All Quiet On the Oaklyn Front

Started off the morning with breakfast and Monchhichis. Moncho and the others visit "Cloud City" when it arrives over Monchia and won't stop raining. An old magician friend of Wizzar's was accused of stealing the magical key that drives Cloudy City and produces its weather. The real thief is the owl king's buzzard prime minister, but he keeps saying everyone else did it. The Monchhichis have to rescue their magician friend, then find the key and convince the king that they're no thieves.

Headed out on my bike after Monchhichis ended. It was a gorgeous day for a ride up to Haddon Heights. I did have to dodge some sidewalk and street repair in between Audubon and Haddon Heights, but otherwise, it was a lovely ride. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It remains sunny, breezy, and dry, probably in the lower 80's. 

My first stop was the Haddon Heights Library. I've been there a few times, but I've never really explored them for very long. Their non-fiction books are in a loft-like area upstairs. I found a book written in 1991 on the Broadway musicals of the previous decade, including long-forgotten flops like Tintypes, Rags, and Dance a Little Closer. 

I dug up another Images of America book in the history section that proved to be even more interesting. I didn't know the Coast Guard base at Cape May went so far back. It started as a Naval base during World War I and would be one again in World War II. In between, the Coast Guard used it to catch rum runners and train recruits. In fact, Cape May is the recruit training ground for new Coast Guard trainees. No wonder I have fond childhood memories of seeing young guys in Coast Guard sweatsuits jogging down Ocean Avenue, past the Beach Theater, chanting sea shanties as they followed their sergeant. (The houses where most of my friends on the base in the 80's lived are brand new, though. In fact, they'd just been built when my friends moved into them.) 

I had lunch a block down the street at Ralph's Pizza. I made it there just in time. I no sooner ordered a brownie, an unsweetened iced tea, and two mini stromboli (pepperoni and cheese steak), than a pack of elementary school-age boys came barreling in behind me. All six of them managed to slide into one booth with their pizza while I enjoyed my meal at a smaller one. Honestly, far from being offensive, they were really funny (other than they did block the sidewalk with their bikes as I was trying to leave).

Stopped at the big CVS down the White Horse Pike on my way home. They didn't have the Listerine Gum Protection mouth wash that I wanted. I had more luck buying those Nature's Valley vitamins buy one, get one, and bags of small toys for my Trick-or-Treat Mystery Bags next month. 

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. I ordered one of those Radio Spirits clamshell sets of a specific old-time radio show from the 90's on eBay, in this case Let's Pretend. I know it's a kids' show, but it does retell fairy tales that don't often turn up elsewhere, like "The Yellow Dwarf," "Princess Moonbeam," and "The Donkey, the Table, and the Stick." I started off with something better-known. Their version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" starts off pretty normal, with a slightly older Jack climbing that stalk and taking his father's hen and gold back from the giant. Where this one diverges is in the end. Jack has to rescue kid cousins of his who were taken by the giant, too. 

Headed off to Thomas Sharp after "Jack" ended. We all started off in the library, due to the first music class of the year in the cafeteria. This time, we had 19 younger kids, 6 at what would normally have been my table. Other than one young lady being pokey, I had no trouble with them in the bathroom. In fact, it ended up being a rather pleasant afternoon. They drew on a paper taped to a table and played with Barbies and magnetic tiles after lunch, then went outside. I was able to get them to wait long enough this time that there was less arguing about the swings. They all took their turns while running around and dancing to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2 and songs from The Lion King, Encanto, Trolls, Moana, and Frozen 2. 

When we got back inside, the remaining five kids had new toys to play with. The older kids came in from the blacktop as they set up atom-shaped building toys and plastic farm animals with a fenced enclosure, a tractor, and hay. There were only two younger kids and five older kids left by the time I went home, and one of the younger kids headed out at the same time I did.

Took a shower when I got home, then had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Tonight finished out the week with Dick Gautier, Fannie Flagg, and Della Reece. There was a lot of joking about Dick's artwork on his cards, including a really nice caricature of the champ he gave to her. Fannie's attempt at artwork wasn't quite that...developed. There was also Richard hugging another contestant after she won and refusing to let go, even when Gene tried to separate them.

Moved to the final three episodes of Remember WENN next. Gertie's writing again in "The Sunset Also Rises." This time, it's a TV script about a fading radio star (Hilary) who wants a writer (Scott) to create one last big show for her...but the others butt in with their own ideas. Hilary would rather play the ingenue, Eugenia and Mr. Eldridge think they'd make great divas, and Victor...is there, too.

"At Cross Purposes" starts with a woman walking in...who turns out to be Jeff in costume for Charley's Aunt. Jeff's outfit ends up inspiring everyone at the station to jump into drag in order to avoid process server Cribby Menlow (Ray Ianncelli), who has marriage papers for Jeff and is familiar with Scott and Maple, too. It's newsgirl Betty, however, who runs in with the real "big, big news" - Pearl Harbor was bombed. The US has just entered World War II.

Which takes us into the series finale "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Victor claims there's a "captain" coming to take care of military business at WENN, but it's not likely to be the lunatic in camouflage gear (J.K Simmons) who thinks he's Amazon Andy. Scott, who has enlisted, and Victor get Betty up against the wall about who she really loves, Eugenia asks Mr. Foley to marry her, and Hilary claims she's married to someone else...

And that, sadly, is that. The show was supposed to get a fifth and final season, but was canceled instead when the new head of AMC wanted to focus on movies instead. The abrupt ending of the series still hurts, even after 30 years. At least AMC is acknowledging its existence now. It can be found in full on AMC Plus. The first two seasons are free on Plex, and most of the first two seasons and a few scattered episodes of the fourth are currently on the Internet Archive. Even with the truncated ending and off-and-on 4th season, I still recommend this for fans of period shows or sitcoms that go way outside the box. 

Finished the night with I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat. Surprisingly, the Looney Tunes songs are actually really good. The title song, as you can guess, is on Sylvester and Tweety's relationship. "Daffy's Rhapsody" shows how he feels about being the resident miser and oddball. "Yosemite Sam" tells us why he loves his guns and chasing after Bugs. "That's All Folks" is a charming ballad for Petunia Pig as she wishes Porky would pay more attention to her. Too bad the other side is given over to songs about Bozo the Clown, whom I have no interest in whatsoever, and frankly gets annoying. The Tunes' numbers are honestly pretty fun, especially Porky and Petunia's sweet "That's All" number. 

Making Lemonade From Looney Tunes

Began a late morning with breakfast and He-Man. "Reign of the Monster" is unique to the series. It's the only episode where He-Man remains in that form for the entire episode and never once becomes Prince Adam. He's visiting his friend Stratos at his country Avion to watch him use the Staff of Avion for a festival. Skeletor kidnaps Stratos and steals the Staff to awaken a powerful monster and take over Castle Greyskull. He-Man, Teela, and Stratos' sister rescue him, then find a way to seal the monster before the Staff completely destroys Eternia.

It was late when I finished my previous blog entry and headed out on my bike, dodging tons of road work around Newton Lake Park as I made my way down to Collingswood. I quickly took money out of the ATM machine at the PNC Bank and continued on my way. 

Next stop was Phidelity Records. In good news, it was open this time. Unfortunately, the owner said he sold the soundtrack to The Muppets Take Manhattan I was interested in on Saturday. He says any kind of Muppet material tends to go fast nowadays. I did pick up two albums: 

I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat - Looney Tunes songs on Capitol Records' Wonderland Records children's line

Guys and Dolls - Listed as a "Musical Repertory Theater," this studio recording lists Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Alan Sherman, and Dinah Shore among its performers. (And I got this one out of the $2 bins!)

I had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Westmont. Que Ricas is a small hole-in-the-wall in a shopping center specializing in Venezuelan sandwiches and burritos. I had my favorite, the Curvy Queen chicken salad sandwich with a tamarind Mexican soda. Yum! It came in two thick round corn bread slices with sauteed plantains. Best kind of comfort food there is.

Carefully made my way around more road repairs on Cuthbert heading down to the Haddon Township Library for this week's library session. Like Audubon, the Haddon Township Library is small, and there's not a whole lot there. I did find a bunch of the Images of America books on many local towns, including Haddon Township. The one on Merchantville confirmed that yes, most of the buildings in that town do date to between the 1880's and the 1940's, and they're a lot more respectful of their history than Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill's lost much of its history, either to fires or simply changing tastes. Frankly, I'd rather have the nifty Cherry Hill Inn than the bland Doubletree and Holiday Inn. I'm not much for concerts, but just knowing headliners were 20 minutes from me at the Latin Casino would have been cool enough. I really wish I could have tried a real farm dairy bar at the Holly Ravine Farm, too.

Rushed home after I left the library, then called Uber. There wasn't time to take the bus to the Cinemark in Somerdale. The movie I wanted to see, Coyote Vs. Acme, was almost about to start. And of course, it took 15 minutes for the driver to arrive. I wound up being more than 20 minutes late, especially after I bought a soda. I don't think I missed more than the first ten minutes or so of the film, though.

I'm not going to give details because of spoilers, but I did enjoy it. At the least, I'm glad they finally were able to release it. That alone makes this a win, no matter how much money it does or doesn't make at the box office. It's a shame I don't think Warners quite knows what to do with the Looney Tunes, or anything remotely family-friendly right now. This is basically "what if Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a spoof legal drama with the Looney Tunes instead of a spoof film noir mystery with every cartoon character available in 1988?" It does get a little message-heavy near the end of the movie, but for all that, it ended up being surprisingly sweet. Highly recommended for fans of the Looney Tunes, classic animation, or those who just want to see a good corporate satire.

It was almost 6 PM by the time I got out of the theater. This was no time to mess around. I was worried that it would take forever to get an Uber driver with the evening rush hour traffic, so I did take the bus. Thankfully, it was on time, and there were no problems whatsoever. The bus dropped me off on the White Horse Pike around 6:30.

Had a quick dinner while watching Match Game '76. They were just finishing out the week with Robert Hedgyes and Ethel Merman when I got in. The next week featured Betty White, character actress Madelyn Rhue, and in his only appearance on the 1970's version of the show, comedian Soupy Sales of What's My Line. 

Finished the night with the first two episodes of Remember WENN's fourth season. "Some Time, Some Station" starts with the stand-off between Victor, Pruitt, Scott, Betty, and two guns. After Pruitt ends up on the ground, Victor comes out of his brainwashing thinking it's the start of the broadcasting day. Betty has to explain to Scott about what's going on, while Maple happily flirts with Victor, Hilary tries to ignore Jeff, and the others react to Victor's sudden emergence from the dead.

Mr. Eldridge is saying "Thanks a Lottery!" when those tickets Scott tried to sell off in "Happy Homecomings" turn out to be winners. He's no sooner gotten used to the idea when the others discover that WENN has been shunted into another corporation that cuts even more of their budget and has a mandatory age for retirement, one that Mr. Eldridge is long past. Even after the others think Hilary has accidentally burned his tickets with her love letters, Mr. Eldridge finds a way to make sure that no one will ever buy the station or push anyone out ever again. 

Matching With the Cartoon Stars

Started the morning with breakfast and Yankee Doodle Mickey. This is the original version of Disney's patriotic music collection. A very young Molly Ringwauld leads the children's chorus in "This Is My Country" and "God Bless America." The Disneyland Glee Club has almost as much fun with the rousing "Liberty Tree" from their film version of Johnny Tremain. My favorite number is the Armed Services Medley, with Mickey representing the Air Force and the Marines, Goofy singing for the Army, and Donald, of course, for the Navy.

Ran Moonlight In Vermont as I got ready for work. Finished it when I got home. Stan Getz joins the Johnny Smith Quartet for some lovely, soft jazz standards, like "Stars Fell On Alabama," "Tenderly," "Where or When," and the title song. The piano on "Yesterdays" was especially dreamy and beautiful.

Called Uber to work again. They were talking possible storms later, and it was killer humid. I think I made the right choice. The one going to work got there in 10 minutes. I called him early enough that I arrived in plenty of time. The first one going home didn't take a minute; when he canceled, his replacement took 3 minutes. No trouble either way.

Work was more of a pain. For one thing, the Acme was busy for a lot of the afternoon. They had to pull one of the boys cashiering to help me with the carts. The floor in the back employee area tends to leak when it's really humid. I had to help a security guard clean up the mess during my break when she slipped on it and almost hurt herself. Had to take back a pile of cold items, too. I was very glad when the evening bagger turned up a little early and I could go home on time.

Went straight in the shower when I got home, then made dinner and put on tonight's Match Game marathon. Cartoons were just starting to climb out of the kids' ghetto they'd been in for two decades when the revival began in 1973. In addition to the classic Disney and Warners shorts that turned up in prime-time and on Saturdays, there were scores of new and old characters populating Saturday morning. Bugs Bunny probably got mentioned the most, including a question about what kind of punch Elmer Fudd would serve at Bugs' birthday party. There were jokes about him and Daffy Duck, too. A contestant missed the obvious answer to "__ Gonzalez" in a PM episode Head to Head with Jimmie Walker. 

Other characters turned up in jokes along the line. Felix the Cat in his "Magic Bag of Tricks" mode was mentioned several times, notably on the hilarious 1977 episode where Richard Dawson, Jo Ann Pflug, and Fannie Flagg played Brett Somers, Dick Gautier, and Charles Nelson Reilly respectively. Most of the jokes about Popeye either played on his relationship with Olive Oyl, his love of spinach, or how he really got those famous muscles. Fannie Flagg wore cartoon characters on her famous sequined T-shirts, including a Spider Man shirt. Hanna-Barbara was at the height of its success in syndication and on Saturday mornings. Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and the Flintstones all tuned up frequently in questions or on the Audience Match. 

Match with your favorite cartoon characters of the 70's and 80's in this hilarious marathon! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Looney Tunes, Popeye, Yogi Bear, and Other Characters

(Oh, and as far as I can tell, it still hasn't rained.) 

Rainy Day Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and a couple of classic wartime Looney Tunes shorts I didn't get to yesterday, all directed by the wild Bob Clampett. Bugs becomes a "Super Rabbit" when he's given a chemically-enhanced carrot that gives him super powers. He uses his newfound abilities to annoy a cowboy who is chasing rabbits. When push comes to shove, he dons the uniform of a true hero...a Marines officer. "Draftee Daffy" is more interested in dodging that very persistent Little Man from the Draft Board. "Falling Hare" is my favorite Bugs Bunny short. It may be the only time he went up against an antagonist who gave as good as they got, in this case a gremlin who is sabotaging planes. The little fellow keeps evading Bugs in a plane that's up in the air, until the plane ends up in a free fall!

By 11:30, it wasn't raining, just cold and cloudy, probably in the mid-50's. I figured it was fine to go for a walk, run some errands, and check out a new record store. Started out at Target to use that gift card I got from one of the kids for Teacher's Appreciation Day last week. I needed new hair clips. I only see those tasty Junkless bars at Target and WalMart. The chocolate-peanut butter bars were the only ones left.

Made a brief stop at the Haddon Township Library to renew my library card. I'd been meaning to do it for weeks, but I hadn't gotten around to it. After they renewed it, I looked around for a while. I have a ton of novels I still haven't read and didn't see any non-fiction that interested me, so I moved on.

Had lunch at The Westmont on the cliff side under the library. The rain was just picking up as I settled down for a Garden Omelet with spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese, cheesy grits, whole wheat toast with fig preserves and raspberry-currant jam, and their amazing, thick, chewy bacon. The grits in particular really hit the spot. Tons of cheddar cheese and pepper, just smooth enough. Perfect for a cold, rainy day. They surprisingly weren't that busy. There was a big group in the back and a few people on the other side near the windows.

By the time I finished, it was showering too hard for long walks. I called Uber. The driver to Westmont picked me up in 5 minutes. The one who picked me up in Westmont to go home took 11 minutes, not bad for 3 PM. Either way, there were no problems getting there. The rain must have cleared out the traffic.

Moonrocket Vinyl at 8th and Ash proved to mainly be a colorful gift shop specializing in locally made crafts, but they did have bins with a small selection of records. I ended up with two brand-new reissues, one of which I'd never heard of but was certainly willing to try:

Miles Davis - Milestones....

Mean Mothers: Independent Women's Blues, Volume 1 (Bawdy blues numbers sung by strong women in the 20's, 30's, and early 40's.)

Since it was only a block away, I dodged the downpour and strolled down to Scoop Deville next. They actually were busy, a bit of a surprise given the chilly weather. I tried their Not Your Daddy's Oreo flavor, which was pretty much just cookies and cream with whipped cream on top. Still tasty though as I watched the rain come down in buckets.

(Incidentally, the rain has been coming down off and on, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the day.)

Watched MASH episodes from the third season for the next couple of hours after I got home. It's "A Rich Full Day" for the members of the 4077th as they deal with a Turkish soldier who just wants to get back out and kill people, a body that has somehow gone missing, and an officer who wants his soldier looked at first. "The Consultant" (Robert Alda, Alan Alda's real-life father) is a veteran doctor who follows Hawkeye and Trapper to the front after meeting them in Japan. He suggests a brand-new and delicate procedure that has never been done before, then leaves it to Hawkeye when he's too inebriated to pull it off. 

Hawkeye is placed under "House Arrest" (or tent arrest) when he's caught punching Frank. Frank learns his own lesson in telling the truth when a visiting general (Mary Wickes) turns out to be very interested in him. Everyone at the 4077th is worried when Hawkeye, Hot Lips, and Klinger are sent to an "Aid Station" that is under heavy fire. Hawkeye spends the time getting to know Hot Lips beyond her relationship with Frank and learning to appreciate women a little better. "Love and Marriage" means something very different to a Korean doctor (Soon-Tech-Oh) whose wife is about to give birth and a young soldier who wants to marry a girl for her money. 

Messed around online for a while, then finished the night with a late Match Game marathon at YouTube. There were quite a few contestants in the military during the 1973-1982 run of the show. The first in 1973 was an Army chaplain, which led to several religious jokes. There was the well-dressed Scottish officer in the nighttime episode whom everyone on the upper tier saluted, and the Air Force pilot with such bushy eyebrows, Gene insisted that he could comb them over if he ever went bald. A sweet officer lost to an excited mother-to-be with a very loud scream. Another one beat a very funny lady who insisted that Gene give her a new kid on the block kiss! There was also the PM episode with the cute Naval officer who was pit against a cheerful and pretty Israeli woman, and one of the last nighttime episodes where Jack Klugman went crazy, ran all over the stage, and lifted the officer's fiancee in the air after he won $20,000. 

Celebrate a much drier Memorial Day and salute those men and women who died for our country in the 70's and early 80's with this short but very funny marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Memorial Day Marathon - Salute to Our Heroes

Animation Goes to War

Began the morning with something different for breakfast. I found a bag of Birch Benders gluten-free pancake mix on the clearance shelves for $2 at the Westmont Acme yesterday. For that price, I'd gladly try them. They fried up golden brown and were mostly nice and fluffy, especially for gluten free. Tasted great with strawberries, yogurt, and some of that real maple syrup I picked up at the Vermont Country Store when I visited Lauren last fall. 

Watched Looney Tunes World War II propaganda shorts while I ate. From 1941 through 1945, Warners released a series of cartoons that were intended to boost morale for both soldiers overseas and those on the home front like Molly who needed laughter along with their newsreel headlines. They seemed to mainly fall into three categories. Bugs Bunny's last propaganda short was "Herr Meets Hare." Bugs outwitting real-life German military commander Hermann Goring has gags that are almost precursors to "What's Opera Doc?", including one of Bugs on horseback. Daffy fought the Nazis two years earlier in "Daffy the Commando." There were also shorts with one-off characters, like "The Draft Horse" who was rejected for war, then learned how scary battle is when he's caught in war games. 

Sketch comedies like "The Weakly Reporter" and "Wacky Blackout" parody the experience on the home front in the city and country, while "Meet Johnny Doughboy" and "Rookie Revue" parodied the pre-war draft in 1940 and 1941. "Hollywood Canine Canteen" was a spoof of entertainers who performed in canteens devoted to servicemen, some of whom, like Ish Kabbible and bandleader Kay Kyser, are fairly obscure today. "Fifth Column Mouse" and "The Duckinators" were fables on how the US got into the war, and how it intended to win it. 

I headed out before the cartoons finished. I had something I something to do at Thomas Sharp School I'd been meaning to do for a while now. Dropped a book of fairy tales and a book of Irish folk tales in the book kiosk next to the school's main entrance when I arrived. Since there was no one on the playground, I sat on the swings for a few minutes after locking my bike until it was time for my shift.

Today was a half-day for the kids. It's also the start of the last major holiday weekend of the school year. There were only 13 younger kids today (counting the boy whose mother picked him up 10 minutes after he arrived), and not that many more older kids. We had so few kids, we just took them in two groups to the bathroom instead of taking our tables. The kids started right away with the bathrooms and lunch. After they ate, they played with magnetic tiles and plastic dinosaurs and stenciled animals onto paper taped to a table for about an hour before we took the remaining 8 kids outside.

I'm glad it was just cloudy, cool, and very windy when the kids were there. We were able to keep them outside for the rest of the afternoon. Other than some squabbling over the swings and the boys wrestling on the mulch when their running games got out of hand, things went just fine. I had a rather nice chat with one young miss on the swings about her very intelligent cat, and she competed with one of the boys to see who could swing higher. When she left, two of the boys took the swings for almost an hour. One of the mothers who used to be a teacher ran around with them for a while, too. The kids danced to "Swipe and Scan (The Checkout Song)," "The Pink Tiger Hunt," the theme from Bluey, and songs from Sing, Moana, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

By the time two of the older kids came over to swing, it was past 3:30. We just took the older kids and the remaining 3 younger kids over to the blacktop with the others to shoot baskets and play soccer. There were only six older kids and more than enough teachers. They let me go around 3:30. The last younger girl went home at the same time I did. 

The kids were the first ones to report the raindrops. It had spit lightly off and on since the middle of the afternoon. We figured it wouldn't melt anyone, and I decided I was fine for a bike ride to WaWa. I deserved a Caramel Coconut Smoothie and a soft pretzel after a long couple of weeks. That felt good, even on a slightly chilly day. At least it tasted like caramel and coconut.

(Incidentally, the rain picked up about a half-hour after I got home. It's been showering off and on ever since.)

Finished the Looney Tunes shorts when I got home, then switched to Popeye. Like Termite Terrace, the Fleischer Brothers tossed Popeye into World War II a few months before the US formally entered the war. The enemy in "The Mighty Navy" isn't even named. By the time "Blunder Below" and "Fleets of Stren'th" came out, Popeye was definitely fighting the Japanese in the Pacific...making a few of these shorts extremely uncomfortable to watch today. Popeye evading the Nazis in "Spinach Fer Britain" is slightly easier to take. 

Popeye and Bluto didn't let anything as trivial as war hinder their pursuit of Olive Oyl. "Kicking the Conga Around" had them learning exotic dance steps to impress Senorita Olive. They compete to see who can do better showing her around their battleship, but quickly learn that "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix." Popeye's not saying "Many Tanks" when Army-bound Bluto trades uniforms with him in order to go out with Olive. Popeye leads the entire tank corps on a merry chase around town as he hurries to his date. Olive leaves Swee'pea with Popeye, who thinks it'll be easy to take care of the tyke...but "Baby Wants a Battleship," and won't settle for crawling around anything smaller than the destroyer Popeye's been assigned to.

Moved to Match Game '74 after the cartoons ended. Tonight was entirely devoted to the only week featuring game show host Jack Narz, now best known as the host for the original Now You See It and the 70's syndicated Concentration. Elaine Joyce got the best joke of the night when she gave the best answer regarding what one needed to get out of a punch bowl after a party. Jack and Gene didn't appreciate a game show host gag from Brett earlier. 

(I also got my schedule at this point. In good news, slightly more hours, next Friday and Saturday off again. Bad news, two double-shift days in a row. The head bagger must have wanted Tuesday off along with her usual Wednesday.) 

Finished the night with more classic World War II shorts from the Fleischers and Famous Studios, this time featuring Superman. Given the tenor of the comic books of the time, it was a given that Paramount would get Superman involved in the war sooner or later. "Japoteurs" has Superman stopping Japanese spies from stealing an experimental plane...and Lois Lane, who stowed away onboard. "The Eleventh Hour" is a wonderfully shadowy short with a mature story that has Superman committing acts of sabotage while he and Lois are prisoners of war in Yokohama. "Jungle Drums" has him helping Lois rescue secret plans from a Nazi who leads African natives in destroying planes. "Secret Agent" is the only short to not feature Lois. Superman rescues a beautiful female agent from Nazi saboteurs and makes sure the information she carries gets to Washington safely. 

Warm Spring Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Daffy Duck's Easter Special. Daffy is the host and lead character for these three all-original shorts with springtime themes. He dodges an animator's paint brush with a strange sense of humor in the "Duck Amuck"-esque wrap around segments. The first short has him and Sylvester chasing a gold egg. The second pits Daffy against Speedy Gonzalez as Daffy tries to stop Speedy from taking Chocolate Easter bunnies from a factory for the children of his village. Daffy's solo in the third short as he tries to find ways to go north for the spring other than flying.

It was so late when I finally finished eating and dressing, I called Uber. Plus I had a few things I needed to get later in the day. This may not have been the best day for Uber. The one in the morning took 9 minutes to arrive, and I ended up being late for work. The one going home took 15 minutes.

Between it being the beginning of the month and the day before Easter, we were mobbed all day. We're also short-staffed this week. Seven Acme employees, including the head manager and the head bagger, went on vacation this weekend and next week. There were long lines for most of the afternoon. I did have to clean up a broken Mexican soda bottle that put me behind gathering carts, which is probably why they pulled a couple of college boys from cashiering and the self-checkout lane to help me later. Other than the clean-up (which no one told me about - I found it while sweeping), there were no problems whatsoever.

At least the weather was nice for all of this. It was in the 80's, hot, breezy, and sunny for most of the day. It clouded up a little later in the evening before the sun returned, but it was mostly gorgeous. 

I needed a few things after work that I didn't get yesterday. I didn't think I'd have room for the small bottles of Persil laundry detergent that are on a really good sale. (That brand is expensive, but I've heard such good things about it, I want to try it.) Grabbed tulips as an Easter gift for a friend who isn't a fan of sweets. Got Rose her birthday card and Dunkin Donuts gift card...and was able to give them to her right away when she spotted me waiting for the Uber while she was trying to get Pokemon cards for Finley from the Pokemon vending machine. There was a crowd of young men around it at that point, and they weren't leaving. She said she'd try later. 

(Oh, and Rose said she's going to send Finley and Khai to their grandmother's house in Westmont for Easter and will just spend the day resting and cleaning. I'm going out to brunch with Jessa tomorrow instead.)

Listened to my new It's Arbor Day/Charlie Brown's All Stars album when I got home. It's Arbor Day was Vince Guaraldi's last Peanuts special. In fact, he literally died just hours after completing it. It didn't affect the quality of his work. There's some really nice music here with hilarious titles - "Ships Sail Into Arbor," "Young Man's Fancy," "Seeds for Thought," "Sprinkle Your Bird," "Happy Arbor Day, Charlie Brown." Alas, Charlie Brown's All Stars seems to be the only special whose master audio tapes Craft Recordings hasn't turned up at press time. The music here was taken directly from the special itself, which is why "Charlie Brown's All-Stars!", "Oh Good Grief!", "Surfin' Snoopy," and "Pebble Beach" sound slightly lower in quality than the other Peanuts soundtrack albums. 

Oh, and at this point, I got Easter goodies from a friend and her teen daughter. They gave me chocolate truffle eggs, two Reeces Eggs, and a pretty card with a butterfly on a flower on it. That was so sweet of them!

Watched The Easter Promise next. Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) is looking forward to coloring Easter eggs with her best friend Cora Sue (Franny Michel) and to the big school dress design show. Addie and her friends are thrilled when Constance Payne (Jean Simmons), a genuine Broadway actress who grew up in Clear River, returns to town. She goes to her home to ask for her autograph, then invites her to judge the style show and have dinner with her family. Neither works out especially well. Constance drinks too much wine when Addie's father James (Jason Robards) constantly criticizes her life choices and turns up at the style show drunk. Addie still manages to talk her into giving acting lessons to her and her friends. That seems to go well, until Constance gets drunk again before the second lesson. Addie's ready to give up, but Grandma (Mildred Natwick) reminds her that you never know what kind of lives people have lived, and everyone deserves a second chance, especially at Easter.

This lovely tale is my favorite of the four Addie Mills movies that ran on CBS between 1972 and 1976. It brings back so many memories of my own childhood Easters, from Addie and her friends reminding me of my sisters and me coloring eggs and giggling together in our bedrooms to the hilarious style show. (I like Cora Sue's peach "Hollywood" dress the best, but Addie's blue and magenta rickrack trimmed dress is cute too...and very Addie!) Jean Simmons is an especially warm and lovely eccentric actress...which makes those drunken binges all the more heartbreaking. My only complaint is I wish they'd filmed on location in Canada like they did for the Christmas and Thanksgiving films; this one looks a tad less authentic. At any rate, this is charming springtime viewing, especially for families with girls Addie's age.

Switched to It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown after the movie ended. Addie and her friends aren't the only ones excited for the holiday tomorrow. The Peanuts are also preparing for Easter in their own ways. Lucy colors and hides her own eggs and pesters Schroeder for gifts. Chuck takes Sally shoe shopping, while Snoopy buys Woodstock a bird house to get him out of the rain. Peppermint Patty and Marcie attempt to color eggs, but Marcie does everything but hard-boil them! Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does all that. Sally is quick to remind him of the Great Pumpkin incident at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids!

Moved to YouTube for The Smurfs' Springtime. The Smurfs are also looking forward to Easter. Smurfette is more interested in the cute duckling who thinks she's its mother. Gargamel wants to turn six Smurfs into gold after he steals a magic book from his godfather Balthazar. He puts Mother Nature to sleep, then kidnaps the Smurfs in order to boil them for gold. Papa Smurf knows that if Mother Nature doesn't herald the start of spring soon, it won't start at all...and then Balthazar figures out what's going on and wants in on it. 

Went straight into tonight's Match Game marathon. The show only did one full-on Easter episode in 1975. Fannie and Brett turned up wearing ugly Easter bonnets that somehow migrated onto the heads of Tom Bosley and Gene Rayburn. Other episodes had questions with eggs or rabbits, or were filmed around Easter weekend. Match Game '91 had "Easter __" on the Audience Match in the episode that introduced Ronn Lucas' obnoxious punk puppet Chuck Roast. (Deborah sitting next to him got so fed up with that puppet, she shoved his felt arm into his mouth!)

Other Easter moments were more welcome, like the episodes in 1975 and 1976 where Fannie wore her fried eggs t-shirt. Chuck wasn't the only puppet to turn up around Easter on the show. Kukla and Ollie of Kukla, Fran, and Ollie fame appeared with Eva Gabor and Arte Johnson during a memorable week in 1979. In 1975, Betty White once again managed to roll up Gene's pants legs and socks without him knowing. (You'd think he would have caught on that ages before.) There was also the time in 1978 when we met Earl, the little guy behind the Audience Match board, when he was late with one of the answers.

Celebrate Easter and spring the Match Game way with this adorable marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Easter Marathon 2026 (Part 1)

And here's even more classic Easter specials to watch while the bunny hides the eggs tomorrow!

Buttons and Rusty and the Easter Bunny (A Chucklewood Easter)

A Family Circus Easter

A Claymation Easter

The Fat Albert Easter Special 

Easter Egg Mornin'

Veggie Tales: An Easter Carol

The Pink Panther: The Easter Panther

Thumpkin and the Easter Bunny

The Jack Rabbit Story: Easter Fever

Follow That Bunny!

The Easter Egg

Dolls and Harts of My Dreams

Actually, I began today with a phone call. The lady from the Camden County First Home Buyers loans was calling me back to do an online application. Awesome! She sounded really pleasant and interested, too. I gave her my information and explained why I'm doing this. I want to get out of this attic, and soon, preferably between mid-October after I get back from my vacation in Pittsfield and mid-January. 

After I finished with her, I had breakfast while watching Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies. The Easter Bunny is sick and can't make his usual rounds this year. Granny wants Bugs to do it, but he's busy making his shorts, so she searches for a replacement among the Toons. With a story that flimsy, this is less of an Easter special and more "Oscar-winning shorts from Termite Terrace." Among the shorts seen are bits and pieces of "Knighty Knight Bugs," "Hillbilly Hare," "Birds Anonymous," "Robin Hood Daffy," "Sahara Hare," and "For Scent-imental Reasons." 

Switched to Tale of the Bunny Picnic after I ate. I go further into this charming Muppet spring cable special from 1986 that introduced Bean Bunny at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Happy Easter! - Tale of the Bunny Picnic

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon dressing the dolls for the spring holidays. Samantha looks so pretty and grown-up in her pink and magenta Flower-Picking Dress with the asymmetrical lace collar. I'm glad I bought that outfit when I did. It's hard to find now. Josefina is in her Feast Day Finery ruffled camisa and turquoise skirt. Felicity is pleasantly salmon pink in her Birthday Dress and flowered Pinner Apron. Kit may not appreciate the ruffles, but she does look cute in her Candy-Making Dress. The soft fall colors on Julie's original Birthday Outfit look even better on redheaded Ariel. Jessa gets the original late 90's Girl of Today Birthday Outfit with the fruit-print purple jumper and t-shirt. 

Whitney, Molly, and Barbara Jean wear home-made outfits, Whitney and Barbara Jean's from eBay. Barbara Jean's minidress has a fashionable 60's pink, yellow, and brown geometric design. It's sleeveless, so she wears a white ruffled sweater over it. Whitney's white dress has pastel polka-dots, a wide skirt, and purple ribbon trim. I bought Molly's pink and red striped dress with the flowers and the smocking from a booth at a church book sale last spring. 

Listened to records as I finished the dolls, and later as I ate lunch. Dreamy Serenades with Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra are exactly what it says on the cover - dreamy ballads or songs about dreams, done in a soft, breathy style, almost Hawaiian. These lovely ballads make gentle background music for a soft spring day, including "I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All?," "I Had the Craziest Dream," "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming," "My Isle of Golden Dreams," and "Girl of My Dreams."

The Tale Spinners Aladdin is a pretty straightforward retelling of the original Arabian Knights story. It's even set in China, rather than the Middle East as in the Disney version, and Aladdin lives with his mother. This does cut the Genie of the Ring, probably for time, but otherwise, it's action-packed and actually rather charming.

Swashbuckler is a rousing original pirate yarn from 1976. John Addison wrote an appropriately lush score that works with the old-fashioned adventure and derring-do. In fact, the title of the second-to-last number is "Derring Do!" Other notable pieces here include the Main Theme, "The Coach Robbery," "The Pickpocket Monkey," and "The Incredible Chase."

Soon as I finished eating, I jumped on my bike and headed off to the Thomas Sharp School. We had far fewer children today, 22 younger ones all together, 6 at my table. They messed around a little in the bathroom, but otherwise, they were just fine. They're still getting too wild in the cafeteria after snack time, though. Pinching, biting, name-calling and then tattling about it, running around. Several kids pulled plastic eggs out of their class Easter bags when they were told not to. Two actually got them open, revealing Play Dough. One girl was really good about putting hers away. Her friend just got upset and had to be talked into it. I couldn't get the eggs back together, so I wrapped them up with plastic and paper towels and put them in their backpacks. 8 kids had to be held back by the head teacher while we got the ones remaining outside.

It wasn't as nice of a day to be on the playground. For one thing, it was windy and considerably chillier, barely in the 50's. For another, it was also cloudy and kept spitting lightly on and off the entire time we were outside. We also had to ban the kids from using the bouncy balls they got for Easter when they bounced them over the fence around the playground twice and the teachers had to retrieve them. The kids still had fun, though. They chased each other, played hide and seek, and gathered flowers that had fallen from the tree over their heads and made tiny bouquets. Others danced to "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "I Like to Move It," and songs from Moana, Moana 2, and Trolls. 

The sprinkles had picked up slightly before the kids started to complain about the cold. We finally got the remaining four inside around 5 PM. I spent the 15 minutes I had left sharpening colored pencils. I also discovered there was a reason the kids took their Easter bags home today. I thought their Spring Break started Monday, but it begins tomorrow. That means I get a full day off I hadn't planned on, as I'm also off of the Acme tomorrow. Sweet. I'll move my grocery shopping to tomorrow instead of Saturday and see if I can get some things done in Westmont that I originally planned on doing next week.

There was a package from Amazon waiting for me when I got home. My first birthday present to myself are the most recently-released Peanuts specials soundtracks. Apparently, Craft Recordings couldn't find the original audio masters for Charlie Brown's All-Stars, so they paired what they could get off the actual special with It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. I'll listen to it tomorrow or this weekend.

Watched Match Game '90 during dinner. Jo Anne Worley finished the previous week with a record on the Match Up mini-game, getting 7 matches in a row. Brett Somers turned up for the first of three weeks on the next show, sitting between Fred Travelena and his one-man White House and her old drinking buddy Charles Nelson Reilly. She got to flirt with a handsome young contestant who had no trouble choosing her for that Match Up game.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. "A Couple of Harts" are on a picnic outside of Acapulco when the junker car Max loaned them break down. They walk to a nearby mansion to ask for directions to a repair shop, only to fall right smack in the middle of a conspiracy when the wealthy woman owner assumes they're the new butler and maid. Turns out the woman is the head of a group of revolutionaries who just assassinated a senator and intend to do even worse at a dinner that night...and a close friend of the Harts may be involved as well. 

The Sunny Side of Valentines

Began the morning with breakfast and The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't. I go further into this unique 1982 puppet special from later ALF creator Paul Fusco at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Valentine's Short Subject Special - The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't

Ran downstairs to catch an Uber before the special ended. I forgot today is a holiday and it's a holiday weekend. It took me two tries to get a driver, and the second one came in 11 minutes. I ended up being late to work. Thankfully, the one I took to Oaklyn only took 7 minutes.

The Acme was insanely busy for most of the day. First of all, it's Valentine's Day. A lot of people were buying flowers, candy, and stuffed toys for their sweethearts and children or big dinners for those they loved. Second, it's not only a holiday weekend, for many workers, this is the last major holiday weekend until May. Third, the weather was gorgeous. It was the nicest day we've had since early January. Sunny and warm, with not a breeze or a cloud to be seen, probably in the upper 40's-lower 50's. I had no help. The head bagger was in a register. They had to get two different male cashiers to do the carts with me at one point. No matter how many I gathered, the carts kept vanishing.

Took Uber into Oaklyn after work instead of going home. I brought the cupcakes for Rose and her family with me and kept them in the refrigerator in the employees' lounge. I got off near her house, and since it looked like she and the kids were probably out at sports or Finley's dance recitals, dropped the bag on her front stoop.

Had a late lunch at a very busy Common Grounds Coffee House. I hadn't eaten there in a while. There were lots of people studying on laptops, or groups of ladies chatting over coffee and muffins. I treated myself to a Vanilla Rose London Fog Tea, a slice of their delicious crumb cake, and a slice of broccoli bacon cheese quiche. Oh yum! They make great crumb cake, with a nice, thick crumb topping, and the tea was just sweet enough.

I strolled home to enjoy the weather, despite my knee still being sore. The snow is finally starting to melt here. I can see ground and grass and sidewalks that haven't shown in weeks, and it's no longer slippery to walk in some places. Other places are still a tiny bit icy and I had to walk around them. We're supposed to get rain and slushy snow later in the weekend. Hopefully, that'll start getting rid of the old snow.

Went straight into Valentine's Day specials when I got in and changed, starting with the Valentine's Day episode of Happy Days. Joanie's thinking "Be My Valentine" when she gets her first real boyfriend and dreams her family and friends into romantic musical situations. Potsie sings "Save the Last Kiss for Me" to his girlfriend while dressed as a Naval officer. Ralph, of course, wants "My Funny Valentine." Chachi says "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" in his idea of a tux-and-cane number. Fonzie recites love poetry to besotted co-eds. Laurie and Richard do a surprisingly good apache dance. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham steal the show with their hilarious recollection "I Remember It Well."

Called my mother while Happy Days was on. She started calling me earlier, then realized I was likely either at work or asleep and ended the call. She was right - she originally called me when I was heading out the door to pick up the Uber to work. She's doing fine. My 3 1/2-year old niece Aurora is in pre-school in her area now. In fact, one of the reasons my brother chose the town where they live is it's in a really good school system. Aurora loves school and loves learning. Mom says she loves the books I sent for Christmas, too, especially the one about being a big sister. 

Bugs Bunny's having an even more complicated Valentine's Day in Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers. An Elmer Fudd-like Cupid spreads love among the Toons, but Bugs insists he's meddling. He's just as good at finding the Tasmanian Devil a mate or keeping Yosemite Sam from pursuing Granny (and her money). Cupid sends a semi-innocent dame after hard-boiled private eye Daffy, French Legionnaire Pepe Le Pew after desert kitty beauty Penelope, and a plump, love-crazed, European-accented bunny after Bugs.

Moved to DTV Valentine next. From 1984 to 1989, Disney rode the wave of the music video craze by creating videos of their own to run between cartoons on their channel, or be strung together in a themed episode. I enjoyed the wide variety of music they used, from jazz standards to the most recent rock hits to their own songs. I first heard Lena Horne's rendition of "Stormy Weather" in a DTV video. Rock hits figure into this hour-long syndicated special. Most of them are more recent, like "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder and "You Give Good Love to Me" by Whitney Houston, but we do get Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear" accompanied by bits featuring Disney bears like Baloo, Bongo, and Humphery.

Stayed at YouTube to finish the night with tonight's Match Game marathon. Romance abounded on a show where many of the panelists and more than a few contestants were single. Many audience members frequently gived the panelists flowers, too. There was the time Gene held flowers on his microphone to keep it from crackling, or when a woman gave everyone small wrapped roses. Charles went into macho mode, while Richard's was in a pocket and almost hid his face. Fannie once gave Brett a huge arrangement of dead yellow roses as a joke, and she and Lee Merriweather wore rose-print t-shirts. Someone gave Jamie Lee Curtis a rose on a PM episode.

Sometimes, contestants could get a little too amorous. In 1974, a red-haired guy who looked something like a leprechaun in a suit got so excited, he kept trying to kiss Fannie and Brett! Charles and Richard defended their honor (such as it was). On that PM episode, the contestant ended up in Jamie's lap while Brett, Charles, and Richard Paul sang about the Eyes of Texas and Gene showed off his snazzy bright red shoes. 

Give flowers to those you love and celebrate Valentine's Day in all its forms in this adorably loving marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Valentine's Day Marathon (Featuring Hearts, Flowers, and Love)

And here's even more classic Valentine's Day specials for this holiday weekend!

The Popeye Valentine's Day Special: Sweethearts at Sea

The Smurfs: My Smurfy Valentine

The Woody Woodpecker Valentine's Day Special: I'm With Cupid, Stupid

Buttons and Rusty In the Honey Bunch (A Chucklewood Valentine)

For Better or for Worse: A Valentine from the Heart

Cathy's Valentine

A Special Valentine With the Family Circus

From Disney With Love

Sporting Games

Started off the morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers. Bugs is annoyed that an Elmer-like cupid is trying to pair off the Toons. He shows him sequences from various shorts to prove he's much better at it than some Cupid.

Headed out for a walk to WaWa after the Toons ended. I needed rent money and wanted to use up some of those gift cards from Christmas I still have on lunch. I ended up walking in the street a lot. The sidewalks were mostly clear...from homes and businesses that are frequently used. Some sidewalks on the White Horse Pike haven't been shoveled. Snow and ice scraped against the edge of the street often made it hard to get on the sidewalk. I had to drop off three books in the kiosk on Johnson Avenue, so I just dodged ice on the street until I turned and crossed the White Horse Pike to WaWa.

WaWa was surprisingly not that busy at quarter of 1. I ended up with a chicken cheese steak junior hoagie on a whole wheat roll, broccoli-cheddar soup, a peppermint mocha hot chocolate, and a soft pretzel. The hot chocolate was more sweet than it was minty or chocolaty. The chicken cheese steak was tasty. I'd added spinach and tomato for more vitamins. Neither the lines for the register nor the ATM machine were all that long.

I was almost home when I stepped wrong on a crack on a driveway and bent my bad knee back. Owwww, that hurt! I let out a long yell when I did that. Thankfully, it didn't hurt so much that I couldn't walk the rest of the way home, but I did need to put it up and put a heating pad on it when I got in.

Watched Remember WENN when I was home and having lunch. Hilary is "Courting Disaster" when Jeff's supercilious lawyer Drake Stanley (Andrew Seear) claims he wants $100,000 in damages. Scott acts as her lawyer and Mr. Eldridge takes the stand on the WENN court program Tell It to the Judge. Betty, Maple, and Gertie trick Stanley into appearing on the show, then manage to ring up Jeff to get his side of things.

The cast is thrilled in "And How!" when they're chosen to broadcast an episode of the network western The Strange Loner. The show's notorious playboy star is leaving to appear in films and turns up at the station drunk and unconscious right before it's supposed to begin. All of the men argue over his role, while Betty talks to Joseph Grayhawk (real-life Native American activist Russell Means), who is the voice of the Strange Loner's sidekick. Eugenia's more interested in her food discovery from Italy - pizza!

Called Uber soon as the show ended. Thankfully, no trouble there again. In fact, while still not where it should be at this time of year, it was much warmer than it has been in the last week and a half, sunny and breezy but not blustery. I got the first in 10 minutes, but had called early. The one going home came in 7 minutes. Got me there on time in less than 5 minutes.

The kids honestly could have been worse. They did get rowdy at the bathrooms, and the custodian scolded them a bit for blocking the door to the boiler. (Which is rather important at this time of year, especially in a 120-year-old building.) We also had a new kid, who was thankfully pretty quiet and not any trouble. After snack time, one little girl brought me an old 101 Dalmatians book from what had been a book-and-cassette...and then, another brought me another book. So many wanted to sit on my lap (and my sore knee) and see the pictures, I stood up and read it to them instead. 

I did have to separate a girl and a boy when we were in the library. The girl kept shoving her chair too close to her guy friend, and she has the habit of drawing on other people's artwork. She threw a fit when I told her he wanted space. Thankfully, the head teacher brought in the speaker at that point, and she joined the kids dancing to "Pink Pony Club" and the soundtracks from Lilo and Stitch and Trolls while I colored with the boys. They really loved the artwork I did of my (hopefully) upcoming superhero based Remember WENN fanfic Captain Victor, Man of Power, depicting Victor, Jeff, Ceila, and Grace Cavendish in superhero and villain costumes.

Took a shower when I got home, grabbed dinner, and put on Match Game Syndicated. Gary Collins, Susan Richardson, Richard Paul, and Joyce Bulifant finished out their week in these episodes. Joyce had a tendency to ramble on about her answers. At one point, she talked for so long, all of the panelists got up and left! She ended up in (mock, I hope) tears.

Finished the night with sports game shows in honor of the Super Bowl next Sunday and the Winter Olympics on Friday. The granddaddy of all sports-based quiz shows is Sports Challenge from the 70's. This is what it says on the tin, a long-running syndicated sports quiz show that pit two then-popular teams against each other. It's a battle of football titans from opposite ends of the US as the New York Giants take on the Los Angeles Rams in the episode I have here.

ESPN isn't the only network that runs sports-based quiz shows. Baseball IQ from the MLB Network pit coaches and players against each other in a test to see who knew more baseball trivia. This tournament-style show only ran a month in January-February 2012, making me wonder if it was just intended to be filler programming during the off season.

Bowling was at its zenith of popularity in the 60's and 70's when Jackpot Bowling debuted on syndication in 1961. Host Milton Berle's jokes fit rather awkwardly between rounds of semi-pro players competing for a $30,000 pot. Berle had more fun introducing the celebrity who bowled for charity between games. British bombshell Diana Dors was the celeb donning bowling shoes in this episode. Keep a close watch out for her then-husband Richard (then "Dickie") Dawson in the audience. 

Baywatch was the most-watched show in the world when Sandblast debuted on MTV in 1994. Two couples compete in a series of beach-based mini games and obstacle courses to see who is top dog of Disney World's water parks. I can see why this ran for two years. The games are honestly a lot of fun, and the energy is electric. Swimmer Summer Saunders was the host in this episode.

50 Grand Slam was a unique stunt show/quiz show hybrid from 1976. Eight contestants competed on the show, two at a time, and were matched up based on their expertise in a certain category. One contestant would be asked questions while the other was in an isolation booth. Whomever answered more questions correctly usually had the option of taking the money or facing an opponent in the next episode. Although we don't see it here, some episodes had a sports theme or a game played. We have the finale here, one of only three episodes known to exist.

ESPN didn't just do sport quizzes. They occasionally had the sports personalities playing stunts, too, as in Battle of the Gridiron Stars from 2005. Football stars of the mid-2000s went up against each other in games based around other sports besides their usual one. If you remember football in that time period like I do, it's actually kind of fun to watch these big guys attempt tug-of-war or dodgeball.

Celebrate guts and glory in all their forms with these delightfully sporting games!

Jackpot Bowling (1961)

Sports Challenge (1972)

50 Grand Slam Finale (1976)

Sandblast (1994)

Battle of the Gridiron Stars (2005)

Baseball IQ (2012) 

Christmastime Is Here

Began the morning with breakfast and The Bears Who Saved Christmas. When their family is stranded in a cabin on Christmas Eve, adventurous teddy bear Holly (Mary Kay Bergman) and her brother Christopher (Charlie Adler) take it on themselves to find a tree and make their owners' holiday a little merrier. They're helped by a flashlight that's afraid of the dark (Henry Gibson), a compass with no sense of direction (Johnathan Winters), and a kindly mother beaver (B.J Ward) and her son. 

Hurried off to work after that. I was only alone for the first hour. One of the college boys came in at 10 and took over the sweeping...and then another one arrived at 11 and did the sweeping. I was outside the whole time. At least it was a lot busier today than it was on Monday! People surprisingly had some pretty big orders. I figured most folks would just be grabbing milk and wrapping paper. Even with two other boys helping, we had to work hard to keep up with the carts. 

At least the weather was right for it. It was sunny, bright blue, and very windy, probably blowing 20 miles an hour. The temperatures were in the lower 40's, chilly, but not overly so for this time of year. 

Soon as I finished, I cut across Oaklyn to WaWa. Wanted to make use of those gift cards I got from the kids and get a treat for lunch. I got a roast beef hoagie, a soft pretzel, a peppermint cookies and cream smoothie, and a bag of potato chips. Normally, I'm not a chips fan, but I couldn't resist a bag of mozzarella sticks and marinara-flavored. That's not something I've ever seen before. I did have trouble ringing up the gift cards in the self-checkout machine. Good thing one of the women working at the cash register is a friend of mine and was able to help. 

Went straight home after that. Changed, then watched Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales while I ate lunch. This series of skits was originally made to be filler in an hour slot with A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it does have some entertaining material in its own right. Love Sally writing to "Samantha Claus," her method of getting a Christmas tree when she can't cut it down, and Snoopy's troubles as a sidewalk Santa.

Pulled out the old Christmas photos after I ate. The oldest of these go back to my very first Christmas in 1979, when Bruce and Mom were still together. I'm wearing the cutest yellow Mickey and Minnie Mouse pajamas! I can see toys I'd have for years in the background, including one I still have, TJ the Dakin teddy bear. TJ is currently sitting with the smaller Beanie Baby and Meowchi stuffies on the shelf over the hardback novels. 

There's photos from later in the 80's, too. I can see my second typewriter, the gray and white plastic one that actually typed (my first was a white and orange Tomy Typer), next to me as I open Battle Cat in 1984. There's a Polaroid shot in 1989 of me holding Candi, the porcelain doll Mom gave me that year. I still have Candi, too. Her gold ringlets are messy from many brushings. Her pink ribbon is faded and has rust spots, and her white dress is yellowed and dirty, but she's one of only three porcelain dolls I've kept over the years.

The focus in the 90's and 2000's shifts to Keefe and to Rose's parties with her friends. I should show the kids in the after-school program the photo of Keefe proudly holding out the packs of Pokemon cards I got him. I'm pretty sure that picture was from around 98-99. I'll bet most of the little kids have no idea they go that far back. Keefe's always loved to build, even when he was little. He was so thrilled with the K-Nex sets Mom gave him and the Bionicles Lego sets he got from me. 

Watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation as I sorted through the pictures. All Clark Griswauld (Chevy Chase) wants is a good old-fashioned family Christmas, with tons of presents under a huge tree and all of his family surrounding him. As often happens with Clark, what he imagines and what actually happens are two entirely different matters. The two sets of grandparents he invites over don't get along. The thousands of lights on his house short the neighborhood power grid. His yuppie neighbors Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are ready to strangle him for the mess his antics keep making in their home. Mid-way through, Clark's cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family turn up in their rattletrap RV and cause even more chaos. In the end, as the tree burns and the SWAT team comes through the windows, Clark finally realizes that we can't make Christmas perfect...but we can make it memorable.

This is an old family favorite of mine that we all watched throughout the 90's. Mae Questal and William Hickey steal the last half-hour or so as dear, senile old Aunt Bethany and her exasperated husband Uncle Lewis. Brian Doyle-Murphy has a lot of fun as Clark's obnoxious boss, too. Scatological and sexual humor makes this for teens just starting their own Christmas breaks and adults who have probably been through almost everything Clark does here at one time or another.

Switched to working on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next. With everyone on the train, Betty has the chance to ask the Nutcracker about Pirlipat. She calls him Scott at first, but he still claims that isn't his name. She gently tells him that she'd never abandon him, no matter how many mistakes he made or how ugly he was.

Watched A Disney Channel Christmas as I worked. Mom taped this blend of two earlier Disney TV specials, "From All of Us to All Of You" and "Disney's Christmas Gift," in 1988, and I've watched it almost every year since. The first half is "From All of Us," with Jiminy Cricket introducing segments from winter or Christmas-related shorts like "Pluto's Christmas Tree," "The Art of Skiing," "Donald's Snow Fight," and the gorgeous "Once Upon a Wintertime." The second half showcases segments from Disney films that depict parties, gift-giving, winter, or magic, the Donald Duck short "The Clock Watcher," the two Santa Claus Silly Symphonies, and the lovely black and white Mickey short "Mickey's Good Deed." It ends with the Past segment from Mickey's Christmas Carol, which was so new when this first debuted, Jiminy says it's "now in theaters."

Moved to the Looney Tunes for Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales. Unlike the Halloween special, this one is all-new material. The first short is a take on A Christmas Carol, with Bugs as Nephew Fred, Yosemite Sam as Scrooge, and Porky as Bob Cratchit. The second takes Wil E. Coyote and Road Runner's usual antics into snow-covered mountains as the Coyote chases his quarry on skates. The third has the Tasmanian Devil invading Bugs' house dressed as Santa and how Bugs gets rid of him.

Next up was Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus from 1974. This charming retelling of the most famous editorial letter in newspaper history has Jim Backus as the voice of Francis Church, the editor who wrote the letter, and the story's narrator. The style screams "Bill Melendez" and basically looks like Victorian Peanuts with actual speaking adults thrown into the mix. 

Put on The Bishop's Wife during dinner. Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) prays for guidance in building his huge new cathedral. He can't secure the funding from fussy Mrs. Agnes Hamilton (Gladys Cooper), who insists on making it a monument to her late husband. He's working so hard, he neglects his lovely wife Julia (Loretta Young) and his daughter Debbie (Karolyn Grimes) and ignores old friends like the Professor (Monty Wooley). Henry gets quite a shock when Dudley (Cary Grant), an impossibly suave angel, turns up claiming he's the answer to Henry's prayer. Henry doesn't think so when Dudley proceeds to take his place with Julia, and she falls for him. The Professor reminds Henry that he has one big advantage over Dudley. He's human, and Dudley is not.

The cast is simply luminous in this charming tale. Young is so patient and lovely, you can understand why a bishop and angel almost came to blows over her. Grant's debonair angel is a lot of fun, too - check out his quick method of decorating Christmas trees! Highly recommended during the holidays if you're a fan of the trio or looking for a quieter holiday movie.

Finished the night with a couple of specials. I went further into The Small One and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2022 and 2019 respectively.

The Small One

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Raggedy Ann and Andy In the Great Santa Claus Caper has Chuck Jones' fingerprints all over it. The antagonist is a very smart Wil E. Coyote-like wolf. This fellow isn't content to chase road runners. He creates an unbreakable substance he calls "Gloopstick" that he intends to cover Santa's toys with, so the children will have to buy toys from him. When Raggedy Andy is one of the wolf's victims, Ann and Andy avoid the claws on his machine and shows the wolf that their love is stronger than any Gloopstick.

Here's even more classic Christmas specials to watch before Christmas dinner tomorrow!

The Wish That Changed Christmas

The Night Before Christmas (1968)

The Smurfs' Christmas

The Spirit of Christmas 

The Christmas Tree

A Cranberry Christmas

'Twas the Day Before Christmas (A Chucklewood Christmas)

Fleischer Brothers Classics: Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Woody Woodpecker - The 12 Lies of Christmas

The Nutcracker (Russia 1974)

For Better Or for Worse: The Bestest Present

Ziggy's Gift

Olive the Other Reindeer

The Teddy Bears' Christmas

A Wish For Wings That Work

The Adventures of Candy Claus

And as Jiminy Cricket said earlier, from all of us to all of you, have a very merry Christmas, and the happiest of holiday seasons! 

Animation Salutes the Troops

Began the morning with breakfast and vintage Superman cartoons. Given the tenor of the comics in 1942, it was probably inevitable that Superman would fight the Axis on the big screen, too. "Japoteurs" has Superman rescuing Lois and a big modern fighter plane from saboteurs who have no idea Lois stowed away on the plane. "The Eleventh Hour" is a shadowy masterpiece with a mature story depicting Superman committing acts of sabotage in Japan. Lois is captured and used to force Superman to stop fighting the Axis, but he still manages to rescue her. "Jungle Drums" switches to the Nazis as Lois and Superman discover a plot to use a native tribe and their temple to down Allied planes. Superman rescues a "Secret Agent" with information on a saboteur group when members of the group go after her.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working on my resume. I really just need to update it to add my after-school program work and my new childcare skills.  It needs to be reformatted, too. I added the new details, but I'll mess around with the formatting tomorrow or another time.

Watched Popeye shorts while I worked and ate lunch. Superman wasn't the only Famous Studios character to swing faster than a speeding bullet into World War II. Popeye joined the war a couple of months before the US did in "The Mighty Navy." Once the US followed, he appeared in a series of propaganda shorts that mostly depicted his adventures in the Navy and on leave. He dealt with life at sea in "Fleets of Strength" and "Blunder Below." He's not saying "Many Tanks" when Bluto dumps him in the tank corps in order to steal his date with Olive. He delivers "Spinach fer Britain" when he dodges the Nazis in order to bring cans of spinach overseas.

Of course, Popeye dealt with trouble on the home front and on leave, too. "Kicking the Conga Around" and "Aloma of the South Seas" are spoofs of South American stereotypes and culture of the time. The former involves Popeye learning to dance "the conger" to impress Senorita Olive, thanks to spinach. The latter is basically the same deal, without the dancing. "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix" and "Baby Wants a Battleship" have Olive and Swee'pea wrecking havoc on Popeye and Bluto's ship. 

Popeye had just finished when I rushed off to the school. Thank heavens the rain that had come down all morning was long gone by 2:30. It was still cloudy, windy, and much colder, in the upper 40's, but not raining. The kids were out for about a half-hour, but it was really too windy and cold for them to be outside for too long. I did have a hard time helping one of the smallest kids in the bathroom, but I did help her out, and her parents thankfully arrived just a few minutes after I got her back. I told her they would!

We split up the kids after that. Half stayed in the cafeteria to draw or play with toys. The others went in the library to play "Would You Rather?" and "Heads Up 7 Up." "Rather" has the teacher giving the kids too choices. One group who wants one choice takes one side, the other group goes to the other. 

I remember playing "7 Up" as a kid in school. Four kids are chosen. The others all lay their heads on their arms and put up their thumbs. The "pickers" push down a thumb, and those who are chosen have to guess who picked them. If they guess, they get to choose. If they don't guess correctly, the picker stays. They were still playing when I headed out.

Went straight home and into the Looney Tunes wartime shorts. Though Warners' first cartoon star Bosko did the World War I short "Bosko the Doughboy" in the early 30's, most of their war shorts were World War II propaganda. Like Popeye, they dove into the war before it even hit the US in "Meet John Doughboy" and "Rookie Revue." Most of their subsequent wartime shorts were either one-off character comedies like Bugs' in their last war short "Hare Meets Herr" and "The Draft Horse" learning that war is no action film, allegories like "Fifth Column Mouse" and "The Duckinators" on how we got into the war and how we planned on winning it, or sketch comedies about life on the home front like "Wacky Blackout" (country living during the war) and "The Weakly Reporter" (city and suburban living).

My three favorite Warners war shorts all came from the wildly warped mind of director Bob Clampett. I watched these during dinner. "Super Rabbit" has Bugs eating a carrot that turns him into a Superman parody. He fights a cowboy (who sounds like a prototype of Yosemite Sam) and his horse until push comes to shove and he dons the uniform of a real hero...a Marines officer. 

"Draftee Daffy" has Daffy doing everything he can to escape "the little man from the draft board," even if it lands them...down there. "Falling Hare" may be the only time one of Bugs' antagonists gives as good as they get when he goes up against a little gremlin sabotaging planes. This fellow is no dope and leads Bugs on a merry chase through the skies, until the plane goes into a free fall!

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite while everything was on. While Betty helps the Nutcracker, whose wooden arm is loose, back to his feet, she gets a chance to look around. Most of the toys and all of the tin soldiers were taken prisoner by the Mouse King's army...except one. Annie the Rag Doll (Maple) finds diminutive Lieutenant Foley hiding behind a gift. He's a new recruit and had never fought a battle until that night. Annie and Betty coax him out from behind the present and tell him it's ok to be scared. Mack the Lion (Mackie) says he's a lot more sensible than most toys.

Finished the night at YouTube with Family Feud. From 1989 through 1991, the Ray Combs Feud did a series of yearly tournaments that pit all five branches of the Armed Services against one another. In 1989, the Army kicked off by, alas, kicking the Navy's rear. The Marines did by far the best. They had the best trash-talking, some of the best answers, and won the Fast Money the most. When they won the second time, one of the largest Marines swept the only woman off her feet! I don't think her feet were on the floor for a good five minutes. 

Celebrate Veteran's Day by honoring the men and women who fought and Feuded for our country with this anything-goes Armed Forces battle!

Day 1 - Army Vs. Navy

Day 2 - Marines Vs. Air Force

Day 3 - Army Vs. Coast Guard

Day 4 - Air Force Vs Coast Guard

Day 5 - Marines Vs. Navy

Day 5 - Army Vs. Marines (Tournament Finale) 

You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween

Began my Halloween with material from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. "The Blue-Nosed Witch" is a scatterbrained young sorceress who is always late for her coven's flight formations. She sets her alarm back so far, she ends up trick-or-treating with the kids on Halloween instead. Another young witch tries to make a fairy appear for her friends, but she ends up conjuring "The Water Nixie" instead. We also get a couple of poems on trick-or-treating and Halloween traditions.

Watched The Woody Woodpecker Show on Disc 3 of my first Woody Woodpecker set during breakfast. Woody spends most of the episode between cartoons blowing up balloons for his boss Walter Lanz. They're preparing for a big Halloween party with all of the Lanz characters created up to the early 60's (most of whom were actually comic book characters). They're holding a big "Spook-a-Nanny," but won't let Woody in. He joins a ghostly rock band, but forgets he can't walk through the walls like they can.

Switched to Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile as I made my grocery list. Ann, Andy, and their dog Arthur bring a glum pumpkin who wasn't bought for Halloween to a little boy whose aunt won't let him enjoy the holiday. After they finally get the gourd to the kid, they remind his aunt that you're only young once, and there was a time when she enjoyed Halloween, too.

Put on Sale of the Century while I got organized. Their "Trick or Treat Week" from 1988 played pretty much the same, only with Halloween-themed questions and prizes. The one woman came back during the Speed Round to win a beautiful heart-shaped diamond pendant necklace that would look pretty on her. Too bad she didn't have as much luck with the Bonus Round.

Hurried to go grocery shopping next. I didn't need a whole lot, and I didn't have much time to get it. Sprouts was having a buy one, get one 50 percent off sale on their bakery cookies. I went with their seasonal flavors, ginger molasses and white chocolate cranberry shortbread. Also picked up coconut milk and sparkling water. Found cookies and cream Made Good granola bars and a plastic container of lemon curd dried mango slices that were on clearance.

The Acme was a lot busier when I arrived. I'll be getting fruit and vegetables at the farm market tomorrow, so I mainly needed yogurt here. Got canned tuna and sliced chicken for my own mini-pantry. The Kind Kids' bars were on clearance, too, and I had a good online coupon for Kind granola. Popwell and the new Bloom Pop sodas were on good sales, and yes, they had Fresca this time. Dug mini chocolate Bundt cakes off the bakery clearance racks. 

Cut through Newton Lake Park on the way home. It's fully fall here now. The trees have finally turned fabulous shades of gold, rust, scarlet, and lime green. It couldn't have been a nicer Halloween. Though 40-miles-an-hour winds lingered from yesterday, it was otherwise sunny and relatively warm when you could get out of the wind, in the upper 50's-lower 60's. 

Put everything away, then had a quick lunch while watching Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special. Witch Hazel chases Bugs, turns Speedy into her, and spooks Daffy's niece in this piecemeal anthology. At least they used sequences from horror shorts and ones actually set on Halloween, rather than the random cartoons seen in Bugs' Easter and Thanksgiving specials. 

Hurried off to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoon ended. I was slightly late...but I could have been infinitely late. There were nine pre-schoolers there when I arrived. I colored printed pictures of Jack o'lanterns and Pikachu in a witch's hat laying on a pumpkin with the girls. By 3:30, when we took the kids outside, there were five boys left. In fact, they originally said I could leave at 3:30, but I figured I could at least help get them out to the playground. I finally left the boys running around and enjoying the lack of line for the swings at 4. (Oh, and I was one of only two teachers who dressed in costume. The other was a Phillies baseball player. One teacher did admit that her Spirited Away costume was a bit too lavish for school.)

Soon as I got home, I hurried upstairs and grabbed the rest of my cowgirl costume. Yes, I was a cowgirl this year in my blue-checked LL Bean shirt, the corduroy vest Mom made me for my first cowgirl costume in 1989, jeans, boots, a jean jacket, and the hat I picked up from Goodwill. Glad I got the bandana and metal sheriff's badge. They really completed the costume. Added a crocheted "belt" with a plastic knife and bow tied on. Grabbed the trick-or-treat bags and candy and hurried outside with my red stuffed bull Romeo soon as I was ready.

I got outside at just the right time. Trick-or-treating starts at 3, but it doesn't really pick up until around 4:30. We had a ton of kids. I gave away all of my trick-or-treat bags in less than an hour. All but a few Sour Patch licorice sticks were gone by 6. 

Saw lots of great costumes, too. There was a pretty and adorable baby dressed as a pearly pink shell. A Winnie the Pooh group had a dad Pooh, a big brother Tigger, a mom Eeyore, and a pre-school girl Piglet. Another large group were all Lord of the Rings characters, including a mom Gandolf. Two teen girls were variations on Alice In Wonderland, while a third was the White Rabbit. Teen boys wore a gas mask and a Jason Voorhees mask. A couple in long Matrix black coats walked their dog Trinity. A tiny pre-school Wednesday was too adorable! There were two Elsas and three KPop Demon Hunters. Saw a couple of Ghostbusters, a bloody nurse, an Iron Man, a Spider Man and Spider Girl, Ginny from SuperKitties, and Connor from PJ Masks. 

I headed back out around quarter after 6 to have dinner at Phillies Phatties. Trouble is, they were mobbed with families who just came in from trick or treating and people ordering a quick dinner. I had to wait more than 20 minutes for my slice of cheese and slice of sausage. (I did get the can of Diet Pepsi right away.) 

It took them so long, I ate them on my way two doors down to Tonewood Brewery. My sister Rose was there with her 8-year-old daughter Finley and several of Fin's friends from school. Finley was an absolutely stunning marionette in a black and white sequined ballet outfit, wrist ribbons, black and white spooky stockings, a bun, and spooky makeup. I ate my pizza and chatted with Rose and the kids a little bit, admiring Rose's sleek new haircut and telling her about my vacation earlier this month. 

For once, the Halloween Parade started right on time. I saw a lot of great costumes here, too. One boy was dressed as Ben Franklin, complete with flying "kite." Another was a dinosaur in a home-made costume. One little firefighter had a pretty realistic costume, including a bright red and yellow jacket. There was a Mario Kart group with a big sister Peach, Mario in his cart, and a dad Luigi. Two little oceanographers rode around in a huge cardboard "shark" wagon. Saw two more Demon Hunters, an elementary schooler dressed as a grandma with gray hair, curlers, and a cane, a lovely witch in glittering purple and black, a big Ghostbusters group that included a mom dressed as Louis Tully and inflatable Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, and a hilarious Men In Black group with parents in sunglasses and suits and an infant alien in a flying saucer stroller. The Nightmare Before Christmas group had impressive inflatable and hand-made costumes, including Oogie Boogie and the Mayor of Halloween Town. I thought the pre-teens dressed as Sesame Street characters were adorable, especially Ernie in what I suspected was a hand-made head. 

To my delight, Finley deservedly won first in the second-to-sixth grade division. She and Rose really did do well with that costume. I didn't win anything. The other adult costumes included a guy in a scary mask up on stilts. I still enjoyed walking in the parade from the Oaklyn School to the Fire Hall, twirling my garden rope "lasso" (I lost the cap gun walking over to Oaklyn) and cuddling Romeo. 

Took as shower when I got home, then put on It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Linus spends his Halloween waiting in a "sincere" pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin, who is supposed to leave treats for all of the good little girls and boys. Against her better judgment, Sally joins him. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown has trouble trick-or-treating, Lucy is still pulling away that football, and Snoopy spends the night preparing for Veteran's Day and fighting the Red Baron.

Mom called me around this time. She sent me a really cute Halloween card. Needless to say, with a newborn around, they've been incredibly busy. Like most of my family, Mom and Keefe get really into Halloween and decorate inside and out. They were all bee-themed this year. Aurora was a bee. Julia and Elijah were bears, and Keefe was the beekeeper. (Oh, and three-year-old Aurora is apparently a huge fan of KPop Demon Hunters too.) Mom did tell me Anny finally got a duplex for her and her daughter Lilah in Millville. Not the best part, and she has to commute 40 minutes every day for her tiring job fixing fishing boats at Lund's Fisheries in Wildwood Crest. 

Switched to YouTube for this year's Halloween Marathon. I arrived in time for the second half of the 1994 Richard Dawson Family Feud. They only decorated (including with a very ugly paper mache vulture), but some people gave such bad Fast Money answers, it was scary. Caught the entirety of a Super Password episode I saw part of earlier in the week on Buzzr, with Pat Sajak and Rebecca Arthur of Perfect Strangers. The contestants all opened "tricks," like a jumping dinosaur, or "treats," like a propeller beanie cap. 

Bob Barker may have been getting on in years by the time of the 2004 Price Is Right episode, but he was still beloved by the college kids who appeared on the show. One woman said she'd watched him on Truth or Consequences, too...and ironically, she was one of the ones who made it to the Showcases. The first Showcase featured a witch model conjuring prizes with her cauldron (and running afoul of California's strict anti-pollution laws). The second had the witch dealing with a fussy Beverly Hills model trick-or-treater who wanted expensive prizes, including gold bars and a sports car.

Here's this year's Halloween Party, for your enjoyment!

Trick or Treat - Happy Halloween 2025 Spooktacular Marathon

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, slightly more hours. I do work next Saturday, but only 1 to 5, which means I'll be able to hit the Farm Market again. Still not enough hours, but after this week, I'll take this.

Stayed on YouTube to finish my holiday with two more vintage Halloween specials. Halloween Is Grinch Night has the Grinch, stirred up by animals howling in a sour-sweet wind, dragging his Paraphernalia Wagon full of wild psychedelic scares down to Whoville. When little Eukeriah Who gets lost in the mountains, he takes it on himself to make sure the Grinch never makes it to town.

The Halloween That Almost Wasn't has Dracula (Judd Hirch) in a tizzy because the Witch (Mariette Hartley) refuses to fly over the moon at midnight and kick off the holiday. Seems she doesn't feel appreciated and demands more even footing with Dracula. While he sputters over sharing the limelight with her, one little girl dressed as a witch reminds her of why she's so important to the holiday.

And here's hoping you had a spectacular Halloween of your own, with all your own little Demon Hunters, marionettes, and Ghostbusters! 

Kids and Games

Began the day with breakfast and the 2018 Muppet Babies. It's "Happy Hallowaca," but Fozzie's upset that his lederhosen costume is funny, not scary. He tries hard to scare his friends, until Animal turns into a ghost and really gets scary! Now Fozzie has to make him laugh to get him back to normal. Summer tells "The Teeth Chattering Tale of the Haunted Pancakes" when Kermit won't eat Miss Nanny's ghost-shaped pancakes. When Kermibod won't try them either, the Witch of Trying New Things (Summer) turns them into real ghosts until he admits that maybe something new isn't so scary after all.

Headed out to run errands first. I needed to drop off my write-in votes in the mail and grab Shout at Dollar General. Picked up the candy for the trick-or-treat bags there, too. Got to try Oreo Reeces Cups. Not bad. The top is white, and there's big crunchy bits inside the peanut butter that might be a little too big.

Spent the rest of the morning doing research on the local towns. I've lived in Camden County for almost 20 years now, and I don't know as much about them as I do Cape May or Wildwood. I looked up several local historical societies. I don't know if I really will ever write them, but it's interesting to see the historical photos in my Facebook feed.

Watched the original The Old Dark House from 1932 while I worked. Stranded at the title house during a huge storm, a group of people, including a chorus girl (Lillian Bond), her Scottish protector (Charles Laughton), a married couple (Gloria Stuart and Raymond Massey), and their urbane friend (Melvyn Douglas). The owners, Horace (Ernest Theisger) and Rebecca (Eva Moore) Femm, have secrets in locked rooms that they'd rather keep secret, including a 102-year-old father (Elspeth Dudgeon) and a very scary mute butler (Boris Karloff).

Yeah, this is the original old dark house movie. Though some of it does move rather slow, there's also some terrific spooky acting turns from Karloff, from Dudgeon (who is so good as the father, even the cast didn't realize she was a man), from Laughton, and Douglas as the unbelieving friend. Look around for this one if you want to see where a lot of haunted house cliches got started.

Switched to Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special while eating lunch. Bugs tries to outwit Witch Hazel, while Sylvester dodges a huge Tweety and tries to tell Porky the hotel they're stranded at isn't that friendly and Daffy and Speedy Gonzalez deal with one of Witch Hazel's spells. Not the strongest plot ever, but at least, unlike the Easter specials, they did choose cartoons that were horror-themed or set around Halloween to showcase.

Headed to the Thomas Sharp School after that ended. The kids were really antsy today. They could barely sit through Skippyjohn Jones before we took them outside, and they were really crazy in the halls around the bathroom. Good thing it was cloudy and still gale-force windy, but not raining like last night. I pushed the kids on the swings while their friends looked for the fire truck and dog-walkers going by. We listened to "You're Welcome" from Moana, "Let It Go" and "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" from Frozen, "Golden" and "Your Idol" from KPop Demon Hunters, "The Train Song," "Do the Garbage," and "Candy Cane Crush." 

Stopped at Crown Chicken and Gyro on the way home. Picked up a chicken cheese steak and fries. The fries are still good. The cheese steak was way too messy, with too much ketchup and mayo dripping all over. I think I'll stick to their fish sandwich next time.

Watched Match Game '76 as I ate. Saw the tail end of the week with Janice Pennington, then moved straight into the next week. Soap star Janice Lynde, one of the original stars of The Young and the Restless, made her only appearance on the show. She's joined by cranky Joey Bishop and eternally unique Patti Deusch. 

Spent the rest of the night working on Maplepunzel. Pavla goes down to her dungeon, where Scott is being held prisoner. She's keeping him heavily drugged with Valerian and held by magic chains that tighten the more he struggles. He remains defiant, sneering at her obsession with status and insisting that he loves Betty no matter what. Eventually, she pulls a tight black hood over his head and tells her crow monsters that they can do what they want with him before she flounces off.

Finished the night watching game shows from Nickelodeon you might not remember. After the success of Double Dare in 1986, they jumped into the game show market in a big way. Get the Picture and Think Fast were crosses between Double Dare, Classic Concentration, and Dotto. Picture had kids answering questions to figure out what a connect-the-dot picture was. Fast had more to do with memory, as they had to remember where certain pictures were. The end game had them trying to remember which goofy person or item stuffed in a locker matched a locker on the other side. 

Make the Grade was a little more imaginative, and though it did involve stunts, was closer to Nick's first pure quiz show. In this case, three kids answer questions arranged by subject (music, cats and dogs, science, history) and grade (kindergarten through 12th). "Fire Drills" lets them play a stunt. Winner takes the "Honors Round," answering 7 questions from three categories in 45 minutes. Fast-paced game play and difficult questions make this one of Nick's more interesting Double Dare imitations, and an old childhood favorite of mine. 

Nick got more into its pure stunt shows. Wild and Crazy Kids from 1990 was just what the title implied. Three hosts (including a young Cuba Gooding Jr.) watched as kids or kids and their parents completed in stunt relay races in a certain location, Raging Waters in LA in the episode I have here. Legends of the Hidden Temple crosses this with history and a Double Dare-style bonus round. Two teams of kids answer questions about a legend related by talking African mask Olmec in the beginning of the show, then compete in stunts related to the story. Winners get to run through the title temple and find the missing object.

Brainsurge from 2009 was another rare Nick foray into quizzes. Kids play a series of mini-games and videos. Two kids are eliminated after each round, pulled back into the rather terrifying huge head behind them or sent down the "river of slime." The last kid standing has to figure out a pattern on a board. The creepy head notwithstanding, this was honestly pretty exciting stuff. I can see why they briefly revived this on Nicktoons in 2014. It's genuinely fun, enough to be nominated for a best game show Emmy in 2009.

Nick Arcade debuted during the height of the "console wars" of the early 90's. Two teams of two kids answer questions and guide "Mikey" around a computer-generated background (space, in this episode). The stunts here have them playing video games (including at least one real-life one) to earn points. The bonus round has the winning team playing in a computer generated version of the games to win prizes. The cast of Clarrisa Explains It All pits parents against kids in the episode I have here. 

Get wild and crazy with some of the earliest forays into game shows at Nickelodeon!

Think Fast (1989)

Make the Grade (1989)

Wild and Crazy Kids (1990)

Get the Picture (1991)

Nick Arcade (1992)

Legends of the Hidden Temple (1993)

BrainSurge (2009)