Milkshakes and Dishes

Slept in this morning and didn't roll out of bed until almost 11. Put on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while eating breakfast. Jodie is "A New Friend at School" when she plays moving with Prince Wednesday, leading Daniel to think Wednesday doesn't want to be his friend anymore. He discovers that even when our old friends play with other people, they still want to be friends with us. Something similar happens when Miss Elaina plays Splatball with Jodie but inadvertently leaves Dan out in "A New Friend at the Playground." He has to remind the girls to include him, and that he and Miss Elania are still friends.

Checked out another PBS Kids show while doing the dishes. Pinkalcious is a creative young lady who adores the color pink. She lives with her little brother Peter and their parents in Pinkville and has very cotton candy adventures with her many friends in town. "Whale Song" takes her and her family on a cruise to find the Great Pink Whale. They find a baby whale, but she seems to have lost her mother, until Pink figures out a way to call to her. Pink's giant "Pinkabubbles" somehow end up floating Peter all over town! She and her friends chase after him in an attempt to get him down.

Switched to Match Game as I started packing dishes. Lovely and smart Jo Ann Pflug came in for a lot of ribbing in these two episodes from 1974. In the first one, everyone went after her with markers to put a mustache after her! They all wished her a happy birthday in the second, and Richard admired her yellow Native American-print t-shirt.

Packing dishes took a lot longer than I expected. I still have the original boxes for my floral dish set and the popcorn bowls that Rodney Walker sent me. I've had the floral dishes and their box since college! Had a hard time figuring out how to get it all in the box, even without the salad plate I broke years ago. Finally gave up and put the mugs in a plastic container.

The popcorn bowls gave me trouble, too. I couldn't figure out how to use all the cardboard pieces and still fit everything in the box. In this case, I left out the popcorn jar (I'll pack that with the kitchen appliances), put the larger cardboard pieces on the bottom, and lined the large and small bowls with thick paper napkins.

Moved to Tubi for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins after the game shows ended. Having enjoyed Buckaroo Bonzai a while back, I thought I'd give the other cult comic book-style action movie from the mid-80's a try. Sam Makin (Fred Ward), a tough Brooklyn cop, barely survives an attack in his neighborhood. He's recruited by a shadowy government group to be their newest agent. The give him a different face, dub him "Remo Williams," and send him to train with the mystical, soap opera-obsessed Korean Chiun (Joel Gray). Even as Chiun teaches Williams wild stunts like dodging bullets and wet cement, his new friends discover a corrupt arms deal going on within the US Army, calling a reluctant Williams to investigate.

Apparently, this is based after a long-running series of action novels known under the name The Destroyer. Orion Pictures wanted their own American James Bond, but I wonder if it just works better on the printed page. It's too serious for all the lunacy that goes on in it. There's Gray's clearly not-Korean magical martial arts mentor, the underground agency that recruits Williams and bases his name off the bedpan one agent finds in his hospital room, and the dull and complicated secret weapon plot. Ward's kind of boring for a Bond-style leading man, too.

In the end, it lacks the off-the-walls wackiness that made Buckaroo Bonzai weird-but-fun (not to mention that film's crazy cast), and the relatively cheap production curbs a lot of the action you'd find in other 80's movies of this stripe. Only worth seeing if you really love 80's action or the book series.

Had lunch during the first half of Remo Williams, then packed the hardback kids novels during the second. Found a crate in the back that would work for the hardbacks. Just managed to squeeze them all in. I'll have to find something else for the children's anthologies, picture books, and the American Girl mysteries, though. Managed to fit all but two of my folders with printed-out stories and important information that I won't need right away in the shoulder bag I used to use as a carry-on during long trips.

Returned to Buzzr for Tattletales and crocheting after the movie ended. They backed up a bit to 1974 for this week's crowd. The winners were comedian Marty Allen and his salty and very funny wife Frenchie. Three new contestants went up against the Whammy on Press Your Luck. No one hit any Whammies in the first half, but everyone got at least two in the second. In the end, the winner wound up with a car and a stereo, even after hitting two Whammies.

Worked on writing for a while late in the afternoon. Bill (Daily), now restored to his human form, explains to Marcia (Wallace) that he was "Will" who wrote her love letters. His last letter invited her to the Summer-Winter Castle for a date...the day Malade invaded. He'd intended to give Marcia a letter to propose to her, but the jealous queen burned it in the fireplace. Angered when he turned down her proposal and refused to help her root out magicians, she turned him into a wolf and forced him to sniff them out anyway. He finally broke free of her collar and muzzle and ran off to find someone who could reverse the spell, which was how he found the others.

Broke for scrambled eggs and vegetables and corn on the cob for dinner at 6:30. For some reason, the evening Match Game skipped ahead two years to 1977. Cranky Joey Bishop and sassy Elizabeth Allen joined Fannie Flagg and the regulars to liven up the new year, as Richard helps a sweet young man win money for his parents and church and the lights went out just as Fannie tries to give an answer.

Sale of the Century also skipped way ahead to 1988. Now, everyone wins the prize of the day and plays a guess-the-puzzle bonus round at the end, instead of just deciding if they want to come back for more prizes. A young woman bought an Instant Bargain, won the Instant Cash, and breezed through the speed round, but she just couldn't get the extra money on the bonus round.

Went for a walk after Sale ended. I wanted to at least do something outside today! Though it was hazy and humid, it was also sunny and breezy. Strolled over to WaWa for a treat. The lemonade milkshake I bought was delicious! It was probably flavored with concentrate or a mix, but it still tasted of tart lemon. They were really busy, too. I guess everyone else wanted to get out while it was relatively cool. I hadn't seen a line that long in there since February. I slurped it on the way home, passing kids on bikes and adults working in their gardens or walking their dogs.

Finished out the night with my own Match Game mini-marathon in honor of Pride Month before tonight's syndicated "premiere" on YouTube. Gay theater star, director, and acting teacher Charles Nelson Reilly and lesbian writer and comedienne Fannie Flagg are two of my favorite panelists on the show. His wit and knowledge of the arts and her sassy jokes and gags brought a lot to the panels they appeared on. I watch a lot of Chuck, so I did one episode revolving around him and two around Fannie.

Match Game '75 (Episode 471) - Charles returns after a six-month hiatus and does it in the most creative way possible - via flying harness and a stuffed bird!
Match Game '74 (Episode 231) - Fannie's Fried Eggs sweater causes quite a stir.
Match Game '76 (Episode 635) - Fannie turns up in a long, wavy red wig and a Brooklyn accent...and then Brett mentions her parents are in the audience.