Watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while eating breakfast. Minnie's upset when she loses Mickey's lucky coin in deep Mickey Lake. Professor Ludvig Von Drake lends his new mini-submarine to Mickey and the gang so they can find it. The gang says "Aye Aye, Captain Mickey!" as they follow a map and discover the mysteries of the deep lake.
Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I wanted to run a few errands on a beautiful holiday. Started off at Dollar General. Lauren's birthday is Saturday, but I want to send her card early. Grabbed a card for her here, along with makeup crayons for my black cat costume on Halloween. Picked up facial wash at CVS. I've been breaking out. I guess it's stress.
Strolled through Oaklyn next and down to West Clinton. Had a drink and a treat at Common Grounds. They were the busiest I've ever seen them, probably due to it being a holiday. School is closed, and a lot of local stores aren't open normally on Mondays anyway. I finally got a spot on the long bench near the counter. Tried their pumpkin chai and caramel apple crumb cake. Both were a bit too sweet, and neither especially tasted of pumpkin or apple (though the chai did taste of spices). They were still cool and filling.
I was passing Rose and Craig's house when I noticed that their door was open, and Rose's car was turning in the driveway. I caught them at the perfect time. Rose just took Finley to get her ears pierced. She checked her cute cherry earrings to make sure they're locked in while I came in to say "hi" and pat Oreo and Cider on the head. Craig was doing the dishes; Khai had sequestered himself in his room with video games. I wasn't there for too long, just long enough to see her ears. Finley apparently needed a nap.
It was a gorgeous day for a walk. I got to see all the cool Halloween and fall decorations in Oaklyn. People get so creative around here! They ranged from big pots of mums and pumpkins on stoops to yards made up to look like cemeteries with cardboard headstones and realistic skeletons. Rose was among those who had inflatables, including Frankenstein and a red-eyed dragon. Saw kids out riding their bikes and parents working in their gardens or on their own walks.
Stopped at WaWa briefly on the way back. I was thirsty again. Grabbed one of those tasty Oreo Coke Zeros, paid for it, and got back out.
After I got home, I took my laundry downstairs and watched The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About Halloween. The Cat takes Nick and Sally through a spooky forest and a corn maze in search of Bubbles Biederbaum and her Ooky-Makooky Closet that holds every possible costume in the world. Nick is scared of the thunder storm they encounter on the way, and Bubbles' creaky old house freaks out Sally, but the Cat teaches them to confront their fears and if possible, fix the problem. Mr. Fish spends the special trying to give the Cat a scare. The Cat claims he doesn't get scared, but he does seem awfully edgy about the pumpkin patch they fly over...
Switched to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein next. Baggage clerks Chick Young (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur Gray (Lou Costello) find themselves up to their ears in Universal's finest when they deliver a package containing Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and his coffin to a local wax museum. Turns out this Dracula is no dummy. He revives Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange) and hypnotizes Wilbur to do his dirty work.
Wilbur's thrilled when he has two attractive women come onto him, but they're not interested in him. Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) thinks he has the perfect docile brain for the monster, while insurance agent Joan Raymond (Jane Randolph) thinks he's knows more than he's telling about the missing monsters. Meanwhile, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) has been hounding the guys to help him find those monsters - literally, given he can turn into a werewolf by the full moon. There's also Professor Stevens (Charles Bradstreet), who is beginning to wonder just where all this strange equipment came from...and why his new boss Dr. Lejos is so interested in Wilbur...
Hilarious comedy is probably Abbott and Costello's best and best-known movie. Lugosi and especially Chaney have a great time sending up their reputations as Universal's top monster men. I also love that both the mad scientist and the agent are female. That's not something you're likely to see in current horror movies, let alone one made in 1948. If you're a big Abbott and Costello or classic monster fan or are like me and prefer your horror comedies with more comedy than horror,
Put my laundry in the dryer after the movie ended, then worked on the inventory for a while. Finished The Drowsy Chaperone and the F CD titles - the original 1971 and 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse casts of Follies, the 2001 revival of 42nd Street, and the original cast of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum. Most of these go so far back, I only remember finding Drowsy Chaperone (it came from the long-gone FYE at the Gallery Mall in Philly) and the 1971 Follies (picked it up at the Northshire Bookstore in 2008 when they still carried CDs).
Broke to put my laundry away, then had dinner at quarter after 7. Match Game '77 is on the delightful week with Dick Smothers and comedienne Minnie Pearl of Hee Haw. Minnie was cute, funny, and a darn good player, and I really wish they'd gotten her away from Tennessee again. Minnie sported her trademark flowered hat and lacy dresses in two episodes. Brett wore her own flowered hat in tribute in another.
Made the bed while waiting for a neighbor to come and take the air conditioner out for the season, then took a shower. Finished the night with versions of Lingo, which originally debuted on September 28th, 1987. This started as one of the many syndicated game shows that debuted after the wild success of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in the mid-80's. Two teams have to guess a five-letter word on a bingo card. If they guess the right words, they can pick numbers and get bingo. The bonus round is the same, but here, if they don't make Lingo, they can win prizes.
Though the show was fun to watch, it didn't last a year. Host Michael Reagan was dull as a rock, and the game play wasn't unique enough to stand out in a glut of syndicated game shows . Game Show Network saw something in it and revived it in 2002, with the far more charismatic Chuck Woolery hosting. The game play remains largely the same, with a different end game. This time, the teams had two minutes to guess as many words on the Lingo boards as possible. The team drew Lingo balls for each word they got right. If they formed a Lingo, they could win a prize package.
Unlike in the 80's, Lingo was in the right place at the right time. It was a breath of lighthearted fresh air amid the tension-filled quiz shows of the early 2000's, with Woolery having a blast hosting. The show ran from 2002 to 2007 and saw frequent re-runs. It was so popular, many kids who grew up in the early-mid 2000's still have fond memories of it.
GSN tried again with Lingo in 2011. Once again, the game play remained largely the same. Bonus Lingo is also more-or-less the same, this time with no Lingo balls involved. William Baldwin was an ok host, but the show never found its audience and was gone within two months.
The success of Lingo continued well into the 21st century, so much that CBS revived it again last year in its first outing in prime-time and on a major network. RuPaul is the charming and flamboyant host. The game play remains the same, but it's now expanded to an hour, with four couples playing. The two winning couples from each half-hour play each other in the end. The bingo mechanics have been cut down to RuPaul picking letter balls to start off each round. The second round plays more like Now You See It, with each couple trying to figure out a word on one line from the letters he chose.
Not bad. I do miss the bingo balls, but it moves faster, and RuPaul does seem to enjoy hosting. It just completed its second season on CBS; I hope it returns next year.
Guess words and see if you can avoid the infamous black and red balls in these fast-paced episodes! (Oh, and the only place you can find the current version of Lingo besides CBS is Paramount Plus; you will need a subscription to access the most recent episode.)
No comments:
Post a Comment