Oh Christmas Matches

Kicked off the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Huckle and Lowly inadvertently test out "Mr. Fix-It's Super Submarine" when it ends up in the water and Fix-It has to chase it. Cahachu of South America is known for his tall tales. His parents think he's telling more whoppers when he explains about a tree with sap that can bounce, until "Cahachu's Magic Tree" helps patch up his father's canoe. "Mr. Bean's Restaurant" isn't doing well with its all-bean menu. Hilda helps him drum up more business for his drive-in by teaching him about variety in diets.

Hurried off to work soon as the episode ended. In good news, work wasn't busy like it was yesterday. It started to pick up a little bit later in the day, but nothing like Friday. Everyone must have been out for the Black Friday sales. Trouble is, the Acme is having a lot of online-only sales in honor of Cyber Monday. That's lovely, but the banner on the coupons announcing them being online only is small. Everyone thinks the sales are for the regular store, which means I have to put a lot of stuff back because they didn't want it full price.

Picked up more of those pumpkin pecan cookies before they vanish, then headed out. Stopped at A&A Pretzels on the way home for lunch. They were busy for them, but I was still able to buy two large twist pretzels and a cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel, along with a can of Diet Pepsi.

Changed, then had lunch while watching The Monkees. "The Devil and Peter Tork" is the show's second venture into classic plays, and my personal favorite episode of the entire series. Peter thinks he's just buying a beautiful harp from a certain Mr. Zero (Monte Landis in his best role) at a local pawn shop. Turns out Mr. Zero is the devil, and he's really bought Peter's soul. Mike and the others take Zero to court in order to prove that Peter, who could play 8 instruments in real life, didn't need Zero's help to be able to play the harp too.

Ironically, it's followed by one of my least-favorite episodes. The guys' hearts just aren't in "Monkees Race Again." This was apparently the last episode to be filmed, and it's obvious from their lackluster performances that they'd lost interest by this point. Not that I can blame them. The story that involves the guys helping a friend of Davy's grandfather beat two German car designers at a major race is clunky and has no real stakes. Not to mention, other than a hilarious opening where a phone somehow manages to speed off, it doesn't really do much with the guys.

Switched to one of my Happy Holidays records while vacuuming and Swiftering my apartment. I'm pretty sure I dug this one up earlier this year. Vol 13 from 1978 is the earliest collection I own. They'd get more creative with music in the 80's. but some of the songs here aren't bad. Leontyne Price performs a gorgeous "Ave Maria," Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass have fun with "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and Julie Andrews joins Andre Previn for "Jingle Bells." 

Moved on to Spellbound as I dusted my apartment. I go further into this brand-new animated fantasy at Netflix at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - Spellbound (2024)

Put on Walt Disney Christmas Favorites Vol 2 while putting up my Christmas tree and the lights and garland. By far the stand-out in this collection is the last track. "It Won't Be Long 'Til Christmas" from The Happiest Millionaire wound up being the surprise gem here. The movie itself is far from Disney's best, but the song is lovely. I also liked "Bring a Torch, Isabella," but "Santa's Rap" on why he eats so much is too silly, even for Disney.

Finished the night at YouTube with dinner and more Chuck Woolery. He appeared on a memorable week of The Match Game Hollywood-Squares Hour in 1984 with fellow host Arlene Francis, along with Jamie Farr, Arsenio Hall, and McLean Stevenson. Arsenio was especially "on" that week, sporting Michael Jackson Thiller red jackets and jumping into the "canal," aka the area behind the second risers.

Woolery also hosted a few non-game shows, most memorably Greatest Game Show Moments. This GSN special gives us outrageous moments from game shows going back to What's My Line in the mid-50's. Some of them, like the crazy answers on Family Feud, what the panel ate in the color syndicated To Tell the Truth that most of them spit out, and Gene Rayburn's infamous comment on a lady's dimples on Match Game are now easy to find online. Others, like Ken Jennings' long run as a Jeopardy champ and some of the big wins on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, aren't as easy to find today. 

Chuck Woolery also did two weeks of Tattletales with his then-wife Jo Ann Pflug. Unfortunately, only the first day is available of the week with Jim Backus and his hilarious wife Henny and the battling Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall. The week the duo did with Allen Ludden and Betty White and Bill Cullen and his wife Ann from 1974 is available in full, though. Good thing, as it was a hilarious week. Everyone had some great answers, including Allen revealing how Betty managed to make an entire field of bulls fall in love with her and who Chuck thought Jo Ann was on their first date.

See how well Chuck did on other people's shows and hosting something besides game shows in these enjoyable episodes!

Chuck Woolery Tribute - Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour and Greatest Game Show Moments

Chuck Woolery Tribute - Featuring Tattletales Episodes with Jo Ann Pflug

Getting Ready for Winter

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. The gang says "Watt a Shocking Ghost" when they're stranded in a snow-covered resort town that seems to have been abandoned. Scooby and Shaggy dodge a flaming mega-watt creep while the others try to figure out what the random sunflower seeds they keep finding on the ground have to do with the "ghost."

Headed to work after that. It wasn't bad when I came in. We're usually stone-cold dead the day after Thanksgiving. Normally, everyone is grabbing Black Friday deals in the mall behind the Acme...but Thanksgiving isn't usually this late, either. I think a lot of people may have been using early beginning of the month money. I kept getting called to put away cold items during the second half of my shift, which meant I kept falling behind on the carts. 

The weather didn't help. It was sunny and breezy, if cold, when I went to work. Clouds rolled in somewhere around 11. It rained lightly off and on, but nothing that would get anyone wet, and has sprinkled lightly off and on for the rest of the day.

Needed to get some grocery shopping done today. I'm not going to get to Sprouts this weekend, so I grabbed soda and Kind granola bars. Restocked yogurt and apples. The bakery has pumpkin items on clearance, including those pumpkin pecan cookies, so I picked up that, too. 

Oh, and I got my schedule at this point. In good news, I continue to have more hours. In bad news, I have a long seven-hour day next Saturday and only Tuesday and Thursday off - the head bagger took Saturday off again. 

After I got in, I put on The Monkees while I got organized. "Monkees Watch Their Feet" also experiments with the format. This otherwise ordinary episode with Micky playing himself and the robot clone two aliens make of him after they bring him to their ship is played as a "documentary," complete with goofy narration by Pat Paulsen about how the aliens are causing all the trouble in the late 60's. (Incidentally, Mike only appears introducing Paulsen in the opening and closing. This is the other episode he had to drop out of when he was getting his tonsils removed.)

"The Monkees Paw" is the first of two episodes in a row based on classic plays, in this case the horror fantasy The Monkey's Paw. Mendrek the Magician (Hans Conried) sells the Monkees a monkey's paw he supposedly got off a "regular" llama in Tibet. He tells them it'll grant them three wishes, but it brings them nothing but trouble. Micky is holding it when he accidentally wishes away his voice. The others try to figure out what happened to it, then unload the monkey's paw on the nasty nightclub manager who fired all of them.

Took down the Thanksgiving and fall decorations next and put of some of the winter items. Yeah, I know we're almost a month from winter, but the high next week will be the mid-40's. Mother Nature says it's winter. I'll start putting up the Christmas stuff tomorrow after I clean. My wooden folk-art snowman with the dangling legs Mom sent years ago went out, along with a couple of winter stuffed animals like Phil the Groundhog and Marie in her little winter hat and collar and the wooden framed snowman hanging. 

Listened to my new Christmas albums while I worked. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the soundtrack of the first Rankin-Bass special...well, most of it. With the exception of "Holly Jolly Christmas," I think they're all studio recordings, not the ones heard in the actual special. "Silver and Gold" lacks Burl Ives' spoken parts (replaced in the recording by the chorus). The second side is just instrumental versions of the main songs.

R&B diva Mariah Carey's album Merry Christmas from 1994 was her fourth album, and today may actually be her best-known. It produced the massive hit holiday standard "All I Want For Christmas Is You" that continues to get heavy air play during November and December to this day. Her versions of "Baby Please Come Home" and "Oh Holy Night" also tend turn up a lot. I've thought of getting this for years, but never got to it until I found it on vinyl. I don't actually have that many solo Christmas albums, and I think the Monkees and the Beach Boys are the only rock acts (and the former made their Christmas album years after their prime). 

Worked on the inventory next. I'm finally almost done with the cast albums. Did West Side Story, Wicked, the Broadway original cast of Oliver!, and The Will Rogers Follies. I'm pretty sure Wicked was a Christmas present from Lauren in 2004. I'd been dying to get it, but I couldn't find it in Cape May County and I didn't have the money to buy it online at the time. I think West Side Story was another Hamilton Mall Borders find from the late 90's-early 2000's. For some reason, I could always dig up the old Columbia cast albums on CD for a good price there. I dug up The Will Rogers Follies at the Collingswood Book Festival three years ago.

Took a quick shower, then finished out the night with leftovers and more Chuck Woolery. Lingo would be the last long-running hit he hosted in his lifetime. The original Lingo was a short-lived syndicated flop in 1987. Game Show Network gave it new life in 2002, with Woolery hosting and an elegant wood and neon set. Contestants guessed rows of words from two letters provided. If the guessed the right word, they could each choose a ball with a number to call on the "Lingo" board. If they got Lingo, they earned points. Most points got to the bonus round. Here, they had to guess words in a certain amount of time. The amount of words they got represented however many Lingo balls they were allowed to choose. 

I came in for their second Christmas episode in 2003. We also got a hilarious game show host tournament, with Marc Summers and Mark L. Walhburg trampling their opponents, along with a colorful and funny Cinco Del Mayo episode. By the fourth season, the set had been upgraded into something brighter and more fun, and Chuck was joined by a judge and hostess who joked with him and checked to make sure the words used were legal. Bubbly Shandi seems to have been the best-known and most popular, from what those who watched the show during its run from 2002 to 2007 say.

Match wits and words with the King of Crosswords in this hilarious marathon!

Chuck Woolery - Lingo Tribute

Thanksgiving Is for Family

Began a rainy morning with breakfast and Thanksgiving stories from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. They only have one long piece for Thanksgiving, but it's a pilgrim grandmother's charming recollection of what the first Thanksgiving was like. There's also several poems and the song "Over the River and Through the Woods." 

Since there wasn't much, I tossed in a few more short stories and children's stories. Molly's Pilgrim is the original version of the book that would become a lovely Oscar-winning short subject in 1985. Here, the story is set in what I presume to be the early 1900's, and it makes more references to Molly and her family being Jewish. The sweet ending with the teacher explaining why "it takes all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving" remains the same, though. 

Disney's Storybookland anthology features the 40's short story "Pilgrim's Party." Mickey takes Minnie, Donald, and Pluto east to visit New England and the Plymouth Plantation to join a group reenacting the first Thanksgiving in costume. It's all fun and Pilgrim cosplay, until Pluto steals the turkey! I also did a very funny retelling of "Babes In Toyland" from Fantasyland that was closer to the original movie than the one in Storybookland. 

Mom called as I was getting dressed. Keefe's wife Julia's side of the family tends to bring drama wherever they go, so they opted to have some of Keefe's friends from the Navy over instead. They did get to see the Macy's parade. Mom said Aurora adores Minnie Mouse and was as over-the-moon about seeing her balloon in the Macy's parade as her father was about the Pikachu balloon in 2001. 

Since the Macy's Parade is the exclusive domain of Peacock online, I put the Philly parade on ABC's website instead. I did see a few balloons, a toy soldier and Brainy Smurf. For some reason, they really got into disco and vintage rap in this parade. Chic, the Funky Bunch, and a Motown group all danced in the parade. I saw a float designed to look underwater, another themed around Philadelphia landmarks like the LOVE sign, and a train. The Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders really got into their routine. We had performances from the Neil Diamond bio musical A Beautiful Noise and Elf: The Musical. Everyone was in high spirits despite the continuing downpour, and it all seemed to go off without a hitch.

After the parade, I did things in my rooms and made the bed while watching Alice's Restaurant. I go further into this meandering 1969 retelling of Arlo Guthrie's epic folk song at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Thanksgiving! - Alice's Restaurant

Thankfully, the rain had long subsided by quarter of 2, though it remained cold and damp. I quickly stopped at the kiosk in front of the former library to drop off a book, then rode my bike over to Rose's house. I was greeted by a noisy Oreo and Cider, who wanted to see what was going on and greet the new arrival. It took a few minutes to shoo them back in and put my things down!

Rose's husband Craig was watching the Lions-Bears game when I arrived. I spent the next hour and a half or so watching the game and playing with Rose's 7-year-old daughter Finley. Craig's parents arrived about a half hour after I did, walking with canes and sounding raspy. Apparently, they both just had surgery. Needless to stay, they stayed at the table the whole time.

Rose did put out quite a lunch spread. There was shrimp cocktail, a vegetable tray with cucumbers, celery sticks, and mushrooms, a crackers and cheese tray with a cranberry log, sausage sticks, and pepperoni, and a fruit tray with pineapple, blueberries, apple slices, and pomegranate seeds. I ate lots of almost everything but the apples, which I have plenty of at home. 

(Oh, and the Lions were up 16 - 0 when I got in. The Bears did make a huge comeback, but they missed a long throw at the end that cost them the game. The Lions just squeaked by them 23-20 in game that was much better than I thought it would be.)

Rose made an absolutely gorgeous turkey this year. Craig's mother and I both said it should have been on the cover of Gourmet Magazine. I'd never seen a turkey more perfectly brown and seasoned. Tasted pretty good, too. Along with the turkey, we had stuffing, mashed potatoes. sweet potatoes with brown sugar, green beans with bacon, white and pumpernickel rolls, cranberry sauce, and roasted Parmesan butternut squash. Everything was good, but I think my favorite thing was the squash. I didn't know squash could taste so good when so cheesy.

Joined Finley to watch the new Netflix movie Spellbound (which I'll go further into on Saturday) while Rose and Craig set out the desserts. Rose always makes a splendid apple pie, and there were tiny cherry tartlets and cheesecake along with my apple cider pound cake, but I only had eyes for Craig's pumpkin pie. Besides, it was all I could fit in after that big dinner! The pies could be topped with ice cream, but I don't think they're right without real whipped cream.

Headed home after I ate and Rose handed me a big pan of leftovers. After I got in, I spent the rest of the night watching the Best of Match Game PM countdown marathon. There's so many good nighttime episodes, the marathon began at 2 PM! The Admiral Color TV episode wasn't the first time Richard made a bet with Gene on the Audience Match and came up a winner. He did something similar when Gene didn't believe his "Cuts" would be up with "Burns __." There was also the time Richard and Charles wore big hats and claimed to be "Your Basic Big Picture Hat Society," or the time Charles gave his toupee to a balding but personable young man, or when two hapless contestants only made it to the Audience Match because Charles matched them each once, and then matched one again during a tiebreaker. 

Enjoy a feast of nighttime fun with some of the best Match Game episodes ever shown after dark!

Feast of Favorites - Match Game PM Countdown of Greatness

And I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving matching with all the people you love!

Turkey Lurkey Time

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Care Bears Family. In "Gram Bear's Thanksgiving," Share Bear's assignment is to help a little boy who is having trouble writing a speech about the importance of the holiday. They get a quick lesson when they're the only ones who avoid turning crabby from eating Sour Sam's Crabby Apple Pies. Tenderheart worries about Gram Bear not acting her age when she shows up in Care-a-Lot riding a motorcycle and playing rock, but she's the only one who can reverse Sam's spell with her Happy Apple Pies. 

Switched to Thanksgiving sitcom episodes after I finished eating. "Turkeys Away" from WKRP In Cincinnati may be the most famous - or at least notorious - Thanksgiving TV episode ever. Station manager Arthur Carlson wants to be more involved in the station and devises a huge Thanksgiving promotion to give himself something to do. He thinks it's going to be the greatest event in the history of radio broadcasting...but he never considered that turkeys are flightless birds...

Barney Miller has an equally frustrating and weird "Thanksgiving Story." The last thing anyone at the 12th Precinct feels like dealing with before they eat their turkey are the inmates of a mental hospital wrecking havoc in an automat. There's also the guy who stabbed his brother-in-law with a fork at the Thanksgiving dinner table because he thought he was being a mooch.

Rushed to work after that. Given this is the day before the biggest food holiday of the year, I think you can safely guess that we were mobbed for most of the afternoon. The store was a mess. The parking lot was a mess. It was easier to keep up with carts when the morning bagger was still there. After he left, it got harder to do it on my own...and then during the last half-hour, they kept calling me to return turkeys. We ran out of the free ones earlier in the day, and now people were buying every other type of turkey and putting them back when they didn't come up free. I was overwhelmed and frustrated by the whole thing, and I never did finish the carts.

I was too tired to cook when I got home and not in the mood for leftovers anyway, so after I changed, I went back out again for a walk to Crown Chicken and Gyro. They were surprisingly busy for the night before Thanksgiving. I guess I wasn't the only one who either wasn't in the mood to cook or whose kitchen was full of food for the holiday. I got a tasty fish sandwich, their yummy fries, and a Diet Coke.

At least it was a nice night for all the running around. It had been a little cloudy all day, nothing too bad, and cool but not overly cold for late November. The wind picked up a bit later, but once again, it still wasn't horrible. I even got to see a lot of great light displays as I walked home, including an amazing one a block away from me with strings of lights and glowing icicle lights tenting over the sidewalk.

Ate dinner while watching one more sitcom episode. "One, Two, Three, Give Me Lady Liberty" from the historical swashbuckler spoof Jack of All Trades definitely gets the award for the most creative (and unlikely) holiday show. Emilia is suspicious when diminutive dwarf Napoleon insists on using her as a model for the huge statue he's going to give the US. Jack first creates a Thanksgiving feast to get the plans from  him, then makes use of another Thanksgiving tradition as a distraction - football!

Took a shower, then switched to tonight's Chuck Woolery tribute on YouTube. Scrabble was probably his longest-running and most popular show, remaining a stalwart of NBC's daytime schedule from 1984 to 1990. It was such a hit, it briefly returned in early 1993. It's really more of a crossword puzzle game. Contestants choose tiles with letters they can put in a crossword board on the screen. If they guess the wrong letter, they lose their turn. Three turns lost, and they have to guess the word. They play two games, with winners facing off against each other in the end. The winner of that game has to guess three words in 10 seconds to win the money.

This, Sale of the Century, and Super Password make me wish I hadn't been so devoted to the CBS game shows in the 80's and early 90's. I've really enjoyed all three and wish more of the first two were available. Scrabble is still a lot of fun to play along with, especially if you're already a big word fan or reader like me. (Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. The CW just revived this last month with Raven-Symone hosting. From what I've gathered, it's more based after the actual game than the original versions.)

Chuck Woolery - Scrabble Tribute

Finished the night with Planes, Trains, and Automobiles at Paramount Plus. All ad executive Neil Page (Steve Martin) wants is to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Running into Del Griffith (John Candy), a traveling salesman who is the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but is also a chatty and needy mass of bad habits, doesn't help matters. Nor does his case of the worst luck traveling ever. His plane gets grounded, the train breaks down, and rental cars can't be found on the lot. As he and Del travel across the frozen mid-western landscape in one vehicle or another, he finally figures out why Del is on the road...and why he has a real reason to be thankful.

Candy and Martin are hilarious and touching in what is arguably director John Hughes' best film. They manage to keep things believable, even when the movie takes a left turn into forced sentimentality towards the end. Highly recommended for adults who have likely been through just about everything that happens to these two guys on the road at one time or another.

Here's even more vintage Thanksgiving tales to tide you over while you wait for dinner tomorrow!

The Bernstein Bears Meet Big Paw

Nickelodeon's Thanksgiving Fest 1989

Tex Avery at MGM - Jerky Turkey 

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

Buttons and Rusty In A Turkey Caper (A Chucklewood Thankgiving) 

Intergalactic Thanksgiving 

Tennessee Tuxedo - The Romance of Plymouth Rock

B.C - The First Thanksgiving

Calvin and the Colonel - Thanksgiving Dinner

Terry Toons - Landing of the Pilgrims

Animated Hero Classics - William Bradford: The First Thanksgiving

Seasons of Waltzes and Peanuts

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning, but the rain had long subsided by the time I sat down to breakfast and Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving. I went further into this Pooh holiday anthology movie at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog on Thanksgiving 2021. 

Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

Hurried off to work the moment Pooh ended. As it turned out, I probably didn't need to rush. Work was dead when I arrived, and the head bagger was already pushing carts. I took over the carts when she went inside to sweep and gather trash, and stayed with them for the rest of the day. It did finally pick up around 3, when everyone stopped at the grocery store to pick up their Thanksgiving perishables after work. Other than that, there were no major problems...and that includes the weather. The clouds were breaking up even as I went to work. It was sunny, breezy, and relatively warm for the rest of the day, probably in the upper 50's. 

After I got home, I put on PAW Patrol while eating dinner and doing chores. "The Pups Save Thanksgiving" when Mayor Humdinger tries to steal the Thanksgiving dinner Mayor Goodway has set up for the citizens of Adventure Bay. He and his kittens accidentally set a turkey bounce house into the air instead, upending the food and leading the cubs on a chase all over town to get him down safely. "Pups Save a Windy Bay" when they have to rescue the contestants in a windsurfing contest and figure out where the huge wind that scattered them came from.

Watched The Last Waltz next. I go further into the last concert performed by the original members of The Band at my Musical Dreams blog.

Musical Documentaries - The Last Waltz

Finished the night with the soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. "Charlie Brown Blues" that opens the special and the "Thanksgiving Theme" are probably the best-known numbers from this one. I also like "Little Birdie," the song describing the antics of Woodstock and Snoopy, with vocals supplied by none other than Vince Guaraldi himself. Side two is mostly given over to alternate mixes and reprises of the songs on side one, though we do have "Clark and Guaraldi," a drum-heavy jam session. 

Beautiful Day for Dolls

Kicked off my day with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. He's excited about "Margaret's First Thank-You Day." As the youngest resident of the Land of Make-Believe, she gets to hang the first thank-you card on the thank-you tree...but then she has to go home with a bad cold. Dan and his mom try to enjoy the festivities, but Dan finally admits that what he's really thankful for is his beloved little sister.

Messed around on the computer for a while, then headed to PNC Bank in Collingswood. Mom sent me a check for a new Eagles jersey as an early Christmas present. I wanted to deposit it at the inside ATM, but there was already someone using it. I ended up at one of the outside machines instead. Fed it into the machine and moved on.

It was a gorgeous day for a bike ride. I took the longer way across the back roads of Collingswood, avoiding Cuthtbert Boulevard so I could enjoy it. Sunny, breezy, and much warmer than I figured it would be, into the upper 50's. Fall is just starting to subside here. Though the gale-force winds this weekend left many trees bare, others are still blazing in brilliant shades of scarlet and gold.

Ended up at the Westmont Diner for lunch. I've had pancakes the last couple of times I ate at a diner, so I had an omelet this time. Their Power Omelet - real turkey, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and spinach in egg whites - is always delicious. I had it with home fries, whole wheat toast, and iced tea. Listened to a mom and her little son enjoy their lunch, then admired the nifty pumpkins and squash someone painted on their windows. I even picked up a plastic container of these incredible little honey and nut cookies. I think they might have been made from corn and ground nuts. They had a unique grainy feel, but they were soooo good!

The traffic still wasn't great on Cuthbert, so I once again took the back roads until I got back into Oaklyn. Stopped at WaWa on the White Horse Pike for a drink. I intended to bake for most of the afternoon, so I opted for a sugar-free raspberry lemon Propel instead of soda or smoothies.

Put on The Monkees when I got home. "The Monkees In Texas" is their third dive into western cliches. Mike brings the guys to visit his Aunt Kate (Jacqueline deWit), only to find her farm under siege by bandits. He tries to figure out what the bandits are after, while Micky and Peter get in with the bandits...and regret it when they end up being hostages. 

"Fairy Tale" goes the unique route of being a fantasy spoof. Peter is a peasant who is so in love with Princess Gwen (Mike in drag) that he can't hold a job. The other guys are both the peasants who help Peter rescue Gwen from her dastardly fiancee Harold (Murray Roman) and the fairy tale characters they meet on the way. 

Spent the next few hours doing the laundry and baking. I heard from Rose, and yes, she is having Thanksgiving dinner at her house this year. I wanted to bring her something different. I found a recipe for Apple Cider Pound Cake online last week and thought I'd try it. That's why I bought the apple cider from the farm market on Saturday and the eggs, butter, and loaf tins yesterday. The batter came together well enough, but it called for putting parchment paper on the bottom of the tin to make it come out easier. It may have come out easier, but it took over an hour and a half to cook when it should have taken 50 minutes. It's too brown on the outside, but the inside seems edible, and it sure smelled good in the oven!

My cranberry sauce didn't go much better. I always add too much water and not enough sugar. It's soupy and a bit on the tart side, but I can still eat it.

Listened to records while I worked. The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood is another mid-60's fairy tale satire. Liza Minnelli is the impossibly sweet title character, Cyril Ritchard is the fussy wolf who's chasing her, and Vic Damone is the woodsman who might be a prince. Bob Merrill and Jules Styne's score isn't quite up to their previous animated holiday extravaganza Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, but it does have a few interesting songs. The movie begins and ends with the fun "We Wish the World a Happy Yule," Minnelli admits "I'm Naive," and she and Ritchard have a blast with "Ding-a-Ling." 

Here's Love is a Broadway adaptation of Miracle On 34th Street, with music by Meredith Wilson of Music Man fame. It's not his best score by a long shot, and I believe it was a flop when it debuted in 1963. I hear it's done better in regional theaters under its original title. "Pine Cones and Holly Berries" and his already-existing holiday standard "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" are the best numbers here, and I like the charming "My Wish" for Susan (Valerie Lee) and Fred Gailey (Craig Stevens). 

Went upstairs next to dress the dolls for the holiday season after bringing the laundry upstairs. Barbara Jean wears the purple paisley brocade minidress that was Julie's previous Christmas outfit with white tights, heeled shoes borrowed from the flapper costume, and Samantha's white lace headband with the pink and magenta fabric flower. Samantha's in her Cranberry Christmas Dress with the red bow-trimmed shoes from her green spring dress. Molly wears her Evergreen Christmas Dress with black strap shoes borrowed from Samantha. Josefina is pretty as a Mexican princess in her yellow and black striped Empire-waist gown and black mantilla.

Ariel is also in a Julie Christmas outfit, in this case her original wine velvet jumper with the ruffled bow blouse and white tights and shoes. Felicity will be the belle of the Christmas dance in her blue taffeta ball gown with the lace stomacher. Kit's in her red Christmas dress with the white collar and her own white t-straps. Jessa gets the 1996 Chinese New Year Outfit with the scarlet brocade jacket and trousers and mules borrowed from Josefina. Lauren found Whitney's blue-violet Snowflake Ball Gown at a yard sale. It was such a pretty outfit, I had to let someone wear it, even though it's not historically accurate for her.

Half-listened to Match Game Syndicated while I worked. They're continuing with the game show host week. Peter Marshall laments that the Star Wheel lands on him three times in a row, but Bill Cullen does better with "__ Cactus" when it ends up on him. Betty White spends the week dashing to the studio, perpetually out of breath due to her car having broken down.

Finished the night with dinner and YouTube after a shower. Match Game Productions will be honoring game show host Chuck Woolery, who passed over the weekend, with marathons of his most famous shows every day but Thanksgiving. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune, back when it was a daytime show on NBC. He was in charge of the pilot Shopper's Bazaar with an upright wheel and continued on when the show was picked up for a regular series. Alas, very little of his version survives today. Even his last day only has the first minute or so and the last few minutes with him saying good bye available. The actual game is audio only. 

Finished the night with the Thanksgiving episodes of other vintage game shows. Match Game didn't technically do a Thanksgiving episode, but they did mention the holiday on the day before Thanksgiving 1977. Orson Bean also mentioned the new special he was appearing in, The Hobbit. 

Sale of the Century and High Rollers got more into the holiday in the mid-80's. In 1985, Sale offered a big Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, a wicker rocker, and a beautiful dining room. Rollers did Thanksgiving-themed prize packages for its big winners. The syndicated late 80's Family Feud asked everyone questions relating to the holiday and even had a turkey dinner for the families in the end. 

The Price Is Right goes way back with Thanksgiving episodes. They did two Thanksgiving Showcases in 1975, the first year they were an hour. The first had Anitra Ford and Janice Pennington as mountain climbers. The second brought in Native Chief Johnny Olsen to teach the Pilgrim models the ways of the New World. He may have the dishwasher and microwave, but the girls have the better transportation - their speed boat is no canoe!

Honor Thanksgiving and Woolery and be thankful for games with these enjoyable episodes!

The Price Is Right (1975)

Match Game (1977)

Sale of the Century (1985)

High Rollers (1987)

Family Feud Syndicated (1989)

Chuck Woolery - Wheel of Fortune Tribute

A Riot of Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Dickens' Christmas Carol. This is the original LP version of Mickey's Christmas Carol from 1974. There's a few significant differences from what would end up in the cartoon a decade later. Foulfellow and Gideon from Pinocchio are the men collecting for the poor, Merlin is the Ghost of Christmas Past, and the Wicked Queen in hag mode from Snow White is Christmas Future. This would also be the first time Alan Young voiced Scrooge; he went over so well, he continued to play Scrooge on LP and onscreen until his death in 2016. 

The biggest difference is the inclusion of six songs, none of which would make it onscreen. Truth be told, that could be because they aren't all that great. My favorite is the delicious march "Money" for Scrooge as he tells Mickey Cratchit why buying and selling is important to him. The chorus numbers "Under the Mistletoe" at Fezziwig's party and "What a Wonderful Christmas Morning" are also kind of fun. 

Headed off to work even before the album ended. Work was no problem at all, and I didn't really think it would be. The Eagles didn't play until tonight. Most people are getting ready for the holidays right now. Not to mention, the regular Sunday bagger was there to sweep, do inside work, and help with the carts, and they're still training all those new cashiers. Even when it started to pick up around noon, it still wasn't that bad. I was in and out with no trouble. The weather largely cooperated, too. It was chilly, windy, and a little cloudy, but not rainy like it was late last week. Even the clouds had largely vanished by the time I rode home.

Grabbed a few things on my way out. The reason I bought apple cider yesterday was to try a recipe for Apple Cider Pound Cake I saw online. Thought it might be something different I could contribute to Thanksgiving. Picked up the eggs and butter I'd need for the recipe. Found those yummy pumpkin pecan cookies on the clearance rack, too, and I needed a new box of baking soda for my mini-fridge.

Finished Dickens' Christmas Carol when I got home, then ran two more holiday children's albums. Walt Disney Studios Presents Merry Christmas Songs is a two-disc set that came out in 1978. I actually bought this for a few unusual numbers one doesn't expect to hear on a Disney holiday recording, like "Patapan," "Oh Sanctissima," and "The Westminster Carol." I also finally discovered where that annoying squeaky chipmunk-like version of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" on my Disney Christmas CD from the 90's came from. The back of the album lists it as being sung by "Ludwig Mousensky and His All-Mouse Orchestra and Chorus," though I suspect that's a cheeky name for "Disney chorus members singing in squeaky novelty mouse voices."

The Care Bears' Christmas is from the height of their initial popularity in 1983. It follows the fairly simple story of the Bears waiting for Santa and being disappointed when it seems he's running late. That's pretty much it. The songs are nothing to write home about, either, and the voice actors still can't sing them, though "Christmas Without Santa" and "The Ten Bears of Christmas" are mildly cute.

Finished the night on YouTube with the second half of that Richard Dawson marathon. Richard and the show were on a roll as 1976 began, but changes were already in the air. Richard would finally get to host his own show, Family Feud, that fall. As he got more involved with Feud, he became less enamored with giving salacious answers to silly questions on a show he had far less control over. Richard's frustration resulted in no less than three major full-scale riots in 1977. In addition to the infamous School Riot, Richard protested loudly and angrily when he wrote "sat on" and said he meant to write "ate" in one episode and Ira the producer and judge wouldn't match "sack" with "bag" in another one a few weeks after the School Riot.

Richard wasn't the only person who got fed up with Ira's inconsistent rulings during 1977 and 1978. Debralee Scott and Patti Deusch backed up Richard in the School Riot when their answers were rejected, too. Betty White protested when "hips" didn't match "legs" in early '78. Richard and Gene even helped show off her hips to demonstrate.

Other episodes were far more pleasant. Sweet older lady Bertha was so shocked when she made it to the Super Match early in 1978, she just about passed out. Everyone was so kind to her. Charles gave her his chair. Johnny Olsen brought her water. The ladies fanned her. Richard got her settled. She was such a dear, and a joy to watch. No wonder they all pampered her. 

My favorite episodes from the nighttime and daytime shows in this era had Richard and two of the comediennes playing the panelists on the tier above them. In the PM episode, Richard was a very funny Brett in her glasses, sipping "club soda" and using multiple cards to write answers. Betty White wore Charles' hat and glasses and retied her scarf to look like his. I have to agree with the real Charles that her attempt at his voice might have been a tad too deep, though! They did this in an earlier daytime show as well, only this time, Fannie Flagg made an even funnier Charles, and Jo Ann Pflug's huge wide grin as Dick Gautier was perfect. 

Enjoy a riot of laughs with some of Richard Dawson's best episodes in this hilarious and heartbreaking marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Celebrating Richard Dawson - Special Match Game Episodes (1976 - 1978)

Oh, and I didn't watch the late Eagles-Rams game, but I did frequently check the score. Though once again the Eagles had a bit of a shaky first half, they eventually came back to win 37-20.

Last Harvest of the Season

First of all, here's my review for Wicked at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. (Spoiler alert - I loved it.) 

Family Fun Saturday - Wicked Part One

Second, got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Casper the Friendly Ghost Thanksgiving short "Do Or Diet." Casper befriends a turkey who laments his fate on the Thanksgiving dinner table. He tries to help him slim down, but that turkey loves to eat too much! Casper proves more effective scaring the farmer away instead.

Hurried out to the final Collingswood Farm Market of the year after the short ended. Despite the chilly, windy day, they were elbow-to-elbow with people buying Christmas gifts from the craft tables and produce, cheese, apple cider, and bread from the produce and bakery booths. I grabbed small apples and apple cider from the orchard booth, cranberries from a booth largely selling vegetables, an apple cider donut from the Barclay Farms booth as a treat, and Thanksgiving flowers for a friend's table. 

Rushed home after I finished. Watched Garfield's Thanksgiving as I got ready for work. Garfield's holiday is upended when not only does Liz the veterinarian put him on a diet the day before the holiday, but Jon invites her over for dinner. Jon can't cook something the size of a turkey to save his life, and Garfield messing around with the food because he can't eat it doesn't help. Good thing Grandma from the Christmas special knows what to do.

Went straight to work next. Work was crazy when I got in, to the point where I had a hard time keeping up with the carts. Good thing the head bagger was actually bagging today. They were testing out a lot of new cashiers and didn't need her there. I did have to sweep for the first couple of hours, until a college-age bagger arrived later and took over that. It slowed down enough by 5:30 for me to barely need to do anything outside.

After I got home, I went in the shower, then grabbed dinner and finished the night watching the Match Game Saturday Classics marathon. Richard Dawson had so many wonderful moments on the show, the marathon is in two parts. Richard was on the show from the very start, in the same seat between the ingenue and the comedienne. At least in the early years, he seemed to have a lot of fun, flirting with contestants and panelists alike. 

In 1974, he gave "Trench Hand" as an answer for "Trench __." He and the others would continue to joke about eradicating "Trench Hand" over the years. He and Gary Burghoff happily flirted with a goofy single woman who claimed she "fooled around" in early 1975, and he saw Gary wearing a wig he claimed to get off Brett and Alejandro Rey flirt with a lovely Argentinian. He twice wore a sequined shirt to compete with well-endowed Fannie Flagg and her fancy sequined t-shirts next to him and applauded sweet ingenue Melinda O'Fee when she finally got an answer. 

He could be even funnier in the nighttime episodes. One of the most hilarious Match Game episodes ever was a PM show from late 1975. He gave "Color Television" as an answer to "Admiral." Gene bet him that it wouldn't be on the board...but Richard always knew best. 

Match along with one of the most beloved panelists on the show in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Celebrating Richard Dawson - Special Match Game Episodes (1973-1975)

Night of the Oz Witches

I got a quick start today with breakfast and Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz. I went further into this 1980 special on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog for Thanksgiving 2022.

Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz

By the time I finished eating, it was so late, I called Uber for a ride to the movies. The gentleman arrived within three minutes. He was even the same pleasant fellow who drove me to the Cherry Hill Library book sale in July and Lauren and I to The Big Event in June. For some reason, his GPS directed him behind the movie theater building, but he quickly got that sorted out and dropped me at the Cinemark 16 in Somerdale within 10 minutes.

As it turned out, I was 15 minutes late to the second showing of Wicked. Thankfully, I think I only missed the commercials and the first minute or two. I'll go further into this movie tomorrow on the Musical Dreams blog, but I can say without spoilers here that, yes, I did enjoy it. I've been waiting for this movie to come out since the Broadway show was a sensation back in 2003, and I wasn't disappointed. Good things come to those who wait.

My original plan for lunch was the new Colombian restaurant further down the White Horse Pike that finally opened a few weeks ago...but I walked out of the theater and into into a heavy and cold shower. We need the rain, but I don't need to get soaked. I ended up next-door at Applebee's instead.  Took advantage of their $9.99 meal deal to get a simple burger and fries. The burger was a little on the dry side, but it wasn't bad, and the fries were good. Had them with a Diet Pepsi. 

Made my way up the hill to Walmart next. I was hoping they'd have the soundtrack from Wicked or some good Christmas music, but no dice. They barely had any records left at all, and even fewer TV collections. I just ended up buying apple butter (which I couldn't find anywhere else). granola bars, and more cookie boxes and bags. Grabbed a pretzel at the combination Subway/Aunt Annie's Pretzels to make change for the bus. 

Thankfully, the bus wasn't that late. Those cold showers kept coming down, and would continue in some form or the other for the rest of the day. Given it was only about quarter after 2 at that point, the bus wasn't busy, either, and all the traffic was going in the opposite direction. I got off the dentist office on the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn within 20 minutes. 

Put on The Monkees when I got home. "The Wild Monkees" are first conned into taking jobs working at a hotel by its owner, then fall for four tough biker chicks staying there. Their even tougher boy friends force the guys into a motorcycle contest, but the ladies aren't as amused.

Went downstairs to make pumpkin muffins next. That's why I bought muffin tins and canola oil yesterday. I had a can of pumpkin around and found a simple recipe online. I used dark brown sugar instead of regular sugar and added the last of the dried cranberries, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. I haven't tried them yet - they're for work this week - but they sure smelled good in the oven!

Put on The Wild Wild West after I got back upstairs and online. "The Night of the Eccentrics" has Jim West seeking the killers of an undercover agent. He turns up the Eccentrics, a group of circus performers (including Victor Buono as their leader Count Manzeppi and Richard Pryor as a ventriloquist) who have been hired to kill the President of Mexico. Jim does manage to escape them, only to fall into their clutches again and be challenged by their sharpshooter (Anthony Eisley).

Got my schedule next. Given we're coming up on Thanksgiving, I don't think you'll be surprised to hear that I have more hours and only two days off next week. Surprisingly and pleasantly, no 8 1/2 hour days. I work a normal 6 hours in the afternoon and evening on Tuesday and Wednesday. And yes, I did get Thanksgiving off this time. I put in for it about a month ago. I wasn't working Thanksgiving again after it was a mess last year, and we get paid the extra money if we work the day after. Being early on Saturday does mean I'll miss the Collingswood Christmas Parade, though.

Worked on the inventory next. Finished out R through T with the Media Theater Rose Marie, Saturday Night,  Steel Pier, vinyl and CD versions Reader Digest Treasury of the Great Operettas sets, and the 2002 stage Thoroughly Modern Millie. Steel Pier goes back the longest here. I heard so much about this show in the Press of Atlantic City when it debuted in 1997, I had to have the cast album right when it came out. I very likely picked it up from what was then The Wall in the Hamilton Mall right before they became FYE.

Had dinner while watching Match Game Syndicated. Fred Grandy took Charles Nelson Reilly's place this week while he was out directing an opera. Meanwhile, Gene doesn't appreciate Bill and Joyce's answers about what mindless people go on to become one bit!

Returned to The Monkees after I ate. Davy, Micky, and Peter are "Hitting the High Seas" when they're shanghaied into working for a crusty old sailor who turns out to be a pirate. The trio not only have to figure out how to stop the pirates from robbing a luxury ship, they have to do it without a badly seasick Mike's help.

Finished the night at YouTube with two unique animated versions of The Nutcracker. The Canadian animated film The Nutcracker Prince from 1990 follows the original story "The Hard Nut," with Megan Follows as a soft-spoken and sweet Clara, Kiefer Sutherland as the Nutcracker, Phyllis Diller as the Mouse Queen, and Peter O'Toole as a squeaky old toy soldier. This wasn't a hit at the time and isn't generally well-regarded, but I think it's funny and very sweet. Sutherland is stiffer than the Nutcracker, but Follows is a lovely Clara, and the realistic Disney-style animation for most of the movie is rather pretty. (The actual retelling of "The Hard Nut" is more grotesque and stylized - frankly, Perlipat doesn't look much uglier after her transformation than she was before.)

The Care Bears' Nutcracker Suite from 1988 was originally supposed to be their fourth film, but ended up as an hour-long special and the series finale for Care Bears Family. This one goes off on a story all it's own. It also relates to the original Care Bears film as a teacher tells her dance students the story of how the Care Bears and two Cousins helped a little girl named Anna and the mysterious Nutcracker save Toyland from the evil Vizier and his hench-rats. Anna's little brother Peter is desperate for adventure and follows them, along with Hugs and Tugs, who are looking for their own special ornament.

The short "Tom Turk and Daffy" has Pilgrim Porky stalking a turkey in the snow for Thanksgiving dinner. Daffy first hides the turkey, then rats him out when he hears Porky talking about Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey finds a way to turn the tables and make Porky go after Daffy instead.

Winter Is Just Around the Corner

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the 1983 puppet fable A Thanksgiving Tale at YouTube. A turkey hoping to make it big on Broadway accidentally ends up in Newark instead and finds him caught between warring cats and dogs. The dogs have lots of food, thanks to their jobs guarding a restaurant, but no shelter. The cats have a cozy shack, but no food. The cats kidnap the turkey and the dogs grab him back, but he's the one who finally reminds them of the importance of sharing what you have with others, no matter what species they are.

Dawn picked me up for my interview in Moorestown around quarter after 9. Considering the cold wind and heavy showers, there was a lot of traffic in Cherry Hill and on Route 38. Guess everyone was on their way to work or to get ready for Thanksgiving next week. We finally found Signature Inc. at the end of one of the office buildings a few blocks from the Moorestown Mall. 

Signature Inc is a marketing company with gorgeous, spare, modern offices. The young manager explained that I would be talking to people who were interested in buying Verizon packages, and I would be receiving a commission for each sale made. Uh, no. They were all very sweet, but I need a regular salary, not commissions. He said there would be a second round of interviews after Thanksgiving, but I think I'll politely decline. 

After Dawn and I grabbed coffee and tea from their coffee bar in the reception area, we headed back out. I had grocery shopping to do, and I wasn't going to do it in my good black suede skirt and black flats. Dawn did stop to return three suits that didn't fit right to K&G Fashion in Cherry Hill. Otherwise, we went right back to Oaklyn, dodging the traffic and more heavy showers.

Changed into jeans and made a turkey sandwich for lunch. Watched The Monkees while I ate. After Peter trades his guitar for a treasure map, the guys decide to make the best of it and explore the island. "Monkees Marooned" find themselves dealing with a crazy big game hunter (Monte Landis) and his not-that-stereotypical native accomplice (Rupert Crosse) who are also after the treasure and an aging former jungle movie star whose help is more of a hindrance. 

The prima ballerina (Ondine Vaughn) of the Druvaninan National Ballet is under heavy scrutiny from the ballet master (Leon Askin) and lead male dancer who have placed microfilm in her "Card-Carrying Red Shoes." Having fallen for Peter, she hides in the guys' trunk and flees with them. Her fellow Druvanians kidnap Peter, leading her, Micky, and Davy back to the theater and into tights (and a chicken costume) in order to rescue him. 

(And I would love to know where Mike vanished to during that episode. I know he had his tonsils out during the filming of "I Was a 99 Pound Weakling" and "Monkees Watch Their Feet" and got genuinely seasick during "Hitting the High Seas," but no one has ever really explained why he missed this one.)

Switched to The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold while I got organized. This would be the second-to-last Rankin Bass special, and it remains one of their most peculiar. Young Irish sailor Dinty is stranded on a remote island after he chops down a pine tree that held the banshee, a wailing evil spirit who needs gold to survive past Christmas Day. She's the reason leprechaun Blarney Kilkalarney (Art Carney) has been separated from his wife Faye (Peggy Cass) for centuries after she tricked Faye into believing gold was wicked. After she attacks Dinty too, Blarney and Faye finally admit they were wrong...and discover that love is more precious than any pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

Finally headed out again to run errands. The weather remained cold and rainy by 1:30. I ended up calling Uber, and would have even if my bike was in better shape. They picked me up in less than five minutes and picked me up in seven minutes. Took less than five minutes either way, even with traffic and the second driver missing the turn-off for Johnson Avenue and having to go down the White Horse Pike.

I had a bunch of errands to run that I couldn't put off. Started with Target. I considered replacing my bike helmet there, but I really wanted something better. Just got a tasty Iced Gingerbread Oat Milk Chai Latte at Starbucks. Sprouts is next-door to Target. I picked up grapes, coconut milk, dried orange slices, tiny little pumpkin puff sandwich cookies on sale, and two bundles of the most adorable rounded mini Indian corn I've ever seen. Those are now decorations on one of the shelves in my bedroom and the entertainment center.

Thankfully, the rain had taken a temporary leave of absence when I started down the hill to the Westmont Acme. They were much busier than Sprouts with people getting ready for Thanksgiving or avoiding the weather. I mostly just restocked yogurt here. Bought a muffin tin and papers to make Pumpkin Muffins for work this week. I also picked up canola oil and a container for Rose and her family's Christmas cookies and found huge, soft M&M cookies on the bakery clearance rack.

(Incidentally, the rain returned shortly after I got home. It's rained off and on, sometimes hard, for the rest of the day.) 

After I got home, I did a few chores, put everything away, and watched That Lady In Ermine after I finished A Thanksgiving Tale. I go further into this troubled Betty Grable historical romantic fantasy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - That Lady In Ermine

My other tire had arrived by the time the movie ended. I went downstairs to wrestle with the damn rim again. This time, it took me almost an hour and a half, but I did figure out how to get the tire on. I finally did one side, then pulled in the other. At any rate, the tire is now on the rim, the rim is back on the bike, and I'll be ready to go the next time I need it. (And I have a spare tire and inflated inner tube that might come in handy in case these blow out.)

Watched the second half of Match Game Syndicated while I had leftovers for dinner. They're up to the Game Show Host week where every panelist but Brett Somers either had hosted a game show (Peter Marshall, Dick Martin, Bill Cullen) or would in the future (Elaine Joyce, Betty White). Peter Marshall was surprised when the Star Wheel lands on him for the third time, but considering how different Hollywood Squares is, he wound up doing very well indeed.

Finished the night after a shower with the last of my recent record and CD finds and a holiday record I hadn't really listened to that often. The Fabulous Baker Boys is a 1989 drama about two piano-playing brothers (Beau and Jeff Bridges) who fall for the singer (Michelle Pfeiffer) they hire to spice up their act. I was a little young to really get this movie as a kid, but I've always loved the piano jazz score. Pfeiffer's "Makin' Whoopee" and "My Funny Valentine" sung seductively on a piano were iconic moments that brought those standards back to prominence and became one of the most parodied movie scenes of the late 80's. 

The Pink Panther also has an iconic jazz score. The slinky opening theme is likely more associated with the Pink Panther cartoon character nowadays than the series, but there's a lot more here than just that number. We get a little Italian on side one with "It Had Better Be Tonight" and go Latin on the other side with "Cortina" and "The Lonely Princess." 

Kicked off this year's Christmas music with the soundtrack from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Actually, it's pretty much the entire special, minus some bits of dialogue. "Welcome Christmas" and Thurl Ravenscroft's performance of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" are the best-known numbers, but I always did like the fast-paced "I Must Stop Christmas" that plays as the Grinch and Max take their sleigh down to Whoville. (Also, I'm glad I held off and bought this new. The copy I got from Target has a really cool Grinch-green record.)

A Winter's Solstice is a collection of dreamy winter and Christmas music from jazz and New Age specialist Windham Hill. There's a few traditional hymns like "Greensleeves" and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," but my favorites were the gentler "New England Morning" and "Northumbrian Lullabye." This would make wonderful quiet background music on a snowy late night in December when everyone else is snoozing and you're winding down.

The One from 1992 was Elton John's biggest hit album since 1976 and signaled his comeback after some disappointing albums in the 80's. The title song and the sad "Last Song" were huge hits, but I prefer the more upbeat "The Simple Life." In fact, that remains one of my all-time favorite John songs. Most of the others are more reflective of the time period they were made in. "Emily" and "On Dark Street" are the best of the remaining songs. 

Thunder In the Fall

Began the morning with breakfast and one of the most unique holiday cartoons ever. "Thanksgiving for the Memories" is from the Q-Bert segment of Saturday Supercade, a 1983 anthology of animated video game shorts. Q-Bert's teacher tells her students how the Q-Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower and competed to see who could get the most work done. Q-Bert and his fellow pilgrims work diligently on their settlement, but a jealous Coiley trips them up wherever he can. When Q-Bert's little brother Q-Bit runs away, it'll take the combined effort of all of the settlers and their new Native friends to rescue him.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. No trouble getting a ride either way. Both women arrived within six minutes, easily dodged traffic on Nicholson Road, and got where they were going in less than five minutes.

Generally, work was pretty quiet. Everyone is probably waiting to do their Thanksgiving shopping over the weekend and next week. I did have trouble at one point when I tried to help a young man wrap his flowers. I couldn't remember how to do it. He ended up having to help me, which was embarrassing. Otherwise, I was mostly either sweeping the store or outside gathering carts. There were clouds leftover from the rain we had last night and a few puddles this morning, but they were gone by the time I went home. It remained windy and relatively warm, in the mid-60's. 

Since I was taking Uber, I picked up another 12-pack of those holiday Hint flavors after work. I found a holiday-themed 8-pack of Sparkling Ice sparkling water, too. Also grabbed a box of 40 Christmas cards that were on sale for a mere $3.74. 

Oh, and I heard from a company in Moorestown that wants me to do an interview for a customer service representative job. As long as I'm not dealing with hundreds of people and their money a day, I don't see how it could hurt. I'll see them with Dawn tomorrow. 

Changed, then went straight into fixing the bike when I got home...and that's where the trouble started. I could get the rim off the bike, but I couldn't for the life of me get the tire and inner tube back on. They were the right size. I checked three times. They just wouldn't settle in the rim. One side would go in, and the other would stick out. I spent over two and a half hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong with that bike tire. I finally gave up around 5:30 and decided to buy a different tire and see if that would work. I bought a mountain bike tire to have better traction on the road, but maybe it was too big for the rim.

Calmed down with inventory work. Added the London Sister Act, Skyscraper, and Snoopy: The Musical. All three are recent finds. Snoopy came from Abbie Road last year, Skyscraper from eBay in 2021, and Sister Act from the Woodbury store On the Record in 2022. 

Continued with the second season of The Monkees during dinner. Micky's made to think "I Was a 99 Pound Weakling" when he's targeted by devious exercise guru Sha-Ku (Monte Landis). He takes him up on his offer to impress a pretty girl, but Davy and Peter insist there's cheaper ways to exercise. When Micky overdoes the working out and tries to serve them health food, they drop in on Shah-Ku's to prove that this guru is an unhealthy phony.  

"Hillbilly Honeymoon" gives us a new, more modern look for the Monkees. Peter's now an out-and-out hippie in bright floral shirts and beads, Davy and Mike have shorter hair (though Mike retains his hat here), and Micky has finally let his go full-on Afro. The four find themselves caught in a rural war between the Weskitts and the Chubbers when they're just passing through. Ellie May Chubber takes a shine to Davy, annoying her Weskitt boyfriend. Davy's buddies rescue him from the Weskitts, then try to make the hillbilly worthy of a bride.

Finished the night online with the Disney Babes In Toyland from 1961. I went further into this charming operetta with Annette Funicello and Ray Bolger at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2018.

Babes In Toyland

And yes, we finally got rain. In fact, we got an enormous thunderstorm, which I most definitely was not expecting. The massive boom at one point shook the windows and scared me to death! It seems to have settled down now, but it's supposed to continue raining in one form or another for the rest of the night.

Autumn In Knight Park

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. Velma's saying "Watch Out, It's the Willowaw!" after her Uncle Dave is discovered to be missing. Local Natives blame the spirit of an owl who is said to carry off its victims after they hear its screech. Velma's not convinced, but for once, it's Shaggy and Scooby who find the clues when the Willowaw and two walking owl spirits chase them into a cave that holds a vast treasure.

Rushed out the moment the cartoon ended for this week's job hunting session with Dawn at Haddon Township. She didn't find anything, but I applied to a marketing firm in Deptford, a medical supply manufacturer in Haddon Heights, and an office in Philadelphia. I applied to another office in Collingswood yesterday...and Dawn was so keen on them taking me, she actually went to the office later and encouraged them to consider me. They're not doing interviews again until after Thanksgiving, but she did say they seemed interested.

After I left Dawn, I rode down to Collingswood and picked up a French onion roast beef sandwich, Coke Zero, bacon-seafood chowder, and hand-made potato chips at Haddon Culinary. Took my bike across the street and a few blocks down Collings Avenue to Knight Park. While it remains dry and dusty, the weather was otherwise gorgeous. It was sunny, breezy, and a bit cooler, in the upper 50's. I settled down at a series of wooden tables near the picnic pavilion and enjoyed my delicious lunch while watching college students stroll across the yellowed grass and listened to toddlers scream at the playground.

(Speaking of playgrounds, I did notice that the log cabin-themed playground equipment I saw last year near the little log cabin was gone. It was a rusty mess when I saw it. I'd suspected it wasn't long for this world. Not only did the log cabin-type shack remain, it looked like someone repainted it dark green.)

Went for a lovely ride around the neighborhood bordering the park next. I don't know why Rose says the only interesting architecture is in Camden. Some of the houses in Collingswood are gorgeous, dating to between the 1870's and 1920's. There's that enormous Art Deco church hidden on a side street across from a school, too. 

As I rode past Newton Lake Park, I realized that my front tire felt a lot lower than it should have. Yeah, it was going flat. I tried to pump it up again when I got home, but it was no use. It just flattened even more. At least it's the front tire. I can change that myself. Besides, the front tire is beyond bald. It would have gone sooner or later. I bought a new tire and inner tube on Amazon and will just take Uber to work tomorrow.

When I got home, I put everything away, then watched The Emperor Waltz. I go further into this bittersweet confection with Bing Crosby as a traveling salesman who falls for countess Joan Fontaine at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Emperor Waltz

Worked on the inventory next. Added Seussical: The Musical, a 1988 studio version and the 1994 revival of Show Boat, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and the Ohio Light Opera recording of Sweethearts. Seussical came from the Moorestown FYE, Smokey Joe's and the '94 Show Boat were Abbie Road finds, and I picked Sweethearts up on eBay. I've had the 1988 Show Boat for so long, I'm not sure where I got it anymore. I think it was a Christmas present from Mom in the mid-90's. 

Broke for dinner at quarter after 7. Watched more Monkees while I ate. "Everywhere a Sheik Sheik" hearkens back to the early first season episodes that had Davy pursued by royalty. In this case, a sheik's (Monty Landis, the only time he didn't play a villain) daughter desperately points him out from the magazine spread they did in the first season in order to marry someone other than father's scheming vizier (Noam Piltik). After the shiek's men kidnap Davy, his friends follow. They think this is a cushy set up at first,  until it becomes clear that someone doesn't want Davy to wed that princess.

Took a shower, then went back to The Monkees. It's "Art for Monkees' Sake" when Peter's uncanny ability to paint replicas of doors is used by two crooked security guards (Monte Landis and Vic Tayback) for him to imitate a painting and them to replace it with the real one. The other three rescue him, then attempt to switch the paintings themselves.

Finished the night with two more recent record finds. The Happiest Girl In the World is a 1961 retelling of the ancient Greek play Lystratia, with Grecian women refusing their favors to lovers and husbands until they end their constant wars. Cyril Ritchard has a double role as the Greek  head of state and the god Pluto. There's some lovely melodies based on Offenbach, but I suspect this was all too close to old-fashioned operetta for most 60's audiences. Ritchard does have fun in his dual roles and there's some amusing E.Y Harburg lyrics, but the rest of the cast is ok at best. Cute if you're a fan of Ritchard, nice but not totally necessary if you're not.

Goin' Quackers! is Disney's only song collection themed around Donald...but the real theme is comedy and folk numbers. Though Donald Duck and Goofy provide the sound for "Dueling Quackers" and Donald is heard in the title song and "A Waddlin' Crazy Guy," most of the songs are attributed to Disneyland choir leader Larry Groce or two guys called Willo and Phillo. Their songs mainly consist of comic ditties like "I'm In Love With a Big Blue Frog" and "On Top of Spaghetti," but we do have Goofy wondering what he'd do "If I Only Had a Brain."

(Oh, and it was clouding up even as I rode home. It finally rained earlier tonight shortly after I got out of the shower, though it's gone now.) 

Sunny Autumn Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Minnie wants to make fruit salad and vegetable salad for "Mickey's Thanks-a-Bunch Day," but Professor Ludvig Von Drake's machine has inflated them to the size of the house! Minnie and the others have to figure out how to cut them down to size for dinner, then what to do with the tons of leftovers.

Headed out for a walk after the cartoon ended. Wanted to run a few errands. Finally found boxes and bags for Christmas cookies at Dollar General, along with a much-needed bottle of Oreo Coke Zero. Bags of cough drops were way too expensive at CVS. Strolled down Newton Avenue to WaWa and tried their Peppermint Cookies and Cream Chocolate Smoothie. (Sweet, but very mint and chocolate, with candy cane bits on top.) Finally got cough drops at Family Dollar, along with butter and a pack of Christmas cards with a pretty wreath and the word "Joy" on the front. 

Truth be told, I mainly went out to enjoy the gorgeous day, especially since it's supposed to get much colder by the end of the week. It was beautiful and sunny, in the lower 60's and breezy as can be. I was fine in my celery green sweater. Though a few houses already have their Christmas decorations out, most have settled for pumpkins, potted mums, and harvest wreaths or their bare dry gardens. 

I saw packs of apples and peanut butter at WaWa, but I already had apples and peanut butter at home. I sliced an apple and two stalks of celery and had those and the peanut butter for lunch while watching the first two second season episodes of The Monkees. "It's a Nice Place to Visit," but you wouldn't want to live in El Montono, Mexico, as the Monkees discover the hard way when bandits kidnap Davy after he falls for the girl their chief has his eye on. Micky, Mike, and Peter pose as bandits to rescue  him, then take them on in a showdown when they threaten the town.

Went downstairs next to make "The Vermont" maple sugar cookies. That's why I bought the butter. It needs two sticks. I've had that little leaf-shaped bottle of maple syrup around since my trip to visit Lauren and had been waiting to make these. They came out rather well, if not as maple-y as I would have liked. Still taste really good, though.

Listened to The Beach Boys: The Feel Flows Sessions while I worked. The Beach Boys were in a rough place when they made Sunflower in 1970. Their previous albums had not been hits, and they were considered all but through. The poor reception of Sunflower didn't help matters. Even though all the Beach Boys contributed to the album and the critics loved it, rock fans at the time found it too conventional. If anything, I think it's one of their least-conventional albums. "This Whole World," "Add Some Music to Your Day," and the laid-back "Cool, Cool Water" sounds like nothing in their catalog before or since.

Surf's Up went over much better a year later, and in fact would be their biggest hit until 1976. I had no idea one of my favorite ballads of the 1970's, "Disney Girls," was originally a Beach Boys song. I usually associate it with the Captain and Tenille or the Disney Channel Valentine's special From Disney With Love. As lovely as the studio version is, they include a live version that is absolutely gorgeous, with truly haunting harmony from the Boys. 

Took my laundry downstairs and got organized while watching more Monkees. Mike, Micky, and Davy are caught in "The Picture Frame" when two crooks claim they're making a movie when they're really robbing a bank. For once, it's Peter who gets to be the hero when he has to find evidence that his three band mates are innocent. 

Moved on to doing job research online. I didn't find a whole lot, though I did apply for a receptionist job at MyGovWatch in Collingswood. Finished with enough time to add The Secret Garden and Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair to the inventory. (Neither are recent finds. I got Secret Garden from the now-defunct FYE in Philly about a decade ago and State Fair from a CD and book store in Haddonfield that has also since vanished.)

Listened to jazz albums while I worked and as I put the laundry in the dryer. Riverside: The Soul of Jazz - 1961 is a collection of numbers from some of the most popular jazz artists from that year. I really bought this for Thelonious Monk's "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and Cannonball Adderly's "Del Sasser," but Wes Montgomery's "Mister Walker" and the Bill Evans Trio's "Peri's Scope" are good, too.

Brubeck Time was one of the earliest studio albums made by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1954; Time Further Out was their follow-up to the massively successful Time Out in 1961 that explored unusual time signals. Further Out gets more experimental, with oddities like "It's a Raggy Waltz" and "Bluette." Brubeck Time mainly covers standards like "Jeepers Creepers" and "Why Do I Love You?", though they would get their own "Audrey" and "Stompin' For Milli" in. 

There's something really strange going on at Buzzr. On one hand, I'm glad they seem to have dropped the constant Great Christmas Light Fight showings. Not only is it too early for that, but it has nothing to do with vintage game shows. However, they also seem to have revamped their entire schedule. Classic Concentration was on at 7 instead of Match Game, so I went elsewhere instead. 

Put on Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures on at Disney Plus while eating dinner. "Mickey's Thanksgiving Fun Race!" nearly ends in disaster when Donald and Mickey can't decide how to drive their gravy boat float. They have to rescue the other racers after Donald's rushing dumps them all in the river. "Happy Thanksgiving Helpers!" are looking forward to a huge traditional meal with all their friends. Daisy is especially nervous about making her grandmother's perfect cranberry sauce. She's horrified when, not only does she have a harder time making the sauce than she thought, but all their friends insist on bringing food that's not nearly as associated with the holiday. It's the others who finally remind Daisy that the important thing is she's spending the holiday with friends.

Finished the night back online with game shows featuring host Marc Summers, whose birthday was last week, after I finally brought the laundry upstairs. Summers began as a DJ and backstage assistant on shows like The Price Is Right and The Joker's Wild. His first major announcing assignment was Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak on ABC in early 1986. British host Forsyth leads two groups through giving clues to a certain topic down the line. They can't repeat words...which happened quite a lot on the show. It moved too slow for most Americans and had to compete against Price and Wheel of Fortune in the ratings, though it seems to have done better elsewhere in the world (especially Germany). 

Nickelodeon liked his work on Hot Streak enough to hire him as host for Double Dare. It remains the show he's most associated with, having hosted and produced the original and its spin-offs from 1986 to 1993 and announced and co-hosted the 2018 revival. My sisters and I always loved seeing him on Double Dare and Family Double Dare. He seemed to have so much energy and was really funny and great with the kids. 

Double Dare is his best-known show, but it's far from his only one. He did the syndicated Couch Potatoes even as he hosted Dare in 1989. No slime needed in this trivia game, just two teams named for a TV show on a wacky living room set answering questions based around television. 

He returned to Nick for What Would You Do? in 1991. An audience watches a video with a kid in an unusual or weird situation, then votes on what they think will happen before watching the rest of the short. This one also involved stunts, usually done by members of the audience. I remember watching this in 1991 and thinking it was a little strange. It is, but that's its charm. The kids in the audience are obviously having a great time, even when the segments aren't that funny.

After the demise of Double Dare in 1993, Summers created Pick Your Brain for syndication. Three kids watch another video, then answer questions on it asked by robot 2-XL. Adults joined them in the second round to either do a stunt, answer questions from a category, or answer five questions to win a prize. The third had them answering five questions and lighting up five "brains" to win. The adults returned for a Concentration-esque matching bonus round. This was really cute, but other than the robot, nothing that hadn't been seen in countless other kids shows of the era. No wonder it lasted eight months.

Summers stayed on cable for his two most recent non-Nick game shows. WinTuition on Game Show Network in 2002 had three contestants competing in a quiz show to see who could win scholarship money. History IQ on The History Channel in 2000 was somewhat similar, only this time the questions revolved around history and the sets and intense game play showed the influence of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

He also made appearances on other people's game shows. He did very well opposite Roz Ryan on Super Password in 1988, even getting his contestant to the Super Password bonus round. He did a hilarious all-host Scrabble week the year before, even taking over hosting so Chuck Woolery could join in. Win, Lose, Or Draw had him joining fellow host Peter Marshall to help their contestant figure out what their drawing indicates.

Have the slime time of your life with the Master of Slime himself!

Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak (1986)

Double Dare (1986)

Scrabble (1987)

Super Password (1988)

Win, Lose, or Draw (1988)

Couch Potatoes (1989)

What Would You Do? (1992)

Family Double Dare (1992)

Pick Your Brain (1993)

History IQ (2000)

WinTutition (2002)

Double Dare (2018)

The Host With the Mostess On the Ball

Began the morning with breakfast and two of the CDs I've picked up in the last few months and adding The Scarlet Pimpernel and one of my Decca operetta two-fers Roberta and The Vagabond King. The Mystery of Edwin Drood is Rupert Holmes' Broadway adaptation of Charles Dickens' final unfinished novel. Onstage, it's apparently performed as a English music hall, complete with one of the leading ladies dressed as Drood - in this case, Betty Buckley. 

Drood is in love with Rosa Bud (Patti Cohenour), but so is choirmaster John Jasper (Howard McGillin), who has a definite split personality, and Neville Landless (John Herrera) from Ceylon. The audience gets to choose who Dick Datcherty really is, who killed Drood, and who ends up with whom. I apparently found the Veresae Sarabande re-release that includes "Ceylon," the lovely "Moonfall," and three confessions. The whole "English music hall" thing doesn't really come across on the recording, but the music is lovely, and it is nifty to see which confession you'd pick if you were in the audience.

The Rolling Stones' Voodoo Lounge debuted in 1994, during the height of the grunge and alt-rock fad, and still managed to be a huge hit despite not producing a single. I do remember hearing some of these songs on the radio at the time, notably the thrumming "You've Got Me Rocking" and "Love Is Strong." This might have been a little too hard rock for me as a 15-year-old who was more interested in show tunes, pop, and R&B, but it hasn't worn too badly. 

Headed off to work after that. Work was surprisingly busy, considering the Eagles played (and won) on Thursday. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts, especially later in the day, when I had to do cold returns and gather trash, too. Later on, some guy ran up to me in the parking lot and wanted to see footage of who pushes a cart into his car. First of all, I am not in charge of that. Second, I doubt it did much damage. Third. the lot is on an incline. It's more likely the cart rolled into his car on accident and no one did anything. 

I kept smelling something burning as I rode to work. It seemed sort of hazy outside too, despite it remaining dry. Yeah, there's wildfires in the area. Thankfully, they're apparently not close enough to burn any buildings, but they're still tossing out the burning smell and smoke. No wonder I've been coughing like crazy. It's killing my allergies. 

Needless to say, I rushed home after that. Took a much-needed shower, grabbed dinner, and settled in with tonight's marathon on YouTube. The owner of Match Game Productions has many game shows in his collection besides Match Game. He tested the waters with a marathon of Gene Rayburn's appearances on other shows over the years. Some of Gene's oldest hosting gigs have vanished, including his one stint with Barry & Enright Do-Rei-Mi, but many of his earliest appearances on panel shows still exist. In addition to many episodes of What's My Line and To Tell the Truth, they started with The Name's the Same, which has panelists trying to guess what famous name the contestant has.

He was one of the funniest panelists on the syndicated color What's My Line and To Tell the Truth. He did two hilarious Line episodes with Alan Alda on the panel. He and Alan got to try on wigs from a wig seller after guessing he sold wigs for both sexes. Gene's Beatles-style wig wasn't too bad on him, but Alan didn't make much of a blonde. In a later episode, Gene and Alan got to do their own pizza twirling after falling to identify a champion twirler. Alan used his dough as a lariat. Gene tossed his so high, it got stuck on a light fixture! He traded bad Dracula accents with a young man dressed as a vampire in a To Tell the Truth episode.

He turned up in two of the funniest episodes of the short-lived early 70's version of I've Got a Secret as well. In one, Jo Ann Worley revealed she had a champion jumping frog named for her. Jo Ann the frog may have been a champ somewhere, but she wouldn't stay on the course. At least she moved. The other two frogs refused to budge, no matter how much their humans stamped and yelled at them. Gene really went wild in another episode when he took off his blindfold and discovered Charles Nelson Reilly doing a paint-by-the-numbers still life on a bikini-clad Janice Pennington's stomach!

Gene also appeared on romance-based shows. He and his beloved wife Helen appeared on He Said, She Said, an early version of Tattletales from 1969. Helen proved to be hilarious in her own right, showing why she and Gene were married for 50 years. He hosted at least three episodes of Tattletales on weeks when he appeared with Helen so actual host Bert Convy could play with his wife Anne. Given it and Match Game were still run back to back when Gene hosted, many of the questions he asked the couples were Match Game style, with a clear fill in the blank. 

Check out other sides of Gene Rayburn's career in this unique and hilarious marathon!

Sunday Night Classics - Gene Rayburn Marathon

Windy Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Impressed by how Mr. Parcel brings packages to the neighborhood, Lowly and Huckle become "Triple A Deliveries" and do some delivering themselves. After an argument over which package to prioritize, Huckle claims he can do the delivering himself...but finds it's a lot harder to do everything alone. "Stanley's Amazing Photo" will be of the Wright Brothers' first flight, if he can convince his boss that it's the real deal. Sally, Huckle, and Lowly become "Lost In the Swamp" while looking for their granny's house. Mr. Cat follows them to help them out.

Headed off to work just as the cartoon ended. Work wasn't bad when I got in, but it picked up considerably as the morning continued. One manager told me to do returns, which I did...only for another to claim the carts were empty. I should have been doing the carts all along and left the returns to a weekday when we have time to do them. Rushed out after I finished sweeping and just got them all done. At least it was a nice day for all the rushing around, blustery but sunny and warmer, into the lower 60's. 

Soon as I got home, I changed and put on Dot and the Koala. I go further into the fourth entry in the Australian Dot animated film series at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and the Koala

Stayed at YouTube to finish the night with today's Match Game marathon. Considering how often Gene insisted people weren't supposed to be eating on camera, there was a lot of food talk on this show. Charles got caught several times eating during the show. Once in a syndicated episode, a kiwi seller brought his bright green, fuzzy wares for everyone to try. At the end of another syndicated show, Betty White and opera star Diana Sorvino handed spaghetti and meatballs out to the cast. 

Another time, Richard ate the apple someone gave Brett. There was also when Avery Schriber ate his bad answer, and Gene ran over and beat up a cameraman to get him to turn away, and the episode with many jokes about Fannie Flagg's t-shirt with fried eggs in the obvious places. Lyle, a go-getter from Las Vegas with the worst toupee this side of Howard Cosell, annoyed the heck out of the panel (especially Ed Asner and Richard Dawson) in mid-1976. 

Come to our dinner party and enjoy the kiwi and spaghetti in this marathon that's guaranteed to make you hungry!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Food and Drink Special

Harts of the Morning

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel says "Thank You, Grandpere!" when his grandfather plays with him during a visit to his family's home. He's disappointed when Grandpa can't stay, but there's a surprise waiting for him and his parents at the Enchanted Garden when they arrive! It's "Neighborhood Thank You Day," where everyone puts a card in the Thank-You Tree to tell someone theyy're thankful for them. Daniel doesn't know who he'll mention in a card, until they all blow away and Mr. Mcfeely brings them back.

Moved on to Hart to Hart while doing job research. It's a "Homemade Murder" when one of Jonathan's employees is killed while delivering the clue to a murder and bank robbery to his home. The thieves, including a strange albino man, first hold Jonathan and Jennifer hostage until they reveal where the clue is, then Max when they escape. They have to get to a Canadian Mountie who is also looking for the thieves and convince him that those people in the house aren't them.

Headed off to work after the episode ended. Work was surprisingly quiet for the start of the weekend. It picked up a little bit near the end of the day, but never really got that busy. Most people will probably save their food shopping for next week, closer to Thanksgiving. It being a gorgeous, chilly day in the upper 50's probably helped, too. I spent the day gathering carts and sweeping with no trouble whatsoever.

I got my schedule at home, then confirmed it at work. I have slightly more hours and a far more normal Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday off. Great! I've waited 20 years for Wicked to finally hit the big screen, and now I can see it on opening day. 

Had dinner and watched Match Game Syndicated, then returned to it after a shower. Judy Landers and Lou Grant reporter Robert Walden joined in this week to see a gentleman in a plaid shirt and tie straight out of vaudeville, Gene telling Charles he's indispensable (and he was right), and Charles calling Brett "Arlene Francis." Later in the week, Marcia Wallace complains about her hot flashes, and a contestant shows off the Buddha statue she brought for good luck.

I wanted to watch something at Kanopy, but it went down twice. Moved to YouTube instead for the 1979 Mikhail Barisnicov version of The Nutcracker. He's the Nutcracker Prince here, with wafish Gerry Kirkland as his Clara. This is a pretty traditional version of the story, other than Clara and the Prince replace the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier in their dances. It's also relatively short and features some narration that makes it fairly easy to follow. Might be a nice starter Nutcracker for younger kids and ballet fans who aren't up to sitting through longer versions, if for no other reason than giving them their first look at a ballet legend.