The Strangest Games Ever

It was an absolutely glorious morning for a ride to work. Sunny, breezy, already in the upper 50's at quarter of 9. Pretty quiet all over, too. Not even any traffic on the Pikes. Everyone must have been at church or spending their last day of vacation sleeping in.

Work wasn't that busy, either, especially for a Sunday. It did pick up a little later in the afternoon, by which time we had plenty of help. It was so dead, at one point, they even pulled me to shelve loose items. It slowed down enough by 4:30 for me to shut down with no relief and no need for one.

Good thing. I needed to pick up a few items I forgot yesterday. I love blood oranges; for some reason, they're cheaper at the Audubon Acme than the Westmont Acme. Had a free digital coupon for a small square box of generic Acme tissues and a dollar off Crest mouthwash. Restocked low-salt Jiff peanut butter and buy one, get one floss. 

Headed straight home. Changed and did a few chores, then listened to some of my recent record acquisitions while working online. I suspect "Tinkerbell Records" is an offshoot of kids' record company Peter Pan. I recognized one of the five fairy tales listed on the album. We had a slightly longer version of the Peter Pan Cinderella in the early-mid 80's. Goldilocks was especially cute, with a sweet-sounding Baby Bear who sounds like too much of a teddy bear to scare Goldie into running home!

Moved to Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits II while eating leftovers for dinner. I got this one from a friend. While Manilow's songs weren't doing quite as well in the early 80's as they did in the 70's. he did have hits with "Somewhere Down the Road" and "I Made It Through the Rain," along with his version of "Memory" from Cats. 

Worked on writing while listening to the soundtrack of Snow White and the Three Stooges. I actually consider this charming Stooges fairy tale from 1961 to be a bit underrated. You can't see their routines on the recording, but you do get some of the decent songs, including "A Place Called Happiness" for Snow White and the chorus number "Once In a Million Years."

Finished the night on YouTube honoring game show producer Jay Wolpert, who passed away back in January. He had his first taste of game shows as one of the big winners on the Art Fleming Jeopardy! in 1969. Alas, his stint on the show doesn't survive...but apparently, his trophy remained on his mantel for the rest of his life. 

He must have really enjoyed his experience on Jeopardy, because he'd remain in game shows for the next three decades. He started out as a producer of he revived Price Is Right from it's debut in 1972 to 1978. I dug up the half-hour episode from 1974 with the first-ever Double Showcase Showdown win. He also created the isolation-booth trivia show Double Dare with Alex Trebek in 1976. 

Wolpert formed his own production company in 1979. He tended to favor complicated shows with elaborate sets that were fun to watch, but never seemed to last long. Whew! and Hit Man are cult favorites in the game show community that are really fun to watch, but Whew! barely lasted a year in 1979-1980, and Hit Man only made a few months in 1983. Given Whew! seems to be going over well on Buzzr, I'm crossing my fingers they can get Hit Man and the 1988 celebrity word game Blackout eventually as well. 

Rodeo Drive might make a nice pairing with the 90's Newlywed Game or Supermarket Sweep, especially since it appeared with the latter for a few months on Lifetime in 1990. Comedienne Louise DuArt leads three contestants through two rounds of trivia relating to celebrities of the time. The winner goes on a shopping spree similar to The Gauntlet on Whew!. Here, though, they have to guess whom people are talking about to cardboard cut-outs. It's a lot more fun than it sounds, and DuArt does some hilarious celebrity impressions. 

Wolpert returned briefly in 1994 for a new nighttime syndicated Price Is Right. The wheel is replaced by the three winning contestants guessing a price. Only one goes to the final Showcase. There is one showcase, and they win it by more-or-less playing a slightly harder version of The Range Game. It proved to be too different from its parent, and host Doug Davidson tried a little too hard to drum up excitement. It barely made three months.

He finished up with two shows on The Family Channel in the late 90's. Shopping Spree went over well enough to be his biggest (and only) hit, lasting two years despite the cheap production. Wait 'Till You Have Kids wasn't nearly as well-received. Three parents try to guess which advice on dealing with kids and teens a noted expert would choose. Frankly, the "expert" answers were often far from the most appropriate for the situation, and the entire premise was very poorly implemented and just in bad taste. Even cute kids giving their own filmed answers ala Child's Play couldn't save this one. 

Explore Jay Wolpert's wild world of giant boards, blackouts, bloopers, animated openings, and celebrity shopping sprees with these rare shows! (And look for the commercials on many of them, including the 90's Price Is Right episode.)

The New Price Is Right (1974)

Double Dare (1976)

Whew! (1979)

Hit Man (1983)

Blackout (1988)

Rodeo Drive (1990)

Price Is Right PM (1994)

Wait 'Till You Have Kids (1996)

Shopping Spree (1997)

I Believe It's Magic

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Three Stooges. They did several horror-themed shorts over the years, but I went with "Spooks!" from 1953. One of two 3D shorts they did has them as detectives in search of young woman who was kidnapped by a mad scientist. He wants to switch her brain with that of his gorilla. The Stooges dress as pie sellers and go after her, only for the scientist and his henchman to toss a variety of weapons at them in order to scare they off.

Called Uber just as the short ended. The guy picked me up within 8 minutes. No messing around this time. He got me right to work down the Black Horse Pike.

My long cashiering shift was...almost exactly the same as yesterday with better weather. It did get cloudy and a bit windy later, but it never rained. In fact, it was a bit warm. Otherwise, we were once again off and on busy with people buying goodies for trick or treat, Halloween parties, and election night dinners. I shelved candy between customers. My relief was a smart teen girl who was right on time. Got an Uber driver in less than three minutes; was home in five. 

Went straight into writing when I got home. Not being able to reach Brett's head at the moment, Queen Betty turns her wrath on the Red King instead and orders his head chopped off. He calmly tells her that she's the one who'll be sent into exile...because he's taking over the kingdom...

Jodie called while I was online and told me I could do the laundry at her side while she wasn't there. I didn't have the heart to tell her I already did it last night. I desperately needed clean work clothes this morning. 

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Halloween Hall of Fame. Mom recorded this vintage Disney special off what's now Fox 29 in 1988, and I've watched it in some form or another almost every year since. Johnathan Winters is a security guard at the Disney Studios who discovers a jack-o-lantern in a crystal ball (also Winters) while goofing off with props. Seems Jack's in hiding because he doesn't think the holiday is scary anymore. Winters directs him to parts of "Pluto's Judgement Day," "Trick or Treat," and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad to prove otherwise. 

Made gingersnaps while watching Disney's Halloween Treat. This special from the early 80's ran on The Disney Channel for years; Mom taped it a few days after Hall of Fame. "Trick or Treat" and "Pluto's Judgement Day" are joined by "Lonesome Ghosts," "The Old Mill," "Donald and the Gorilla," the Wizard's Duel sequence from The Sword and the Stone with Madam Mim, and a segment from the Disneyland anthology series on the cat's contribution to history. There's also a segment from a later Disney anthology show featuring Hans Conried as the Magic Mirror introducing clips featuring various villains from animated films, including the one he voiced, Captain Hook from Peter Pan. 

Finished the night online after a shower with Monster Mash. No, not the one I watched the other night. I go further into the very different animated retelling of the famous horror novelty rock song from 2000 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Halloween! - Monster Mash (2000)

The website for the cable channel Freeform currently has Ghostbusters (and Ghostbusters II) for free with ads. Paranormal professors Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Egon Spangler (Harold Ramis), and Ray Stanz (Dan Ackroyd) are fired by Columbia for their shoddy work habits, so they go into business for themselves as professional ghost catchers. Their first client is classical musician Dana Barrett (Sigorney Weaver) who claims she saw a monster in her ice box. Womanizing Peter is interested in her case and her in general and looks further into it. Meanwhile, business has gone from nothing to booming, so much that they have to hire another member, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) to help handle it all. 

The head of the EPA Walter Peck (William Atherton) isn't pleased with the mess they leave and shut them down. This overloads the containment system and spews ghosts all over New York, just as Dana and her neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) are possessed by the spirts of an evil demon who lives in their apartment building. Now the Ghostbusters have to catch this nasty Sumerian god and the giant marshmallow man stomping around New York, or they're going to face time behind bars...or worse, an afterlife covered in charred whipped corn syrup.

The second movie isn't that bad and I still think the all-female remake got a bad rap, but the original remains the one to see, with its hilarious script and still-amazing special effects. 

If you enjoyed Ghostbusters, here's even more vintage Halloween programming to enjoy before and after trick or treating!

Winnie the Pooh: Boo to You Too!

Witch's Night Out

Ub Iwerks at Columba: The Headless Horseman

The Last Halloween

The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo: Dr. Frankenstein

Mighty Mouse: The Witch's Cat

Rankin Bass: Jack 'O Lantern

The Halloween That Almost Wasn't

The Smurfs: All Hallows Eve

Disney's Haunted Halloween (Educational Short)

Buttons and Rusty in Which Witch Is Which? 

Hazy Shade of Winter

Began another bright and sunny morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers.  Bugs encounters a Cupid who bears an uncanny resemblance to Elmer Fudd and keeps shooting his arrows to bring various Toons together. Bugs insists that he's meddling. It's not much, but it does tie together some fairly amusing bits of shorts, including most of Pepe Le Pew's venture into the Foreign Legion, Bugs marrying off the Tasmanian Devil, and Bugs trying to outrun a Hungarian female rabbit with romance on her mind.

Worked on writing for a little bit after I ate. Went back and added that Dolly released her husband and was very happy to see him, to the amusement of the others. Richard holds a knife on Goodson and tries to get him to tell the others to let Charles and Gene stand trial, but he has his own ideas of how to get loose...

Broke with enough time to change, pack a lunch and my backpack for grocery shopping later, and call Uber. The driver may have sped down the Black Horse Pike like a maniac, but he did get me to work on time.

Good thing, too. We were mobbed all day. I heard two deli workers in the back room say they had long lines at 6 AM. Between the Super Bowl, a big 3-day sale on meat and snacks, and another round of snow, probably 3 to 7 inches at press time, people were going crazy. Once again, I couldn't keep the carts stocked. I had help later in the day from three more baggers, and we still couldn't bring the carts to the door fast enough. Most of the time, people took the carts out of our hands while we were still in the parking lot! It was a mess. It didn't help that the sun was already disappearing behind silver clouds even as I arrived at work, and the wind picked up considerably. 

It had slowed down somewhat by the time I did my own grocery shopping. Bought shredded cheddar cheese and blue corn chips for a recipe I intend to make for dinner tomorrow. Had an online coupon for a free "Craisins Craveology," the new Craisins trail mix containers; went with Vanilla Chai. Found more of the fruit bars and natural oatmeal sandwich bars on the clearance shelves. Restocked milk, butter, yogurt, celery, oranges, bananas, canned mandarin oranges, low-salt diced tomatoes, cereal, peanut butter, and canola oil. 

Another crazy schedule next week. All 12 to 7, except for the one 8:30 to 4 day on Wednesday. Tuesday and Friday off. I'm putting serious consideration into calling out tomorrow if the weather really does get that bad. I've had a hard enough time getting rides from Uber with the snow that's around now, and I don't want to go through what I did on Sunday with asking for rides again. 

In fact, it took me 15 minutes to finally find an Uber driver to take me home. Thankfully, he arrived about 13 minutes after I got through to him. He missed a turn on Nicholson Road...but in his defense, the turn-off onto Atlantic Avenue is hard to see in the dark thanks to it being obscured by the train bridge, and there's many other ways to get to Oaklyn. 

Put everything away when I got home, then had leftovers for dinner while watching Tiny Toon Adventures. Acme Looniversity plays Perfecto Prep in "The Acme Bowl." They haven't won a game all season, but they're hoping new quarterback Buster Bunny will give them the push they need to win...if Plucky Duck's attempt to defect doesn't set them all up for a fumble. 

Mickey Mouse is the world's least-likely Patrick Mahomes in the 1931 black and white short "Touchdown Mickey," but he still manages to make big plays with Minnie and Clarabelle in the stands. Goofy's an even less-likely sports announcer!

The Three Stooges are mistaken for The Three Horsemen, a trio of college football stars, in "Three Little Pigskins." Gangsters and their molls (including a blonde Lucille Ball) want them to win the big game for them. They know nothing about football and proceed to fumble the ball at every turn, to the frustration of the gangsters!

Finished the night online after a shower with Let It Shine on Disney Plus. I go further into this hip-hop retelling of Cyrano De Bergerac at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Family Fun Saturday - Let It Shine

Something to Dance About

Woke late this morning to a gorgeous, sunny, still-windy day. I was reading The Phantom of the Opera in bed when the cell phone jangled. Rose told me she and Finley were coming over to get their house key back. I quickly put the book aside and changed out of my pajamas.

I just finished putting up my hair when they knocked on my door. Rose handed me a cute "trick or treat" bag with a gift to thank me for taking care of their kitties. They gave me an adorable Hershey's Kiss-shaped oven mitt! I loved it. Apparently, Hershey Lodge had an indoor mini-water park and far more activities for families (including an arcade room where Khai spent most of his time) than Hershey Park, which she claimed barely gave away any candy on their "Dark In the Park" trail. Her kids have a hard time getting on rides together too because of their differences in size. Khai can no longer fit in many of the kiddie rides Finley loves, and Finley won't ride alone. 

Finley was happier playing with the Cabbies and my rag dolls Anne and Rainbow Brite in my bedroom. She really loved curling up in my bed with all my blankets and stuffed animals, too! She even pulled off her shoes and socks. Rose really had to talk her into going home for a nap.

Finally had breakfast while watching a quick Three Stooges short. Shemp, Moe, and Larry are "Three Dark Horses" when they're chosen by a pair of politicians to vote for their nominee. When they learn that the guy is corrupt (and the other nominee is offering more money), they change their votes.

Put on Happy Days while cleaning up from breakfast. Richie decides he doesn't like Ike in the second-season episode "The Not-Making of the President." Inspired by a girl he has a crush on, he's campaigning for democratic nominee Adelai Stevenson instead. Mr. Cunningham is a big Republican and a fan of Eisenhower and is shocked, but he eventually discovers that not everyone in the family has to share his opinion.

Cleaned the bathroom while Match Game '77 was on. A slow but sassy older contestant traded jokes with Gene and the panel and seemed to enjoy herself, even though she lost, on the first episode, while Richard reveals he's been adopted by a girls' high school. The second (which was apparently rare until it turned up on Buzzr last year) had the panel arguing over whether Brett's "I've got a headache" answer was an appropriate match with "Not now."

Since I'm still washing towels and blankets along with regular clothes, I decided I'd do the laundry twice this week. Threw the towels and any clothes I wore over the weekend, including my work clothes, into the wash shortly after Match Game ended. Cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, took out the trash, and had lunch while watching Call Me Madam. I go further into one of the few times Ethel Merman got to recreate one of her signature roles on film at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Election Day Special - Call Me Madam

Did the dishes, took down the Halloween decorations, and put up what I have for Thanksgiving (including all those stuffed dolls and turkeys Jodie gave me a while back) while Tattletales was on. Cheeky Gary Burghoff and his sweet wife Janet were the big winners today, over older couples Amanda Blake and her gruff then-husband Frank Gilbert and the long-married Gene and Helen Rayburn. Later talk show host Jenny Jones was the big winner on Press Your Luck, picking up two vacations and no Whammies. 

After I got all of the laundry back to my side of the house, I did a little writing. Richard and Gene are dueling with the crew of the Hollywood Squares to steal the treasure they stole from a wealthy ship. Captain Peter Marshall would get the drop on them, but they're missing their third officer, Second Mate Brett Somers...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Opted for a simple all-American meal of baked chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes while watching Match Game '74. Gene and Richard fend off plenty of jokes when a question asks what Gene did to Richard that made the audience cheer (and Richard yell at the end!). Bill Daily is even more nervous than usual when he has to answer a 20,000 dollar question at the end of Match Game PM. 

Started chocolate chip cookies while Sale of the Century was on. Their "End of the Summer Bash" finished on a high note with a close race between a Philly honor student, an award-winning artist, and a debate team president. Though the kids were all pretty close through most of the game, the artist picked up the Instant Cash and an Instant Bargain trip, barely forged ahead in the Speed Round, and easily won the Bonus Round. She didn't have nearly as much luck winning the grand prize jeep, which finally went to the basketball player from earlier in the week.

Threw on Remember WENN while pulling the cookies out of the oven. Hilary Booth and Jeff Singer make "Strange Bedfellows" when they run against each other for city council. WENN manager Scott Sherwood is hoping to promote their appearance in a big debate, but a humble former baseball player may steal their thunder. 

Finished the night after a shower online with more politics-themed sitcom episodes. The fifth and sixth seasons of Benson are currently running on The Roku Channel. Benson's "Campaign" for Lieutenant-Governor isn't going well. The public isn't familiar with him, he has no money, and he angrily turns away funds from a supporter (Dick Sargent) who expects favors in return. The owner of several major radio and TV stations is more supportive of his views and finally gets his name out there, enough to really make a dent in "The Election."

In the third season of The Bob Newhart Show, Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) is tired of the head of the school board ignoring the teachers' demands and never showing up for meetings. She and another teacher convince Bob to run for his position. Trouble is, no amount of jingles like "Think Smartly-Vote for Hartley" Carol (Marcia Wallace) invents or his dentist (Peter Bonerz) trying to polish his image can make him really come off as a forceful candidate. Even so, it looks like he may be a lock...until the head of the school board finally returns. 

Scary Tales On a Rainy Day

Awoke to pouring rain and gritty gray skies as dark as evening. Livened up the morning with oatmeal for breakfast and an episode of Arthur. It's "Hic or Treat" as Arthur tries to figure out how he can scare his little sister D.W out of her annoying case of the hiccups. Buster's tired of Brain being "Mr. Alwaysright" after he insists that the hat he bought isn't right for his mother and sets out to find something Brain isn't right about.

Switched to writing after the cartoon ended. Re-wrote yesterday to have Gene just go to his dressing room instead of onboard the plane. He's packing when he switches on one of Los Angeles' local independent stations. As the Technicolor film The Spanish Main flashes across the screen, he imagines what it would like to be a pirate like Paul Henried's character and really stick it to Richard and his boss...

Broke for a quick lunch at 11. The Three Stooges are detectives who must find a young woman kidnapped by mad scientists, before they take her mind and put it in the body of a gorilla! The mad scientists try to use "Spooks!" to scare them off, but the Stooges fight back with a stack of cream pies.

Rain still fell heavily at 11:30. I ended up taking Uber to work and back. As you can probably guess, work wasn't that busy today. We got steady only during the lunch and dinner rush hours. There were a few grumpy customers, but otherwise, most people were in pretty decent moods considering the weather. I got off with enough time to grab bags of candy to give out at Halloween (Oaklyn is doing trick or treat from 2 to 6 on Saturday) and folders, glitter markers, and twistable crayons leftover from back to school last month on clearance.

As soon as I finally got home, I put on Phantom of the Paradise while turning the leftover chicken cutlets into Chicken-Pepper Stir-Fry. I go further into this rock and roll Faust story at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Phantom of the Paradise

Ran the original 1932 version of The Mummy on TCM when I went online. The movie begins somewhat similarly to the remake, with the discovery of an unusual mummy (Boris Karloff) who was once an ancient high priest named Imhotep. This time, archeologist Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron) is the one who found him, his friend Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan) who warns about curses, and their assistant Ralph Norton (Bramwell Fletcher) who ignores it, reads "the Scroll of Thoth," and loses it when the Mummy comes to life.

This Imhotep doesn't need any help from devotees, thank you. He's figured out how to make himself up well enough to pass among humans. He shows Whemple's son Frank (David Manners) and Professor Pearson (Leonard Mudie) where to find the untouched tomb of the Princess Anck-su-namun. They donate the treasures to the Cairo Museum, further learning that Imhotep was buried alive because he tried to resurrect his lover the Princess. He thinks he's found her reincarnation in the form of half-Egyptian beauty Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann) and wants to kill her. It may take an unusual form of divine intervention to save Helen from being buried with the walking mummy!

Not as pretty to look at as the 1959 version, but a tad bit creepier, with shadows around every corner. Karloff gives one of his better performances as the walking corpse determined to have his former love at any cost. Those who are looking for more action may want to check out the later 90's-2000's films, but fans of the classic Universal monster movies will find a lot to enjoy here.

Finished the night on YouTube after the Match Game syndicated premiere with an animated rarity from Ruby-Spears, The Trouble With Miss Switch. Miss Switch may be the best teacher Rupert and Amelia ever had, but the "trouble" is she's a witch. The truly wicked witch Saturna has taken over the Witch's Council with the help of her Computer Witch, who claims Miss Switch is too old-fashioned. She'll be banished to the Haunted Forest if she can't prove she's a very modern spell-caster. Rupert suggests working her magic on the big school football game, but Saturna interferes and makes the team lose. Now the kids and Miss Switch's cat Bathsheba have to prove their friend is more than a thoroughly modern witch - she's a truly fair and kind teacher.

For all the comedy with the mixed-up football game and the tense moments on Witch Mountain, this ended up being rather sweet. Too bad it's currently YouTube-only. I might have to check out the sequel, Miss Switch to the Rescue, there tomorrow. 

The Trouble With Miss Switch

Making a Living

Began a quick morning with essays and poems on Labor Day from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays vintage anthology. The longest item was an essay on Samuel Gumpters, the "Grand Old Man of Labor" and one of the biggest names behind the push for labor unions in the US during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other material included the poems The Village Smithy and I Heard America Singing.

Moved onto breakfast and the Three Stooges after I wrote in my journal. I always do a couple of Three Stooges shorts on Labor Day. Who did more laboring in a wider variety of jobs than the Stooges? "Dizzy Doctors" is one good example. Desperate for work when their wives threaten to throw them out, they take up peddling Brighto. After they figure out it's a medicine, they bring into to a hospital to see what it does...not knowing that the director is the man whose car they ruined the finish on earlier!

Headed out to work shortly after the Stooges ended. It wasn't busy when I came in, but it picked up around noon and continued to be off-and-on steady for the rest of the afternoon. The only major problem I had was when a woman came up with the Coke 12-packs of soda on sale and not only didn't have the online coupon for it, but had no idea she had to sign up for it and tried signing up right then and there, when I had a long line. A manager just took the coupon off for her to move her along. Otherwise, I was in and out.

Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. It would have been a crime not to. The weather was perfect for Labor Day, sunny, breezy, warm but not humid. Nicholson was a lot less busy than the Acme was. No traffic anywhere, not even around the shopping center entrance. I saw more cars heading off to the last parties of the summer season in Oaklyn.

Worked on writing as soon as I got home and changed. Richard lures Malade outside to keep her from destroying the ballroom. While Betty tries to nurse the frog back to health, Lee reveals to Malade that she was the one who gave the underground spy network their information. She hates her for destroying the royal family and her own family's holdings.

Broke for a tasty dinner of Spicy Chicken Cutlets with tomato sauce and vegetable and sweet potato fries at 6:30. Match Game '74 got pretty wild, what with jokes about what a guy saw on a stripper and Gene and Elaine Joyce practically making out in the opening.

Sale of the Century may have even crazier! Jim Perry lamented how hard his job was when the third Instant Bargain was a trip to Palm Springs...which happens to be where that fast-on-the-draw contestant lives. He desperately switched it to San Francisco and dropped the amount to 10 dollars to convince the contestant to buy. It worked. He bought the trip, won the speed round by a mile, and chose leather luggage to go with his trips in the Match the Prize bonus round.

Jodie knocked on the door while Sale was on. She needed help taking off a necklace...and a shoulder to cry on. She's still very upset about Dad's death. I know this is hard on her. She really, really loved him.

Returned to The Three Stooges while having Cherry Garcia ice cream for dessert and cleaning up from dinner. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" when they're mistaken for professors by a prestigious girls' school. The girls are delighted when they teach them about "Swinging the Alphabet." Their teachers are less amused by their insistence on the importance of athletics. They wanted the girls to focus on their studies.

"Termites of 1938" has them as exterminators mistaken for escorts by a rich woman who needs someone to take her to a fancy party. The guests don't know what to think of them, especially when they try playing the band's instruments in time to a record. It's when a guest finds a mouse at the party that the guys really swing into action...and make a mess of the guests.

Finished online with a marathon of It's a Living at Tubi, which also involves working. "Boys of Summer" from the second season has the waitresses run ragged as they deal with a visiting baseball team. Jan dates the aging third-baseman, while Dot reassures their homesick Costa Rican pitcher that he'll be allowed to return to his village, Cassie dodges the advances of their first baseman, and Maggie (Louise Lasser) pitches a little woo at their coach.

Maggie and Jan are "Horsing Around" when Maggie inadvertently gets a hot tip from a jockey who's supposed to throw a race. They win enough money to encourage the other waitresses, Nancy, and Sonny to throw their own money in. Maggie, however, may throw their bets into jeopardy when Maggie mistakes the menu number the jockey orders for the number of the horse.

Switched to the third season for "From Russia With Love." Sonny's delighted when a Russian track team visits the hotel. All the girls just love his Elvis covers. The waitresses are far more concerned when two smitten track members decide they want to defect - one fell for the freedom the US provides, one fell for Cassie.

"The Prom Show" doesn't start off well when the band ordered for a big prom doesn't arrive, Jan is worried about her fiancee (Richard Kline) wanting children, and Cassie has to reassure a girl who was abandoned by her date. It takes a musical number from Sonny and Dot and Cassie's chat with the girl to bring life to this big night. Meanwhile, Howard just wants someone, anyone, to watch his magic act.

And I hope all of you had a happy Labor Day, whether you labored today yourself or not!

A Foggy Morning In Oaklyn Town

When I awoke this morning, I thought I was in San Francisco for a minute. A heavy white fog swallowed the backyard. I could barely see the trees. It mostly burned off by the time I rolled out of bed and had breakfast, but would remain cloudy and chilly for the rest of the day.

Ran Split Second as I ate. The champ on the first episode won four times in a row in previous episodes; five times, and he'd get the car outright. Two young woman put up more than a good fight and were neck-in-neck with him for the entire episode. In fact, he barely pulled ahead and won in the speed round. I have to agree with Monty Hall that it was likely the most exiting episode of the show I'd ever seen. The second one wasn't quite as exciting. The one lady dominated most of the show and went on to the bonus round, though she didn't get the car.

Watched Tiny Toon Adventures as I began making snickerdoodles. "The Acme Bowl" has the football squad from Acme Looniversity taking on the cheaters at Perfecto Prep. New quarterback Buster claims he has some great moves that could win them the game, but Plucky's defection to Perfecto may set them up for a fumble.

Switched to The Three Stooges while rolling the cookie dough in cinnamon sugar. "Three Little Pigskins" is one of their earliest shorts. Gangsters who want to place a bet on a big game mistake them for the trio of football stars they've convinced to go pro. Their girlfriends, including a sarcastic Lucille Ball, think they're the football players, but they don't know anything about the game.

Switched to shorts while pulling the cookies out of the oven. The Fleischer Brothers did two football shorts with Popeye in two years. "You Gotta Be a Football Hero" is the earlier one. Popeye's frustrated when Olive pays more attention to quarterback Bluto than to him and eventually ends up playing the whole game against Bluto's team himself. He tells Swee' Pea the story of how he became "The Football Toucher Downer" by consuming spinach in order to win a game.

Mickey Mouse is "Touchdown Mickey" in one of his black-and-white shorts. He may not exactly be your typical Patrick Mahomes material, but that doesn't stop him from making plays and showing off for Minnie and Clarabelle on the sidelines. An overly enthusiastic Goofy is an even less-likely Howard Cosell in the radio booth.

Watched a little bit of Match Game before finally heading out. The Oaklyn Library's been rearranging their DVDs again. The adult titles were shifted from shelves in the center of the main room to the ones on the side that used to hold books. I have no idea where they intend to put the books that were there, though. Did more in the kids' area, organizing DVDs and the picture books.

Part of the reason I wanted to do my grocery shopping today was to bring my cookies to the Acme's annual employee Chili Cook-Off. They always hold this the day before the Super Bowl. I had tasty peppers and sausage, the same baked ziti I ate at Christmas, macaroni salad, a hot turkey sandwich, spinach dip that was so rich, I ate it with a fork, brownies, and soft bakery peanut butter and oatmeal cookies. I also saw roast beef, the last of what had been macaroni and cheese, meatballs in sauce, a "zesty sausage and cheese" soup, Buffalo chicken dip, a yellow cake from the bakery with white icing, and an empty plate that looked like it held cheesecake.

I would have come to the store under any circumstances. I needed to get my schedule and do a little grocery shopping. Grabbed two boxes of Bigalow black tea off the discontinued shelves. Decided I'd try a brand of low-fat premium ice cream, Steve's, that also seems to be discontinued; went with their blackberry crumble. Tangerines were on sale, too. Restocked cranberries, bananas, vanilla, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, butter, milk, cheese, and yogurt.

My schedule next week is an improvement over the past month or so. Same amount of hours, but I have Tuesday off along with Friday and Saturday and a later day on Sunday. Seems the head bagger wanted Monday off, but that's ok. I'll work longer hours if it means my days off are more spread out.

Got home, put everything away while watching Let's Make a Deal, then went into writing. At the end of the dinner, Bill the wolf proposes to Marcia. She tells him that she thinks he's very sweet, but she's in love with someone else - the man who wrote the letters. Bill's heartbroken, but the others encourage him to keep trying.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Ate yogurt and cranberry sauce while watching two football-related Peanuts specials. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown when he's tapped to escort Heather, the Little Red Haired Girl and Homecoming Queen, to the big homecoming dance and kiss her. He's a lot more interested in being her escort than in trying to keep Lucy from pulling the ball away from him during the big game.

Chuck and Linus are the ones in love in You're In the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown. They fall for a little girl named Melody who watches them practicing for the Punt and Pass Contest during their local football game. The prize is a bike and a trip to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Snoopy coaches his Woodstock Eagles past three teams of animals larger than them to victory.

Finished the night after a shower with Jack Frost. I go into more detail on this bittersweet Rankin-Bass Groundhog's Day fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Groundhog's Day! - Jack Frost

Matching With My Sister

Kicked off a cloudy Election Day with Schoolhouse Rock shorts on government and how it works. "The Preamble" discusses the Constitution and why it was created. "Three Ring Government" compares the three branches of the government to the three rings of a typical circus. "I'm Just a Bill" is probably the most famous of the government-themed shorts. A boy and a "bill" - that is, a piece of paper representing a law - describe how long the process from writing a bill to becoming a law often takes. "Tyrannosaurus Debt" is a pointed commentary on the US Debt and how it keeps growing. "I'm Going to Send Your Vote to College" is a more recent short that uses college fight song to talk about the electoral collage and how it works.

Jessa finally picked me up around quarter of noon. We were going to eat at The Pop Shop...but Jessa drove around and around Haddon Avenue and just couldn't find a place to park. She tried parking on Haddon and couldn't figure out their electronic parking meters. Collingswood is a popular lunch spot for local and city workers. We just opted to go elsewhere.

The first thing I thought of that was nearby was the Crystal Lake Diner just under the library in Westmont. Fortunately, they were quiet when we arrived. Jessa had a massive Reuben and shared her plate of fries. I had a waffle that was almost as big, covered in gluey, surprisingly tangy apples. We both enjoyed what tasted like home-made iced tea.

After we got back to my place, we enjoyed two episodes on my Match Game set together. Puppets Kukla & Ollie, of Kukla, Fran, & Ollie fame, turned up in a 1979 PM episode. Brett spent the episode flirting outrageously with them, to the mild amusement of her usual sparring partner Charles.

Gene's former boss Steve Allen and comedienne Kaye Ballard joined Richard, Brett, Fannie, and Charles in a 1974 daytime show that had them walking out when a woman answered "boobs" to a question. Later, Richard shows the panel his chest after Gene accidentally asks Fannie to show hers...er, answers.

As soon as Jessa headed out, I did, too. The sun had started to come out even as she was leaving. It left Newton Lake Park dappled in warm light, sparkling on the lake as I went by. Needless to say on a day that had suddenly gotten much nicer, it was busy as heck there, with everyone from Canadian geese to people out for a stroll on the path.

It was suddenly too nice for libraries. There was absolutely nothing going on at the Haddon Township Library, and not much to do. The DVDs shelves were all full. I shelved the few that I could fit in and took a couple out. They just got Uglydolls from earlier in the year in, and I started off my holiday season with The Nutcracker and the Four Realms from last November. Also grabbed The American President.

Made a quick stop at Target on the way home. I was out of eggs, and I wanted to pick up milk for a recipe I was going to try later. Turns out I went to the right place. Eggs are 99 cents at Target. Milk isn't as cheap, but I still got it.

Went straight into writing when I got home. Joyce reveals the fairies' beautiful spring-like lands. Turns out they're not the only humans there. The fairies are the ones who have given Queen Betty and her children refuge, though they've had no more luck in finding King Allen than Gene or Brett. They have no love for Malade, who has captured their kind, taken their magic, and turned them into imps.

Broke for dinner around quarter after 6. Had a quick leftover dinner while watching a Three Stooges election-themed short. They're "Three Dark Horses" when two campaign managers recruit them to vote for their candidate. After the guys realize that the politician is corrupt, they change their votes.

Richie Cunningham gets a lesson in politics when he falls in love with a girl campaigning for presidential candidate Adalai Stevenson in "The Not Making of the President.". Mr. Cunningham, a staunch Eisenhower supporter, is shocked. He's even more shocked when the spokesman for Ike at Arnold's turns out to be none other than Fonzie!

Radio actors Hilary Booth and Jeff Singer throw their hats into the political ring in "Strange Bedfellows." They think they can juggle their current career and a job on the Pittsburgh city council, but a humble former baseball player reminds them of how difficult and meaningful of a job politics is. Meanwhile, manager Scott Sherwood has the staff hold an informal poll on the race for mayor and gets some surprising answers.

The votes are in at the Peanuts' school. "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown," but Linus may have a shot at becoming school president...at least until he starts going on about his favorite topic, the Great Pumpkin.

Popeye and Bluto are competing against each other in "Popeye for President." Olive is the last hold-out, but she can't vote until she finishes her chores. The two see who can help her get them done first, then get her to the polls.

"The Candid Candidate" is Betty Boop's Grampy, who is inundated with requests for help after he becomes mayor. He uses his many inventions to help the people in town solve their problems.

Made bread pudding from Kit's Cooking Studio while the cartoons were on. Jodie's been giving me all the bread from her football lunches, and I had no idea what to do with it. It was milk, sugar, cinnamon, three eggs, and vanilla poured over buttered bread and baked. I think I left it too long and used too much milk. It was too soft, and it overflowed in the pan. It still tasted pretty good, though.

Finished the night with Let Freedom Ring. I go into this patriotic western vehicle for Nelson Eddy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Let Freedom Ring

Cookies and Comedy for a Rainy Afternoon

Awoke to a gloomy, dark morning. Livened things up with breakfast and "The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case." When Stan gets a note that he stands to inherit money from a relative, he and Ollie travel to their spooky home to meet the rest of the family. Turns out the uncle was murdered, and they all have to stay the night. Stan and Ollie have to figure out how the family members keep vanishing, before they disappear too.

Since it was only cloudy and humid when I left, I figured I'd be ok to ride to work. Needless to say, on a nasty humid day in the middle of the week, we weren't busy. I did round up carts in the morning, but I mainly shelved a cart of loose items, swept the store, and did the inside trash. When I did make it back outside, the rain had finally arrived. It was showering a little at that point, enough that I rode home (after picking up sugar) and just got a little wet.

Had lunch after I changed into dry clothes while finishing "Laurel-Hardy Murder Case." Went right into "Dirty Work" next. Stan and Ollie are chimney sweeps in the home of a mad scientist who is trying to create a formula to reverse aging. The boys wind up inadvertently testing the formula...but not before they destroy the guy's chimney.

I'd started working on Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies for my best friend Lauren's birthday on Saturday by the time "Oliver the Eighth" was on. Ollie is thrilled when a rich widow responds to her letter for him. Turns out she responded because she's killed seven men named Oliver...and he's next in line!

By the time the cookies were out of the oven, the rain had picked up and was now pouring. Needless to say, I went nowhere else and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening writing. Brett and Charles make the other men a supper of dried beef stew and brown bread. After that, Charles plays music for them, and they all dance, including Brett. Only a thoughtful Richard remains aloof from the group.

That night, Brett sleeps on their couch, and Charles agrees to sleep on the floor. She tells him about how the wicked queen had turned her husband to stone and imprisoned her family. He admits that he desperately fears crowds and fire and tries to avoid both.

Broke for dinner at quarter after 6. Had Jodie's Chicken Tortellini Soup and Apple-Pear Crisp while watching two spooky Three Stooges shorts. "If a Body Meets a Body" is a remake of "The Laurel-Hard Murder Case." This time, it's Curly who may stand to inherit a fortune, if he, Moe, and Larry can survive a night in a supposedly haunted mansion!

The trio "Spook Louder" when they once again find themselves in a supposedly haunted house, this time as door-to-door salesmen. They're somehow recruited to find spies operating out of the house, but end up having to avoid whomever keeps throwing pies at everyone.

Took a much-needed bath after dinner. Ahhh. It was so relaxing, with the rain coming down and Jazz For a Rainy Afternoon on my CD player. I went over two of my Christmas books and enjoyed a much-needed soak.

Finished the night with The Halloween Tree. Four kids are all ready for trick-or-treating when they discover that one of their best friends has a burst appendix and was rushed to the hospital. They refuse to celebrate Halloween without him and go to see him at the hospital. The oldest, Tom (Edan Gross), sees what he thinks is Pip (Kevin Michaels) and assumes he's playing a joke. They follow him to the decrepit home of the cranky and mysterious Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud (Leonard Nimoy). Moundshround has a Halloween Tree with the spirits of Halloween past hanging from it...including Pip. He takes the quartet back in time to visit 3,000 years of Halloween history in order to restore their friend, and find out more about the costumes they wear and their significance to the holiday.

This TV special from 1993 is an adaptation of the Ray Bradbury novel written by Bradbury himself (and narrated by him, too). What I like about this one is that it covers Halloween history, something that I've rarely seen in a special for this holiday. Many Christmas specials cover that holiday's history, but most other holidays don't often into their backstory. The animation (and the acting from the kids) is nothing to write home about, but it's still worth seeing if you have older and tween-age kids who love Halloween, horror, or history.

Breezy Day Harvest

Began a lovely, sunny morning with breakfast and Garfield In the Rough. Garfield would be happier to be on vacation if it didn't involve camping in the woods with Jon and Odie. Their camp out takes a turn for the scary when they're told that there's a black panther loose in the area...and they may be it's next lunch if they don't leave fast!

Headed out even before the cartoon ended. I needed to run a few errands, starting with a trip to the Collingswood Farm Market. I'll be on vacation during this next week. Even as late as 11:30, they were still busy with people looking for produce for end-of-summer barbecue and football parties. Saw acorn squash and pears for the first time this year. I went with the pears, along with peaches and two tiny little sweet orange peppers.

After the couple of weeks I've had, I deserved a treat. I went across the street to WaWa and decided it was time to try my first Pumpkin Spice Cream Smoothie of the year. Ooh, while it still had that eggnog-y taste to it, it also felt wonderful cool on my throat going down.

Took the long way back to Oaklyn across Newton Lake Park. It was a perfect day for it. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and the green waters on the lake sparkled. No wonder I dodged a ton of bikers and families out for a stroll.

Stopped quick at Dollar General next. I needed cold medicine. Wanted to try a drinkable version. Theirs was cheapest. Bought it and moved on.

Next up was the Oaklyn Library. Considering how dead they were, their DVDs needed a ton of work. Everything in the adult and children's DVDs were out of order. I had a quiet half-hour or so organizing them

Spent the rest of the day getting things done at home. After I made the (nasty-tasting) cough drink, I had my lunch, then started cleaning the kitchen. The kitchen sink was even grungier than the bathroom sink, and the counter really needed to be done, too.

Watched National Lampoon's Animal House while I worked. The Delta Tau Chi house is the worst at Faber College. They never pass their classes, start food fights, have loud drunken parties, and accidentally kill a horse belonging to the obnoxious head of the cadets (Mark Metcalf). In fact, their most popular member is Bluto (John Belushi), who's greatest achievement is crushing a beer can against his forehead. Dean Wormer (John Vernon) has had it up to here with their antics. They're already on probation, and a wild toga party that gets out of hand is the last straw before he revokes their charter, then expels them. After the members of super-clean-cut Omega Theta Phi beat up on sarcastic Otter (Tim Mattheson), Bluto rallies the others to invade the homecoming dance...and prove that even misfits have a place in higher education.

This much-loved comedy was a massive hit in 1978 and remains popular on real college campuses to this day. If you love slobs vs snobs comedies or have your own wild memories of college, you're going to really love this one.

After I finished the kitchen, I decided it was time to change the sheets. It's been warm during the day, but cool at night...and sometimes, it hasn't even been warm during the day. I haven't had the air conditioner on in almost a week, and then, it was briefly. Switched the bed to the blue and tan comforter and the fall/spring sheets and dumped the summer sheets in the laundry basket.

Ran a Three Stooges short while I worked. The Stooges are "Microphonies" when Curly sings along to a recording made by a hopeful soprano, and record producers think he is the hopeful soprano. His buddies dress him as a woman to get him a career and the money.

Vacuuming was up next. Took the rag rug and front door rug out to shake them, then got it done. It mainly just needed to be run really fast.

Moved on to writing next. The women manage to help Charles to his feet. He blows smoke on the few remaining ghosts to show he's not afraid...and the smoke returns him and the women to the hall where they began.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching another school-themed episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. It's "Son of Looniversity Daze" when we get another round of Acme Looniversity shorts. "Plucky's Dastardly Deed" is cheating on a test, but he regrets it almost as soon as he does it. It's not an "Open and Shut Case" when a high-tech locker refuses to give Hamton his lunch. Buster, Plucky, and Hamton have to deliver a piano that was dropped on the roof downstairs in "C Flat or B Sharp."

Played Lego Star Wars after dinner. I still can't get through that darn Return of the Jedi Super Story! This time, I got midway through "Into the Death Star" before I ran out of time. I'll keep trying until I go on vacation.

Finished the night with A Boy Named Charlie Brown. I go more into the first Peanuts film on the big screen at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown

Rainy Labor Day

Began a cloudy Labor Day with work. Work wasn't bad when I got in, but it picked up after lunch when the clouds got thicker. Every time I tried to get carts done, they'd throw me in the register. Thankfully, another bagger had arrived by that point to help out. The on-and-off showers at this point didn't help, either. I'd no sooner gather carts than it would start raining, sometimes heavily (but never for very long).

The main reason I went to work was actually to buy cold supplies. The Acme was having a buy 2, get 2 free sale on a lot of their generic medical products. I stocked up on cough drops; also grabbed Tylenol cold medicine and more of that Acme nut milk ice cream. While my fever's gone, my head is still achy, and my throat remains sore.

Thankfully, it wasn't raining when I went home and put everything away. The clouds had begun to build up again as I started to work on a new story idea. Yes...I've enjoyed Match Game so much, I've started fanfiction for it. Brett has a nightmare where a scuzzy producer spirits away Charles, Richard, and Gene. She has to rescue her fellow regulars from a sadistic game that's a lot scarier than fill-in-the-blank with the help of several of the semi-regulars.

I don't know if I'll go into a lot of detail on this one as I'm writing it, since it falls into the "mature" category. Currently, the only place I've found 70's Match Game fanfiction is on Wattpad, and I'm not a big fan of them. This and any other Match Game fanfics I write will be exclusive to my Writer's Desk at the Riverside blog.

It continued raining off and on the rest of the day, sometimes wrecking havoc with the Internet. A big thunderstorm rolled through around 5:30, though like most of the rain we've had today, it didn't last long. It was gone long before I broke for dinner at 6:30.

Had a quick leftovers meal while watching a Three Stooges short about working and school. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" when they're three gas station owners who end up at a girls' school after they destroy three professors' car. They teach the girls about "Swinging the Alphabet" and try to show them how to play football.

Went on to Lego Star Wars after dinner. Once again, I got barely got to "Into the Death Star" but couldn't finish. I'll keep trying until I go on vacation.

Finished the night with How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. I go into more detail about this office satire at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

A Quiet Summer

It was cloudy and cool when I awoke this morning...and I couldn't have been happier. I was able to put together a blueberry-peach grunt from Alton Brown's Blackberry Grunt recipe in his I'm Just Here For More Food. I rarely get to use the fruits of summer in baking. It came out perfectly, too, sweet, tart, and flaky.

I hadn't done a Bowery Boys movie in a while. The gloomy morning felt right for Spook Busters. Slip and his gang are exterminators who have been hired to clear out a spooky house that was once owned by a magician. Strange things are happening there, from threatening messages appearing on mirrors to an organ that turns around to reveal a secret passage. Slip and Sach discover a mad scientist behind that organ who is determined to switch their brains with that of a gorilla. The guys have to dodge the quack in order to save their friends and what little brains they have!

Did a quick Three Stooges short while getting ready to leave. The Boys aren't the only ones who had trouble with gorillas and mad scientists. Another quack wants Curly's tiny brain for his gorilla in "A Bird In the Hand," but the gorilla ends up making friends with Curly instead.

Work was perfectly fine. It was quiet pretty much the entire afternoon. It's the week before a major holiday and the beginning of the month. Not to mention, by mid-afternoon, the sun had come out, and other than it was a tad humid, it had turned into a stunningly gorgeous day. I shelved candy early-on, then alternated between gathering carts and sweeping for the rest of my shift.

It was so nice out, I took the long way home down Nicholson Road. They weren't any busier than the Acme had been, not even around the entrance to the shopping center. Gardens glowed with sweet-smelling blossoms, and the shiny green leaves waved in the breeze. Kids raced down the streets on their bikes, passing adults walking their dogs or chatting with friends.

Tried to work on writing for a while when I got in. Leia confronts Bob Fettman in the air. She manages to get his jet pack, but his boys have the upper hand when they aim their ice guns at her...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Finished "Bird In the Hand," then did a Disney cartoon that also revolved around a gorilla. Mickey has to solve "The Gorilla Mystery" when a killer ape kidnaps Minnie and holds her hostage in her own house.

Moved to Lego Star Wars after dinner. It took three tries, but I finally finished "Into the Death Star." That completes the blue minikit challenges and brings the game up to 99.6 percent. The only thing left is to work on that Return of the Jedi Super Story.

I've enjoyed watching Match Game on YouTube so much, I finished the night with more episodes, mainly focusing on 1975. I'm having so much fun with these. This is basically a Saturday Night Live skit with game elements, and it's a total blast to watch. Here's even more craziness for your viewing enjoyment!

Match Game '74 (Ace player Richard Dawson doesn't often put out a wrong answer...but when he does, the audience has no problems letting him know it.)
Match Game '75 (Richard discusses the dangers of "trench hand.")
Match Game '75 (When Gene's microphone isn't working, most of the panel helps him find his spare.)
Match Game '75 (The panelists change seats for an episode.)
Match Game '75 (Football player and future sitcom star Alex Karras takes on a female wrestler, with Richard acting as referee.)
Match Game '76 (Gene complains about his microphone cable not being wrapped up properly.)

Hot In Oaklyn

Began the day with another early work shift. Once again, it was pretty dead. I gathered trash and recycling and swept the patio in the morning and swept the store later, but I was mainly outside with the carts. There just wasn't that much to do inside. Besides, it was a pretty decent day. It was cloudy when I went to work, but by the time I was on my way home, the sun was out, and it was breezy, hot, and humid.

Had a quick lunch when I got in, listening to more Unsung Musicals. My favorite of the entire series is the second Unsung collection, featuring such lovely and enjoyable songs as the title number from Roadside, "Everything In the World I Love" from The Yearling, and "The Memory of Tonight" from a musical version of Arthur. Switched things up with Unsung Irving Berlin, a collection of Berlin numbers from abandoned projects and cut from shows and movies. Favorites here include the sprightly opening number "It's a Lovely Day for a Walk," the gorgeous "Whisper It," and the jaunty "I'm On My Way Home."

Tried to head out to the laundromat after lunch...but no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find my laundry detergent. I must have left it at the laundromat last week. I ended up dashing to Dollar General a few blocks down to grab more detergent and an Orange Coke. Thankfully, the laundromat was pretty quiet when I did make it there, and I didn't have a big load anyway. I was mainly washing my work clothes. I did story notes and half-listened to the Philly police commissioner talk about the cops who were shot yesterday (and complain about the DA).

Put everything away when I got home, then went right on the computer to write. Harris and Leia sit down for Maz's dinner. She has everything set up in the bar, from an intimate space in the back to a roast beef meal. Harris is hoping he'll finally show Leia how he feels...but it's not going to stay intimate for long...

Did a Three Stooges short while making turkey hot dogs and zucchini and cherry tomatoes sauteed in lemon-white wine sauce for dinner. The guys are "Three Hams On Rye" when they're ordered by the owner of a theater to root out a critic who always pans his shows. Not only do they not find the guy, the performance becomes a real hoot when they accidentally put a pillow in a cake and end up coughing up feathers.

Moved on to Lego Star Wars after I ate and put on vegetable stock to steep. Finally completed "Jabba's Palace" at the last minute. Still couldn't figure out "Great Pit of Carkoon." I'll try again there tomorrow.

Finished out the night with the 1951 MGM Show Boat. I discuss the differences between this version and the 1936 film at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Show Boat (1951)

Showers, Showers Everywhere

Kicked off a cloudy, gloomy morning with breakfast and the original cast album for My Favorite Year. Tim Curry takes the Peter O'Toole role as the former swashbuckling movie star turned drunk who was hired to appear on a popular 50's comedy show. Lanie Kazan reprises her role as the kid's Jewish mother. The stand-out here is the opening perfectly describing the chaos that went on before a live show in the 50's, "Twenty Million People."

Rushed off to work even before the CD ended. It wasn't raining when I left, but by the time I was outside doing carts, it had begun to shower lightly. It showered off and on, mostly lightly, pretty much for the rest of the day. I did do cold returns, shelved candy, and swept the store, but I mostly spent the day trying to gather the carts before the rain got worse.

Thankfully, it wasn't raining when I made my way home. I had changed and had a snack, then finally got around to vacuuming and shaking out the rag rug and welcome mat as well as I could in the continuing light shower. It needed to be done, especially in the bathroom and in the bedroom, where hair tends to build.

Worked on writing for a while after I finished. Harris is glad to be getting closer with Leia, especially after Maz makes them dinner. She also manages to corral Chewie and feed him and lead Charlie out after he gets so drunk, he tries to hit up a coat rack. ("Maybe he'll get lucky this time," Harris quips.)

Broke for dinner at quarter after 6. Threw together taco turkey meat, corn cut off the cob, tomatoes, onions, and cheese for Southwestern Turkey Casserole. Enjoyed my dinner while watching some Three Stooges. They have "Crime On Their Hands" when Shemp eats a priceless diamond and the thieves who stole it are willing to cut him open to get it back. The boys may have an unusual rescuer, in the form of a gorilla!

Moved on to Lego Star Wars after dinner. Finally got through "Jedi Destiny," but had no luck elsewhere. Just missed one in "Hoth Battle" and three in "Jabba's Palace."

Finished the night with the 1936 version of Show Boat, the first of two I'll be watching this week. I go into more details on this classic at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Show Boat (1936)

Dashing Through the Rain

Overslept and kicked off a quick morning with breakfast and my Story of Star Wars LP. Star Wars: A New Hope was so wildly popular in the late 70's, kids were clamoring for anything they could get that was Star Wars-related. For many kids, this cut-down version of the film, complete with a book with photos and the original voices, was the closest many would get to seeing it over and over until it turned up on video.

It was still sunny, hot, and humid when I got to work. Every time I tried to get the carts or returns done in the morning, I kept getting thrown in a register for someone's break or when they left. It wasn't even that busy. Thankfully, by the time the afternoon bagger arrived, more cashiers had also appeared. I spent the second half of my shift helping him with the carts outside.

Clouds had been gathering for almost an hour when I finished work at 1. Rumbles could be heard over the horizon as I dashed home down the Black Horse Pike. I was just starting to cover my bike when the first big fat raindrops started falling down. I dashed up the stairs as fast as I could before they could fall even harder.

Changed and had a quick lunch while it poured and rumbled outside - twice. Ran a pair of Three Stooges shorts while I ate and got organized. They're "Three Missing Links" when a director claims they're perfect to play natives and a gorilla in the movie he's filming in Africa. They want to tell him where he can take his film when they run afoul of real natives, gorillas, and a lion. "We Want Our Mummy" movies them northward to Egypt, where they have to find a missing professor and the mummy he was looking for to get five thousand dollars.

The weather finally calmed down enough for me to head out around 2:30. I wanted to hit the Haddon Township Library before the next round of storms. They were busy with kids and their parents trying to find something to do in the crazy weather. Their DVD return racks were piled so high, they needed another rack to hold the TV shows. There were so many, I only got the kids' titles and half of the ones for adults done before dark clouds and the lateness of the day sent me out again.

I did take out a few things for myself. Grabbed the recent releases Green Book and Bad Times at the El Royale. They had the full series set for What's New, Scooby Doo? in. There's enough episodes I haven't seen of that one to give it a shot.

It started raining again just as I rushed across the street to the Westmont Plaza. I waited under the overhanging roof at Target until it at least slowed down enough for me to start out. It was still raining, and I did still get pretty wet dodging the rush hour traffic. It didn't stop raining until I'd already walked in the door, of course. To my knowledge, it hasn't rained since then.

Tried to work on some writing after that, but I got distracted by this cool blog that talks about vintage Acme architecture. I did manage to get some in later in the evening. Vader tells Bob A Fettman and his motley collection of oddball bounty hunters that he wants them to find Leia, Harris, and Charlie...and no disintegrations. But for now, his own boss is calling him...

Had a quick leftovers dinner around 7. Started What's New, Scooby Doo? as I ate. Since I've seen a lot of episodes of this show on other sets or in re-runs, I'm going to try to only watch the ones I either haven't seen at all, or haven't seen in a long time. Kicked things off with "Space Ape at the Cape." Mystery Inc is at NASA when Velma wins a contest to see her project put on a major shuttle launch. While they're there, an alien egg seems to hatch...and puts out a nasty monster that doesn't want the shuttle launch to go forward!

Finished the night with Lego Star Wars. Finally completed "Rescue the Princess," which fully finishes New Hope except for the Super Story. Had enough time to move on to Empire Strikes Back. Got "Betrayal at Bespin" on the first try, but couldn't get through "Cloud City Trap." I'll try that and the New Hope Super Story again tomorrow.

Bad Day of the Storms

Started a sunny, hot, and killer humid day with work. Work...did not go well. On one hand, after doing the carts for the first hour or so, I was mostly inside shelving loose items. I picked up a few extra hours, which is great for my wallet...but the reason I got them was because the afternoon bagger called out. (Again. He calls out a lot.) I ended up borrowing money for lunch. I didn't bring any; I'd expected to eat lunch at home. Spent a lot of the rest of the afternoon fielding five different commands at once from at least three different managers. Got stuck in a register for the last half-hour when a cashier didn't have someone to come in for her.

Was getting organized when Charlie came up to my door. Apparently, the next few days are going to be too humid to do the painting he'd originally planned. He's going to work on fixing up the steps to my apartment instead. That does mean I'll have to go up to my place through his house, but it's only for the weekend.

Did some writing for the next few hours. Luke's angry when Mara criticizes the Rebel League for destroying government property...but she declares the man who saved her to be a hero. Wedge, Harris, and Kes tease Luke, but he points out that Mara only knows his alter-ego. She thinks his regular form is a nerd.

Leia joins the guys at the counter as Kes changes the channel. She offers Luke something better than a medal - a chance to be her partner. They both need help learning about their powers. Luke will only join if Harris and Chewie can, too. Harris may not have superpowers, but he can build amazing weapons and vehicles, and he knows the area better than anyone.

Heavy black clouds had been building up while I worked. By the time I broke for dinner, they were thick and overhead. I switched off the computer as the first BANG! was heard. The sky looked almost green as lightning flashed and rain came down in torrents.

It was a perfect night for a spooky Three Stooges short while I had leftovers for dinner. "If a Body Meets a Body" has the Stooges hoping to claim Curly's inheritance from his uncle...if they can survive a night in a house that may be haunted by the ghost of Curly's scientist uncle and a skull that seems to move on it's own!

The rain was practically a waterfall when I switched to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. Began At World's End with a trip to "Singapore" to pick up the Chinese war lord's men, including a big tatooed guy who can pull out items with orange handles. The next round, "Davy Jones' Locker," is really strange. It begins with Jack joining with various "imaginary" versions of him to repair his ship in a dusty wasteland. Once you get the ship repaired, you need Barbarossa and the short, blunderbuss-sporting crew member Marty to find the rest of the crew and get the ship turned over.

Thankfully, the storm was gone by the time I jumped in the shower and took out the trash. I watched some more Pirates of the Caribbean run-throughs on YouTube, then switched to Buzzr. The early 80's Card Sharks is doing a fun series of episodes featuring game show hosts of the time as contestants, including a very young Alex Trebek (reminding everyone that he's Canadian in a Montreal Canadiens sweater) and fellow Buzzr hosts Allen Ludden (Password Plus) and Gene Rayburn (Match Game). I had to look up where I recognized Jim Lange from. He hosted a mid-80's revival of Name That Tune that I know I watched on USA. Likewise, I remember Wink Martindale well from USA Tic Tac Dough re-runs. I think I know Tom Kennedy from the CBS show Body Language.

Honestly, I hope they did this again sometime, because these guys have been hilarious to watch. Special kudos to the rounds that pit Ludden against Rayburn and Ludden against Martindale (and his very wide, white teeth).

Welcome to the Weekend

My eyes opened around 7...and I went back to sleep for another hour or so. Read and did my journal in bed, then had breakfast and made Strawberry-Banana Muffins while watching the Looney Tunes World War II shorts from the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol 6. Favorites on this set include Bugs annoying a caractured Joseph Gobbels in "Herr Meets Hare," barnyard foul retelling the events leading up to the war and Pearl Harbor in "The Ducknators," "Wacky Blackout" and "Weakly Reader" spoofing the homefront, and Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid fighting and singing in the World War I trenches in "Bosko the Doughboy."

Finally headed out around quarter of noon. First stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library for this week's volunteering session. There were a few people reading and one person on the computer, a bit surprising for such a lovely day. I organized DVDs and board books and shelved children's books. Took the long way down Nicholson Road to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, especially after yesterday. It was sunny and breezy, warm but not too hot, probably in the mid-70's. It was a lovely beginning to the holiday weekend.

Stopped in Five Below when I arrived. I forgot to pick up a new dry erase board for my schedules when we were at the mall on Wednesday. Mine is scratched and doesn't write very well anymore. The line was long, but went pretty fast.

I had lunch at Applebee's. Joe paid for our meal on Tuesday. I didn't get to use my birthday gift card. I enjoyed the unusually quiet lunch hour while noshing on honey chicken strips, salty fries covered in honey sauce, iced tea, and their amazing French onion soup.

I didn't have much grocery shopping to do at the Acme. I wanted to use my Monopoly coupons before they expire. Used ones for Softsoap, Chicken of the Sea tuna, and two for free boxes of Organic Animal Crackers. There were good sales on Turkey Hill ice cream (thought I'd try the Tripolitain Coffee Cake) and cherries. Restocked bananas, dark cocoa, yogurt, skim milk, mandarin orange cups, canned white and black beans, and bacon (turkey this time).

Was mainly there for next week's schedule. In good news, early hours will allow me to get a lot done this week once we get away from the holiday weekend, and I have three days off, including Tuesday for counseling. In annoying news, I work seven hours on Memorial Day, and I don't have as many hours I as I was getting before vacation.

When I got home, I put everything away while finishing the remaining Looney Tunes wartime shorts. Bugs is a "Super Rabbit" in a Superman parody who goes up against a cowboy with a hatred of rabbits. He does everything he can to get the fellow to back down. "Draftee Daffy" would do anything avoid that determined "Little Man From the Draft Board." "Falling Hare" is one of my favorite Bugs shorts. It's one of the rare cartoons where he goes up against an antagonist who gives as good as they get, in this case a gremlin he catches sabotaging planes.

It was such a nice day, I decided to pick up eggs at Dollar General today instead of tomorrow. It was too lovely to spend the entire day inside. Evidently, a lot of people had the same idea, as they were also fairly busy. I grabbed my eggs (which are $1.25 at Dollar General) and a bottle of Orange Cream Coke and got out.

Worked on writing for a couple of hours. Luke's exhausted from pushing his powers and the rapidly oncoming night. Harris manages to catch him before he hits the ground, and with Shara "Captain Aero" Bey and Wedge Antilles, returns to Yavin Park. Shara invites everyone to a party at her boyfriend Kes' coffee shop. Charlie's not as happy. Rudy was shot down; he's alive but bloody, battered, and unconscious. He stays with his friends as the paramedics take him to the nearest hospital.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching a Three Stooges short. They're "Back from the Front" when their Navy ship is sunk and they find themselves on a Nazi boat. They first try to blend in with the crew, then takes on the entire ship themselves.

Played Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for a while after dinner. I got through "The Black Pearl Attacks" just fine, though it took me a little while to figure out where to go on the flooded second and third floors. I never finished "Smuggler's Island." It froze up on me almost 3/4th of the way through. I'll try again tomorrow.

Finished the night with The Apple Dumpling Gang. Gambler Russell Donovan (Bill Bixby) finds himself saddled with three orphans when he thinks he's getting "valuables" from an old partner John Wintle (Don Knight). The kids drive Donovan and everyone else in town crazy, at least until they find a big gold nugget in a mine that was previously considered to be dry. Now everyone wants the kids. Donovan puts a stop to that by marrying tough saloon driver Dusty (Susan Clark). When Whintle comes back and claims the kids, they run away to Amos and Theodore (Don Knotts and Tim Conway), a pair of bumbling crooks who had befriended them earlier, and convince them to steal the nugget from the bank. If there's no nugget, they can stay with Donovan. But the Stillwell Gang, a far more vicious group of criminals, also has a plan to rob the nuggets, and they're a lot more competent than Amos and Theodore.

This is an old childhood favorite of mine. It's not the darkest or strongest western in the world (which I suspect is what critics wanted at the time), but it's still pretty funny, especially Bixby and Clark's bickering and Amos and Theodore's antics. This was the most popular Disney movie of 1975, and I'm inclined to agree with the majority here. If you love the cast or comic westerns, this one is definitely worth the mine train ride for.

No Shadow for the Groundhog

Kicked off a sunny morning with breakfast, making the bed, and football-related shorts in honor of the Super Bowl tomorrow. The black and white short "Touchdown Mickey" has Disney's favorite mouse as the world's least-likely Jared Goff, trying to impress Minnie and Clarabelle in the stands. Goofy's announcing leaves even more to be desired.

Popeye appeared in not one, but two football-related shorts during his black-and-white Fleicher Brothers years. "You Gotta Be a Football Hero," says Olive as she ogles quarterback Bluto. A jealous Popeye joins the opposing team, and proceeds to take on Bluto and his huge teammates himself. He's "The Football Toucher-Downer" in a story he tells Sweet Pea about how he used spinach to win a football game as a child.

Hello Kitty strikes a blow for feminism and female football fans in "Cinderkitty." This little Cinderella would rather be catching forward passes than being a cheerleader. She finally shows her stepsister Catnip and stepmother Fangora that a girl can do both, and get the penguin prince quarterback in the deal.

Ran a Three Stooges football short as I got ready for work. They're "Three Little Pigskins" who are mistaken for college football stars hired by gangsters to play for his pro team. They're more interested in flirting with the gangsters' lovely molls, including a blonde and sarcastic Lucile Ball.

Rushed off to work a bit early. First of all, I wanted to avoid the mess in the streets leftover from yesterday. While it's still fairly cold, it's not nearly as cold as it has been. The streets were already melting, even as I arrived at work. Despite tomorrow being the Super Bowl, we were only off-and-on steady. A lot of people may have been scared off by the snow that was left on the ground or are waiting for tomorrow. I bagged for a while and did the recycling and a few returns, but I was mostly outside, helping another bagger with the continually disappearing carts. I had no problem with this. Along with being a little warmer, the wind had died down to a stiff breeze, and it was sunny with a brilliant blue sky.

(Interestingly, despite the nice day, Phil the Groundhog supposedly didn't see his shadow. Considering I'm hearing upper 50's for here by the end of next week, I'll believe that early spring prediction.)

The other reason I came early was to set up my mini-donuts for the Acme's annual pre-Super Bowl Chili Cook Off. I can't carry a crock pot on my bike, so I always bring a dessert. Along with six chili entries (the most we've ever had), other main dishes included meatballs, macaroni salad, potato salad, pulled pork, and tasty macaroni and cheese brought in by one of the managers who retired last summer. Desserts included cheesecake, jam thumbprint cookies, an extraordinarily moist chocolate mayonnaise cake, a basket of dark chocolate Hershey's Miniatures, and boxes of Irish potatoes.

Went straight home after I got off. As soon as I got in, I changed and straightened the apartment. The woman who was interested in my American Girl bed and bedding was supposed to be around at 3:30. As it turned out, she was late leaving Haddonfield and didn't arrive until nearly 4:30. She was a young woman with a sweet smile who arrived in a car driven by an older woman, possibly her grandmother. I lead her upstairs - my apartment is hard for most people to find - and showed her the items. She gathered them in her arms, happily handed me the 50 dollars, and headed right out.

Worked on writing as soon as she left. Han gets into an argument with Leia over her throwing herself into their stealing enterprises, especially after he tells her that he really needs to get that money to Baron Du Hutt. He's not happy either when she tells him that Luke's bringing around another older monk for "spiritual guidance."

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Made banana pancakes, since I work too early to get to them tomorrow. Ran a few more football cartoons while I ate. "The Acme Bowl" from the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures pits Acme Looniversity's squad against the team from Perfecto Prep, which has never lost a game. Buster has his own plans to lead his team to victory, but Plucky's defection to Perfecto may send his plans for a fumble.

The Peanuts did two specials centered around football. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown is the better-known and easier-to-find of the two. The gang may have a chance to win the big homecoming game, if only Lucy would stop pulling away that football so Charlie can kick it! He's more concerned about escorting the Little Red Haired Girl to the homecoming dancing and having to kiss her.

You're In the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown has the kids entering a big Punt n' Pass contest. The winner will get a new bike and will go to the Super Bowl. Charlie Brown and Linus both get a crush on another cute red-headed girl, this one named Melody. They think she's at the contest to cheer them on, but the event has a very surprising conclusion. Meanwhile, Snoopy leads his all-bird Eagles squad to victory over several teams of rougher, tougher animals, despite Lucy's meddling.

Finished the night with the original 1978 version of The Wiz, which I go into further detail on at my Musical Dreams Reviews Blog.

The Wiz (1978)

And here's even more football cartoons to tide you over while you wait for the big game tomorrow:

Goofy - How to Play Football
Looney Tunes - Peace Time Football
Disney Classics - Football Then and Now
Mickey Mouse - Touchdown and Out

Tax Woman

Got up with enough time to have breakfast and watch a couple of especially action-packed She-Ra episodes. "The Sea Hawk" is a pirate who will work for anyone who will pay him, including the Horde. Adora takes passage aboard his ship and claims that he can't be free if he's working for Hordak. The pirate is forced to turn Adora over to Catra to save his ship...then rethinks his ideas of freedom when his crew claim they've lost self-respect.

Bow is jealous when "The Red Knight" swoops in and saves him and She-Ra from the Horde. The powerful knight can seemingly do anything, including beat Bow at the racing at the Rebels' Fair. Bow's ready to pack it in, until Kowl reminds him that there's a lot he can do too, including rescuing the Great Rebellion.

Work was steady for most of the day. I did do the inside trash to warm up a bit, but otherwise spent the majority of the day outside. Gathered carts and the outside trash and recycling and swept up the front patio. The carts did disappear quite a bit, but it wasn't that hard to round them up again. At least it was a nice day to work outside. While it was a bit breezy and colder, probably in the lower-mid 30's, it was also sunny and bright.

Since my W-2 finally arrived today, I was able to go right into finishing my taxes when I got home. My taxes usually take me about 20 minutes to an hour to file. I have one job, no dependents, and own no property. Thankfully, the e-mail with the code to send them out arrived promptly, allowing me to avoid all the drama I had with e-filing last year.

Broke for dinner at 7:30 after I finished yesterday's blog entry. Had leftover tacos while watching two Three Stooges shorts. Given I just did my own taxes, I figured "Income Tax Sappy" was appropriate. Shemp joins the other two as they create fake deductions to maximize their profits and please their older sister, who wants to buy a house. They're so happy with how things turn out, they do the same for others, at least until the IRS catches up with them. "Musty Musketeers" switches to medieval swashbuckling, as the guys must rescue the princess from a magician in order to be able to wed their sweethearts.

Finished the night with Skyscraper. Will Sawyer (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) was once a US Marine and a member of the FBI Special Forces, but is forced to retire after he loses his leg in an explosion. He's now a security consultant who is married, with a loving wife named Sarah (Neve Campbell) and twin daughter and son. He temporarily moves them to the top floors of an unfinished ultra-high-rise skyscraper in Hong Kong where he's reviewing security. He has total control over security in the building...making him the target of terrorist Kores Botha (Roland Moller) and his organization. They manage to steal the tablet that controls everything and set fire to one of the upper floors of the building. While Sarah and his son do manage to escape, Botha and his people keep his daughter as a hostage. Will has to figure out how to rescue her and get the tablet, before Botha does worse things to the metal monstrosity.

This did all right last year, but it was by no means a record breaker...and despite some nice action sequences, I mostly just thought it was boring. Johnson and Campbell's decent performances can't overcome a bland script and a cliched story that's basically Die Hard redux. I say try Rampage or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle for better (and more fun) doses of The Rock. This is for hard-core fans of his only.

All For Fun

Began the morning with a quick breakfast before calling Mom. I just wanted to tell her that Dad and Jodie were going to drop me off at her house before the memorial service tomorrow so I can chat with her and the rest of the family. She sounded a little tired, but otherwise fine. She just watched her husband battle cancer for two years. He was suffering really badly in the end, and she understands that he's in a better place.

First order of the day was taking down the Halloween decorations and putting up what I have for Thanksgiving. I like Halloween a lot more than I used to...but after my frustrating October, I really don't feel like letting holidays linger right now. Thanksgiving is really more my speed anyway.

While I do have some Indian corn cobs that I hang on the walls, a beautifully carved turkey candle, porcelain turkey salt and pepper shakers, a tiny cloth pilgrim mouse, a pair of Webkinz turkeys named Plymouth and Mayflower, and two wood and cloth pilgrims who guard the TV, most of my Thanksgiving decorations are cardboard cut-outs. I found the pilgrim-and-Indian kid group, Snoopy and Woodstock in pilgrim and Indian garb, a pilgrim girl, and a really nice vintage turkey print at yard sales. The larger cut-outs that depict pilgrims and Indians working together came from the Acme the year I moved here. Given their unusually large size, I suspect they were originally intended for classroom use.

Watched Black Friday while I worked. The last of the Universal thrillers on the Bela Lugosi Collection set actually has very little to do with Lugosi, despite the description on the box. Karloff is brain surgeon Dr. Ernest Sovac. Devastated when his best friend, kindly English professor George Kingsley (Stanley Ridges), is nearly killed in a hit-and-run accident, he switches part of his damaged brain with that of Red Cannon (Ridges), the gangster who hit him and died in the accident. It's successful...too successful. Kingsley switches between his own gentle personality and the more aggressive and suspicious Cannon. Sovac is worried at first, until he learns that Cannon has hidden 500,000 somewhere in New York. Hoping to get the money for his research, he encourages the Cannon side to come out more often. Cannon, however, wants get his hands on the guys who set him up and murders each of his gangster co-horts one by one, recruiting a pretty nightclub singer (Anne Nagel) to help him find the cash. Meanwhile, there are other gangsters who want that loot, including Bulgarian mobster Eric Marnay (Lugosi).

The box stated that Lugosi was the gangster who had his brain implanted in Kingsley. Whomever wrote the description on the box must not have watched the movie. Lugosi is barely in the film, and when he does appear, he's pretty much just a stock-slick criminal. Karloff and Ridges are the ones to watch as the scientist who thinks he's helping his friend and the Jekyll-and-Hyde teacher. Not bad, but not as much fun as some of the earlier movies in this set. (A bit of trivia - this was written by Curt Siodmak, who would go on to specialize in even weirder sci-fi horror thrillers in the 1940's and 50's.)

Speaking of unusual science fiction, I moved on to an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures as I finished up the decorations. In "Strange Tales of Weird Science" from the later first season, the Toons demonstrate why some scientific concepts are best left on the shelf. Hamton is accidentally doused with a chemical that turns him into a "Scentimenal Pig." No one who smells him can resist eating him, including his best friend Plucky. Arnold the Pit Bull finds himself "Pit Bullied" when Sweetie reprograms Furball to chase him instead of birds. Plucky is a "Duck In the Muck" when he becomes the Toxic Revenger to show Montana Max what the sludge from his ice cream spoon factory is doing to his pond.

Ran one more short as I got ready to head out. Curly has "A Bird In the Hand" in a Three Stooges short when the guys are paper hangers hoping to escape an angry employer. They end up in a mad scientist's laboratory and have to save Curly from losing what little brain he has to a gorilla.

It was still gorgeous when I began my errand run, sunny, windy, and even warmer than yesterday. I was fine in a blouse and jean capris. First stop was the Oaklyn Library, mainly to return the DVDs. Both the adult and kid DVD shelves were really out-of-order and needed to be looked at. Otherwise, it was just me and the librarians. I took out the just-released Ant-Man and the Wasp (which will bring me up-to-date on current Marvel movies) and, since I've been revisiting a lot of 90's family comedies lately, the original Robin Williams version of Jumanji. I have seen that one, but not since it came out.

Next up was lunch at Genova's Pizza. It was 1:30 by the time I made it there, a bit after the lunch crowd, and still gorgeous. I took my two cheese slices and football-print can of Dr. Pepper outside to their patio to enjoy the unusually warm day.

Ran a few errands next. Went to Target to look at bike locks. They had a really good selection for a tiny store. I don't have the money now, but as soon as I do, I may break down and buy one of the heavier key locks. I'll just keep the key with my house key. Went a few doors down to Dollar Tree to pick up sponges and tissues.

The Haddon Township Library was even less busy than the Oaklyn Library had been. There was almost nothing going on there. I shelved the few adult titles that were around. That Mister Rogers' Neighborhood set I looked at a few weeks ago had finally gotten off hold. I haven't seen that show since I was knee-high to Daniel Tiger. It was a huge favorite of mine when I was really little. Also grabbed the Disney TV musical Once Upon a Mattress to review for my musicals blog and the comedy Downsizing from last year.

Headed down Cuthbert to Collingswood after I got out of the library. I needed a check from the PNC Bank in Collingswood for my rent. (I still haven't gotten around to ordering them.) Thankfully, it wasn't busy when I arrived. I went up to the teller, let her print the check, got the check together, and left.

Delivered the rent and the check for the air conditioner mess right when I got in. Spent the next few hours looking over some of my original work to eventually sell. I posted four older short stories that were no longer online on my writing blog, then wrote a super-short new one. It's just the tale of a little girl out for a walk on the beach with her daddy. The dad, a commercial fisherman, tells the daughter about the shells she finds.

I had to write something about a dad and a daughter today. Dad used to take us to the beach in the summer when he was home. He didn't really look at shells with me - he was usually swimming or playing in the sand with Anny. Still, I felt that I needed to write about a father bonding with his daughter. I miss that. I miss him.

Here's Daddy at the Beach...and if you enjoy this, there's four other new original short stories at my blog now as well.

Daddy at the Beach

Jodie called while I was writing. She and Dad are going to pick me up a little earlier, around 10:30. They want to avoid the worst of the rain we're supposed to get tomorrow. I believe it. Dark clouds had started gathering while I was on my way to Collingswood, and the wind was getting worse. It was really windy and gloomy by the time we talked.

Moved on to the 1943 musical DuBarry Was a Lady while having pan-fried salmon with lemon glaze, green beans, and Cranberry Flummery for dinner. I go more into this one at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog.

DuBarry Was a Lady

Finished the night with another wacky swashbuckler, the 1993 Three Musketeers. Chris O'Donnell is young and bold D'Artagnan, who has come to Paris to join the Musketeers. Trouble is, they've just been disbanded by the wicked Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry). He eventually joins with three former Musketeers, the priest Aramis (Charlie Sheen), comic Porthos (Oliver Platt), and stoic Athos (Kiefer Sutherland) to stop the Lady DeWinter (Rebecca DeMornay) from bringing a treaty to England. She tells them that Richelieu plans on having the king of France assassinated at his birthday party. It's up to the Musketeers to rescue their ruler and keep the Cardinal from taking over the throne.

Does this have much relation to history or the book? No. Is almost everyone but Curry and DeMornay wildly miscast? Yes. Do I care? Not at all. It's an old favorite in my family, and one of the most fun action movies around.