Rhythm In Oaklyn

Began the morning with breakfast and Green Eggs and Ham. Guy sets himself up for a "Guyfall" when a careless word from him gets Looka captured by the wall guards. E.B blames him for spilling the beans and refuses to discuss it. Sam and Pam kidnap them and bring them to their home, but Guy distrusts Pam, pointing out that she still hasn't made green eggs and ham for him. Sam, however, loves his mother and ends up following her to deliver the Moo-Lacka-Moo to the Yooks.

Let Family Feud run as I made my grocery list. Though it was a little late, Buzzr ran a Valentine's Day special featuring the ladies of All My Children playing the ones from General Hospital. I rooted for General Hospital - my parents were big fans of that show in the 80's - but All My Children took an early lead and emerged victorious in the end. Ran into a few familiar faces here, including Emma Samms, Jacklyn Zemen (who would later be hilarious on Match Game '90), and Dorothy Lyman from Mama's Family. 

Headed out around 11 to make a quick grocery run. I didn't like the look of the weather. It was cloudy and windy, but also warm and humid. Wanted to get everything done as soon as possible. Started off at the Westmont Plaza. Sprouts had the Bobo's oat bars and Gold Nugget bumpy oranges on sale again. Found peanut butter cookies on the bakery clearance rack. Grabbed coconut milk here, too. Hit Dollar Tree really quick for soap before I moved on.

The Acme was only slightly busier than the pin-drop quiet Westmont Plaza had been. Mainly needed to restock yogurt, apples, and mozzarella cheese to snack on here. Made use of a $2 off baked goods online coupon to pick up a tub of coconut macaroon bites after I enjoyed the bag of coconut macaroons from Marshalls. 

Newton Lake Park wasn't much busier than the stores. I think I just missed the lunch crowd. It's beautiful down there now. The hill I pushed my bike over was covered in a thick golden carpet of buttercups, and the trees are just starting to turn the most delicate shades of lime green. Only the wind could be heard whistling over the treetops.

My last stop was the pretzel shop for lunch. Picked up two pretzels, a pepperoni-stuffed pretzel, and a can of Diet Pepsi. Unlike the stores, they were busy. I waited in a short line for a few minutes before I could get my orders.

Had lunch at home while watching Split Second. The first episode was really close. The young man who backpacked across Europe to see his favorite tennis star at Wimbledon barely got an early lead, but the two women kept catching up with him. He had fewer problems with the Countdown Round. He opted to return and try for the car again...then was beaten in the Countdown Round by a lady who had been behind the entire game. She figured she wouldn't get that lucky twice and opted to take a nice fur and money instead of the car.

Switched to Rhythm on the River while putting my groceries away and going through more things to donate. I go further into this 1940 comedy with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin as songwriters who don't realize they're ghostwriting for the same man at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rhythm On the River

Listened to records while doing job hunting. Nevada Fighter is probably the best of the albums Mike Nesmith made with his own band after he left The Monkees. "(Propinquity) I've Just Begun to Care," my favorite of his ballads, is on this album. He also does a nice recording of the Roy Rogers song "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Other good numbers here including "Grand Ennui," "Rainmaker," and the title song.

(Oh, and somewhere around 5 PM, I looked out the window and realized Johnson Avenue was very wet. It must have rained sometime before then. Thankfully, the real storm wouldn't arrive until nearly midnight. It's been going hard off and on since then.)

Worked on writing for a while after that. While searching for flowers on the path going through the woods, Kathleen encounters a majestic snow-white horse ridden by a handsome young blonde man in a fine royal suit. He condescendingly asks her where the town is, as he and his sister are late to a meeting with the Town Council and have no time to spend with peasant women. His sister is a beautiful golden-haired woman slightly older than her in a white and black carriage who, to Kathleen's surprise, claims to be Sir Michael's fiancee.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game '73 while I ate. Some interesting outfits in this one. Gene sports an ugly couch-cover plaid tweed coat, while Loretta Swit goes for a black halter top and red bow tie. Things get really wild when the contestant wins the Head-to-Head. Charles runs out and throws confetti, and Betty grabs Gene for a kiss!

Finished the night with more records after a shower. Most of the songs on Perry Como's Easy Listening two-disc set are from the late 50's-early 60's (though the set itself seems to date from 1971). "Make Someone Happy" is from a minor hit musical of the early 60's, Do-Re-Mi. We also get Como's biggest and most familiar hit, "Dream Along With Me." Other familiar numbers include "Over the Rainbow," "Girl of My Dreams," "Hello Young Lovers," and "Sleepy Time Gal."

I have a couple of George Benson albums I haven't gotten around to hearing yet. Thought I'd sneak In Your Eyes from 1983 in tonight after Perry Como finished. "Lady Love Me" and "Being With You" were the hits here. Other songs I liked include the title song, "Late at Night," and "In Search of a Dream." 

The Wacky Races

Began the morning with breakfast and Spring for Strawberry Shortcake, one of the specials that kicked off the 2003 series. Strawberry and her friends are upset that spring seems to be running late this year. If it doesn't show up soon, they won't be able to plant their crops, tend their flowers, or bake their goodies. Huckleberry Pie is more interested in goofing off with Custard the cat than planting anything. Strawberry and her dog Pupcake go off in search of spring, and learn how, if we work together, work can be fun in its own right. 

Headed off to work soon as the cartoon ended. Work didn't start off busy, but we got a huge spurt around 11. Huge and messy. I had to clean up a soda spill on one of the electric carts and put away a cartful of cold items that had been left laying around the store. That put me behind on doing the carts, which meant there were none up front by the time I did get to them. Thankfully, I was able to get them finished just minutes before I left. 

At least the weather was gorgeous. It remains sunny and warm, if humid. The breeze had picked up a bit by the time I hurried home. So did the traffic on Nicholson Road. No wonder we were busy earlier. 

(Also, I noticed as I cut through Oaklyn that Heartbeat Nutrition seems to have closed. There's no sign indicating hours on the door, the tables and chairs are pushed against the wall, and everything else is gone. On one hand, I'm not surprised. Given how overpriced they were and the competition across West Clinton and on the White Horse Pike, they're probably lucky they lasted as long as they did. 

On the other hand, they said nothing about closing when I bought that Irish potato milkshake there two weeks ago. I wish businesses would start giving people notice when they shut down and remember how it affects the community.)

Went straight home and into Let's Make a Deal when I got home. Monty started off acknowledging a group of people in similar pink, brown, and white striped outfits and scarecrow makeup in the audience. Turned out they were Baskin Robbins employees attending their "Ice Cream University." Two of them were in the costumed audience, though they didn't do well on a game that required them to price items and missed a car. The Big Deals of the Day went to a young woman dressed as an Arabian beauty and a guy in a fuzzy hat and poncho. I'm not sure he was too thrilled with a microwave, knives, and a small color TV, but I don't think she was complaining about a trip to Florida and the Bahamas.

Put on The Great Race while I rested and had a snack. The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) and Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) are rival daredevils in 1908 New York who constantly scheme to one-up each other with fantastic stunts. Fate hopes to finally get the upper hand on Leslie during a (real-life) car race from New York to Paris. Also taking part in the race is liberated journalist Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood), who is driving for the New York Sentinel to get the inside story. 

Professor Fate's constant sabotage eventually leaves only him and his lackey Max (Peter Falk) and Leslie, Maggie, and Leslie's partner Hezekiah (Keenan Wynn) in the race. They have to dodge many obstacles, from a bar brawl out west to an epic pie fight and a Prisoner of Zenda takeoff at a small European country, in order to see who really is the most daring man around.

This wasn't a huge hit at the time, but for all the weirdness, I think it's worn pretty well. Lemmon and Falk put in some of their best performances as the silent screen villains who just can't win unfairly. Also look for Dorothy Provine and Larry Storch out west, Vivian Vance as the strong-willed wife of the newspaper editor who is the one that actually sponsors Maggie, and Ross Martin as the Rupert of Hentzau-esque Baron Rolf Von Stuppe in the Ruritania segment. He and Curtis even get into a bare-chested sword fight. If you love very goofy slapstick comedies or the cast and don't mind the 2 1/2 hour run time, you'll have a great time traveling with these wacky racers.

Sent the City of Camden my college transcripts for the clerk job I put in an application for, then worked on writing. Mrs. Rowland sends Kathleen to retrieve the few remaining flowers from the garden after she cuts a bouquet too short. Turns out rabbits got there first and ate the last of the flowers. She has no choice but to disobey Mrs. Rowland's orders and go into the forbidding dark forest for flowers...

Put on Match Game '73 while eating dinner. Brett sits in the ingenue seat next to Richard, while Loretta Swit is in the character actress seat this week. Charles returns, and Nipsey and Betty join in. In fact, this would be Nipsey's first week on the show. Nipsey's rhyming prowess comes in handy during a question about where a man who is no longer in the pink landed. The contestant said "Pokey"...and of course, there is a word that rhymes with pink and is another word for jail. There's also Gene's microphone breaking down suddenly. He and the contestant have to use the smaller wired mike on his tie. We also get our first Cleopatra question...and our first of many times we hear the same answer

Finished the night with another historical race set in the early 1900's. Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines take to the skies in a somewhat similar race from 1910. This time, everyone's competing to see who can get from London to Paris over the English Channel first. Noblewoman Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles) wishes her stubborn father Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley) would let her go up in a plane. She generally settles for admiring her handsome boyfriend Richard Mays (James Fox) and his feats.

Mays is the one who suggests the cross-Channel trip for publicity purposes. He's really hoping to earn enough money to marry Patricia. She, however, finds the rugged American entrant Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) far more to her liking. Italian aviator Count Emilio Ponticelli (Alberto Sordi) keeps getting new planes and wrecking them. The German entrant Colonel Holstein (Gert Frobe) enlists an entire army to keep his plane in the air, while Frenchman Pierre Dubois (Jean-Pierre Cassel) keeps seeing what seems like the same woman with different accents and national costumes (Irina Demick). Japanese flyer Yamamoto (Yujiro Ishihara) is the nicest guy there, while the other English racer Sir Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) is determined to win the race by any underhanded means necessary. 

I give them credit for at least letting actors of the appropriate nationalities portray the flyers. No fake accents here. They did dub the Japanese guy, but otherwise, they're all the real thing...which makes the satire of national stereotypes even funnier and a lot easier to take. Whitman is a bit more interesting than Fox as the cowboy who spends his last dime to enter the race, but it's the supporting cast who really shine here. 

Cassel and Frobe in particular have a great time needling each other in the first half, and the gag with Dubois seeing the same woman everywhere in different outfits and accents is pretty funny, too. There's also Terry-Thomas as the spoiled nobleman who wants to win just because he can and Benny Hill as the fire chief. Miles has a great time as the strong-willed noblewoman who just wants to fly, and wishes Newton would quit tearing off her skirt.

Honestly, if you can handle the 2 and a half hour run time on both movies, this might make a nice double feature with The Great Race. I think Race is slightly better, but both are a lot of fun if you love comic period pieces, epic comedies, 60's comedy, or either cast. 

On the Sunny Side of the Mall

I slept so late, Press Your Luck was on by the time I got moving. Watched that while I had a quick breakfast and rounded up everything I wanted to drop off at Goodwill and elsewhere. It was a battle between the female champ and the other lady today. The young man kept hitting Whammies. The older lady finally came out on top with cash and a motorboat she said she intended to give to her husband for their anniversary to fish in. They were just starting the second episode when I headed out on my loaded bike.

First up were a few very quick stops. Dropped a bag of clothes into the bin behind Dollar General. Two books went into a children's kiosk in front of the Lutheran church and another one near the end of Kendall Boulevard.

When I got to Audubon Crossings, I locked my bike at the rack on the Acme's patio, then hauled the larger bag to the back of the Goodwill. After I dropped that off, I went around front to check out Ross and Marshalls. No luck at Ross, but I did find a few things at Marshalls. They always have a great selection of unusual snacks and goodies in the back. I chose a bag of confetti coconut macaroons and a small container of honey. They had big colorful microfiber cloths I thought would make a nice replacement for using up paper towels. Grabbed a strawberry-themed journal for when the one I got from Linda Young runs out.

Headed to Goodwill next. Didn't do as well here as I have the last couple of times I hit them, but I did come up with a few things. Grabbed a green LL Bean sleeveless polo shirt off the sleeveless shirt rack that was practically new. Dug a two-disc DVD set for It's a Wonderful Life off the shelf with the DVDs and CDs and the original cast of the off-Broadway rock adaptation of Twelfth Night, Your Own Thing, from under a pile of records.  Found a recent American Girl cookbook with recipes from around the world with the books. 

Went across the parking lot to Tu Se Bella's Pizza next for a late lunch. Given it was past 3 by this point, they were totally empty except for the employees. The TV wasn't even on. I enjoyed my two slices of broccoli, shrimp, and cheese pizza and a bottle of Diet Pepsi in total peace and quiet.

The main reason I wanted to do this today was to get my hair cut. Great Cuts is a few doors down from Tu Se Bella's. I picked the right time to do it, too. There was only one guy in front of me, and he was just getting his buzz cut trimmed. I got it cut and layered much shorter this time, to chin length. I absolutely love it. My curls are so bouncy and cute now, and a lot less frizzy. I can't let my hair get too long. It frizzes badly even just at shoulder length.

My last stop at Audubon Crossings was Lane Bryant. Having had good luck with their bras, I wanted to see what their underwear was like. I wasn't paying $35 for five pairs, but $3 per pair was more reasonable. I dug through a $3 bin and walked out with six. 

Made my way down Nicholson and over to Merchant Street and downtown Audubon next. I needed a cupcake from Desserts By Design. They were busy with people picking up treats after work, but I did manage to order a "whipped brownie cupcake" from the sweet young woman behind the counter. It turned out to be a moist, rich dark chocolate cupcake with whipped topping mixed with brownie bits and a chunk of brownie on top. Oh, yum. Sweet and fudgey and super-chocolatey. 

Besides, it was too gorgeous to head home right away. The weather was even nicer today than yesterday. Sunny, windless, and very warm, into the mid-70's. I wore shorts for the first time since early last October. 

Rode by Family Dollar and saw they were opened, so I figured I'd stop in this time. Finally got the pack of underwear I'd wanted all along. Also grabbed two packs of hydrated electrolyte drink mix in berry blue and lemon lime. They too were busy with people on their way home from work, but I managed to get out by quarter of 5.

Went straight into Rhythm on the Range when I got home. I go further into Bing Crosby's only western vehicle that also introduced Martha Raye to movie audiences at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rhythm on the Range

Did some job searching for a while, then watched Match Game '73 while eating leftovers for dinner. Jack Klugman was nervous as heck when he was called on to do "Baked __" for the Head-to-Head...then proceeds to surprise himself and Brett by doing much better than expected. This is from around when the questions were getting slightly racier, leading to some interesting answers from the panel.

Took a much-needed shower, then finished the night with Johnny Mathis: The First 25 Years. Sadly, this two-disc set proved to be disappointing in more than one way. While it did include hits like "Misty" and "Chances Are," it also had more recent songs like "It Doesn't Have to Hurt Every Time" and a remix of "The Way You Look Tonight" that were made to sound more like the disco music just going out of fashion in 1980. They're glaringly out-of-place among songs like "Wonderful Wonderful," "When Sunny Gets Blue," and even the more traditional hit duet "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" with Denise Williams. 

If you're a fan of him like I am, you'll want this for some of the more unusual tracks, but casual fans and newcomers might be better off looking for earlier or later greatest hits collection with a more traditional sound.

Eclipses and Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Takes His Time" to tape the drawing he made to welcome Grandpere on the door. He learns more about the importance of going slow when an overeager Prince Tuesday spills flour when they go shopping for ingredients to make raisin bread, and then he gets bread batter on Grandpere after mixing too quickly. "Sometimes, It's Good to Go Slow," especially on a school nature hike. Daniel tries to rush sewing the pocket intended to carry things he finds on the hike and ends up losing what he finds. Miss Elaina rushes around so much, she misses the butterfly she badly wanted to see.

Switched to the Bob Eubanks Card Sharks as I got ready to head out. I believe the episode was from 1987, by which time the hostesses had stopped wearing those cute majorette-like uniforms and contestants could win a car along with cash from the Money Board. We had a sweet young Asian woman and a cocky college student in a mullet playing the game I saw. She kept getting the right answers, but he finally made it all the way to the end of his board and won the game.

Headed out before the show ended. I really wanted to run a few errands on the White Horse Pike. My first stop was supposed to be Dollar General...but I arrived to discover workers moving in and out with paint cans and nails. Signs on the door indicated they were remodeling until Thursday.

Didn't have any more luck with Family Dollar three blocks down. They should have been open, but they weren't. There was a sign on the door that claimed due to "unforeseen circumstances," they were closed for the day. Peering in the store window revealed nothing out of the ordinary or amiss. I suspect those "unforeseen circumstances" were likely so many of their workers called out to see the eclipse, they had no one to run the store.

I ended up walking back into the other direction to CVS, mainly because I had no idea where else to go. They had the underwear I was looking for, but not in the sizes I wanted. I did find the most adorable stuffed bunny half-off for $4.99. She's pure white, with super-soft lop ears, large black button eyes, a stitched-on flowered jacket, and a green shirt with a blue Peter Pan collar. I named her Violet, after the flowers on her jacket. I also picked up pads and a Mountain Dew Zero for later.

It was such a gorgeous day, I went for a walk in Newton Lake Park across the street. I couldn't help thinking how right Daniel and his friends were. Sometimes, it is good to go slow. I enjoyed the warm sun and cool breeze on my face and the sound of mimosa pods crunching under my feet. A mother pushed her toddler daughter in a stroller, while a little boy ran around the patio on the water. Had fun going down that wonderfully bumpy roller slide, too. 

Saw five turtles and a fat duck sunning themselves on a thick branch stretching into the water near the little stone bridge. Two fishermen taught their sons how to catch the big one as I strolled by. Another thick log further along the path had no less than fifteen turtles basking in the sunshine. The banks of the lake are a heavy carpet of emerald green and golden buttercups and sunburst dandelions. 

And yes, it was gorgeous today. You'd never know the weather was so horrible last week. Fresh breezes and soft sunshine in a radiant blue sky. It was much warmer, probably in the mid-60's, about as perfect as one could wish in early April.

Went straight into peanut butter and jelly, a tangelo, and tortilla chips for lunch when I got home while watching Split Second. The woman who definitively won the first show had a far harder time in the second. In fact, it was a really close game. Anyone could have won. She just barely pulled ahead in the Countdown Round. I guess she figured one close call was enough. She ended up taking a lovely tan fur coat home instead of trying for the car again. 

Left it on Let's Make a Deal as I started to go through everything in the house. I'm going to take one more bag to Goodwill and deposit a clothes bag in one of the collection bins tomorrow. Started with clearing out more than half the pens I keep acquiring from job fairs. Ditched all of the soft balls but two squishy foam fruit from Wonderful Citrus and Sprouts that I keep on my desk to relieve stress. Cleared out all but four note pads and two cups. Pulled three books for the kiosks and a small pile of records and CDs I didn't want.

Stripped the sheets and six blankets off the bed. It's time to turn over the mattress and put on the lighter sheets I use for spring and fall. I only need two blankets now too, my blue and tan striped comforter and the green afghan Mom knitted me years ago. I couldn't find the bag I originally used for the blankets, but I did find the plastic container with old cards. I cleared out all of them but two. (And I did find the bag in the larger closet where I keep the cleaning supplies and doll clothes.) 

After I took the laundry downstairs, I put on The Brass Bottle while taking old boxes and cards downstairs and going through the closets. Architect Harold Ventimore (Tony Randall) picks up an antique Arabian bottle at auction. His fiancee Sylvia (Barbara Eden) and boss William Beevor (Philip Ober) thinks he got gypped, but he wants it to impress Sylvia's father Professor Anthony Kenton (Edward Andrews). He gets a lot more than he bargained for when he forces it open and releases a genie, Fakrash (Burl Ives), who can give him his every wish. 

Things go haywire almost immediately. No one believes Harold when he tries to explain who turned his apartment into an Arabian Knights palace, made a dancing harem girl (Kamala Devi) appear, or transformed the Professor into a donkey. Fakrash has been in a bottle for 3,000 years and has no idea how life in the early 60's works, or that normal people no longer believe everything they see. Harold just hopes he can square things away with Sylvia, before he ends up in a loony bin. 

I had no idea this was based on a British novel that goes all the way back to 1900. It would also later inspire I Dream of Jeannie, which featured Eden as the genie who grants unwanted wishes. It's not all that far removed from Jeannie or Bewitched in this era, with its obvious backlot sets, green-screen backdrops, and cast of TV comedy veterans. Randall gets a rare chance at the spotlight here and plays well off the folksy Ives as the most laid-back genie you'll ever meet. If you love the cast or the fantasy-oriented comedies of the 60's, you might get a kick out of this modern Arabian Nights fable.

Moved to A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery after that ended and I put the laundry in the dryer. Hannah Swenson (Alison Sweeney) loves owning a cookie shop and cafe and baking up detectable treats for the residents of her small Minnesota town. She's not as happy when her delivery man Ron (Jason Cermak) turns up shot to death behind her store. The sheriff calls in Detective Mike Kingston (Cameron Mathieson) from Minneapolis to help solve the crime. Hannah has her own ideas of whodunnit, but Mike won't listen. There's also the cute and slightly dorky dentist Norman (Gabriel Hogan) whom her mother Delores (Barbara Niven) keeps shoving at her.

Honestly, it's been so long since I read Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, I have no idea I this is anything like the book. I do know that Sweeney is a charming Hannah and her adventures figuring out what's going on are enjoyable, even if her beaus are even more interchangeable here than they tend to be in the books (and the movies, of course, lack the tasty-sounding recipes ever book includes). 

Took down some old cards and notes outside to recycle at one point. I heard a bunch of people talking about the eclipse that was supposed to happen today. If there was an eclipse, it was hard to tell with the cloud cover that had appeared shortly after I got home. And of course, the clouds vanished not long after the eclipse happened. 

Did some job hunting, then worked on writing for a while. The renamed Sir Michael is said to be a handsome but quiet recluse who prefers the company of the books in his vast library to people, yet is bringing home a fiance from his country estates. Kathleen hopes she's as kind and gentle as Michael, but Mrs. Rowland points out that a shy man like Michael is vulnerable to the dark sorceresses who live in the country.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Buzzr leaped all the way back to Match Game '73. In fact, these were the earliest episodes I'd seen them run. It was the first of three weeks Brett and Jack Klugman were on the same panel, and the first of two where they sat next to each other. Robert Culp didn't play that well and didn't seem to get the comedy vibes, but Pat Carroll was so funny and seemed to enjoy herself so much, I wish she returned later in the series. 

Finished the night on YouTube running vintage word and spelling-themed game shows. Match Game and Password are the long-runner word association champs. Both were major hits in their original runs and in revival, and both continue to be revived today. There's a version of Password on NBC now that started in 2022. I went with a 1976 Match Game episode where a noisy Jimmie Walker sat in for a late Charles Nelson Reilly, and a Password Plus episode from 1980 with Ron Masak and Loretta Swit.

Their success spawned many imitation word association shows. You Don't Say with Tom Kennedy originally debuted in 1963. By the time it ended its run in 1969, it had been retooled as a blatant Password clone. Two celebrities describe a phrase or name using other words. Contestants have to guess what they're describing. This was honestly a pretty tough game. It's one thing to describe words with other words. It's something else to try to explain parts of them. I have to admire Don Grady and Tina Cole of My Three Sons for doing even remotely well. 

Blankety Blanks from 1975 has more in common with the later Whew! Two celebrities pair with contestants to help them solve punny fill-in-the-blanks puzzles. Bill Cullen would choose a card from a huge electronic wheel that would pick the point value. Though the wheel was admittedly cool, there's not much else here to distinguish this from other shows of the period. 

Chain Reaction, another Bill Cullen show, has an even rougher history. Cullen's original 1980 NBC version only lasted a few months before being yanked off the air and replaced with The David Letterman Show. Reruns proved popular enough on USA for a streamlined Canadian version without celebrities to turn up on that channel in 1986. This is the version I know best. I used to love watching people figure out which word in the chain came next. I'm more familiar with Geoff Edwards as the host, but Blake Emmonds hosts the early episode I have here. 

NBC did far better six years later with Scrabble. Chuck Woolery hosted this late 80's hit based on the popular board game. Two contestants compete to complete letters on a CGI Scrabble board. The winner would face off with the returning champion in the Scrabble Sprint and solve words as quickly as possible. I wish Sony would consider reviving this one. It's just as fast-paced and fun to watch as the actual Scrabble game and might make a nice companion for the current NBC Password. 

Wish NBC had been as kind to Wordplay. This only made a year in 1987, despite it being absolutely hilarious. Three celebrities give three different descriptions of words. The two contestants have to decide which is the real description. Tom Kennedy returns to keep Phyllis Diller, Clifton Davies, and Art McTrannell on track.

Another show I wish would return is The Cross-Wits. This is basically Crossword Plus. Gentlemanly Jack Clark presides over four celebrities who help two contestants figure out crossword puzzles that relate to a subject. The winners get a prize in addition to money. Their Crossfire bonus round has Jack reading clues, and them having to solve 10 words from the clues in 60 seconds. Vicki Lawrence, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Bobby Van, and Elaine Joyce are the celebrities here. 

Game Show Network's most recent venture into word games is Tug of Words. Based on tug of war, this one is sort of like a cross between Chain Reaction and Scrabble. Two teams have to make chains of words. The more chains they make, the more they "tug," and the more points they get. Too bad this only managed a year and a half on GSN. This is fast-paced and a lot of fun to watch. 

Leap into spring solving these complicated word puzzles with your friends and family! (And warning that the copies of Wordplay and The Cross-Wits are not in the best of shape, but there aren't too many episodes of those online. You Don't Say comes with its original commercials.)

You Don't Say (1969)

Blankety Blanks (1975)

Match Game (1976)

The Cross-Wits (1977)

Password Plus (1980)

The New Chain Reaction (1986)

Wordplay (1987)

Scrabble (1990)

Tug of Words (2022)

Sunshine Matches

Began the morning with breakfast, The Secret Garden, and the Over the Rainbow CD. This is a budget collection of mostly songs from what sounds like a Garland concert. Sounds of the audience are easily heard under - and sometimes over - most of the songs. The title number is the only non-live recording, likely one of her pop versions. "Too Late Now," "When You're Smiling," and "It's All for Me" don't sound too bad, but her belting doesn't work on slower numbers like "You Go to My Head." If you're a fan of hers and run into this, it's worth checking out, but casual listeners and those hunting for essential Garland will want to look elsewhere.

Didn't get the chance to finish the CD before I hurried out. Work was really busy when I got in. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts at first, especially when they kept throwing me into other things like taking cold items back or cleaning the bathroom when the only thing that needed to be done was the trash. The crowds began to subside around noon; the afternoon bagger arrived shortly after and took over the sweeping and trash. In fact, it died so hard by 2, I got the carts finished and spent my last hour returning unwanted items.

Made a very short stop on my way home. Today is Rose's birthday, so I headed a block or so down Kendall to drop off her gift card. I didn't see her around. She probably took the family out to enjoy a lovely day. I left her card in the mailbox and rode home. I hope they did get out. The weather was a vast improvement today over the past week. By 3:30, the wind had diminished, the clouds were almost gone, and it was much warmer, probably in the mid-50's.

Finished out the Judy Garland CD when I got home, then switched to The Commitments while eating dinner. I had the soundtrack on cassette as a kid, but it's long gone. It's as good as I remember it. "Mustang Sally" and "Try a Little Tenderness" were the hits, but my favorites came from the female singers. I've always loved their "Destination Anywhere," "I Can't Stand the Rain," and "I Never Loved a Man."

Ended the night at YouTube with that Bill Daily marathon Match Game Productions couldn't run yesterday. Comedian and character actor Daily was one of the more popular semi-regulars. He appeared pretty much throughout the entire run of the series, from late 1973 through The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1984. He switched between the first and fifth seats after Richard Dawson left, doing well with both. He was known for being very twitchy and for his oddball answers that matched Joyce Bulifant's in their strangeness (and lack of matching). 

When Bill was excited, he was inclined to do just about anything. He nearly took off his clothes when he landed a right answer on a Head-to-Head. Another time, he exclaimed "I'm gonna be kissed by a man!" after he hit a really big answer. (Patty Duke actually took over that duty.) He showed off the navy jacket Gene Rayburn gave him for his second wedding during the very last episode of the syndicated series in 1979. He and the rest of the panel barely survived a week during the later syndicated shows where the audience was so rowdy, Gene was right that they sounded like the cast of Animal House. 

Bill seemed to have a lot of trouble with chairs in later episodes. In one syndicated episode, his chair sunk below the desk. (The very same chair that broke on Bob Barker the year before, in fact.) He ended up sitting on a director's chair that was too high. Another time, he took off the chair to lower it, only to forget and sit on the pointy base! Needless to say, his voice was higher for a few minutes after that. Gene had to take him offstage to get him tended to.

Come fly the wacky skies with Bob Newhart's favorite neighbor and Alf's favorite psychologist in this marathon that's nutty as the man himself!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Featuring Bill Daily On the Panel

Winds and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Green Eggs and Ham. E.B does manage to make it back to the house in "You Only Mom Twice," but she's caught anyway when guards find the Fun Pass Guy gave her. Guy's happier that the Dookess hired Michellee to paint for her. Sam and Pam have their own problems trouble on an island in the Keela-Key Trapezoid. A laid-back islander named Bo reveals that the further into the jungle you go, the younger you become. Pam finally learns what it's like to be a mother - and why that's important - when she has to rescue a young Sam and the Moo-Lacka-Moo from the jungle's animal residents.

Headed off to work after that. Work was, once again, a pain in the rear. I got fussed at by an old woman for not taking a corner careful enough around her. Putting away an entire cart of cold items put me behind doing the carts. Managers complained about my mixing up the numbers when I sign in the sweeps, too. We have to sign in sweeping the store every hour on the hour, but I get the number of where I swept mixed in my head. We were busy for most of the morning, though it did slow down somewhat in the afternoon. 

At least the weather remains decent. It was pretty much the same as yesterday, windy and chilly, with in-and-out clouds. And once again, the clouds vanished by the time I finished.

Had a lot of grocery shopping to do, since I'm not going to make it to Sprouts or Target this week. Needed a gift card for Rose's birthday tomorrow. Restocked yogurt, Tangelos, apples, granola bars, and popcorn. The Acme's lightly salted and roasted almonds were even cheaper than Target's. Figured I deserved a slice of cake with a 2-dollar off online coupon just for surviving this week.

Went straight home after that and into Trolls Band Together. I go further into this candy-colored boy band spoof at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Trolls Band Together

Listened to the soundtrack of For Me and My Gal while I worked on the review. Judy Garland and Gene Kelly (the latter in his first movie) are the headliners in this celebration of vaudeville and World War I from 1940. Though you can't see their adorable dance, their version of the title song remains charming and lovely. Garland also gets a few good numbers during the World War I medley, including "After You've Gone" and "Pack Up Your Troubles." 

Match Game Productions was originally going to do a marathon for Bill Daily tonight, but he had trouble running it and switched to Jo Ann Pflug instead. I like both, so either one would be fine by me. Jo Ann was one of the most popular and smartest women to sit in the fourth "ingenue" seat. Though bubbly and occasionally goofy, she was also sassy enough to keep Gene Rayburn and Richard Dawson at bay. She appeared frequently from 1973 through 1975. She turned up less often thereafter as she focused on her children, with her last appearance being during the syndicated run in 1980. 

Jo Ann was delighted in one early episode to show off her newly-acquired tap dancing skills. Richard happily joked about her Marines t-shirt, and he and Gene tried to take her "Kiss Me" tee literally! Jo Ann may have been the closest any of the women got to Richard Dawson in matching the contestants. She very rarely missed, including a big $10,000 win on a 1977 PM episode.

Tap your way into spring with this nurse from the MASH film turned TV favorite!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Featuring Jo Ann Pflug On the Panel

Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

Began the morning with breakfast and Charlie and Lola. "It's Raining, It's Boring" Lola moans when it pours too hard to take Marv's dog Sizzles to the park. All the games Charlie and Marv come up with are for two, until they find a way to amuse Lola and them too.

Headed off to work after the cartoon ended; made it there just in time. Though we were once again busy during most of the day, it generally went a lot better than Wednesday. The weather was better, for once thing. Yes, it was gale-force windy and chilly, but it was also mostly sunny without the tiniest bit of precipitation. Clouds were in and out for a lot of the day, but they'd finally vanished by the time I went home. 

I was surprised when I went on my break and checked my phone to find that a friend from the YouTube Match Game chats had messaged me, asking me if I was ok. Apparently, there was an earthquake that centered in North Jersey. It wasn't a huge one, but it was enough that the tremors were felt from Washington DC to Massachusetts. Lauren texted me just minutes later and said someone mentioned feeling it in her area, though she never did. I didn't, either. I had no idea there was an earthquake until they told me. I was pushing carts at the time the earthquake happened and focusing entirely on that.

My schedule's an improvement, too. While I only work two early days next week, I also put in for two vacation days. Tuesday was just a random day off I took to use up the time, but Saturday will kick off my birthday weekend. It means I'll still be getting a decent paycheck despite the lack of hours. 

Once I got home, I changed and relaxed my sore legs while watching Match Game '77. Roz Kelly from Happy Days did her second and last week on the show, joined by Craig Morris from Vega$ and Joyce Bulifant. At one point near the end, a guy in the audience was brought onstage to give Roz a kiss. She said he was even better than Henry Winkler, leading Gene to call him "the new Fonz." Gene later comments on a contestant's flower-painted toenails, prompting Charles to come out with his own colored nails.

Had dinner while watching Match Game '91. We met a sweet young man from Arkansas here, leading to many southern jokes from the panel. Sally Struthers discusses the new show she was doing a voice for, Dinosaurs, while Jimmie Walker yells at the audience when they don't get his goofy answers.

Finished the night after a shower at Amazon Prime with The Secret of NIMH. Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) needs to move from her cinder block home and away from the farmer's plow, but her son Timothy (Ian Fried)  has pneumonia and can't leave his bed. On advice from family friend Auntie Shrew (Hermione Badderly), she goes to see The Great Owl (John Carradine). He suggests she seek the aid of the rats who live in the rose bush. They're former lab rats who have developed a whole society in the bush, but must steal electricity and other items from the farmer to keep their civilization alive. 

Elderly head rat Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi) gives her an amulet and tells about how her husband Johnathan once helped the rats out of a jam. He wants to move the rats to a sheltered valley where they can live without stealing, but there's a splinter faction lead by treacherous Jenner (Paul Shenar) who thinks things are fine the way they are. Mrs. Brisby gets caught in the crossfire when she agrees to drug Dragon, and later when matters come to a head when they're moving the house. It's Mrs. Brisby herself who ultimately saves her home and her children, proving that the real magic comes from a loving and courageous heart.

This has been one of my favorite animated movies since it first turned up on cable around 1983. I also consider it to be by far Don Bluth's best work. Even Anastasia and the original Land Before Time can't compare to the imagination and maturity of this film. The soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith is one of the best ever written for an animated film, and Paul Williams' song "Flying Dreams" is gorgeous. Three gristly on-screen deaths, violence, the scary sequences with Dragon and The Great Owl, and frank discussions of death, illness, grief, and animal testing makes this for older elementary school animal lovers on up and their parents. 

Busy Day In the Spring

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo on Tubi. "The Demon of the Dugout" has scared away the Japanese and American teams who are playing each other for the Baseball Diamond, a trophy that's topped with a real diamond. Daphne, Fred, and Velma try to figure out where the demon is coming from and what he's after, while Shaggy and the dogs sample sushi and other Japanese cuisine.

Called Uber around 10:30 after the cartoon ended. I wanted to hit the Cherry Hill Library for their tri-annual book sale. The one going there only took 4 minutes. Had a harder time getting a ride home, probably because it was the lunch rush hour by the time I left. They arrived in 11 minutes. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't that bad, even going home. I got there within 20 minutes.

The Cherry Hill Library is likely the largest library building in the area. Their book sale takes up most of the meeting rooms and main room on the basement floor. In fact, it was even bigger than the one I went to last July. Tables groaning with DVDs, audiobooks, CDs, and boxes of records greeted me as I got off the elevator. The children's and adult books took up two separate meeting rooms. The room with the children's books was too full for me to really explore that one, but I did make good finds everywhere else. I ultimately came up with: 

Two CDs, the four-disc Readers Digest set The Best Bands of All Time and the original cast recording of Into the Heights.

Three LPs, Paul Tripp reading a musical Snow White for Golden Records and a two-disc Perry Como set, Easy Listening.

Two DVDs, To Kill a Mockingbird and There's No Business Like Show Business (the latter will likely be reviewed for my musical blog either later this month or sometime next month).

Four books: 

A Bear Called Paddington - Michael Bond (the only thing I managed to fish out of the children's area)

Death by Dumpling - Vivien Chien (been wanting to try this series, but could never find the first book) (paperbacks)

Game of Cones - Cynthia Baxter (Haven't been able to find more of this series, either.)

Little Black Book - Katie Carlisle (hardbacks)

I was home long enough to grab a quick lunch before Karen picked me up for this week's job session. We mostly discussed the applications I've put in over the past few weeks and the three resumes I handed out at the job fair. There was just enough time to put in an application for a secretarial job at Marlton tax firm Marcum before I had to head off to my next appointment. Karen dropped me off, once I reminded her where the PNC in Collingswood is.

Things went less well at PNC. My financial advisor did the paperwork to open an account with Lincoln Financial for the money that's currently at John Hancock. I want my money in an account that's a lot less likely to jump up and down. It's back up to where it was three years ago. I want it to grow, not fall. Trouble is, he wanted to know more about how the taxes would work and how exactly they'd move the money into the account. He suggested I find a certified accountant and ask them. I've never needed an accountant. Why bother, when you can do your own taxes for far cheaper and have never had money to invest until the last two years? I'm going to have to ask around and see who the best person to ask would be.

It rained again while I was at PNC. The rain was long gone by the time I finished there, but it remained cloudy and cold. I still opted to walk home. Stopped at WaWa for a grape Propel and soft pretzel, then headed across Collingswood. Normally, I would have cut through Newton Lake Park, but as Karen pointed out earlier, a lot of it remained flooded from yesterday.

Soon as I got home, I vacuumed and dusted my rooms and the staircase while watching At the Circus. I go further into the Marx Brothers movie that introduced Groucho's hilarious number "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

At the Circus

After the movie ended, I applied to a job as a clerk typist with the Camden Housing Authority, then worked on writing. Kathleen is more than a little surprised when Mrs. Rowland claims Sir Kenneth, a wealthy and gentle recluse, will be returning home from his country estates. Kathleen assumed he went there for solitude, but Mrs. Rowland says she thinks he was having talks with Mother Nature herself about spring being late. It's also rumored that he may be bringing home a prospective bride, which disappoints Kathleen, who has a crush on him.

Watched Paw Patrol as I worked. "Pups Save Apollo" when Rubble falls asleep during a marathon of his favorite superhero show and dreams he and the others help Apollo the Wonder Pup rescue cute little bunnies from the Spider King, Ryder and the dogs have their own circus adventure when the "Pups Save the Hippos." The ringmaster has an act that involves a mother hippo and her babies dancing. They shake the floor so much, they knock over the trapeze. While the others fix it, Alex takes them out of their pen and tries to dance with them. Zuma is the only one left who can rescue them.

Switched to Match Game '91 during dinner. Soupy Sales made his second and last appearance on Match Game during this week. He was joined by Charles, Sally Struthers,  Jimmie Walker, Andi Methany, and sarcastic stand-up comic Pam Stone. Jimmie thankfully was a bit subdued compared to how he behaved in earlier Match Game runs; at least he didn't try to drum up the crowds for one his his goofy answers. 

Finished the night listening to three of my recent record acquisitions. The Great Race is a huge spoof of silent movie tropes from 1965, featuring Tony Curtis as the good guy in white and Natalie Wood as the intrepid female reporter who rides in the big car race with him. Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk have way too much fun as the bad guys in black who just can't win unfairly. Dorothy Provine turns up back in Roaring 20's vamp mode to sing the western number "He Shouldn't-a, Hadn't-a, Oughtn't-a Swang on Me!," and we get a choral rendition of the lovely hit ballad "The Sweetheart Tree."

Despite claiming to be a soundtrack recording of "the Childhood Productions Classic Motion Picture," the Paul Tripp Snow White and the Seven Dwarves actually sticks much closer to the Grimm story than the Disney version does. Decent songs aside, it's a bit dark for a kids' recording. The dwarves' numbers "Think Happy Thinkin's" and "Seven Little Men" were at least kind of cute.

Spectacular Ragtime by Waldo's Ragtime Orchestra is from 1983, but the songs it covers date back to between 1902 and 1922, during the height of the ragtime craze. There are two good vocal numbers, "Under the Bamboo Tree" and "What'cha Gonna Do When There Ain't No Jazz?", but it's mostly instrumental pieces. "Slow and Easy," the opener "Wild Cherries Rag," and "Trombone Francois" are especially good.

It's a Stormy Day, Charlie Brown

Began a gloomy morning with breakfast and Green Eggs and Ham. E.B's saying "To Yookia With Love" when she manages to dodge the guards and finds Looka again. He shows her around Yookia...which, to E.B's surprise, is exactly like Dookia in almost every way. They even have a huge water park. They find out why the countries are so much alike when they discovered in an abandoned part of the museum that they were once one nation called Ookia, until their rulers argued over which side to butter their toast. Looka finally takes her back over the wall, but they promise to see each other again. Meanwhile, Michellee sends a very important package to Guy, but he's preoccupied with his inventions.

Called Uber soon as the cartoon ended. It wasn't raining when I left, but it was windy and cold, and it was supposed to get worse later. Thankfully, there was no trouble this time. The man driving me in the morning arrived in 4 minutes. The guy picking me up in the evening came in 2. Neither took longer than 5 minutes getting home.

Work was a royal pain in the rear. It was far busier today than it has been, and people were a lot more annoying. Either everyone came back from vacation early when they got fed up with the weather, or they were all bored at home and needed something to do. It's also the beginning of the month, and a lot of people only just got their money now. 

It rained heavily for a lot of the afternoon, which meant I spent a lot of the day wet. I even heard thunder briefly at one point around 4:30. I also had to sweep the store, put away carts full of cold items people didn't want or couldn't afford, and clean up messes, including a broken baby food jar. Needless to say, I was more than happy to grab soda and get money for the Cherry Hill Library book sale tomorrow and hurry home soon as I finished.

Went straight into Match Game '77 when I got home. The young man whose innocent answer kicked off the infamous School Riot reappeared in this episode. Considering some of Rich's comments, I suspect he was still annoyed about the whole thing. Thankfully, the young man did much better this time around, despite one really strange answer from Fannie Flagg as to what a guy accidentally ordered at a Japanese restaurant.

Match Game '90 got even wilder. Bruce Baum may be annoying, with his ridiculous inventions like the handless baby carrier he showed off in the opening of the second show, but he's darn good at the Match-Up segment. Karen Wittier proved she's more than just a pretty face by doing very well at the Head-to-Head twice in a row. 

Finished the night with four vintage animated specials. At least three Peanuts specials revolve around the kids' baseball team, beginning with Charlie Brown's All-Stars from 1966. The kids are fed up with their lack of success on the field and finally quit. Charlie Brown convinces them to get back on the field when a sponsor is willing to give them uniforms. They're angry when the sponsor withdraws, but then Linus reveals that the man wouldn't back a team with four girls and a dog. Even the girls decide Charlie Brown deserves a uniform, but Linus isn't too happy with what they use to make it.

It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown from 1992 is pretty much the same idea. A sponsor will give the kids uniforms, but this time, they actually have to win a game. Freida's little brother Leland insisted on playing with the big kids, but it's his height and lack of experience that may help them finally get those uniforms.

Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown, as she's the worst and most annoying player on Chuck's loss-prone team in this 2003 story. Peppermint Patty will only trade for Snoopy, but the guys she tries to send to Chuck won't play for him. She finally trades Lucy for Marcie...and both sides regret it. Marcie is a very sweet girl, but is hopeless at baseball and only plays because her best friend does, and Peppermint Patty tolerates Lucy's incompetence even less well than Chuck does.

Switched gears to The Butter Battle Book. This is the Dr. Seuss story that provided the basis for Green Eggs and Ham: The Second Helping. Zookia and Yookia are still warring over which side to butter their bread. The two countries keep coming up with bigger and bigger machines to humiliate the other, until both sides invent a tiny bomb that could obliterate both countries. The special, like the book, ends in a stalemate, with no one dropping anything. 

This Cold War parable is by far the darkest Seuss book and special along with The Lorax. Ralph Bakshi, who was known for his dark, edgy animated films, may have been the perfect person to direct this one. Seuss later called it the best adaptation of his work...and really, he's right, down to the non-ending that's scarier than any big battle would have been. Show this to your older kids, especially if they've read the book or seen Green Eggs and Ham, but be prepared to answer a lot of questions about the Cold War era and what happened during that time.

Come On In Out of the Rain

Began a gloomy, rainy morning with breakfast and Charlie & Lola. "I Wish I Could Do That and Also That Too" says Lola when a friend from school invites her to play beads on the same day as Marv's big space party. Lola has to decide which is more important, going to a big, fancy party or spending time with a friend.

Headed to work after I got dressed. It was coming down so hard, I had to call Uber. The driver coming here took 12 minutes. To my surprise, since the rain was worse by then, the one going home only took 4 minutes. At least I made into work just on time.

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday. The rain slowed briefly between about 11:30 and 12;30 before starting up again and pouring hard as ever. It was even quieter today than yesterday, despite it being our senior discount day. I did get wet gathering carts, but otherwise, there were no problems.

Soon as I got home, I changed into regular clothes and put on Animal Crackers while taking down the Easter decorations. I go further into the second movie made by the Marx Brothers at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animal Crackers

Switched to records in order to focus on putting in two job applications and writing. Reveille for Beverly and Jam Session are similar World War II vehicles for Ann Miller from her days appearing in B musicals for Columbia. I've seen Revellie (which can now be found on Tubi), and while the story is silly, the songs are terrific, including "Night and Day" by Frank Sinatra, "One O'Clock Jump" by Count Basie and His Orchestra, and "Take the A Train" by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. I can't seem to find Jam Session anywhere, which is a shame. Some of the great music here includes "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra and "Cherokee" by Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra. 

I decided I wanted Kathleen's love interest in the fairy tale to not be so royal this time. Now, the one coming home is a wealthy scholar who was handling business dealings in the near-by large city and is said to have dealing with Mother Nature herself. He's also supposedly bringing home a woman he met in town who will be his bride. This disappoints Kathleen, who has a crush on the gentle businessman.

Let Match Game '90 run while I ate Easter leftovers for dinner. Veteran's Day week continues as Bruce Baum shows off one of his ridiculous inventions, a shower attached to the head. He also shows off his "earliest photos," which frankly, are a little too early. The Marines continue to be besotted with Karen and Fiona, to the annoyance of Charles, who probably wishes a couple would look his way.

Finished the night with more records I've acquired recently. Back to the Future: The Musical came to Broadway last year via London, where it was a smash hit. Though it's gone over well on this side of the pond too, critics in New York apparently have mixed feelings. The story is pretty much a repeat of the first movie, with a few updated details (Doc's not attacked by terrorists here). 

The big drawing card onstage - the realistic DeLorean that can really hit 88 miles an hour - obviously doesn't come across on disc. What we get are some decent original songs, including the joyful "Gotta Start Somewhere" for future mayor Goldie Wilson, the sweet "Wherever We're Going" for Marty's girlfriend Jennifer, and two delightful numbers for Doc, "It Works!" when he gets the flux capacitor going (complete with chorus girls Marty comments on) and "For the Dreamers" in 1955. I can kind of understand the critics' complaints about it being a rehash, but honestly, some of the songs are charming enough for me to give this a pass. If you're a fan of the film like me or want to try a sci-fi musical, there's enough here that's worth checking out.

Elvis' Golden Records is a collection of some of his biggest early hits. I picked this one up to get iconic numbers like "Teddy Bear," "Loving You," "Don't Be Cruel," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Hound Dog," and "All Shook Up." This was apparently the first rock greatest hits collection, and if you love Elvis and don't already have these songs elsewhere, it's still worth having today. 

Rainy Day Games

Began a gloomy morning with breakfast and Green Eggs and Ham. Sam does manage to rescue Pam from the sharks during "Three Days of the Mom-dor." His grateful mother allows him to join her, but regrets it when they attend a fancy party and she realizes that the words "Sam" and "blend in" don't belong in the same sentence. She manages to catch up to her rival Trousers and his partner Marilyn Blouse (Gwendolyn Christie). Sam thinks he's gotten the substance they're taking to Yookia from them, but they're one step ahead of him. Meanwhile, E.B explores Dookia and meets a handsome boy, Looka (Darren Criss) at the wall that separates Yookia and Dooka. She's not supposed to talk to Yookians, but she can't help but wonder why the countries are separated...

It was raining hard when I got up this morning, and it hadn't abated by the time I left for work. Unfortunately, I not only had a hard time finding Uber drivers, they took forever to arrive. The ones going there and home were over 12 minutes, and I was late getting to work. 

For all that, work wasn't busy. Many people may have done their shopping over the weekend or were avoiding the weather. It picked up a little later in the afternoon, but was never overwhelming. It helped that the rain slowed down by noon, too. By the time I finished, it had ended all together, though it would remain cloudy and chilly for the rest of the day.

Changed and had a snack when I got home, then opened two early eBay birthday presents to myself. With rumors flying around that the American Girl historical line is going to be revamped again later this year, I figured it was time to finally buy the last item from the previous revamp in 2014 that I wanted and could afford. 

When the historical dolls were branded as "BeForever" that August, all but Kaya came in new outfits. I picked up Samantha's and Josefina's when they came out and Felicity's about two years ago. Molly's wasn't around for long and is now hard to find for a decent price, but I wanted Julie's for Ariel. It's a really cute flower-print tank top and bell-bottom jeans with a yellow crocheted vest. I actually like Julie and Samantha's 2014 meet outfits better than their originals. 

I wanted the full soundtrack for Easter Parade after the LP version proved to be a disappointment. I poked around eBay and came up with a Judy Garland CD lot that included not only the soundtrack for Easter Parade, but also the ones for For Me and My Gal and A Star Is Born, three Garland pop recording collections (including a rare four-disc set from Japan), and the soundtrack from her Christmas special (which I already have and will be donating to Goodwill). Picked up the entire pile for $28 with shipping. The Japanese import alone probably cost more than that.

After all that excitement, I went down for a nap. I got up early, had a long weekend, and will be having an even longer week. I snuggled under the covers around quarter of three and was woken up by Karen confirming us getting together on Thursday at 1 around quarter after 4. 

Next up, I took the laundry downstairs and pulled out my warm-weather clothes. It's going to be chilly this week, but we'll be in the 60's by next week. It'll likely be a while before I need the corduroys or turtlenecks again. I think Mother Nature is done with cold weather until next fall. I still need good summer clothes. I have one skirt and one good blouse. Also want to pick up a few more solid-colored, short-sleeved t-shirts. 

Listened to records while I put the laundry in the dryer, then brought it upstairs. The film version of Sweet Charity came out in 1969 as Bob Fosse's first directorial effort. Shirley MacLaine is perfect as the sweet taxi dancer who is ever-hopeful that the right guy is just around the corner. Sammy Kaye is her boss, Chita Rivera is one of her fellow dancers, and Sammy Davis Jr. is the guru for a hippie-esque religious cult Charity's latest boyfriend is involved in. "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" is especially dynamic, and Davis Jr. steals the recording with the otherwise-extraneous "Rhythm of Life." 

Rupert Holmes' She Lets Her Hair Down came out in 1981, though it was apparently recorded in 1969. That would explain the different feel on songs like the title number and "The World Doesn't Matter Anymore." I especially liked the "name" songs, "Sandra," "Robin's World," and "I Wonder What Happened to Sally." 

Had a quick dinner while watching Match Game '90. It's a tad early for the Halloween episode, but that's probably the single best episode of the entire 90-91 series. You have Charles Nelson Reilly (as Superman with absurd inflatable muscles) sitting next to Brett Somers for the last time, Vicki Lawrence at her most acidic making jokes about her short Little Red Riding Hood outfit, and a close game. Ronn Lucas and his dragon puppet Scorch definitely win for most creative costume, though!

If the Halloween show is the best single episode of the 90-91 run, than the Veteran's Day shows were the best full week. ABC had Marines in the audience and playing the game, and they had a great time either way. They were especially besotted with beautiful soap stars Karen Wittier and Fiona Hutchinson, cheering every answer they gave, good and bad. Charles, Ronn, and Scorch are joined by Jo Anne Worley and Bruce Baum (for once not coming off too annoying). 

Finished the night at YouTube after a shower with episodes of Hollywood Squares in honor of April Fool's Day and Peter Marshall's 98th birthday on Saturday. Squares actually dates back to The Celebrity Game, Heatter-Quigley's attempt to imitate the Goodson-Todman panel games. Two contestants have to vote on how nine celebrities will answer a certain question. This version was a little dull and didn't make it out of 1964.

Heatter-Quigley retooled it two years later as The Hollywood Squares. They kept the nine celebrities and two contestants, but now the celebrities are on a giant tic-tac-toe board and have to give an answer to a multiple-choice question. The contestants need to figure out if they're telling the truth, or are bluffing. If they guess correctly, they win the square, If they miss, the other contestant has to guess their own question. If they get it, they can get the square. One celebrity is a "secret square" that has an extra prize. Capturing that square will win the prize.

Bert Parks was the host in the pilot seen here, but he was never seriously considered for the show. Actor and singer Peter Marshall got the job (apparently to spite his rival Dan Rowan), and would pretty much be associated with it for the rest of his career. The freewheeling spirit of fellow comedy show Match Game proved to be a little too unwieldy with nine celebrities, so most of their banter was scripted, or at least prepared beforehand. 

That suited its most famous center square occupant Paul Lynde just fine. Lynde wasn't a fan of improv, but he could put across a witty scripted zinger like nobody's business. Other celebrities who made frequent appearances in the late 60's and 70's included folksy Charley Weaver, mild-manned Wally Cox, erudite Vincent Price, sweet Karen Valentine, goofy Morey Amsterdam, and acerbic Rose-Marie. The network version ran until 1980; the syndicated show ended in 1981. It was so popular that in 1969, there was a short-lived Saturday-morning children's version, Storybook Squares, with everyone in costume. 

I'm more familiar with the later syndicated Squares. I'm pretty sure I saw the mid-80's John Davidson-hosted Squares on USA as a kid, and I know I watched the 90's-early 2000's Tom Bergeron Squares in college. Joan Rivers was the headliner on the 80's version, which ran until 1989. Whoopi Goldberg started out as the producer and center square of the late 90's show. After she left around 2002, a variety of celebrities filled the center square for the last two years. 

I used to love Hollywood Squares in college. It was so much fun to watch all those celebrities in one place, tossing out classic quips. I'd flip back and forth between Jeopardy! and Squares at 7 PM, then would settle on Wheel of Fortune at 7:30. Whoopi's version has frankly dated a bit better (it even has its own streaming channel now), but both are worth checking out for Squares fans.

(The most recent versions of Squares have been more for niche audiences. Two separate runs of Hip-Hop Squares in 2012 and 2015 and Nashville Squares from 2019 seem to be hard to find today. The current version, Celebrity Squares on BET, apparently returns to rap for its celebrity base.)

You won't be square if you spend your April Fool's Day checking out some of the wackiest fools to ever put over a bluff!

The Celebrity Game (1964)

Hollywood Squares Pilot (1966)

Hollywood Squares (1968)

Storybook Squares (1969)

Hollywood Squares Syndicated (1972)

Hollywood Squares Daytime Finale (1980)

Hollywood Squares (1986)

Hollywood Squares (1998)

Of course, Hollywood Squares is hardly the only comedy game show around. Match Game Productions put out this short marathon of shows filmed on April Fool's Day in 1976 and 1991 tonight as well.

Match Game April Fool's Day Episodes