Kicked off a cloudy morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. I came in just as the solo man defeated a sister pair. He had a shaky start on the Gold Rush, missing three questions before finally getting the rest and winning 5,000. They'd just started the next round with a father and daughter when the episode ended.
Match Game-Hollywood Squares ran while I did some things on my phone. Familiar faces on this show included original 70's-80's semi-regular Fannie Flagg, cool older lady Nedra Volz, and wonderfully erudite and sarcastic character actor Leonard Fry. Fry in particular always seemed to have a great time on the show, especially in the Match Game portion - he's another one I wish turned up in the 70's-early 80's version. Nedra got to have fun figuring out whether a gorilla could swim to save her from drowning. (Answer, by the way, is no. Apparently, gorillas can't swim.)
Got my laundry together as Match Game was on. The big, sweet cop with the pregnant wife in the audience beat a goofy young lady with the thickest down-south accent this side of Fannie Flagg. He then went on to win the Head-to-Head with the help of Richard and one of the most famous directors ever in Hollywood, Cecil B. DeMille. He was just taking on another, quieter lady when I headed out.
While it wasn't raining when I left, it was cloudy, hot, and murderously humid. I took the bike to make the trip to the laundromat go faster. Thankfully, neither the laundromat, nor WaWa were that busy when I arrived. I had a big load that needed to go in the washer, including towels. The weather held off long enough for me to enjoy a Banana Cream Smoothie outside on the concrete partition while working on my story notes.
Put my clothes away as soon as I got in, then had lunch and made Banana Spice Muffins. Watched more Charlie's Angels while I worked. In honor of the beginning of football season this Sunday, I ran "Angels In the Backfield" from the second season. The Angels help a young woman who is trying to train her scrappy all-female football team to defeat a more seasoned team at the Colosseum in LA. Two people on motorcycles are harassing her players, trying to scare them into giving up on the game. Sabrina suspects the win-at-all-costs coach of the other team, but Kelly and Kris think there may be more to it than what's on the field.
Switched to Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures while pulling the muffins out of the oven. The gang uses their vehicles to remodel the local playground in "Hard Hat Diggety Dog!" Pete is worried they'll find his secret stash of childhood toys and tries to keep them from digging. Minnie and Daisy are "Hair-Raising Helpers" when they cater a father-daughter dance. Sweet Pearl McSwine is upset that her dad's late. The girls think of ways to distract her until he arrives.
Returned to Buzzr as I dusted the apartment. Frizzy-haired Mary Allen and his hilarious wife Frenchy were by far the big winners on Tattletales today, over Dr. Joyce Brothers and her psychiatrist husband with the impressive mustache Milton and Don Galloway and his wife Linda. It came down to the ladies on Press Your Luck. Once again, the one guy Whammied out early in the second round after amassing big bucks. One woman won a computer, a fluffy Flokati rug, and a trip, just barely beating the champ at the last second.
Worked on writing after I finished with the dusting. To Gene and Bill Cullen's horror, Malade (Joan Collins) brings out her own elite squadron of smaller demons, formed by former wizards whose energy she drained. They split into groups - Gene and Bill cover the demons, Brett and Charles help Donald (Ross) with the now-mermaid Patti (Deustch), Bobby (Van) and Elaine (Joyce) watch over Queen Betty (White), and everyone else deals with Malade. Gene sends his wife Helen to get more help, which she does reluctantly.
Put on Match Game while having leftovers for dinner. The contestant's answer of "tiger's tail" in response to a question about Tarzan comes back to bite her on the striped rear when the Audience Match question is "Tiger's ___." She has even less luck with Richard in the Head-to-Head Round.
The young father is still rolling along on Sale of the Century. Once again, he bought all three Instant Bargains, won one of the three Fame Games, and still blew everyone away at the speed round. This time, there was no Prize Game necessary. The only prize left was 10,000. He opted to return one more time for a chance at 50,000 and the entire pot.
It finally started raining by the time I finished making Chocolate Banana Whirl (chocolate banana ice milk made in a food processor). Despite it really coming down, some of the local boys continued to play outside, even as I hit the shower.
Finished the night after that shower with She's Working Her Way Through College at the Watch TCM app. I go further into this academic tale with Virginia Mayo as a former stripper attending college professor Ronald Reagan's class at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
(For some reason, TCM used to run this one a lot when I actually was in college. I remember using it as background noise a lot from 1999 to 2001.)
Back To School Again - She's Working Her Way Through College
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Wednesday, September 09, 2020
What's My Weather?
Began a cloudy morning with breakfast and To Tell the Truth. The first story was rather sad, and very much of the time. A mother was told her son was missing in action in Vietnam, only to find out later he was alive, but doing top-secret espionage work. She couldn't tell anyone he was alive, not even their relatives. Guesses were all over the map, but I think it ended up being number 2. The second group represented a man who wrote a book on coping with any crisis. Peggy Cass was upset that he suggested calling the police instead of stopping to ask a motorist for help, but she still got number 3 right.
Got to see the first contestant on What's My Line? as I prepared for work. I love it when the show has women in occupations they don't often occupy, even to this day, as contestants. Henry Morgan correctly guessed that the young woman was a flag person on a construction site.
Work was dead for most of the morning. Not only did I go in earlier than I have been lately, but we're past the beginning of the month and the last major holiday of the summer. The next major holiday isn't until the middle of next month. No really major problems. I actually spent a lot of the morning working on story notes.
Had some grocery shopping to do after work. Rose inspired me to try making my own lasagna. I decided to go slightly healthier than she did with salt-free tomato sauce, skim milk ricotta and shredded Italian cheese, ground turkey, and whole wheat lasagna noodles. The Acme's having a buy-one, get-one sale on their spices; went with the organic oregano and sesame seeds. Replaced the out-of-season strawberries with in-season red grapes. Treated myself to another bag of baker's rack clearance Acme cookies (peanut butter this time). Restocked apples, bananas, cereal, yogurt, mandarin oranges, more tomato sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and toilet paper. (Yes, we have plenty now. The stock is almost back to normal.)
No wonder we were dead. The weather was gloomy when I rode home. It was cooler, but also cloudy and killer humid. Not a day for anyone to want to linger, even if everything was normal.
Watched The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That while putting everything away. Nick and Sally are decorating their tree house for a party, but they don't like their decorations. The Cat takes them to meet Stanely the bowerbird, who decorates his nest with beautiful pebbles and other attractive natural objects. Unfortunately, one of those objects he took turned out to be an egg. The kids learn about other animals who live in nests as they search for the owner of "The Lost Egg." Nick wants to learn how to "Hang On Tight" to the monkey bars like Sally. The Cat and the kids visit a slippery rock that's the home of a limpet, a type of shell creature. He shows them how he uses a sticky foot and natural footholds to stay put...and how he keeps on trying.
I'm really wiped out at the moment. Between being up late with Lauren to make up for us not visiting each other, her being on vacation, and my not being used to working long, draining hours as a cashier anymore, I'm pooped. I went down for a nap the moment the cartoon ended.
Awoke when I heard little girl giggling next door. I knew I'd never be able to sleep with Rose and Finley visiting, so I rolled out of bed and joined them after watching the end of Press Your Luck. Finley and I played with her favorite soft blanket with the silky brown lining and her pink stuffed unicorn Strawberry while her mother and grandmother discussed the furniture in the house they could get rid of and the things they wanted to sell on eBay.
Rose hoped Finley would have someone to play with outside, but it seems all the kids in the neighborhood went to various sports practices. Jodie and Rose did catch Khai's friends Chloe and Bree and their mother as they were leaving. The mothers chatted and tried to keep Finley away from their car.
Put on Match Game while I made lasagna and spinach salad for dinner. The first episode introduced us to Gene Rayburn's mother, who was in the audience watching her son's taping. In the second, the panel teased Gene about his dapper two-toned shoes. They did indeed turn out to be golf shoes, spikes and all. (I guess you need spikes in that thick carpeting.)
That young gentleman on Sale of the Century just keeps right on rolling. I think he's getting a little cocky. He missed half the questions in the speed round, bought all three Instant Bargains (including a lovely bed for his 11-year-old daughter), and still managed to win 3,000 in the end.
Incidentally, the lasagna came out...ok. I only wanted a small pan and made way too many noodles, and I didn't really spread the ricotta well, but it tastes all right. Not like Rose's, but not bad.
Finished out the night online with some vintage television. Lauren's favorite episode from the TV version of In the Heat of the Night is the third season show "Vengeance." Bubba does manage to kill a man who held up a local store, but the man's brothers and his wife are now out for blood. The Chief insists that he and his pretty girlfriend stay with Virgil and Althea and out of sight, but Bubba's not one to sit around and do nothing for long.
Tony has problems of his own in the second season I Dream of Jeannie episode "My Master, the Rainmaker." Tony's floored at first when he learns that Jeannie can control the weather, but his delight ends quickly when she makes it snow on Dr. Bellows and he tells anyone who'll listen. He has better intentions when he gets her to help the brother of a young astronaut who owns a drought-stricken farm. It does finally rain...but it won't stop! The farm is flooded, and Tony has to figure out what to do when Jeannie is away visiting her own family.
Speaking of rain, ours finally started somewhere around 11:30. I hope it doesn't rain too hard tomorrow, like it's supposed to. I badly need to get the laundry done.
Got to see the first contestant on What's My Line? as I prepared for work. I love it when the show has women in occupations they don't often occupy, even to this day, as contestants. Henry Morgan correctly guessed that the young woman was a flag person on a construction site.
Work was dead for most of the morning. Not only did I go in earlier than I have been lately, but we're past the beginning of the month and the last major holiday of the summer. The next major holiday isn't until the middle of next month. No really major problems. I actually spent a lot of the morning working on story notes.
Had some grocery shopping to do after work. Rose inspired me to try making my own lasagna. I decided to go slightly healthier than she did with salt-free tomato sauce, skim milk ricotta and shredded Italian cheese, ground turkey, and whole wheat lasagna noodles. The Acme's having a buy-one, get-one sale on their spices; went with the organic oregano and sesame seeds. Replaced the out-of-season strawberries with in-season red grapes. Treated myself to another bag of baker's rack clearance Acme cookies (peanut butter this time). Restocked apples, bananas, cereal, yogurt, mandarin oranges, more tomato sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and toilet paper. (Yes, we have plenty now. The stock is almost back to normal.)
No wonder we were dead. The weather was gloomy when I rode home. It was cooler, but also cloudy and killer humid. Not a day for anyone to want to linger, even if everything was normal.
Watched The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That while putting everything away. Nick and Sally are decorating their tree house for a party, but they don't like their decorations. The Cat takes them to meet Stanely the bowerbird, who decorates his nest with beautiful pebbles and other attractive natural objects. Unfortunately, one of those objects he took turned out to be an egg. The kids learn about other animals who live in nests as they search for the owner of "The Lost Egg." Nick wants to learn how to "Hang On Tight" to the monkey bars like Sally. The Cat and the kids visit a slippery rock that's the home of a limpet, a type of shell creature. He shows them how he uses a sticky foot and natural footholds to stay put...and how he keeps on trying.
I'm really wiped out at the moment. Between being up late with Lauren to make up for us not visiting each other, her being on vacation, and my not being used to working long, draining hours as a cashier anymore, I'm pooped. I went down for a nap the moment the cartoon ended.
Awoke when I heard little girl giggling next door. I knew I'd never be able to sleep with Rose and Finley visiting, so I rolled out of bed and joined them after watching the end of Press Your Luck. Finley and I played with her favorite soft blanket with the silky brown lining and her pink stuffed unicorn Strawberry while her mother and grandmother discussed the furniture in the house they could get rid of and the things they wanted to sell on eBay.
Rose hoped Finley would have someone to play with outside, but it seems all the kids in the neighborhood went to various sports practices. Jodie and Rose did catch Khai's friends Chloe and Bree and their mother as they were leaving. The mothers chatted and tried to keep Finley away from their car.
Put on Match Game while I made lasagna and spinach salad for dinner. The first episode introduced us to Gene Rayburn's mother, who was in the audience watching her son's taping. In the second, the panel teased Gene about his dapper two-toned shoes. They did indeed turn out to be golf shoes, spikes and all. (I guess you need spikes in that thick carpeting.)
That young gentleman on Sale of the Century just keeps right on rolling. I think he's getting a little cocky. He missed half the questions in the speed round, bought all three Instant Bargains (including a lovely bed for his 11-year-old daughter), and still managed to win 3,000 in the end.
Incidentally, the lasagna came out...ok. I only wanted a small pan and made way too many noodles, and I didn't really spread the ricotta well, but it tastes all right. Not like Rose's, but not bad.
Finished out the night online with some vintage television. Lauren's favorite episode from the TV version of In the Heat of the Night is the third season show "Vengeance." Bubba does manage to kill a man who held up a local store, but the man's brothers and his wife are now out for blood. The Chief insists that he and his pretty girlfriend stay with Virgil and Althea and out of sight, but Bubba's not one to sit around and do nothing for long.
Tony has problems of his own in the second season I Dream of Jeannie episode "My Master, the Rainmaker." Tony's floored at first when he learns that Jeannie can control the weather, but his delight ends quickly when she makes it snow on Dr. Bellows and he tells anyone who'll listen. He has better intentions when he gets her to help the brother of a young astronaut who owns a drought-stricken farm. It does finally rain...but it won't stop! The farm is flooded, and Tony has to figure out what to do when Jeannie is away visiting her own family.
Speaking of rain, ours finally started somewhere around 11:30. I hope it doesn't rain too hard tomorrow, like it's supposed to. I badly need to get the laundry done.
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
Cleaning Up at Home
Slept in a bit this morning. Began the day after reading and writing in my journal with breakfast and Blockbusters. The solo male contestant just keeps rolling, this time over a pair of sisters. He didn't do nearly as well in the Gold Rush round, only getting a few questions right. He was just starting on another sister pair when the show ended.
Swept the patio outside between my front door and the porch after the show. Dried leaves already gathered in great piles around the entrance and were starting to get into the house. I ended up sweeping them into one side of the garden near the porch. Didn't really know where to put most of them! The garden needs watering, too. Need to ask Jodie where the hose is.
Switched to the musical Bathing Beauty on DVD while making the bed, and then as I ran the vacuum and dust-mop. I go further into this 1944 musical with Red Skelton pursing Esther Williams in a girl's school at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Back to School Again - Bathing Beauty
I was taking the trash out to the garage when I ran into Jodie. She finally decided to start going through Dad's things in the main house, including all his photos. She handed me a bag of photos and told me to go through them and keep some and give the rest to Rose and Jessa.
Decided to go through them later. Cleaned the kitchen while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Lunch" is Excellent Egg Salad, made by his dad. He's upset when Miss Elaina claims she doesn't like egg salad. Teacher Harriet reminds her that it's ok to not like what your friends like, but to try to be nice about it. "Daniel's Toy" is his favorite wooden pull duck. Prince Wednesday doesn't like that, either, which also upsets Daniel...until Wednesday discovers that a pull-duck can be very useful for carrying rocks!
Moved to Tubi for Jem while having yogurt and blueberries for lunch, and then while sorting through the photos. Jem's a "Renaissance Woman" in a second season episode when she and the Holograms attend a Renaissance fair in England. The obnoxious young man who is about to be declared lord of the county is enamored with the girls' friend Danse...but so is Robin Goodfellow, a Robin Hood-like figure who robs from the lord and his father to give to the poor booth owners. The girls are against this, until they discover that the lord isn't the real ruler of the county. They have to avoid the lord and his greedy father to rescue Robin and find the real lord, before the impostor is crowned.
I called Rose earlier; she called back as Tattletales began. She said not to do anything with the photos. She wants to make digital copies of them, so we can all have our own copies and not have to separate them. She was still annoyed with Mom for not making digital copies of her photos before sending them to us last year. Hoo boy, and I'd already organized some into my photo boxes. I'd pull them out later.
Cleaned the bathroom while Press Your Luck was on. This time, everyone got some money in the first round; the Whammies didn't really hit until the second. One of the guys got slammed with Whammies in both rounds and eventually got knocked out. The only woman just barely beat the champ, hitting no Whammies and winning vacations to London and Las Vegas.
Rose came around as I was finishing the bathroom. Khai's still on a Garfield kick. She made a big lasagna, per his request...then he wouldn't eat it. She gave slices to me and to Jodie, and slices of chocolate cake, too. I tried to give her the photos, but she said she needed to talk to Jessa and look up digitalizing them. She did suggest checking out the hair salon she attends regularly in Audubon. Research later reveals that Splitting Hairs is expensive, but Rose says the lady who runs the place is nice, and it's not like I get my hair done a lot anyway.
Started writing after Rose left. Brett, Richard, and Lee finally get demon Malade through the door of the ballroom and out into the garden, with Betty protesting not to destroy her new fountains. Charles and Donald are trying to help mermaid Patti, while the two remaining wizards want to protect Betty and the still-unconscious frog.
Heard Rose and Jodie talking in the den while I worked on writing. In addition to clearing photos, Jodie's trying to figure out what to do with most everything else in the house, including the furniture. She gave me a lovely small dark-wood table and chairs intended for dolls. It's too big for the 12-inch Star Wars dolls and too small for the 18-inch American Girls...but it proved to be perfect for my floppy old stuffed bear Mint and the knitted Baby Yoda Lauren sent me shortly after Christmas last year. I put it in front of the shelf with my Christmas books and across from the bed - there aren't too many other places in my apartment where it can go.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Jo Ann Pflug, Kaye Stevens (whose noisy laugh annoys many fans), and character actor Richard Long joined Gene and the regulars on Match Game '74 to make jokes about Snow White and figure out the many answers to "It's a ____" in the Audience Match. The contestant on Sale of the Century continues to buzz in way ahead of the end of many answers. It came pretty close to backfiring on him, as he missed quite a few. It was still enough to get him through the Speed Round and win a pair of lovely men and women's fur coats.
Finished the night online after a shower with the spooky early talkie horror film Svengali on TCM's on demand app. Svengali (John Barrymore) takes control of the mind of a beautiful young model (Marian Marsh) in Paris in the late 19th century after she has a fight with her lover Billee (Bramwell Fletcher) over her posing for artists in the nude. He molds her into the most beloved singing star of the day. Billee sees her five years later in concert and follows her performances. Svengali cancels shows in a vain attempt to retain his control over her, but she may still have feelings for Billee..and he knows he'll never really get her love.
Shadowy Gothic horror-romance benefits from Barrymore's magnetic performance as the hypnotist preying upon women who can feed him and become a vessel he can mold. Surprisingly atmospheric for an early talkie film; worth checking out if you love Barrymore or early horror.
Swept the patio outside between my front door and the porch after the show. Dried leaves already gathered in great piles around the entrance and were starting to get into the house. I ended up sweeping them into one side of the garden near the porch. Didn't really know where to put most of them! The garden needs watering, too. Need to ask Jodie where the hose is.
Switched to the musical Bathing Beauty on DVD while making the bed, and then as I ran the vacuum and dust-mop. I go further into this 1944 musical with Red Skelton pursing Esther Williams in a girl's school at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Back to School Again - Bathing Beauty
I was taking the trash out to the garage when I ran into Jodie. She finally decided to start going through Dad's things in the main house, including all his photos. She handed me a bag of photos and told me to go through them and keep some and give the rest to Rose and Jessa.
Decided to go through them later. Cleaned the kitchen while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Lunch" is Excellent Egg Salad, made by his dad. He's upset when Miss Elaina claims she doesn't like egg salad. Teacher Harriet reminds her that it's ok to not like what your friends like, but to try to be nice about it. "Daniel's Toy" is his favorite wooden pull duck. Prince Wednesday doesn't like that, either, which also upsets Daniel...until Wednesday discovers that a pull-duck can be very useful for carrying rocks!
Moved to Tubi for Jem while having yogurt and blueberries for lunch, and then while sorting through the photos. Jem's a "Renaissance Woman" in a second season episode when she and the Holograms attend a Renaissance fair in England. The obnoxious young man who is about to be declared lord of the county is enamored with the girls' friend Danse...but so is Robin Goodfellow, a Robin Hood-like figure who robs from the lord and his father to give to the poor booth owners. The girls are against this, until they discover that the lord isn't the real ruler of the county. They have to avoid the lord and his greedy father to rescue Robin and find the real lord, before the impostor is crowned.
I called Rose earlier; she called back as Tattletales began. She said not to do anything with the photos. She wants to make digital copies of them, so we can all have our own copies and not have to separate them. She was still annoyed with Mom for not making digital copies of her photos before sending them to us last year. Hoo boy, and I'd already organized some into my photo boxes. I'd pull them out later.
Cleaned the bathroom while Press Your Luck was on. This time, everyone got some money in the first round; the Whammies didn't really hit until the second. One of the guys got slammed with Whammies in both rounds and eventually got knocked out. The only woman just barely beat the champ, hitting no Whammies and winning vacations to London and Las Vegas.
Rose came around as I was finishing the bathroom. Khai's still on a Garfield kick. She made a big lasagna, per his request...then he wouldn't eat it. She gave slices to me and to Jodie, and slices of chocolate cake, too. I tried to give her the photos, but she said she needed to talk to Jessa and look up digitalizing them. She did suggest checking out the hair salon she attends regularly in Audubon. Research later reveals that Splitting Hairs is expensive, but Rose says the lady who runs the place is nice, and it's not like I get my hair done a lot anyway.
Started writing after Rose left. Brett, Richard, and Lee finally get demon Malade through the door of the ballroom and out into the garden, with Betty protesting not to destroy her new fountains. Charles and Donald are trying to help mermaid Patti, while the two remaining wizards want to protect Betty and the still-unconscious frog.
Heard Rose and Jodie talking in the den while I worked on writing. In addition to clearing photos, Jodie's trying to figure out what to do with most everything else in the house, including the furniture. She gave me a lovely small dark-wood table and chairs intended for dolls. It's too big for the 12-inch Star Wars dolls and too small for the 18-inch American Girls...but it proved to be perfect for my floppy old stuffed bear Mint and the knitted Baby Yoda Lauren sent me shortly after Christmas last year. I put it in front of the shelf with my Christmas books and across from the bed - there aren't too many other places in my apartment where it can go.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Jo Ann Pflug, Kaye Stevens (whose noisy laugh annoys many fans), and character actor Richard Long joined Gene and the regulars on Match Game '74 to make jokes about Snow White and figure out the many answers to "It's a ____" in the Audience Match. The contestant on Sale of the Century continues to buzz in way ahead of the end of many answers. It came pretty close to backfiring on him, as he missed quite a few. It was still enough to get him through the Speed Round and win a pair of lovely men and women's fur coats.
Finished the night online after a shower with the spooky early talkie horror film Svengali on TCM's on demand app. Svengali (John Barrymore) takes control of the mind of a beautiful young model (Marian Marsh) in Paris in the late 19th century after she has a fight with her lover Billee (Bramwell Fletcher) over her posing for artists in the nude. He molds her into the most beloved singing star of the day. Billee sees her five years later in concert and follows her performances. Svengali cancels shows in a vain attempt to retain his control over her, but she may still have feelings for Billee..and he knows he'll never really get her love.
Shadowy Gothic horror-romance benefits from Barrymore's magnetic performance as the hypnotist preying upon women who can feed him and become a vessel he can mold. Surprisingly atmospheric for an early talkie film; worth checking out if you love Barrymore or early horror.
Monday, September 07, 2020
Making a Living
Began a quick morning with essays and poems on Labor Day from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays vintage anthology. The longest item was an essay on Samuel Gumpters, the "Grand Old Man of Labor" and one of the biggest names behind the push for labor unions in the US during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other material included the poems The Village Smithy and I Heard America Singing.
Moved onto breakfast and the Three Stooges after I wrote in my journal. I always do a couple of Three Stooges shorts on Labor Day. Who did more laboring in a wider variety of jobs than the Stooges? "Dizzy Doctors" is one good example. Desperate for work when their wives threaten to throw them out, they take up peddling Brighto. After they figure out it's a medicine, they bring into to a hospital to see what it does...not knowing that the director is the man whose car they ruined the finish on earlier!
Headed out to work shortly after the Stooges ended. It wasn't busy when I came in, but it picked up around noon and continued to be off-and-on steady for the rest of the afternoon. The only major problem I had was when a woman came up with the Coke 12-packs of soda on sale and not only didn't have the online coupon for it, but had no idea she had to sign up for it and tried signing up right then and there, when I had a long line. A manager just took the coupon off for her to move her along. Otherwise, I was in and out.
Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. It would have been a crime not to. The weather was perfect for Labor Day, sunny, breezy, warm but not humid. Nicholson was a lot less busy than the Acme was. No traffic anywhere, not even around the shopping center entrance. I saw more cars heading off to the last parties of the summer season in Oaklyn.
Worked on writing as soon as I got home and changed. Richard lures Malade outside to keep her from destroying the ballroom. While Betty tries to nurse the frog back to health, Lee reveals to Malade that she was the one who gave the underground spy network their information. She hates her for destroying the royal family and her own family's holdings.
Broke for a tasty dinner of Spicy Chicken Cutlets with tomato sauce and vegetable and sweet potato fries at 6:30. Match Game '74 got pretty wild, what with jokes about what a guy saw on a stripper and Gene and Elaine Joyce practically making out in the opening.
Sale of the Century may have even crazier! Jim Perry lamented how hard his job was when the third Instant Bargain was a trip to Palm Springs...which happens to be where that fast-on-the-draw contestant lives. He desperately switched it to San Francisco and dropped the amount to 10 dollars to convince the contestant to buy. It worked. He bought the trip, won the speed round by a mile, and chose leather luggage to go with his trips in the Match the Prize bonus round.
Jodie knocked on the door while Sale was on. She needed help taking off a necklace...and a shoulder to cry on. She's still very upset about Dad's death. I know this is hard on her. She really, really loved him.
Returned to The Three Stooges while having Cherry Garcia ice cream for dessert and cleaning up from dinner. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" when they're mistaken for professors by a prestigious girls' school. The girls are delighted when they teach them about "Swinging the Alphabet." Their teachers are less amused by their insistence on the importance of athletics. They wanted the girls to focus on their studies.
"Termites of 1938" has them as exterminators mistaken for escorts by a rich woman who needs someone to take her to a fancy party. The guests don't know what to think of them, especially when they try playing the band's instruments in time to a record. It's when a guest finds a mouse at the party that the guys really swing into action...and make a mess of the guests.
Finished online with a marathon of It's a Living at Tubi, which also involves working. "Boys of Summer" from the second season has the waitresses run ragged as they deal with a visiting baseball team. Jan dates the aging third-baseman, while Dot reassures their homesick Costa Rican pitcher that he'll be allowed to return to his village, Cassie dodges the advances of their first baseman, and Maggie (Louise Lasser) pitches a little woo at their coach.
Maggie and Jan are "Horsing Around" when Maggie inadvertently gets a hot tip from a jockey who's supposed to throw a race. They win enough money to encourage the other waitresses, Nancy, and Sonny to throw their own money in. Maggie, however, may throw their bets into jeopardy when Maggie mistakes the menu number the jockey orders for the number of the horse.
Switched to the third season for "From Russia With Love." Sonny's delighted when a Russian track team visits the hotel. All the girls just love his Elvis covers. The waitresses are far more concerned when two smitten track members decide they want to defect - one fell for the freedom the US provides, one fell for Cassie.
"The Prom Show" doesn't start off well when the band ordered for a big prom doesn't arrive, Jan is worried about her fiancee (Richard Kline) wanting children, and Cassie has to reassure a girl who was abandoned by her date. It takes a musical number from Sonny and Dot and Cassie's chat with the girl to bring life to this big night. Meanwhile, Howard just wants someone, anyone, to watch his magic act.
And I hope all of you had a happy Labor Day, whether you labored today yourself or not!
Moved onto breakfast and the Three Stooges after I wrote in my journal. I always do a couple of Three Stooges shorts on Labor Day. Who did more laboring in a wider variety of jobs than the Stooges? "Dizzy Doctors" is one good example. Desperate for work when their wives threaten to throw them out, they take up peddling Brighto. After they figure out it's a medicine, they bring into to a hospital to see what it does...not knowing that the director is the man whose car they ruined the finish on earlier!
Headed out to work shortly after the Stooges ended. It wasn't busy when I came in, but it picked up around noon and continued to be off-and-on steady for the rest of the afternoon. The only major problem I had was when a woman came up with the Coke 12-packs of soda on sale and not only didn't have the online coupon for it, but had no idea she had to sign up for it and tried signing up right then and there, when I had a long line. A manager just took the coupon off for her to move her along. Otherwise, I was in and out.
Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. It would have been a crime not to. The weather was perfect for Labor Day, sunny, breezy, warm but not humid. Nicholson was a lot less busy than the Acme was. No traffic anywhere, not even around the shopping center entrance. I saw more cars heading off to the last parties of the summer season in Oaklyn.
Worked on writing as soon as I got home and changed. Richard lures Malade outside to keep her from destroying the ballroom. While Betty tries to nurse the frog back to health, Lee reveals to Malade that she was the one who gave the underground spy network their information. She hates her for destroying the royal family and her own family's holdings.
Broke for a tasty dinner of Spicy Chicken Cutlets with tomato sauce and vegetable and sweet potato fries at 6:30. Match Game '74 got pretty wild, what with jokes about what a guy saw on a stripper and Gene and Elaine Joyce practically making out in the opening.
Sale of the Century may have even crazier! Jim Perry lamented how hard his job was when the third Instant Bargain was a trip to Palm Springs...which happens to be where that fast-on-the-draw contestant lives. He desperately switched it to San Francisco and dropped the amount to 10 dollars to convince the contestant to buy. It worked. He bought the trip, won the speed round by a mile, and chose leather luggage to go with his trips in the Match the Prize bonus round.
Jodie knocked on the door while Sale was on. She needed help taking off a necklace...and a shoulder to cry on. She's still very upset about Dad's death. I know this is hard on her. She really, really loved him.
Returned to The Three Stooges while having Cherry Garcia ice cream for dessert and cleaning up from dinner. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" when they're mistaken for professors by a prestigious girls' school. The girls are delighted when they teach them about "Swinging the Alphabet." Their teachers are less amused by their insistence on the importance of athletics. They wanted the girls to focus on their studies.
"Termites of 1938" has them as exterminators mistaken for escorts by a rich woman who needs someone to take her to a fancy party. The guests don't know what to think of them, especially when they try playing the band's instruments in time to a record. It's when a guest finds a mouse at the party that the guys really swing into action...and make a mess of the guests.
Finished online with a marathon of It's a Living at Tubi, which also involves working. "Boys of Summer" from the second season has the waitresses run ragged as they deal with a visiting baseball team. Jan dates the aging third-baseman, while Dot reassures their homesick Costa Rican pitcher that he'll be allowed to return to his village, Cassie dodges the advances of their first baseman, and Maggie (Louise Lasser) pitches a little woo at their coach.
Maggie and Jan are "Horsing Around" when Maggie inadvertently gets a hot tip from a jockey who's supposed to throw a race. They win enough money to encourage the other waitresses, Nancy, and Sonny to throw their own money in. Maggie, however, may throw their bets into jeopardy when Maggie mistakes the menu number the jockey orders for the number of the horse.
Switched to the third season for "From Russia With Love." Sonny's delighted when a Russian track team visits the hotel. All the girls just love his Elvis covers. The waitresses are far more concerned when two smitten track members decide they want to defect - one fell for the freedom the US provides, one fell for Cassie.
"The Prom Show" doesn't start off well when the band ordered for a big prom doesn't arrive, Jan is worried about her fiancee (Richard Kline) wanting children, and Cassie has to reassure a girl who was abandoned by her date. It takes a musical number from Sonny and Dot and Cassie's chat with the girl to bring life to this big night. Meanwhile, Howard just wants someone, anyone, to watch his magic act.
And I hope all of you had a happy Labor Day, whether you labored today yourself or not!
Sunday, September 06, 2020
Been a Long Day
Kicked off the morning with dark chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and the original cast of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. J. Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) is determined to get ahead at the Worldwide Wicket Company, no matter who he has to step on along the way. He manages to charm secretary Rosemary (Bonnie Scott) and his boss Biggley (Rudy Vallee), but not everyone is so impressed with his ability to move up the corporate ladder. Obnoxious Bud Frump (Charles Nelson Reilly), Biggley's brown-nosing nephew, does everything he can to bring Finch down, and a lot of the other executives are worried about their jobs. When a scheme Frump suggests to Finch goes wrong, it'll take a lot of fast-talking - and one big revivalist number - for Finch to come out on top.
A lot of the plot hasn't dated well (especially anything relating to the secretaries), but there's still some great numbers in this goofy satire. Morse scores with the finale "Brotherhood of Man" and "I Believe In You," sung to his reflection in the men's room, while Vallee recalls his days as a crooner to Virginia Martin in "Love From a Heart of Gold" and Reilly laments the lack of caffeine during their "Coffee Break." Younger folks may prefer more recent revivals with Matthew Broderick and Daniel Ratcliffe, but there's still a lot to love in the original cast, too.
Rushed off to work just as the record ended. They were a lot busier today than yesterday! We're normally busy on Sundays, regardless of what's going on. That's often the only day many people can go shopping. There were a few annoying people, but otherwise no really major problems. It slowed down so much by quarter after 5, I was able to close and bring a carton with eggs someone dropped on the conveyor belt in the back with no trouble.
At least it was a nice day again as I rode home down the Black Horse Pike. A little bit warmer than yesterday, but still neither as hot, nor as humid as it has been. The Oaklyn Manor Bar's outdoor bar and the picnic tables on Manor Avenue were as busy as they're allowed to be right now.
Went straight into writing when I got home, but I was so tired, I didn't do much. Debralee's livid that Malade the demon turned her fellow fairies into imps - tiny monsters who'll do her bidding. She orders her new pets to keep the others busy, while she next deals with the wizards...
Switched to I Love Adventure while throwing together a quick "spinach pancake" (eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and cheese) for dinner. "The Kwan Moon Dagger" gets into slightly stereotypical turf when an Asian princess comes to a bored Jack Packard and Doc Long and asks them to find the missing Kwan Moon Dagger, a priceless treasure of her people. The boys grab at the case and head to Chicago, but discovers there's more to it than just a treasure when someone tries several times to kill them, and they're intercepted by a mysterious flower-shop owner.
Finished off the night online after a shower with a few more relatively rare game shows. Double Dare from 1976, one of the earliest hosting gigs for Alex Trebek, was showed on Buzzr early in its existence but apparently hasn't been seen since. No slime to be found anywhere in this one - it's a trivia show. Two contestants in isolation booths have to guess who or what a series of questions lead to. When one answers, they can dare the other to answer the remaining questions. The winner has the most points and goes on to challenge three professors in isolation booths to see if they can guess a subject. If he can stump even just one, they'll win money. It's very complicated, and honestly a little dull. I can kind of see why this barely lasted a year.
The Cross-Wits was a lot more fun, a cross between crossword puzzles and Password Plus. Gentlemanly Jack Clark hosted this show that has two celebrities helping a contestant solve a series of crossword clues that lead up to a subject. Guess the subject, and you win a prize. The bonus round was CrossFire - a celebrity and the winning contestant answers a series of clues. Get all the clues, and you win the big prize. It helps that one of the four contestants on this episode was a still-witty Dorothy Lamour, and yes, one of the puzzles did refer to the Road To...movies.
The New Treasure Hunt gets more into Let's Make a Deal territory. Smarmy Geoff Edwards calls women onstage to choose a package that may hold a prize, or take money. The packages may lead to a big prize...or to a goofy skit that results in nonsense prizes like the zonks on Deal. The first lady smartly took the money, despite a funny skit with a robber and a cop. The second didn't get nearly as lucky, barely ending up with anything.
Here's all three shows, for your viewing pleasure!
Double Dare (Trebek) (1976)
The Cross-Wits (1978)
The New Treasure Hunt (1976)
A lot of the plot hasn't dated well (especially anything relating to the secretaries), but there's still some great numbers in this goofy satire. Morse scores with the finale "Brotherhood of Man" and "I Believe In You," sung to his reflection in the men's room, while Vallee recalls his days as a crooner to Virginia Martin in "Love From a Heart of Gold" and Reilly laments the lack of caffeine during their "Coffee Break." Younger folks may prefer more recent revivals with Matthew Broderick and Daniel Ratcliffe, but there's still a lot to love in the original cast, too.
Rushed off to work just as the record ended. They were a lot busier today than yesterday! We're normally busy on Sundays, regardless of what's going on. That's often the only day many people can go shopping. There were a few annoying people, but otherwise no really major problems. It slowed down so much by quarter after 5, I was able to close and bring a carton with eggs someone dropped on the conveyor belt in the back with no trouble.
At least it was a nice day again as I rode home down the Black Horse Pike. A little bit warmer than yesterday, but still neither as hot, nor as humid as it has been. The Oaklyn Manor Bar's outdoor bar and the picnic tables on Manor Avenue were as busy as they're allowed to be right now.
Went straight into writing when I got home, but I was so tired, I didn't do much. Debralee's livid that Malade the demon turned her fellow fairies into imps - tiny monsters who'll do her bidding. She orders her new pets to keep the others busy, while she next deals with the wizards...
Switched to I Love Adventure while throwing together a quick "spinach pancake" (eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and cheese) for dinner. "The Kwan Moon Dagger" gets into slightly stereotypical turf when an Asian princess comes to a bored Jack Packard and Doc Long and asks them to find the missing Kwan Moon Dagger, a priceless treasure of her people. The boys grab at the case and head to Chicago, but discovers there's more to it than just a treasure when someone tries several times to kill them, and they're intercepted by a mysterious flower-shop owner.
Finished off the night online after a shower with a few more relatively rare game shows. Double Dare from 1976, one of the earliest hosting gigs for Alex Trebek, was showed on Buzzr early in its existence but apparently hasn't been seen since. No slime to be found anywhere in this one - it's a trivia show. Two contestants in isolation booths have to guess who or what a series of questions lead to. When one answers, they can dare the other to answer the remaining questions. The winner has the most points and goes on to challenge three professors in isolation booths to see if they can guess a subject. If he can stump even just one, they'll win money. It's very complicated, and honestly a little dull. I can kind of see why this barely lasted a year.
The Cross-Wits was a lot more fun, a cross between crossword puzzles and Password Plus. Gentlemanly Jack Clark hosted this show that has two celebrities helping a contestant solve a series of crossword clues that lead up to a subject. Guess the subject, and you win a prize. The bonus round was CrossFire - a celebrity and the winning contestant answers a series of clues. Get all the clues, and you win the big prize. It helps that one of the four contestants on this episode was a still-witty Dorothy Lamour, and yes, one of the puzzles did refer to the Road To...movies.
The New Treasure Hunt gets more into Let's Make a Deal territory. Smarmy Geoff Edwards calls women onstage to choose a package that may hold a prize, or take money. The packages may lead to a big prize...or to a goofy skit that results in nonsense prizes like the zonks on Deal. The first lady smartly took the money, despite a funny skit with a robber and a cop. The second didn't get nearly as lucky, barely ending up with anything.
Here's all three shows, for your viewing pleasure!
Double Dare (Trebek) (1976)
The Cross-Wits (1978)
The New Treasure Hunt (1976)
Saturday, September 05, 2020
Beautiful Day In Late Summer
Began the morning a bit earlier than I have been with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Dan Sr. set up "Daniel's Obstacle Course" all over the living room for him and Margaret to run through. Dan tries to make his little sister go faster, but she's only about a year old and isn't quite there yet. His father reminds him that he has to play with his sister gently. "Daniel Plays In a Gentle Way" on the playground when he wants to play turtle. He's the one who's upset when Katarina's octopus arms get a little too wiggly for his slow turtle walk.
Switched to Molly of Denali as I got ready to go to work. "Wild Moose Chase" sends Molly and Tooey all over town, looking for a pair of huge moose antlers her father traded to get a metal detector. They want it to trade to kids in Kaktovik up north for a whale bone. Molly's thrilled when she and her mother get to follow their friend Nina and her friend Professor Locklear to see "Where the Bison Roam." Molly and her mother are thrilled to discover a wood bison that separated from the heard had an adorable calf. Molly tries to take photos until her phone dies...but Nina gave her another way to record her notes and memories of what she's seen.
Headed out to work shortly after Molly ended. Work was on-and-off steady, absolutely nothing like it's been the past week. I thought it would be far worse on Labor Day weekend. Even some of the customers commented that they thought it would be a lot worse. Everyone was in a pleasant mood, I only made a few mistakes, and there were no problems whatsoever. I did have to call for a relief to take over a large order that arrived just as I was leaving.
Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. No wonder we were dead for a holiday weekend. The weather was gorgeous. Sunny, clear, breezy, warm but not boiling hot, and not too humid, either. The roads were only slightly busier than the store. It wasn't even bad around the mall. Everyone must have gone to the Shore or were setting up for whatever backyard barbecue they could get away with.
Went straight into writing when I got home, but I was too tired to do a whole lot. Demon-Malade throws the frog into the wall, to Betty's horror. She then turns her magic on the fairies, whose own magic fades at midnight. Debralee escapes, but Joyce and Jo Ann are turned into imps, mindless mini-demons who serve Malade.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers, then tried a recipe for Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies (actually, mini-chip, but I just had regular-sized ones) from The Hershey's 1934 Cookbook. I accidentally made it into a one-bowl recipe and put the flour into the bowl with the butter instead of adding it later. The finished product came out cakey, but still tasty and very moist. (I think I should have cooked the first batch a little more.)
Finished out Zombies of the Stratosphere while I worked on the cookies. Admittedly, I did enjoy some of the later action set-pieces, including an odd-looking ray gun battle and several underwater fights. Leonard Nimoy actually has something to do as the youngest Martian who ultimately helps the heroes and tells them where the cave with the atomic bombs are. It's still as cheap as it looks, though. The heroes are stiff as boards, and beyond the jet pack, about as interesting. And no, still no zombies or anything in the stratosphere.
Ehh, worth a look once if you love vintage sci-fi or serials. Anyone else would probably just be annoyed or mildly amused by the cheapness.
Finished off the night online with The Pajama Game before and after the Match Game syndicated "premiere" on YouTube. I go further into this Doris Day musical about two lovers on the opposite ends of a labor dispute at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Happy Labor Day! - The Pajama Game
Switched to Molly of Denali as I got ready to go to work. "Wild Moose Chase" sends Molly and Tooey all over town, looking for a pair of huge moose antlers her father traded to get a metal detector. They want it to trade to kids in Kaktovik up north for a whale bone. Molly's thrilled when she and her mother get to follow their friend Nina and her friend Professor Locklear to see "Where the Bison Roam." Molly and her mother are thrilled to discover a wood bison that separated from the heard had an adorable calf. Molly tries to take photos until her phone dies...but Nina gave her another way to record her notes and memories of what she's seen.
Headed out to work shortly after Molly ended. Work was on-and-off steady, absolutely nothing like it's been the past week. I thought it would be far worse on Labor Day weekend. Even some of the customers commented that they thought it would be a lot worse. Everyone was in a pleasant mood, I only made a few mistakes, and there were no problems whatsoever. I did have to call for a relief to take over a large order that arrived just as I was leaving.
Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. No wonder we were dead for a holiday weekend. The weather was gorgeous. Sunny, clear, breezy, warm but not boiling hot, and not too humid, either. The roads were only slightly busier than the store. It wasn't even bad around the mall. Everyone must have gone to the Shore or were setting up for whatever backyard barbecue they could get away with.
Went straight into writing when I got home, but I was too tired to do a whole lot. Demon-Malade throws the frog into the wall, to Betty's horror. She then turns her magic on the fairies, whose own magic fades at midnight. Debralee escapes, but Joyce and Jo Ann are turned into imps, mindless mini-demons who serve Malade.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers, then tried a recipe for Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies (actually, mini-chip, but I just had regular-sized ones) from The Hershey's 1934 Cookbook. I accidentally made it into a one-bowl recipe and put the flour into the bowl with the butter instead of adding it later. The finished product came out cakey, but still tasty and very moist. (I think I should have cooked the first batch a little more.)
Finished out Zombies of the Stratosphere while I worked on the cookies. Admittedly, I did enjoy some of the later action set-pieces, including an odd-looking ray gun battle and several underwater fights. Leonard Nimoy actually has something to do as the youngest Martian who ultimately helps the heroes and tells them where the cave with the atomic bombs are. It's still as cheap as it looks, though. The heroes are stiff as boards, and beyond the jet pack, about as interesting. And no, still no zombies or anything in the stratosphere.
Ehh, worth a look once if you love vintage sci-fi or serials. Anyone else would probably just be annoyed or mildly amused by the cheapness.
Finished off the night online with The Pajama Game before and after the Match Game syndicated "premiere" on YouTube. I go further into this Doris Day musical about two lovers on the opposite ends of a labor dispute at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Happy Labor Day! - The Pajama Game
Friday, September 04, 2020
Invasion of the Game Shows and Non-Zombies
Started off the morning with breakfast and Split Second. Two women and a man battled it out today...but once again, one lady left the other two in the dust. She beat them handily in the Countdown Round and easily said she'd return when she didn't get the car. The gentleman kept right on rolling through Blockbusters, beating a pair of twin firemen and getting every question in the Gold Rush round correct. He was half-way through a game with a mother-daughter pair as the show ended.
Headed out to run errands shortly after the show ended. Decided to give the bike a break and walked with the push cart. My first stop was the laundromat. It wasn't busy, allowing me to get a washer quickly. Family Dollar wasn't busy, either. They didn't have any bath rugs I liked, so I was in and out of there quickly. Ended up at WaWa for a Pumpkin Smoothie (which tasted more like a Vanilla Spice Smoothie), a bottle of blood orange sparkling water for later, and a pretzel. Sat outside on a breezy, sunny, humid day and worked on story notes and sipped my sparkling water.
I hadn't been to The House of Fun in ages. I was going to . It's on the White Horse Pike as I walked home, so I thought I'd stop in. The last time I wanted to stop there was St. Patrick's Day, but everything closed here the day before. The owners used the down time to re-arrange the Star Wars toys and collectible items. The boxes of dolls were now way up on a ceiling shelf where I couldn't reach, and the loose dolls were in boxes.
I ended up buying DVDs instead. Zombies of the Stratosphere is a Republic sci-fi serial from 1952. Phantom of the Paradise is a rock-and-roll take on Phantom of the Opera and will be the Halloween review on my musical blog this year.
Went straight into lunch and Zombies of the Stratosphere after I got home and folded the clothes. Relaxed and drowsed on the couch after I ate. Zombies is the rather odd tale of a group of Martians who wish to improve the atmosphere on their planet by setting atomic bombs that will knock Earth out of its orbit and move Mars there. Larry Martin (Judd Holdren), a prototype Rocketeer in a jet pack and jumpsuit, flies into action to stop the Martian trio. The villainous aliens (including a very young Leonard Nemoy) are aided by gangsters and a robot they can control remotely. Larry only has his pals Sue (Aline Towne) and Bob (Wilson Wood) on his side.
Hoo boy. Marvin the Martian came up with better plots to destroy the Earth than this. For one thing, the title's a cheat. There's no zombies to be found, and I don't think they ever make it into the stratosphere. I only got about half-way through before switching to Tattletales. We'll see what the rest is like tomorrow.
Was awake enough to crochet while Tattletales was on. I have no idea who Steve and Cris Forest are, but Nancy Sinatra appeared on the show with her husband Hugh Lambert before, and Gene Rayburn and his knowing wife Helen were there as well. I don't blame Nancy for staying with Hugh until his death in 1985 - he was handsome, soft-spoken (especially compared to hammy Gene), and very smart. They got every question right and won hands-down.
Two ladies and a man battled it out on Press Your Luck. No one did terribly well in the first round, with only one lady finishing with money. Things picked up during the second round. One lady Whammied out, but the man just barely got past the other woman on his last turn.
Worked on writing for a couple of hours. To everyone's horror, Malade grows and grows into her true form...a gigantic demon with huge, leathery wings. She first attacks the frog, throwing him hard into a wall. Brett challenges her, claiming she's not afraid and doesn't care who has what magic. She knew all along she was a demon and will take her on anyway. But Malade still has another hostage...
Broke for the last of the leftover chicken soup at 6:30. I came in just in time for the last Match Game episode of the day on Buzzr. Proud dad Richard Dawson, who was a doting single father to two pre-teen boys in 1974, discussed his Hawaiian vacation (and how he got so tan) and showed a picture his son Gary took dancing with a native girl. The young man champ on Sale of the Century didn't blow everyone away quite as much as previously, but he still bought an Instant Bargain and just barely won the Speed Round. He picked up a trip to Jamaica on the "match the prize board" this time.
Finished the night with two rarer game show episodes on YouTube after a shower. Winning Streak was the replacement for Three On a Match, but it lasted less than a year during 1974 and 1975. Two contestants have to make words relating to a theme, like "what you eat for breakfast," on a board. Whomever comes up with the letters to form a word is the winner. The bonus round is forming words from letters chosen on a board. The set is nifty, but the game play may be a little too hard for most folks to follow, and I can kind of see why this didn't last long. The only reason the episode on YouTube exists is it was pre-empted by President Nixon's resignation and never aired. (Which may explain why it's in pretty good shape as well, missing only the commercials.)
Gambit with Wink Martindale proved to be far more popular, running from 1972 to 1976. It's kind of a cross between Card Sharks and Sale of the Century. Here, the game is blackjack. Couples answer questions (sometimes ridiculously easy ones) to earn cards. The first couple who gets to 21 wins and gets a chance at the board, where they can choose either parts of checks under cards, or find a prize like a cruise. If they get to 21, they get a car. In fact, a couple got the car on this episode from 1974, to the absolute delight of the female half! Evidently, she really needed a new car.
Here's these two rarities on YouTube! (And check Wink's Vault for even more rare game show episodes and pilots!)
Winning Streak
Gambit (from Wink's Vault)
Headed out to run errands shortly after the show ended. Decided to give the bike a break and walked with the push cart. My first stop was the laundromat. It wasn't busy, allowing me to get a washer quickly. Family Dollar wasn't busy, either. They didn't have any bath rugs I liked, so I was in and out of there quickly. Ended up at WaWa for a Pumpkin Smoothie (which tasted more like a Vanilla Spice Smoothie), a bottle of blood orange sparkling water for later, and a pretzel. Sat outside on a breezy, sunny, humid day and worked on story notes and sipped my sparkling water.
I hadn't been to The House of Fun in ages. I was going to . It's on the White Horse Pike as I walked home, so I thought I'd stop in. The last time I wanted to stop there was St. Patrick's Day, but everything closed here the day before. The owners used the down time to re-arrange the Star Wars toys and collectible items. The boxes of dolls were now way up on a ceiling shelf where I couldn't reach, and the loose dolls were in boxes.
I ended up buying DVDs instead. Zombies of the Stratosphere is a Republic sci-fi serial from 1952. Phantom of the Paradise is a rock-and-roll take on Phantom of the Opera and will be the Halloween review on my musical blog this year.
Went straight into lunch and Zombies of the Stratosphere after I got home and folded the clothes. Relaxed and drowsed on the couch after I ate. Zombies is the rather odd tale of a group of Martians who wish to improve the atmosphere on their planet by setting atomic bombs that will knock Earth out of its orbit and move Mars there. Larry Martin (Judd Holdren), a prototype Rocketeer in a jet pack and jumpsuit, flies into action to stop the Martian trio. The villainous aliens (including a very young Leonard Nemoy) are aided by gangsters and a robot they can control remotely. Larry only has his pals Sue (Aline Towne) and Bob (Wilson Wood) on his side.
Hoo boy. Marvin the Martian came up with better plots to destroy the Earth than this. For one thing, the title's a cheat. There's no zombies to be found, and I don't think they ever make it into the stratosphere. I only got about half-way through before switching to Tattletales. We'll see what the rest is like tomorrow.
Was awake enough to crochet while Tattletales was on. I have no idea who Steve and Cris Forest are, but Nancy Sinatra appeared on the show with her husband Hugh Lambert before, and Gene Rayburn and his knowing wife Helen were there as well. I don't blame Nancy for staying with Hugh until his death in 1985 - he was handsome, soft-spoken (especially compared to hammy Gene), and very smart. They got every question right and won hands-down.
Two ladies and a man battled it out on Press Your Luck. No one did terribly well in the first round, with only one lady finishing with money. Things picked up during the second round. One lady Whammied out, but the man just barely got past the other woman on his last turn.
Worked on writing for a couple of hours. To everyone's horror, Malade grows and grows into her true form...a gigantic demon with huge, leathery wings. She first attacks the frog, throwing him hard into a wall. Brett challenges her, claiming she's not afraid and doesn't care who has what magic. She knew all along she was a demon and will take her on anyway. But Malade still has another hostage...
Broke for the last of the leftover chicken soup at 6:30. I came in just in time for the last Match Game episode of the day on Buzzr. Proud dad Richard Dawson, who was a doting single father to two pre-teen boys in 1974, discussed his Hawaiian vacation (and how he got so tan) and showed a picture his son Gary took dancing with a native girl. The young man champ on Sale of the Century didn't blow everyone away quite as much as previously, but he still bought an Instant Bargain and just barely won the Speed Round. He picked up a trip to Jamaica on the "match the prize board" this time.
Finished the night with two rarer game show episodes on YouTube after a shower. Winning Streak was the replacement for Three On a Match, but it lasted less than a year during 1974 and 1975. Two contestants have to make words relating to a theme, like "what you eat for breakfast," on a board. Whomever comes up with the letters to form a word is the winner. The bonus round is forming words from letters chosen on a board. The set is nifty, but the game play may be a little too hard for most folks to follow, and I can kind of see why this didn't last long. The only reason the episode on YouTube exists is it was pre-empted by President Nixon's resignation and never aired. (Which may explain why it's in pretty good shape as well, missing only the commercials.)
Gambit with Wink Martindale proved to be far more popular, running from 1972 to 1976. It's kind of a cross between Card Sharks and Sale of the Century. Here, the game is blackjack. Couples answer questions (sometimes ridiculously easy ones) to earn cards. The first couple who gets to 21 wins and gets a chance at the board, where they can choose either parts of checks under cards, or find a prize like a cruise. If they get to 21, they get a car. In fact, a couple got the car on this episode from 1974, to the absolute delight of the female half! Evidently, she really needed a new car.
Here's these two rarities on YouTube! (And check Wink's Vault for even more rare game show episodes and pilots!)
Winning Streak
Gambit (from Wink's Vault)
Thursday, September 03, 2020
Just One of Those Things
Began the morning with breakfast and an episode of the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake. Strawberry and Peppermint Fizz go "Around the Berry Big World" when brash Ginger Snap makes a bet with The Purple Pie Man that they can't make it in 80 days like Phineas Fogg. The Pie Man and his sister Sour Grapes throw as many obstacles as they can in the girls' path. Good thing Strawberry gets help from the international friends she made during the "Friendship Club" episodes in Season 2, including Crepe Suzette, Tangerina Torta, and Tea Blossom.
Worked on writing for a while after the show ended. Nipsey frees the frog from the bag Malade has him in, even as everyone else's powers begin to fade. Richard, Bobby, and the ladies are now wearing rags, and Patti's legs turn back into a tail. While Donald and Richard get her onto chairs, Della gets the necklace with her voice back before the chime on the clock stops and she loses her strength.
Broke for lunch at 11:30. Switched to Muppet Babies on Disney Now while having a blueberry-banana smoothie and peach-blueberry crisp for lunch. Gonzo is worried that Nanny won't let his friend Potato (who is an actual spud) play with them anymore when he's found near her broken flower pot. Inspired by Nanny's Sherlock Holmes stories, he plays "Sherlock Nose," with Kermit as Watson, to solve the case. Piggy just wants Mr. Nanny to play Butterfly Tag with her, but the other kids distract him with their needs. She's ready to do anything, including becoming "Blockbusters," to get his attention.
Dashed out to work around noon. Work was even worse today than yesterday. We had long lines around the store and not nearly enough people to handle them. Not only is it the beginning of the month, but we're coming up on Labor Day weekend, too. One older woman yelled at me for bagging more than two items per bag (and she had nothing heavier than cans) because she has a bad arm...until I showed her my broken elbow, which calmed her down in a hurry. It was such a mess. I couldn't have been happier when it slowed down enough by the end of the day for me to leave without a relief.
Of course, the reason it slowed down was the weather changed. The sun was out when I went to work, and while it was still humid, it wasn't as hot as yesterday. Heavy black clouds moved in as early as 5 PM. By the time I rode home, the clouds finally let loose with a shower. Thankfully, I made it home before I could get more than a little damp. It thundered a bit during dinner, but otherwise never got really heavy or noisy.
Caught the end of Match Game '74 as I changed clothes. Turned it on just as Gene swung the contestant around to celebrate her win on the Head-to-Head, while the panelists all kissed each other. The young man champion on Sale of the Century once again dominated the game, buying two out of three Instant Bargains and blowing everyone away at the Speed Round. He won a nice piece of artwork on the match the prize bonus game.
Moved online to watch Lullaby of Broadway on the TCM app. I go further into this backstage vehicle for Doris Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Lullaby of Broadway
Finished the night on YouTube. I enjoyed the original Split Second so much last night, I thought I'd look around for other rare vintage game shows. Bill Cullen hosted 23 game shows in 30 years, a feat that has yet to be matched. Alas, many of his shows are almost entirely lost, including the early 70's hit Three On a Match.
This complicated game is sort of like a cross between Sale of the Century and Split Second. Bill asks three contestants to choose between three categories. Whomever rings in first with the amount of questions they can answer chooses the categories. They can spend the money they win on the "Prize Board," which allows them to match the names of prizes. Get three matches, you get that prize. It's not as easy as it sounds! Like Split Second, this requires people to be super-fast on the draw. I think the only person who won anything on the game I watched was the lady who got a mink coat.
Wikipedia indicates that there's only about 12 episodes remaining from this show. Thankfully, the one I watched from 1973 was missing the credits and commercials, but was otherwise in far better shape than the existing Split Second shows. If you also enjoyed Bill Cullen on the trivia-oriented Blockbusters, this is worth checking out:
Three On a Match #403 (1973)
Worked on writing for a while after the show ended. Nipsey frees the frog from the bag Malade has him in, even as everyone else's powers begin to fade. Richard, Bobby, and the ladies are now wearing rags, and Patti's legs turn back into a tail. While Donald and Richard get her onto chairs, Della gets the necklace with her voice back before the chime on the clock stops and she loses her strength.
Broke for lunch at 11:30. Switched to Muppet Babies on Disney Now while having a blueberry-banana smoothie and peach-blueberry crisp for lunch. Gonzo is worried that Nanny won't let his friend Potato (who is an actual spud) play with them anymore when he's found near her broken flower pot. Inspired by Nanny's Sherlock Holmes stories, he plays "Sherlock Nose," with Kermit as Watson, to solve the case. Piggy just wants Mr. Nanny to play Butterfly Tag with her, but the other kids distract him with their needs. She's ready to do anything, including becoming "Blockbusters," to get his attention.
Dashed out to work around noon. Work was even worse today than yesterday. We had long lines around the store and not nearly enough people to handle them. Not only is it the beginning of the month, but we're coming up on Labor Day weekend, too. One older woman yelled at me for bagging more than two items per bag (and she had nothing heavier than cans) because she has a bad arm...until I showed her my broken elbow, which calmed her down in a hurry. It was such a mess. I couldn't have been happier when it slowed down enough by the end of the day for me to leave without a relief.
Of course, the reason it slowed down was the weather changed. The sun was out when I went to work, and while it was still humid, it wasn't as hot as yesterday. Heavy black clouds moved in as early as 5 PM. By the time I rode home, the clouds finally let loose with a shower. Thankfully, I made it home before I could get more than a little damp. It thundered a bit during dinner, but otherwise never got really heavy or noisy.
Caught the end of Match Game '74 as I changed clothes. Turned it on just as Gene swung the contestant around to celebrate her win on the Head-to-Head, while the panelists all kissed each other. The young man champion on Sale of the Century once again dominated the game, buying two out of three Instant Bargains and blowing everyone away at the Speed Round. He won a nice piece of artwork on the match the prize bonus game.
Moved online to watch Lullaby of Broadway on the TCM app. I go further into this backstage vehicle for Doris Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Lullaby of Broadway
Finished the night on YouTube. I enjoyed the original Split Second so much last night, I thought I'd look around for other rare vintage game shows. Bill Cullen hosted 23 game shows in 30 years, a feat that has yet to be matched. Alas, many of his shows are almost entirely lost, including the early 70's hit Three On a Match.
This complicated game is sort of like a cross between Sale of the Century and Split Second. Bill asks three contestants to choose between three categories. Whomever rings in first with the amount of questions they can answer chooses the categories. They can spend the money they win on the "Prize Board," which allows them to match the names of prizes. Get three matches, you get that prize. It's not as easy as it sounds! Like Split Second, this requires people to be super-fast on the draw. I think the only person who won anything on the game I watched was the lady who got a mink coat.
Wikipedia indicates that there's only about 12 episodes remaining from this show. Thankfully, the one I watched from 1973 was missing the credits and commercials, but was otherwise in far better shape than the existing Split Second shows. If you also enjoyed Bill Cullen on the trivia-oriented Blockbusters, this is worth checking out:
Three On a Match #403 (1973)
Wednesday, September 02, 2020
September Heat
Started off the morning with breakfast and what I believe to be an early 2000's episode of Supermarket Sweep. I came in just as they were beginning the Big Sweep. Two out of three groups of contestants got bonus items; one also picked up the candy, and all grabbed envelopes off of a giant Cheer box. Team 1 swept everyone else away and got twice as many groceries and bonuses as the others, but they spend too much time on the first riddle in the 5,000 dollar sweep and didn't have the time to look for the third.
Watched Split Second as I made my grocery list and prepared for work. Yesterday's champion had no problems with the contestants today. Once again, it was the ladies all the way. The champ killed in the Countdown Round and opted to return when she once again missed the car. The father-daughter pair just lost to a young woman on Blockbusters as I rushed out.
Work wasn't much fun. It's the beginning of the month, and I had to deal with a lot of people who didn't read the prices right and put back half their orders, or were in bad moods, or gave me a hard time over prices or being out of items. I was ready to tear out my hair a lot of the time. The weather didn't help. It was cloudy, warm, and humid all day, too warm and humid to do much else besides shop. I was so happy when it slowed down enough for me to shut down with no relief.
I didn't need a ton of groceries, but there were some good sales. I almost never buy Ben & Jerry's, partially because they don't go on good sales that often, and partially because their overly-chunky ice creams are usually too decadent for me. They were $2.50 each and I had an online coupon for two, so I grabbed Strawberry Cheesecake and dug out what I believe to be the last Cherry Garcia on the shelf. Had an online coupon for the already-on-sale Dannon Oiko's Greek yogurt that more-or-less gave it to me for free. Had online coupons for bananas and the Acme generic Greek yogurt, too. Bought scouring pads and wire hooks I hoped would work better than the previous ones I bought. Treated myself to a half-price bag of sugar cookies off the clearance baker's rack. Restocked apples, strawberries, bananas, ground turkey (another good sale), chicken legs, an onion, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and milk.
I got very lucky. Lines were starting to snake around the store again as I waited in the one for the express lane...but one opened up a minute later. The teen boy was quick and helpful and got me out pretty fast.
When I got home, I quickly put my bags inside, then grabbed the check for the rent. Jodie met me outside as I wheeled my bike to the garage. She sent the paperwork for our inheritances in today...which means I do have some money coming soon. Right now, I mainly want to pay off what little remains of my student loan and do some "upgrades" to me - get a hair cut, buy new glasses, replace worn t-shirts, shorts, and blouses, finally call Dr. Jessica about that blood work she wanted to do back in February, and call the dentist and see if he can either remove or replace two broken teeth.
Put everything away while watching Match Game. For some reason, they skipped the end of the Brett/Jack Klugman week in '78 and went right into the next week. I wasn't complaining too loudly, though. This week featured Robert Walden, the hunky journalist from Lou Grant, in the first seat. Brett sure found him a pleasant change from her ex (kind of) husband!
Worked on writing for an hour after I changed into regular clothes. Patti's legs begin to flicker, even as she points to Malade's neck. Donald knows what she means - Malade wears her voice in a shell on her neck. Della uses the last of her strength to wrestle it from Malade...but the the clock has just about finished striking midnight...
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching the 1974 Match Game episode. Sweet Janet Finn was finally defeated by a spicier Italian woman whom Richard certainly had his eye on. The champ just kept on rolling on Sale of the Century. No one got anywhere near him. He killed in the speed round and matched a gorgeous fur cape for his wife.
Tried hanging the calendar again while Sale was on. Nope. It still didn't work. I don't know what I'm going to do. I might just have to make one hole in the wall and see if I can cover it before I move.
Finished up the night online after a shower. Lauren's smitten with the late 80's-early 90's TV version of In the Heat of the Night. To be more specific, she fell for hunky Alan Autry, who played tough guy Officer Bubba Skinner. In the season 2 episode "Hot Nights," Bubba falls for a beautiful woman who jokes about him giving her a traffic ticket and spends more time with her when she claims her husband is trying to kill her. Chief Gillespie (Carroll O'Connor) has his suspicions about her, especially after she shoots a man who most definitely is not her husband.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the Monty Hall Split Second, I thought I'd check around and see if there's anything left of the original mid-70's version hosted by Tom Kennedy. Alas, ABC wasn't terribly good about keeping its older programming around. They wiped their tapes long after the other networks stopped doing it, which is why there's only six episodes still in existence today.
Even the two episodes I watched today were enough to understand why most game show fans prefer the original show to Monty Hall's. Tom Kennedy is far quicker on the draw than Monty, who's used to lingering over people in chicken suits. He keeps everything moving at a lighting pace; you barely have the chance to see one set of questions before the next set comes on! I do wish the set wasn't that blinding shade of orange - it's distracting - but I do like the "climb into the car; if it starts, you keep it" bonus round.
Here's the series finale from June 1975 on YouTube, complete with the original commercials!
Split Second Series Finale
Watched Split Second as I made my grocery list and prepared for work. Yesterday's champion had no problems with the contestants today. Once again, it was the ladies all the way. The champ killed in the Countdown Round and opted to return when she once again missed the car. The father-daughter pair just lost to a young woman on Blockbusters as I rushed out.
Work wasn't much fun. It's the beginning of the month, and I had to deal with a lot of people who didn't read the prices right and put back half their orders, or were in bad moods, or gave me a hard time over prices or being out of items. I was ready to tear out my hair a lot of the time. The weather didn't help. It was cloudy, warm, and humid all day, too warm and humid to do much else besides shop. I was so happy when it slowed down enough for me to shut down with no relief.
I didn't need a ton of groceries, but there were some good sales. I almost never buy Ben & Jerry's, partially because they don't go on good sales that often, and partially because their overly-chunky ice creams are usually too decadent for me. They were $2.50 each and I had an online coupon for two, so I grabbed Strawberry Cheesecake and dug out what I believe to be the last Cherry Garcia on the shelf. Had an online coupon for the already-on-sale Dannon Oiko's Greek yogurt that more-or-less gave it to me for free. Had online coupons for bananas and the Acme generic Greek yogurt, too. Bought scouring pads and wire hooks I hoped would work better than the previous ones I bought. Treated myself to a half-price bag of sugar cookies off the clearance baker's rack. Restocked apples, strawberries, bananas, ground turkey (another good sale), chicken legs, an onion, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and milk.
I got very lucky. Lines were starting to snake around the store again as I waited in the one for the express lane...but one opened up a minute later. The teen boy was quick and helpful and got me out pretty fast.
When I got home, I quickly put my bags inside, then grabbed the check for the rent. Jodie met me outside as I wheeled my bike to the garage. She sent the paperwork for our inheritances in today...which means I do have some money coming soon. Right now, I mainly want to pay off what little remains of my student loan and do some "upgrades" to me - get a hair cut, buy new glasses, replace worn t-shirts, shorts, and blouses, finally call Dr. Jessica about that blood work she wanted to do back in February, and call the dentist and see if he can either remove or replace two broken teeth.
Put everything away while watching Match Game. For some reason, they skipped the end of the Brett/Jack Klugman week in '78 and went right into the next week. I wasn't complaining too loudly, though. This week featured Robert Walden, the hunky journalist from Lou Grant, in the first seat. Brett sure found him a pleasant change from her ex (kind of) husband!
Worked on writing for an hour after I changed into regular clothes. Patti's legs begin to flicker, even as she points to Malade's neck. Donald knows what she means - Malade wears her voice in a shell on her neck. Della uses the last of her strength to wrestle it from Malade...but the the clock has just about finished striking midnight...
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching the 1974 Match Game episode. Sweet Janet Finn was finally defeated by a spicier Italian woman whom Richard certainly had his eye on. The champ just kept on rolling on Sale of the Century. No one got anywhere near him. He killed in the speed round and matched a gorgeous fur cape for his wife.
Tried hanging the calendar again while Sale was on. Nope. It still didn't work. I don't know what I'm going to do. I might just have to make one hole in the wall and see if I can cover it before I move.
Finished up the night online after a shower. Lauren's smitten with the late 80's-early 90's TV version of In the Heat of the Night. To be more specific, she fell for hunky Alan Autry, who played tough guy Officer Bubba Skinner. In the season 2 episode "Hot Nights," Bubba falls for a beautiful woman who jokes about him giving her a traffic ticket and spends more time with her when she claims her husband is trying to kill her. Chief Gillespie (Carroll O'Connor) has his suspicions about her, especially after she shoots a man who most definitely is not her husband.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the Monty Hall Split Second, I thought I'd check around and see if there's anything left of the original mid-70's version hosted by Tom Kennedy. Alas, ABC wasn't terribly good about keeping its older programming around. They wiped their tapes long after the other networks stopped doing it, which is why there's only six episodes still in existence today.
Even the two episodes I watched today were enough to understand why most game show fans prefer the original show to Monty Hall's. Tom Kennedy is far quicker on the draw than Monty, who's used to lingering over people in chicken suits. He keeps everything moving at a lighting pace; you barely have the chance to see one set of questions before the next set comes on! I do wish the set wasn't that blinding shade of orange - it's distracting - but I do like the "climb into the car; if it starts, you keep it" bonus round.
Here's the series finale from June 1975 on YouTube, complete with the original commercials!
Split Second Series Finale
Tuesday, September 01, 2020
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening
Began a cloudy morning with breakfast and Split Second. The poor young man between the two ladies just couldn't get anything going today. The ladies dominated the entire game; one just got ahead in the Countdown Round. She didn't get the car and said she'd come back and try again. The father-daughter team continued to dominate on Blockbusters, easily winning their first game. The daughter didn't do nearly as well with the Gold Rush round, only getting two answers right. They were just starting against a gentleman when time ran out.
I was about to start writing when I got a phone call from Rose. She was finally ready to sign those papers for the money we inherit from Dad and wanted to know if I could be over by noon. I was over before 11:30.
Her house was surprisingly quiet. Finley was at the sitter's, Craig was on his way to work, and Khai was attached to a video game in his room. Signing the papers wasn't hard, other than I have a hard time remembering my last Social Security numbers. I ended up doing that at home. Jodie's the one who is supposed to send them out anyway. She wasn't home. I delivered the papers to her side of the house, dropping it on the island in the kitchen with a note.
Watched a little Match Game from 1975 while having a quick lunch. The episode ended with a very funny question that joked about Richard Dawson getting married. Gossip hound Rona Barrett named then-wildly-popular actress Raquel Welch, but everyone else said Brett or Charles! Charles must have turned ten shades of red. (Which is amusing as hell if you know the show. I've read Richard and Brett did not get along, and while I don't know how he and Charles felt about each other, Charles was gay and Richard was straight as they get.)
Got to some writing next. Della manages enough strength before the clock finishes striking twelve to get Malade down with Nipsey's help, but the others aren't as lucky. The fairies' clothing is starting to fade, Brett's vines aren't as strong, and Patti can barely walk. Donald knows that Malade has Patti's voice...and he and the others have to figure out how to get it away from her...
I read my schedule wrong. I thought I wasn't due into work until 2:30, but I was actually supposed to be there at 2! I think I got mixed up because I was scheduled until 6:30. I'm annoyed about losing the half-hour, but it's not the worst thing in the universe. While it wasn't busy when I arrived or when I left, we were really crazy during rush hour. It's the beginning of the month, less than a week before Labor Day, and today is our Senior Discount Day. I was very happy to head out the door when the young man who took over my register arrived.
Jodie popped her head out the door when I pulled in. Did I want pizza with Rose and her kids? Sure, why not? Rose, Jodie, and Finley watched Trolls World Tour as I ate my slices of cheese. Khai hid under the kitchen table with his video games. I finally got around to giving him the Garfield Halloween and Christmas comics I unearthed after shelving my holiday book collection.
After Finley and Khai had cups of vanilla soft-serve ice cream with sprinkles from Mr. Softee, I told Finley I'd show her my stuffed animals while Rose talked to Jodie. Finley loved playing with them, especially Luna the Black Cat. Finley has a black kitten named Toothless, and she cuddled and hugged Luna just like she would her own cat. I played with Meowith the big Pokemon cat, and we made them hiss and roll over and lay on the ledge and do cat things.
Rose came over after a while to take Finley out to play with her friend Savannah, who lives on the other side of my apartment. I followed them after I took out my trash. Not only was Savannah out, but so were her older brother Ryan and their parents and big fluffy black dog Onyx. The kids kicked around a blue rubber ball while their parents and grandparents chatted and I laughed at their antics.
It was a gorgeous night for them to be out, too. The clouds remained, but they were beautiful silvery gray, and not at all threatening. A wonderful breeze cooled every off as they ran around and kept the kids from running into the streets.
After it got dark, we retreated to our neighbors' backyard, where they have a trampoline set up for the kids. Yes, it has a net and all the standard safety equipment...but poor Finley was too terrified to do much bouncing. Khai and Ryan had more fun, with Ryan doing some darn good flips. Rose joined in a little later and showed the boys how it's really done with a few flips of her own!
Finished the night at my place with Music in Manhattan on the Watch TCM page. I go further into this 1944 wartime backstage tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Music in Manhattan
I was about to start writing when I got a phone call from Rose. She was finally ready to sign those papers for the money we inherit from Dad and wanted to know if I could be over by noon. I was over before 11:30.
Her house was surprisingly quiet. Finley was at the sitter's, Craig was on his way to work, and Khai was attached to a video game in his room. Signing the papers wasn't hard, other than I have a hard time remembering my last Social Security numbers. I ended up doing that at home. Jodie's the one who is supposed to send them out anyway. She wasn't home. I delivered the papers to her side of the house, dropping it on the island in the kitchen with a note.
Watched a little Match Game from 1975 while having a quick lunch. The episode ended with a very funny question that joked about Richard Dawson getting married. Gossip hound Rona Barrett named then-wildly-popular actress Raquel Welch, but everyone else said Brett or Charles! Charles must have turned ten shades of red. (Which is amusing as hell if you know the show. I've read Richard and Brett did not get along, and while I don't know how he and Charles felt about each other, Charles was gay and Richard was straight as they get.)
Got to some writing next. Della manages enough strength before the clock finishes striking twelve to get Malade down with Nipsey's help, but the others aren't as lucky. The fairies' clothing is starting to fade, Brett's vines aren't as strong, and Patti can barely walk. Donald knows that Malade has Patti's voice...and he and the others have to figure out how to get it away from her...
I read my schedule wrong. I thought I wasn't due into work until 2:30, but I was actually supposed to be there at 2! I think I got mixed up because I was scheduled until 6:30. I'm annoyed about losing the half-hour, but it's not the worst thing in the universe. While it wasn't busy when I arrived or when I left, we were really crazy during rush hour. It's the beginning of the month, less than a week before Labor Day, and today is our Senior Discount Day. I was very happy to head out the door when the young man who took over my register arrived.
Jodie popped her head out the door when I pulled in. Did I want pizza with Rose and her kids? Sure, why not? Rose, Jodie, and Finley watched Trolls World Tour as I ate my slices of cheese. Khai hid under the kitchen table with his video games. I finally got around to giving him the Garfield Halloween and Christmas comics I unearthed after shelving my holiday book collection.
After Finley and Khai had cups of vanilla soft-serve ice cream with sprinkles from Mr. Softee, I told Finley I'd show her my stuffed animals while Rose talked to Jodie. Finley loved playing with them, especially Luna the Black Cat. Finley has a black kitten named Toothless, and she cuddled and hugged Luna just like she would her own cat. I played with Meowith the big Pokemon cat, and we made them hiss and roll over and lay on the ledge and do cat things.
Rose came over after a while to take Finley out to play with her friend Savannah, who lives on the other side of my apartment. I followed them after I took out my trash. Not only was Savannah out, but so were her older brother Ryan and their parents and big fluffy black dog Onyx. The kids kicked around a blue rubber ball while their parents and grandparents chatted and I laughed at their antics.
It was a gorgeous night for them to be out, too. The clouds remained, but they were beautiful silvery gray, and not at all threatening. A wonderful breeze cooled every off as they ran around and kept the kids from running into the streets.
After it got dark, we retreated to our neighbors' backyard, where they have a trampoline set up for the kids. Yes, it has a net and all the standard safety equipment...but poor Finley was too terrified to do much bouncing. Khai and Ryan had more fun, with Ryan doing some darn good flips. Rose joined in a little later and showed the boys how it's really done with a few flips of her own!
Finished the night at my place with Music in Manhattan on the Watch TCM page. I go further into this 1944 wartime backstage tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Music in Manhattan
Monday, August 31, 2020
Dolls In the Rain
Kicked off a gloomy morning with blueberry pancakes and Split Second. The college student champ and one of the ladies dominated the competition today; they finished within 50 dollars of each other. She just barely got ahead and won the Countdown Round...and then chose the right flip boards for the car on her first try!
Big winners on Blockbusters this morning, too. A father-daughter pair easily defeated a cheerful young man with a mustache. The dad went on to get every single answer right on the Gold Rush bonus round. They were taking on a lady when the episode ended.
Spent the next hour or so dressing the 18-inch dolls. Samantha wears her current pink Swiss-dotted "meet" dress with the maroon velvet sash, socks borrowed from Molly, and her black strap shoes. Molly's in Kit's blue School Outfit and her saddle shoes. The print on Kit's Flower-Print Dress are the perfect colors for Ariel; she wears it with knee-high socks and Molly's white t-strap shoes. Whitney wears her yellow and red floral print Queen's Treasures dress with the red strap shoes from Samantha's Sunny Day Dress and a crinoline from eBay. Josefina is ready for summer's end in her orange and yellow-print Summer Dress, with its faux-leather vest and high boots. Jessa's more laid-back in a long jean skirt and magenta t-shirt. Left Felicity in her lavender Travel Gown. I really don't have much else to change her into.
Listened to I Love Adventure while I worked on the dolls. Jack Packard and Reggie York return for a short-lived series that initially revolved around them going on cases of "international intrigue" for the 21 Old Men of Gramercy Park. "The Finishing School Kidnapping" is actually kind of sweet. The Old Man representing Italy is frantic when his granddaughter is among the teen girls kidnapped from a distinguished finishing school. Jack and Reggie's trail somehow takes them from Italy to a Tibetan monastery, where the last person anyone would think of taking care of teen girls is keeping them safe.
After that...I'm not sure what happened. I guess show creator Carleton Morse got tired of doing James Bond stuff. The next episode was supposed to have been an Indian adventure, from the announcement at the end, but instead, we returned to LA, Doc, and the guys being private eyes. All 13 episodes of this show exist, so I don't think there's anything missing. Reggie encounters a little boy who tries to pick his pocket in "But Grandma, What Big Eyes You Have." Turns out the kid also snatched a purse, and may have shot a man in the night. He's also scared to death of his grandmother, who is his guardian. Reggie and Jack think she's just a typical old lady at first...until they listen to her and to the kid, and realize where his nightmares came from...
Finished with the dolls in time for most of the noon showings of Match Game. Baked Chocolate Chip-Orange Muffins while I watched. Comedian Joe Silver and Esther Rolle, the warm matriarch from Good Times, appeared in two fun episodes from late 1975. (And if the announcer sounds different, it's Bern Bennett. Johnny Olsen was on vacation.)
Pulled the muffins out of the oven, then had lunch. Watched an episode of Elena of Avalor while I ate and they cooled. With the series finale having played last week, it's past time I caught up with the adventures of Disney's first Latina princess. Went with "The Curse of El Guapo" from season 2. Elena's friend Gabe has the chance to become the Captain of the Guard after the previous captain retires. He's nervous because most of the other guards come from good families and have fancy swords, and he's a baker's son with nothing. He "borrows" a sword he's supposed to deliver to a museum. Turns out it's cursed with the spirit of a handsome and arrogant general. It makes Gabe a fabulous fighter, but also arrogant and uncaring. He finally goes to young wizard Mateo for a potion that may help.
Headed out for a walk after the episode ended. I had a few errands I wanted to run. By the time I made it out around 1:30, a soft, steady shower fell. No matter. I took my umbrella instead of the bike and had a very pleasant stroll, waving to my friend Erica as she headed out in her car. My first stop was Dollar General. I wanted to get bath rugs, but they didn't have any I liked. I did replace the yellow mitten pot holder I've had since college with one that has a pretty flower print and picked up Jiff Natural Peanut Butter (less salt than most major brands).
After I briefly ducked into the post office to finally get Skylar's birthday card out, I went down the White Horse Pike to WaWa. They were pretty busy, despite it being past 2:30 at that point. I treated myself to one of the new fall smoothie flavors, Maple Pumpkin. Not bad. More maple syrup flavor than pumpkin.
Dug a letter out of the mail box when I got home. To my dismay, it was from the main office of the company that owns Acme. They claimed I hadn't sent in my paperwork for my leave...but the letter was dated a month ago. Phone calls to the Acme and the Albertsons office revealed that they'd gotten my paperwork in ages ago, and there were no problems. I hadn't gotten to updating my address with them until recently, and the letter took longer to get here because of the changed address.
After that was settled, I finally got to finishing Press Your Luck. Came in half-way through the second round, just as the one woman Whammied out. The slightly older of the two men just got a Bahamas cruise and a little money, but the other guy was hit with Whammies, and he ended up winning.
Worked on writing for a while after the show ended. The evil witch queen Malade is thrilled that midnight nears. All light magic - including that of the fairies, the wizards, and the princesses - dulls at midnight. While Fannie tries to keep her gown from vanishing, Richard holds his bow on Malade to remind her that not everyone at the ball has magic, or will be heavily effected by her spells.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. After checking a few recipes and what I had in my refrigerator, I ended up making a tuna pasta salad with home-made ranch dressing while Match Game was on. Janet Finn keeps on winning, with a little help from Charles; meanwhile, Brett teases him and complains about Donald Ross' loud shirts, while Richard wants to be the Mickey to Fannie Flagg's Minnie (or at least her Minnie Mouse t-shirt).
For some reason, Sale of the Century jumped way back to 1986. The young man contestant dominated the game full-stop, with him buying two of the three Instant Bargains and getting a big money card on the Fame Game. This was when the "bonus round" was the "match the prize" game. It took the guy a few minutes, but he did finally manage to match the car with this show's equivalent of the "Wild Card" from Concentration.
Returned to I Love Adventure while turning two mealy peaches and old blueberries in Blueberry-Peach Crisp. "The Man With the Third Green Eye" gets closer to the tone of the original I Love a Mystery. This time, Doc joins in as the trio take on the case of a mysterious man who murders their actual contact on a train, and the exotic woman connected to him.
Finished up online after my shower with the first episode of Parker Lewis Can't Lose on Crackle. Parker (Corin Nemec) and his buddies Mikey (Billy Jayne) and nerdy freshman Jerry (Troy Staden) do their bet to navigate the ins and outs of high school in 1990. The trio generally spend their time trying to avoid ending up in the office of strict Principal Musso (Melanie Chartoff), who would love to catch them in the act. Things get a little hairy when Parker falls for the beautiful girl (a young Milla Jovovich, so you really can't blame them) that Mikey also likes, and she kisses him. Mikey stops speaking to him, and it takes fending off gigantic school bully Kubiac (Abraham Benrubi) to bring them back together.
You can't get much more 1990 than this show. It's already a riff on Ferris Bueller's Day Off, with Parker dodging teachers and sisters alike and reveling in everything that seemed cool then. Ironically, it went on to do far better than an actual Ferris Bueller show in the ratings, mainly due to the surreal and occasionally twisted sense of humor. I remember hearing about this show when I was 11, but I just never got around to it then. I don't know how actual teens would react to it now, but for anyone who grew up when I did, this is a really unique blast from the past.
Big winners on Blockbusters this morning, too. A father-daughter pair easily defeated a cheerful young man with a mustache. The dad went on to get every single answer right on the Gold Rush bonus round. They were taking on a lady when the episode ended.
Spent the next hour or so dressing the 18-inch dolls. Samantha wears her current pink Swiss-dotted "meet" dress with the maroon velvet sash, socks borrowed from Molly, and her black strap shoes. Molly's in Kit's blue School Outfit and her saddle shoes. The print on Kit's Flower-Print Dress are the perfect colors for Ariel; she wears it with knee-high socks and Molly's white t-strap shoes. Whitney wears her yellow and red floral print Queen's Treasures dress with the red strap shoes from Samantha's Sunny Day Dress and a crinoline from eBay. Josefina is ready for summer's end in her orange and yellow-print Summer Dress, with its faux-leather vest and high boots. Jessa's more laid-back in a long jean skirt and magenta t-shirt. Left Felicity in her lavender Travel Gown. I really don't have much else to change her into.
Listened to I Love Adventure while I worked on the dolls. Jack Packard and Reggie York return for a short-lived series that initially revolved around them going on cases of "international intrigue" for the 21 Old Men of Gramercy Park. "The Finishing School Kidnapping" is actually kind of sweet. The Old Man representing Italy is frantic when his granddaughter is among the teen girls kidnapped from a distinguished finishing school. Jack and Reggie's trail somehow takes them from Italy to a Tibetan monastery, where the last person anyone would think of taking care of teen girls is keeping them safe.
After that...I'm not sure what happened. I guess show creator Carleton Morse got tired of doing James Bond stuff. The next episode was supposed to have been an Indian adventure, from the announcement at the end, but instead, we returned to LA, Doc, and the guys being private eyes. All 13 episodes of this show exist, so I don't think there's anything missing. Reggie encounters a little boy who tries to pick his pocket in "But Grandma, What Big Eyes You Have." Turns out the kid also snatched a purse, and may have shot a man in the night. He's also scared to death of his grandmother, who is his guardian. Reggie and Jack think she's just a typical old lady at first...until they listen to her and to the kid, and realize where his nightmares came from...
Finished with the dolls in time for most of the noon showings of Match Game. Baked Chocolate Chip-Orange Muffins while I watched. Comedian Joe Silver and Esther Rolle, the warm matriarch from Good Times, appeared in two fun episodes from late 1975. (And if the announcer sounds different, it's Bern Bennett. Johnny Olsen was on vacation.)
Pulled the muffins out of the oven, then had lunch. Watched an episode of Elena of Avalor while I ate and they cooled. With the series finale having played last week, it's past time I caught up with the adventures of Disney's first Latina princess. Went with "The Curse of El Guapo" from season 2. Elena's friend Gabe has the chance to become the Captain of the Guard after the previous captain retires. He's nervous because most of the other guards come from good families and have fancy swords, and he's a baker's son with nothing. He "borrows" a sword he's supposed to deliver to a museum. Turns out it's cursed with the spirit of a handsome and arrogant general. It makes Gabe a fabulous fighter, but also arrogant and uncaring. He finally goes to young wizard Mateo for a potion that may help.
Headed out for a walk after the episode ended. I had a few errands I wanted to run. By the time I made it out around 1:30, a soft, steady shower fell. No matter. I took my umbrella instead of the bike and had a very pleasant stroll, waving to my friend Erica as she headed out in her car. My first stop was Dollar General. I wanted to get bath rugs, but they didn't have any I liked. I did replace the yellow mitten pot holder I've had since college with one that has a pretty flower print and picked up Jiff Natural Peanut Butter (less salt than most major brands).
After I briefly ducked into the post office to finally get Skylar's birthday card out, I went down the White Horse Pike to WaWa. They were pretty busy, despite it being past 2:30 at that point. I treated myself to one of the new fall smoothie flavors, Maple Pumpkin. Not bad. More maple syrup flavor than pumpkin.
Dug a letter out of the mail box when I got home. To my dismay, it was from the main office of the company that owns Acme. They claimed I hadn't sent in my paperwork for my leave...but the letter was dated a month ago. Phone calls to the Acme and the Albertsons office revealed that they'd gotten my paperwork in ages ago, and there were no problems. I hadn't gotten to updating my address with them until recently, and the letter took longer to get here because of the changed address.
After that was settled, I finally got to finishing Press Your Luck. Came in half-way through the second round, just as the one woman Whammied out. The slightly older of the two men just got a Bahamas cruise and a little money, but the other guy was hit with Whammies, and he ended up winning.
Worked on writing for a while after the show ended. The evil witch queen Malade is thrilled that midnight nears. All light magic - including that of the fairies, the wizards, and the princesses - dulls at midnight. While Fannie tries to keep her gown from vanishing, Richard holds his bow on Malade to remind her that not everyone at the ball has magic, or will be heavily effected by her spells.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. After checking a few recipes and what I had in my refrigerator, I ended up making a tuna pasta salad with home-made ranch dressing while Match Game was on. Janet Finn keeps on winning, with a little help from Charles; meanwhile, Brett teases him and complains about Donald Ross' loud shirts, while Richard wants to be the Mickey to Fannie Flagg's Minnie (or at least her Minnie Mouse t-shirt).
For some reason, Sale of the Century jumped way back to 1986. The young man contestant dominated the game full-stop, with him buying two of the three Instant Bargains and getting a big money card on the Fame Game. This was when the "bonus round" was the "match the prize" game. It took the guy a few minutes, but he did finally manage to match the car with this show's equivalent of the "Wild Card" from Concentration.
Returned to I Love Adventure while turning two mealy peaches and old blueberries in Blueberry-Peach Crisp. "The Man With the Third Green Eye" gets closer to the tone of the original I Love a Mystery. This time, Doc joins in as the trio take on the case of a mysterious man who murders their actual contact on a train, and the exotic woman connected to him.
Finished up online after my shower with the first episode of Parker Lewis Can't Lose on Crackle. Parker (Corin Nemec) and his buddies Mikey (Billy Jayne) and nerdy freshman Jerry (Troy Staden) do their bet to navigate the ins and outs of high school in 1990. The trio generally spend their time trying to avoid ending up in the office of strict Principal Musso (Melanie Chartoff), who would love to catch them in the act. Things get a little hairy when Parker falls for the beautiful girl (a young Milla Jovovich, so you really can't blame them) that Mikey also likes, and she kisses him. Mikey stops speaking to him, and it takes fending off gigantic school bully Kubiac (Abraham Benrubi) to bring them back together.
You can't get much more 1990 than this show. It's already a riff on Ferris Bueller's Day Off, with Parker dodging teachers and sisters alike and reveling in everything that seemed cool then. Ironically, it went on to do far better than an actual Ferris Bueller show in the ratings, mainly due to the surreal and occasionally twisted sense of humor. I remember hearing about this show when I was 11, but I just never got around to it then. I don't know how actual teens would react to it now, but for anyone who grew up when I did, this is a really unique blast from the past.
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