Movin' Right Along

Began another warm, sunny morning with simple Buttermilk Pancakes and mandarin oranges for breakfast. Listened to a couple of kid-friendly record soundtracks while I ate and made Apple-Butterscotch Muffins. The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper both have really fun scores. "The Rainbow Connection" was the hit from Muppet Movie, but my favorite number is the jazzy instrumental version of "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along" on side 2.

While Great Muppet Caper wasn't as big of a hit, the music is almost as good. The lovely ballad "The First Time It Happens" was nominated for an Oscar. I also like the meta opening number "It's a Movie!"

In honor of the sequel due out late next year, I ran the soundtrack for Mary Poppins as I got ready to go to work. Great cast here, including Julie Andrews as "practically perfect" Mary and Dick Van Dyke as her jack-of-all-trades beau Bert, not to mention such character actors as Ed Wynn as Uncle Albert (singing "I Love to Laugh"). "Chim Chim Cheree" may have won the Oscar, but my favorite numbers are two gentle lullabies that demonstrate the Sherman Brothers' ability to write ballads for a musical without a traditional girl-meets-boy plot, the dreamy "Stay Awake" and touching "Feed the Birds."

It was crazy at work when I arrived. I was outside for most of the day. I did get stuck in a register again, this time only for about 20 minutes, and I did have to deal with some cranky customers. Otherwise, I stuck to gathering carts. Unlike yesterday, I had plenty of help from two teenagers and an older bagger who mainly works outside. Despite the Eagles game beginning a hour after I arrived, it remained fairly busy right up until I left.

(Oh, and while they actually played really well, the Eagles just couldn't out-run the Chiefs and lost to them with a respectable 27-20.)

The DVD player was waiting for me on the steps when I got home. It did prove easy to set up; just had to plug everything in the right place. I can't believe how much smaller it is than the recorder! Doesn't even take up a third of the space that the older one did.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as I did get it together...the light on the power strip died. Nothing worked in the corner where the entertainment area is. Not even the CD player, which wasn't plugged into the power strip. After spending over a half-hour trying to figure it out, I called Richard and told him that the fuse had blown.

Only got a little writing in. Lance, who is passing himself off as a gambler, comes to talk to Leia as she finishes her number. He can't find Hank...and Jasper is eyeing her. He warns her about dealing with the corpulent gangster, but Leia insists she can take care of herself.

Broke at quarter of 7 for a quick leftovers dinner. Richard showed up as I was finishing. I'd already moved the power strip to the outlet behind the shelves with the Christmas DVDs, where I keep the lamp for the entertainment area. It worked perfectly fine. Richard says there might be something wrong with the socket. He'll fix it tomorrow. Charlie can't do it - he's got a lot of other projects going on, including an out-of-town one.

Tested the new DVD player with Summer Magic, the movie I tried to watch when the DVD recorder died last week. This time, it played just fine (and a lot quieter than the previous one). Based after the novel Mother Carey's Chickens, this live-action Disney musical takes us to New England in the early 1910's. The recently-widowed Mrs. Carey (Dorothy MacGuire) takes her three children to live in a big old house in Maine after having lost all their money in a bad investment. Daughter Nancy (Haley Mills) in particular is delighted. She loves the country and the new house and especially Ossium Poppum (Burl Ives), the kindly general store owner who helps them repair the house. Even the arrival of her snooty cousin Julia (Deborah Walley) can't diminish her happiness. However, the arrival of the house's wealthy real owner may throw a crimp into her new life...

I consider all of Disney's live-action musicals to be underrated, and this one is no exception. The charming, meandering story makes it perfect to watch in late summer/early fall. (I usually put it on between late August and early October.) If you love other musical excursions into Americana like Meet Me In St. Louis and On Moonlight Bay, you may want to enjoy a little "summer magic" too.

Finished the night with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as I went online. I did it partially to see how a homemade DVD would work (this is one of the movies I dubbed), and partially because I haven't watched it in ages. (Yes, it worked just fine.) Gene Wilder is the title character, a mysterious candy maker who is opening his chocolate factory for the first time in years. He sends out five Golden Tickets to the general public, inspiring a buying frenzy. While most of the children who find them are spoiled, selfish, and bratty, Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) is a gentle boy from a poor family who is a genuinely good kid. In the end, the kids, their guardians, and even Wonka himself learn the real winners are those with a sweet heart, not just a sweet tooth.

Later versions, including the 2005 remake and the two current stage musicals, would emphasize the darker edges in the story and update most of the kids' faults. (Roald Dahl himself apparently hated this version.) I've always liked this one. It's just dark enough (with that crazy boat ride) and the music is wonderful. It's a family favorite, to the point where it was the first movie we rented when we bought a VCR around 1985.

Highly recommended to families with older grade school kids on up who love musicals and can handle the darker aspects. (Those looking for an adaptation that's closer to the book or is a little darker may want to try the 2005 Tim Burton version instead of or before this one.)

Incidentally, I moved both the VCR and the DVD recorder out to the back room for now. I may put the VCR back eventually, but the recorder's done for. That'll probably go out the next time I put out the trash.