My Funny Valentines

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Madame Razz mistakes Adora for the "Hero" Mara, the She-Ra of a thousand years ago, when she visits her to get some answers. Mara had come to Etheria to study magic for a secret weapon called the Heart of Etheria. To her horror, it involved draining magic from Etheria and storing it in the planet's core. She sacrificed herself to make sure it was never used by anyone, pushing Etheria into Despondos, She also encourages Adora to not listen to Light Hope, who was programmed by the First Ones to set off the Heart weapon, without thought of what it would do to the planet and its residents.

Moved on to Miles Ahead next while cutting paper in half for the kids and having lunch. I go further into this biography of temperamental jazz genius Miles Davis at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Miles Ahead

Called Uber just as the movie ended. I really had a hard time getting one at quarter after 12. They didn't show up for 19 minutes, and I was 6 minutes late. Couldn't get an Uber at 4:30, either. That one took 11 minutes to get there. At least there was no trouble with traffic or on the road either way.

Today was a half-day in the Collingswood School District. The kids are off tomorrow for a teacher's meeting. Since they won't be there tomorrow, the kids had their Valentine's Day parties today. I couldn't believe all the stuff they had in their white and pink and red bags. When I was their ages, we got paper Valentines with popular characters on them from everyone in the class and maybe cupcakes and some candy. In addition to the paper valentines, candy, and (for some of the younger ones) cupcakes, their bags were bursting with stamps, toys, tiny Slinkys, mini containers of slime, stickers, little plastic animal figurines, and plastic bead bracelets. 

After lunch, we settled some of the kids down with an art project. The head teacher (who thankfully was feeling better) handed around pages with a huge heart drawn on them. The pre-schoolers tore bits of pink tissue paper and glued those on the heart, along with metallic and die-cut bits of paper and colored feathers leftover from the turkey hand project at Thanksgiving. The older kids glued beads onto their hearts. Not all of the kids did the project, but those who did seemed to enjoy themselves well enough.

For the most part, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon playing with magnetic tiles, Duplos, or their new Valentine's toys. I brought Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever, Disney's Storybookland, and Strawberry Shortcake and the Winter That Would Not End with me to read. One of the littlest girls requested Snow White. A boy building with magnetic tiles asked for a Mickey Mouse story, so I went with the relatively short Mickey Mouse and Pluto Pup. They all got a kick out of making sure Hilda Hippo had the right alphabetic foods when we read Feed Hilda Hippo Her ABCs. Near the end of the day, I refereed a boy and a girl as they rolled a magnetic tile car into their towers to knock them over.

Honestly, for a four-hour day where we couldn't use the library (the teachers were meeting there), the kids weren't generally that bad. I did argue with one girl about using both sides of the paper when she drew. One of the other teachers brought some paper, too, and we didn't want to run out again. Two of the older boys roughhoused later and had to be separated (twice). One of the boys dumped his bag of loot everywhere and had to finally be admonished to clean it up when too many of the other kids wanted to play with his stuff. 

Oh, and we had a fire drill later in the day, when we were down to 15 kids all together. No one was really happy about that, least of all the kids. Though the sun was finally peeking out of the clouds by 3:30, it was colder than it has been, in the mid-30's, and still a bit breezy. Needless to say, the kids turned around and trooped back fast as they could after we counted them.

Three of the older kids even gave me Kit-Kats and a mini Rice Krispies Treat. I took a couple of the girls to the bathroom a few times and had good conversations with them. Danced as well as I could with another girl who could do some darn good gymnastic tricks while the music was on and the boys were wrestling. I read a story about the months of the year to her later. I'm so glad I took this job. I have 40 of the nicest Valentines anyone could ever wish for. 

When I got home, I went straight into making Strawberry Cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I thought they would be easier after my cake mix cookies spread too much last year. I added frosting in the middle, hoping for a Tastycake-cupcake cream filled effect. Alas, the cupcakes weren't firm enough. The frosting just seeped into the middle and made them very gooey. The crushed freeze-dried strawberries I used in the cupcakes and on top of them worked out much better.

Watched Match Game Syndicated after I had a shower and grabbed dinner. We're now on the week with comedienne Louise Sorrel, with Fred Grandy sitting in Charles' place. There were a couple of amusing matchmaking jokes when a single young lady and a single Hispanic man were contestants together. (Too bad the last episode of this week is currently unavailable, due to being on a tape with one of the Jimmie Walker weeks GSN hasn't shown yet.)

Finished the night with classic jazz music, starting with the soundtrack from Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. "Heartburn Waltz," heard throughout the special, is the big one here. I also like the jangly "Paw Pet Overture" and the arrangement of Bach's "Minuet In G Major" as the "Music Box Dance." 

Ended with two of the most beloved albums by the real Miles Davis. Kind of Blue is from 1959 and Sketches of Spain from 1960, the height of Davis' original fame and artistic powers. Davis may not have appreciated the softer blues music on Kind of Blue later in his life, but "So What" and "Blues In Green" are among the most powerful songs he ever wrote. Sketches of Spain features genuine Spanish melodies like "Will 'o the Wisp," traditional Hispanic covers like "Saeta," and Gil Evans' "Solea." 

The Town Picnic

Began the morning with breakfast and listening to the Sounds of Vancouver 2010 CD. This was the official release for the Winter Olympics that year, and it actually has some pretty decent material for something I picked up out of the cheap bin at FYE. (It was only $1.99!) "The Closing Ceremony Fanfare," "Olympic Fanfare and Theme," and Entrance of the Athletes" are appropriately stirring. "Let's Have a Party" with Eva Avila, Nikki Yanfosky, and Derek Miller is pure fun, while Neil Young and Nickelback go darker with "Long May You Run" and "Burn It to the Ground." "The Maple Leaf Forever" by Michael Buble is lovely...but the subsequent "Made In Canada" medley drags on forever. Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" is a lot more interesting.

I headed out around quarter of 1. Oaklyn finally had its Town Picnic this afternoon between 12 and 3. There were lots of tables filled with handicrafts from local artists, a DJ playing everything from "Golden" to "Magical Mystery Tour," and a few booths from various Oaklyn municipal facilities. I talked to the teacher at the Oaklyn Education Foundation table. Turns out she had been a pre-school teacher at the Oaklyn School for 8 years. She taught older grades before that, but she enjoyed working with the youngest kids the most. We talked a bit about how much we loved working with the youngest students.

Had lunch next. The Civic Association had tables with free hot dogs, meatball sandwiches, chips, cole slaw, and sodas in the very back of the parking lot between Tonewood Brewery and the school. (Apparently, the burgers weren't ready yet at that point, and the heavy wind knocked the pasta salad over and scattered it on the blacktop.) I had a hot dog, meatballs without the roll, cole slaw, and a Diet Pepsi. The meatballs and hot dogs were honestly pretty good, especially the huge meatballs! Grabbed a chocolate cupcake for dessert. They had tables that let you cover your cupcakes in Halloween sprinkles. There was also free water ice, but the line was so long, I didn't have the time for it.

The strong wind may have driven all of the vendors crazy, but it was useful for me. I helped two of the vendors gather their wares when they were blown over, a lady who made lovely coasters and key chains from yarn embroidery, and a sweet older woman in a wheelchair who sold flowers made from pipe cleaners. I chatted with the lady who sold the yarn items and learned a bit about yarn needlepoint. I've tried crocheting, but I always lose interest because I can never keep count, and my rows always end up uneven. Not to mention, I tend to lose interest before I've barely finished larger projects. I wonder if yarn needlepoint might be a tad easier and quicker to figure out. I bought a colorful yarn key chain for Lauren from the yarn seller and three pipe cleaner flowers for Lauren, Amanda, and me from the older lady.

Work was even less of a problem. We were dead the entire afternoon. It got mildly steady when the Eagles game ended around 4, then went right back to being dead. Everyone was either out enjoying the sunny, warm weather, or attending all the local events like the Town Picnic that were cancelled last week due to the nor'easter. I got in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

(The Eagles had a few more problems with the Minnesota Vikings, but apparently came back in the second half to win the game 28-22.)

Took a shower when I got home, then had dinner and went straight into tonight's Match Game marathon. Three Price Is Right models made appearances on the 1973-1982 run of the show. Janice Pennington and Anitra Ford appeared within a month of each other in 1976. Janice's episodes were just on Buzzr this week, in fact (which may be why the YouTube channel's owner ran this marathon). Sultry Anitra only just passed her episodes for re-runs in 2019...and I'm so glad she did. She had one of the funniest weeks of 1976. Richard Dawson spent the week flirting with a gorgeous blonde contestant who not only kept on winning, but became the biggest winner on the sho up to that point, with over $20,000.

The Barker's Beauty who appeared the most on - and got the most out of - the show was feisty Texan Holly Hallstrom. She was a semi-regular later in the run, starting in 1978 and appearing throughout the syndicated run, long after the show left CBS. Holly became known for either wearing tight tops and outfits like the red and white striped off-the-shoulder dress she sported in 1980, or honoring her Texan heritage with cowboy hats and vests. She was also an ardent feminist (as Bob Barker would discover to his chagrin later), complaining about the chauvinistic ideals of the Bo Derek movie 10 a question joked about. She also got to hear a young man admit that he wasn't too happy with his new marriage, a rarity for game shows, on a PM episode.

Come on down and match with three of the loveliest ladies to model prizes on The Price Is Right! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Match Game With Barker's Beauties 

Oh, and happy birthday to my best friend Lauren! She made it a girl's day out and went to Crossroads with her former co-workers Heather and Sarena. After the mall, they took her to an Applebee's in the area. (She got a blue drink that admittedly looked pretty tasty.)

Sunshine and Taxes

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Who's Afraid of the Big Eclipse?" Everyone in town when Billy Dog forgets to give the local paper part of the article his astrologist mother wrote on the coming celestial event. Billy and the other kids in town hand out the other half of the paper to calm the citizens down. Greek sheep Toula and her father discover how to "Hold Your Breath!" when they go treasure hunting underwater in ancient Greece. Huckle, Lowly, and Sprout are "Pumpkin Heads" who have entries in the county fair's pumpkin contest. After their pumpkins get damaged, they have to put their heads together and decide what else they can enter.

Took my laundry downstairs after the cartoon ended, then spent the next 40 minutes doing my taxes. I always try to get my paperwork out the day tax season begins. It doesn't take me long using Turbo Tax. I have one part-time job, own no property, and have no dependents. I'm getting about $880 and $49 from the state after I pay them. That's far less than I got last year, but I made a lot less this past year, too. After I finished my taxes, I went through papers that accumulated on top of my printer and put those away.

Got my laundry in the dryer and took out the trash and recycling, then went for a walk. It was too nice of a day to hang out inside! It jumped into the lower 40's today, with sunny bright blue skies and a nice breeze. Perfectly normal and pleasant weather for South Jersey in late January. There were a lot of people out and about, including three women chatting on a corner while one walked her dog.

Stopped at Dollar General first. I'm almost out of laundry detergent. The Arm & Hammer stain fighting bottle came with slightly more per wash than Tide. Needed granola bars, too. Grabbed chocolate fudge cake mix and cherry pie filling for a recipe I wanted to try later. 

Strolled across town for lunch. I was in the mood for decent food, not greasy or fried. I ended up at Common Grounds Coffee House. Despite it being almost 2 PM when I got there, they were busy with older women chatting in groups and college kids working on laptops. I had a cranberry muffin, the last slice of spinach-feta-pepper quiche, and a "dirty vanilla chai." The last-named turned out to be a coffee chai latte. It was ok, though I'm still not a really big coffee fan. 

I realized as I strolled up West Clinton that I forgot two things at Dollar General, and one was important. I ran out of computer paper while printing my tax return. Headed to Family Dollar a few blocks down the White Horse Pike to pick up the paper and an aluminum pan for my cake project. Treated myself to Red Velvet Reeces Cups while I was there, too. (They weren't bad, but I tasted more chocolate and peanut butter than red velvet.)

Did a few chores when I got home, including taking the recycling down to the curb and bringing my laundry upstairs, then made my cake project. I decided to try a simpler "dump cake" after my orange soda cake didn't come out so well last week. "Dump cakes" are recipes that require dry ingredients to be dropped on the wet ones, rather than mixed in. I did use butter on the cake mix, and I really should have bought two cans of cherry pie filling. Other than that, my Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake came out very well, very chocolatey and just sweet enough.

Spent the next few hours finishing the Children's album inventory. Got in everything from The Rescuers book and record through Yankee Doodle Mickey, along with my only children's CD set, a 2-disc collection of fairy tale readings. Most of these go pretty far back. The Story of Johnny Appleseed book and record is one of the original 65 albums from my late first stepmother Kaye that Dad gave me in 2006. She was a huge fan of Dennis Day, and he sings all the songs there. Yankee Doodle Mickey, Mickey Mouse Splashdance, Robin Hood, and my Sword and the Stone with the cool pop-up book were yard sale finds in 2011. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do next. I might start the jazz and vocalists inventory, but I'm more likely to pick up that fairy tale about the young woman who tries to stop the Witch of Winter from ending spring. I've finally been getting some better ideas for it, now that we're getting closer to spring again. She now has a best friend, a half-human fire fairy who joins her. The rabbit who runs to Mother Nature isn't Sir Michael, but a feisty young prince the witch turned into a rabbit. Sir Michael was the prince's tutor, but he was bound to the shadows and stripped of his voice. 

Listened to records while I worked. The Gang's All Here is one of the many, many Sesame Street albums released in the 70's and 80's. I bought this one a while ago because I'd never heard of most of the songs listed here. In fact, the only number I was even a little familiar with is Cookie Monster's "If Moon Was Cookie." Cookie kicks off the album with "Me Gotta Be Blue," a hilarious spoof of bluesy Sinatra-esque anthems. There's also "We are All Monsters," Big Bird's sweet "Next to You," and my favorite, Bert declaring "I'm Square."

The cool thing about that British 40 Walt Disney Originals set I picked up from Innergroove Records two years ago is the inclusion of many older songs you won't find on newer American collections. For instance, there's a jaunty Annette Funicello Sherman Brothers' number, "Dream Boy," I'd never even heard of before I found this set. There's also three songs from the rare animated-live action hybrid So Dear to My Heart, "Stick-It-Tivity," "It's What'cha Do With What'cha Got," and "County Fair," and three from The Rescuers, "The Journey," "Rescue Aid Society," and "Tomorrow Is Another Day." "Maggie's Theme" is actually "For You, For Always" from the original 1961 Parent Trap.

Watched Match Game Syndicated while I finished the inventory and ate dinner. I came in for the week with Scoey Mitchilll, Dolly Martin, and Debralee Scott. The panelists for the next week were all either currently game show hosts (Dick Martin, Bill Cullen, Peter Marshall) or would be in the 80's (Betty White, Elaine Joyce) except for Brett Somers.

Finished the night with more syndicated game shows, these made for the syndicated market. Syndicated shows go way far back to the 50's, when newly-minted independent stations looked to fill airtime with anything they could find. By the late 60's, there were dozens of shows out there filling that market. Most of them, like Win With the Stars, barely lasted a year. Allen Ludden hosted this musical show where celebrities sang standards to contestants and helped them guess the song. If viewers at home had the number of points that the two groups won on a card, they too might win prizes.

Later syndicated shows had way more fun. Celebrity Bowling is what it says on the tin. Two teams of stars play each other in a typical bowling alley to earn prizes for viewers at home. This is way better than you might think, especially if you are a bowling fan. Richard Dawson and Bob Newhart play Gavin McLeod and character actor John Ericson in the 1971 episode I have here. This wound up being a long-running success, going until 1978.

The Crosswits was another long-running hit in syndication, going from 1975 to 1980. Four celebrities help two contestants figure out the subject of a crossword puzzle in what amounts to Crossword Plus. I really think this one is a lot of fun and wish more of it was available online. Jack Clark was the gentlemanly host.

My sisters and I loved Dance Fever as kids. This began in 1979 as a competition for disco dancers, basically an early form of Dancing With the Stars with celebrities as judges rather than performers. The first few years were hosted by choreographer Deney Terrio. By the time of this 1986 episode, Adrien Zmed of Grease 2 was the host, and the dancing had diversified way beyond disco. I personally prefer the 40's jazz dancers here, but Pat Sajak, Joanna Kerns, and Wally Joyner seem more impressed with the country step-dancers. 

Split Second was the 1986-1987 Canadian revival of a game show from 1972. Monty Hall asks contestants a question with three possible answers. The contestants have to give the right answers. I found an episode from early in the run, when it was still largely being shown in Canada. I'm glad Buzzr picked this one up; it's a fun show that deserves more of an audience down here in the US.

Not all syndicated trivia shows went over that well or were as enjoyable as even Split Second. 100% from 1999 is about the driest and cheapest trivia show you can possibly imagine. A narrator (Casey Kasem) reads a series of yes and no or true and false questions. At the end of the episode, whomever has the highest percentage of questions right wins the most money. The contestants are told their score throughout the show, but not which one has what score. Though it did well enough in its native England, it came off as chintzy, silly, and mind-bogglingly dull in the US. No wonder it sold to seven markets and didn't last a year. 

Check out more of the best from syndication with these rare delights!

Win With the Stars (1968)

Celebrity Bowling (1971)

The Cross-Wits (1977)

Dance Fever (1986)

Split Second (1987)

100% (1999) 

Snowy Day at Home

Began the morning with essays from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. Martin Luther King Jr  was still alive when this book came out, but the material from United Nations Day works just as well, as both worked toward peace and understanding. I read Dorothy Canfield Fisher's "A Fair World for All," "Prayer for a Better World" by Stephen Vincent Benet, and several poems.

Watched Doc McStuffins while getting dressed and eating breakfast. "Snowy Gablooey" is usually able to stretch his goo-filled arms and do tricks, but he's frozen solid after Doc's brother Donnie left him outside. Doc gives him a bath and teaches the toys how to warm up again. Sir Kirby wants to keep playing ice hockey in "Gooaal!," but has to sit out when he dislocates his shoulder. He coaches Hawaiian doll Lelani to take his place.

Ran Family Feud while getting organized, then took the laundry downstairs and went outside to shovel a friend's driveway. I was originally going to do her driveway, the sidewalks, and the front steps, but those are in direct sunlight. By quarter of 1, the fine snow had melted or blown away. The streets were also clear. Once again, I believe we only got about three or four inches. I still had a harder time shoveling the driveway than I did two weeks ago. It was sunny and bright, but also biting cold, not even in the 20's, and there was that wind. Even with all that, it still took me less than an hour to shovel the driveway and salt around the back door.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then tried another soda cake recipe. This time, I made an orange cream cake with vanilla mix and orange soda. Actually, despite the sharp orange flavor of the Fanta, the cake came out a little bland, and the layers cracked on top. I still left them to cool. They weren't perfect, but they were edible, unlike my attempt at candy last month.

Watched The Scooby Doo Show while eating lunch. "A Scary Night With a Snow Beat Fright" takes the gang to the Arctic, where they were supposed to join us with a professor friend in a native village. They arrive to find the professor vanished and the inhabitants driven off by a giant dinosaur-like snow creature. While Scooby falls for a pretty sled dog, the others try to figure out just what the creature is after.

Switched to the Rankin-Bass Jack Frost special while folding my laundry and rounding up donations for Goodwill. I went further into this bittersweet fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog for Groundhog's Day in 2020.

Jack Frost

After the cartoon ended, I tried to frost the cake...but the top layer broke when I pulled it out, and the frosting wouldn't move. I had to microwave it to make it cooperate. I had a slice later after dinner. Not bad, but you taste icing more than cake. Next time, I'll be more careful with keeping an eye on the layers, make it as a sheet cake or cupcakes, or add more soda or more orange flavoring like orange juice. I may also add a little oil or butter.

Spent the next hour and a half finally finishing the Seasonal inventory. Added A Victorian Christmas, a collection of songs with Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra, and titles from Manheim Steamroller, Barry Manilow, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Monkees, the Platters, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I'll begin the children's record inventory tomorrow. I have even fewer of those than I do seasonal albums, so it shouldn't take that long. 

Listened to winter-themed records while I worked. Jazz at the Olympics seems to be a live album by the Ralph Sutton Quartet, likely performed during the 1960 Squaw Valley Games from selections like "Winter Wonderland" and "Squaw Valley Blues." Their "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" were especially jaunty.

Winter Memories is another Columbia Records collection made to be sold in a certain outlet, in this case JC Penney. Despite the title, there really isn't a whole lot here that's especially wintry. Lynn Anderson's "Snowbird," Jim Nabors' "Try to Remember," and a bouncy instrumental "Sleigh Ride" by Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra are as wintry as it gets. (Although I did find Robert Goulet's "This Is All I Ask" to be fairly touching.)

Switched to Match Game Syndicated while finishing the inventory and having dinner. After a shower, I finished the night with episodes of Chain Reaction, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last Tuesday. Bill Cullen was the original host of this 1980 word game that had contestants guessing the word letter by letter that connects to the word above it. Celebrity guests help them solve the chain, then give the clues to the words in the bonus round. 

Chain Reaction was a fun and challenging show, but alas, it ran up against Fred Silverman and his determination to make David Letterman a household word in the mornings. It was one of the three shows cleared to make way for The David Letterman Show. (Which, incidentally, flopped. It was well-received by critics, but morning audiences didn't know what to make of it.) 

It reappeared in 1986 for Canadian TV and USA Network as The New Chain Reaction. The game play remained largely the same, but the contestant and celebrity teams were replaced by regular contestant duos, and the bonus round now consisted of guessing one last word chain. I have fond memories of watching this version on USA as a kid in the late 80's and early 90's. The sets were chintzy, but the game play was genuinely interesting. Blake Emmonds was the original host, but he was replaced by the the more personable Geoff Edwards after a few weeks. Edwards continued when the show moved to a tournament format as The $40,000 Chain Reaction for its last year. 

Chain Reaction has turned up three times on Game Show Network. None of their versions lasted longer than a year, but the one from 2006-2007 in particular seems to be fairly well-remembered. The 2006-2007 show kept the original game play, with three contestant teams and the bonus round from the 1980 show. The only thing that changed in 2015 was the host, the set (which went from blue to magenta and purple), the elimination of the Speed Rounds, two contestants again, and switching back to the 1986 bonus round. They went back to three contestants in 2021 and another bonus round that had the winning team making three chains in a minute. 

See if you can make chains and guess how words are related in these hilarious and heart-pounding word association games!

Chain Reaction (1980)

Chain Reaction Series Finale (1980)

The New Chain Reaction (1986)

The $40,000 Chain Reaction (1991)

Chain Reaction Series Premiere (2006) 

Chain Reaction (2015)

Chain Reaction (2021)

Speaking of the (Cold) Weather

Began the day with breakfast and more new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Finds Out What's Fair" when he wants to ride in his baby sister Margaret's stroller, but his father reminds him that he's old enough to walk, and Margaret isn't. Likewise, "O the Owl Learns What's Fair" when he gives up the first seat on Trolley next to Teacher Harriet to a motion-sickness-prone Jodi. Katarina also learns about fairness when gives the baked apples they have on their school trip to Daniel, who is allergic to the peaches all the other kids had. 

Watched a bit of a later Richard Dawson Family Feud episode (I saw the lollipop trees next to the desks) before heading out to do this week's grocery shopping. I mainly needed coconut milk, a roll for lunch, and more of those little apples at Sprouts. They were having a buy one, get one 50 percent sale on many items. I grabbed two boxes of Annie's organic granola bars and two Zevia diet sodas. Loaded up a small bag with dried mango slices from the bulk bins.

The Acme was actually a bit less busy than Sprouts. Had no trouble grabbing blood oranges, Kind and Made Good breakfast bars (the latter was on sale with an online coupon), a Poppi and two Olipop sodas, oatmeal cookies (also on sale with an online coupon), yogurt, bagels, more of the Crest Gum Detoxify Enamel Restore toothpaste that was on clearance, and water for the ride home. Though they weren't on sale, I grabbed a box of spice cake mix and a bottle of Canada Dry ginger ale for an experiment I wanted to do later. 

Had a quick lunch of peanut butter and apple butter on the Sprouts kaiser roll and a clementine, then vacuumed and Swiftered my rooms while watching Gold Diggers of 1937. I go further into this bizarre entry in the Warners series at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Gold Diggers of 1937

Switched to Match Game '73 while doing the dusting and pulling out the stuffed snowmen I have as general winter decorations, and later as I ate dinner. Yes, the second episode we saw tonight featured Gene and that infamously hideous green plaid suit. It was so ugly, the panelists wouldn't even look at him when he came in. Patti Deusch made her debut on the show the next week, joined by Jim "Mr. Magoo" Backus. Patti took offense to Gene's attempt to ask her about her answer by saying "Can we get a little milk from Patti here?"

Went downstairs between shows to try that baking experiment. I've seen many recipes online mention using soda instead of eggs or oil in cake mix to make it fluffy and give it a unique taste. I've been craving something spice, and it seemed to suit today's blustery and chilly (if sunny) weather. Since I couldn't find pans to make cupcakes or a sheet cake, it became a coffee cake with the addition of a struesel topping. Ginger Spice Coffee Cake came out a bit dry but otherwise tasty and smelled amazing in the oven.

Finished the night back upstairs with music while I worked on the review. Hooray for Hollywood is a collection of songs from Berkeley musicals I picked up during one of my trips into Philadelphia last summer. What I like about this one is you don't always get the songs from these movies you expect. The title song is probably the most familiar today. The entry from Gold Diggers of '37 is "All's Fair In Love and War"; we get "The Words are the Music In My Heart" from '35. 42nd Street is represented by Bebe Daniels' playful ballad "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me." There's also songs from lesser-known entries, like "The Lady In Red" from In Caliente and "Don't Say Goodnight" from Wonder Bar.

I'm not a fan of the mushy 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless In Seattle, but I've loved the soundtrack since it came out. I had the cassette for 20 years before I finally found it on CD. This soundtrack was my first exposure to many classic jazz standards, like "Stardust" (here performed by Nat King Cole) and "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" (a delightful Louis Armstrong). We even get some early country with Gene Autry's "Back In the Saddle" and Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man." The major hit was "When I Fall In Love" with Celine Dion and Clive Griffith, while Harry Connick Jr.'s "A Wink and a Smile" was nominated for an Oscar. If you are a jazz aficionado or also have a budding one in your household, the score here holds many treasures. 

Out and About In the Autumn Wind

Began a beautiful but chilly and windy day with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Bananas the Magician" is about to give up when he can't do his tricks perfectly the first time. Lowly and Huckle make him think a banana appeared in his hat, but they're really in trouble when they have to make a whole bunch appear! "The First Horseless Carriage" is created in 1783 France by a family of sheep dogs who are tired of pushing their fruit and vegetable carriage up hill. Hilda is upset when she doesn't get the part of a princess in the school show. She inadvertently becomes "Princess Hilda" when she's locked in at the local TV station and ends up in her own cooking show.

Headed off to run errands next. Dropped Lauren's birthday card and gift card in the mail slot at the post office and a bag of clothes in the bin behind Dollar General. Had a big bag of donations for the Goodwill behind the Acme. Found a black t-shirt there for my black cat costume and the soundtrack for the Disney Pocahontas on CD. Went into Marshalls for a nice journal; found one with a beautiful pink and gold floral cover. Also picked up a Christmas present for Lauren, a cute Halloween Care Bears standing wood decoration, and those Junkless granola bars that I only see at Walmart around here. 

Tried something different for lunch. There's five different restaurants on the two-block stretch of Merchant Street in Audubon. I ended up at the cheapest, Sun Press. They're a Mexican restaurant specializing in burritos, tacos and Cubano sandwiches. Since it was Taco Tuesday, I went with three "Supremo" tacos with chicken, cheese, and lettuce. They weren't bad, but the sauce kept spilling out and burning my hand, and the chicken was much spicier than I thought! That sauce cleared my sinuses.

Headed a few doors down to Desserts By Design next. I hadn't been there in ages. Had a tasty chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and fall-colored sprinkles, bought a vanilla version for Dawn, and said "Hi" to the manager when I managed to wade through the long line of older women on their lunch breaks looking for treats.

Dawn texted me and said she had gotten off earlier than expected...but by the time I got her text, it was almost 1. I rode over to the Haddon Township Library and met her at the originally planned 1:30. She loved her cupcake, but we didn't really have much luck. The Jewish Community Center only has part-time work and doesn't really want receptionists. I put in a few applications, but I wasn't really excited about any of them. She was still working when I left to get home and beat the traffic just getting out of school.

Went straight into That Thing You Do! when I got in. I go further into Tom Hanks' directorial debut about a fictional one-hit wonder rock band from the 60's whose catchy "one-hit" title song became one in real-life at my my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - That Thing You Do!

Got a little work on the inventory next. Added the original Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Carol Channing, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and the Mary Martin Girl Crazy. Gentleman's Guide and Girl Crazy were Goodwill finds (both while on vacation), but I have no clue where I got Gentlemen Prefer Blondes anymore. I think that might be one of the titles I picked up from Borders in college, or maybe one of the earlier ones I bought from Abbie Road when Bob was still in Collingswood (before he moved to Audubon).

Switched to Match Game '77 while eating dinner. Gary Crosby, Mary Wickes, and Joyce Bulifant join in to hear a nervous older lady accidentally say that she's "retarded" instead of "retired!" Gene Rayburn helps calm her down.

Finished the night with more of my recent record acquisitions. I picked up Television's Greatest Hits Vol. II mainly for the familiar sitcom themes like The Monkees, The Odd Couple, Hogan's Heroes, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but there's a lot more great stuff here than just comedies. By far my favorite of the action shows was John Williams' stunning theme for The Time Tunnel. I might have to dig up that show and its soundtrack. 

I had no idea Wil E. Coyote and Road Runner even had a theme, but it wound up being kind of catchy (and one of the few TV themes written and sung by a woman). They even included both of the Three Stooges' themes. Other familiar animated and kid-oriented themes included the two Looney Tunes themes, The Pink Panther, Underdog, George of the Jungle, a bit of "Linus and Lucy," and the original "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. 

A&M Records head Herb Alpert's days with the Tijuana Brass were long behind him when he rose up the charts in 1979 with the jazz hit "Rise." It would prove to be the biggest non-Brass hit of his career. Some of the other songs on the Rise album are nearly as worthy, including the lush "1980" and gorgeous "Behind the Rain." 

Laughing Games

Got a quick start today with breakfast and Bluey. Bluey wants to stay up late, but her parents insist on her going to bed. Chili tells her about how a "Fruit Bat" sleeps during the day and is awake at night. Bluey wistfully dreams that she's a fruit bat and gets to see what it's like late at night.

Got a late start...but that was the worst thing that happened all day. Everyone must have shopped over the weekend or are waiting for Columbus Day weekend. Only the rush hours were even remotely busy. I even got tips on handling the bathrooms. By the time it started to pick up, I was almost done. Nice weather probably helped, too. It was sunny and warm again up until about an hour before I left, when it clouded over and cooled off. Headed out with no trouble whatsoever. 

Went straight home, changed, and went right back out. I wasn't in the mood for leftovers again, and besides, it was a gorgeous night, breezy with just enough cloud cover to keep it cool. Had to drop off books I didn't want at the larger kiosk a few blocks down Johnson, too. I saw a neighbor who asked me if I wanted a ride, but I gently turned her down. I had to drop off those books, and I did want a walk, if for no other reason than to clear my head.

Ended up at Capitol Pizza. I had a slice of cheese, a slice of mushroom, and a slice of carrot cake while watching the Detroit Tigers-Cleveland Guardians playoff game. Must have been one heck of a game. They were at the top of the 9th, and no one had scored yet. The guy behind the counter brought my pizza slices just minutes before Kerry Carpenter slammed a ball over the fence, sending the crowd into a frenzy! Not only did he hit the game's only home run, he brought himself and two other players home, too. I didn't see the bottom of the 9th, but Cleveland must not have had much of a response. The Tigers went on to win 3 - 0. 

Put on Match Game 77 when I got home. They're on the infamous week with Ed Asner, Debralee Scott, and Patti Deustch. Charles was delighted in the first episode to play for the audience when his answer to "Gulf __" came up on the Audience Match. The second let Gene fuss over the microphones and introduced a contestant who would be far more important to the last episode of the week...

Finished the night with game shows based around comedy. Match Game is probably the most popular game show to be played for comedy, but it's far from the only one. It didn't start out that way. When it began in 1962, it was more of a Password imitation. Two contestants and a celebrity played against each other, trying to match their answers to simple questions like "name a game show." Yeah, that got boring after a while. By the time of this episode from 1976, the questions had ballooned into near-epic randy jokes with characters like Mr. Periwinkle and Dumb Dora. Hammy Gene Rayburn was the host from the start. 

Hollywood Squares got an earlier start in 1968, but it was the only real rival to Match Game for game show hilarity in the 70's. Unlike Match Game, all those witty rejoinders tossed out by the nine celebrities bluffing on a huge tic-tac-toe board were scripted. That suited permanent center square resident Paul Lynde just fine. He wasn't much for improv, but he could toss out quips like a pro, as in this early nighttime episode from 1972.

Comedy and game shows go a long way back. You Bet Your Life began on radio, where host Groucho Marx could ad-lib with the contestants to his heart's content. The show did even better on TV, where Groucho's glasses and duck and huge eyebrows could actually be seen. His leering at pretty contestants got more obvious too, as in this 1958 episode with a very pretty TV actress known as "The Boom Boom Girl." 

Funny You Should Ask is another comedy game show that's returned over the years. The original had two contestants asking a five-person panel their opinions on a certain question while the contestants are in an isolation room. When they return, the contestants have to guess who said what. Too bad this only lasted eight months. This 1968 episode with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Glenn Ford, and Stu Gilliam is one of the few to survive to this day.

Remote Control was MTV's first game show in 1987. They really went all-out on this one. A basement-dwelling "loser" obsessed with music and game shows ask three high school and college-age kids asks them questions about TV and videos while the kids are strapped to chairs. The winner after two rounds goes on to try to guess as many MTV artists as they could. My sisters and I always got a real kick out of this show when we were kids, and this episode was no exception. "Weird" Al Yankovitz even turns up at one point.

The Gong Show came back on Game Show Network as Extreme Gong in 1998. This was pretty similar to the original nutty talent show, but with a slightly larger top prize ($701) and an even more annoying host, Don Bleu. I thought the best act in this episode was a truly nifty magician dressed in yellow like a Jim Carrey Mask who could do card tricks. The winner ended up being a guy with a Husky he claimed could talk. The dog could do no such thing, but it was cute.

Comic game shows continue to air today, including on streaming and digital channels. Game Changer plays on the digital network Dropout. Here, the three celebrity contestants have no idea what game they'll be playing before the episode starts. In fact, this is the second episode from 2019. The three comedians have to imitate animals and act wacky to several improv statements. In fact, the game play here would prove so popular, it was spun off into the equally successful Make Some Noise. Very strange show, but host Sam Reich is clearly into it. It not only continues to air on Dropout to this day, it's spun off two more comedy shows along with Noise.

Laugh your way into fall with these wild and wacky contests, where you never know who might be playing next!

You Bet Your Life (1958)

Funny You Should Ask (1968)

Hollywood Squares (1972)

Match Game (1976)

Remote Control (1988)

Extreme Gong (1998)

Game Changer (2019)

Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow

This time, we started out at bit later at 9:30...and we made an extra stop before getting on the highway. Lauren promised her guy friend Rico that he could join us at Six Flags Great Escape today. Rico works with Lauren at the bank in Great Barrington. He proved to be a lot of fun, chatting and making jokes as Lauren drove through Stockbridge and Lee and got on the MassPike.

We first ended up at a rest stop about a half-hour or so outside of Lake George to use the bathroom. Lauren and I were delighted to find sodas we didn't often run into at home in their vending machines. I got a Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar. She found a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero Sugar. Rico got an Arizona iced tea and an energy drink.

Parking has been greatly simplified since we started coming to Great Escape together. Lauren only had to show the kid a voucher she printed online to get us in. She drove around back, parking us in the Three Musketeers lot near the edge of the woods. (All lots at Great Escape are named for Mars candies.) We followed the crowds over the bridge to the entrance.

Great Escape is a charming cross between Storybook Land in Mays Landing and the New Jersey Six Flags Great Adventure. It was originally a family park in the 50's called Storybook Town USA, but it added coasters and other rides over the years along with the original little fairy tale cottages and western ghost town buildings. We came in time for their Fright Fest. Kids dressed as witches, ghouls, Cinderella, and Mario streamed into haunted "house" rides and mazes. Alas, the spooky mazes and Trick or Treat cost extra, so we stuck to the regular rides.

We walked around first, taking in the lay of the land. Fabric spider's webs covered every single stationary object and ride and food booth that wasn't in use. Foul-smelling smoke drifted from vents and a huge spooky jack-'o-lantern near the Cinderella's Castle. Water in the fountains, including around Cinderella's Castle, was colored red to resemble blood. (Though it really more closely resembled cherry Kool Aid.)

Ended up at the Ghost Town. Lauren showed Rico how she's short enough to easily fit in one of the little houses before we stopped at a building housing games and cranes. These cranes contained stuffed toys that were far nicer and better made than the stuffies one usually found in them. One crane had nothing but Gund toys. Gund is a very good stuffed animal brand, not cheap at all. To my surprise, I got a soft, floppy white and gray cat on my second try! I named her Queensbury, after the town where Great Escape is, Queenie for short.

Our first actual ride took us over a steep bridge and into Hot Rod USA. Thunder Alley lets guests drive over a track decorated with vintage Storybook Town signs in 50's-style cars. It was also the only ride open in Hot Rod USA. Most of the others were down for the season or in the midst of being refurbished, which may account for the very long line. It was fun when we finally got in the cars, though. I rode a police car and giggled at the bright signs describing a ghost family on a Halloween picnic outing. The real-life 50's architecture across the street, including a fried chicken stand with a huge neon chicken sign, added to the ambiance. 

Made our way through the crowds and past many scary statues and busts of jokers, ghouls, and the Phantom of the Opera to the Fest Area. More rides were open here, including the brand-new wooden roller coaster the Bobcat. Lauren and Rico wanted to continue on and ride another wooden coaster, the Comet, but I was hungry and hate coasters. 

They ended up heading to the back of the park while I stepped into the Alpine Haus cafeteria for lunch. It was a dark, simple room that was just benches and a counter. The grilled chicken sandwich was a little dry but not bad. The fries were delicious, perfectly cooked with their skins on. I ate them outside at one of the yellow picnic tables and watched the crowds stroll by. 

Since they still hadn't arrived after I finished eating, I strolled around the area for a bit. There's several smaller carnival-style rides in the Fest Area, including the Cannonball Express. This is another name for the Music Express, which goes around and around on an up and down track and features brightly painted artwork of famous singers. The Music Express was one of my favorite rides in Wildwood, and I missed it. Unlike Thunder Alley, the line here wasn't long at all. I got on right away and even had a seat to myself. I screamed and clutched the bar as the music blared and the seats rocked and rolled over the track.

I met Rico and Lauren outside the Alpine Haus, where they enjoyed burgers and those yummy fries. After they finished, we doubled back to Hot Rod USA after I picked up a soda. We were originally going to ride the Storybook Town Train, but the line was prohibitively long. I talked them into the Grand Carousel instead, since that barely had any line at all. (They later said the Comet didn't, either.) 

The Grand Carousel is unique in one respect. Many of the horses are replaced by beautifully painted and detailed animals. I spotted an orange jack rabbit, a purple dragon, a camel, a black and white cat, and a lion. I ended up on a handsome pale blue horse with a cobalt mane and lovely flowers painted on his bridle. The little kids and their parents all around me rode their fanciful equines in happy awe, and I was delighted with their sweet reactions. 

Though the line at the train was still long when we got there, we figured it was one of the few rides all three of us could do together. In fact, it was so long, we didn't get on the first train that came around and had to wait for the second, and then the girl in charge took another 10 minutes making us wait while she called someone on her walkie-talkie. It was lovely when we finally got on. The Storybook Town Train takes you through the woods, past Popo the Purple Cow (who is really more of a friendly dragon), Hickory Dickory Dock, and slightly dilapidated jungle animal statues taken from the overgrown remains of the Jungleland rope walk-through. 

I spied giant Technicolor flowers from the train that were part of the Alice In Wonderland walk-through, so we headed there next. After getting turned around in the kiddie ride section Timbertown, we finally ducked into the low, narrow cave that took you into a black-light Wonderland. Rico chattered and joked about Alice stuck in the White Rabbit's house, the Mad Tea Party, and the Queen of Hearts looking slightly murderous among her card guards. 

It was past 4 when we got out of Wonderland. Time to head back to the International Village entryway and buy souvenirs. I didn't get anything. Not only am I running out of room, but I already won Queenie. Rico picked up a cool pair of yellow vinyl clogs with rainbows, unicorns, and Captain America shield buttons on them. Lauren bought a Great Escape t-shirt at the main gift shop you pass through on the way out.

The Pirate Adventure Golf Course isn't more than three minutes from Great Escape, so we went there next. This beautifully landscaped mini-golf course lets you choose two different courses, one harder than the other. We went with the tougher Blackbeard course. We all had a great time hitting our balls, chasing them when they bounced off-course, or trying to keep them from rolling into the many gurgling streams and waterfalls. They even had blurbs about the real Blackbeard on wooden signs posted at the start of each course. (I think Rico won this one.)

I hadn't eaten at Golden Corral since ours closed over a decade ago, and Rico called it "my mecca" and was delighted to eat anywhere that would fill his endless appetite. They turned out to be another short five-minute drive. They were also busy as heck, and not just because it's Sunday. We arrived just ahead of two buses filled with elderly tourists.

I'm glad we did end up there. I missed the one that used to be behind the Pep Boys/America's Best building at Audubon Crossings. They had tons of everything, from their amazing sweet potato casserole to what I believe was real whole berry cranberry sauce. I started with the cranberry sauce, cubed tropical fruit, and a greens salad with blue cheese and dried cranberries. My main protein was delicious steak tips straight off the grill. We all tried their yummy creamed spinach and cheese pizza. I had this pasta smothered in mozzarella, provolone, and herbs that was amazing, too. 

By the time we got to dessert, I was too full for more than a slim slice of chocolate cake with a curl of vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of banana pudding, and a brownie square I didn't finish. Lauren had blueberry pie and a watermelon Icee. Rico grabbed cookies and cake. I had a cherry ice with strawberry sauce (and a rogue berry gummy bear) for a chaser.

After that, we practically rolled back to Lauren's car to head home. This time, we went straight back to the Berkshires on the highway, no stopping anywhere besides Rico's house to drop him off. After he gave us big hugs for a great afternoon, we finished our ride through Lee and Lennox to Pittsfield, singing along with the Monkees.

I finished the night with the second of half of today's Match Game marathon. Debralee Scott started off in the ingenue seat in mid-1976. The flirtatious young sitcom star may be best-remembered by game show fans today for joining Richard Dawson in instigating the infamous "school riot" in 1977. She and Rich argued when judge Ira Skutch wouldn't accept their "finishing school" or poor scared Patti Deusch's "night school" as answers to a question about where Dumb Dora takes her cultured pearls to. Gene tried to calm them down, but he couldn't keep order. Charles and Brett jokingly had Charles sprawled on Gene's entrance steps as the victim of the "school riot," but the damage was done. The lower tier kept their responses up in protest for what little remained of the episode.

Debralee's other great early moment was when Bill Anderson performed a song just for her at the end of a 1976 episode. Brett and Charles, dressed as cowpokes, sang along. Deb was flattered that someone came up with a song for her on the spot and gave Bill a very sweet kiss.

Deb did most of her best work in syndication, when she generally sat in the sixth seat. She happily flirted with contestants and panelists alike. Bart Braverman thought she was cute and kept throwing papers at her. She did not think he was cute. She pounded on him until he grabbed her for a kiss! She did better with the Head-to-Head, winning contestants big money at least twice in the nighttime episodes.

Watch Debralee as she flirts and fights with panelists and contestants alike in this very funny marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Tribute to Debralee Scott

Oh, and it's a good thing I wasn't down in Philadelphia today. The Eagles got their rears handed to them by the Buccaneers 33-16. 

Birthdays and Matches

Started off my birthday with breakfast and Match Game '73 on YouTube. Brett and Charles made their first appearances on the show's third week, while Bert Convy and Betty White appeared outside of the pilot for the first time. It's also the first of many, many times Brett chides Charles for not wearing socks, and the first time Betty and Brett trade quips.

Headed out after that. The Uber driver didn't even need a minute to arrive. Thankfully, there was very little traffic as he headed down the highway and turned off to Deptford. He dropped me off at the front Boscov's Deptford Mall entrance around 11 AM.

Explored Boscov's first. I didn't see any clothes I liked, but they were having good sales on socks. They always have a great selection of decent socks. I walked out with a 3 pack of tan and brown cotton Goldtoe socks that came to $12 with 25 percent off.

FYE is a few doors down from Boscov's. While they no longer have the wonderful selection of DVDs and CDs they once did, they do have a decent pile of records. I found jazz group The Charlie Hunter Trio's Bing Bing Bing for $15. 

Made my way down to the other side of the mall and into Round 1 Arcade. They were a lot busier than usual, with far more small kids running around with parents. The ring toss and Lane Master bowling game were down, but everything else worked. I ran from the Monopoly dice spin to the Nerf Arcade to the giant Pac Man game to skee ball to the spinning pirate wheel to Mario Kart Deluxe (I ended up with Luigi). Came up with over 2,900 points. Normal-sized Beanie Babies were only 400 points each. I got fluffy Tundra the Snow Leopard and sweet Chopper the Dalmatian, along with two tiny popping candy bags and one of those Chinese yo-yos for 10 and 30 points each. And I still have over 2,000 points left for when Lauren visits in June.

It was past 1:30 when I finally had lunch at the food court. I really loved Pitas and Salad, the Greek food booth where I had lunch when Lauren visited last year. Had a delicious lamb and beef gyro with thick, dry fries and big tomato chunks. 

Bubble Bear Tea literally just opened a few days ago. Thought I'd finally give bubble tea a whirl. Tried their coconut milk tea. The "bubbles" were tapioca pearls, and they had a rather strange, gummy mouth feel. The coconut milk tea was good, but the bubbles were weird. I think I'll stick to green tea from now on when I want to do an exotic tea drink.

JC Penney is right behind the food court, so I went there next. They were having big clearance sales, including buy-one, get-one free on any items with a pink label. It took me forever to decide, but I finally came up with brown jeans (my old pair are starting to go in the thighs - I don't know if they'll survive another winter) and a gold cable sweater. The buy one, get one was more like buy one, get them half-off. With the sale, I got both for about $8 all together.

Peeked at the toy and accessories stores Box Lunch and Miniso, but it was past 3:30 by that point. If I wanted to check out Barnes and Noble too, I figured I might as well get going. Besides, the mall wasn't getting any less busy. I could barely move around in the toy stores. Went out the main entrance door, around Macy's, and past Dick's to the parking lot.

I originally tried to cross at the corner, but it was too crazy. As I headed down the street to cross closer to my destination, I saw something small and dirty laying in the street. It was a little Beanie Baby giraffe, all covered in dirt and bits of leaves. I couldn't just leave him there sitting next to the curb, so I brushed him off as best I could and stuck him in my bag. 

Ducked past the abandoned shopping center that once held Christmas Tree Shoppes and Bed Bath and Beyond before making it to Barnes and Noble. They were also busy, but there's also more room to spread out. I dug two mysteries out of the cozy section and found a book on game shows on the entertainment shelves. Deptford does have a music and DVD area, and they too now sell records.  

My Barnes and Noble finds were: 

The soundtracks for Encanto and The Three Amigos (and I never thought I'd see a soundtrack for the latter - apparently, it's exclusive to Barnes & Noble)

Dim Sum of All Fears - Vivien Chien

Rhythm and Clues - Olivia Blacke

Game Show Confidential - Boze Hadleigh

Stopped in at the Starbucks there to wet my whistle. This time, I went with a small Green Tea Frappuccino. It was cold and I was thirsty. I went through my finds while downing my drink.

Soon as I got outside, I called Uber. It took the young woman about 9 minutes to pick me up, but it was the height of rush hour on a Sunday. At any rate, we once again hit no traffic, and I was home in 20 minutes.

Put everything upstairs, then went right back out again. It was too nice of a day to sit inside. The weather was gorgeous. It remained windy, but was also sunny and warm, probably in the upper 60's. I originally wanted to get a treat from Los Amigos, but it turns out that they close early on Saturday. I considered Dunkin' Donuts, but they didn't have much left, and I didn't feel like hiking all the way to WaWa. I just went home after that.

As it turned out, someone already took care of that. A friend, two neighbors, and their daughter made a pineapple-upside down cake for me. I love pineapple upside-down cakes! I've made them myself a few times. My friend also gave me a card and a huge bouquet of pale pink roses that smell so nice. 

I heard from my family, too. Jessa texted late last night to see if I wanted to hit the Cherry Blossom Festival in Philly with her. I didn't get to it until late, and she didn't read it until much later. We decided to go bowling tomorrow or Tuesday instead. Rose texted me, and I had a nice chat with Mom (who also sent a lovely card). 

Soon as I got home, I took that poor little stuffed giraffe to the sink and gave him a good scrubbing. I hope I got all the dirt off. It took me forever just to pull the needle-like leaves stuck in him. Since he didn't come with his tag, I had no idea what his name was. My friend suggested Geoffrey, after the Toys R Us mascot. I think that will do just fine. At any rate, he now looks much better, or at least, is less dusty.

Watched more Match Game episodes after I went upstairs. One of the most famous early episodes was from the only week where Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce got to sit side-by-side (and the only time Elaine was in Brett's character actress seat). The contestant's answer to a question about Batman and Robin's relationship now has this episode banned from the airwaves. 

Switched to favorite episodes of the night time show after that. Two of the show's best early episodes has Gene questioning Richard's seemingly unusual answers in the Audience Match...and in the case of "Burns and __" and "Admiral __," let's say Richard was right both times. Another show begins with several panelists standing up and saluting a Scottish officer in full regalia. 

The Match Game Sunday Classics marathon began around 7:30 and ran until past 3:30. Ira Skutch, the show's producer and judge, was in the spotlight tonight. A tall gentleman with high cheekbones and a fondness for leisure suits, Ira generally appeared on camera when he had to replace a question that had been compromised in some way with a new one, or to explain his rulings. Among the time he had to do the latter was during the week Donald Ross and Patti Deustch played together. Donald said "a little yellow spot" as to what a dog did on the floor and it was passed. Two other people said "spot," and it was buzzed. Ira told them he passed yellow spot because it was specific.

Ira's rulings could cause a lot of trouble, most notoriously during the infamous "School Riot" in 1977. Ira let "college" and "scuba diving school" slide as answers to where Dumb Dora took her cultured pearls to, but not "finishing school" or "night school." Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson threw a fit. Patti Deustch was so scared, she could barely show her "night school" answer. Brett and Charles tried to defuse the situation by showing Charles as "the first victim of the school riot," but the damage had been done. The lower tier kept their answers up in protest for what little remained of the episode.

On the other hand, his decisions could benefit the contestants. When one woman struck out completely in the Audience Match in a 1976 PM episode and couldn't do the Head-to-Head, they let her match the panelists for 100 dollars each. She ended up going home with 600 dollars and a smile on her face. 

See if you can match answers with the show's infamously finicky producer and judge! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Featuring Producer Ira Skutch On Camera

And here's the other episodes I watched today!

1973 - First Appearances of Brett, Betty, Bert, and Charles

1973 - Batman and Robin are What?!

1975 PM - Burns and Cuts

1975 PM - Stand Up To Salute!

1975 PM - The Admiral TV Incident

Oh, and the nice weather didn't last forever. The rain returned somewhere around 10:30. It rained hard for a while, but thought it remains windy, I don't think it's rained since. 

Good and Windy Friday

I slept so late, by the time I finally got moving and had brunch, the second episode of Press Your Luck was on. The ladies started off well here. One picked up a car in the second round, but lost it to a Whammy. The other got a trip...but the guy made slightly more than she did and ended up winning.

Split Second was a little more interesting than yesterday. This time, everyone was a bit closer, though one of the ladies pulled ahead most of the time. She just managed to get the Countdown Round, but had less luck with the bonus round and decided to come back.

Headed out after Split Second ended. I wanted to get my grocery shopping done. Thanks to everyone getting off early on Good Friday, Cuthbert was really busy when I got there. A gorgeous day may have brought people out of the woodwork, too. It was windy, yes, but also sunny and in the mid-50's. It was lovely when you could get out of the wind!

The local high school and middle school kids who'd just gotten off for their Easter break had already invaded Westmont Plaza by the time I arrived. I passed by at least three girls riding bikes on my way and saw a gaggle of boys on bikes chatting and blasting music in Target's parking lot. Good thing kids aren't interested in Sprouts. They don't have a section for toys or a dedicated seasonal aisle. Any seasonal goodies are on displays around the store. Decided to try Minneola Tangelos. Found Cascade Farms vanilla chip granola bars on clearance for $1.98 and Kodiak bars for $4.49. 

Blew down Cuthbert to the Westmont Acme next. Unlike Sprouts, they were really busy with adults who got off work early for Easter weekend and were picking up their candy and holiday dinners. Bought chocolate chips and strawberries for the cake I wanted to make for the employee hot dog luncheon. Restocked honeycrisp apples, yogurt, Coke Zero, and Kind granola bars on sale with an online coupon. Bought birthday cards for Rose and Khai next month, since I had an online coupon for cards that ends on Easter Day.

Cut across Cuthbert and down Atlantic to the  PNC Bank in Collingswood next. The drive-up ATM machines had long lines, so I went inside. Went in, got money, got out with no trouble.

After I made it home, I got organized and put everything away while letting Super Password run. Saw the tail end of an episode featuring Gloria Loring and David Doyle. Considering Doye isn't always that great at Match Game, he seemed to do really well with Password, helping his contestant get the last puzzle before the episode ended.

After Super Password ended, I gathered my cake ingredients while watching The First Easter Egg! One the Bunny (so named because his mother had so many children, she ran out of names and started giving them numbers) wants to make her a special Easter dinner. He tries gathering apples, but a robin reminds him that they're out of season. His attempt to ask the Three Little Pigs for ham only ends with them becoming even more paranoid than they already were. A kindly chicken gives him her egg. After a weasel tries stealing it, a pink-obsessed flamingo suggests hard-boiling it. His pink dye inspires One to make it look fancy, which so pleases his mother, he decides to make colored eggs for everyone. 

Apparently a TV special from 1999, this isn't great, but it has its fun moments. Honestly, I feel sorry for One. Considering some of the obnoxious characters he met while trying to do something nice for his mother, no wonder he got upset half-way through the cartoon. You can understand why the hen felt bad for him, too. The flamingo and his number are too goofy for words, and the paranoid pigs get old fast. And One's mother must have been too busy to teach him about much of anything, considering he didn't know apples grow in fall and mentioning ham to pigs would likely make them very nervous! It works as what it was likely intended to be, cute filler for younger kids before the Easter egg hunt.

Making the strawberry loaf cake went less well. I put all the ingredients together the way it said on the box and used the temperature it required. I had so much batter, I ended up using one large and one small loaf pan. The cakes ended up browning on the edges, and the larger one never cooked in the middle. I don't know what I'm going to do about them. I can't take them to the Acme. They fell apart when I removed them.

Went back upstairs to watch The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town while job searching. I went further into this 1977 Rankin-Bass stop-motion Easter tale at my Musical Dream Movie Reviews blog back in 2019.

Animation Celebration Double Feature - Here Comes Peter Cottontail & The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

Got my schedule at this point. In good news, Easter and Thursday off as requested (the latter using up a vacation day) and far more hours. Thing is, Easter and Thursday are the only days I got off. In fact, the reason I asked for Thursday off was I figured it was the only way I'd get two days off next week! I work early the entire rest of the week, including 8 1/2 hours on Wednesday and Friday. I suspect a lot of people very likely used up their own vacation days for Easter break. 

Worked on writing next. Mrs. Rowland reveals that Prince Jordan is already late getting home from university. He's supposed to arrive when the Spring Festival begins and choose a bride, but he hasn't gotten back yet, and his parents are worried. Kathleen has read about the handsome, quiet, and intelligent prince, and she wishes she could meet him. 

Broke for dinner and Match Game '90 at 7 PM. No clue why Buzzr skipped ahead a decade, but while I do hope they finish the syndicated run eventually, I'm glad they're giving this version a chance. Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly join Vicki Lawrence and Joe Alaskey (who was listed as being from Out of This World but may be best-known by kids who grew up when I did as the voice of Plucky Duck from Tiny Toon Adventures) to answer a joke about a certain businessman with a toupee that may hit a little harder now than it would have then. I don't mind the host Ross Shafer, either. He's funny and really cute. Yes, I miss Gene Rayburn, but I was also 11 in 1990. I have fond memories of either seeing or, in the case of Alaskey, hearing these people often on TV. 

Put on The Easter Promise next. Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) and her friends are excited when former Broadway star Constance Payne (Jean Simmons) comes home to Clear River for Easter 1947. She boasts that Constance once dated her father James (Jason Robards), but he thinks she's snobby. Addie manages to talk Constance into dinner at her house and judging the school style show, but she overdoes the wine at dinner and turns up at the show drunk. The girls do have a good time learning about acting from Constance, but when they come for their second lesson, she's drunk again. Addie's ready to give up, but her grandmother (Mildred Natwick) reminds her that you should never abandon a friend in need, and spring is the perfect time to start over.  

Other than I wish they'd shot on location instead of soundstages, this may be my favorite of the four Addie movies. Seeing Addie and her friends laugh and giggle at a slumber party and prepare to color eggs reminds me so much of all the fun my sisters and I had at Easter when we were 12. (Mr. Mills would probably be happy to know that we used boiled eggs instead of blown ones.) Her relationship with Constance and how she and her family help her out is really sweet, too. Lovely Easter viewing, especially for families with girls Addie's age.

Here's my friend Linda Young's website with more information on all of the Addie holiday movies!

Finished the night at Tubi for two unique and rare Easter specials. The Great Easter Egg Hunt is very charming for something intended to go direct to DVD in 2000. Sweet stuffed bunny Whiskers is the envy of all the toys in Peter's room because he gets to go to school with him. Whiskers doesn't think he's so lucky when a dog runs off with him. After he escapes the dog, a group of real rabbits tell him about the Great Easter Egg, a special and magical egg that can grant the finder one wish. When Peter gets sick, Whiskers and the other toys go off in search of the egg. 

Cliched, yes, but also sweet. Whiskers and the toys are fun to watch, and I enjoyed their adventures. The songs seem unnecessary and the animation on the real rabbits seems a bit odd, but otherwise, this is worth checking out for families with younger kids who are looking for something different to watch before the egg hunt this year.

An Easter Story is one of two puppet holiday specials done by Paul Fusco, who would go on to create Alf. The Easter Bunny is worried that he can't meet egg production this year. His magic-obsessed son tries to help, but all he can conjure up is jelly beans. It looks like Easter might be canceled, until two worried boys come up with the perfect solution. 

Little April Showers

Started off my morning reading about one of my favorite silent actresses, the wonderful Marion Davies. I love her delightful vehicle Show People, a very funny spoof of silent-era Hollywood. I ran across When Knighthood Was In Flower on YouTube a few years ago and really enjoyed that, too. I had just enough time to write in my journal, change, and grab breakfast before Karen picked me up for today's job counseling session at the Haddon Township Library.

I had no idea signing up for federal aid was so complicated! Turns out I need my most recent bank statement and this year's tax return. I have them - in fact, I just put my tax return away - but I didn't have them on me. We just looked for jobs instead. I wasn't happy about applying as a secretary for Cooper University Hospital. I really want to stay out of health care. It's too stressful, and I know nothing about medicine. There just isn't much out there that fits my abilities and interests.

After Karen dropped me off, I grabbed my bike and went right back out. I never did get to check out Cacia's Bakery on King's Highway last week. They're a small Italian bakery across the street from a church and the big CVS, and they make terrific food. Despite the small size of the little brick building, I just couldn't decide. A slice of cake, or oatmeal cookies, or maybe one of the square pizzas? I eventually bought some butter cookies as a treat for now and a Jewish apple cake for dessert over the next week or so. 

It had been cloudy and windy all morning. The clouds grew darker as I rode down the back roads of Audubon. They finally burst as I headed back. Thankfully, they didn't last long. I got a bit damp going home, but they were gone by the time I crossed Cuthbert Road. I didn't want to take my chances, though. I went nowhere else today.

Went straight into lunch and Match Game '77 when I got home. Jo Ann Harris had no trouble giving Gene his "new kid on the block" kiss in the opening. Meanwhile, Avery Schriber has a hard time just staying in his seat! 

Messed around a bit online before I finally decided to settle down for a nap. I didn't care how nice it was or wasn't. I'm just really, really worn out right now. I went down at 1:30 and didn't get up until past 4. Read the next chapter in the silent stars book on Lon Chaney Sr. Alas, his only movie I've seen is The Phantom of the Opera, which I watched on Halloween in college one year. His specialties were largely horror, crime, and melodrama, none of which interest me. I do want to check out the bizarre He Who Gets Slapped, where he plays a scientist-turned-clown in a film that also includes John Gilbert and the young Norma Shearer, his Hunchback of Notre Dame, and both silent and sound versions of The Unholy Three. 

I went on the computer around 4:30 for writing. Richard admits he, Gene, and Gary formulated a plan. They're hoping the gold will lure the Wild Rider Gang out of hiding, and they'll be able to catch the rest of them. Fannie's not crazy about that plan...and neither is Richard. He claims he's more worried about his own neck and keeps trying to flirt with Lee, who ignores him.

(Oh, and the clouds moved in again somewhere around 5 PM. By 6, it was raining again, and much harder than before. It's rained off and on, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the night.)

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game '79 while I ate. Bowser is touched when Joyce Bulifant gives him her rope of beads in the opening. Gene's less amused when the cameras won't get off of him, prompting him walking right into the camera for a creepy close-up!

Finished the night online after I did chores downstairs with The Black Pirate. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. is another silent movie star I've read about this week. A lot of his later swashbucklers get too big for their britches (and plots), but this one is just right. After a band of cutthroats destroy his ship, a young man (Fairbanks) vows revenge by joining the ones who did it. After he kills their captain (Anders Randolf), he claims he'll capture their next ship single-handed. Not only does he manage to do that, but he insists they hold the female passenger (Billie Dove) for ransom. The pirate lieutenant (Sam De Grasse) would rather have her, period, and has the ransom ship destroyed. The young man has fallen in love with her and tries to free her, but ends up sent off a plank for his troubles. But you can't keep a good Fairbanks down, and with the help of a one-armed Scotsman (Donald Crisp), he survives the jump and leads the cavalry to rescue his lady fair. 

If you ever wanted to check out one of Fairbanks' swashbucklers, this or The Mark of Zorro are probably the best places to start. They're shorter, leaner, elaborate without being overdone, and a heck of a lot of fun. Fairbanks has a ball as the young nobleman out for revenge, and Donald Crisp is hilarious as the old Scotsman who helps him out. If you love silent action or are a swashbuckler fan like me, this is highly recommended. 

Blowing In the Wind

Got such a quick start, I barely had time for breakfast, the tail end of the 1986 Card Sharks, and the beginning of To Tell the Truth. Gene Rayburn joined Bill, Peggy, and Kitty to figure out which of three men was stranded in a dinghy and a rubber raft for 37 days in the Pacific. Didn't have the chance to see which one did it before Uber arrived. 

Work was tiring today! This was my first of two bagging days in a row. I was all alone today, too. The next bagger wasn't due until I left at 5 PM. We were on-and-off busy later in the afternoon, which meant I had a hard time keeping up with the carts and the sweeping and checking the bathrooms and cleaning up broken jars of pasta sauce. We're having a hard time finding baggers who want to work on weekday mornings and afternoons. All but two baggers work evenings or weekends. Even Uber showed up later than they were originally supposed to after showing up right on time this morning.

At least the weather could have been worse. Windy and cool, but also cloudy for most of the day. No rain this time, only those dark clouds. 

Applied for a fairly inexpensive apartment building in Mt. Ephram, about ten or so minutes down the Black Horse Pike from the Acme, then went into writing. Brett eats both mushrooms Nipsey the Caterpillar gave her at at the same time...and they make her grow so tall, her head hits the ceiling! She's now literally bigger than the Red King and can tell him what she thinks of him. But it won't last for long...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Match Game '77. Gene jokingly threatens the male contestant before everyone makes jokes about what would be in a Gene Rayburn sandwich. Meanwhile, Brett misses her best friend Charles, who is away visiting family in New York, rather badly.

Started a Honey Oatmeal Cake while watching The Halloween Tree. Four kids dressed as a witch, a skeleton, a monster, and a mummy are shocked when they realize their good friend Pip who always comes up with great costumes is in the hospital. They think they see him running along and follow him to a spooky old house owned by a shrunken man named Moundshroud (Leonard Nimoy). When Pip steals the pumpkin from the Halloween Tree that represents his life, the kids and Moundshroud follow him through 4,000 years of Halloween history, learning about the multi-cultural origins of their costumes and Halloween traditions on the way.

It's rare that animated specials dive in Halloween's origins the way many do for Christmas, making this adaptation of the Ray Bradbury children's novel fairly unique. 

Finished the night online with Mystery at the Wax Museum on TCM. This horror mystery was one of the last films to use the original two-strip Technicolor process before the studios switched to the improved three-strip. Reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) thinks the Joan of Arc statue at the local wax museum too closely resembles a model who recently committed suicide for comfort. Turns out the model's body is among the many that have gone missing from the morgue recently. The musuem's creepy owner (Lionel Atwill) was disfigured by a fire in his previous museum that left him unable to sculpt. His assistant Ralph Burton (Allen Vincent) has a fiancee named Charlotte Duncan (Fay Wray) who is a dead (pardon the pun) ringer for the perfectly crafted Marie Antoinette he lost in the fire. He's determined to make the lovely Charlotte into his next victim, even as Florence learns just what happened to those bodies.

Creepy horror thriller proves that the pinks and greens of two-strip Technicolor could be just as useful in creating spooky atmosphere as it was in dressing up flashy musicals. Farrell and Atwill do the best here as the determined and fast-talking woman journalist who needs that story and the scary sculptor who finds a fairly nasty method of continuing to sculpt, even when he no longer can. This and the Vincent Price remake House of Wax are both recommended if you like your scares more tense than bloody. 

Dolls and Sisters

Started off a cloudy morning with scrambled eggs and tomatoes for breakfast and Blockbusters. A sweet teacher beat all comers, easily defeating a sister pair in the first half and holding her own against two sisters-in-law in the second. In between, she only missed one question on the Gold Run and won the money in record time. 

Dressed the dolls for September and back to school after I did the dishes. Molly wear's the original blue and white Kit's School Outfit and oxfords. I love Samantha in her current meet outfit, the pink Swiss-dotted dress with the big lace collar, burgundy velvet sash, and black strap shoes. Added the straw boater from her Hair-Styling Kit to complete the look. Ariel wears the pale blue Swiss lace mini-dress she came in with the crocheted vest and Springfield Collection espadrilles. Whitney is the picture of a nifty 50's girl in the purple and pink gingham Sweet Memories Our Generation Retro dress and magenta shrug. Felicity's in her lavender Traveling Gown (also known as her second meet outfit). Jessa's a lot simpler in a pair of jean shorts from a craft show, the magenta t-shirt from an early AG modern meet outfit, and striped socks and turquoise and white sneakers from a later "meet" outfit. Josefina wears her orange and red-striped Summer Dress with the ruffles on the bottom. 

Switched to Match Game '75 while having a quick Banana-Coffee Smoothie for lunch. Host Gene Rayburn jumped off the pedestal he enters in the opening, making it look like he would be making a far less smooth landing! Bond girl Lana Wood and goofy comic Avery Schreiber had a far less scary time helping a lovely contestant with "Mel ___" in the Audience Match. This is another one where everyone got really into celebrating a win, too, as Gene grabbed Lana for a smooch! Loved Joyce Bulifant's answer to who could fill a hot air balloon, too.

Headed out to run errands even before the show ended. First stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library; I had a book overdue. Went with the next Maisie Dobbs book after the one Linda Young gave me for Christmas, The American Agent. 

Strolled down the White Horse Pike, enjoying weather that was cloudy and humid, but also much cooler than it has been, barely in the 80's. Wanted cheaper chocolate chips at Dollar General. Grabbed lemon extract and trash bags, too. 

I put everything away when I got home, then made the bed while Hogan's Heroes went on in the background. Carter creates "The Purchasing Plan" when London demands that Hogan and his guys keep ammunition crucial to the German underground at the camp. Seems Stalag 13 is low on funds...and Carter's ideas may make Klink and Hogan happy.

Jessa arrived with her fluffy black dog Midnight in tow at 2:30. We had no idea where we wanted to go for lunch. After spending ten minutes driving around the area, trying to figure out what to do, we ended up at Sonic to eat in the car. And of course, it turns out they're only doing drive-in at the moment. We ordered a chili dog for her and a burger for me and ate them on the porch at home instead.

Turns out there's a reason I haven't seen much of Jessa recently. She apparently took a second job (though she wouldn't say what). Jodie apparently told her she'd already put the house on the market, which is why she called me. No, it isn't going up until the 14th.

There was a crowd in the pool when we finished eating. Jessa chatted with Rose, while I joined Reilly, Chloe, Finley, and Khai in the pool. Cider, Rose's big pup, chased Midnight for a while before he and Jessa headed out. I enjoyed floating on the warm water, while the kids pretended to be cats and dogs and splashed each other. 

When they got bored with swimming, they dashed down the block to see what our neighbors were up to. Sandy and her kids and some kids in the neighborhood were having mini-races on bikes and motorized scooters. One of the dads helped a little girl riding a tricycle attempt to keep up with the other two. We cheered them on briefly before I went back inside to dry off.

Worked on writing for a while after I changed into dry clothes. The Mock Turtle (Avery Schreiber) is a weepy creature who sobs about taking classes under the sea and being a real turtle. Brett's amused that he's so into it; her sons would rather play on the beach.

Did laundry between paragraphs. Rose and the next-door neighbors confirmed that Jodie is out of town again, likely until at least Friday. I took advantage of this to not only get my regular load done, but wash blankets as well. She didn't tell me she was leaving, let alone not to go on her side of the house.

Finished the night making a Rosemary-Lemon Cake while watching Three Little Girls In Blue. I go further into this tale of three sisters looking to catch wealthy husbands in turn of the 20th century Atlantic City at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Three Little Girls In Blue

Cleaning Day

Started off a gloomy, humid morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel's looking forward to his "Tiger Family Trip" to Grandpere's house. He, his parents, and his baby sister Margaret see many interesting sights along the way, including a dinosaur playground and a butterfly garden. The fun doesn't end when they arrive. Grandpere takes Daniel on a treasure hunt and lets him pilot his ship while making an early morning excursion to a waterfall with a rainbow over it. 

Switched to Match Game '76 while making the bed and changing the sheets and blanket for my summer cotton blankets and summer-weight quilt. The first episode had Charles showing off his "beauty mark" made with his writing marker for a question. The second had tiebreakers that went on for so long, there was no Super Match or Head-to-Head in the episode. 

Spent the next two hours cleaning the apartment. I'm not doing really heavy cleaning again until I have some idea of when I'm moving. I scrubbed the bathroom and the kitchen, vacuumed quickly, and dusted around everything. The last-named was especially important, thanks to all the pollen blown in last month. 

Watched Fame on Watch TCM as I worked and had a banana-chocolate smoothie for lunch. I go further into the original version of this story of the hopes and dreams of the students at the New York High School of the Performing Arts in my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Fame (1980)

Switched to Super Password as the movie ended. Patty Duke and Fred Grandy had a lot of trouble with at least two Password Puzzles...the second of which Bert Convy claimed to have no trouble with at all. The late Helen Reddy came back to win Tattletales today with her then-husband, music producer Jeff Wald, over comedians Totie Fields and George Johnston and former game show host Jan Murray and his wife Toni. Whammies flew like crazy in the second round of Press Your Luck. In the end, the one woman just barely beat the champ and took home a trip and a stereo for her trouble. 

Worked on writing for a while. Brett follows a fish footman who looks an awful lot like Jack Narz to a fancy Victorian home in the middle of the woods. He's greeted by his frog footman brother Tom Kennedy. Brett finds their formal exchanges of invitations to play croquet with Queen Betty of Hearts rather amusing. What isn't funny is all the screaming and noise and pepper and crockery being flung out the door and windows...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had eggs and asparagus while enjoying more Match Game '76. Gene kicks off with a spoof of Ron Pallilo's regular show Welcome Back, Kotter as his panelists announce "welcome back, Rayburn!" Later, the contestant seemed to have real rapport with Charles, choosing him twice for the Head-to-Head. 

Match Game PM returned to 1979 as I mixed a Hot Fudge Pudding Cake. We see Helen Rayburn, Gene's wife of 50 years, cheering her beloved husband on in the opening sequence. Later, there's jokes about what you play at a really strange party, and Charles helps a man win $20,000 with "Plaza __."

Sale of the Century celebrated New Year's week 1988 with another close game. The champ was behind until mid-way through. She just barely won the Speed Round...but this time, she had no trouble at all with the Bonus Round and got the money with time to spare. 

Finished the night online with some random weirdness of the 80's and 90's. "Quest of the Delta Knights" is one of the few 90's movies spoofed on Mystery Science Theater 3000. This obviously low-budget sword and sorcery adventure is so ripe for wisecracks, even evil overlord Pearl insists on getting in on the fun during the first twenty minutes or so.

The Love Boat did some spoofing of its own during its last season. Gopher watches a World War II movie marathon with the captain and Doc and imagines himself into a "Forties Fantasy." The Captain is now in charge of a Naval troop carrier, and the ladies are USO members. Charro is somehow a Nazi spy in league with a very familiar German. (I guess they had to sneak Bernie Koppel's Siegfried accent in there somewhere.) Meanwhile, a USO performer (Erin Moran) keeps trying to spend time with her sailor husband, Vicki is dying to take Charo's place and become a star, and a 4 F friend of Issac's (Nathan Cook) wants to take his place and get into combat. 

(Oh, and the rain didn't finally arrive until during the game shows. It rained hard and made noise while Sale of the Century was on...but to my knowledge, it hasn't rained since.)