In the Year of the Horse

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora, Bow, and Swift Wing crash-land on "Beast Island" and discover vines that cause depression, massive one-eyed monsters...and King Micah, Glimmer's long-lost father, who was exiled there. Entraptra ends up finding them. Meanwhile, Glimmer, angry that Bow and Adora disobeyed her orders, goes to Light Hope to see if she can set off the Heart of Eternia and free her people. Light Hope says there's only one princess who can connect with the remaining Black Garnet - Scorpia.

Switched to Step Up: Year of the Dance while doing research on options in New Jersey to find aid for mentally disabled and financially challenged first-time home buyers. I don't want to rent anymore. I can't take the chance of being forced out again. I need to own my condo or apartment. As for Step Up, I go further into this installment of the popular Step Up franchise made for the Chinese market at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog for Chinese New Year. 

Honoring Chinese New Year - Step Up: Year of the Dance (Step Up China)

Switched to Good Times during lunch. J.J's painting of a "Black Jesus" ends up dividing his family when, after he hangs it on the wall, everyone in the family seems to have a string of good luck. James insists it's the painting. Florida insists that the painting had nothing to do with it, and luck is just luck, after all.

James is excited when he's sure he's going to get a high-paying job with the Union. Even his family throws a big party for him. It turns into the "Too Old Blues" when they reject him because of his age. Florida and his children assure him that they still love him no matter what, and they certainly don't think he's too old.

Called Uber shortly after the episode ended. No trouble here. The one going to work came in 11 minutes and got me there just in time. The one coming from work took 10 minutes at the height of rush hour. No traffic either way.

The kids were excited today, and not just because of Chinese New Year. Many classes also celebrated their 100th day of school with cool cardboard "100!" glasses, tie-dye t-shirts, and Mardi Gras foam crowns. Though I only had 7 kids at my table today, they took a while at the bathrooms. One little boy took so long, the other teacher brought the others back for snack time while he finished. I also had to explain to a little boy that the girl next to him wanted to build blocks alone, and that it wasn't such a bad thing to do something on your own when your friend is busy.

We switched to coloring and playing with magnetic tiles after snack time. Two of the taller girls got into a fight when one thought the other gave her the paper they were coloring on, and she ended up ripping it. I kept them in the cafeteria to settle their differences and talk things out when the others went to the library. (One of the little boys hung back as well, probably because he liked the peace and quiet.) They seemed to be in much better moods when we did hit the library. I colored with two of the boys while the others danced to "Ghostbusters," the theme from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a kid-ized version of "Pink Pony Club." We were down to three when we took them back to the cafeteria. One left as I was leaving.

Watched Match Game Syndicated when I got home. For some reason, they jumped back to earlier in 1979 for the week with Patty Duke complaining that Charlene Tilton needed to wear more clothes while Jon "Bowser" Bauman showed off his rubber chains. The second hour went back to 1980 with Don Galloway and Fannie Flagg. 

After Match Game ended, I returned to Netflix to finish off the fourth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Glimmer finally realizes that maybe setting off the Heart of Etheria weapon wasn't such a terrific idea when it first enhances the powers of the princesses...then drains her and them. She-Ra is the only being that can channel it, but she begs Light Hope to remember how much Mara meant to her. She-Ra realizes that "Destiny" is something we can control when she shatters her sword to stop the weapon...and then Horde Prime turns up to reclaim his younger brother Hordak and ends up with Glimmer and Catra, too.

Ended the night with the Bill Evans Trio and Explorations. This soft, lovely piano music is perfect for gentle background music while working on musical reviews. "Haunted Heart," "How Deep Is the Ocean," and "I Wish I Knew" are especially lovely. 

Windy Day In the Year of the Snake

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Goofy short "Hockey Homicide." Things get really wild when a whole platoon of Goofys take to the ice and make a Flyers game look like a walk in the park. When the fans end up spilling out into the game, the players take a seat and have more fun watching them go crazy.

Rushed off to work after that. We were totally dead for the first half of my shift. The weather was really too lovely for grocery shopping! Though it was gale-force windy, it was also sunny and much warmer, in the lower 50's. It did start picking up in the early afternoon, but I was almost done by that point.

After I got home, I changed and put on The Backyardigans. Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone are dismayed when Tasha insists on having a "Tea Party." It proves to be anything but boring when Tasha takes them on a trip through the treetops of Borneo, to the palace of grumpy Emperor Austin, and on a fast ride across the Gobi Desert in search of the perfect cup of tea.

Switched to the original film version of MASH while resting. Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Captain Augustus "Duke" Forrest (Tom Skerritt) arrive at 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Unit in South Korea during the Korean War in a stolen jeep and proceed to really shake up the hospital. They may be hard drinking rule-breakers who flirt with anyone who looks like a nurse, but they also prove to be excellent surgeons. 

The duo convince religious by-the-book officer Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) to move out of their tent, bringing "Trapper" John McEntyre (Elliott Gould) in on their antics. Burns isn't thrilled, and neither is newly arrived nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Sally Kellerman). The trio do everything they can to deflate their pomposity with the help of the head of the camp Colonel Henry Blake (Roger Bowen). They do pretty much the same thing in Japan to a Colonel who protests their doing surgical work on a sick local baby. Hot Lips gets a lot more into the football game they organize with another hospital when they realize that their black surgeon Spearchucker (real-life football player Fred Williamson) used to be a football star. Henry is more than happy to bet on the game.

As different as this is from the subsequent TV show (and is said to be from the book), I ended up enjoying it just as much. There's incidents here that are as funny as anything on the show, including the football game in the finale. It feels like a darker military-themed preview of the snobs vs. slobs comedies of the 80's and early 90's. There's the amazing cast, too. In addition to Kellerman, Gould, Duvall, Skerritt, and Sutherland, we have Jo Ann Pflug (as a cute nurse Hawkeye pursues early on), John Schuck (as the camp dentist), Rene Auberjonis (as Father Mulcahey), Gary Burghoff (who would be the only actor to carry over to the show, remaining Radar O'Reilly), and Bud Cort (as a young private). If you love military comedies or want to see where MASH came from, this is highly recommended. 

Spent the rest of the evening working on that spring-themed fairy tale I began last year but couldn't figure out how to continue. I have some ideas now. Instead of being Mother Nature's son, Sir Michael is now the tutor to her actual son Prince Anthony, a mischievous young man who'd rather be building things and eating than dealing with his place at court. The Prince is winter witch Lady Jacqueline's fiancee....or so she says. She's turned the Prince into a rabbit when he refuses to let her end spring, but no one can find Sir Michael...

Watched Match Game Syndicated while I worked, and later as I ate dinner. Both of the show's sets could be as cantankerous as any of the panelists, as in the episode with Phyllis Davis, Charles Siebert, and Richard Deacon where a light bulb broke on the air with an audible pop. Charles claims he'll sell a giant prop light bulb for $2. Gene gathers the others at the end to screw a new one in. The last episodes brought in Jamie Lee Curtis, along with Bart Braverman and Fannie Flagg.

Switched to Hulu for two early episodes of the TV MASH. Hawkeye helps a young GI marry a "LIP (Local Indigenous Personnel" whom he's had a baby with while pursuing a pretty nurse. "Carry On, Hawkeye" has him, Radar, and Hot Lips as the only ones who are able to keep working when everyone else comes down with the flu. They recruit Radar to help in the operating theater while Hot Lips does her best to get Hawkeye to respect her command.

Finished the night at Shout TV for Mystery Science Theater 3000. Prince of Space is two episodes of a Japanese TV show edited together and dubbed (badly) into English. Mike and the robots have a field day making jokes about a mysterious masked superhero who combats a group of aliens bent on taking over the Earth. 

Matches In the Year of the Dragon

Began the morning with breakfast and Over the Moon for Chinese New Year. I go further into this sweet animated Netflix adventure at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Honoring Chinese New Year - Over the Moon

Headed out soon as the movie ended. I had no trouble getting a ride to work. Uber arrived in 4 minutes. Getting home at 6 PM on the Saturday before the Super Bowl was a lot harder. I went through two drivers, and the second took 12 minutes to arrive. At least there was no traffic either way.

I had less trouble at work. I spent almost the entire day outside pushing carts. It was cloudy and breezy, and while not warm like yesterday, it wasn't freezing cold, either. Dodged two sets of Girl Scouts selling cookies. The first were darling little Daisies in blue who had funny sword fights with their sale signs. The other group had older girls, Juniors, I believe, who held up a huge "$6 Girl Scout Cookies" banner to entice customers. I bought cookies from them yesterday, but I did pick up white chocolate chips and strawberry cake mix to make cookies for Valentine's Day.

After I got home, I changed and sent that cover letter to Irene. Watched more Vega$ while I worked and had dinner. "Love, Laugh, or Die" has Tanna searching for the killer of a former call girl who was about to write a tell-all book about her clients. Her mother wants her to find out if it was a smarmy singer (Bobby Van), a former tennis pro (Robert Mandan), or a shady construction executive (Andrew Duggan). 

Switched to YouTube for the only holiday episode of the 1984 Muppet Babies, "My Muppet Valentine." The Babies are excited when Nanny gives them all heart-shaped cookies frosted to look like them, but Rolf is upset when he doesn't get one. The other Babies make him the fanciest Valentines they can come up with, but he keeps hiding from them. It turns out he may have the best - or at least, the most heartfelt - valentine of all.

Stayed at YouTube for tonight's Match Game marathon. Smooth actor and singer Clifton Davies appeared on the show starting in early 1975, well before his best-known stint as a preacher on Amen. He got to hear Brett and Gary snipe at each other on his very first episode. He was around for the week with gossip queen Rona Barrett much later in '75, and to see Fannie Flagg's infamous fried egg sweater in '76. He did a singer's week during the syndicated era that also featured Lawrence Welk Show singer Gail Ferrell (the only Welk performer brave enough to attempt Match Game) and Paul Williams. 

Davis was probably the most relaxed of the semi-regulars. Very little ruffled his feathers, including Gene making a few unwarranted "back of the bus" comments in his presence. (One of which now has the second nighttime episode banned from the air.) Even Charles and Brett's fussing couldn't throw him. In fact, he helped all of the men on the panel lift Brett into the air during a 1976 PM episode.

You'll be saying "amen" for a laid-back favorite in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Featuring Clifton Davis On the Panel

Eye of the Tiger

Started off a quick morning with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Shares His Tigertastic Car" when Prince Wednesday forgot to bring a car with him to the park. Dan isn't sure about this at first, until his father insists that they can take turns. "Katerina Shares Her Tutu" when she wants to use it to dance as a flower, and Daniel wants it for a lion's mane. Katerina's mom Henrietta reminds them that they can both use it. 

Dashed out shortly after. It was cold this morning and the streets were still messy, but not so cold that I couldn't ride my bike this time.  I thought I was bagging at first and almost swept the floor, but it turns out I was cashiering. I usually bag on Tuesdays. We were relatively busy, probably because Tuesday is Senior Discount Day and the Acme is less than two blocks from senior housing. At least it slowed down enough for me to get out on time.

Went straight home after work. Changed and put on Match Game '78 while having leftovers for dinner. Gene inadvertently gives the answer for the first question, leading Charles to wisecrack that Bob Barker should partner with Richard Dawson on the show they mentioned yesterday instead! Later on, Charles continues the joke as he reads Variety and Patti Deustch actually manages to get almost every question right (and when she doesn't match the contestant, she at least has the definitive answer). 

Patti's winning streak continued into the next episode as I cleaned up from dinner. Gene reads letters from a fan chastising the panel for not being more up-to-date on their music, while Brett admits how much she misses her buddy Charles when he's out directing plays. Later on, the others help them figure out "Harold __" in the Audience Match.

Mom called as Match Game PM came on and I gathered the ingredients for Ginger Molasses Cookies. No, I have not found an apartment yet, and I'm fast running out of options. Right now, it's either I find an apartment who'll accept a third-party co-signer, figure out that government assistance, or get a second job. And if I do get a second job, I'm not going to do what Mom thinks I should do and get a physical job at a store. I'm already dead tired from my current physical job. I'll look for an online job, like transcriptionist. I did sign up a few years ago, but nothing came of it. Maybe it's time to try again. 

Switched to a quick 1980's My Little Pony short as I pulled the cookies out of the oven. The First Tooth Baby Ponies are tired of babysitting the Newborn Twins and take them for ice cream. They're all disappointed when Sweet Stuff explains that the ice cream maker and the toppings maker are feuding because the former thinks his friend stole his top-secret ice cream recipe. The ponies have to convince the two to make up, before it escalates into "The Ice Cream Wars"...and worse, the Newborns get cranky.

Finished the night online with Stowaway. I go further into this Shirley Temple vehicle with her as an American orphan raised in China at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Honoring Chinese New Year - Stowaway (1936)

Everyone's Kung-Fu Fighting

Kicked off a gray morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. The new champs were a pair of twin brothers; came in just as they were defeating a young woman. They didn't have quite as much luck with the Gold Run round, getting five questions right. They were playing a solo gentleman when the show ended.

Called Mom after I ate. She sent me a cute Valentine's Day card yesterday with glittery heart faces on it. Caught her at home. She's fine. Took the winter off from her job as a ticket-taker at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, but she'll be returning in early March. Spent the storms last week the same way I did - at home, watching movies or doing projects. She's working on turning six-year-old Lilah's old t-shirt and leggings into outfits for her 18-inch My Life As doll. 

Headed out shortly after getting off the phone. The day remained dark, gloomy, and very cold. Thankfully, it still wasn't windy or as cold as it could have been. The cold did clear out the laundromat. I ignored the bleating about politicians on the TV as I quickly tossed my laundry load in the smallest washer.

Took one last look at The House of Fun before they move to Barrington starting the 15th. (Which...I have no idea why they're moving that far. They'll have to compete with the Antique Center and several other antique stores up there. I figured they were going to Audubon or further down to West Collingswood, where there's less competition.) At any rate, I did manage to find The Story of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on LP, still in its original shrink wrap. 

After I dropped my clothes in a dryer, I strolled across the street. I originally wanted to treat myself to Dunkin' Donuts, but their inside area was closed. (There was a long line for the take-out window, though.) Ended up at WaWa, where I grabbed a simple hot chocolate and a heart-shaped cream donut.

Walked home, then threw on Kung Fu Panda while putting everything away and reading over old journals in my bedroom. Mom mentioned these are some of her favorite movies, and I thought the first one was appropriate for Chinese New Year. Po (Jack Black) is a food-loving panda in old China who is obsessed with Kung Fu. He works for his father Ping's (James Hong) noodle shop, but what he really wants to do is join the Furious Five, the protectors of the Valley of Peace. 

One day, Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) announces he'll choose the legendary Dragon Warrior who is destined to save the valley from the vengeful Tai Lung (Ian McShane). Desperate to see his heroes in action, Po accidentally ends up in their arena and ends up being chosen. No one thinks he can do Kung Fu, least of all his teacher Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). It'll take Tai Lung breaking out of prison and Shifu figuring out how to motivate Po to learn to show everyone that the real magical ingredient to achieving your dreams is in your heart. 

I agree with Mom. This is by far my favorite Dreamworks series and movie, even more than How to Train Your Dragon. Jack Black isn't always easy to tolerate, but he's a blast here as the rolly-polly panda whose soft body hides a huge heart and strong determination. Hoffman also does well as his teacher who thinks he knows everything about the martial arts...until he realizes that students can come in all shapes and sizes. The animation is awesome, too, colorful and flowing with its many different styles.

If you're a fan of Black, Dreamworks, or martial arts movies, or you have kids who are, this is an absolute must-check out.

Finished in time for the second half of Tattletales. We had a three-way tie between long-married Scoey and Claire Mitchilll and Ruth and Milton Berle and then-dating Glenn Ford and Cynthia Hayward. Press Your Luck started out quietly, with one Whammy and everyone picking up some money. Things got a lot more complicated in the second round. In the end, both women hit Whammies, leaving the guy to win a trip to Hawaii.

Worked on writing for a while when the show ended. Gene sends the others after Goodson's crew, while Jack Narz goes after Goodson and he takes on Richard. Richard doesn't want to fight with Gene, but his former boss hasn't forgiven him for throwing him over for Goodson. Richard doesn't want to work for anyone - not Goodson, not Gene. He wants to be in charge...but he also doesn't want to hurt Gene anymore...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Made chicken stir fry while watching Match Game '74. Fannie gets teased about her spelling of "Bald Eagle" in the Head-to-Head, while the others joke about Gene hiding in the opening. Goofy Jon "Bowser" Bauman, sweet Lorrie Mahffery of Happy Days, and Gary Crosby look on as Betty White and Gene Rayburn shows off their bodies to a student studying the human one on Match Game PM. 

Sale of the Century was the most tense episode they'd had in a while. This time, no one was ever too far ahead. The one guy was a former champ who returned on a technicality. Everyone won a Fame Game. The champ bought one Instant Bargain and the Instant Cash; the guy took a trip to Colorado. In the end, the other lady pulled ahead in the Speed Round and won the money with time to spare in the Bonus Round.

Finished the night online with Valentine's Day episodes and specials. The Valentine's Day episode of Sheriff Callie's Wild West is also the series finale. It's "The Heartless Valentine's Day" when bandits steal everyone's Valentine's cards. While Callie and Peck chase them, Farmer Stinky figures out a way to give the whole town a Valentine. Female pig miners feud with Dusty and Dirty Dan over a huge gold nugget. They think it's "Mine All Mine," but Callie and Peck ends up teaching them that it's better to share.

Smurfette is tired of cutting out valentines for every Smurf in town in The Smurfs' Valentine. She dreams of finding her Prince Smurfing and writes to Cupid to help her do it. Meanwhile, an evil witch wants Gargamel's cat Azreal to help her make a wish during an eclipse that'll eliminate all love from the world!

The Bernstein Bears ' Comic Valentine has Brother Bear throwing himself into hockey season...until he gets a series of valentines from a "secret admirer." Brother's not crazy about the idea at first, but Sister thinks it's terribly romantic. Brother's mind is on pretty Charlene and the big game with the Beartown Bullies and their huge goalie. Meanwhile, Papa goes to great lengths to show his love for Mama. Mama, as usual, reminds him that the best way to show love is through small moments, not big gestures. 

Memories and Magic On a Rainy Day

I awoke to heavy dark clouds that were pouring dogs, pigs, chickens, cows, and rabbits! It was no day to be out running around. I had breakfast while enjoying two episodes of the 1986 game show Split Second. Monty Hall hosts this trivia show that has contestants answering a question with three possible right answers. They had to give the answers, or the right version of the answers. As in Sale of the Century, the second-to-last answer was a speed round. The contestant with the most money had to answer the least questions. The one who answered all their questions first went on to the bonus round, where they had to find three panels that said "car" from five panels. If they found the panels, they won a car. If not, they could either take another prize, like a fur or money, or come back and try again.

I think I have vague memories of catching this one as a kid, and while it's not as exciting or silly as panel shows like Match Game, it's fun in it's own right. There's not many pure trivia shows on Buzzr, and it's been interesting to learn about things I was too young to understand in 1986 or had forgotten. Plus, it's kind of fun to see Monty Hall in a different, slightly more serious setting than the goofy Let's Make a Deal. I don't think Buzzr quite knows what to do with this one. It was briefly on weekday mornings at 10, but they replaced it with Press Your Luck, and then yanked it from Sunday nights. Currently, it's only on weekend mornings at 10:30.

Did some Match Game while cleaning up after breakfast. Loni Anderson of WKRP In Cincinatti and two MASH veterans, McLean Stevenson and Gary Burgoff, join Gene, Brett, Charles, and semi-regular Patty Duke for two episodes from 1978. Gene's eyes tended to rove towards Loni more often than not, to the annoyance of his two remaining regulars!

Worked on my mall essay for a while after I ate. The Rio Mall wasn't pretty. It was a pretty basic white corridor, with only about 20 stores, not counting Staples and K-Mart and Thrift Drug and the movie theater, but it was our mall. There weren't too many other places near-by we could do real shopping. Visiting there was always a treat...at least until it started to decline in the mid-90's, when most of the stores moved further east to two newer shopping centers near the ramp to Wildwood.

I remember how dark and dreary it was after everything closed, with only the movie theater, K-Mart, and The Deb Shop still there. It was like a ghost town. I hated running through there. They demolished the main mall in 2000. The movie theater finally moved to what used to be Super Fresh, and then Staples, and is currently in the midst of being remodeled. Thrift Drug is now Save-a-Lot; the record store is Rent-a-Center. I'm just hoping those new county offices and the "entertainment center" can put life back into a complex that meant so much to my childhood.

Broke for lunch around 2:30. Finished off The Magic School Bus while I had yogurt, an apple-cinnamon fig bar, and peanut butter on celery. The class "Takes a Dive" when Ms. Frizzle turns them into various animals who work together in a coral reef. Wanda doesn't want to have a partner, including Dorothy Ann, but she changes her mind after seeing how various creatures help each other find shelter or food or ward off predators. Her real interest, though, is finding a treasure that Ms. Frizzle's ancestor buried.

What kind of animals live "In the City?" Ms. Frizzle turns the class into raccoons, possums, falcons, and foxes to show them how animals survive in a busy environment. They get along because they're smaller and can easily hide and find food and shelter...but the bus turns into a bear! There's no place for a bear to hide or find food among skyscrapers and junk yards. The kids search their own backyards to make sure the bear-bus isn't carted off to the zoo.

The disc ends with "Gets Programmed." The class is assigned to open the school and put together their principal Mr. Ruhle's new computer. They can put it together, but they don't know how to program it. Carlos invites his computer whiz brother Mikey to help out. Mikey manages to get all their tasks onto the computer...but they keep replaying them every second, instead of every morning! Even worse, Mikey went inside the computer to see how it works and isn't there to fix things. The kids, Liz, and Ms. Frizzle follow him.

And that's that. While a few episodes have outdated information (Pluto was still a planet in the late 90's, for instance, and most computers work a bit differently nowadays), most remain a blast to watch, to the point where these continue to be used in classrooms to this day. If you have fond memories of the original books or cartoons, loved the more recent Magic School Bus Rides Again, or are a science geek yourself, you'll want to check out the adventures of Ms. Frizzle, her class, and the most remarkable bus to ever exist.

Worked on my story after the cartoon ended. Marcia uses her own magic to open the heavy door to the Summer-Winter Castle and get them in. The castle itself is remarkably clean for a forbidding abandoned edifice, and appears to have residents, though no one can be seen. Invisible hands bring them food and stokes a fire to warm them.

Marcia's the one who sees a familiar furry rear darting into the dungeon and follows him. They find Bill the wolf down in front of a cell, with Cullen the bookshop owner behind bars. Seems the bespectacled man took a rose from the wolf's garden, and the little canine insists he should be punished for stealing. Marcia jumps in between them, scolding the wolf for harming an older man and making such a fuss over a flower.

Moved on to dinner around 6:30. Finished the night while watching Mulan in honor of Chinese New Year. I go further into Disney's first venture into Asian folk tales at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Honoring Chinese New Year - Mulan (1998)

(Incidentally, the rain finally ended around 2; the sun even popped out at one point, though it mainly remained humid and cloudy. I considered running to the Acme, but I'll be there tomorrow. I checked my schedule online, and I work early tomorrow, at 8. I'll do my shopping after work.)

A Little Bit of Spring

Kicked off a sunny morning after breakfast with finally putting up my Valentine's Day decorations. I have more for this holiday than I thought I did, including a cute pink bear tin, a small vine wreath heart Mom gave me in college, two tinsel garlands in white and red, and a ruffly heart-shaped box I thought was too pretty to throw away after I ate the candy. The majority of my Valentine's decorations are cardboard hangings. Two large cardboard and Mylar hearts went on the windows on either side of the house. The smaller hearts were taped onto the kitchen window and front door. Two vintage cardboard cut-outs, a teddy bear holding a heart and a Holly Hobbie-style pioneer girl and her kitten, also went in the kitchen.

Ran episodes of The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That as I worked. Having pretty much exhausted their knowledge of the animal world in the first two seasons, the Cat moves on to teaching Nick, Sally, and the Fish basic science concepts in season 3. Fish is upset when the boat Nick and Sally built him sinks. The Cat takes them to a floating island to teach them how to make a boat that'll float in "Whatever Floats Your Boat."

The kids want to make a drawbridge, but they have no idea about "Building Bridges." This time, the Cat takes them to a mountainous land filled with bridges to learn more about their construction. They have to figure things out in a hurry when a dragon starts chasing them.

They're trying to get Sally's dress-up trunk into their tree house, but it's too heavy for them to lift up the stairs. "Pulling Together" gives them the answer when the Cat teaches them about simple machines...including pulleys. It's "Fact and Friction" when Sally can't make it down the previously-fast slide. This time, they head to a mountainside covered in slides to learn about friction and figure out what happened.

Nick and Sally are having their first sleepover in the tree house, but they're spooked by shadows in the night. The Cat takes them to a shadowy valley to show that "Shadow Play" is nothing to be afraid of. Nick gets angry at Sally when she her yo-yo tricks end up with her putting a hole in the top of his mountain and spilling his green paint. The Cat settles their quarrel by taking them to Sara of Sarandip, an experimenter who believes that "Accidents Happen...If We're Lucky."

Headed to work around quarter of 11. I couldn't believe how warm it was! I didn't even need the fleece jacket I wore this morning. I barely needed a long-sleeved shirt. Despite the fact that it was even more quiet than yesterday, I ended up in the registers for half the day. We simply didn't have enough help. I did manage to get out and help the head bagger with the carts towards the end of the day; also gathered baskets and the plastic bag recycling.

It was so beautiful, I took the long way home. As soon as I got home, I changed, dodged Charlie working on the dormer roof, and went right back out for a walk. It was too nice to be inside all day. I strolled to WaWa to treat myself to a cherry-blood orange Icee. I was fine in a sweater and capris! The marquee at Oaklyn's City Hall said it was 66 at 4 PM. Passed by groups of kids on bikes or scooters or out chatting with their buddies and people out for their own walk or finally taking down the last of their outdoor Christmas decorations.

Did research on partial unemployment when I got in and a little writing. Friar Yoda reveals that Sir Carlist Rieekian, a friend of King Bail's, is in debt to Sheriff Vader. If he doesn't pay, his home and lands will be repossessed, and he'll lose everything. Leia is also friendly with Rieekian and convinces Han and Luke to help him.

Finished out The Cat In the Hat while making broccoli and chicken stir-fry for dinner in honor of Chinese New Year. "Opposites Attract"...but not the two magnetic ends of Nick's engine and coal car, which won't stick together. They head to the Magnetic Fields to figure out how they work and why some magnets don't attract one another. The group's off to Ballaballoo to "Play Ball" and find the perfect bouncy ball to replace Sally's lost basketball.

Sally and Nick want to play their instruments together, but they can't hear one another when their windows are closed. The Cat takes them on a trip to the Soundy Sea, where "Making Waves" teaches them how sound waves work. The kids want to see how a mother robin builds her nest, but they keep scaring her off. The Cat takes them to the Hall of Mirrors to see how to make reflections and bend them to their needs in "Mirror Mirror."

Ended the night after a shower with Flower Drum Song, the first (and to my knowledge, only) American movie musical with a mostly-Asian cast. I cover this Rodgers and Hammerstein show more thoroughly at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Flower Drum Song

In the Year of the Dog

Began a late and very gray morning with breakfast and a couple of Max & Ruby shorts. "Ruby's Figure Eight" has Ruby and her best friend Louise practicing their skating while trying to keep new skater Max away from the older boys playing hockey. Max wants to go outside and enjoy "Max's Rainy Day," but Ruby insists that he dress for the weather first. "Ruby's Piano Practice" has her trying to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," but Max and his toys keep distracting her.

First on the agenda for today was volunteering at the Oaklyn Library. They were quiet as can be when I rolled in around 12:30. It was just me and the librarian. I looked through the DVDs and kids' books, but there wasn't a whole lot to do. I left after a half-hour.

Took the long way down Nicholson Road to the Acme to do this week's grocery shopping. I wanted to make chicken stir fry for dinner in honor of Chinese New Year today. Picked up canned sliced water chestnuts and bamboo shoots (the former were on sale) and fresh green beans. They were also having a really big sale on Bryers Ice Cream. I love their cherry vanilla! Restocked apples, grapefruit, mandarin orange cups, bananas, eggs, yogurt (for lunch and for cooking), mushrooms, batteries, and cheese (another good sale). Bags of Brussels sprouts were also on a decent sale.

My schedule for next week is...exactly the same as this week. I just go in an hour earlier next Saturday. Otherwise, same hours and same days off, including President's Day.

It started showering pretty hard as I headed home. I waited out the storm while putting everything away and having lunch. Ran Fairie Tale Theatre as I ate. "The Nightingale" is a rather strange episode from the first season. Mick Jagger is the Emperor of an Asian country who is so coddled and fawned over by his courtiers, he's never allowed outside. When a kitchen maid (Barbara Hershey) discovers a nightingale that sings beautifully, she brings it back to the court. The emperor loves it at first...but it can't live inside all the time. It flies away when the court becomes enamored of a mechanical bird from Japan. But the mechanical bird eventually breaks...and it can't save the Emperor from a horrible illness that may take his life.

I got lucky. The rain ended right as as "The Nightingale" did and I finished my lunch. I was able to ride to the laundromat without getting soaked. Maybe it's a good thing I waited. There were only two other people in the room when I arrived at quarter of 4. I had plenty of time for a big load (including the towels I used to mop up the defrosting freezer last week) while working on story notes and half-listening to General Hospital and Action News.

Put everything away, then finished out Brave Rey. Rey is able to trick Snoke into thinking there's something in the sack that Luke was held in. Luke uses his own magic to seal Snoke in tightly. She gets him out through the window, fighting their way through orcs and trolls before making it back to Maz.

Rey becomes Luke's newest apprentice, and eventually a great wizard-warrior. Her sisters do court the princes, and she takes the hand of Prince Poe. Kylo Ren, Hux, and Phasma think Luke is in the bag and beat it...and nearly kill Snoke in the process. When he does die, Kylo Ren does, indeed, take over the country. He invades Naboo several times, but can never get pasty the feisty, clever girl warrior who most definitely is anything but a "nobody."

I'm mostly pretty happy with how this one came out. These fairy tales are just rolling right along. Next up will likely be another Hans Christian Anderson story, this time with Finn in the lead role, The Swineherd.

At any rate, here's Brave Rey for your reading enjoyment:

Brave Rey - Archive of Our Own
Brave Rey - My Writing Blog
Brave Rey - Fanfiction,net

Didn't get to making my chicken stir-fry until almost 7:30! Cheered up the still-gloomy weather with The Road to Bali. The only Road To... movie made in color takes Bing and Bob down under, where they're in need of cash after having to outrun several local girls and their fathers. They take a job as deep-sea divers in a remote island kingdom. It seems like paradise, especially after they meet the beautiful Princess Lala (Dorothy Lamour). But all is not well in this lush tropical landscape. Lala's cousin wants the throne and the treasure the guys are supposed to be diving for, and he's not adverse to doing anything from turning natives against the guys to outright shooting them to get them out of the way. Then there's also that giant squid monster the locals are so terrified about...

The boys and the premise were starting to wear a bit thin by 1952. It doesn't help that most of the songs are bland and dull. (The exception is the comic trio "The Merry Go-Run-Around," which pretty much sums up the entire series.) On the other hand, there's still some great gags and one-liners (including some amusing surprise cameos), and this is one of the only movies in the series where you feel like the guys are in any real danger.

If you're a fan of the other movies in the series, you'll probably want to track this one down, too. If you're new to Bing and Bob's Road travels, you might want to start with one of the earlier entries, particularly Morocco or Zanzibar.

Ended the night with Mulan for Chinese New Year. The title character (Ming Na) is a mouthy, perpetually late tomboy in very patriarchal Ancient China. She brings shame on her family when she first fails her matchmaking tests, then tries to keep her aging father from joining the army. She cuts her hair and joins as a man in her father's place. With the help of a wise-cracking dragon (Eddie Murphy), she manages to befriend the rest of the troop, and even resuce her commanding officer from the invading Mongolian army. Unfortunately, her good deed reveals her true gender. Now she has to prove that a woman can kick rear just as well as a man...and save the Emperor (Pat Moriata) and all of China while doing it.

This tale of war and gender politics wasn't a favorite of mine when it came out, but it's grown on me over the years. Mulan herself is one of Disney's best non-princess female characters, feisty and brave but still awkward as she tries to fit in among the men. Her army mates are an absolute riot as well.

Once again, the problem is the music. Other than the hilarious "I'll Make a Man Out of You," it just isn't very good. This movie probably didn't need to be a musical, and likely only was one because at the time, all Disney animated movies were musicals.

If you have older girls and pre-teens who are more into action than princesses or enjoy hearing stories from other lands, they may have a lot of fun with this one.

In My Hometowns

Began another cloudy day with breakfast and decorating. I usually put up the Valentine's Day items in late January-early February. I figured I needed the splash of pink and red, what with all the gloom lately. Most of what I have are cardboard hangings, notably two vintage 70's-early 80's ones I picked up at a yard sale. One is a Holly Hobbie-type girl in a bonnet, giving flowers to her puppy. The other is a teddy bear with a heart headband. I also have plain heart cut-outs and fancier ones covered in mylar, along with a cute pink teddy bear tin, a heart-shaped candy box covered in ruffles and lace that was too fancy to throw away, and shiny mylar heart I actually found in the street. The smaller heart hanging on the bottom was broken, but the larger one is fine.

Ran a couple of episodes of The Backyardigans as I worked. Uniqua is a "Fly Girl" who goes to dangerous locations with singing telegrams. She's discouraged when she thinks cleaning-obsessed Captain Pablo, quiet-loving Maharajah Tasha, and grumpy Abominable Snow-Moose Tyrone don't like her song and dance. They have a special surprise for her too, though...

"Who Goes There?" is a flamenco-fueled riff on the Night at the Museum films. Security guard Tyrone finds  himself chasing after wayward moving artworks Austin, Uniqua, and Pablo when they come out to play for the night. He's worried what'll happen when Curator Tasha sees the mess they leave, especially in one display room she insisted must not be touched.

I headed out even before "Who Goes There?" ended. First stop on the list was the Oaklyn Library. Other than one old man snoring on a couch and a few folks on the computer, there was nothing going on there. It was getting kind of late by that point as well. I was there at quarter after 1, and the library closes at 2. I organized DVDs and took a quick look at the children's section before moving on.

Dodged a few small flurries on my way to Westmont for lunch. I treated myself to Friendly's. They were busy for almost 2, with families having ice cream and old couples enjoying companionship. The Comb-Ohh $9.99 for sandwiches, fries, and ice cream sale is still going on. The Honey BBQ burger i had was amazing. It was their basic burger slathered with barbecue sauce and fried onion rings. There was also bacon, but I ate that before I attempted to close the bun. I didn't think I'd get the bun closed otherwise! Yum. Crunchy and tangy. The cherry chocolate chunk ice cream with hot fudge sauce and a mountain of whipped cream was just as good.

The Haddon Township Library was much busier. I organized and shelved the children's DVDs...then was promptly told not to do that anymore. They now have volunteers who come in on Wednesdays from other branches to shelve DVDs. Uhh...why? Why bring volunteers from elsewhere when there's plenty right in Haddon Township? I did manage to shelve a pile of audio books with no problems.

Took out a few DVDs this time. The Haddon Township Library has every Harry Potter movie but the first one, including the second, Chamber of Secrets.  I never did get to The Hunt for Red October a few weeks ago. I'm not normally fond of romantic comedies, but Morning Glory, about bickering anchors on a morning TV show, at least has a nice cast that includes Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, and Harrison Ford. Also grabbed some more Lego Star Wars, The New Yoda Chronicles.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It wasn't that bad, despite the continuing clouds. At least by 4 PM, the winds had diminished, the flurries were gone, and it wasn't quite as cold, in the lower 40's. There were several people out and about today, including a fisherman father whose two daughters chased each other down the hill, the younger tumbling after her older sister.

Worked on writing when I got in. Ahsoka and Leia follow Chewbacca around back. They use the handle of the bucket of ashes Han held earlier to lead Chewie to the basement. Leia cuts the barrel holding Han open. After the women untie him, Han tells them about Jabba's plot. He and Leia form a plan that has Ahsoka dressing as a maid to distract Jabba and his boys while they make their way in.

Made a quick meal of scrambled eggs for a late dinner while doing one more Backyardigans episode. "Who's Bugging You?" A wormen, one of the Technicolor worm critters that appear on the show from time to time. They've invaded Tasha's house, to her dismay. She wants to show it off to Mr. Spiffy (Pablo) and join his Spiffy Club. It's Tyrone and Uniqua's job to chase them out.

In honor of Chinese New Year today (it's the Year of the Rooster), I did two animated films set in Asia tonight. Mulan is one of Disney's more unique tales. Mulan is a cheerful tomboy in very patriarchal ancient China. She may be a washout as a traditional bride, but she's determined to show she still has a lot to offer her family. The young woman gets her chance when the Huns invade China. She dresses as a boy and takes her father's place in the Army. She doesn't do well at first...until she proves that brains and guts are as crucial to a warrior as brute force.

I've always liked this one. Mulan herself is a fun character, and her fellow soldiers in the army are a riot. The fact that war is brutal is not glossed over. There's quite a bit of violence, and one rather dark sequence where Mulan and the army discover a destroyed village and a ruined child's doll.

This is one of the few times I wish a Disney musical had concentrated on the war and left the music out. Other than the hilarious "I'll Make a Man Out of You," none of the songs are particularly memorable, nor do they add much to the proceedings. Though Eddie Murphy as Mushu, the dragon who accompanies Mulan in the army, has some funny moments, his wisecracks and character really do not belong in ancient China and take one out of the story.

Not one of the best of the Disney Renaissance movies of the 90's, but one of the more interesting. If you're interested in Asian artwork or folktales, or if you have a daughter who prefers action to princesses, this one is well worth your time.

Finished the night with Kung Fu Panda 2. Po is ready for the next step in his journey - to master balance and meditation. Trouble is, fidgety, ever-eating Po can't really do either. During a battle, he has a vision of his family...his real one. He's determined to find out more about them, to the consternation of his adopted goose father. Meanwhile, Po and his fellow Furious Five members discover the wicked peacock Shen's plot to create a cannon that is so efficient, it'll eliminate the need for kung-fu forever. The group go to Shen's home town to get rid of him...and in the process, help Po find his family.

Still the best of the Kung Fu Panda movies. Po's attempts to find out who he is and where he came from are touching and funny, and the final showdown with Shen is amazing.

I spent most of the night working on another Pinterest page. This one is a little personal for me. I did a page especially for South Jersey and the Jersey Shore - the towns I grew up in, and the ones I live in and around now. I wish there were more images for some of the smaller municipalities, like Oaklyn, North Cape May, and Haddonfield. There was nothing for Rio Grande - everything that came up when I typed that in the search bar was related to Cape May, which is 15 minutes down Route 9. I found exactly one image for Audubon, what I believe to be a vintage postcard of what's now the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. So, if it seems a little too oriented towards Collingswood, Cape May, and Wildwood, that's what I had to work with. The page is sprinkled with lots of Jersey jokes and things only South Jersey natives will know. (And I felt that it was mandatory to add a few "Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas" jokes, even though I don't drive.)

My Hometowns - Southern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore

In the Year of the Monkey

Started a sort-of-sunny, chilly day with a few remaining football-themed shorts I didn't get to on Saturday. Hello Kitty is "Cinderkitty" in Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater. This little kitten would rather be catching footballs than doing chores. She gets a chance to prove girls can do anything, even be a penguin prince's wide receiver, when magic allows her to attend the big game.

The Fleischers did two football cartoons featuring Popeye. The first, "You've Gotta Be a Football Hero," is more typical. Popeye gets on the field to take down Bluto's team in order to impress Olive. "The Football Toucher-Downer" has Popeye telling Swee'Pea the story of how he first started eating spinach - during a football game when he was younger. I also snuck in "King of the Mardi Gras," since Mardi Gras is on Wednesday. Popeye and Bluto are once again competing for Olive's affections, this time on the Mardi Gras midway.

Headed out to King's Highway around 10. I wanted to be on time for the bus to Moorestown without rushing for once. Everything went fine. I made it with time to buy a pineapple-coconut sparkling water and get change at CVS and still got across the busy street well before the bus arrived. The bus was surprisingly busy for the Moorestown run. A couple of folks actually went all the way with me.

Explored the mall itself when I arrived. The FYE was a disorganized mess. I didn't see anything I absolutely needed. After a quick bathroom break at the movie theater (and dodging the Starbucks that somehow sprung up across from FYE in the Food Court hallway), I took a quick peek at a toy store, then hit Boscov's. Though I looked at toys, I was mainly there for pants, the only clothes I really need right now. I replaced a pair of work pants with Lee twill trousers, and picked up a pair of brown corduroys as well.

My next stop was the gigantic Barnes and Noble in one of the shopping centers surrounding the Moorestown Mall. I was there for over an hour. I just couldn't decide! I did see a coffee table book on musicals that looked interesting, but in addition to not wanting to haul it home, it was forty bucks. I ended up spending $25 on the Star Wars FAQ (or really more Star Wars Original Trilogy FAQ - it just briefly discusses the Prequels in the last chapters).

Had a very quick lunch next. It was past 2, and I was starving. In honor of today's Chinese New Year (it's the Year of the Monkey), I ate at Pei Wei. Needless to say on an Asian holiday, they were fairly busy, with a long-ish line that thankfully moved fast. I had sweet and sour chicken with brown rice and chai iced tea.

Went in and out of a few stores next. I wanted to get Dad-Bill a birthday card at Hallmark (it's tomorrow). Ended up getting myself three "Itty Bitties," tiny, adorable versions of popular characters. To my amusement, their versions of Han and Leia were packaged together, on cardboard printed to resemble the Millennium Falcon. And of course, since I got Han, I had to get Chewie, too. And yes, I got Dad his card.

(Star Wars isn't the only popular franchise from my childhood that's turned up at Hallmark recently. I was surprised to see Rainbow Brite merchandise there, too, including books. I thought they gave up on her after the last two or three times their attempts at resuscitating the character didn't work out. At the very least, what I saw of toys and books they had looked pretty close to the original. We'll see how this goes.)

A stop at Best Buy took even less time. I wanted to see if they had the Sailor Moon Season 2 sets. After spending 10 minutes just finding the DVDs and Blue Ray section (it was shoved in a corner in the back), I discovered they did have the first Season 2 set...but only on Blu-Ray. I think I'll probably just pick these up on Amazon.com.

I was hot from all that hiking around. A chocolate-covered strawberry water ice from Rita's really hit the spot. I got to enjoy it at the now-completely remodeled food court at the main Mall. The industrial white color scheme had been replaced by slightly mellower hues of dark brown and tan. Charley's was replaced by Bassett's; the sushi place and pizzeria were different, too. The only holdovers from the original Food Court were Subway and Saladworks. A small sit-down restaurant replaced one of the booths. I sat at the island/counter in the very center of the court and watched people go by as I ate.

I took the 4:07 home. It was right on time, and encountered no problems whatsoever getting in. The traffic was pretty heavy in Audubon when I arrived. I had to do a lot of dodging cars riding home, especially on King's Highway and down by Cuthbert.

When I got in, I put on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom while having leftovers from the party yesterday for dinner. Everyone's favorite swashbuckling archaeologist (Harrison Ford) is now in India (after a stop in Shanghai), accompanied by a Chinese kid and a fussy singer who would rather be anywhere but outside. They discover that a stone that may have magical powers has been stolen from a starving village...along with the village's children. Indiana and his friends travel to the depths of the Temple of Doom, where they encounter a cult that pulls hearts from chests, a wild mine-train ride, a child ruler, and a lot of Asian Indian stereotypes.

So...yeah, we'll start by talking about the stereotypes. There's a lot of them, and they can get a bit ugly after a while, especially during the dinner and the sequence with the cult. There's also the fact that this is all pure fantasy and has very little to do with real Indian religion. This can also get really, well, gross. Willie's not the only person disgusted by that infamous dinner with bugs and eels on the menu, and that doesn't even go into the whole "ripping the heart out of the chest" thing. And while I do like Short Round, Willie is just annoying as heck and more of a load than anything.

On the other hand, there's some set pieces here that's as famous as anything in the other movies. The opening is Shanghai is a lot of fun, "Anything Goes" musical number and all. So's the intense finale on the bridge. And the mine train ride is probably one of the most imitated and beloved sequences from any of the Indiana Jones movies.

This was my favorite of the Indiana movies when I was a kid. Nowadays, though I like some sequences, it's not even close. (That would be Last Crusade, by the way.) I'd be iffy on showing this one to very young kids, due to the violence and icky imagery. (There's a reason this movie lead to the creation of the PG-13 rating.) This one is for older kids and young teens on up who can handle the violence and understand that the stereotypes date from the time this was set.

Ended the night with a much-needed bath. My feet felt so sore after trooping around Moorestown all day! I read Quiet, a book on introversion and why it's not a bad thing, and listened to one of my Unsung Musicals CDs.

It's been cloudy since mid-afternoon, but it didn't start snowing until just a few hours ago. It's not heavy right now, just an inch or two. It stopped some time ago. We'll see how things look tomorrow.

Balance and the Year of the Horse

My original plan for this morning was going to yoga with Rose. As I was getting dressed, I heard the phone ring. Yes, it was Rose. She was running late and simply couldn't make it. Could we try for Tuesday? I shrugged. Why not? Rose has done things like this before. I decided I'd just have a leisurely breakfast and do yoga at home later instead.

Ran the 1937 film version of The Prisoner of Zenda during breakfast. Pretty much the same deal as the book - minor British nobleman Rudolf Rassendyl (Ronald Colman) has to substitute for his look-a-like cousin (also Colman) to keep the throne out of the hands of his dastardly brother Michael (Raymond Massey). His duties are complicated when he falls for Princess Flavia (Madeline Carroll), the King's fiancee. C. Aubrey Smith and David Niven are Rudolf's companions, Mary Astor is Michael's mistress, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is Michael's roguish aide Rupert. If you're going to see one version of Prisoner, make it this one. It's one of the definitive swashbucklers that's been spoofed ever since, especially Colman.

Headed out as soon as Prisoner ended. It was a great day for a ride. The sun was out, the clouds were light and fleecy, and there was still no wind. Best of all, it was much warmer, into a more normal mid-to-upper 30s. Even so, I rode on the street next to Newton River Park. Many of the paths, even on the brighter side with the playgrounds and picnic area, were still covered in snow and ice.

I arrived at the Haddon Township Library around quarter of 11. They were pretty busy, once again with piles and piles of DVDs people watched over the last few cold days being returned. I managed to get all of the kids' and adult titles on their shelves, and cleared a small pile of kids' and foreign movies out of the adult section as well. Wanting to lighten up a bit after the intense dramas I took out last week, my DVD rentals this week included the Hugh Jackman Oklahoma! London stage revival, the Mark Wahlburg football tale  Invincible, the French animated film A Monster In Paris, two sets for the original 1983 DIC Care Bears, and the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic special Equestria Girls.

Went across the street to the Westmont Plaza for lunch. In honor of the Lunar New Year (generally known as Chinese New Year in the US), I opted for the Plaza's Asian restaurant, Bamboo. It was 12:30 when I arrived at the small storefront. They were crowded with groups of middle-school-aged kids from the junior high down the street. I didn't really mind the kids being there - they were noisy but pretty funny to watch. (Especially when one of the girls grabbed a container of fried rice from one of the boys and made him chase her around the room to get it back.) What did bother me was that they all kept going in and out every two seconds, letting the heat escape and making the room cold as heck. I ate my sweet and sour chicken, pork fried rice, and steamed vegetable dumplings and chuckled at the kids' antics.

Made a quick stop at Thriftway next. I picked up bamboo shoots for my dinner and those cheap brown eggs (at $2.29, cheaper than Thriftway's white eggs!), but I was mainly there to take out money for next week.

Headed straight home after that. Despite the nice day, I really wanted to get the cleaning started. Ran the 1st Broadway original cast album for The Scarlet Pimpernel as I gave the bathroom a decent scrubbing. Evidently, this show was constantly tinkered on throughout its Broadway run, so much that there was a second CD with the new material. I only have the first one, and I'm perfectly fine with it. I'm especially fond of Chauvelain's impassioned ballad "Where's the Girl?"

I ran the two Care Bears DVDs as I cleaned the kitchen. The Care Bears started their career in animation with a pair of anime-esque specials and a subsequent series. The villains Professor Cold-Heart and his dumb lackey Frostbite carry over from the specials, along with their being the only villains in any of the TV series to outright attack the kids the Bears are helping. Here, the show seems to be split between stories with Cold Heart and stories with the Bears dealing with crises at Care-a-Lot and among each other.

Two of the most bizarre stories from this series didn't involve any regular villains. "Drab City" brings some of the regular Bears and Cousins to the title town, where everyone is being rendered gray and apathetic by a huge meteorite in a park near-by. A little girl who lives outside of town and isn't effected helps bring the Bears to the park to get rid of the meteorite, before they're stripped of their colors, too. "The Cloud Worm" has the Bears defending Care-A-Lot against a huge worm-like critter whose job is to eat holes in the clouds so sunlight can shine down on Earth.

My favorite story from these discs was another villain-less tale, "The Old Man and the Lighthouse." For once, the kids are the villains here. A bunch of children take a boat to a lighthouse to see if its keeper is really as weird as he's rumored to be. The Care Bears try to stop them, but when everyone, including the Bears, get lost in a storm, it'll take help from the old man - and the Bear's signature Stare - to prove that not every old lighthouse keeper is "weird."

Switched to my Have a Nice Day! 70s CDs as I settled down to do some yoga. I'm so much better at yoga than I used to be. I thought I might be rusty after not having done it for seven months, but I'm actually managing some moves I wasn't good at before, like bridge pose. I still can't get on my head, and my balance is still shaky, but my flexibility has improved.

After yoga, I had the last of the shrimp stir fry for dinner, then made Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Acme's Super Bowl party tomorrow while watching the first half of Oklahoma! Hugh Jackman's performance as love-struck cowboy Curly was the biggest reason for the success of this show, but far from the only one. This is a great deal grittier and more rugged than most versions tend to be, with Earth-toned sets that look like a real Oklahoma farm house and train station. Laurey's no dainty Shirley Jones blond, either. She's a tough tomboy who only shows her feminine side when Aunt Eller gives her a dress...and her dilemma over which man to attend a local social with crops up in her dreams. Also, this is the only production I've ever seen where the Laurey and Curly who perform in the dream ballet are the same ones who do the rest of the show. Recommended for fans of Jackman, stage musicals, Rogers & Hammerstein musicals in general, and Oklahoma! in particular.

Year of the Tiger

I'm still a little congested, but it's slowly receding. My head's still a little achy and my throat's still sore, but otherwise, I'm perfectly fine. I spent the morning refilling the cookie tin with Cranberry Whole Wheat Bars and watching Monkees second season episodes.

(I'm one of the few people who seem to like the second season better than the first. The first season was fun, but sometimes a bit conventional. The second season can be really strange, but the show's the better for it. My favorite episodes are from the second season - "The Devil and Michael Nesmith" and the infamous "Fairy Tale." Yes, I know the guys were probably on a couple of weird substances, but so were a lot of people in the 60s.)

It was absolutely gorgeous, if windy, today, into the lower 40s. Everything's slowly melting. The snow is half-gone from my porch now. There's still a lot of snow on the ground, though, and unless we get another warm rain like on Christmas Day, those ice piles will be around forever. I was able to ride to work; it was a bit nerve-wracking, thanks to riding on the Black Horse Pike during rush hour both ways.

It's a good thing I am feeling better. The Acme was really busy for the first time in over a week today. We had long lines all day and had to call for extra help. This wasn't helped by a lot of cranky customers, too. Maybe everyone's just annoyed that the next major holiday isn't until Easter...and some folks won't be getting time off until Memorial Day.

Thankfully, my relief was on time, allowing me to get my own grocery shopping in. I had a lot of it after being home constantly for two weeks, too - grapefruit, bananas, apples, collard greens, chicken breasts, packs of fish, yogurt (Yoplait has a new light flavor, Red Velvet Cake, that I'm dying to try), brown eggs, more salt (I'm half-done with the container I bought last week), gourmet chocolate chips (Acme's put it's now-largely-defunct Essentia brands on clearance), and things for my Chinese-themed dinner tonight - canned sliced water chestnuts, plum sauce, and horseradish.

My dinner tonight came out very well. I made a variation on Chinese Chicken Wings from the Family Weeknight Suppers cookbook Linda Young gave me for Christmas. I'm not a big wings fan, so I brushed the plum-horseradish-soy sauce over chicken legs instead. (The sauce originally called for a few drops of hot sauce, but I omitted it. I'm not a big fan of spicy food.) I also threw together a stir-fry of water chestnuts, collard greens, mushrooms, onions, carrots, and celery and ate it over brown rice. It's my make-up dinner for missing Chinese New Year (which I think was the 14th, same as Valentine's Day), and it came out very well, tasty and spicy without being too bad.

Year of the Collie

First of all, Happy Chinese New Year! Abundant luck to all today!

Second, I certainly had abundant luck today. After Cherry-Banana Pancakes for breakfast, I went to the Haddon Township Library for this week's volunteering. I did the biographies, which weren't TOO bad. I got out with plenty of time to ride over to Collingswood to browse in the thrift shop and the Collingswood Variety Store. Lunch was at the Pop Shop, a pastel 50's-themed diner situated in one half of Collingswood's old Acme. (A much fancier restaurant, Word of Mouth, is on the other half.) I had a wonderful "Farm Market Omelet" with roast veggies and swiss cheese, half of a gigantic slice of rye toast, and hash browns.

(Oh, and the Collingswood Variety Store has not only restocked their supply of WebKinz, but they now have clothes, too. I was VERY close to getting a Black Poodle; I also considered a husky.)

I told Scott about my heavy work-schedule over the past few weeks, Mom and Dad's move, the arrival of Mom's box, and my job research. Now that I know I want to go back to school, I have to figure out how to finance it. I'm far from rich, and I don't want to go as heavily into debt as Rose is.

After I left Scott, I took the Speedline into Philadelphia. For once, I knew what I wanted to get, and after a wrong turn or two, made my way to my favorite FYE on Broad Street to use the last of the $50 gift card Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas.

While their downstairs CD section was the same as always, the DVD section upstairs was a disaster area. The kids' DVDs, TV DVD sets, and war and western movies lay in messy stacks on the floor. From what I gathered from the employees, that particular FYE had just gotten a big stock of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs and had to rearrange everything to fit them in. It didn't make for easy shopping. I never found what I was looking for, which was the newly-released Perfect Strangers: The Complete First and Second Season, but I did take advantage of a buy 2 used items, get one half-off sale. I bought two classic musical "biopics," the MGM mega-musical 'Till The Clouds Roll By and the Betty Grable vehicle The Dolly Sisters. I picked up the new Bruce Springsteen CD Magic downstairs. (And it ended up being the half-off item, too - I got it for $4.99!)

I did manage to find Perfect Strangers during a brief visit to the Borders across the street. It was 20% off, too! Perfect Strangers is (other than one random Honeymooners tape I picked up in the thrift shop last year) the last TV show I have completely on video. Once we (finally) get all 8 seasons of PS, I will have cleared out my pre-recorded videos to the point where I'll hopefully be able to move a few to the other shelves and make room for DVDs!

I went in search of Locust Street to head for home, but I got turned around again and wound up on Chestnut. I wound up at the Chestnut Street entrance to the Liberty One Mall and, since that mall is very posh (lots of fancy dress shops; no toy stores or noisy electronics stores), I thought I'd see if they had a Lane Bryant so I could use the $100 gift card I got for Christmas.

I didn't see Lane Bryant, but I did find a lovely little card shop called Messages on a side hallway near Au Bon Pain. The store was an explosion of red and pink - so much, I almost missed the tall display of WebKinz as I walked in! I'm glad I didn't, though. They had many WebKinz I'd never seen anywhere in New Jersey - Lil'Kinz Horses, Basset Hounds, Polar Bears, and St. Bernards, Velvety Elephants, Ducks, Gray and White Cats, Yorkies, and...COLLIES! I'd been wanting to find a collie for ages, because I knew exactly what name I would give it. I bought a collie and a pack of Trading Cards and headed for Chestnut.

I got turned around one more time after that. I stopped at a Starbucks to get my bearings and a cup of Vanilla Latte, then made my way across Chestnut to Walnut, then Locust. By this point it was about 5; the rush hour was well at hand. Car honked, sirens blared, and people in heavy coats pushed their way through the crowds. Thankfully, the 16th and Locust PATCO stop was on a relatively quiet, largely residential block. I made it to the train and to Collingswood without incident (and even managed to find a seat on a stuffed-full rush hour train).

Since I went past their neighborhood going home, I dropped by Uncle Ken and Dad's on my way back to say "hi" and show them my new find. I ended up staying for a tasty dinner of chicken, creamed spinach, and mashed potatoes. I chatted a bit with Jodie, her teen son TJ, and Dad afterwards. Jodie and Dad are mostly concerned about my finances; going back to school is expensive, and they're worried I'll end up in debt. I really need to do more research on the cost before anyone worries further.

Oh yes, and...meet Linda the Collie! Yes, she's named after my friend Linda Young, who got me interested in WebKinz in the first place and loves all things collie! This means that naturally, she had to have a bookcase in her room. Her bio says she's a musician; perhaps I'll give her the piano, too.

Year Of The Pig

Happy Chinese New Year! To celebrate, I made my first home-made beef stir-fry. The Acme had packets of stir-fry seasonings, Chinese noodles, and cubed steak on sale, so I figured this was the perfect time to try it.

I guess I sort of cheated. I bought frozen "Oriental" vegetables and the stir-fry seasonings, but I'd never had any Chinese that didn't come from a restaraunt before.

I'm really happy with how it came out. I probably added a little too much sugar to the stir-fry, but it was really tasty, not too spicy (which is what I was afraid it would be). Good and hot and simple on a still reletively cold day after a very busy day at work. (Sundays are busy even outside of football season!)

Other than work, it was a quiet day. I re-arranged my records this morning. They used to be organized by genre and decade. I kept country rock and disco together, but all other rock albums are now organized alphabetically. Also organized together in the crates on the other side are vocalists, jazz, soundtracks (now all soundtracks, regardless of what type of music is featured), Broadway cast and studio albums, and miscellaneous oddities.