Spent the next half-hour or so figuring out what to do with myself. I originally planned on hanging out inside. It snowed late last night, and rather heavily...but by 1:30, the snow had long ended. It also never stuck to the streets, or anything but the grass and rooftops. It was really too nice to be inside all day now.
I ended up going for a walk into Collingswood. I hadn't been there since the week after Christmas. Apparently, I wasn't the only person who decided to take advantage of Mother Nature's surprising generosity. Collingswood was packed with families, friends, and college students browsing in the thrift shops and gift stores. I peered around the Time Lapse thrift shop twice, but all I came up with was a record. Found nothing at the Clutter thrift shop, either.
Had a brief and simple lunch at GrooveGround Coffee House. I was more cold after my walk through Newton Park than hungry. I just had a raspberry royale tea latte and a blueberry muffin. The latte at least tasted like raspberry, though I probably should have asked for honey. The muffin was nice and moist, but could have done with more blueberries.
After a quick stop at WaWa for money, I headed back down Haddon Avenue. Saw a group of Girl Scouts selling cookies on the corner near the Pop Shop. This time, I decided to try the new Adventurefuls - crisp brownie cookies filled with salted caramel. Very sweet, but not bad. A peek at Haddon Culinary yielded a busy shop and no finds. I didn't realize the Collingswood Library is only opened until 1:30 on Saturday. I didn't make it down there until almost 3.
Had far more luck across the street at Innergroove Records. Though they were also busy, I found another cast album I've wanted for a while. Dug five records out of the two dollar crates and one showtune collection that was erroneously included with the dollar classical records.
Incidentally, I came up with:
The original cast of The Wiz (This was the splurge at $15. Not only have I wanted it for a while, but a revival is set to open on Broadway next month.)
Ben Bagley's Jerome Kern Revisited (I love collections of rare showtunes. This is the one I found in the dollar classical stack.)
The Beach Boys - All Summer Long and Spirit of America (I really bought the latter for the incredible cover.)
Original soundtrack for the Disney Alice In Wonderland
The rock collections The 30 Love Songs of the 60's, 70's, and 80's, Unforgettable Fifties, and Gold & Platinum (the last named is an 80's collection)
My best find of the day was a freebee. I don't know who left a gorgeous Barnes and Noble copy of The Snow Queen and Other Winter Tales in the book kiosk down the block, but they're now one of my favorite people. This is an anthology of the Hans Christian Anderson title story and many other fairy tales and fantasy short stories revolving around Christmas or winter. If nothing else, I had no idea Alexandre Dumas wrote a version of The Nutcracker. I can't wait to look over some of these stories, which range from shorts Dumas and Oscar Wilde to various fables from the Color Fairy Books.
Soon as I got home, I went straight into a much-needed shower, even before I put everything way. Got organized, then spent the rest of the night watching today's Match Game marathon. Vicki Lawrence was only involved sporadically with the 1970's run of the show. She appeared during the first week in 1973, but wouldn't turn up again until 1978. She did a week on her own that year, then wandered in with the rest of The Carol Burnett Show cast during another episode and ended up playing a round.
Vicki turned up far more often in the two 90's runs. In fact, she was one of the best things about them. Her complaints and down-home fussing brought a lot to Match Game '90. Towards the end of the show's run, she got into a feud with host Ross Schafer that ended with him falling downstairs and walking with a cane for an episode. She also cut up his fancy tie; he supposedly repaired it with green tape.
The 1998 Match Game is extremely rare nowadays, and with good reason. It hasn't worn nearly as well as the late 90's Hollywood Squares. The panel is reduced to five, the pastel set is butt-ugly, and the host Michael Burger is dull as the paint on the set. The changes made to the show, including selecting nonsensical subjects for the questions, don't help at all, and everyone is trying too hard to have a good time.
That said, it's not quite that bad. The decent panel does help. Vicki's funny as ever, Nell Carter gets some good moments, and George Hamilton gets to throw out a few quips that spoof his smarmy reputation. Judy Tenuta of the strange answers and tight leggings can be overly shrill, but she can also be hilarious, especially making fun of Berger.
Have fun with Mama Harper as she matches throughout the 90's in this rare and unusual marathon!
Finished the night with Tom & Jerry and The Wizard of Oz. I go further into this earlier crossover between the cat and mouse duo and a famous Warners franchise at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
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