Spring Foolin'

Began the morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. "Andorus" is the first episode of the series proper, picking up where the original four-episode miniseries left off. The group's attempt to gather supplies is interrupted by Bloth, who chases them to the titular land. It's here that Tula discovers she's an ecromancer - she can heal and control nature. She and Teron use their magic to help Ren get to the treasure here before Bloth and his men do.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. It's just easier to take three Uber rides on my double-shift day than it is to try riding my bike. No trouble with any of the drivers here. The one going to work came in 6 minutes. I had a harder time getting one to Thomas Sharp, but they finally came in 9 minutes. The one going home took 11 minutes, not bad at the height of rush hour.

The Acme wasn't busy when I arrived. It picked up slightly later, but it was never overwhelming. I did have to put away a cart filled with cold items someone didn't want. Otherwise, I was mostly outside, and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. It was hot, sunny, and breezy, in the lower 80's by noon. Most people are probably waiting for Easter weekend to do their shopping. 

After I changed, I grabbed two more Easter cards and a container of coconut macaroons on the Clearance rack before heading to the post office. I wanted to get the cards out quick as possible, so I set them up there and sent them out. I figured the post office would be busy during the lunch hour, but it was just me and the ladies behind the counter.

Had lunch at Tu Se Bella's next. I wasn't that hungry, so I just had a simple slice of cheese, slice of mushroom, and a Diet Pepsi. They surprisingly weren't busy either. I ate my lunch while listening to a show about excellent food trucks going in the background.

Since I had some time, I strolled across the street to explore the other stores. I dug through the Squishmallow bin at Five Below, but didn't get anything there this time. I did dig out a CD and four records at Goodwill:

The soundtrack from the 1976 pirate movie Swashbuckler

Tale Spinners for Children: Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (The United Artists version of this British children's album series)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle (Disney children's retelling of the segment from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, plus another Washington Irving story.)

Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra - Dreamy Serenades 

Bette Midler - Bette of Roses was the one CD.

After Uber got me to the school, I went straight inside. Good thing I got there only slightly late. We had 24 kids, 10 of them at my table. It was the same deal as the day before. The ones at my table were just fine. We went to the bathroom second, so they had a little more time to play with magnetic tiles. A few of them were a little rowdy at the bathroom, but it could have been worse, especially after I explained that they couldn't block the hallway. The custodians have their offices in that hall, and the boiler room is there. They needed to get through.

Once again, the trouble was in the cafeteria after snack time. They were all running around, screaming, yelling, hitting each other, calling each other names and then tattling about it. The head teacher kept ten of them inside to talk to them. Once everyone was out, things generally went much smoother. We still had to argue a couple of them back into their shoes and put the kibosh on another "no shoes" party, but they mostly had a wonderful time chasing each other and dancing to "Try Everything" from Zootopia, the themes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bluey, and PJ Masks, and songs from The Little Mermaid, Moana, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

By 5 PM, we were down to 4 kids, most of whom were complaining about being hot. It was still sunny and 80 degrees, breezy but also a tad humid. They were just taking the kids inside when I decided it was too hot to walk and I was too tired and called Uber.

When I got home, I went straight into Match Game '90. Most of tonight was devoted to the week with Jimmie Walker, Jo Anne Worley, and hilarious comedian Bob Sarlatte. Jimmie happily flirted with a female contestant, while Bob tossed out some darn funny quips.

Finished the night at YouTube with a lot of childhood memories. From the early 80's through the mid-90's, toy companies would debut half-hour specials devoted either to a new toy line or around additions to an existing line in the spring or summer. They generally turned up in syndication or as specials on Saturday morning, though a few rated prime-time slots. Most of these are all but forgotten today, like the Victorian-themed Rose Petal Place or the nature mythology of The Magic of Herself the Elf. Fairies is a unique rarity - it's based on a book rather than a toyline and looks more like the Lord of the Rings animated films. 

One has a special place in my heart despite being unknown today. Dad bought our first VCR in the winter of 1985. The first moves we took out (from a long-gone store in Rio Grande) were The Charmkins and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We'd tape Willy Wonka off The Disney Channel in the late 80's, but I wouldn't see Charmkins again after that video store closed until it turned up on YouTube.

By the early 90's, tighter regulations regarding advertising and children's programming and a change in viewing habits had largely brought an end to the whimsical toy-based specials. One of the last was Peppermint Rose from 1993. I vaguely remember the dolls these were based on, but I never heard of the special until I was an adult. Too bad, because this is one of the better ones. I like how sassy Rose is, and that she genuinely changes throughout the special and learns to be independent and care about others. (Like most of these specials, it's also extremely of its time - check out the random rap battle mid-way through.) 

If you also can't remember a spring without caring bears, nature-guarding elves, singing flowers, and sassy Peppermint Roses, you'll want check out these specials for a blast of warm-weather nostalgia, too.

Fairies (1981)

Care Bears In the Land Without Feelings (1983)

The Magic of Herself the Elf (1983) 

The Charmkins (1983)

Strawberry Shortcake's Housewarming Surprise (1984)

Rose Petal Place: Real Friends (1985)

Peppermint Rose (1993)

No April Foolin'

Began the morning with breakfast and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The "Equestria Games" finally begin as Spike and the delegates from Ponyville take part in the festivities. Spike gets stage fright when called on to light the torch. Twilight uses her magic to do it for him, leading him to believe he can light it with his mind. He tries to help in other ways when he learns otherwise, but just ends up embarrassed. It takes a major calamity that only he can stop to make him see just how valuable a member of the team he is.

Threw on Press Your Luck while getting organized. I came in during the second half of the episode. The one lady accidentally passed her seven turns over to the guy next to her, forgetting he already had over $10,000. She thought she made a mistake...but a Whammy wiped him out. She would earn enough money to make it to the next show. She did well enough in the first round, but another guy did better and was leading when I left.

Started with a stroll to Dollar General. I mainly needed cough drops and tissues. I've used up a ton of both lately, thanks to my allergies. I got the only sugar-free bag of cough drops they had, along with two boxes of tissues, more Propel-type drink mixes, and a card for my nephew Khai's birthday later this month. 

Headed down the White Horse Pike to WaWa next. I was mainly there to use the ATM machine and get the rent. Treated myself to a pretzel and a strawberry cheesecake smoothie. Yum. The smoothie was really good. It didn't taste like cheesecake, but it sure tasted like strawberries. I suspect WaWa likely used real ones. 

The other reason I went for a walk was simply to enjoy the gorgeous weather. Though it was windy, it also wasn't that cold for early April, probably in the upper 50's-lower 60's, and sunny and bright as can be. Though most people haven't put up their Easter decorations yet, their gardens are bursting with new green grass, brilliant yellow and white daffodils, and deep purple violets. The trees are blossoming now too, wide carpets of pink, white, and purple.

Had lunch, then vacuumed and dusted my rooms while watching Night at the Opera. I go further into this classic Marx Brothers movie for April Fool's Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Happy April Fool' Day! - A Night at the Opera

Switched to the Peanuts baseball specials in honor of the just-started season while I put up the Easter decorations. Charlie Brown's All-Stars are ready to quit, but Chuck manages to entice them with the promise of new uniforms. Unfortunately, the offer is withdrawn when the businessman discovers that the team features four girls and a dog. After Linus and Schroeder scold the girls for their nasty behavior towards Chuck, they find a way to show how much they appreciate him. 

It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown is an almost identical story, but this time, the kids just have to win a game to get their uniforms. Frieda's little brother Leland insists on joining the big kids, despite being far younger than them. He ends up being the hero of the game when he's too small for the pitcher to really aim at and literally stumbles around the bases.

Went downstairs after the cartoon ended to make muffins for work this week. I've made Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins from The Hershey's 1934 Cookbook before. They're another recipe that hasn't failed me yet. I overcooked them slightly, but they still tasted wonderful. I added fresh-squeezed orange juice from the one I zested to give them even more flavor.

Watched Match Game Syndicated as I baked and ate dinner. The first two hours finished out the week with Fred Grandy, Gary Crosby, Marjorie Wallace, and a noisy audience full of college students. The last hour moved to the first week Brett was away appearing in a play. Bubbly Betty Kennedy took her place and Phyllis Diller took over her crusty wisecracks. McLean Stevenson demonstrated why he'd permanently take over the third seat in the next season.

Finished the night working on my review with more recent record and CD finds. I had no idea what Dr. Blizzard's Original Savannah Band was before I ran across this, but I loved the colorful cover depicting the big band era of the 1940's. Apparently, they were a disco group with a big-band sound, not unlike some of Donna Summer's earlier work. "Cherchez La Femme," "Hard Times," and "Sour and Sweet/Lemon In the Honey" in particular leaned on the big-band side of things.

 

I was a kid when The Kinks made their comeback in the late 70's-early 80's. "Come Dancing" was one of my favorite songs from my early childhood. I may not have known what a "palley" was, but I figured it was like the dance halls and soda shops I saw in movies set in the 40's and 50's and heard about in my parents' stories of their childhoods. Come Dancing With the Kinks features this and more songs from that comeback, including "A Rock and Roll Fantasy," "Low Budget," and "Father Christmas."

Rainy Day Games

Began a gloomy morning with breakfast and Green Eggs and Ham. Sam does manage to rescue Pam from the sharks during "Three Days of the Mom-dor." His grateful mother allows him to join her, but regrets it when they attend a fancy party and she realizes that the words "Sam" and "blend in" don't belong in the same sentence. She manages to catch up to her rival Trousers and his partner Marilyn Blouse (Gwendolyn Christie). Sam thinks he's gotten the substance they're taking to Yookia from them, but they're one step ahead of him. Meanwhile, E.B explores Dookia and meets a handsome boy, Looka (Darren Criss) at the wall that separates Yookia and Dooka. She's not supposed to talk to Yookians, but she can't help but wonder why the countries are separated...

It was raining hard when I got up this morning, and it hadn't abated by the time I left for work. Unfortunately, I not only had a hard time finding Uber drivers, they took forever to arrive. The ones going there and home were over 12 minutes, and I was late getting to work. 

For all that, work wasn't busy. Many people may have done their shopping over the weekend or were avoiding the weather. It picked up a little later in the afternoon, but was never overwhelming. It helped that the rain slowed down by noon, too. By the time I finished, it had ended all together, though it would remain cloudy and chilly for the rest of the day.

Changed and had a snack when I got home, then opened two early eBay birthday presents to myself. With rumors flying around that the American Girl historical line is going to be revamped again later this year, I figured it was time to finally buy the last item from the previous revamp in 2014 that I wanted and could afford. 

When the historical dolls were branded as "BeForever" that August, all but Kaya came in new outfits. I picked up Samantha's and Josefina's when they came out and Felicity's about two years ago. Molly's wasn't around for long and is now hard to find for a decent price, but I wanted Julie's for Ariel. It's a really cute flower-print tank top and bell-bottom jeans with a yellow crocheted vest. I actually like Julie and Samantha's 2014 meet outfits better than their originals. 

I wanted the full soundtrack for Easter Parade after the LP version proved to be a disappointment. I poked around eBay and came up with a Judy Garland CD lot that included not only the soundtrack for Easter Parade, but also the ones for For Me and My Gal and A Star Is Born, three Garland pop recording collections (including a rare four-disc set from Japan), and the soundtrack from her Christmas special (which I already have and will be donating to Goodwill). Picked up the entire pile for $28 with shipping. The Japanese import alone probably cost more than that.

After all that excitement, I went down for a nap. I got up early, had a long weekend, and will be having an even longer week. I snuggled under the covers around quarter of three and was woken up by Karen confirming us getting together on Thursday at 1 around quarter after 4. 

Next up, I took the laundry downstairs and pulled out my warm-weather clothes. It's going to be chilly this week, but we'll be in the 60's by next week. It'll likely be a while before I need the corduroys or turtlenecks again. I think Mother Nature is done with cold weather until next fall. I still need good summer clothes. I have one skirt and one good blouse. Also want to pick up a few more solid-colored, short-sleeved t-shirts. 

Listened to records while I put the laundry in the dryer, then brought it upstairs. The film version of Sweet Charity came out in 1969 as Bob Fosse's first directorial effort. Shirley MacLaine is perfect as the sweet taxi dancer who is ever-hopeful that the right guy is just around the corner. Sammy Kaye is her boss, Chita Rivera is one of her fellow dancers, and Sammy Davis Jr. is the guru for a hippie-esque religious cult Charity's latest boyfriend is involved in. "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" is especially dynamic, and Davis Jr. steals the recording with the otherwise-extraneous "Rhythm of Life." 

Rupert Holmes' She Lets Her Hair Down came out in 1981, though it was apparently recorded in 1969. That would explain the different feel on songs like the title number and "The World Doesn't Matter Anymore." I especially liked the "name" songs, "Sandra," "Robin's World," and "I Wonder What Happened to Sally." 

Had a quick dinner while watching Match Game '90. It's a tad early for the Halloween episode, but that's probably the single best episode of the entire 90-91 series. You have Charles Nelson Reilly (as Superman with absurd inflatable muscles) sitting next to Brett Somers for the last time, Vicki Lawrence at her most acidic making jokes about her short Little Red Riding Hood outfit, and a close game. Ronn Lucas and his dragon puppet Scorch definitely win for most creative costume, though!

If the Halloween show is the best single episode of the 90-91 run, than the Veteran's Day shows were the best full week. ABC had Marines in the audience and playing the game, and they had a great time either way. They were especially besotted with beautiful soap stars Karen Wittier and Fiona Hutchinson, cheering every answer they gave, good and bad. Charles, Ronn, and Scorch are joined by Jo Anne Worley and Bruce Baum (for once not coming off too annoying). 

Finished the night at YouTube after a shower with episodes of Hollywood Squares in honor of April Fool's Day and Peter Marshall's 98th birthday on Saturday. Squares actually dates back to The Celebrity Game, Heatter-Quigley's attempt to imitate the Goodson-Todman panel games. Two contestants have to vote on how nine celebrities will answer a certain question. This version was a little dull and didn't make it out of 1964.

Heatter-Quigley retooled it two years later as The Hollywood Squares. They kept the nine celebrities and two contestants, but now the celebrities are on a giant tic-tac-toe board and have to give an answer to a multiple-choice question. The contestants need to figure out if they're telling the truth, or are bluffing. If they guess correctly, they win the square, If they miss, the other contestant has to guess their own question. If they get it, they can get the square. One celebrity is a "secret square" that has an extra prize. Capturing that square will win the prize.

Bert Parks was the host in the pilot seen here, but he was never seriously considered for the show. Actor and singer Peter Marshall got the job (apparently to spite his rival Dan Rowan), and would pretty much be associated with it for the rest of his career. The freewheeling spirit of fellow comedy show Match Game proved to be a little too unwieldy with nine celebrities, so most of their banter was scripted, or at least prepared beforehand. 

That suited its most famous center square occupant Paul Lynde just fine. Lynde wasn't a fan of improv, but he could put across a witty scripted zinger like nobody's business. Other celebrities who made frequent appearances in the late 60's and 70's included folksy Charley Weaver, mild-manned Wally Cox, erudite Vincent Price, sweet Karen Valentine, goofy Morey Amsterdam, and acerbic Rose-Marie. The network version ran until 1980; the syndicated show ended in 1981. It was so popular that in 1969, there was a short-lived Saturday-morning children's version, Storybook Squares, with everyone in costume. 

I'm more familiar with the later syndicated Squares. I'm pretty sure I saw the mid-80's John Davidson-hosted Squares on USA as a kid, and I know I watched the 90's-early 2000's Tom Bergeron Squares in college. Joan Rivers was the headliner on the 80's version, which ran until 1989. Whoopi Goldberg started out as the producer and center square of the late 90's show. After she left around 2002, a variety of celebrities filled the center square for the last two years. 

I used to love Hollywood Squares in college. It was so much fun to watch all those celebrities in one place, tossing out classic quips. I'd flip back and forth between Jeopardy! and Squares at 7 PM, then would settle on Wheel of Fortune at 7:30. Whoopi's version has frankly dated a bit better (it even has its own streaming channel now), but both are worth checking out for Squares fans.

(The most recent versions of Squares have been more for niche audiences. Two separate runs of Hip-Hop Squares in 2012 and 2015 and Nashville Squares from 2019 seem to be hard to find today. The current version, Celebrity Squares on BET, apparently returns to rap for its celebrity base.)

You won't be square if you spend your April Fool's Day checking out some of the wackiest fools to ever put over a bluff!

The Celebrity Game (1964)

Hollywood Squares Pilot (1966)

Hollywood Squares (1968)

Storybook Squares (1969)

Hollywood Squares Syndicated (1972)

Hollywood Squares Daytime Finale (1980)

Hollywood Squares (1986)

Hollywood Squares (1998)

Of course, Hollywood Squares is hardly the only comedy game show around. Match Game Productions put out this short marathon of shows filmed on April Fool's Day in 1976 and 1991 tonight as well.

Match Game April Fool's Day Episodes

Laughter In the Rain

Started off a gloomy, rainy morning with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. They only have one piece for April Fool's Day, but it's the hilarious story of two little boys who find a giraffe in their backyard and have to figure out how to keep it around until the zoo comes for it. There's also a few comic poems and silly limricks. 

Moved on to PAW Patrol during breakfast. "The Pups Save the Easter Egg Hunt" during the first season when Mayor Goodway breaks her arm and can't paint enough eggs for the kids of Adventure Bay to find. The pups agree to help with the painting and hiding...and then have to rescue the eggs when an eagle steals the basket with one special egg inside!

Watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown after that. The Peanuts crew get ready for spring and Easter in their own ways. Snoopy buys Woodstock a bird house. Sally goes shopping for shoes. Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie to color eggs, but her best friend has no idea how to cook them. Lucy annoys Schroeder at his piano and insists on hiding and finding her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, Linus insists. The Easter Beagle does that. Sally's skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids!

Switched to YouTube for Snoopy: The Musical. I go further into the second Peanuts animated musical special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - Snoopy: The Musical

Did some writing next. Richard's the first to admit, they're not going to get anything out of the Wild Rider Gang member. Gene says they have to leave him behind bars, anyway. They need to keep an eye on the Peacock Saloon, where the gold coming into town is now being kept.

It had rained off and on all morning, sometimes hard. It was slowing down when I got off the computer, but it hadn't slowed entirely. I'd also read online this morning that it was supposed to thunderstorm later. I wasn't taking chances. I called Uber. He arrived in four minutes, but he took the wrong turn and had to turn at the Acme's front entrance in the rain. And he drove way too fast when it had started raining again.

We were off-and-on busy all afternoon, sometimes with long lines. The sun came out shortly after I arrived, but it started clouding up again around 6-6:30. By the time I got off with no relief, it was pouring, and thunder could be heard in the distance. 

I had a far harder time getting a ride home. It took me nearly 10 minutes to just connect with a car, and then they took another 15 minutes to arrive. At least this guy was a lot nicer and knew where he was going. Good thing, too. By the time I went home, the storm was in full-force. Scarlet lightning flashed over Audubon, while the rain came down in torrents. Needless to say, I was very happy when he pulled up at the front door and I dashed inside!

Finished the night after leftovers and a shower with tonight's Match Game marathon. Tonight, MGP gave us the best of Brett Somers, one of my favorite panelists. Brett actually ended up on the show because her then-husband Jack Klugman said she needed some fun and to get out of the house. She did so well, she stayed on, even after she and Jack divorced (or separated, or something) around 1976-1977. Brett had the habit of talking too much and stealing the spotlight, but she was hilarious trading quips with Betty White, doing dueling push-ups with Gene Rayburn during the last PM episode of the first nighttime season, or getting a standing ovation during a syndicated episode for being the only person to get a contestant right after no one had matched the entire episode.

Bring your favorite quips (and your favorite cocktail) to this marathon of the best from everyone's favorite slightly tipsy character actress!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics: Celebrating Brett Somers

Only Fools and Races

Started things out with a very quiet breakfast. Thankfully, it was only windy today, and while a little chilly, it wasn't to the degree of earlier in the week. Had no problems getting to work other than being a little winded.

Wish I could say the same at work. We were busy all day long, and for a lot of that time, the person in the express lane and I were the only cashiers. It's the beginning of the month, and a lot of people who just got their money from the government are doing their shopping. It was still so busy by 3 PM, they had to call a produce manager who also cashiers to take over for me so I could go home. Grabbed a few things before I headed home, including pads. Thought I'd try coconut flour too, which is cheaper than almond flour for low-carb recipes.

Got my schedule, too. In good news, two days off, Monday and Wednesday, Monday for my neuropsychological exam. Trouble is, I'm working very long hours mostly bagging again, and while it's not going to get as cold as it did this week, it's also supposed to rain for a lot of next week.

Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. By 3:30, it was too nice not to! A few drops of rain fell on my nose when I came out, but they cleared out so quickly, I'd be surprised if most people noticed them. It was sunny and blustery when I passed Audubon Park, and has remained so for the rest of the day. At least it wasn't busy, not even around the entrance to the shopping center. The White Horse Pike was a little busier, though it could have been worse. 

First thing I did after I got home and changed was finally make a few more appointments. Used their online system to set a time to have lab work done at the Westmont Walgreens. Also finally got through to the Haddonfield branch of South Jersey Radiology to have my thyroid checked. Ironically, the building where it's housed is on the other side of Haddon Avenue from the Walgreens, on the border of Haddonfield and Westmont. I know it well. I used to pass it when I'd ride to counseling. 

Worked on writing for a while after that. The Red King is unamused by Patti Dee and Donald Dum's arguing and complaining and turns the duo into rattles. The others flee into the woods, trying to avoid the raven as Richard fights Jack (Klugman) the Red Knight and the monsters. As they run, Brett finds a white crocheted shawl being blown along in the wind...

Put on Match Game '77 while I worked. Sadly, the rest of the Eva Gabor week and the entire week after that are currently unavailable for viewing, due to Adam Arkin not clearing his episodes. We pick up with another popular sitcom star, Suzanne Sommers, putting in her only week on the show. Needless to say, Gene was very happy to give her a welcoming kiss! (Richard even threw in a "trench hand" joke from a few years before.) 

The second episode kicked off with Gene bringing a woman from Alaska onstage for a kiss and to see if Inuit really rub noses and the others joking about a stuffed cat one contestant brought with him. Richard's problems with the judges continue towards the end, when he pulls out "face" for Howdy Doody having his freckles sanded off. He clearly wasn't happy with the ruling at all, and it didn't improve his mood...

Had leftover chicken soup for dinner while watching Match Game PM. Fred Grandy sports a dapper newsboy cap, while Bart Braverman keeps blowing a duck call throughout the episode for no reason and Charles shows a (long, long) list of the people he does not want on the show. Bart has a lot less luck with "__ Foxes" in the Head-to-Head.

Finished the night on HBO Max after a shower with The Great Race for April Fool's Day. Daredevil stuntman The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) is the rival of hilariously evil Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), who could never quite manage to top him in popularity or stunts, They finally decide to settle things by joining a huge car race that actually did run from New York to Paris in 1908. Emancipated reporter Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood) initially drives her own vehicle, but joins Leslie when hers dies on the road. Maggie, Leslie, Leslie's right-hand man Hezekiah (Keenan Wynn) and Fate's lackey Max (Peter Faulk) find themselves involved in some truly wild shenanigans on the road, from outrunning Native Americans and surviving a bar brawl out west to being stranded on an iceberg to nefarious doings in a European principality whose king looks exactly like Fate. 

Hoo boy, this is a wild one. Fitting that Warners released it, as it's basically a live-action Looney Tune. Half the things Professor Fate unleashes on Leslie seem to have been borrowed from Wil E Coyote's storeroom, and Leslie is as unflappable as a certain carrot-chomping gray bunny. You can't get much more foolish than this race. While it doesn't have much to do with the race, the last third is a great spoof of The Prisoner of Zenda, complete with Fate having to replace the king at his coronation, Curtis fighting the bad guy (Ross Martin) shirtless, and the biggest pie fight in cinema history. 

The Ruritanian segment isn't the only one that doesn't really fit in. This movie is over 2 and 1/2 hours long, and it didn't need to be anywhere near that. A lot of the gags, especially in the middle, could have been trimmed. Otherwise, this is a hilarious slapstick action farce with some of Jack Lemmon and Peter Faulk's funniest performances as the silent film villains who just can't win unfairly. 

No Foolin'

Started off a rapidly clearing morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. Came in just as the former All-American Girls' League player did her last Gold Run. Alas, she didn't win, but she did take home over 40,000 dollars and got a kiss and hug from her husband afterwards. With her retiring, the show finished with three new contestants, a lady and a son and father-in-law pair. 

Watched The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town as I finished eating and did the dishes. I go further into the third and last Rankin-Bass Easter special at this Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry from April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

Switched to Match Game '75 as I got organized and went through a few things in my room. Jo Ann Pflug makes her first appearance on the show in quite a while...and is quite pregnant with her first child by songwriter and host Chuck Woolery, leading to several mother jokes. Charles writes the first couple of questions without his glasses in the second.

Headed out to do the laundry as soon as the credits on the second episode rolled. The laundromat was a lot busier than it has been, probably because it's the first of the month. Thankfully, I had a small enough load to shove it in the front-loading washer with the least time. Bought cards for Rose and Khai's birthdays later this month and to thank Rose for having me at Easter at Family Dollar. Treated myself to a maccha smoothie at WaWa. It was basically a very sweet, very tea-tasting smoothie. I love tea, so I enjoyed it. 

(Thankfully, by the time I made my way out, the sun came out. It was windy and chilly, but otherwise not quite as cold as I thought it would be, probably in the lower 50's.)

While I was preparing to head home, a young boy handed me a flyer. It was actually a menu for the newest business on the White Horse Pike, Crown Chicken and Gyros. Paging through the flyer revealed they had good prices on not only gyros, but seafood and rice meals and baskets of fried shrimp and chicken. Maybe I'd give them a try and order from them tomorrow for dinner as a special treat. 

Put on The Cocoanuts in honor of April Fool's Day as soon as I got home and got organized. I also go into further details on the first Marx Brothers sound vehicle at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy April Fool's Day! - The Cocoanuts 

Caught the second half of Press Your Luck after the movie ended. Wow, did this one get crazy. The man didn't get knocked out, but he did lose a lot of money. One of the women ultimately hit a long stream of prizes that won her the game, including a camping trailer, a game table, and a car.

Pulled out the summer clothes after the show. Yes, I know it's supposed to be cold tomorrow, but it'll be warm again by Easter. Not only are we done with very cold weather for longer than a day or two at a time, but my apartment gets so warm, I've barely needed warm clothes all winter. I'd wear pants outside, only to change into capris when I got home. 

Worked on writing for a while after I finished. Richard manages to not only out-shoot the head bandit, he reveals they're stealing gold dust and shoots the bandit in the hand to keep him from shooting him down. Gene's able to arrest them, but the bandits aren't too thrilled...

Did Match Game '76 while eating pan-fried fish, riced cauliflower and peas, and honey-glazed carrots. With the final episode of the Debralee Scott/Bill Anderson week having aired during Buzzr's Let's Laugh Marathon two weeks ago, they skipped to the first episode of the next week. The late Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves announcer Don Sutton made his debut on this show, joining Mary Wickes, Fannie Flagg, and the regulars to see Gene have to practically force his door open as he entered.

Foster Brooks returns for Match Game PM, this time sitting next to Brett and Charles. While Charles vents his frustrations with his Broadway play Break a Leg flopping, Foster gives us a few drunk jokes and others answer jokes about Farmer Brown's new perfume. Robert Pine has even less luck helping a contestant with the Head-to-Head "Saturday Evening __." 

Finished the night off before a shower with Sale of the Century. The pretty female champ bought two more Instant Bargains...but her impulsive shopping proved to be her undoing. She lost the Speed Round decisively to the other woman. The lady didn't do as well in the bonus round, just barely missing. 

Rhymes and Matches

Began the morning at work. Thankfully, they got one of the boys to clean the bathrooms. Except for sweeping the inside twice, I spent almost the entire day gathering carts. Nice day for it, too, windy but sunny and warmer than yesterday, probably in the upper 50's. I would have rather been outside with the carts than anywhere else in the store, and not just because of current events.

Went straight home after work. I really needed to clean the kitchen. I've eaten at home a lot more than usual, and the stove and sink were especially grimy.

Watched a couple of episodes of the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake on The Roku Channel while I worked. Strawberry is excited to hold "A Festival of Friends" for young ladies from many different lands. She's happy to host Tea Blossom and Marza Panda of Plum Blossom Province, but Tea is soft-spoken and doesn't enjoy a lot of the sweeter flavors and wilder activities she does. Strawberry is upset when their outing around Strawberrland ends in disaster, but she learns to be honest with her friend...and so does Angel Cake when her efforts to make friendship cakes alone don't work out.

"When the Berry Fairy Came to Stay" introduces Margalo, a Berry Fairy Princess First Class, who is found by Strawberry and her pets after she hurts her wing. She comes to enjoy Strawberry and her friends fussing over her so much, she fakes her injury in order to stay. The pets try to tell Strawberry she's lying, but she doesn't listen until they run away and she discovers that the berry plants are dying without Margalo to give them their color.

"The Legend of Sherry Bobbleberry" introduces Strawberry, Gingersnap, and the pets to another, friendlier fairy. I can entirely relate to poor Sherry, a clumsy Berry Fairy Princess Fourth Class who is taunted by her peers and ignored by fairies in higher authority. She's discovered that a flood is heading towards the Fairy's town, but no one will believe her. Strawberry, Ginger Snap, and the pets help get her back to the town and encourage her to use her own talents to save the fairies and divert the flood.

Finished the day and celebrated April Fool's Day with the next Match Game Marathon. Nipsey Russell was a stand-up comedian who became a popular panelist on his game shows, thanks to his dry wit and his legendary poems that often accompanied his answers or finished an episode. He too started out in '73 and became a semi-regular, usually starting things off in the first seat next to Brett. He became well-known enough by his final appearance in the 1979 syndicated version to have a question that revolved around him. He was also genuinely good at the game, winning big money for contestants on at least two PM episodes.

Bring your best rhymes to this marathon! And come back tomorrow for the next one, revolving around the blonde bombshell of Match Game, dancer and comedienne Elaine Joyce!

The Best of Nipsey Russell on Match Game Marathon 1973 - 1979

Dolls In the Spring

Began a sunny, bright morning with breakfast and two episodes of Garfield and Friends from the second season in honor of April Fool's Day. Jon gets a lobster from a relative, but he's a live critter, not the "Maine Course." They first keep him as a pet, then take him to the ocean to set him free. It's "No Laughing Matter" when aliens come to US Acres to steal the world's humor. Orson and the other animals try to tell jokes to get rid of them, but it's Roy who discovers that slapstick is the most potent weapon of all. "Attack of the Mutant Guppies" has Garfield and Nermal outrunning giant radioactive fish in the sewers, until Garfield decides he wants a seafood dinner!

We go into spoof territory with "The Legend of the Lake." Garfield has fun with prehistoric tales when he relates the story of a cave-cat who was bound and determined to get to an island filled with lasagna trees. "Double Oh Orson" brings the residents of US Acres in on the satire when Orson imagines himself to be a James Bond-type super spy. Garfield gets into a "Health Feud" with the beefy-but-dumb host of a fitness show Jon loves. The fat cat has to mix up the host's cue cards to get rid of him.

Headed out after breakfast to get the laundry done, delivering my rent (and the new insurance deposit) at the McHugh's on the way. It may not have been the best time. The place was packed when I arrived around quarter of 12. I got one of the last washers, and then one of the few dryers. Left the dryer on for a little longer, despite having a relatively small load. I wanted to get everything dry. While it was on, I worked on story notes and ignored talk shows and the local news.

Instead of putting everything away right when I got home, I pulled out the bin with the summer clothes. It was cold and windy today, barely in the upper 40's, but it's going to be in the 50's by tomorrow, and back into the 70's by next week. We're done with winter weather for a while. I don't really need much in the way of summer clothes. In fact, pretty much the only thing I need is a new bathing suit, and if Dad and Jodie aren't going to open the pool this year, I won't be in any hurry to pick up that. We'll see how well my shorts fit me. Most of them were falling off me by the end of last summer.

As soon as I finished organizing my seasonal clothes, I went right into doing the dolls' clothes. The boxes with the handles that hold the Kimberly Clark items that Lauren sends me every Christmas were perfect "suitcases" for the dolls' accessories and seasonal clothes. Their winter clothes go in Samantha's box; hats and accessories were moved to larger boxes.

Dressed the dolls in formal spring outfits for Easter after I got their clothes together. Josefina wears her turquoise and orange Feast Day Outfit with the ruffled camisa (shift). Whitney looks adorable in Kit's Springtime Dress from a few years ago, and Molly gets her Polka-Dot Outfit. Samantha sports her pink and magenta Flower Picking Outfit, white stockings, and black and white boots. Felicity is in her pink Birthday Gown with the flowered pinner apron. Ariel is lovely in the silky Flower Girl Dress from about a decade ago and the Swiss lace Springfield Collection espadrilles. It's sleeveless, so I wrapped her in the ruffle-trimmed Springfield Collection sweater. Jessa's in the 1997 Birthday Outfit with the purple jelly sandals.

Charlie and another gentleman came upstairs while I was dressing the dolls. Evidently, a "challenged" friend of his needed help remodeling his bathroom. Charlie won't be able to finish the windows for over a week. He did finally finish installing the new porch light on the overhanging roof, so I'll actually have light outside at night.

It was so late when I finally finished the dolls. I made baked chicken fingers in a cornmeal crust with roasted broccoli and leftover cabbage and pasta for dinner. Watched more Flash while I ate. It's "Rogue Time" when Captain Cold returns, this time with his fire-creating partner Heatwave and his equally nasty sister, Golden Glider. They force Cisco to make more heat and cold guns by holding his brother hostage, then say they'll broadcast Barry's true identity over live television. Meanwhile, Barry's attempts to make his feelings known to Iris only annoys her and her fiancee Eddie, while the Reverse-Flash takes care of a reporter who was getting a little too close to the truth.

"Tricksters" also involves illicit broadcasts. A crazy young man named Axel Walker has been sending bombs among children and filming it under the alias The Trickster. He's not the first person to use that name. The original Trickster, James Jesse, is now in prison. It turns out the bombs were a cover to break out Jesse and let him continue his reign of terror. They poison the patrons of a wealthy banquet and ransom the antidote, then plant a bomb on The Flash that will go off if he stops moving.

(This one holds more than a few memories for me. Mark Hamill played The Trickster, both here and in the 1990 Flash. He was the reason I watched the 1990 Flash in the first place. I was going through my first Star Wars obsession phase at the time, and I had to see anything that featured anyone from the original films. A line that Jesse says to Walker after he breaks him out cracked me up. Let's just say Mark Hamill has probably wanted to use that line since about 1980...)

Felicity returns from Arrow for an "All Star Team Up," this time with Ray Parker, aka The Atom, in tow. Ray's looking to improve his own suit, and bonds with Cisco as they work on it. They have to work fast. Someone has been using killer bees to target scientists in Central City, and they almost take down Barry. It'll take a group effort to find the person controlling the bees and stop them, before Harrison Welles' former colleague Dr. Tina McGee is next.

Worked on writing for a while after dinner. Went back and added a scene between Luke and his Aunt Bertha (Beru) as he's coming downstairs from changing. He tells her he's considering moving into his own place. Bertha's fine with whatever he wants to do, but Owen wants him to stay and continue to run his furniture shop.

Finished out "All Star Team Up," then moved on to First Man. The "first man" is Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), and the movie details the events leading up to the flight of Apollo 11 and how he became the first man on the moon in 1969. He was originally grounded after a series of mishaps, due to his worry about his little daughter's operation. After her death, he accepts a job with NASA and moves his wife Janet (Claire Foy) and son Rick (Gavin Warren) to Houston, where they welcome their second son, Mark. Things go wrong again a few years later when a few friends of his die in a terrible fire in the Apollo 1 mission, then his space craft rolls and he barely makes it through another. He's shaken, and his wife wants him at home...but NASA finds him to not be at fault and selects him to be one of the men who will join the first trip to the moon anyway.

Touching, if slightly melodramatic, account of the US' space program in the 1960's and how Armstrong overcame his own problems to be part of a major moment in history. The visual effects recreating the vastness of space won an Oscar. I also loved the gorgeous electronic score by Justin Hurwitz.

If you prefer more fact than fiction in your science fiction, are interested in the history of space travel or NASA, or fondly remember the moon landing yourself, you may find much to enjoy in this one.

Easter Parade at Home

I awoke to a cloudy, rather blahh Easter. Brightened my morning with short stories and poems from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Since today is also April Fool's Day, I began with the cute short story for April Fools about two boys who find a giraffe in their backyard and have to keep him there until the zoo arrives. The Easter stories were Nino's Easter, about a little Italian boy's holiday celebration, and The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, the tale of a mother rabbit who gets to join the Easter bunnies and help bring an egg to a sick child. The Disney anthology Storybookland features Grandpa Bunny, a short story about how Great Grandpa Bunny worked to keep the seasons colorful...and how his beloved grandchildren know where his final legacy can be found.

Did The First Easter Rabbit while I got dressed and organized. The second Rankin-Bass Easter special and the only one in regular 2-D animation is basically a cross between Frosty the Snowman and The Velveteen Rabbit. Stuffy was once the beloved toy of little Glinda, until she got scarlet fever and he's thrown away. A sympathetic fairy turns him into the Easter Bunny, symbol of spring and favorite of children everywhere. What he really wants to do is get back to Glinda, but ice-loving Zero may make this very difficult.

Checked my phone and learned that the Legacy Diner was open for business today, so I rode up there for brunch. There was a short line when I pulled in, but being one person, it didn't take that long to seat me. I enjoyed a yummy "Normandy," two crepes filled with Bavarian creme and bananas and covered in whipped cream. It was amazing. Like eating a turned-in banana pudding pie. They were so busy, I ended up borrowing a menu from the table next to me. Since they helped me, I returned the favor by letting them have my rack of jelly for their toast.

When I got home, I put on The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town while starting Glazed Lemon Rolls (which are a yeast recipe).  The third and final Rankin-Bass springtime special this time takes us to Kidville, in the remote Big Rock Mountains. Sunny Bunny is hoping to expand their reach into gloomy Town over the mountain. He's first attacked by grouchy Gadzooks the bear, then by snobbish Lady Longtooth, who disapproves of anything that doesn't fall under her strict and dull laws. He finally wins over both by creating Easter traditions that will make Gadzooks more appreciative of himself and get around Lady Longtooth's harsh restrictions.

Put on another special while I cleaned up the bread mess. Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement introduces three all-new shorts with a springtime theme. Sylvester and Daffy pursue a golden egg in the first short. The second has Daffy trying to protect a chocolate rabbit factory from Speedy, who wants chocolate bunnies for the kids of his village. The third shows Daffy solo as he tries to find a better way to fly north for the summer.

Bugs offers to help the Easter Bunny deliver his "Technicolor hen fruit" in "Easter Yeggs." He instantly regrets his Good Samaritan impulses when he's attacked by the bratty son of a criminal, then Elmer decides he wants him in his stew pot.

I tried calling Rose as the cartoon was ending to see what she was doing. I called too late. She and her family were already out the door to meet Craig's parents for a fancier Easter brunch.

Cheered myself up with a walk to WaWa for an Easter treat. Springtime is becoming more and more evident here. The dogwoods are in bloom now, and sunny yellow daffodils brighten many gardens. I saw a few kids in Easter finery at a party at the VFW across the street from me, but most folks by that point were probably either watching movies at home or in the theater or out to their own brunches. Grabbed a perfectly sweet Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie at a mildly busy WaWa.

Took a leaf from them and ran a Peanuts special as I formed the rolls and got them in the oven. Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown, as she's the worst player on Chuck's notoriously loss-prone team. Peppermint Patty tries to trade for Snoopy at first, but later turns Marcie over to him for Lucy. Chuck quickly finds out that there are even worse players out there. Marcie's a sweetheart, but she's absolutely no good at baseball and only plays because her best friend does.

Did some writing for the next few hours. The little elf's light leads back to the others. Leia discovers that Han collapsed shortly after she took off, his head in terrible pain. Chirruit, the Force-loving monk, explains that an evil force is attacking Han's mind. He may sleep permanently if it isn't expelled. Luke, with his innocent healing powers, manages to get rid of it...just as he turns back into a human, to the shock of the Rogue One crew.

Broke to start dinner around 6. I decided to try a spring variation on the Bacon and Cheese Quiche in Julie's Cooking Studio. The bacon became turkey bacon (pork gives me indigestion, and regular bacon is expensive), the cheese was Parmesan and mozzarella (what I had on hand), replaced the sour cream with Greek yogurt, and added sliced mushrooms and asparagus with the bacon. Oh, wow. It may be the best pie I ever made. Savory and slightly sweet and just the right kind of tart, and it cooked beautifully. Turned the other pie crust into Cinnamon Roll-Ups, crunchy cinnamon buns made by sprinkling a pie crust with cinnamon and sugar and cutting it after it was rolled.

Finished out the Peanuts baseball set while I worked. Charlie Brown's All-Stars are about to give up when a local business offers to buy them uniforms...if they get rid of Snoopy and all the girls on the team. Chuck refuses, and while the kids are mad at him at first, they soften when they understand why he turned them down. It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown is pretty much the same story, only this time, the sponsor says they just have to win a game. With Chuck's team, that hardly seems possible. But help may come from an unexpected source - Leland, Frieda's little brother.

Moved on to a brief round with Wii Sports after dinner. Figured I didn't need boxing after my walk earlier, so I stuck to tennis and golf. I'm doing better at putting and Target Practice and can do fairly decent with just hitting balls in tennis (got a bronze medal in that), but I can't hit the targets in tennis to save my life. I just can't aim properly. Had more luck with a decent round of bowling.

Ran one last Peanuts special while I cleaned up from my game and after dinner. It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown shows the Peanuts' Easter preparations. Sally wants new spring shoes, while Peppermint Patty tries in vain to teach Marcie to color eggs and Snoopy looks for a new home for Woodstock. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle will do all that. Sally's skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin, to say the least. Lucy just wants to hide and find her own eggs.

Moved on to Easter Parade when I went online. This 1948 MGM musical takes us to New York in the 1910's, where dancer Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) finds himself choosing a new partner after his previous one, Nadine (Ann Miller) joins the Ziegfeld Follies. He plucks Hannah Brown (Judy Garland) out of the chorus of a bar show and tries to groom her to be another Nadine...until Nadine points out that she's not her. He then lets Hannah be her real, funny self, and they switch successfully from ballroom dancing to comedy. Hannah now finds herself in love with Don, even as his best friend Johnny (Peter Lawford) eyes her, and Nadine eyes Johnny. Matters finally get themselves settled, just in time for the famous parade described in the title song.

Fluffy MGM musical benefits from some terrific Irving Berlin numbers, including the charming "A Fella With an Umbrella" for Garland and Lawford and the hilarious "A Couple of Swells" for her and Astaire. If you love the cast or the MGM spectaculars of the 40's and 50's, this is one of the best and is recommended.

Finished out the night with Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies. The Easter Bunny is sick and can't deliver eggs, so Granny sets out to find a replacement among the Toons. Unlike the Daffy Duck special, this is pretty much just an excuse to showcase bits from some of the most popular shorts ever made at Termite Terrace, including the Oscar-winners "Knighty-Knight Bugs," "For Scent-imental Reasons," and "Birds Anonymous."

And I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and Passover, whether you spent it with your families or were on your own, too.

Comedy Tonight

It was still cloudy out when I got up early this morning. Celebrated April Fool's Day with a couple of poems and a story about two boys who find a very stubborn giraffe in their back yard from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Did another brand of comedy while eating a quick breakfast. The original cast of the musical Greek-set farce A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum featured beloved comedians Zero Mostel as the slave who schemes to become free, Jack Gilford as the more dutiful slave who gets tangled in Mostel's lunacy, and David Carradine as Marcus Lycus, purveyor of fine-looking ladies. I figured a show that opens with a number called "Comedy Tonight" was perfect for the holiday.

Work was pin-drop quiet when I arrived. It took me 40 minutes to do the carts, and I didn't have to do them again for the rest of the day. Gathered baskets, bagged, and cleaned the bathroom before break. Alternated between bagging and working on the back of the gift card mall in the afternoon.

The manager wanted to know which cards weren't selling. I finally figured it out as I was hanging credit gift cards at the registers. We were overloaded on the credit gift cards. There was one large box, one small box, and a bag full of them behind the peg boards, and more than half the ones I already hung were credit gift cards. The trouble with these cards is, you have to pay an extra fee when you buy them. Most people prefer cards that can be used either at a general online store like Amazon, or are for a specific company, and only require the amount listed on the card. The only time we really ever sell these is at Christmas. The manager took two bags full to the trash compactor in the back. I didn't get the chance to give him the boxes before I headed out.

Bought toilet paper and eggs and headed home. I forgot toilet paper yesterday. Didn't desperately need eggs, but they're 79 cents this week. That's too good of a sale to pass up. It was cloudy and chilly, barely in the mid-50's, and quite windy. By the time the sun was coming out, I was long at home.

When I got in, I changed into regular clothes, then had a snack and finished the dusting. My bedroom always takes twice as long to dust as the other rooms in the house. Most of my collections are in there, including all of the dolls and action figures. Put up the Easter decorations after I finished. Mylar or cardboard garlands were draped over windows. The small greenery rope with mini carrots and bunnies dangling off went on the kitchen window. Set up Patchy Bunny the rabbit statue I bought from a yard sale and a smaller resin gardener rabbit (along with the book Winnie the Pooh's Easter) on the music area table. The quilted egg table runner I got from Mom went on the table. The smaller Easter basket and my Flora the Bunny and Freddie the Frog rolly-polly toys went in my bedroom. The rabbit candy holder and soft fuzzy chick I got from Mom's stash are on record shelves in the music area. Stuffed Peeps keep Lily the Duck and Sharri the Lamb company.

Ran a couple of TV shows and cartoons about comedy and Easter as I ate and worked. "The Princess Who Never Laughed" was a Russian story adapted for Fairie Tale Theatre. A grieving king (Howard Hesseman) has outlawed all laughter in his land after the death of his wife. His daughter Henrietta (Ellen Barkin) is tired of the tedium of court life and demands a little entertainment. Her father organizes a laugh-off to try to make his frustrated child crack a smile. The last person he expected to do it is Wienerhead Waldo (Howie Mandel), a goofy pig farmer who calls his porcine pal his gag writer and teaches the royals a valuable lesson - we often derive the most pleasure when the joke is about us.

Garfield and the residents of US Acres had their own bouts with comic catastrophes in an episode of Garfield and Friends. The lobster a relative sent Jon is supposed to be the "Maine Course," but he's live and frisky. Even Garfield can't bring himself to eat him. Eventually, they opt to set their friend free instead. It's "No Laughing Matter" when aliens come down to US Acres to steal the world's humor. Orson, Roy, Wade, and the chicks read every joke in Roy's book to get them to laugh...but slapstick proves to be the most potent weapon of all. "Attack of the Mutant Guppies" has Garfield and Nermal on the run from huge fish lurking in the sewers...at least until Garfield decides he wants a seafood lunch.

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement is the Looney Tunes' second shot at a spring holiday special. Daffy dodges an animator with an odd sense of humor as he introduces three all-original shorts with Easter or spring themes. He and Sylvester chase a golden egg in the first episode. The second has him protecting a chocolate bunny factory from Speedy Gonzoles, who wants to bring chocolate bunnies to the children of his village. Daffy's solo in the third, where he tries to figure out how to get a horse to take him north for the summer.

Worked on writing for a while after I finished with the Easter decorations. Henry may think Duchess Leia is tough and cute, but he doesn't want to get involved with her rescue when he's so close to leaving. Luke reminds him that she's rich and may be able to give him the money he needs to pay off Huttman. He finally agrees to it...just as they see the Death Star Airship take off across the sky. They'll never catch it on the land now. What they need is another airship. Henry leads them to the Falcon, ignoring Charles' protests that it isn't ready yet.

Broke for dinner around quarter of 7. Watched two Three Stooges shorts while I ate steamed broccoli with cheese and pan-fried lobster cakes for dinner. The trio are mistaken for members of the publicity department for a big movie studio in "Studio Stoops." They come up with the idea for a new star to vanish...then have to rescue her when kidnappers like the idea and grab her for real. They're "A Snitch In Time" when they deliver furniture to a pretty lady,  only to discover she's being held captive by jewel thieves.

Finished out the night with another group of classic comedians. The Bowery Boys also dealt with mysteries from time to time. Sach gains the ability to read minds after a little boy accidentally hits him on the head. Slip convinces Louie to buy a detective agency so they can become Private Eyes and put Sach's new abilities to the test. They really get a work-out when a beautiful blond turns up with a fur coat and a secret envelope. Turns out the fur coat was stolen, and it and the envelope are a clue to a fur coat theft racket. Sach and Slip go undercover at a sanitarium to rescue the blond and the little boy who hit Sach over the head when the crooks use him as a hostage.

Laughter In the Rain

It was no joke - it was cloudy and ridiculously humid for this time of year when I got up this morning, even at 7 AM. I cheered myself up with a first-season episode of Garfield and Friends. "Mane Course" serves up a fresh lobster who is a tad too fresh to eat. John turns him into a pet instead, but he and the animals finally come to the conclusion that a house is no place for shellfish and take him home. It's "No Laughing Matter" when aliens land at U.S Acres and threatens to strip the world of its humor. Orson and the chicks tell all the jokes they know to get rid of them, but Roy discovers that slapstick is the most potent weapon of all. The fresh seafood isn't quite as pleasant in "Attack of the Mutant Guppies." Garfield's story to scare Nermal turns out to be a lot more real than either of them would prefer...and now they have to figure out how to get rid of these scaly creeps!

Work was a little busier, but still not overwhelming. Though today was the first day of the month, many people are likely still on vacation. By the time I was doing returns with one of the younger girls, the clouds had been replaced by sun (though the humidity remained). It was so nice, neither of us really wanted to go inside, despite all the carts having been returned. I did end up doing returns at a few points, hanging vinyl bags where people can purchase them, and taking customers. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 3 that I was able to shut down with no problems.

I even got to work on a new story idea. I know I said I didn't want to do any fanfiction for the Star Wars movie that came out a few months ago until we see the remaining two films in the trilogy. Well...frankly, I kept thinking as I watched it in the theater that "this is The Wizard of Oz in space, even more than New Hope."

Rachel "Rey" Gale lives with her Aunt Leah and Uncle Harry and their two farmhands on a farm outside of Jakkuson, Kansas in 1939. She feels like her life is as gray as the world around her, especially after the nasty man who runs the First Order Manor near-by threatens to take her beloved Westie Terrier BeeBee to the pound and her grouchy cousin demands his share of the farm. 

A tornado whisks Rey and BeeBee over the rainbow and into the land of Oz. Oz is under the tyrannical rule of the Warlock of the West and his apprentice. Queen Leia was imprisoned in her own magic bubble and banished to the lands of the South, where she amasses an army to stop him. She once ruled with her husband and her wizard brother, but her husband vanished after he was attacked by her son, and her brother is hiding in the Emerald City. Rey has to go to the Emerald City to find the Wizard Skywalker, with the help of a cowardly lion-soldier, a scarecrow who had once worked for the queen, and the Tin Smuggler, who seems to know a lot more about the queen and the Warlock of the West and his apprentice than he'll let on...

I updated the ideas page on my writing blog:

Upcoming Stories and New Ideas

Got my schedule during break. While I have far fewer hours than I have in the last few weeks, I also have two days off in a row, Monday and Tuesday, and a lot of early hours. This is less devastating financially than it was in January. I also have vacation coming up, and we get extra money for that. I'll have plenty of time to clean my apartment and before said vacation.

I didn't have a ton of shopping to do, thankfully. It was mostly restocking produce - pears and clementines were on sale. I needed apples, grapefruit, carrots, and leafy greens - went with escarole. I had coupons for Grain Berry Cereal and Pancake Mix, and both were on really good sales, so I grabbed them. The Acme (Lucerne) brand cheese was on a great sale, too. Also picked up ground turkey, peanut butter, strawberry fruit spread, honey, cooking spray, crushed pineapple, and the new Chocolate Mint Graham Cracker/Pretzel Goldfish mix.

As soon as I got home, I went on the computer to work on writing. I re-wrote the theft scene. The Rebels are now stealing tax money from a snobbish Imperial nobleman who was transporting it to Bast Castle. Han and Leia argue the entire time, of course.

I had some distraction this afternoon as I wrote. My neighbors are still trying to catch the raccoon that's living in my roof. We did catch something...a squirrel. The animal removal guy didn't show up to take him to a new home until around 7-ish. He was just resetting the trap when the rain started.

The skies were getting darker and darker, even as I worked on my story. I was heating up leftover cheeseburger casserole for dinner when the animal guy showed up and the clouds burst. And when it rained...it was wild. I hadn't seen rain like that in ages! It rained so hard, for about ten or twenty minutes, I couldn't see the backyard. We had lightning and thunder, too. I'm so glad I worked early today! I don't even want to think of what it would have been like to have been caught in that.

Ran an episode of Fairie Tale Theatre as I ate and watched the crazy weather. "The Princess Who Never Laughed" is Henrietta, who has been raised as a very serious-minded young lady by her overprotective father. When she demands a little fun, the King holds a royal laugh-off. Whomever can make his unhappy daughter smile will have her hand in marriage. He never expected that person to be Wienerhead Waldo, a farmer who calls his pig his gag writer...and his daughter never expected to learn that the funniest jokes are often the ones with the most truth to them.

And I hope you all had a hilarious (and far drier) April Fool's Day and first day of April!

What's Springtime, Doc?

I laughed my way into a gorgeous first day of April with two TV episodes that discussed the importance of humor. It's "No Laughing Matter" for the U.S Acres gang in a first season Garfield and Friends show when a group of aliens appear right in front of Orson and the others. They claim they want to drain the Earth of its humor to power their weapons. Orson, Wade, and the chicks try to make them laugh with all the jokes they know. Roy finally discovers that slapstick is the most potent weapon of all.

Even typical fairy tale royalty needs a few laughs every now and then. Henrietta (Ellen Barkin) is "The Princess Who Never Laughed," a bored young lady who has been trained to be serious all her life by her father (Howard Hesseman) after her mother's death. When she finally gets fed up of dull palace life and asks for someone who can make her laugh, the king holds a royal laugh-off to find the funniest man in the kingdom. If he can make Henrietta laugh, he'll get her hand in marriage. Neither the king nor Henrietta were counting on Wienerhead Waldo, a goofy farmer who calls his pig his gag writer, to be the most hilarious guy around. Nor were they expecting to learn a lesson from him - we often derive the greatest humor when the laughs are on us.

Headed out to run errands after "The Princess Who Never Laughed" ended. I decided to give the bike a rest and do what I had to do this afternoon on foot. It was a gorgeous day for it. The sun was shining. The robins were jumping around newly-green grass. Daffodils are just starting to bud. Though the wind was a little chilly, the sun was wonderfully warm. It had to be in the mid to upper 50's.

My first stop was the Oaklyn Library. I had two bags of books, DVD's, CD's, and cassettes I wanted to donate for their book sale in June. While two of the older women working on the computers went through the donation bags, I organized the DVD's. They were a mess, especially the adult titles. I should have gone through them more thoroughly after they were moved last week. A lot of them still have parts of the top stickers left on them, too. I had to pry a lot of that off. (I really wish the librarians would start being a little more professional and pull the entirety of the stickers off of new material.)

It was past 12:30 before I headed out to Studio LuLoo. There wasn't much going on over there, either. I just did dishes again. While there weren't quite as many as there have been in previous weeks, quite a few of them were covered in the remains of another birthday party. Two knives that had cut cake and a cupcake container still had tons of cake and icing clumped on them. The knives were so bad, I let them soak for a while and did them last.

Had lunch at Phillies Phatties next door. Given it was 1:30, it was just me, the college guys who run the place, and one other man watching ESPN sports talk shows on the Final Four. The guy behind the counter must have been busy paying attention to the show, because my cheese and mushroom slices were a little burnt. They were still edible, though the crusts were a bit charred.

I saw a sign at Leo's Yum-Yums on my way to Studio LuLoo and asked the young man behind the counter about it. The sign said "Phillies Yummies" in pastel colors. The kid enthusiastically explained that Phillies Phatties bought the Leo's location and planned to open it with longer, earlier hours and an expanded menu as soon as they possibly could. I'm delighted! I love Leo's (especially the Yum Yums - creamier water ice), but they've been opening later and later and closing earlier and earlier over the last few years. They didn't open until May last year (in previous years, they'd been open as early as late April-early May) and closed in late August, even before the kids went back to school. (Before last year, they'd be open as late as mid-October.)

I thought of going to WaWa and Family Dollar for eggs and more drain cleaner, but I'm really not a fan of the Oaklyn Family Dollar. I went in the opposite direction to CVS instead. Their large eggs turned out to be $2.49, the same price as WaWa's. In addition to the drain cleaner and eggs, I picked up hair clips in the dollar bin. Some of mine are getting old. These are cheap and I don't know how long they'll last, but they'll do for now.

Cleaned the bathroom after I got in. It needed to be done. It was really, really grungy. I'll do the floor sometime later this week or next week. For now, I scrubbed everything else I could and washed the mirrored doors of the medicine cabinet.

When I finished in the bathroom, I rested my feet for an hour writing my final project for class and doing research. I think I want my essay to be on travel. I enjoy traveling. It's in my blood. My fathers are both sailors. My brother's in the Navy, and several of Mom's uncles were Navy veterans. Just because I don't want to drive doesn't mean I don't like going places. To paraphrase Greyhound, I'd rather leave the driving to others.

I would love to take a long train trip somewhere. There's so many places I've never been that I'd love to visit - Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Santa Fe. I dream of returning to the green mountains of Vermont or the rugged splendor of Montana. I haven't been to Disney World or the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area where I was born since the early 90's. The disasters on 9/11 soured me on plane travel, but I really enjoyed the trip I made to and from Albany by train in 2009 to visit Lauren.

That sunny day beckoned me, but I didn't feel like more hiking. I opted to sweep the porch and take out the trash and recycling instead. I haven't swept the porch in ages. It's either been too cold, too wet, too windy, or the porch was covered with snow. It was still a little windy today, but I was tired of putting it off. I also got rid of one of the plants Andrew gave me that used to belong to Miss Ellie. Alas, it finally expired a few weeks or so ago. I tossed the dead plant and added the broken plastic containers to the trash can.

The other reason I've put off sweeping is it's a little harder now, with the wooden slats blocking the sides. While the removal of the gutters running along the bottom of the porch means I can sweep debris anywhere, the slats make it more difficult to get it all off. Not to mention, I can only clean half the porch. The other half is still blocked off. I did the best I could, getting rid of most of the remaining winter sticks and sticker balls, along with the dirt from the plant.

I ran some comedies or comedy-related material all afternoon. Who knows more about the importance of laughter in our lives than the Looney Tunes and their creators? Bugs Bunny describes the work of one of his bosses, Chuck Jones, and how much the great comic chase means to them in The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie. Along with Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, this is widely considered to be the best of the Tunes compilation movies of the 70's and 80's. While it contains no full new shorts, it does have excerpts from some of Jones' most famous creations, including "Robin Hood Daffy," "Duck Amuck," "Ali Baba Bunny," "Bully For Bugs," "Long-Haired Hare," "What's Opera, Doc?" and a cornucopia of Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner shorts.

Moved on to another comic group while making flounder in lemon wine sauce with sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms for dinner. The Bowery Boys are News Hounds when Slip, an ambitious copy boy, sniffs out a big story about gangsters fixing fights. Trouble is, Sach lost the photos proving their evidence. Worse yet, Gabe, angry over losing face with the gangsters, turned in Slip's story without the photos. Now the paper is being sued, and the guys might be in major trouble....unless then can find that camera and produce the evidence in time!

I hope you had an equally sunny and wacky April Fool's Day!

I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'

Started out a fine, sunny April Fool's Day with some baseball-themed laughs from the Peanuts gang. Everyone thinks that Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown, since she's by far the worst player on Chuck's notoriously loss-prone team. When Chuck does finally trade her to Peppermint Patty for Marcie, he discovers there are worse players out there - Marcie doesn't even like baseball and only plays because her best friend does.

I headed out as soon as I finished my Cheerios and grapefruit breakfast. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, probably into the upper 50s-lower 60s, with a nice breeze and warm sun. It's looking so much greener than it did even a week or two ago. New grass can be seen poking from the dry, yellow patches. The daffodils are finally starting to poke their heads above the ground.

I did the Oaklyn Library first, but I wasn't there for very long. For one thing, this is the day Oaklyn's seniors watch a movie there. I listened to Summer Stock as I organized the adult DVDs. Mainly, though, the kids' section is still in the midst of serious reorganization. I don't know why the director wants to organize everything by theme or genre rather than alphabetically or by the Dewey Decimal System like most libraries, but whatever. She may be trying to minimize space in the already small building. I was in and out after 20 minutes.

Another reason I didn't want to hang around was...it was just too nice of a day to spend messing around in a library. I went straight to Haddonfield, enjoying the increasingly warm afternoon. I had no problems getting there this time. I did have to dodge quite a few potholes, but even the largest piles of snow and ice are long gone. The snow we had last week didn't even last a day.

I came up Haddon Avenue and landed at the Bistro, which is where I ended up having lunch. It was 12:30 by this time, and both the outdoor and indoor dining areas were packed with college students, high schoolers and their parents, elderly couples, and executives and assistants from the local medical offices on their lunch break. I enjoyed that wonderful Pear Spinach Salad I had last spring on my Haddonfield counseling day trip, the one with the big pieces of bacon, sliced pears and cucumbers, blue cheese, caramelized walnuts, and chicken on a bed of spinach. It was just as delicious as it was last April. I wasn't the only one who loved it, either. The two medical executives next to me also ordered it (along with cups of soup).

Since I still had at least 40 minutes before counseling, I strolled down Haddon Avenue for a while. I ended up at the small book store. I didn't see any adult books I couldn't live without, but I do love their children's section. After reading over several of the kids' books for Easter, I finally found three for my nephew Khai's birthday on the 20th - a Thomas the Tank Engine counting book, a National Geographic for Kids easy reader on dinosaurs, and the classic Golden Book The Pokey Little Puppy.

Headed to counseling next. I told Mrs. Stahl about my busy month, the changes to my story, my frustrations with my customers and Rose, Mom's new job, starting the communications class, and my hopes and plans for the summer. In addition to Lauren's visit, I'd like to make some day or short overnight trips to easy-to-reach fun places in the area like Wildwood, Ocean City, the Shops at Marlton, and the Moorestown Mall (the only major area mall I've never taken a look at).

Another thing I want to look into is going to the theater. There's tons of local theater groups, starting with the Ritz Theater down the street from me on the White Horse Pike. (And they could use a new fan - I read in the Courier Post that they're having financial problems.) The trouble is, most shows are at night, when I work, and most matinees are on Sunday afternoons, which I rarely get off. It should be a bit easier to get to shows once we get into summer and the sun starts going down later. I may see if I can find at least one movie theater that's on a bus route as well. It'll be a lot easier to do the work for my communications class when the people I communicate with on a regular basis aren't so hostile.

Basically, she said "try to either look up or call the neurophysicists, get to the theater or a group whenever you can, and save for trips and your vacation." I have my birthday coming up in two weeks to look forward to as well. I haven't decided what I'll do for that yet. Maybe I'll go into Philly, or write Amanda and see if she wants to visit.

It was too nice of a day to go straight home after counseling was done. I browsed in a few stores in Haddonfield and on Haddon Avenue going to Westmont, including one cute little gift/antiques shop that had really funny cards based around vintage photos. Stopped at Primo's Water Ice on my way through Westmont and treated myself to a small cup of Chocolate Peanut Butter. It was the 4PM rush hour by the time I arrived. There were lots of parents and kids treating themselves to water ice and ice cream on their way home from work and school. A mom with two cute grade-school-age kids licked at soft ice cream cones as I worked my way through my water ice.

After a brief stop at Walgreens to look at their Easter section (they always have the best seasonal aisle), I headed straight home via Newton River Park. Given the beautiful weather and the time of day, the park was the busiest I'd ever seen it. I wound my way around joggers, dog walkers, parents with kids in strollers, and old people out for a ramble. The playground was so filled with little kids in colorful clothes, it more closely resembled a carnival.

When I got in, I got an idea. Miss Ellie planted violets in the side garden in 2010, about two years before she died. I really enjoyed raking up the leaves and seeing those lovely little green shoots reaching for the sunlight. I grabbed one of the rakes and went downstairs and around the back of the house to the side garden, which is situated between the house and the hill that goes up to the park.

I was delighted to see tiny green sprouts coming up out of the dirt as I raked. I don't know if they're violets, but something is still there. The sun, which had disappeared while I was in Haddonfield, came out as I finished raking. I think Miss Ellie somehow knew, too.

Spent the rest of the evening in my kitchen. I made Chocolate-Oatmeal Hermits from the Cooking Light Yearbook I bought from a yard sale a few years back, then had baked seasoned chicken thighs and honey-glazed carrots for dinner. I ran two favorite late 80s comedies as I worked.

Mannequin is one of the more bizarre comedies made during an era noted for strange concepts. Johnathan Switcher (Andrew McCarthy) is a Philadelphia sculptor who can't seem to find a good outlet for his creative impulses. He keeps getting fired from job after job...until he lands at Prince & Company, a fading downtown department store, after seeing the mannequin he built in their window. Turns out the mannequin is Emmy (Kim Catrall), a cursed Egyptian princess who has traveled through time looking for the right man. Emmy is just as creative and upbeat as Johnathan, and they proceed to make window displays that are the talk of downtown Philly. Johnathan's growing love for a window display dummy makes him look increasingly suspicious to everyone else, including the store security office (G.W Bailey) and flamboyant window dresser Hollywood (Mesach Taylor).

If you can get around the plain odd idea, this is a really cute romantic comedy-fantasy, and a nifty little taste of the mid-late 80s in Philly. Locals might still be able to figure out still where a lot of scenes were filmed, including the Wanamaker Building (now Macy's) standing in for Prince & Company. (I heard a Boscov's stood in for rival store Illustra, which isn't surprising given the 80s vibe of most Boscov's.) Not for heavy action enthusiasts or those who can't handle the 80s in general, but if you love the concept or the cast or the era, you may like this.

Moved to Troop Beverly Hills as I cleaned up from dinner. We skip ahead two years from 1987 to 1989 and cross the continent to the title city. Phyllis Neffler (Shelly Long) may be rich and a good shopper and have great taste in elegant wide-brimmed hats, but her life is a mess. She and her husband (Craig T. Nelson) are in the midst of a messy divorce. Determined to prove that she can do more than shop and bond with her daughter Hannah, she takes over Hannah's Wilderness Girls troop. These poor little rich girls aren't the type of kids who bake cookies and make hooked rugs, and they've scared off every other den mother they've had...until Phyllis takes over. Phyllis and the girls try to prove to militant, bullying head Wilderness Girl Velda Plundor and her overly competitive "Red Feathers" troop that there's more than one way to be a Wilderness Girl...and that the most important thing is a girl is in tune with her environment, whether she lives in the wilderness or the wilds of Beverly Hills.

This was one of my favorite movies when I was about the same age as Hannah and the troop. I still like it, but as with Mannequin, it's very much a time capsule of its era. I honestly don't think Phyllis, the girls, or Beverly Hills in general would be played nearly as positively today as they are here. Not to mention, the outrageous fashions, on the kids and the adults, are something else - check out all of Phyllis' variations on the Wilderness Girls uniform. I especially love Phyllis' amazing hats. This is also 100% a girl and woman's movie - guys don't need to apply. I suspect this would probably still go over well with pre-teen girls today who can get around the dated premise and enjoy the story and colorful costumes.

And speaking of comedies, I hope your April Fool's Day really tickled your funny bone, too!

Laughing Matters

I started off a warm, sun-filled April Fool's Day with a first season episode of Garfield and Friends that dealt with the importance of comedy. While Garfield befriends a lobster who was supposed to be Jon's dinner and wards off mutant guppies who are after him and Nermal, Orson Pig and the other citizens of US Acres deal with a much larger threat. Orson, Wade, and the chicks are trying to avoid Roy and his newest joke book when aliens arrive...and claim they want to take the Earth's humor to power their weapons! Orson and the others use Roy's joke books against them, but slapstick proves to be the most potent weapon of all.

My main chore today was getting the laundry done. It was very busy when I finally made it in. Today is the day after a major holiday (the last until the middle of next month); many people may have had today off. I dodged at least three families. Good thing I had a very small load anyway, since I last did my laundry on Wednesday.

It was past 2 when I got in, and I had work at 3! I quickly put my laundry away, then finished out the Faerie Tale Theatre episode "The Princess Who Never Laughed." Princess Henrietta (Ellen Barkin) is learning to be a very serious young princess. The trouble is, she's tired of dusty books and never leaving the castle and her dull royal life. She wants to dress up, wear makeup, and have fun. Her father (Howard Hesseman) is in despair of what to do with her until he suggests a "laugh-off" to find a man who will make her crack a smile. He never expected that man to be Wienerhead Waldo (Howie Mandel), a farmer who calls his pig his gag writer and teaches the uptight royal establishment an important lesson about comedy - sometimes, we get the biggest laughs from the jokes that are on us.

Work, surprisingly, wasn't all that busy tonight. I figured it would be far worse than it was - it's the beginning of the month, and if people don't have this week off, their kids do. There were a few customer problems. One older man gave me trouble when he thought his order was supposed to be $10 and it came up $11 (he counted wrong). Another older woman fussed over an Easter stuffed animal that wasn't as cheap as she thought it was. Other than that, the night went by fairly quickly, and I was in and out.

I hope everyone had a really funny April Fool's Day!