Freedom of Adventure

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "Bogey Goes Ape" takes us into the second season, with a new opening theme and a new Shirt Tale, spunky little Kip Kangaroo. Bogey's more interested in following a lovely lady orangutan about a cruise ship and saving her jeweled necklace than his friends, until he finds out she's not alone. Pammy proves to be a mechanical whiz in "The Rain, the Park, and the Robot" when she creates a robot to help them do their chores. Kip's not as impressed with him, until he saves her from a flooded ditch in a construction site. 

Switched to The Backyardigans on Paramount Plus while getting organized. "Race to the Tower of Power" is the first of six times the show parodied superhero tropes. Here, super heroes Weather Woman (Uniqua) and Captain Hammer (Austin) must beat villains Yucky Man (Pablo) and Dr. Shrinky (Tyrone) to the top of the Tower of Power. The pair that gets there first will be able to grab the key that will allow them to rule the world!

Briefly put on Buzzr as I wrote my grocery list. Double Dare is very different - and far more short-lived - than the familiar Nickelodeon stunt show. This one is a quiz where two contestants in isolation booths Dare each other to answer tough questions. I came in just as someone else went on for host Alex Trebek! Turns out it was the long-time champ, who figured he could get some air time. Alex was mildly amused.

Headed out to run errands next. Started at Target, since I had more time than usual. They didn't have the mouthwash I wanted, but I was able to get five individual pairs of underwear. Considering two pairs got holes in the tops when I pulled the tags off, I don't think they'll last all that long, but they look more comfortable (and breathable) than the ones I bought at Marshalls'. I also tried an Iced Blue Coconut Matcha Latte from Starbucks - a matcha latte with blue foam. Not bad. Really fruity. Tasted more like mango than coconut or green tea.

Sprouts was next on the list. They didn't have good soda sales, but their oat and nut milks are cheaper than the Acme's. I got my oat milk there, along with Annie's Homegrown chocolate chip granola bars on clearance and a box of oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies off the baker's rack. My best find here also came off clearance. Low-cost bags and plastic containers of bulk items were on clearance displays throughout the store. I found a small container of mixed dried berries and pineapple listed for $5.99...but it came up as 99 cents!

Had lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop after I finished at Sprouts. I was surprised that they weren't too busy for 1 PM. I was able to sit down and enjoy my spinach and feta omelet, toasted multi-grain whole wheat bagel, hash browns, and Diet Coke in peace. As it turned out, the bagel and omelet were more than enough. I didn't have close to enough room to finish the hash browns. (Oh, and surprisingly, there were no bikes on the rack when I arrived. All of the kids must have been swimming at Roberts Pool or skateboarding elsewhere.)

Passed by the library, McDonald's, and the Haddon Township High School (which is now closed for the summer) before ending up at the Westmont Acme. Restocked granola, yogurt, low-salt canned tuna, and soda. Found no-salt canned organic black beans and chick peas. I need more protein, but there was no low-salt canned chicken, and the bagged chicken I've been buying is awfully salty. Finally found the Listerine Gum Protection mouthwash I use in the smaller size on sale with an online coupon. Grabbed olive oil and organic mayo (which was lower in salt than the light mayo) to use for tuna and bean salads. 

Took the long way home across a busy Newton Lake Park. It was a nice day, sunny, breezy, slightly humid, and much cooler than yesterday, in the lower 80's. A lot of people wanted to enjoy it before the weather turns nasty on Monday. I ended up riding uphill to avoid the folks out for walks and jogs (and to get around the work being done on the path near the stone steps going up to East Clinton). The park is in full flower now, green and shady, with a wonderful, earthy smell.

Switched to the only early Bowery Boys movie not currently on Tubi as I put away my groceries. The guys are saying Hold That Baby! when they discover an infant abandoned in their laundry service. Turns out he's the grandson of a recently deceased millionaire whose mother (Anabel Shaw) left him there when her aunts, who want his inheritance, have her committed to a sanitarium. The aunts hire thugs to keep the baby from the reading of the will, and they in turn hire the Boys to keep an eye on him. Sach and Slip manage to dodge the thugs and rescue the mother in the guise of having Sach committed. (Oh, and I suspect a brief blackface gag when Sach attempts to hide the baby from a cop is the reason this one can't be found on streaming.)

Spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening watching The Man Who Would Be King. Sach and Slip are hardly the only best-friend pair to cause mischief. British ex-soldiers Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), after trying to rob author Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer), take an expedition into Afghanistan in search of Kafiristan. There, they arm the locals with rifles, help them defeat their enemies, and take over the very wealthy country. When an arrow fails to pierce Dravot's chest, they think he's immortal and makes him their king. Peachy thinks they should grab the money and run, but Dravot has found he likes being a ruler and helping the people with their problems...until the princess Roxanne (Shakira Caine) inadvertently reveals that he's far from immortal.

John Huston apparently wanted to make this for 20 years, and it was worth the wait. It was Connery's favorite role and remains Caine's, and it's not surprising, given how much fun they have as the rogues who go looking for money and end up with a heck of a lot more than they bargained for. Stunning cinematography in Morocco and France, too. Maurice Jarre wrote the rousing Indian-style score. I'm also impressed with how relatively close this is to the book, which I have read. My only complaint is how long it is. It takes a while to actually set up - the first half in particular drags. Other than that, if you're a fan of two-fisted adventure tales, Kipling, or the leading men and have time on your hands, you'll want to grab your partner in crime and join the expedition. 

Returned to Buzzr for Match Game '74 next. We're getting close to the end of the year as they finished off Avery Schriberer's first week. Phyllis Newman also appeared but, to tell the truth, she was kind of annoying and took a lot of Brett's teasing personally. No wonder Avery became a semi-regular, but she never came back. James Darren and Juliet Mills had a lot more fun during New Year's week. 

Got my schedule at this point. It's pretty much what I expected and had hoped for. I'm back to weekend afternoons and early on Wednesday at the Acme. On one hand, that means I will be able to hit the Collingswood farm market next week. I'll just move the Cherry Hill trip to earlier in the week, maybe Tuesday or Thursday. 

Watched The Swamp Fox after dinner. The series gets mildly dark for "Day of Reckoning." Francis is determined to find his nephew Gabe's killer. His men not only don't share his obsession, they're sick, worn out, and want to start fighting Tories again. Mary Videux (Joy Page) manages to sweet-talk Colonel Peter Horry (Myron Healy) into giving her medicine for the men. Meanwhile, Francis not only finds Briggs (Robert Douglas), but learns there's someone else who has sworn vengeance against him - Gwynn (Hal Stalmaster), whose family was killed by a man in a mask who called himself the Swamp Fox.

Finished the night with more Zorro at Disney Plus. Don Diego is more than happy to spread the story of "The Ghost at the Mission" to scare Garcia and his men off. It works pretty well with Garcia, but Monastario isn't as impressed. 

Of Beauties and Beasts

Got a quick start today. Had just enough time to write in my journal and eat breakfast before I hurried off to meet Bryanna at the Haddon Township Library. I arrived 15 minutes late, but she wasn't upset. She just wanted me to sign some paperwork for her bosses. I told her I'm loving my current job so much that, in the fall, after my late September vacation with Lauren, I'd like to start actively looking for a more appropriate second job in a library or another school to replace the grocery store job. I don't belong there. I'm bored and burnt out and have been for years. I'm tired of doing things I don't want to do. Now that I know what I want to do, I'd like to do it all the time.

Made a quick run to Sprouts next. Found chocolate chip cookies on clearance and soda on a good sale. Grabbed coconut milk, an Italian hoagie on a multi-grain roll and sliced pineapple for lunch, three fruit leather bars for a snack at school, and dried apricots from the bulk bins here as well. Headed down the hill and past the library to the Acme next. I didn't need a whole lot more here. Mainly restocked soda, granola bars, and yogurt. Picked up blueberries here, too. Neither store was especially busy, and I was in and out of both places in less than an hour. 

Had the hoagie and pineapple for lunch while watching What's New, Scooby Doo? Shaggy's "Big Appetite In Little Tokyo" gets the gang into a heap of trouble when he eats a pizza that was cursed by "The Ancient One." They're in Japan after Velma's Dogbot won a prize, but that won't get them out of this mess when the police think Shaggy really did destroy Tokyo and follows them.

Hurried out to the Thomas Sharp School next. I took the bike. Though it was oppressively hot and humid, there was a nice enough breeze for me to get away with it. Had no trouble parking this time and arrive just as the kids were.

With only one day left of school and this being a holiday, the kids were really rowdy today. The boys in particular would not calm down, in the hallway or during lunch. They were a little better when we all settled in to draw and build. It goes without saying on such a killer hot day that no one went outside. The girls in particular loved the drawings of Cape May and the Wildwood Boardwalk I made on green construction paper, and they made more fans. (One girl even gleefully held up a fan to make herself look like a peacock!)

Stopped at the Speedy Mart on Collings Avenue to get a drink on the way home. I got a cinnamon raisin bagel for lunch tomorrow, too, along with that Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. (And I will absolutely have to remember both their amazing bagels and Crust N' Cravings this summer.) 

Put on more Remember WENN when I got home. Hilary is "Courting Disaster" when Jeff's obnoxious lawyer Drake Stanley (Andrew Seear) sues Hilary for $100,000 in damages. With Scott defending her and Mr. Eldridge at the judge's stand, this court gets more than a little out of order, until Betty and Gertie find a way for Jeff to intervene.

The cast is saying "And How!" when they're chosen to broadcast a monumental episode of the network western The Strange Loner. Turns out that man who plays "The Strange Loner" is really a lush and a womanizer who is supposed to be leaving the show for Hollywood, but passes out on the Green Room floor. Meanwhile, the others find the kindly Native American man who plays his companion Rondo (real-life Native American activist Russell Means) to be far more congenital, while Eugenia shares her tasty new food discovery - pizza!

And...while I do want to finish my Land of WENN fanfiction eventually, I've been working on an idea that goes way back and is just too delicious to not do now, especially given I'll be starting the 4th season episodes next week. Hilary's "Beauty and the Beast" story dates to that spate of fanfiction I came up with in 2015. Among those ideas I came up with was a series of short to mid-length takes on folk and fairy tales (and with Mackie, Shakespearean fantasy) revolving around a member of the cast. "Beauty and the Beasts" would have been the next fairy tale if I hadn't lost interest in WENN and switched to Star Wars. 

This one has its basis in "You've Met Your Match"...but also in Hilary and Betty's frustrations with their men in the 3rd and early 4th season. Betty wishes maybe Scott wasn't quite so smart and and quick to jump into schemes. Hilary wishes Jeff would stop getting into marriage contracts he can't get out of. Maple turns up after her date, annoyed that Victor cut it short due to him taking off for Washington again. She liked their date and was hoping he'd ask her on another, wishing that maybe Victor would clip his wings a bit and actually stick to running his station.

Hilary at this point also addresses Betty's "Beauty and the Beast" script for later that day. She asks Betty why the older sister can't be the Beauty for a change? This leads directly into the story. Mackie is the father who wanted a rose for older daughter Hilary. Betty and Maple are her sisters, C.J her brother, and she gets along just fine with all of them. In fact, Maple drags Betty along with Hilary when she goes to the Beast's crumbling mansion on the edge of Pittsburgh. The trio are greeted by not one, but three beasts - a raging troll, a gentle black bear with halting speech, and an elegant bald eagle who can only squawk - and have to figure out who cursed the trio and why...and who they really are under the fur, feathers, and warts. 

"Beauty and the Beast" is one of my favorite fairy tales...and honestly, I agree with Hilary. I think there should be more older sister protagonists. There's a touch of two other beauties and beasts stories, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and "Snow White and Rose Red" here. I'm going to see if I can start it tomorrow or early next week. (Won't be able to do much else next week - it's supposed to be even hotter.)

Switched to Rappin' next. I go further into this very 80's rap comedy-drama featuring Mario Van Peebles as the young rapper from Pittsburgh who rallies his neighbors to save their homes at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rappin'

Finished the night with classic jazz on LP and CD while I worked on the review. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Songbook is part of the series of albums where Fitzgerald interprets the songs from some of the most beloved composers of all time. Her aching "But Not for Me" is my favorite here. We also kick things off with a sassy "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and get a charming "They All Laughed" and "I Was Doing All Right." 

Miles Davis' Love Songs give us a gorgeous glimpse into his softer side. "Someday My Prince Will Come" is lovely and is by far my favorite track here. Other good ones include "Stella By Starlight" and "I Thought About You." 

Games for Independence

Started off a late morning with breakfast and Match Game '77. Gary Burghoff and Meg Bennett are the ingenues in this unusual episode, which begins with someone having left the lights on during the introduction with the turning square. Even after that's fixed, they have to help the contestant figure out "The March of __" in the Audience Match. The second one starts with a Methuselah question that gets the obvious answers, including a very funny quip from Fannie Flagg. Gene's weird story about Cuba comes in for more ribbing later on.

Jumped on my bike soon as the episode ended. I had a lot of errands to run today. Target didn't have the shampoo and conditioner I like on sale, but they did have more unique nut flavors. Grabbed those delicious doughnut-glazed almonds and lemon poppy seed cashews. Since it was a very hot day, almost in the 90's, I picked up a bottle of Hint flavored water. (The blueberry-lemon is quite good. Really does taste like blueberries.)

I was starved by quarter of 2. Dodged kids just out of school and heavy traffic on the White Horse Pike as I made my way over to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. There's a freestanding Applebee's in the parking lot around the corner from the Acme. By 2, they were pretty quiet, with only a few groups of older people eating late lunches. I enjoyed a simple but tasty Classic Bacon Cheeseburger with deliciously salty fries and an iced tea. 

Checked out a few stores next. I was hoping Lane Bryant would have another rack of winter clothes for $6.98. While they did have discount racks, none of them were quite that cheap. I left with nothing. Did a little better across the street at Goodwill. Found two books, Real Love on meditation and how it can help relationships and By Book or By Crook, a cozy mystery by Eva Gates set at a fictional Outer Banks lighthouse library. Dug a fancy folk-art themed address book from the late 80's - early 90's that had never been used out of the books, too. Found the early 50's Alfred Hitchcock mystery Stage Fright with Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman on the DVD shelves.

Biked down the Black Horse Pike and across Oaklyn next. I considered getting a drink somewhere, but most places on West Clinton are closed on Mondays. Just crossed the White Horse Pike and rode to Dollar General instead. I looked at a few things, but I just ended up getting two boxes of Sunbelt Bakery granola bars and a bottle of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi.

At least it was a decent day for a ride. Hot, yes, but also breezy and sunny, with only a few fleecy clouds in the sky. The breeze and it being relatively dry kept it from feeling unbearable. 

Went straight home after that. Tried moving files from Google to a USB port, but I really had a hard time with it. Switched to writing instead. Ira's annoyed with the dog trying to steal his lunch. Joyce is horrified when he says he'll have to send it to the pound if they can't find someone to take it by the end of the day. Brett scolds him for being a jerk, but he reminds her that untrained, non-acting dogs don't belong in TV studios.

Broke for dinner and to take my laundry downstairs at 7. Ate while watching Match Game '79. These episodes re-introduced a lady contestant from Texas who got a second chance because Gene flubbed one of her questions the week before. TV hunks Robert Walden and Bert Convy, along with Dallas beauty Audrey Landers, point to Patty Duke as the answer to "Patti ___" in the first Audience Match, and help with "Sunny __" in the second. The other episode begins with Gene flirting with Audrey and grabbing her, to Bert's annoyance. 

Put my laundry in the dryer, then finished the night on YouTube and Dailymotion celebrating Juneteenth and Pride Month with game show appearances by beloved gay and black performers. Charles Nelson Reilly, for instance, was told in his younger years that a gay man would never work on television. Ironically, he's now best-known for his TV appearances, like his hilarious turn as a Mystery Guest on this 1974 episode of What's My Line. Arlene Francis, who knew him well from Match Game and seeing him on Broadway, finally figured out what he was up to. 

Confetti-throwing Rip Taylor was a wild and welcome sight on game shows well into the 2000's. He really had fun during his appearance on Match Game '90 during Christmas week. In one infamous episode, he even yanked off his toupee and hit Fred Travalena with it for doing a bad imitation of him. 

Body Language frequently showed off some pretty unique charades players. Ted Lange of The Love Boat helped his contestant become one of the few to win the big $10,000 prize in mid-1985. Richard Deacon had a rougher time of it with his contestant in an early episode of The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973. He almost got him there once...and then there were technical mishaps, and they had to redo the last square almost literally as the show ended. 

Whoopi Goldberg became one of the first black women to headline a game show with her version of Hollywood Squares in the late 90's. In an episode from 2000, she even got to read a few questions while host Tom Bergenon took a break in her center square. Other celebrities helping contestants get a second chance at winning included Bruce Villanch, Oscar De La Hoya, Patti LaBelle, Lisa Ling, and comedian Doug E. Doug.

The short-lived Break the Bank from 1976 was producers Barry-Enright's attempt at imitating Match Game, crossing it with their signature huge board. The contestants have to guess a question from a celebrity in order to win the square on the board. If the square has money or a money bag, they get that money. If they get three money bags, they "break the bank" and win the game. If they hit a blank square, they lose their turn. In the syndicated version I watched, there's a bonus round where the winner had to choose a celebrity holding up a card in the hope they had money. Jack Barry hosted in syndication. Too bad this doesn't seem to have worked on the network or in syndication. It's complicated, but often very funny, with the celebrities tossing out quips ala Hollywood Squares. 

Black performers go back further on game shows than you might think. The Supremes performed two of their biggest hits, "Baby Love" and "Back In My Arms Again," on a really awesome 1965 episode of To Tell the Truth. They bracketed the panel trying to guess who their boss Barry Gordy, the owner and creator of Motown, was. (And he really stumped them, too!) The last contestant was even funnier. The panel had to guess who was the father of Dallas Burroughs, aka Orson Bean, and a police officer who had seen several college riots of the early-mid 60's. 

Celebrate independence of all kinds with these hilarious and thought-provoking episodes! (Major warning that the $10,000 Pyramid episode is in horrible shape, but that series was largely wiped and is very rare. Hollywood Squares and Pyramid come with their original commercials; Break the Bank has the commercials from its brief run on Game Show Network.)

To Tell the Truth (1965)

The $10,000 Pyramid (1973)

What's My Line (1974)

Break the Bank (1976)

Body Language (1985)

Match Game (1990)

Hollywood Squares (2000)