I Just Can't Wait to be King Of Broadway
I spent the majority of today at work, which was quiet when I came in around 11:30, steady when I left at 5:30. I tried making a lime pie after work, but I wasn't paying attention to the mix and burned it, then put too much water in it. I hope it comes out ok anyway.
I did finish up the Broadway documentary today. The last two parts covering the 70s, 80s, 90s, and up through 2004 brought back a LOT of memories. I remember seeing commercials for Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and City of Angels as a kid on Channel 9 and 11 and thinking that this was the height of New York glamor - the Broadway musical. I remember seeing Sweeney Todd on HBO when I was about 6, the original version with Angela Landsbury. Talk about nightmares! I still shudder when I think about that. (I never thought of Landsbury in quite the same way again.) I saw the "I Love NY" post-9/11 commercial with Nathan Lane when I was in college and remember how exciting it was, even after what had happened just across town from Times Square.
As much as I enjoyed it, there were a few things I would have liked to have seen covered more thoroughly. The two big ones were the American operettas of the teens and 20s and the musicals of Kurt Weill. The operettas of the 1910's and 20s were quite influential in their day (Sigmund Romberg wrote shows well into the 50s), and they're sweet guilty pleasures of mine. They could have at least talked about some of the bigger 20s shows, like New Moon and The Desert Song, or mentioned the European-based operettas that World War I swept away, like The Merry Widow. And Kurt Weill, who wrote the influential 30s and 40s shows Knickerbocker Holiday, Lady In the Dark, One Touch of Venus, Lost In the Stars, the opera Street Scene, and the German show The Threepenny Opera that has been successfully revived several times, isn't discussed at all. The only reference to Weill is Danny Kaye singing "Tchaikovsky" from Lady In the Dark over the closing credits of the last part.
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
Just a Broadway Baby
With this being my only day off this week, I spent most of the day running errands. I did my laundry in the morning. Dolores was finishing off hers and Uncle Ken's laundry. He's supposed to go in for surgery for his cancer tomorrow. God, I hope he's ok. I'm really worried about him. I've always liked Uncle Ken. He's such a sweetheart. Dad was just watching his perpetual 24 hours of horror and spooky mysteries on the Chiller cable channel. It was such a nice day, I went out for a short walk around Oaklyn and Audubon, stopping briefly at the Oaklyn Library.
After I came in from doing the laundry, I had lunch and headed out again, this time over to the Haddon Township Library for my weekly volunteering session. It was busy when I arrived, and there were huge stacks of books and DVDs to be put away. I spent most of the time I was there shelving DVDs and children's books. I did finally take out the newest Strawberry Shortcake DVD, "Happily Ever After," and a PBS documentary mini-series, Broadway - The American Musical. I'd read the huge coffee table book of that title, but never saw the documentary it was based after. I made a few very brief stops at AC Moore for Valentine's decorations and Dollar Tree for cards before heading home.
Spent the rest of the evening making Batter Corn Bread (which came out quite well) and watching the DVDs I took out of the library. As you can probably guess from the title, the Strawberry Shortcake disc is that show's second DVD covering fairy tales. The first is their take on Sleeping Beauty, in which Strawberry uses the famous story of the girl who is put to sleep by a vengeful fairy to try to patch up a fight between her friends Angel Cake and Rainbow Sherbet. Rainbow gets a rare chance at the spotlight in an imaginative version of Rapunzel. Here, "Rap" is a tomboy who would rather be commanding sailboats than ruling a kingdom, but her teacher (Sour Grapes) wants her to become a real lady. I like the variation on the usual "be yourself" theme in the second - you don't need very long hair or fancy dresses to be a real princess or a real ruler. There's also a nice subplot on the necessity of education...and it's interesting to see this is the second episode (after Let's Dance) where Sour Grapes is a teacher who softens to the girls.
Broadway is absolutely fascinating. Like the Ethan Mordden books, it covers the history of the Broadway musical from the beginnings of the Ziegfield Follies (and revues in general) and George M. Cohan around the turn of the 20th Century to the creation of Wicked, the then-newest musical hit. While I already knew about a lot of what's covered here (Ziegfield and the Follies, Fanny Brice, Cohan, Marilyn Miller, Show Boat, Ethel Merman, "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?", Irvin Berlin, Cole Porter and Anything Goes), the one thing I didn't know much about was black performers. It was interesting to hear about Follies star Bert Williams (and realize I've known his theme song, "Nobody," since childhood), Ethel Waters, and early black shows like Shuffle Along.
With this being my only day off this week, I spent most of the day running errands. I did my laundry in the morning. Dolores was finishing off hers and Uncle Ken's laundry. He's supposed to go in for surgery for his cancer tomorrow. God, I hope he's ok. I'm really worried about him. I've always liked Uncle Ken. He's such a sweetheart. Dad was just watching his perpetual 24 hours of horror and spooky mysteries on the Chiller cable channel. It was such a nice day, I went out for a short walk around Oaklyn and Audubon, stopping briefly at the Oaklyn Library.
After I came in from doing the laundry, I had lunch and headed out again, this time over to the Haddon Township Library for my weekly volunteering session. It was busy when I arrived, and there were huge stacks of books and DVDs to be put away. I spent most of the time I was there shelving DVDs and children's books. I did finally take out the newest Strawberry Shortcake DVD, "Happily Ever After," and a PBS documentary mini-series, Broadway - The American Musical. I'd read the huge coffee table book of that title, but never saw the documentary it was based after. I made a few very brief stops at AC Moore for Valentine's decorations and Dollar Tree for cards before heading home.
Spent the rest of the evening making Batter Corn Bread (which came out quite well) and watching the DVDs I took out of the library. As you can probably guess from the title, the Strawberry Shortcake disc is that show's second DVD covering fairy tales. The first is their take on Sleeping Beauty, in which Strawberry uses the famous story of the girl who is put to sleep by a vengeful fairy to try to patch up a fight between her friends Angel Cake and Rainbow Sherbet. Rainbow gets a rare chance at the spotlight in an imaginative version of Rapunzel. Here, "Rap" is a tomboy who would rather be commanding sailboats than ruling a kingdom, but her teacher (Sour Grapes) wants her to become a real lady. I like the variation on the usual "be yourself" theme in the second - you don't need very long hair or fancy dresses to be a real princess or a real ruler. There's also a nice subplot on the necessity of education...and it's interesting to see this is the second episode (after Let's Dance) where Sour Grapes is a teacher who softens to the girls.
Broadway is absolutely fascinating. Like the Ethan Mordden books, it covers the history of the Broadway musical from the beginnings of the Ziegfield Follies (and revues in general) and George M. Cohan around the turn of the 20th Century to the creation of Wicked, the then-newest musical hit. While I already knew about a lot of what's covered here (Ziegfield and the Follies, Fanny Brice, Cohan, Marilyn Miller, Show Boat, Ethel Merman, "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?", Irvin Berlin, Cole Porter and Anything Goes), the one thing I didn't know much about was black performers. It was interesting to hear about Follies star Bert Williams (and realize I've known his theme song, "Nobody," since childhood), Ethel Waters, and early black shows like Shuffle Along.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Burned
Did a lot of cooking today, mostly trying more recipes in that Fast Food Fix cookbook. I made a low-fat, egg-white version of Burger King's French Toast Sticks this morning, mostly to get rid of some French Bread that was getting old and dry. It called to cook them with melted butter, but I'm not used to using real butter (I usually use cooking spray) and ended up burning them. They tasted good enough and were easy enough to make that I'll probably make them again the next time I have bread to get rid of...this time, using butter spray or butter-flavored cooking spray.
Rose called while I was eating my French Toast Sticks and a half of grapefruit. She said she can't do Yogawood tomorrow, something about her boyfriend needing her car, but would be up for Wednesday. That's perfectly fine with me. I don't work on Wednesday until 3PM. I tried calling Mom right after I got off with Rose, but got a busy signal. Mom called ME back a little later - turns out Rose called her right after she called me! Mom's fine. She's VERY happy to have heard from Rose. Both seem to be in much better moods. Mom's annoyed with Dad not exercising (no news there) and isn't looking forward to Anny's custody hearing with her boyfriend this week.
It was an absolutely gorgeous, ridiculously warm day for mid-February, almost 50 and sunny as can be. Every last bit of the snow was gone by the time I headed out for work. It was also really, really windy, which made for an interesting ride to and from work. Work, by the way, was busy all day. It always is on Sundays, even outside of football season. Sunday is the only day a lot of people have to go shopping. My relief was late, but otherwise, there were no problems.
I baked Subway's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies after work, replacing the raisins with dark chocolate chips (I don't have raisins - they're expensive, and I prefer the cranberry kind anyway). The cookies themselves came out quite nicely, soft and nutty, but I made a mess baking them. I burned the back of my lower right arm when I was putting the last pan on the dining area table to cool. That HURT! There's a nice welt line on my arm now. And when I sat down to sample one, I forgot about the melted chocolate chip that fell on my seat. Good thing I was going to do the laundry tomorrow anyway, because now I have chocolate chip all over the back of my work pants.
Did a lot of cooking today, mostly trying more recipes in that Fast Food Fix cookbook. I made a low-fat, egg-white version of Burger King's French Toast Sticks this morning, mostly to get rid of some French Bread that was getting old and dry. It called to cook them with melted butter, but I'm not used to using real butter (I usually use cooking spray) and ended up burning them. They tasted good enough and were easy enough to make that I'll probably make them again the next time I have bread to get rid of...this time, using butter spray or butter-flavored cooking spray.
Rose called while I was eating my French Toast Sticks and a half of grapefruit. She said she can't do Yogawood tomorrow, something about her boyfriend needing her car, but would be up for Wednesday. That's perfectly fine with me. I don't work on Wednesday until 3PM. I tried calling Mom right after I got off with Rose, but got a busy signal. Mom called ME back a little later - turns out Rose called her right after she called me! Mom's fine. She's VERY happy to have heard from Rose. Both seem to be in much better moods. Mom's annoyed with Dad not exercising (no news there) and isn't looking forward to Anny's custody hearing with her boyfriend this week.
It was an absolutely gorgeous, ridiculously warm day for mid-February, almost 50 and sunny as can be. Every last bit of the snow was gone by the time I headed out for work. It was also really, really windy, which made for an interesting ride to and from work. Work, by the way, was busy all day. It always is on Sundays, even outside of football season. Sunday is the only day a lot of people have to go shopping. My relief was late, but otherwise, there were no problems.
I baked Subway's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies after work, replacing the raisins with dark chocolate chips (I don't have raisins - they're expensive, and I prefer the cranberry kind anyway). The cookies themselves came out quite nicely, soft and nutty, but I made a mess baking them. I burned the back of my lower right arm when I was putting the last pan on the dining area table to cool. That HURT! There's a nice welt line on my arm now. And when I sat down to sample one, I forgot about the melted chocolate chip that fell on my seat. Good thing I was going to do the laundry tomorrow anyway, because now I have chocolate chip all over the back of my work pants.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Warming Things Up
Spent most of the day at work. It was quiet when I got in at 10AM. I spent a lot of the morning doing returns. It didn't really start picking up until around 11:30-noon. Most of my customers were looking forward to the sudden warm spell we're supposed to be having this weekend. I'm not as crazy about it. First of all, 50 degrees doesn't feel like winter. Second, I don't mind cold weather. It gets the blood going and is a lot easier to breathe and ride a bike in. If you dress warmly, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Alas, my customers got their wish. There was still a ton of snow on the ground when I left for work around quarter of 10. By the time I got out of work, more than half the snow was gone, and it was about 45 degrees and sunny. While it did make for a nice ride, it was a little disappointing. I like it when it snows. I like that cozy winter feeling.
On the other hand, I did have a nice walk after work. It was so nice, I might have gone for a walk even if I hadn't needed to go to the bank. I did the White Horse Pike, stopping at the Oaklyn WaWa after the bank for a Chocolate Coke Zero. I saw a lot of other people out and about, too, parents and children in strollers and tons of dog-walkers, plus packs of roving teenagers looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon.
There was one advantage to the melting snow. On my way home, I found what was definitely one of my (fake) fur-trimmed gloves on the sidewalk on Kendall Boulevard. I've been looking for that glove. I must have dropped it on my way home some night last week and it was covered by the snow before I could find it. I've been using another pair that are much warmer anyway (I think these are getting a little thin), but it's nice to have a second pair.
Spent most of the day at work. It was quiet when I got in at 10AM. I spent a lot of the morning doing returns. It didn't really start picking up until around 11:30-noon. Most of my customers were looking forward to the sudden warm spell we're supposed to be having this weekend. I'm not as crazy about it. First of all, 50 degrees doesn't feel like winter. Second, I don't mind cold weather. It gets the blood going and is a lot easier to breathe and ride a bike in. If you dress warmly, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Alas, my customers got their wish. There was still a ton of snow on the ground when I left for work around quarter of 10. By the time I got out of work, more than half the snow was gone, and it was about 45 degrees and sunny. While it did make for a nice ride, it was a little disappointing. I like it when it snows. I like that cozy winter feeling.
On the other hand, I did have a nice walk after work. It was so nice, I might have gone for a walk even if I hadn't needed to go to the bank. I did the White Horse Pike, stopping at the Oaklyn WaWa after the bank for a Chocolate Coke Zero. I saw a lot of other people out and about, too, parents and children in strollers and tons of dog-walkers, plus packs of roving teenagers looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon.
There was one advantage to the melting snow. On my way home, I found what was definitely one of my (fake) fur-trimmed gloves on the sidewalk on Kendall Boulevard. I've been looking for that glove. I must have dropped it on my way home some night last week and it was covered by the snow before I could find it. I've been using another pair that are much warmer anyway (I think these are getting a little thin), but it's nice to have a second pair.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Fiddling With Balance
Finally got to Yogawood today. It was a full class, 15 people plus the teacher Micki. Thankfully, we didn't do too many complicated moves. My left foot is a bit sore from my old winter boots (which I really need to replace). We did a lot of stretching, which seems to be Micki's forte. (Jill's is headstands.)
I spent the rest of the morning watching Fiddler on the Roof and making Banana Pound Cake from the Fast Food Fix cookbook I took out of the Haddon Township Library yesterday. Fiddler is the film version of the long-running 1966 Broadway musical. It's a slightly gloomy but generally enjoyable story of a Russian Jewish milkman, Tevye, who watches as his three oldest daughters marry against his wishes and the tradition orthodox Jewish life of his small peasant village is menaced by outsiders.
Doesn't sound like your typical musical, does it? For all the dark material (one of the girls marries a revolutionary; another elopes with a gentle, non-Jewish Russian youth), this is a very life-affirming film. It's also a very sad one; I cried when the second daughter left for Siberia to be with her jailed husband, and when Tevye remembers his daughters in a touching montage number towards the end. The music (including "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Sunrise, Sunset," "If I Were A Rich Man," and "Miracle of Miracles") is lovely, the dancing's a blast (check out the wedding dance with the bottles on the heads), and the cinematography's stunning - it deservedly won an Oscar in 1971. There's some fine performances, too, including Israeli actor Topol as Tevye.
Two warnings - first of all, this movie is long. Three-hours long. It's one of the last of the major extra-long "epic" musicals made in the 60s and early 70s. It didn't feel that long to me, but it does require a bit more of your time than most musicals to take in. Second, this is not your typical spangles-and-glitter musical. Those expecting the Technicolor frivolity of something like Hello Dolly! will be disappointed. It's not for people who don't like musicals, either - people do start singing in the middle of a sentence.
Work was steady all afternoon, with no major problems. I had a lovely ride to work and to Yogawood. It was sunny, less windy, and somewhat warmer than yesterday (though not as warm as the weekend's supposed to be).
By the way, Tina, Cheer Bear says...
"Have a happy day, hip-hip-hooray!"
"Hug me if you're my best friend."
"Hello, I'm Cheer Bear, with a smile just for you!"
"Hey, how about a Care Bear hug?"
"Let's play some more. You're fun to be with."
"Being friends with you is the best!"
"A cheer-rific day is heading your way!"
Finally got to Yogawood today. It was a full class, 15 people plus the teacher Micki. Thankfully, we didn't do too many complicated moves. My left foot is a bit sore from my old winter boots (which I really need to replace). We did a lot of stretching, which seems to be Micki's forte. (Jill's is headstands.)
I spent the rest of the morning watching Fiddler on the Roof and making Banana Pound Cake from the Fast Food Fix cookbook I took out of the Haddon Township Library yesterday. Fiddler is the film version of the long-running 1966 Broadway musical. It's a slightly gloomy but generally enjoyable story of a Russian Jewish milkman, Tevye, who watches as his three oldest daughters marry against his wishes and the tradition orthodox Jewish life of his small peasant village is menaced by outsiders.
Doesn't sound like your typical musical, does it? For all the dark material (one of the girls marries a revolutionary; another elopes with a gentle, non-Jewish Russian youth), this is a very life-affirming film. It's also a very sad one; I cried when the second daughter left for Siberia to be with her jailed husband, and when Tevye remembers his daughters in a touching montage number towards the end. The music (including "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Sunrise, Sunset," "If I Were A Rich Man," and "Miracle of Miracles") is lovely, the dancing's a blast (check out the wedding dance with the bottles on the heads), and the cinematography's stunning - it deservedly won an Oscar in 1971. There's some fine performances, too, including Israeli actor Topol as Tevye.
Two warnings - first of all, this movie is long. Three-hours long. It's one of the last of the major extra-long "epic" musicals made in the 60s and early 70s. It didn't feel that long to me, but it does require a bit more of your time than most musicals to take in. Second, this is not your typical spangles-and-glitter musical. Those expecting the Technicolor frivolity of something like Hello Dolly! will be disappointed. It's not for people who don't like musicals, either - people do start singing in the middle of a sentence.
Work was steady all afternoon, with no major problems. I had a lovely ride to work and to Yogawood. It was sunny, less windy, and somewhat warmer than yesterday (though not as warm as the weekend's supposed to be).
By the way, Tina, Cheer Bear says...
"Have a happy day, hip-hip-hooray!"
"Hug me if you're my best friend."
"Hello, I'm Cheer Bear, with a smile just for you!"
"Hey, how about a Care Bear hug?"
"Let's play some more. You're fun to be with."
"Being friends with you is the best!"
"A cheer-rific day is heading your way!"
Thursday, February 05, 2009
The Secret of Snowy Rides
I spent most of today running errands. I finally delivered a big bag of donations to the Friends in Deed thrift shop in Collingswood, including my old winter coats. I bought a cute Cheer Bear that can talk when you hug her. I bought a hot chocolate at WaWa, then went to counseling. I told Scott about everything happening in my family and the culinary school idea, but he mainly wants me to concentrate on trying not to get upset when things go wrong at work. I wrote down some of the things he suggested I try to think about when I get anxious - I hope it helps.
I had a quick small ham and swiss sandwich at Primo Hoagies, then rode over to the Haddon Township Library. I made a brief stop at Walgreens to see if they had any good Lil'Kinz. Nope - they still just had Tigers and Yorkies. I have a Lil'Kinz Tiger, and I don't want a silly fluffy Yorkie. I just went on ahead to the Haddon Township Library. I did the children's DVDs, removing the PG-rated animated films Iron Giant and Over the Hedge. (And for those of you who work at libraries or video rental stores, please remember that a movie being animated doesn't automatically mean it's G-rated or for little kids. Please check the ratings on the box!) I took out three DVDs and two cookbooks before heading out.
I made a very brief stop at Super Fresh. I didn't find what I was looking for and forgot something else I wanted, milk, so I also stopped by WaWa on the way back to Oaklyn. I'm glad I did - a half-gallon of skim milk at WaWa has dropped to $2.19. (A half gallon of skim milk costs $2.69 at the Acme!)
Since I was in the area, I rode over to the park behind the Oaklyn Public School on my way home. It was a nice day, bitterly cold (the high was 25) and very windy, but sunny. The snow is still very pretty, and there's still quite a bit on the ground. (Thank goodness it's not nearly as icy or as much of a problem to move as last week's snowfall, though.) I just had to take ten minutes to run through it, kick it around, make snow angels, throw a snowball to the air. We didn't often get snow in Cape May County, and the rare times we did was usually a treat. I love snow. As long as it doesn't get too messy, it's a lot of fun. (Of course, I also don't have some of the problems other people do with large snowfalls. I don't have kids who will be out of school, I live less than ten minutes from work and can commute in anything short of a major blizzard, and my neighbors or my landlady's nephew shovel my steps and porch.)
I enjoyed some more snow-related animated shorts and specials this morning and during dinner. In addition to their Christmas and Easter specials, Rankin-Bass made two specials in the 70s that were really more salutes to winter than to winter holidays. I have Frosty's Winter Wonderland, which was RB's 1976 follow-up to Frosty the Snowman. Unlike the original, this one doesn't try to needlessly tie Christmas in. Frosty comes from the North Pole, but he's lonely when the kids aren't around, so they make him a wife. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (not the same character in the 1979 stop-motion special) feels jealous of the attention Frosty gets from the kids and tries to steal his hat. It's slight but charming, with one of Rankin-Bass' better casts. The original Frosty, Jackie Vernon, is joined by Shelley Winters as his "snow wife" Crystal, Paul Frees as Jack Frost, Dennis Day as Parson Brown, and Andy Griffith as the narrator. Day and Griffith get to duet (rather nicely, too) on the title song.
Although Frosty Returns sounds like a second sequal to the Rankin-Bass Frosty specials, and it does share some elements (snow setting, kids, song, goofy villain who turns good in the end, comedian narrator), it's was actually made by Bill Melendez, who did the Peanuts specials. In fact, Returns, which was made in 1992, has more of a Peanuts vibe than a Rankin-Bass vibe. The kids seem a bit more real than they did in the Rankin-Bass specials, and there's a somewhat cynical 90s feel, from elderly teachers complaining about shoveling sidewalks and breaking hips to Frosty making wisecracks about his polka-dot bow-tie. Not for Rankin-Bass purists, but different and cute in it's own way. I'm especially fond of the only song, "Let There Be Snow." Not a bad cast here, either - Andrea Martin as the fussy teacher, John Goodman as Frosty, and Jonathan Winters as the narrator.
The Backyardigans had their own adventures in the snow. I took out the last Backyardigans DVD the library had that I hadn't seen this afternoon. I have seen the title special episode (a James Bond spoof, complete with Henry Mancini-esque jazz music), but not the other two episodes. Uniqua desperately wants to find "The Secret of Snow," but ever-busy Ice Lady Tasha has no time for her questions. She tries to send the pink bug girl first to the desert, then the jungle, but compassionate Austin, Cowboy Pablo, and Tyrone of the Jungle help her out. All four kids end up learning that there is no real secret to snow...but the secret of friendship is to help others out and have fun doing it, to the tune of Dixieland versions of Christmas songs. (In fact, this would appear to be the closest thing The Backyardigans has to a Christmas episode. It ends with the kids saying "Happy Holidays," the only time they don't go home for a snack in the end.)
My personal favorite on the disc was "A Giant Problem." Queen Uniqua sends her wizards Tyrone and Pablo to get rid of Tasha the Giant, who keeps waking the Queen from her nap. Problem is, Tyrone and Pablo are hardly Harry Potter-quality wizards - none of their spells work right. Big, goofy Tasha doesn't really want to hurt them, anyway. All she wants is to play tag. The 80s synthesizer music brought back a lot of childhood memories.
I spent most of today running errands. I finally delivered a big bag of donations to the Friends in Deed thrift shop in Collingswood, including my old winter coats. I bought a cute Cheer Bear that can talk when you hug her. I bought a hot chocolate at WaWa, then went to counseling. I told Scott about everything happening in my family and the culinary school idea, but he mainly wants me to concentrate on trying not to get upset when things go wrong at work. I wrote down some of the things he suggested I try to think about when I get anxious - I hope it helps.
I had a quick small ham and swiss sandwich at Primo Hoagies, then rode over to the Haddon Township Library. I made a brief stop at Walgreens to see if they had any good Lil'Kinz. Nope - they still just had Tigers and Yorkies. I have a Lil'Kinz Tiger, and I don't want a silly fluffy Yorkie. I just went on ahead to the Haddon Township Library. I did the children's DVDs, removing the PG-rated animated films Iron Giant and Over the Hedge. (And for those of you who work at libraries or video rental stores, please remember that a movie being animated doesn't automatically mean it's G-rated or for little kids. Please check the ratings on the box!) I took out three DVDs and two cookbooks before heading out.
I made a very brief stop at Super Fresh. I didn't find what I was looking for and forgot something else I wanted, milk, so I also stopped by WaWa on the way back to Oaklyn. I'm glad I did - a half-gallon of skim milk at WaWa has dropped to $2.19. (A half gallon of skim milk costs $2.69 at the Acme!)
Since I was in the area, I rode over to the park behind the Oaklyn Public School on my way home. It was a nice day, bitterly cold (the high was 25) and very windy, but sunny. The snow is still very pretty, and there's still quite a bit on the ground. (Thank goodness it's not nearly as icy or as much of a problem to move as last week's snowfall, though.) I just had to take ten minutes to run through it, kick it around, make snow angels, throw a snowball to the air. We didn't often get snow in Cape May County, and the rare times we did was usually a treat. I love snow. As long as it doesn't get too messy, it's a lot of fun. (Of course, I also don't have some of the problems other people do with large snowfalls. I don't have kids who will be out of school, I live less than ten minutes from work and can commute in anything short of a major blizzard, and my neighbors or my landlady's nephew shovel my steps and porch.)
I enjoyed some more snow-related animated shorts and specials this morning and during dinner. In addition to their Christmas and Easter specials, Rankin-Bass made two specials in the 70s that were really more salutes to winter than to winter holidays. I have Frosty's Winter Wonderland, which was RB's 1976 follow-up to Frosty the Snowman. Unlike the original, this one doesn't try to needlessly tie Christmas in. Frosty comes from the North Pole, but he's lonely when the kids aren't around, so they make him a wife. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (not the same character in the 1979 stop-motion special) feels jealous of the attention Frosty gets from the kids and tries to steal his hat. It's slight but charming, with one of Rankin-Bass' better casts. The original Frosty, Jackie Vernon, is joined by Shelley Winters as his "snow wife" Crystal, Paul Frees as Jack Frost, Dennis Day as Parson Brown, and Andy Griffith as the narrator. Day and Griffith get to duet (rather nicely, too) on the title song.
Although Frosty Returns sounds like a second sequal to the Rankin-Bass Frosty specials, and it does share some elements (snow setting, kids, song, goofy villain who turns good in the end, comedian narrator), it's was actually made by Bill Melendez, who did the Peanuts specials. In fact, Returns, which was made in 1992, has more of a Peanuts vibe than a Rankin-Bass vibe. The kids seem a bit more real than they did in the Rankin-Bass specials, and there's a somewhat cynical 90s feel, from elderly teachers complaining about shoveling sidewalks and breaking hips to Frosty making wisecracks about his polka-dot bow-tie. Not for Rankin-Bass purists, but different and cute in it's own way. I'm especially fond of the only song, "Let There Be Snow." Not a bad cast here, either - Andrea Martin as the fussy teacher, John Goodman as Frosty, and Jonathan Winters as the narrator.
The Backyardigans had their own adventures in the snow. I took out the last Backyardigans DVD the library had that I hadn't seen this afternoon. I have seen the title special episode (a James Bond spoof, complete with Henry Mancini-esque jazz music), but not the other two episodes. Uniqua desperately wants to find "The Secret of Snow," but ever-busy Ice Lady Tasha has no time for her questions. She tries to send the pink bug girl first to the desert, then the jungle, but compassionate Austin, Cowboy Pablo, and Tyrone of the Jungle help her out. All four kids end up learning that there is no real secret to snow...but the secret of friendship is to help others out and have fun doing it, to the tune of Dixieland versions of Christmas songs. (In fact, this would appear to be the closest thing The Backyardigans has to a Christmas episode. It ends with the kids saying "Happy Holidays," the only time they don't go home for a snack in the end.)
My personal favorite on the disc was "A Giant Problem." Queen Uniqua sends her wizards Tyrone and Pablo to get rid of Tasha the Giant, who keeps waking the Queen from her nap. Problem is, Tyrone and Pablo are hardly Harry Potter-quality wizards - none of their spells work right. Big, goofy Tasha doesn't really want to hurt them, anyway. All she wants is to play tag. The 80s synthesizer music brought back a lot of childhood memories.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Why Should We Hang Around and Wait For Summer Days To Celebrate?
Rose and I did get to Yogawood today...but the building wasn't open when we arrived at 9:20. Rose had a class and didn't want to hang around, and Collingswood hadn't quite cleared their sidewalks yet, so we just went back to my apartment. I made her tea, and we had a nice sisterly chat. She's feeling much better mentally after spending a week in the hospital, but she's now behind on classes. I just hope she doesn't literally drive herself crazy again.
I spent the rest of the morning doing my finances and working on my budget. As I figured, it would appear I didn't spend nearly as much last month as in December, which is as it should be. It'll likely be the same this month. I'll be getting my tax refund soon, but I'm definitely not going to blow a quarter of it on DVDs this year. There are a few things I genuinely need - cheap errands sneakers, a new CD/cassette player - but a lot of this is going into rent, bills, and the dentist.
It was a really lovely day when I finally headed for work. It was cold, but the sun was out and did melt a little of the snow. Some kids were out of school today, including most Philadelphia schools. Most New Jersey public-school kids had delayed openings. The roads were clear enough for me to take my bike. It was windy but nice, a little icy but nothing like the snow/sleet storm we had last week.
Work itself was dead as a doornail for most of the night and only picked up a little around the usual rush hour. I was out on time and there were no major problems, even with beginning-of-the-month people.
Rose and I did get to Yogawood today...but the building wasn't open when we arrived at 9:20. Rose had a class and didn't want to hang around, and Collingswood hadn't quite cleared their sidewalks yet, so we just went back to my apartment. I made her tea, and we had a nice sisterly chat. She's feeling much better mentally after spending a week in the hospital, but she's now behind on classes. I just hope she doesn't literally drive herself crazy again.
I spent the rest of the morning doing my finances and working on my budget. As I figured, it would appear I didn't spend nearly as much last month as in December, which is as it should be. It'll likely be the same this month. I'll be getting my tax refund soon, but I'm definitely not going to blow a quarter of it on DVDs this year. There are a few things I genuinely need - cheap errands sneakers, a new CD/cassette player - but a lot of this is going into rent, bills, and the dentist.
It was a really lovely day when I finally headed for work. It was cold, but the sun was out and did melt a little of the snow. Some kids were out of school today, including most Philadelphia schools. Most New Jersey public-school kids had delayed openings. The roads were clear enough for me to take my bike. It was windy but nice, a little icy but nothing like the snow/sleet storm we had last week.
Work itself was dead as a doornail for most of the night and only picked up a little around the usual rush hour. I was out on time and there were no major problems, even with beginning-of-the-month people.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Snow Fall
The snow was just beginning when I went to Dad's to do my laundry this morning, but it was too warm for it to stick to anything. The ground didn't get anything but wet. It's probably just as well. I was able to run to CVS and buy some sinus medicine. I stopped at the Oaklyn Library on the way back and bought The Sweetheart Season, which seems to be a kind of variation on the movie A League of Our Own - a mid-western woman who was in a woman's baseball team in 1947 tells the story to her daughter twenty years later. The women work for a cereal and flour mill that sounds a lot like General Mills, the maker of General Mills flour and Betty Crocker products, among other baking and food items. (They even have their own Betty Crocker, "Maggie Collins.")
By the time I went to work around quarter of 2, the snow still wasn't sticking, but it was coming down much harder and visibility was limited. I ended up getting a ride from Dad. I might have tried riding my bike if it the snow wasn't coming down so hard...and if it wasn't likely to stick later.
Dad made me think a bit about the Culinary School thing. I'd still like to look into it, but if possible, I'd like to avoid high-profile, high-stress jobs like being a chef in a major, busy restaurant...or on an ocean liner. I'd rather do something simple, maybe work for a smaller restaurant or a bakery. It's the same thing as with being a librarian. I don't want to do anything fancy. I just want to earn enough to live and maybe put a dollar or two away every month. I don't need a big house or tons of electronics - what would I do with them?
Work was quiet when I came in and when I left, but got very busy at rush hour, when everyone let out of work, saw the weather, and panicked. I'm glad all I needed after work was flour. I'll bet there's not a bottle of milk or a loaf of bread left in the whole store. (Or 6 packs of Canada Dry soda brands in cans - people were buying that 10 for $10 sale by the cart-loads today!)
Dad picked me up around 8. When I walked out of the Acme, I walked into a white world. Everything around me was white. The trees were covered with snow and seemed to melt into the grayish-white sky. The ground was nothing but white fluff, and the roads were getting pretty well-covered, too. It was really pretty, like a Christmas card. It's still snowing as I type this, and is supposed to continue into the morning. I think I can hear my neighbor attempting to shovel next-door.
The snow was just beginning when I went to Dad's to do my laundry this morning, but it was too warm for it to stick to anything. The ground didn't get anything but wet. It's probably just as well. I was able to run to CVS and buy some sinus medicine. I stopped at the Oaklyn Library on the way back and bought The Sweetheart Season, which seems to be a kind of variation on the movie A League of Our Own - a mid-western woman who was in a woman's baseball team in 1947 tells the story to her daughter twenty years later. The women work for a cereal and flour mill that sounds a lot like General Mills, the maker of General Mills flour and Betty Crocker products, among other baking and food items. (They even have their own Betty Crocker, "Maggie Collins.")
By the time I went to work around quarter of 2, the snow still wasn't sticking, but it was coming down much harder and visibility was limited. I ended up getting a ride from Dad. I might have tried riding my bike if it the snow wasn't coming down so hard...and if it wasn't likely to stick later.
Dad made me think a bit about the Culinary School thing. I'd still like to look into it, but if possible, I'd like to avoid high-profile, high-stress jobs like being a chef in a major, busy restaurant...or on an ocean liner. I'd rather do something simple, maybe work for a smaller restaurant or a bakery. It's the same thing as with being a librarian. I don't want to do anything fancy. I just want to earn enough to live and maybe put a dollar or two away every month. I don't need a big house or tons of electronics - what would I do with them?
Work was quiet when I came in and when I left, but got very busy at rush hour, when everyone let out of work, saw the weather, and panicked. I'm glad all I needed after work was flour. I'll bet there's not a bottle of milk or a loaf of bread left in the whole store. (Or 6 packs of Canada Dry soda brands in cans - people were buying that 10 for $10 sale by the cart-loads today!)
Dad picked me up around 8. When I walked out of the Acme, I walked into a white world. Everything around me was white. The trees were covered with snow and seemed to melt into the grayish-white sky. The ground was nothing but white fluff, and the roads were getting pretty well-covered, too. It was really pretty, like a Christmas card. It's still snowing as I type this, and is supposed to continue into the morning. I think I can hear my neighbor attempting to shovel next-door.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Change In Plans
I woke up too late to hit Yogawood this morning, so I just worked on editing the latest parts of this month's Monkees role-play instead and enjoyed the gorgeous, 45-degree day. Won't be staying that way for long. According to Yahoo!Weather, we're in for another, slightly heavier snow storm tomorrow. It says possibly two to four inches. Considering last week they said possibly one to two inches and we ended up with more like four or five, I'd brace myself.
It's just as well that I opted to stay home. Rose called, responding to my worried call to her yesterday. She says she did have an "episode" but is feeling better and willing to really go to Yogawood with me on Wednesday this time. I just have to remember to remind HER. Marlene, one of the front end managers at work, called me shortly before Rose did this morning and asked me to come in on Wednesday afternoon for one of the boys who had school. No problem there. I really need the extra hours, and I had no major plans on Wednesday that couldn't be done on Thursday.
I got out late and was almost late for work. Not a good thing today. Between the beginning of the month and the snow reports, the Acme was mobbed from about 2:30 onwards. There were a few annoying beginning-of-the-month people, but it was otherwise quick and painless and I was out on time.
I woke up too late to hit Yogawood this morning, so I just worked on editing the latest parts of this month's Monkees role-play instead and enjoyed the gorgeous, 45-degree day. Won't be staying that way for long. According to Yahoo!Weather, we're in for another, slightly heavier snow storm tomorrow. It says possibly two to four inches. Considering last week they said possibly one to two inches and we ended up with more like four or five, I'd brace myself.
It's just as well that I opted to stay home. Rose called, responding to my worried call to her yesterday. She says she did have an "episode" but is feeling better and willing to really go to Yogawood with me on Wednesday this time. I just have to remember to remind HER. Marlene, one of the front end managers at work, called me shortly before Rose did this morning and asked me to come in on Wednesday afternoon for one of the boys who had school. No problem there. I really need the extra hours, and I had no major plans on Wednesday that couldn't be done on Thursday.
I got out late and was almost late for work. Not a good thing today. Between the beginning of the month and the snow reports, the Acme was mobbed from about 2:30 onwards. There were a few annoying beginning-of-the-month people, but it was otherwise quick and painless and I was out on time.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Born to Run
I spent most of the morning on my usual Sunday chat with Mom. Mom herself is fine. Dad was at the dock with Keefe, whom he's paying to help with repairs around the boat. No, it's Rose and Anny who are in trouble.
Rose has had problems with depression in the past. Apparently, Craig found her depressed again. She's been hiding, not going out, not seeing anyone, talking suicide, not doing anything but school...again. She did this when she was in college in Washington DC around 2000-2001. I caught her once. It scared the living daylights out of me. According to Mom, she's now seeing a new therapist and is changing her medication, and both seem to be helping. I hope so. I've lost my grandmother, grandfather, and stepmother, and my favorite uncle has cancer. I don't want to lose a sister.
Anny's not doing great, either. Mom says her boyfriend Mike doesn't think their son Collyn is 100% his, despite the fact that everyone in Cape May County says the kid looks and acts just like him. They're going to have a whole custody battle and DNA tests and everything.
On the other hand, Mom had an excellent suggestion for me - Culinary School. It would be cheaper than trying to go to graduate school for library arts, and there must be a hundred fancy eateries and bakeries in Philly and the suburbs that could use pastry chefs. It would be something I could always do. As much as I love reading and books, I love to bake and cook, too. I've been thinking of writing cookbooks as well.
It was a lovely, sunny, reletively warm almost 50-degree day when I finally headed to work around quarter after 1. The Acme was packed, with long lines at every register and more than half the registers open. No surprise there. Not only is today the Super Bowl, but it's the first day of the month, and people are just getting their food stamps/government money/paychecks. I had no relief and left a little late, but other than that, work was perfectly fine and passed by quickly.
The moment I got off, I rushed home, changed my shirt, grabbed the pudding pie I made yesterday, and headed over to Uncle Ken's for his Super Bowl party. Everyone was there when I arrived - Samantha and David and their kids (who were playing bartender, with a few older kids kicking out little guys, much to their annoyance), Dolores and her kids and their kids (including tiny, almost year-old May), Mark, Vanessa, and Brittany, Dad, Jodie, Jodie's parents, and a couple of Uncle Ken's sports-obsessed buddies.
For once, the game was as good as the company. I only stayed for the first half, but one of the Steelers' running backs made an amazing 100-yard touchdown in the last few seconds of the second quarter, pulling them ahead. There were a batch of nifty 3-D commercials right after the first half (that NBC show Chuck looks almost kinda cute), and the Bruce Springsteen concert was downright amazing. He played two songs from the Born to Run album (which, ironically, I listened to this morning before the Beatles show), one new one, and "Glory Days." The Boss really was boss, with more energy than some people my age. It was a truly spectacular show.
And at press time, the Steelers just pulled ahead of the Cards and are winning 27-23, with just 23 seconds left in the game.
I spent most of the morning on my usual Sunday chat with Mom. Mom herself is fine. Dad was at the dock with Keefe, whom he's paying to help with repairs around the boat. No, it's Rose and Anny who are in trouble.
Rose has had problems with depression in the past. Apparently, Craig found her depressed again. She's been hiding, not going out, not seeing anyone, talking suicide, not doing anything but school...again. She did this when she was in college in Washington DC around 2000-2001. I caught her once. It scared the living daylights out of me. According to Mom, she's now seeing a new therapist and is changing her medication, and both seem to be helping. I hope so. I've lost my grandmother, grandfather, and stepmother, and my favorite uncle has cancer. I don't want to lose a sister.
Anny's not doing great, either. Mom says her boyfriend Mike doesn't think their son Collyn is 100% his, despite the fact that everyone in Cape May County says the kid looks and acts just like him. They're going to have a whole custody battle and DNA tests and everything.
On the other hand, Mom had an excellent suggestion for me - Culinary School. It would be cheaper than trying to go to graduate school for library arts, and there must be a hundred fancy eateries and bakeries in Philly and the suburbs that could use pastry chefs. It would be something I could always do. As much as I love reading and books, I love to bake and cook, too. I've been thinking of writing cookbooks as well.
It was a lovely, sunny, reletively warm almost 50-degree day when I finally headed to work around quarter after 1. The Acme was packed, with long lines at every register and more than half the registers open. No surprise there. Not only is today the Super Bowl, but it's the first day of the month, and people are just getting their food stamps/government money/paychecks. I had no relief and left a little late, but other than that, work was perfectly fine and passed by quickly.
The moment I got off, I rushed home, changed my shirt, grabbed the pudding pie I made yesterday, and headed over to Uncle Ken's for his Super Bowl party. Everyone was there when I arrived - Samantha and David and their kids (who were playing bartender, with a few older kids kicking out little guys, much to their annoyance), Dolores and her kids and their kids (including tiny, almost year-old May), Mark, Vanessa, and Brittany, Dad, Jodie, Jodie's parents, and a couple of Uncle Ken's sports-obsessed buddies.
For once, the game was as good as the company. I only stayed for the first half, but one of the Steelers' running backs made an amazing 100-yard touchdown in the last few seconds of the second quarter, pulling them ahead. There were a batch of nifty 3-D commercials right after the first half (that NBC show Chuck looks almost kinda cute), and the Bruce Springsteen concert was downright amazing. He played two songs from the Born to Run album (which, ironically, I listened to this morning before the Beatles show), one new one, and "Glory Days." The Boss really was boss, with more energy than some people my age. It was a truly spectacular show.
And at press time, the Steelers just pulled ahead of the Cards and are winning 27-23, with just 23 seconds left in the game.
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