Saturday, February 02, 2019

No Shadow for the Groundhog

Kicked off a sunny morning with breakfast, making the bed, and football-related shorts in honor of the Super Bowl tomorrow. The black and white short "Touchdown Mickey" has Disney's favorite mouse as the world's least-likely Jared Goff, trying to impress Minnie and Clarabelle in the stands. Goofy's announcing leaves even more to be desired.

Popeye appeared in not one, but two football-related shorts during his black-and-white Fleicher Brothers years. "You Gotta Be a Football Hero," says Olive as she ogles quarterback Bluto. A jealous Popeye joins the opposing team, and proceeds to take on Bluto and his huge teammates himself. He's "The Football Toucher-Downer" in a story he tells Sweet Pea about how he used spinach to win a football game as a child.

Hello Kitty strikes a blow for feminism and female football fans in "Cinderkitty." This little Cinderella would rather be catching forward passes than being a cheerleader. She finally shows her stepsister Catnip and stepmother Fangora that a girl can do both, and get the penguin prince quarterback in the deal.

Ran a Three Stooges football short as I got ready for work. They're "Three Little Pigskins" who are mistaken for college football stars hired by gangsters to play for his pro team. They're more interested in flirting with the gangsters' lovely molls, including a blonde and sarcastic Lucile Ball.

Rushed off to work a bit early. First of all, I wanted to avoid the mess in the streets leftover from yesterday. While it's still fairly cold, it's not nearly as cold as it has been. The streets were already melting, even as I arrived at work. Despite tomorrow being the Super Bowl, we were only off-and-on steady. A lot of people may have been scared off by the snow that was left on the ground or are waiting for tomorrow. I bagged for a while and did the recycling and a few returns, but I was mostly outside, helping another bagger with the continually disappearing carts. I had no problem with this. Along with being a little warmer, the wind had died down to a stiff breeze, and it was sunny with a brilliant blue sky.

(Interestingly, despite the nice day, Phil the Groundhog supposedly didn't see his shadow. Considering I'm hearing upper 50's for here by the end of next week, I'll believe that early spring prediction.)

The other reason I came early was to set up my mini-donuts for the Acme's annual pre-Super Bowl Chili Cook Off. I can't carry a crock pot on my bike, so I always bring a dessert. Along with six chili entries (the most we've ever had), other main dishes included meatballs, macaroni salad, potato salad, pulled pork, and tasty macaroni and cheese brought in by one of the managers who retired last summer. Desserts included cheesecake, jam thumbprint cookies, an extraordinarily moist chocolate mayonnaise cake, a basket of dark chocolate Hershey's Miniatures, and boxes of Irish potatoes.

Went straight home after I got off. As soon as I got in, I changed and straightened the apartment. The woman who was interested in my American Girl bed and bedding was supposed to be around at 3:30. As it turned out, she was late leaving Haddonfield and didn't arrive until nearly 4:30. She was a young woman with a sweet smile who arrived in a car driven by an older woman, possibly her grandmother. I lead her upstairs - my apartment is hard for most people to find - and showed her the items. She gathered them in her arms, happily handed me the 50 dollars, and headed right out.

Worked on writing as soon as she left. Han gets into an argument with Leia over her throwing herself into their stealing enterprises, especially after he tells her that he really needs to get that money to Baron Du Hutt. He's not happy either when she tells him that Luke's bringing around another older monk for "spiritual guidance."

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Made banana pancakes, since I work too early to get to them tomorrow. Ran a few more football cartoons while I ate. "The Acme Bowl" from the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures pits Acme Looniversity's squad against the team from Perfecto Prep, which has never lost a game. Buster has his own plans to lead his team to victory, but Plucky's defection to Perfecto may send his plans for a fumble.

The Peanuts did two specials centered around football. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown is the better-known and easier-to-find of the two. The gang may have a chance to win the big homecoming game, if only Lucy would stop pulling away that football so Charlie can kick it! He's more concerned about escorting the Little Red Haired Girl to the homecoming dancing and having to kiss her.

You're In the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown has the kids entering a big Punt n' Pass contest. The winner will get a new bike and will go to the Super Bowl. Charlie Brown and Linus both get a crush on another cute red-headed girl, this one named Melody. They think she's at the contest to cheer them on, but the event has a very surprising conclusion. Meanwhile, Snoopy leads his all-bird Eagles squad to victory over several teams of rougher, tougher animals, despite Lucy's meddling.

Finished the night with the original 1978 version of The Wiz, which I go into further detail on at my Musical Dreams Reviews Blog.

The Wiz (1978)

And here's even more football cartoons to tide you over while you wait for the big game tomorrow:

Goofy - How to Play Football
Looney Tunes - Peace Time Football
Disney Classics - Football Then and Now
Mickey Mouse - Touchdown and Out

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