I also grabbed a few things to make cookies next week, including nifty hot chocolate and marshmallow-flavored chocolate chips and cake mix for the peanut butter cookies. 

Rushed home, loaded Collyn's birthday gift into his family's Christmas package, sealed the package, and rushed to the Oaklyn Post Office a couple of blocks down. I wanted to send my Christmas packages before work today. To my delight, there was no line when I arrived. I was expecting the line to be out the door. Sent a card for Linda Young and packages for Anny and her kids, Lauren and her parents, and Mom, Keefe, and his family. 

Since I took so little time at the Post Office, I was able to stop at Dollar General around the corner. I picked up red velvet cake mix and maraschino cherries for cookies next week and more bags for cookies. The line wasn't bad, and I was in and out.

Good thing I got to the school on time. The kids were really crazy today. It was sunny, but too windy and cold for them to go outside. They were so noisy in the bathrooms, the custodial staff complained. They just would not sit down in the cafeteria, no matter how many toys we pulled out for them or how many pages they colored. We put music on a speaker belonging to one of the teachers and let them dance, and it still wasn't enough for them to shake their sillies out. I did manage to get off early when there were only 3 pre-schoolers and kindergartners left by quarter of 4.

Hurried home and into baking. Normally, I'd bring cookies to the Acme's Christmas employee buffet, but for some reason, it's being held a week early this year. I don't make my cookies until the week before Christmas. That's why I needed buttermilk yesterday. I made the delicious gingerbread bars recipe from Samantha's Cooking Studio instead. Yum! It came out perfectly and smelled amazing in the oven.

I was so tired, after the gingerbread came out of the oven, I just grabbed my coat and strolled two blocks down to Crown Chicken and Gyro to get a tilapia sandwich and fries for dinner. At least it was a nice night for a walk. It remained cold, but the wind had died down considerably since I'd gotten back from school.

Had dinner while watching Hollywood Hotel. I go further into this Busby Berkeley-directed musical with Dick Powell that introduced "Hooray for Hollywood" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Hollywood Hotel

Finished the night with two beloved animated holiday soundtracks. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the great jazz soundtracks of all time, and in fact, was one of the first records I bought after Dad gave me my first record player in 2006. "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmastime Is Here" were the big hits. I also like the lovely, flowing song played while the kids skate and "O Tannenbaum."

Decca re-released the soundtrack for the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on LP in honor of its 60th anniversary last year. My favorite song from this one is its lively hit "Holly Jolly Christmas," performed by Burl Ives. There's also the Misfit Toys' "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" and Clarice the Reindeer's sweet ballad "There's Always Tomorrow."

Change of Heart

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey and Minnie hide six eggs, and the rest of the gang has to find them in order to reveal "Mickey's Springtime Surprise." Funny Bunny Pete plays all the tricks he can in order to keep the others from finding those eggs!

Headed off to the Haddon Township Library to meet Bryanna around quarter of 11. Got there just in time...to learn that she was late and wouldn't arrive until 12:30. Figured I'd get my grocery shopping done and went across the street to Target. My cell phone went off while I was in the snack food aisle. Seems she meant 11:30, not 12:30. I just grabbed brownie mix (which was on sale), granola bars, and an Orange Cream Coke Zero and rushed back across the street.

Bryanna was there when I arrived. She had applications for the Gloucester Township Libraries to sign. On one hand, they were only for part-time summer work, one as a regular library assistant, the other as a youth library assistant. I thought I wanted a real full-time job, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm up for that big of a change. As badly as I want out of the Acme (and I want out very badly), it might be better to do something smaller and see what I'm really interested in and what I can handle.

Explored the library a bit before I finally headed out to finish running errands at the Westmont Plaza. I couldn't find the treat bags I thought I picked up for the kids' Easter gifts, so I bought larger ones at Dollar Tree. Also grabbed two last Easter cards there. Picked up golden raisins, coconut milk, soda, sparkling water, sprinkles, poppy seeds, brown sugar, and bananas at a quiet Sprouts. 

At least it was a gorgeous day for all the running around! The sun was finally out, without a hint of cloud anywhere. Though it remained windy, it was also much warmer, into the lower 60's. It was so nice, I stopped at the Hispanic ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike on the way home. The lime and cookies ice cream I had was delicious, crunchy and sweet all at once, with just enough hint of lime.

Went straight home after I got out of Sprouts. Watched The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town while I ate lunch and moved the new CD/cassette player to the top of one of the low book shelves in the bedroom. (The stuffed animals that had been there went on top of the record crate where I originally had the cassette player.) I went further into this and Here Comes Peter Cottontail at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

After that ended, I went downstairs to make Pastel M&M Brownie Cookies. The original recipe called for the brownie cookies to be topped with Cadbury pastel eggs, but I already had the M&Ms. I mixed the M&Ms and sprinkles in with the brownie mix and added cocoa and more flour for extra richness. Yum! I'm giving these away and didn't taste them, but they sure smelled chocolate-y in the oven!

Listened to the Wicked soundtrack on my new CD player while I made the cookies. I almost didn't buy this. I've had the original cast album for years, and the song list is identical to the first half of the show. However, it does have fabulous performances from its two witches. Adriana Grande's "Popular" and her part of "Dancing Through Life" is adorable. Cynthia Erivo does equally well by gentle ballads like "I'm Not That Girl" and big belting numbers like the finale "Defying Gravity." Honestly, if you loved the movie, you'll probably want this, too. 

Tested the cassette player while the cookies were in the oven. It almost immediately ate my original copy of the Beach Boys' Still Crusin', but the soundtrack from the 1945 State Fair worked just fine. State Fair isn't regarded as one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best works, but it does have some decent songs. "It Might As Well Be Spring" won an Oscar, and I'm also fond of the ballad "That's for Me" and the chorus number "It's a Grand Night for Singing." 

My Jack Benny Show cassette played fine, too, and I've run this to death since I bought it in college. "Phil Harris Goes to War" with his band in the episode I listened to. More specifically, they joined the Merchant Marines. Jack is more interested in the trip to New York they'll be taking in the next episode, including the ultra-cheap Acme Arms Hotel. (Wonder if he ran into any Looney Tunes there?) Meanwhile, Mary Livingstone prefers to think of her husband as a mother duck, Rochester explains to Jack that he got the wrong pajamas back from the cleaners, and youthful singer Kenny Baker hasn't gotten around to seeing his boss' then-new movie yet. 

Did Sunday School Musical when I went back upstairs. I go further into this religious B-movie imitation of High School Musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Sunday School Musical

Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. Buzzr took a flying leap into the week with Patty Duke and Nipsey Russell. Thankfully, Richard was still in a decent mood here, surprising considering this was the week after the infamous School Riot and he couldn't have been happy with the show or producer and judge Ira Skutch at that point.

Wink and Gene are only doing slightly better mid-way through their Password Plus week. Wink finally got to an Alphabetics and did well on it. Gene, however, keeps using long words that no one understands or have to be explained. 

Finished the night with the two children's Easter albums I've dug up in the last few weeks. Disney's Peter Cottontail has a too-sweet choral version of the title song, but also includes a retelling of the short story "Grandpa Bunny" from Storybookland. Songs about Thumper and the White Rabbit are just ok.

I found Peter Cottontail: The First Easter Record for Children to be vastly more enjoyable. Gene Autry has a lot more fun with the title song, along with the western-themed "Bunny Round-Up Time." Rosemary Clooney gets the cute "Eggbert, the Easter Egg" and "My Choc'late Rabbit." Art Carney gives us two goofy story-songs, the retelling of Peter Rabbit as "Flop, Mop, Cotton, and Pete," and the description of bunnies as "A Thump, A Twinkle, and a Twitch, or How to Make a Rabbit." 

Rainy Day at Home

It was pouring when I woke up this morning, and would continue pouring in some form or another for most of the day. I stayed at home the entire day. This was no time for running around. 

When I did roll out of bed, I watched Alice's Wonderland Bakery while eating breakfast. Alice and Fergie compete to see who can make the best potato recipe in "Potato Potahto." They discover that their recipes have very similar ingredients, and it may be related to the page that was torn out of Cookie years ago. "Hattie's Inside-Out Cake" is the first he's ever made for Dad Hatter's big tea party. His friends think it needs more decorations, but Hattie finally reminds them that it's what inside the cake that counts.

Checked my schedule next, which for some reason, took a while to appear. Perfectly normal hours. Only one early day, and it's the regular four-hour Wednesday. Nothing else earlier than 11 or later than 5. I do work Friday this time, but that's to be expected on Easter weekend. Not only did I get my birthday off, but I took it as a vacation day. I apparently still have a few left. 

Went downstairs to try that recipe I bought the oatmeal and dried cranberries for yesterday. There's a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies in Kit's Cooking Studio that is really good. It does require a lot of butter, but it also works well with whole wheat and regular flour and makes a lot of cookies. Since I bought them for snacking this week, I replaced the raisins with dried cranberries. Oh, yum! They couldn't have come out more perfectly, chewy on the inside and golden on the outside, and they smelled amazing. 

After I put everything away, I watched Adam Adamant Lives! on YouTube. Adam learns that blackmail is "More Deadly Than the Sword" when he travels to Japan to learn who has taken incriminating photos of a British politician. Georgina follows him, and is promptly captured by geishas and their bosses who have even worse things in mind for the photos and Adam.

Soon as the episode ended, I went down for a nap. I had no other plans for today, and the weather was so lousy, there wasn't a whole lot else to do. Besides, I'm still dead tired. I went down at 4:30 and didn't really get up again until past 6:30. 

Put on Match Game '73 during dinner. McLean Stevenson was a total nut during his first week. He bent over to kiss a contestant and claimed she stole his capped teeth. He'd run down to the lower desks and kiss Richard instead of the contestant. On Friday, he was naked from the waist up except for a bow tie. Gene loaned him a jacket, then another one when he claimed the first was itchy. Richard made a crack about getting McLean to the Largo, a strip club in LA.

Returned to Adam Adamant Lives! after that ended. "The Sweet Smell of Disaster" reveals Adam to be wary of a new laundry detergent that comes with a certain lovely-smelling blue carnation. Turns out he's right to be concerned. The carnation makes anyone who buys it addicted to the soap...and gives the advertising company control over the people who buy it. Georgina joins the company to give out carnations while Adam explores their headquarters to find out what their real end game is.

Watched the peculiar Australian animated fantasy The Magic Pudding at The Roku Channel next. I'll go further into this one tomorrow at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Cinderella: Frozen In Time. This is actually Dorothy Hamill's last-ditch attempt to revive the Ice Capades in the mid-90's, with one full-length story and no vaudeville acts. The story has more in common with British pantomime than Disney. Cinderella has a goofy guy friend named Buttons, the stepsisters are played by men in drag, and she and Buttons are lost and attacked by spirits after the ball. Lloyd Bridges narrates the network special as a mysterious old man who tells the story to a pair of ice-skating kids. It's sweet, charming fun if you have kids who love princess stories or figure skating. 

Before the Spring Rains

Got a very quick start today with breakfast and "All Wet" at Disney Plus. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's selling dancing hot dogs at the beach when he falls for his girl Fanny. Hoping to impress her, he takes over as lifeguard. It turns out to be a far harder job than he originally thought when he has to rescue Fanny from being tossed around in the ocean after she loses her inner tube and ends up underwater.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. The lady arrived within 7 minutes, but I was already late getting out, and the traffic was really bad in Cherry Hill. It honestly could have been worse. I ducked into the computer lab in the basement of the Cherry Hill Library one minute late. Slid into the back row just as they were getting started.

As it turns out, when they said "Basic Word," they meant really basic. I've known how to save, create a blank template, and mess with the font size and color for years. The only really new thing I learned was the Ctrl/letter shortcuts. Alas, they won't be having their series of intermediate classes until late May-early June, when Lauren will be down here. I might check Voorhees and see if I can get something earlier than that.

I wandered around the library for a little while, then used the bathroom and headed down King's Highway to Dave's Hot Chicken. This is an up-and-coming fast food restaurant that specializes in fried chicken and is basically a spicier Raising Caine's. I had two sliders, fries, and Coke Zero. The first slider was really good, if very spicy, despite my ordering mild. The second was a fried chicken finger on a slice of white bread, with no lettuce or special sauce. They must have run out of the buns. I just ate that like a regular chicken finger.

Strolled over to the Ellisburg Shopping Center to pick up more Coke Zero at Five Below. Ended up buying Easter gifts for Khai, Finley, and the daughter of a friend and the neighbor's daughter, too. Found a pale blue Strawberry Shortcake T-shirt I thought was really cute.

Called Uber on the other side of the shopping center near Whole Foods. The young woman didn't even take the 7 minutes listed to arrive. The traffic wasn't quite as bad, either. I was home within 10 minutes.

I changed my jean jacket for a heavier coat and made my grocery list while watching more Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Minnie's Birthday" happened earlier in the first season. This time, the others are making the surprise party for Minnie...but she doesn't take being put off as well and almost stomps off before they have to call her back.

After the cartoon ended, I went back out on the bike. Though it was cloudy, windy, and cold, barely in the 50's, I really wanted to get my grocery shopping done today. It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. 

I think I did the right thing. Neither Sprouts nor the Westmont Acme were busy, despite it being past 2 when I started to Westmont. I mainly needed bulk items at Sprouts. One bag of dried cranberries is for snacking on this week. The other bag and the bag of oatmeal is for a recipe I plan on doing tomorrow. Grabbed sparkling water, bananas, coconut milk, and granola bars on sale, too. Restocked yogurt at the Acme as best I could. They were nearly out of the yogurt on sale. The Made Good breakfast bars were cheaper at regular price than the Kind bars were on sale. Also picked up blood oranges and more soda that were on good sales. 

Rode home across Newton Lake Park to dodge rush hour traffic and the high schoolers finishing their day on Nicholson. Considering the kids were getting off even as I pushed my bike on the path over the hill, I was surprised the park wasn't busier. At least it looks like they're almost done with the playground equipment. They tore that down near the end of last summer. They should have finished it months ago.

Let The Price Is Right run while putting my groceries away, then went downstairs to make banana chocolate chip muffins. This recipe came from The Sunset Cook Book of Breads, which I found at a yard sale a while back. I took the Basic Muffins recipe, replaced some of the oil with bananas, increased the sugar slightly, and added chocolate chips. Oh yum! They came out perfectly moist and tasty and smelled great in the oven. 

Watched The Buddy Holly Story after I finished. I go further into this 1978 biopic of the rock pioneer at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Buddy Holly Story

Had dinner while watching Match Game '73. They're now on the week that introduced Bill Cullen to the show and had "Mama" Cass Elliot in the ingenue seat. Though I could have done without some of Richard's weight jokes, she largely seemed to have a good time and played pretty well. Which was more than could be said of Jack Klugman, who spent that week arguing with his wife Brett. 

Finished the night with two episodes of Remember WENN in honor of my friends Linda and James Young. James just passed away on Monday. I met them on the WENN chats way back in the late 90's, when I used to chat on the machines in the computer labs at college. They've been good friends ever since. I even got together with them when they were in Philadelphia on vacation in November 2009. Linda is a sweetheart and a close friend, and James was a dear and will be missed. 

I went with two more upbeat episodes from the second season. Soap star Hilary Booth becomes "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" when the sponsor Dusty Foxx (Rue McClanahan) insists on cutting her out of the WENN soap The Hands of Time in favor of having Hilary appear in the gossip show From Hilary's Booth. Dusty's not too happy when Hilary's gossip turns out to be all about her...and she's really furious when Hilary turns her death scene into a shambles as she does everything she can think of to keep her character alive and on the air!

Con-man station manager Scott Sherwood has even less luck putting one over on his Aunt Agatha (Jan Miner), insisting that he's "Scott Sherwood of the FBI." He drags writer Betty Roberts along for ride, claiming their cop shows are real interrogations. Meanwhile, actress and organist Maple LaMarsh wants to take over Hilary Booth's role on their crime show, something that Hilary (despite having a far worse Brooklyn accent) is very reluctant to do. 

Here's Linda's website and episode guide if you want to learn more about WENN!

Linda Young's Remember WENN Website

(Oh, and it did finally rain...at midnight, after it was supposed to have rained 2 PM. It's been off and on, sometimes hard, ever since.)

Of Bats and Bunnies

Began the morning with breakfast and The First Easter Rabbit. I went further into this 1976 Rankin Bass special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2023.

The First Easter Rabbit

Switched to Press Your Luck while making my grocery list. The episode had the woman champ win money for a home viewer...only to lose hers minutes later to a Whammy. The one guy was the only one to avoid the Whammy and pick up a trip to Washington DC. 

Checked my schedule while the show was on. Mostly the same hours as last week, but an early day on Sunday, and this time, the 8 1/2 hour day is Saturday and Wednesday is back to four hours. The Sunday bagger and head bagger must have taken those days off. I badly need to find a better job, or at least something to do with myself at home or nearby.

Headed out to make a quick grocery run. I got white and brown sugar and dried apricots from the bulk bins, coconut milk, bananas and Waterloo sparkling water in 99 cent cans at Sprouts. Picked up blood oranges for a good price, yogurt on sale with an online coupon, coconut macaroons off the bakery clearance rack, new Spindrift soda on a good sale, pads, and butter for baking later. Neither store was busy, and I spent a little over 20 minutes in both. 

Cut through Newton Lake Park on the way home. It's really green now. The hills and banks of the lake are carpeted in bright green and sunny yellow buttercups. The trees burst with pink, lavender, and white and show the first signs of leaves. 

After I got up the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center, I went to the A& Pretzel Shop for lunch. They weren't busy, either. I was able to get pretzels, a cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel, and a Diet Pepsi in peace. 

Put on It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown while having lunch after I got home. The Peanuts are excited about their spring festivities, even as Christmas decorations go up at the local department store. Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie how to color eggs, but Marcie can't seem to grasp the concept of hard-boiling. Snoopy buys Woodstock a birdhouse. Charlie Brown takes Sally shopping for shoes. Lucy pesters Schroeder for gifts and colors and hide her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does all that. Sally's skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids.

After I finished lunch, I brought the butter downstairs to do some baking. I had two very ripe bananas that were so soft, they were practically turning into pudding in their skin. There's a recipe in the Pillsbury cookie book Anny gave me years ago for banana cookies that only requires bananas, vanilla, brown sugar, flour, and salt. No eggs or baking powder or soda. The recipe came with a caramel frosting, but I thought the brown sugar and ripe bananas made the cookies plenty sweet enough without it. Yum. They came out tasting like perfect mini banana bread morsels and smelled amazing in the oven. 

Switched to Batman Forever in honor of Val Kilmer, who died earlier this week, while the cookies cooled. He's Batman here, fighting Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) in a somewhat more colorful Gotham. Nerdy Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) wants Bruce Wayne to consider his new machine that can send TV signals into the brain. Bruce points out the possibility for it to manipulate minds and rejects it. Nygma continues to develop it anyway, eventually programming it drain minds and transfer the information to his. Nygma calls himself the Riddler and joins Two Face to get rid of Batman once and for all.

Bruce has his own problems. He's trying to deflect the interest of psychologist Chase Meridan (Nicole Kidman), who is very interested in his split personality. After a family of aerialists die trying to stop Two-Face from killing everyone watching a local circus, Bruce takes in the orphaned youngest member Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Dick wants to join him and avenge his family, but Bruce knows all too well that revenge is a dish best not served at all. However, he may need more help dealing with Nygma than he originally believed. The Riddler is slowly losing his grip on reality...and may be manipulating more than brains when he gets Bruce into his machine, too...

I know a lot of people find this to be too goofy, but I think it walks the right fine line between the camp of the TV show and Batman and Robin and the violence and darkness of the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan films. Kilmer and Carrey put in career-best performance as the tortured costumed vigilante and the obsessed researcher-turned-supervillain. Not everything lands; Kidman is underused in a thankless love interest role, O'Donnell can be annoying, and Jones is really miscast as the other villain. 

Honestly, if you want to check out a Batman movie, the just-dark-and-weird-enough tone might make this the best place to start. You can go backwards or forwards from here, depending on how dark or campy you like your superhero films.

Switched to Match Game '73 during dinner. I really wish Pat Carroll had returned after her one week. She was hilarious and not a bad player. Robert Culp, on the other hand, didn't seem to get the humor and didn't have nearly as much fun. Nipsey Russell made his debut in the next week, complete with poetry, while Charles returned and Brett moved downstairs to the fourth ingenue seat to annoy Richard. 

Finished the night with Princess Castle at Tubi after a shower. I'll go further into this unique Golden Films fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow. 

No April Foolin'

Began the morning with breakfast and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The "Equestria Games" finally begin as Spike and the delegates from Ponyville take part in the festivities. Spike gets stage fright when called on to light the torch. Twilight uses her magic to do it for him, leading him to believe he can light it with his mind. He tries to help in other ways when he learns otherwise, but just ends up embarrassed. It takes a major calamity that only he can stop to make him see just how valuable a member of the team he is.

Threw on Press Your Luck while getting organized. I came in during the second half of the episode. The one lady accidentally passed her seven turns over to the guy next to her, forgetting he already had over $10,000. She thought she made a mistake...but a Whammy wiped him out. She would earn enough money to make it to the next show. She did well enough in the first round, but another guy did better and was leading when I left.

Started with a stroll to Dollar General. I mainly needed cough drops and tissues. I've used up a ton of both lately, thanks to my allergies. I got the only sugar-free bag of cough drops they had, along with two boxes of tissues, more Propel-type drink mixes, and a card for my nephew Khai's birthday later this month. 

Headed down the White Horse Pike to WaWa next. I was mainly there to use the ATM machine and get the rent. Treated myself to a pretzel and a strawberry cheesecake smoothie. Yum. The smoothie was really good. It didn't taste like cheesecake, but it sure tasted like strawberries. I suspect WaWa likely used real ones. 

The other reason I went for a walk was simply to enjoy the gorgeous weather. Though it was windy, it also wasn't that cold for early April, probably in the upper 50's-lower 60's, and sunny and bright as can be. Though most people haven't put up their Easter decorations yet, their gardens are bursting with new green grass, brilliant yellow and white daffodils, and deep purple violets. The trees are blossoming now too, wide carpets of pink, white, and purple.

Had lunch, then vacuumed and dusted my rooms while watching Night at the Opera. I go further into this classic Marx Brothers movie for April Fool's Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Happy April Fool' Day! - A Night at the Opera

Switched to the Peanuts baseball specials in honor of the just-started season while I put up the Easter decorations. Charlie Brown's All-Stars are ready to quit, but Chuck manages to entice them with the promise of new uniforms. Unfortunately, the offer is withdrawn when the businessman discovers that the team features four girls and a dog. After Linus and Schroeder scold the girls for their nasty behavior towards Chuck, they find a way to show how much they appreciate him. 

It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown is an almost identical story, but this time, the kids just have to win a game to get their uniforms. Frieda's little brother Leland insists on joining the big kids, despite being far younger than them. He ends up being the hero of the game when he's too small for the pitcher to really aim at and literally stumbles around the bases.

Went downstairs after the cartoon ended to make muffins for work this week. I've made Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins from The Hershey's 1934 Cookbook before. They're another recipe that hasn't failed me yet. I overcooked them slightly, but they still tasted wonderful. I added fresh-squeezed orange juice from the one I zested to give them even more flavor.

Watched Match Game Syndicated as I baked and ate dinner. The first two hours finished out the week with Fred Grandy, Gary Crosby, Marjorie Wallace, and a noisy audience full of college students. The last hour moved to the first week Brett was away appearing in a play. Bubbly Betty Kennedy took her place and Phyllis Diller took over her crusty wisecracks. McLean Stevenson demonstrated why he'd permanently take over the third seat in the next season.

Finished the night working on my review with more recent record and CD finds. I had no idea what Dr. Blizzard's Original Savannah Band was before I ran across this, but I loved the colorful cover depicting the big band era of the 1940's. Apparently, they were a disco group with a big-band sound, not unlike some of Donna Summer's earlier work. "Cherchez La Femme," "Hard Times," and "Sour and Sweet/Lemon In the Honey" in particular leaned on the big-band side of things.

 

I was a kid when The Kinks made their comeback in the late 70's-early 80's. "Come Dancing" was one of my favorite songs from my early childhood. I may not have known what a "palley" was, but I figured it was like the dance halls and soda shops I saw in movies set in the 40's and 50's and heard about in my parents' stories of their childhoods. Come Dancing With the Kinks features this and more songs from that comeback, including "A Rock and Roll Fantasy," "Low Budget," and "Father Christmas."

Chocolate Chips and Sweet Springs

Began the day with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. The kids and their substitute teacher discover "The Mystery of the Stone Circle" when they accidentally find the way into caves under a group of boulders with pre-historic markings on them. Inspector Sneef saves every holiday shopper in New York after metal objects begin mysteriously floating upwards in "The Big Apple Christmas Caper." "Who's Too Scared to Masquerade?" Not Sally and her friends, who find the perfect spooky costume to wear to a monster costume party.

Let Press Your Luck run as I made my grocery list, then went online to check my schedule. In good news, no early days next week. 10:30 is the earliest. And that's because...no Wednesday, either. I only work Saturday and Sunday. On one hand, that means plenty of time to clean the apartment, prepare for Easter and warmer weather, and figure out where I want to go next with the job hunt. It also means I'm going to have a really lousy paycheck.

Headed out to do my grocery shopping next. Started at Westmont Plaza to beat the high schoolers to Target before they got out. I had an online coupon for Skintimate shaving lotion. I thought I had one for Ivory soap, but it didn't come up that way. Kind protein bars were on sale, too. 

Ducked next door to Sprouts just as the kids started coming up the hill. Fortunately, Sprouts has little that interests them. Grabbed bananas, soda, coconut milk, and granola bars from the regular shelves. It took me forever to find the bulk oatmeal. Turns out it's in barrels in the back of the bulk aisles. Shoveled out the old-fashioned version for a recipe, along with more of the European hot cereal and those yummy golden raisins.

Made my way past the Haddon Township Library and High School to the Westmont Acme next. Needed to restock yogurt, blood oranges, eggs, and soda that Sprouts doesn't have. Picked up bagels for lunch this weekend. Decided to try Dave's Killer Bread chocolate almond bars in lieu of granola bars (none of the one I like were on a good sale).

Took the long way home through Newton Lake Park and over the hill to the Haddon Township History and Environmental Center. It had been off-and-on sunny and relatively warm, in the mid-60's, but the sun was out when I was going through the park. It's really starting to look like spring there now. The leaves are barely sprouting on the trees, but the bushes and vines are lush and lime green. The fountains sparkle in the rippling lake. No wonder I dodged a lot of kids walking home from school and adults going for jogs and strolls. 

Got organized while watching The Price Is Right. The contestants did really well in both shows, including a rare $11,000 wheel win on the first episode. The trouble hit during the Showcases in the second episode. One contestant went so badly over, I knew she had no chance...but the other just barely missed. As Bob pointed out, it was a shame, since all but one person won their games in the rest of the show.

Grabbed my baking ingredients to make one of my favorite recipes after Price ended. I got my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe out of Prevention Magazine in 2010, the year my friend Linda Young gave me a subscription. It requires whole wheat flour, canola oil, egg whites, and oatmeal instead of butter and regular eggs. Not only are they more nutritional, but the oil and egg whites make them extra-chewy. I've very rarely had trouble with this recipe, and this time was no exception. The first batch came out a little dark, but the second was perfect, just sweet and nutty enough. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated while making the cookies, and later during dinner. The first couple of episodes featured Ted Lange of The Love Boat, a sweet Susan Richardson with blonde hair done in a unique curly style, and Joyce Bulifant. Alas, the last two episodes of that week are currently missing, due to them still trying to sort out the red tape with Jimmie Walker. I didn't object too much when they moved straight into the week featuring Diana Sorvino, a friend of Charles Nelson Reilly who would be the only opera singer to appear on Match Game. She got to see Gene show off his body when a contestant make a joke about it...and then Betty White do her own idea of a stripping routine.

Went upstairs for Hollywood Stargirl after dinner. I'll go further into the sweet sequel to Stargirl at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow. 

Finished the night with the soundtrack for Licorice Pizza. I haven't seen the 2021 comedy yet, but I can say its soundtrack has an awesome cover, done as a earth-toned version of the artwork on pinball machines in the 60's and 70's. There's also some great music here. As you can guess, it's mostly 70's favorites like "Life on Mars?" by David Bowie, "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry, and "Stumblin' In" by Chris Norman and Susi Quatro, though Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters' version of "Accentuate the Positive" does manage to sneak onto side A. We even have lesser-known 70's tunes like "Walk Away" by James Gang and "July Tree" by Nina Simone that I'm glad I got to hear. I almost didn't buy this at Abbie Road, but I'm glad I broke down and grabbed it. Worth checking out whether you've seen the movie or not if you're a fan of the music of the time period and don't already have a lot of these tunes elsewhere.

Rainy Days and Games

I awoke to a messy morning, with rain coming down in torrents. It would continue in some form through the late afternoon. There was no way I'd be going anywhere today. Just as well. I also had a stuffed-up nose and pounding sinus headache. I wasn't up to wandering around anyway.

Watched Alice's Wonderland Bakery while eating breakfast. Hattie and Fergie love racing to make deliveries for Alice's new food order service in "Order Up!" The guys learn a lesson about going slow and working together when they mistake Dinah for the cake Alice made for the Queen of Hearts and have to swap them at Hearts Palace. Alice and Rosa are caught up in a "Teeny-Tiny Venture" when they're shrunk and have to figure out a way to the palace by midnight for the Knighting Ceremony. 

Switched to The Roku Channel for The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Mr. Gronkle Moves Away" when he gets tired of the noise in Busytown. Turns out the woods are even noisier. He eventually moves back, but won't answer his door or phone. He finally realizes how important he is to the town when Huckle, Lowly, and Sergeant Murphy come to check up on him. An Indian scribe and his daughter try to convince a wealthy merchant that "Counting Chickens" with numbers is easier than with stones or shells. He refuses to learn the new new system, until the daughter teaches him. Billy Dog is certain he'll never be able to handle "The Spelling Bee." His mother helps him practice, and he not only wins, he gets to the city finals.

Took the laundry downstairs, then did dishes and put them away. After I got all that cleaned up, I watched Broadway's Lost Treasures III. This is one of the three collections of musical numbers aired on the Tonys to have turned up on PBS in the early 2000's. Robert Goulet, Tommy Tune, and Harvey Furnstein hosted. To tell the truth, most of the performances were done years after the shows in question had come and gone, including Julie Andrews and Ethel Merman performing their biggest hits. Debbie Allen and the dancers from West Side Story give us a glimpse of the original lyrics for "America," while the cast of the 42nd Street revival from 2001 open the show by literally dancing on the real Broadway...and then under it on the subway. 

Robert Goulet was seen twice, joined by Inga Swenson and a line of male and female Mounties for a medley of songs from Rose-Marie and in the addition material with two numbers from the flop Kander-Ebb show The Happy Time. Sweetly goofy Kristen Chenowith makes a perfect Sally explaining "My New Philosophy" in the 1999 revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The cast of the 1989 revue Black and Blue tore up the floor with their vivacious tap routine to "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do." The opening numbers from the original Ragtime and the 2002 Into the Woods revival gives us a good look at those epic shows and how the casts of New Yorkers and immigrants in the turn of the 20th century and fairy tale characters interact. The mid-60's flop How Now Dow Jones isn't well-known today, but that's not the fault of its hilarious and catchy chorus number "Step to the Rear." 

After the show ended and I put the laundry in the dryer, I decided to try my new muffin pan. I wanted to use up the coconut that was leftover from the Irish potatoes last week, and I haven't made muffins in ages. The "Old School Muffins" recipe from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food became Coconut-Orange Muffins, replacing the yogurt with orange juice. Not bad. I haven't made a bad batch from that recipe yet. I think the orange juice just made them more sweet than orange, though.

Had lunch while watching What's New, Scooby Doo? It's a "Big Scare In the Big Easy" when the gang encounter the ghosts of two brothers who fought on the opposite sides of the Civil War at a graveyard. The owners are being pressured by their next-door neighbor to sell for his water park. When Daphne disappears while investigating, the others rescue her while trying to figure out what this not-so-brotherly duo is really up to.

Brought the laundry upstairs, then listened to Doris Day's Greatest Hits while I folded it. This 1958 album gives us a lot of songs from her movies to that point, like "Secret Love," "It's Magic," "Que Sera Sera," and the title number from Teacher's Pet, but I prefer the non-film songs. Her "Everybody Loves a Lover" is jaunty fun, and we also get a sweet "When I Fall In Love" and "If I Give My Heart to You."

Went online to reply to an e-mail. We finally got a bite. A company that rents out office space needs an assistant and are willing to give me a short phone interview. I told them I'd be ok for Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

After I finished that, I went down for a desperately-needed nap. I took allergy medicine earlier in the day, but all that did was wipe me out. I passed out at 4:30 and didn't get up until past 6:30, by which time the rain was long gone and the sun was out.

Took out the recycling, then had dinner while watching Match Game Syndicated. Bob Donner joined in for the first time in these episodes. His deadpan humor and excellent artwork on his cards would really add a lot to the later syndicated episodes and Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. Joining him are Bill Daily and a pair of Wallaces, Marcia and former Miss USA Marjorie. 

Finished the night on YouTube with flop game shows from the 50's and 60's. Producers were really just trying to see what stuck in the early days of TV. Game shows that worked on radio often didn't land on television, either because they didn't involve enough movement, or they'd just worn out their welcome. Along with panel shows, quiz shows were among the most popular formats during the 50's. They were cheap to produce, could hand out huge payouts, and winning contestants often became household words. 

Penny to a Million from 1955 is one example. Contestants won a penny for each question answered. They could win a maximum of 100 pennies, or $10,000. Yeah, this is dry as a bone. It takes forever for anyone to earn enough pennies for a decent payout, and the format just isn't that exciting. Even jocular radio announcer Bill Goodwin can't drum up interest.

No wonder producers started fixing shows. The Big Surprise from 1956 had celebrities and regular folks who had performed acts of heroism answering questions about their family and themselves to win $100,000. Even giving contestants the answers beforehand and having Errol Flynn as a contestant in the surviving episode couldn't make this one more interesting. It was gone by 1957, well before other shows began blowing the whistle on the fixes.

Dotto started off strong in early 1958. Contestants answered questions that would connect dots to form a picture. If they guessed correctly, they would win fabulous prizes. Within months, the show was the biggest hit on daytime, and Jack Narz was one of the best-known hosts on television. It came crashing down by late July when it was discovered that the show was rigged and contestants were given answers to questions in advance. 

It's too bad. Unlike the previous two shows, this one was strong enough not to need the rigging. I'm surprised no one has tried reviving this or doing something similar, maybe on streaming with digital dots. The two surviving episodes show why it was such a fast success.

By the early 60's, quiz shows were replaced by celebrity guessing games like Password or gimmicky panel shows. The most notorious of the latter was You're In the Picture from 1961. Jackie Gleason hosted this very weird panel show where four celebrities stick their heads through a picture and try to guess what they are while Gleason tosses out quips. Uh, yeah. Not really as horrible as Gleason's later apology claimed, but very, very awkward. Fortunately, both the show and Gleason's apology the next week for how bad it was survived, so you can see the biggest game show bomb of the early 60's for yourself.

Get the Message is an example of the many Password imitations littering the airwaves in the mid-60's. Unlike You're In the Picture, I wish this one had worked out. Two teams of men and women consisting of contestant and a pair of celebrities are shown a message. The celebrities write a one-word clue describing the message and relay it to their contestant. If they didn't guess the message, it passed to the other team. Simple and fun, this is another one I'm surprised no one attempted to revive or revise. 

Game shows in the late 60's became more salacious in response to more titillating programs like The Newlywed Game and Hollywood Squares. He Said, She Said went the Newlywed route as three regular married couples and a celebrity couple matched stories. Gene and Helen Rayburn were the celebrities in the pilot. The regular contestants were dropped in favor of all-celebrities after a few months. Goodson-Todman would continue to tinker with this one in the early 70's, finally finding success with it as Tattletales in 1974. 

Check out some of the most notorious game show flops and scandals of the 50's and 60's, including one that was so bad, it ended after one episode!

Penny To a Million (1955)

The Big Surprise (1956)

Dotto (1958)

You're In the Picture (Including apology) (1961)

Get the Message (1964)

He Said, She Said Pilot (1969)