Began the morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. The mother/daughter pair are unstoppable. I came in just as they went into another Gold Rush bonus round. The daughter only missed two questions, getting the rest in plenty of time. They were on the first round with another solo lady as the show finished.
Switched to PBS Kids for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while cleaning up from breakfast. "Daniel and Margaret Visit the Farm" with their parents. Daniel is nervous about riding a horse until his father agrees to hold his hand. He has to hold Margaret's hand when she feeds the ducks for the first time. They celebrate the 4th of July with a picnic and "Fireflies and Fireworks." Margaret is scared of the fireflies. Dan holds her hand until she's used to them. Their parents have to hold both their hands until the noisy fireworks pass.
Did Schoolhouse Rock while taping up some boxes. America Rock was created for the Bicentennial in 1975 and 1976 to teach the kids about US history. "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," "Fireworks," and "No More Kings" cover the arrival of the first colonists to the US, the writing of the Declaration of Independence, and the American Revolution. "Elbow Room" discusses the Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion. "Mother Necessity" and "The Great American Melting Pot" reveals how the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought immigrants who created new inventions that changed everyone's lives for better or for worse. "Sufferin' 'Til Suffrage" discusses one hundred years of women fighting for the vote. "The Preamble," "Three Ring Government," and "I'm Just a Bill" detail aspects of the US Government, how it was created, how it works now, and how a bill becomes law. "Tyrannosaurus Debt" from Money Rock is a pointed commentary on the US national debt and how it keeps growing.
Put on Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation after the shorts ended. Buster, Babs, and Myron the dog celebrate the start of summer with an epic water fight that ends with them downriver, dodging several swamp critters who think they're on the menu. Plucky begs to join his best friend Hamton as they take a summer-long trip to major theme park Happy World Land, only to discover they're a smiley-happy type of family who would give the Osmonds cavities. Shirley the Loon tries to avoid Fowlmouth's attempts to take her to a movie, while Fifi LaFume tries to get an autograph from her favorite star and Elmyra terrorizes the animals in a safari park.
Worked on packing as the movie ran. I went through the medicine cabinet after I got a bad sore throat last September and got rid of most of the expired medicines then. The only thing I had to ditch was a dicey-looking bottle of Pepto Bismol. Everything else went into three of the remaining small boxes, including the first aid items in the back room. From now on, bathroom toiletries and linens go in the bathroom, and kitchen things go in the kitchen. I also packed jeans and capris I won't need into my soft-sided turquoise suitcase.
Did Recess: School's Out while scrubbing the bathroom. T.J Detwiler is badly disappointed when all his friends at the Third Street School go to camp for the summer, leaving him with nothing to do. He ends up with more excitement than he bargained for when he sees a laser beam shoot out of the school's roof. He tries to show a skeptical Principal Prickley, only for him to vaporize before his eyes! Now he has to round up the rest of the kids at Third Street and bring them back to stop a rogue teacher from ending summer vacation and prove just how important time off and making memories are.
Relaxed with crocheting while watching Tattletales and Press Your Luck. Adorable comic couple Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill were the big winners on Tattletales today, getting every question right. The sweet older woman from yesterday on Press Your Luck was defeated by a young man who only got hit with one Whammy and got the Hawaiian vacation he'd hoped for.
Rose called as I was finishing with the crocheting. She wanted to invite me to 4th of July at her house tomorrow at 4. She's just having me, Jodie, and Craig's parents. That's fine by me. Regardless of what's going on, I'm not a big fan of huge parties anyway.
Worked on writing for a while. Malade's about to burn Charles and the unconscious Brett to a crisp when someone throws water on her, and a frog's tongue yanks her to the ground. Betty and her frog friend came back to retrieve Charles and Brett, hoping to head off Malade. Malade tells them that only an act of caring and compassion can free Brett...and her true love is still a statue.
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Match Game. Country star Mel Tillis joins the regulars, Bonnie Franklin, and Fannie Flagg as they make jokes about a notorious Southern California car salesman and try to help the contestant with a "Link" question in the Audience Match, only to see her strike out on her own. The young woman champ also struck out on Sale of the Century. She seemed nervous and kept jumping in on questions way too fast. Another woman got past her in the speed round and won, though she didn't do nearly as well in the bonus round.
Went for a walk around 7:30 in the hope that the heat would be gone by then. Nope. It remained hot and humid, even as the sun went down. Dodged a big group of boys eating ice cream and pizza on West Clinton Avenue and treated myself to a butter pecan cone at Phillies Yummies. That may not have been the best thing to buy today. It tasted great, but it melted fast and kept dripping and making a mess.
Finished the night with Hamilton on Disney Plus. Most of you were probably expecting this review to turn up at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. I considered it, but as popular as it is, this is really a stage show. The theater is a different medium from movies.
That said, it was nice to finally catch this one after having bought the cast album about four years ago. Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) comes from Jamaica to New York and becomes embroiled in the American Revolution. He eventually marries sweet Eliza (Phillipa Soo), one of the wealthy Schuylar sisters. Her older sister Angelica (Renee Elise Goldberry) favored him, but eventually decided to marry a rich man and turned Alexander over to her sister, who also loved him. Alexander becomes the right-hand man to George Washington (Christopher Jackson) during the war, but has a more difficult time afterwards. Despite his becoming the Secretary of the Treasury and writing volumes of papers, he has a hard time getting richer Thomas Jefferson (Daveed Digs) to listen...and then his son Phillip (Anthony Ramos) dies in a duel. Hamilton too finds himself in a duel with rival Aaron Burr (Leslie Odam Jr.), too Eliza's horror. It's one that Hamilton may not make it out of live...but Eliza knows how to make his legacy live on...
Yes, this is a stage show, but it's dynamic and well-sung, with some fine performances. It was originally filmed in 2016, at the height of the show's popularity, and it captures all the vigor and energy of one of the biggest stage hits of the last 10 years. If you love Miranda's music or early American history and can handle the language and some mild sexuality, you'll want to give this one your best shot.
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