Discovering Games

Began the morning reading about Columbus Day. The big piece in Colliers Harvest of Holidays is a surprisingly honest biography from 1944 that points out he took natives from their island homes, never found the Asian riches he was searching for, and died a broken man. Two poems were funnier, but they still discussed his lack of sailing and leadership abilities and his crew's near-mutiny.

Since I got up so late and the weather was so beautiful, I decided to go out for brunch instead of sitting in front of cartoons at home. Rode up to the Legacy Diner, just dodging a group of girls who just came out. They were so busy, I ended up sitting at the counter. I still enjoyed my broccoli and cheddar omelet, home fries, and whole wheat toast. I spent so much time staring at the desserts in the displays up front, I had to try their pumpkin cheesecake. Ooh, spicy and decadent and very earthy-pumpkin!

Cut across Audubon and past the baseball fields at Green Wave Park, which is directly across from the back of Goodwill. I delivered a bag of donations, then went around to the front store. My best find today was a  bright red Issac Mizrahi sweater with lovely scalloped edges. It was sunny and warm today, but the wind was chilly. I ended up wearing the sweater home. Good thing it's soft and incredibly comfortable. I also picked up a cute rounded stuffed fox decoration made with woven fall-colored plaid fabric I named Locksley, the 1962 Disney version of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates on DVD, and the two-disc This Is America record from the Longines Symphony for patriotic holidays. (While the Audubon Goodwill has heavily expanded their DVD collection, I was disappointed to see they barely had any CDs left, and not that many records, either.)

Hit up a few more stores after finishing at Goodwill. Found bags of mini-books for trick-or-treaters at Five Below that would be perfect for the Mystery Bags, along with an adorable Squishmallow cat named Cam with bat wings. I wanted to start my Christmas shopping at Marshalls, but they were too busy! I just replaced my curl brush and comb. The fluffy bear ears headband was supposed to be for spa days, but I thought it would be perfect for a bear costume. 

The other reason I was at Audubon Crossings was to get my hair done. There's a Great Clips across the parking lot from Marshalls and Ross. Considering how busy the stores and the Legacy Diner were, they were empty. They were able to seat me right away. That blunt cut that I got in early April didn't really end up looking right or working with my curls. They look more attractive and are more manageable cut chin-length and layered. They felt so much better and bouncier when I headed out!

Stopped at Common Grounds Coffee House on the way home for another delicious Rosemary Apple Cider Chai-der. Had a banana chip muffin for lunch, too. They were also surprisingly quiet. Most people must still be on vacation or are focusing on shopping. 

Once I got home, I relaxed while watching the 1952 version of Ivanhoe on Tubi. Robert Taylor is the title character, who returns home from the Crusades to discover Richard the Lionhearted (Norman Woodland) is being held prisoner by the king of Austria, who demands a huge ransom for his release. Richard's brother John (Guy Rolfe) would rather rule England in his stead and pit Saxons and Normans against one another. Passing himself off as a minstrel, Ivanhoe brings Norman soldiers Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders) and Sir Hugh De Bracey (Robert Douglas) to the home of his father Cedric (Finlay Currie). Cedric wants nothing to do with any Norman, not even Richard, but his ward Rowena (Joan Fontaine) is in love with Ivanhoe and is more supportive. 

Ivanhoe realizes Saxons aren't the only race being persecuted in England when he helps his father's jester Wamba (Emlyn Williams) rescue kindly old rabbi Issac (Felix Aylmer) from soldiers. His daughter Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor) gives up her jewels so Ivanhoe can win a jousting tournament. He does win, but is injured while doing so. None other than Robin Hood (Harold Warrender) brings him to Rebecca to be healed. It's Robin Hood and his Merry Men to the rescue when Cedric is captured and Ivanhoe goes to rescue him, only to be taken as well. When Rebecca is branded a witch and may be burned at the stake, Ivanhoe rushes to King John's castle to stop her trial and prove who the real greatest knight in England is.

Honestly, Robert Taylor's kind of stiff (and a bit overage) as the valiant knight. It's the ladies and villains who walk off with this one. Fontaine and especially Elizabeth Taylor are so luminous, you can understand why Ivanhoe has a hard time choosing between them for a while. Sanders has more fun playing a slightly less sneering villain than he normally did. There's also the gorgeous Technicolor production, with England and some enormous sets blazing across the screen. I also appreciate that the anti-prejudice story is treated with some sensitivity, especially for the time. If you're looking for a good, stirring swashbuckler with slightly more to say than most in the genre, you can't go wrong with two of the loveliest ladies ever in an MGM England.

Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. The first hour skipped past several weeks that are missing episodes to the tail end of the week with Hans Conried and Sarah Kennedy. Hans seemed a bit dazed, which is likely why this would be his only appearance on the show. Conny Van Dyke and Dick Martin had more fun the next week, especially when Conny complained about not getting a new-kid-on-the-block kiss (despite having been on the show at least twice before).

Finished the night with a salute to Double Dare. This Nickelodeon staple celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. This would be Nick's first foray into game shows. Two teams with two kids answer trivia questions from host Marc Summers. If they don't know the answer, they can toss a dare at the other kids. If those kids don't know, they can throw dares back. Third dare gets a "physical challenge," a messy stunt. Winner goes on to the Obstacle Course, 8 unique slime-filled stunts. Grabbing an orange flag at the end of a stunt nets a prize. Get all 8, and you got the grand prize, which in the 80's was usually a trip to Disney World or Space Camp. 

Double Dare meant a little more to kids like my sisters and me who grew up in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area in the mid-late 80's. From 1986 until they moved to Nickelodeon Studios in 1989, they filmed at WHYY Studios, the PBS station in downtown Philadelphia. You would frequently see kids from Philly, its suburbs, and South Jersey on the show and in the audience. The show's announcer Harvey was even a popular Philly disc jockey at the time.

The show was so popular, it had spin-offs almost immediately. Super Sloppy Double Dare was the weekend edition that debuted in 1987. Double Dare entered syndication, mainly on Fox stations, in 1988. Family Double Dare originally debuted in 1988 as well, but didn't last long in syndication. It did better on Nick from 1990 to 1992.

Double Dare proved so popular in re-runs, it returned to Nick in 2000 as Double Dare 2000. Pretty much the same deal, but the host was now Jason Harris, the contestants remained families, and they added a third Triple Dare Challenge. It didn't really help the show. Double Dare 2000 never found an audience and was gone within 10 months. 

The show's last version to date was in 2018. It pretty much returned to its original format, with more variety in the contestants. Now you never knew who would be playing. It might be just kids, as in the episode I have here from Paramount Plus, or kids and adult guardians, or kids and celebrities, or just celebrities. TV and radio personality Lisa Dishy had a blast hosting, and Marc Summers took over Harvey and Doc Holliday's duties as announcer. While it was never the runaway success that the original was, it did manage a decent two years. 

Celebrate 40 years of the messiest, silliest, wildest stunts on cable and syndicated TV with these delightfully gak-filled episodes! 

Double Dare Premiere (1986)

Double Dare Syndicated (1988)

Family Double Dare (1990)

Double Dare 2000 (2000)

Double Dare (2018)

Dolls and the Perfect Fall

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel and his friends are excited about "The Neighborhood Fall Festival," especially the decorations around Music Man Stan's store. When the wind knocks them down, they try to put them up the way Stan did, but find it difficult. Mrs. Tiger finally tells them to do their best. Likewise, Daniel does his best to jump leaves and kick a soccer ball through two pumpkins during a "Field Day at School." 

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon dressing the dolls for fall and the cooler weather we're having now. Samantha wears her blue windowpane check Play Dress with the white pinafore and black and white boots. Jessa and Molly are also ready to play after school, Jessa in the original 1995 Mix and Match Meet Outfit, Molly in her red hula costume sweater, khakis, and the collar from her meet outfit. Felicity's original "meet" outfit with the orange and red rose print is perfect for fall. Kit's also in her original meet outfit, the lavender floral skirt and twin-set sweater and cardigan. 

Ariel and Barbara Jean get Our Generation Retro outfits. Ariel goes for the 70's schoolgirl look in a white satin blouse with a pink necktie, salmon knit vest, and brown plaid skirt. Barbara Jean is pure mid-late 60's in a chevron-print mini dress with a white top and huge orange collar and cuffs. Josefina is in her blue, yellow, and red print BeForever "meet" skirt and camisa. Whitney's outfit is a hand-made purple floral dress with black lace I found at the Barrington Antique Center about three or four years ago.

Listened to solo albums from two very different Broadway divas as I worked. Take Me to the World presents Sutton Foster in a slightly quieter mode than usual for her, maybe because she'd given birth during the recording of this album. That accounts for her lovely version of "A Quiet Thing" from Flora the Red Menace paired with "Hush Little Baby." The title song is from the odd Stephen Sondheim TV musical Evening Primrose; it's paired with the title song of the Maltby-Shire revue "Starting Here, Starting Now." There's a lot of Cole Porter here, too, including "Give Him the Ooh-La-La" from DuBarry Was a Lady, "C'est Magnifique" from Can-Can, and a chorus "Every Time We Say Goodbye" from Seven Lively Arts. She even gets off Broadway with two similar Paul Simon songs, "Old Friends" and "Bookends."

Julie Andrews dove into the music of a different Broadway composer in the early 90's. The Music of Richard Rodgers is mostly split between his work with Lorenz Hart and his work with Oscar Hammerstein. We do get one solo song, "Nobody Told Me" from No Strings, and his one attempt to work with Stephen Sondheim, the title song of "Do I Hear a Waltz?" That's part of a medley with other waltzes like "The Carousel Waltz," "It's a Grand Night for Singing" from State Fair, "A Wonderful Guy" from South Pacific, and "Out of My Dreams" and "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma. Hart is represented by "It Never Entered My Mind" from Higher and Higher and the title song of Spring Is Here, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" from Pal Joey, "I Wish I Were In Love Again," "Where Or When," and "My Funny Valentine" from Babes In Arms, and "This Can't Be Love" from The Boys from Syracuse and "Thou Swell" from A Connecticut Yankee. 

Switched to the Oklahoma! 1998 London cast album while eating a quick lunch. This was one of the first attempts to go in for a grittier tone with this show. Hugh Jackman won raves as Curly, the cowboy courting a slightly tougher Laurey (Josefina Gabrielle). Their "People Will Say We're In Love" is especially charming. Maureen Lipman had too much fun as Aunt Eller, while Shuley Hensley really tears into "Lonely Room." (It's even more fun if you can dig up the recording of the full show, which I think is pretty easily found online.)

Didn't even finish the CD before I hurried out to the Thomas Sharp School. We started out in pretty much the same way, with the kids in the hall due to the music class running over. All 20 kids went straight into snack time when we made it into the cafeteria. Once again, they played with magnetic tiles and drew for a little while, but we got them outside by quarter of 4. 

And once again, it was too nice for anyone to be inside for long! The weather was even nicer, a little cooler but still breezy, with the gold and blue haze the best fall days seem to have. There was some squabbling over the swings. Kids want to swing with their friends, or they want to get on the swings before they leave, but the kids already on there won't move. At the very least, once again, most of the kids who wanted a ride got one, and most got two or three before we went back inside around 5 PM. I had just enough time to see them start to work on threading beaded necklaces and bracelets before I headed out.

Took out the trash, then had dinner while watching Match Game '77. The Friday episode may have been one of the most important of the entire series. The contestant answered "school" to where Dumb Dora takes her cultured pearls to. Judge and producer Ira Skutch passed Brett and Ed's "college," but Charles had to beg for "scuba diving school," and Debralee and Richard's "finishing school" and Patti's "night school" were flat-out buzzed. Gene tried to keep order, but Debralee and Richard protested loudly and the contestant got the audience riled. Charles and Brett tried to calm things down by having Charles appear as "the first victim of the school riot" on Gene's entrance stairs, but the damage was done. The lower tier kept its answers up in protest for the remainder of the episode.

Finished the night at Tubi with Hawk the Slayer. Hawk (John Terry) is a warrior who is called on by Ranulf (W. Morgan Sheppard) to rescue a local abbess (Annette Crosbie) from the evil Voltan (Jack Palance). That Voltan is Hawk's brother who killed his wife (Catronia MacColl) in a fit of jealousy is probably one of the least-cheesy things about this movie. Hawk calls on three friends, a fight-loving giant (Bernard Bresslaw), a serious-minded elf (Ray Charleston), and a comic dwarf (Peter O'Farrell), then does nothing with them. Palance and Crosbie are more interesting as the scenery-chewing villain and the hopeful nun who truly believes the heavens are with her. Though this was a hit in England and eventually did well on cable in the US when it finally made it over here (the production company went bankrupt as they were making the movie), it's extreme 80's cheese of most overripe sort. If you're a fan of 80's action or medieval fantasy, it's worth checking out once for some decent scenery-chewing. 

Country Roads

This time, we started out at quarter after 9 with a trip to Vermont. Lauren needed to get gas, so we stopped at the Shell station down the street from her house. She got her gas and a croissant at the Dunkin' Donuts in the convenience store there. I got a "Franki" Matcha Latte (topped with purple foam) and a maple frosted donut. 

Vermont is beautiful country! I love our drives up there. It was sunny when we left, but even with dark clouds moving in on the horizon, the gold and orange trees glowed in the rustling wind. The emerald green farmland was laden with huge round pumpkins and golden corn. Cows grazed in fields of pastel wildflowers. Those green mountains seemed to literally touch the sky, thanks to the thick fog at their tops. Villages that go back to the Revolutionary War crowded around narrow highways, clapboard churches, and quaint antique shops with wrap around porches.

Lauren pulled into the gravel parking lot of the Vermont Country Store at Weston around 11:30. This is a vintage red farm house that sells everything from retro toys and games to old-fashioned candy and kitchen items to pastel milled soaps, herbal tonics, Vermont cheeses, maple syrups, and sausages, and lacy nightgowns. They have nifty vintage holiday decorations and all kinds of Peanuts items too, books, stuffed Snoopys and Woodstocks, sheets, games.

Trouble is, they may be practical and hard-to-find, but most of their wares are also expensive above the norm, especially their clothes. Soon as I could find it, I hurried upstairs to their sale area in the attic. Made some of my best finds here. I've only just begun to see those scratch-and-sniff stickers that were common as prizes in schools during the 80's again. There was a basket with four remaining. We're supposed to make a special Halloween theme with prizes for our tables on the day before Halloween. I hope the kids love them as much as we did! I also found a gorgeous maroon nightgown with a lace collar. Downstairs, I dug up jute coasters with a leaf and a pumpkin motif that weren't that expensive. Thought I'd try Fruit Jelly Stackers, which seem similar to fruit slices in a layered square rather than a half-moon shape.

I had just gone outside to wait for Lauren to finish her own shopping when I saw Mom had left a message on my cell phone. Turns out yes, they got the birthday card for Aurora in time for her birthday yesterday, and yes, Aurora loved the Disney gift card. She's a big Elsa fan! Mom and Keefe's wife Julia handled her birthday party. Keefe had to work on a new ship. 

After Lauren came out with two bags of clothes for her and her parents and socks for her dad, we put everything in her car, then headed to Mildred's Table. The sit-down restaurant at the Vermont Country Store has been through several names and owners of late - last year, it was Mildred's Grill - but it's back in the Orton family at the moment. This is more industrial-rustic, with plain wooden beams on the ceiling and local artwork depicting Vermont scenes on the walls. Lauren had a massive grilled cheese and bacon sandwich on thick sourdough bread and a huge bowl of butternut squash bisque. I went for a simpler chicken salad wrap with lots of nuts and dried cranberries.

Mildred's Dairy Bar and Grill is attached to the back of Mildred's Table. It's basically the take-out version of Mildred's Table, with local ice cream and treats along with basic sandwiches and hot dogs. Lauren had a cup of black raspberry ice cream. I had a vanilla maple "Creamee" swirl in a cup with chocolate sprinkles. Yum! They know ice cream in Vermont. It was sweet and just maple enough. 

It showered hard while we were in Mildred's, but the rain took a temporary leave of absence as we went across the street to the Christmas Shop. This old wooden house isn't as big as Winterwood in Rio Grande, but it's just as jammed full of every possible Christmas ornament that ever existed. I even saw soda can and peanut butter jar ornaments! Lauren got gifts for her parents and Rico. I didn't see anything I could carry home. Not to mention, my tree is jammed full as it is! 

The Weston Village Store is next-door. It used to be Weston's town hall, but now it sells local souvenirs, Vermont-made cheeses and fudge, and novelty toys. Lauren bought Skittles-themed socks for Rico and Vermont sweatshirts for her and her parents. I just bought a small bottle of maple syrup, which is cheaper there than at the Vermont Country Store.

It was still just cloudy and windy as Lauren drove us down into Manchester. Pasttime Pinball at the Outlet Mall there is under new ownership, but it hasn't changed the experience. It's still rows of pinball history, from Humpty Dumpty, the first machine with flippers from 1947, to a lavish Elton John machine with a flashing LCD screen from three years ago. There's quite a few rarities there. I saw machines themed around Elvira, Happy Days (the original Eight Ball), Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Terminator 2, the first Addams Family film, Ghostbusters, Labyrinth, the first Toby Maguire Spider Man movie, The Wizard of Oz, and the 1994 action flop The Shadow. In addition to the recent Elton John machine, there was one from 1976 based on his Tommy character. They had Pin-Bot, Bride of Pin-Bot, Centaur, Diner, Ice Revue, Fish Tales, Paratrooper, and Space Shuttle. 

Pinball can be a lot of fun, and I loved learning about the history behind the consoles, but after an hour, my hand got tired from pulling all those levers to get the ball going. I left Lauren playing every game there and went across the street to the Northshire Bookstore, dodging more heavy showers as I did. The Northshire Bookstore is in a charming old inn, but it's also a bit of a maze. I kept running into alcoves and more alcoves filled with new books, records, and stationary...but I was looking for the old books. I finally asked for directions to the used book room. It's right next to their cafe (which was closed by the time I got there). Thankfully, the used book room is much brighter and more open than the rest of the store. I finally came up with:

Shades of Earl Grey by Laura Childs (I don't often see the older Tea Shop Mysteries out in the wild.)

Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher (Christmas-set British Victorian fantasy)

They had two American Girl Williams-Sonoma cookbooks, Baking and Breakfast & Brunch. I have a ton of baking cookbooks, so I went with Breakfast & Brunch. 

Thankfully, the rain had stopped again by the time we were ready for dinner. Lauren drove us over to the small shopping center where the cozy little Japanese restaurant Sushi Boat is located. When we arrived, though...they were closed. They weren't supposed to be closed. They're normally open for dinner on Fridays.

We ended up across the street at the more elegant Thai Basil by default. They were a little pricey, but their food was good and their servings were massive. Lauren's bowl of beef pho was big enough to pass as a swimming pool. My chicken stir fry was served in a hollowed-out pineapple! Oh yum. Thai food tends to be spicy, but pineapple or no pineapple, my stir-fry was just the right melding of flavors. I had sticky white rice, too. I ate all but about half my rice. Lauren ate three quarters of that lake-sized bowl of pho.

Went straight in the shower when I got home, then watched Million Dollar Kid on Tubi. I went back a little further to the East Side Kids, when Leo Gorcey's name was Muggs, and he led a group of slightly younger hooligans that included Glimpy (Huntz Hall) and his decidedly not-kid cousin Herbie (Al Stone). They find a wallet that belongs to millionaire John Cortland (Herbert Heyes), who takes a shine to them and lets them use his son's gym. They end up helping out his family, including heading off a phony Frenchman (Stanley Brown) who is after his daughter Louise's (Louise Currie) money and getting his younger son Roy (Johnny Duncan) back on the straight and narrow.

Finished the night at YouTube with a rare animated fairy tale from Canada. The Admiral and the Princess apparently debuted there in 1990. A grandmother reads her grandson the story of a brave admiral who loved a spirited princess. They couldn't wed because she had to remain on land and prepare for her duty as queen. The king's evil advisor try to hypnotize the admiral to kill the king, but he couldn't do it. The King didn't want to kill him, so advisor punished him by turning him into a blue heron. When the king travels to a neighboring kingdom with his armada, the advisor intends to create a storm and destroy them. The princess' nurse is a sorceress and is able to turn her into an egret, so she and the Admiral can lead her father from danger. The Admiral does eventually defeat the advisor, but at the cost of his humanity. It's faithful nurse Renee who finds a way for the two star-crossed lovers to be together.

This was surprisingly sweet and even sad. The bittersweet ending and the advisor's gristly and fairly graphic demise after his blood crystal is destroyed are fairly rare in 90's animated fairy tales. Apparently, this disappeared for years before someone posted it on YouTube six years ago. The animation isn't the greatest, but it's still recommended if you love original fairy tales like I do. 

The Admiral and the Princess

Runnin' Down a Dream

We started out on a gray, cloudy morning, this time heading past Lee to the Mass Pike. There was a little traffic near Springfield due to road repairs, but it was fine once we got off the highway. We finally pulled into the Holyoke Commons Shopping Center around quarter after 10.

I love the Barnes and Noble here! It's two stories and probably the largest I've ever seen. I did have a hard time finding the smaller paperback mysteries. Once I did, I couldn't decide on a book. I finally just bought One Poison Pie by Lynn Calhoon. Went downstairs next to their massive DVD and music section. Only half of it actually sold media, but I found two greatest hits CDs on reasonable sales:

Rick Astley - The Best of Me 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers  - The Best of Everything ($10 off a 2-disc set)

Lauren didn't find anything and was already outside when I was done. We went two doors down to Red Robin for lunch. They were surprisingly busy for a late Thursday morning when they'd just opened. The waitress chatted with an older man in a corner while Lauren ate a chicken Caesar wrap and I had a California chicken sandwich with avocado, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. I had fries and a coconut soda (Coke with coconut flavoring and topped with cream and foam). She had broccoli and a berry lemonade.

After a brief stop at TJ Maxx across the parking lot, we drove further down to the Holyoke Mall. Lauren parked near a light fixture that, for some reason, was surrounded by large spotted brown and red flying bugs. I later discovered they're spotted lantern flies. Holyoke is apparently having problems with the invasive pest right now. Fortunately, they seemed more interested in the blacktop than Lauren's car. At least the weather improved here. It was almost sunny and much warmer, in the lower 70's.

Our first stop was Round 1 on the other side of the mall. On one hand, they were a bit of a mess. They must have been remodeling or adding new machines. I saw lots of dark machines and closed-off areas. To my dismay, their prize area was closed, too. I'll have to save my points for the next time I'm at the Deptford Mall. On the other hand, there were still a lot of other machines working. I was able to run from skee ball to Bust a Move to giant Pac Man and Spaced Invaders for an hour. Crusin' Blast was among the games that were offline, but I had no trouble with Mario Kart Deluxe. Played Pac Man on the Splash Circuit; came in 2nd behind Luigi. Did better on the Hot Wheels race game this time, coming in first with my red car.

Lauren and I did better in the mall proper. Round 1 is the only amusement at Holyoke besides a kids' playground area, but that gave us more time to shop. Our first stop was Lane Bryant. I didn't get to check out the one at Crossgates yesterday! I didn't find more Care Bears shirts, but I did get a bra for $25 and a pretty mottled blue shirt for $13, the latter on clearance.

While I was exploring Lane Bryant, Lauren was across the way at a store that sold "exotic" snacks, mainly from Japan. I loved their nifty collection of Japanese sodas! I went with what looked like a clear peach Fanta. Research later revealed it was White Peach. Oh, yum! No wonder it's apparently popular in Japan. It's just sweet and tart enough and only 20 calories. Lauren had Pepsi Raspberry Ripple. She found unique Oreo flavors, and we both got Hershey's Exotic Dark Chocolates with raspberry goji middles.

We were in and out of stores for the next few hours. Lauren found a cute stuffed purple Snoopy at Toys R' Us. Neither of us found anything at Macy's, BoxLunch, Old Navy, MiniSo, or the toy-oriented Sports Zone downstairs. Lauren didn't pick up anything at Sportsline Video Games or FYE, either. I did better at FYE. Their selection isn't as good as it has been the past few years, but they still have more used stock than most stores do nowadays. I ended up with:

Seasons 1 - 3 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Wish DreamWorks would get around to releasing the last 2 seasons on disc now that the show isn't on Netflix anymore.) 

Rod McKuen - Rod McKuen's Greatest Hits Vol. 2

Sutton Foster - Take Me to the World

1998 London cast of Oklahoma! with Hugh Jackman

There are at least four Sports Zone stores scattered throughout the Holyoke Mall. They do sell sports jerseys, but they mostly sell...everything else. Collectibles, toys, books, DVDs, games, action figures, stuffed animals. You name the junk, and they probably have it. I was looking for a Flyers Jersey, but I found two used DVDs upstairs for a decent price, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and the relatively recent Looney Tunes: Rabbit Run. 

Made one last stop at JC Penney before we left. Once again, Lauren didn't get anything. I found a red short-sleeved t-shirt on clearance for $5.99. My old JC Penney red t-shirt is stretched from many wearings, especially around the collar. 

Normally, we have dinner at Holyoke's food court when we're there...but they had a major fire earlier in the summer and are still rebuilding. We considered 110 Grill before Lauren found something even cheaper just a few minutes away. JP's Restaurant is elegant but simple, with a lively bar and terrific prices for what you get. They also have terrific food. Lauren's Cajun burger was massive. It was covered in cheese and sauce and must have weighed a pound or more. She said it was the best burger she'd ever tasted. My steak and cheese wrap was really good, too, dripping with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and peppers. She had a blueberry-lemon cheesecake for dessert. I had an amazingly decadent Snickers Pie. 

We had more trouble getting home. The traffic caused by the road work had backed up significantly. At least there was a lovely pink sunset to admire while we waited. Thankfully, the traffic finally moved after about 20 minutes, and we got home within a half-hour after that.

Finished the night watching the Bowery Boys movie Smuggler's Cove on Tubi. Terrance "Slip" Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and his best friend Sach (Huntz Hall) think they're in the money when Slip's given papers that indicate he's inherited a mansion. Turns out it's not only rundown, it's the home of European jewel thieves who are smuggling diamonds and scientists out of the country. Not only that, but it's not really Slip's inheritance. Another, far more prominent businessman named Terrance Mahoney (Paul Harvey) and his daughter Teresa (Amelita Ward) really inherited the house, and they've come for a vacation. Slip's reporter friend Gabe Moreno (Gabe Dell) smells a story and follows him there as well. Now the boys have to figure out what the smugglers are up to and help Mr. Mahoney get them out of his house, before everyone ends up in real trouble.

Good Vibrations

We started out at another shopping center near Pittsfield. Rico wasn't going to be ready to leave for the Eastern States Exposition until noon, so we did some shopping first. Lauren picked up shirts at Burlington and TJ Maxx, lounging shorts at Five Below, and comics at the small Barnes and Noble. I just got a huge Snickers Pecan bar from Five Below and Murder In an Irish Pub by Carlene O'Connor from Barnes and Noble. 

Since we weren't going to have lunch until later, we got breakfast sandwiches at Barnes and Noble's cafe. She had a sausage patty, egg, and cheese on a croissant. I had tomato caprese (tomato, pesto, and so much mozzarella, there was enough to fill three pizzas) on crusty bread. 

We drove up to Lee next to pick up Rico, who was visiting his family's home there, and wave to his darling little niece. Rico's a sweet guy, but he's had a lot of trouble lately. He had to have some really rough surgery on his hand and has been off work for months. Apparently, his knees are bothering him as well. He needs this probably even more than we do. He got to choose the music (70's rock and classic country) as Lauren took us down the Mass Pike to West Springfield. She parked in a lot behind a shopping center that's only a five-minute walk from the Big E and is a lot cheaper.

The Big E is the enormous, sprawling state fair for the entire New England region. We did have to wait for Lauren when she was turned away by fair officials at first. Turns out she was carrying too much stuff in her backpack! After she came back, we went in...and were assaulted with huge tents selling spas and booths touting every single thing that can possibly be fried (and some that can be but probably shouldn't, like Kool-Aid). Lauren and Rico were happier buying wine slushes (which Rico claimed contained very little wine) from the rustic, dark-wood paneled Eastern States Farmers Market and Wine Cafe.

Our first stop was the cavernous Better Living Building. They touted everything from pianos people could really play to collectible (and overpriced) hand-made pins and magnets. The only thing we ended up getting there were free samples of really tasty maple ice cream.

We eventually had lunch at the Yankee Boy seafood and unique meat booth just outside of the Better Living Building. Lauren and Rico were more adventurous and had macaroni and cheese with alligator meat (Lauren said it tasted like sausage). Rico also had fried scallops and French fries. I'm not quite that brave. I just had a slightly flat cheeseburger with surprisingly tasty fries. I saw a Slush Factory booth across the street and got my own non-alcoholic orange cream slush. (And appreciated something else that Lauren pointed out. The cool, cloudy day and still-strong wind kept the bugs and bees that plagued the fair last year at bay and made walking around the fairgrounds a lot more tolerable.)

Next up, we strolled down the path to the Midway. Rico can't really ride anything with his hand, and Lauren gets motion sickness easily. Not to mention, I have to agree with Rico that the rides are really overpriced as well. We settled for getting stuffed animals out of cranes. Rico had no luck. Lauren got a pale blue Yoshi. I got a cute little Bulbasaur.

After that, we ducked back around to the Young Building. This is basically a smaller version of the Better Living Building and sells most of the same mix of local crafts and businesses touting huge wares. Lauren and I made a beeline for the Alpaca booth. This year, we both got small teddy bears. Lauren's had fluffy fuchsia fur. Mine had brown fur and an unusually long nose. 

At this point, Rico declared he needed a rest. He relaxed on a bench outside of the Massachusetts building while Lauren and I explored the States Buildings. These are recreations of each state's government building that touts that state's wares. Mohegan Sun and the upcoming National Coast Guard Museum were prominent in Connecticut. There were lines around the building for baked potatoes from Maine. Massachusetts boasted Boston sports memorabilia and its many farms. Vermont had maple syrup and honey booths and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. New Hampshire had candy and beautiful stone jewelry.

The crowds were thin enough that I was finally able to try something I've wanted to for years. My older friend Linda Young grew up in Rhode Island in the 50's and 60's. Her essays on being raised in the Ocean State extensively mention Del's Lemonade. I got a small cup of Del's Frozen Lemonade. Oh yum! Just sweet enough, with big lemon pieces. No wonder Linda has such fond memories of it. 

Since Rico was still relaxing after we finished with the State Buildings, we rode the train on our own as well. The train is a cute little motorized train with a big yellow smiling face. It's supposed to be for families, but it's pretty much the only ride Lauren will get on. It's a lot of fun! People and store-owners at the shopping booths wave to you when you pass by them. It's like a parade. 

Once we got off the train, we'd decided we had enough. It was past 6 PM, and the crowds were getting much thicker. Lauren says they sell half-price tickets after 6 PM, probably to draw more families in. Lauren and Rico stopped at the Farmers Market to refill their wine slushes, then we headed back to Lauren's car.

Lauren and I always have dinner after the Big E at the Chipolte less than a block away. We all got bowls. I had brown rice, spicy chicken, black beans, corn salsa, cheese, and lettuce. Lauren had white rice, black beans, shredded pork, cheese, and tomato salsa. I'm not sure what Rico had, but I did see his was topped with tons of guacamole. The bowls were so huge, even Rico couldn't finish his. We'll eat ours later in the week.

Rico was dropped off first at his parents' home after we got back in the Berkshires. He gave us huge hugs and promised to make a big chicken dinner for us tomorrow. We'll go there after we hit up the Crossgates Mall in Albany.

When we got into Lauren's house, we showed our finds to her parents, then went downstairs. I finished the night watching Zorro the Fox. This Italian production from 1968 definitely shows the influence of the time. It's much darker than most American versions of Zorro, with far more violence. While it does end on a happy note, there are several deaths and a lot of gunplay along with sword fighting. Very blonde George Ardisson makes a dull Don Diego, but Giocomo Rossi Stuart is a commanding Don Pedro, and Femi Benussi is fine and fiery as the daughter of the local alcada who ends up dead when Don Pedro takes over the town. 

Loose In Oaklyn

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Tour Bus" when the junker Mayor Humdinger bought to trick tourists into visiting Soggy Bottom goes out of control, thanks to his malfunctioning robot cat driver. Marshall ends up having to save Humdinger, the farmers, and Rocky too when he can't fix the steering wheel on the bus. Alex accidentally wreaks havoc during a sleepover at the Adventure Bay Museum, knocking over silver bowls and suits of armor. He goes out to find what he thinks his his turtle friend, but gets lost. "Pups Save Midnight at the Museum" when they have to find Alex and help Mayor Goodway and the two kids who got stuck after Alex knocked over a heavy urn.

Headed out after that. I had a lot of errands to run today before I leave for Pittsfield tomorrow! Got mini bottles of shampoo and conditioner at Target. They had Crest Gum Protection toothpaste on a really good sale, too. Grabbed oat milk and buy one, get one half-off granola bars at Sprouts. Sprouts has these awesome lunch bags that come with chips, a bottle of applesauce, a sandwich, and a small bottle of water, and a chocolate chip cookie. I got the one with the turkey on whole wheat bread. Got yogurt, tuna, and soda for when I come back, and small bags of nuts and puffcorn for the trip tomorrow. My niece Aurora and friend Amanda have birthdays October 1st. I bought cards and gift cards for them. 

Cut through Collingswood and Newton Lake Park riding home to avoid the ongoing construction work at Cuthbert. The park is still lush and green, probably the result of all the rain we've had lately. I could feel the cool spray being blown over from the glittering fountains in the lake, hear the wind rustling though the trees. I pushed my bike over the hill, which is still fairly moist from the damp weather. 

When I got home, I ran Loose In London while I put the groceries away, packed most of what will go in my backpack, and prepared the cards and my mail-in vote ballot. Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) scolds his friend Sach (Huntz Hall) and soda shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey) for making bad deals. When a man shows up claiming he's a solicitor, he thinks it's one more bad deal. Far from it. He's a British lawyer who says Sach is distantly related to the wealthy Earl of Walsingham (Walter Kingsford). Sach trades in his first-class steamship ticket for three more to bring along Slip and their younger buddies Chuck (David Gorcey) and Butch (Bennie Bartlett). Louie joins them on the ship and accidentally ends up stowing away. 

The Boys are not well-received when they make it across the Atlantic. The Earl's relatives are a conniving lot who want his money and holdings and care nothing for him. Sach encourages the Earl to trade his medicine for cookies and start to enjoy life. That upsets the relatives even more. They try several none-too-discreet attempts to kill Sach or seduce the money out of him, but he avoids them. Slip, however, is getting the idea that something ain't right here, especially when the Earl announces he's going to change his will to make Sach the sole heir, then vanishes.

This is one of my favorite later Bowery Boys movies, and by far my favorite of the five movies they did set in more exotic locations like the jungle or Paris. Kingsford is having just as much fun as the boys, so much that Slip isn't the only one wondering at the end if he and Sach aren't related after all. They also get the most out of the fish out of water gags, including how Sach knows so much information about London landmarks and the fox head on the wall that keeps biting him. Probably not the best place to start if you're new to the Bowery, but it's fun for fans.

Even after all that, I still left early enough to drop the ballot and the cards at the Oaklyn Post Office before heading down to the Thomas Sharp School. Not that I needed to be early there, either. We had 17 kids today, five of whom left well before we went outside. Not that we were inside for very long. Though it remained gale-force windy, it was also in and out sunny and much warmer, in the lower 70's. We took the kids out at 3:30 and didn't bring them back in until past 5...and even then, the remaining three kids opted to go right back out and play kickball and jump rope on the blacktop with the seven remaining older kids. There was some squabbling over the swings again, but most of the kids who wanted a turn got at least one. There were four older kids and just one younger kid left when my shift ended. 

Instead of continuing down the White Horse Pike, I turned at CVS and rode into Oaklyn for the last Final Friday block party of the season. They were already booming when I pulled up to West Clinton. Though the food trucks looked tasty, I opted for cheaper slices of cheese and mushroom pizza at Phillies Phatties instead. Maybe I should have eaten outside. There was a gaggle of elementary school-age boys sitting at the next table over me who were so noisy and excited, even the guys making the pizza told them to shush. I could barely hear the weather news on Telemundo over them. 

There were even more food booths on the parking lot across from Tonewood Brewery. Ran into one of the boys who sits at my table and his mom just after I bought a coconut pop from the Bubba's Creamery cart. They bought hot dogs from the barbecue truck and were waiting for their meals. That little guy sure could bust a move! He really enjoyed dancing to the local band playing covers of 80's hits. I waved good-bye to them as they went to get their dinner and I finished my own treat.

Took the laundry downstairs to get that out of the way when I got home, then put on Match Game '77. They once again skipped way ahead, this time to the week with Nipsey Russell and soap star Rosemary Forsyth. The last episode of the night introduced playwright Abe Burrows and a lot of jokes about Brett and Charles wanting to be writers, too. 

Finished the night at Pluto TV with Laverne & Shirley after I brought my laundry upstairs and finished all the packing I can do for now. They're excited to be ambassadors to the new Shotz Brewery in Canada and taking their first cross-country train trip. Their delight turns to fear quickly when a dead mall collapses in their apartment, claiming "Beware of the bald man." 

It turns into "Murder On the Moosejaw Express" when everyone on the train seems to be bald. They even enlist Squiggy and Lenny, who are dressed as their idea of detectives. Laverne ends up panicking when first the dead man vanishes, then Shirley, then the guys. Shirley does turn up, afraid but largely unharmed, but the guys and the dead man don't. It's up to the girls to find out who the "bald man" really is and make sure the microfilm he stole makes it into the right hands. 

Winds of Fall

Began the day with breakfast and Little Bear. "Mitzi's Little Monster" is her monster doll, which she uses with Emily's Lucy and Little Bear's teddy bear to put on a puppet show about a tea party that's disrupted by a very noisy monster guest. Little Bear and his friends have a lot of fun playing "Simon Says," but Duck's way of playing proves to be a lot tastier. Little Bear, Emily, and Tutu the dog are delighted to pick apples for "Applesauce." When a big apple falls on a toad, Little Bear invites the toad to share their treats at Granny's house.

Called Uber after that. At least I had no trouble getting to work. The one going to the Acme came in 8 minutes. The one going to Thomas Sharp arrived in 5! I got to both jobs on time. I didn't have problems getting a ride until it was time to go home. The first driver canceled, despite being very close to his destination. I had to wait 13 minutes for another one.

I could have been indefinitely late at the Acme. They were quiet for most of the morning. It was cloudy, cool, and windy, but it started warming up a bit later. We're between holidays, and the beginning of the month is next week. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

Had a quick lunch at Chick Fil'A. They were busy, but I did find a table to sit down and enjoy my grilled chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and Coke Zero. They've already decorated for Halloween, or at least for fall. There were leaf garlands over the counter, "Hello Fall!" over the storage area near the window, and felt pumpkins on the windows around the kids' play area. Went back to Acme briefly to use the bathroom and buy carrot cake sandwich cookies on the bakery clearance racks before I called Uber.

Thomas Sharp was a lot busier today! We had 22 younger kids all together and 25 older ones. Thank heavens we got them all outside early this time. It was too nice to be inside for very long. By 3:30, it remained gale-force windy, but the clouds had vanished and it was much warmer, probably in the upper 60's. They argued a little over the swings, especially after I made them wait a few extra minutes because there were so many kids around, but those who wanted a turn did get one. 

I was pushing one of the little girls on the swing when two more girls came careening around the swing set. One of the girls wasn't watching where she was going and ran smack into the thick, heavy old flag pole near the swing set in a corner. Poor baby! I yelled her name and ran over to her. She smacked her ear pretty good, though it did just seem to be bruised. We got an ice pack on it and went inside after a few minutes.

She settled down with the other remaining kids stringing colorful beads onto plastic string for bracelets and necklaces. I did tell her dad what happened when he arrived. There were six kids left when we went in at quarter of 5. By 5 PM, there were three. One of the teachers kept joking about the kids being invisible and the adults running out to get ice cream. One of the girls thought it was funny, and the one remaining boy was so involved with stringing beads, I'm not sure he heard them, but the other girl got upset. I put an arm around her, and we all assured her that she was anything but invisible! The last kid left at the same time I did.

Went straight into Price Is Right and Match Game '76 when I got home. Most of the night finished out Christmas week with Orson Bean and Mary Wickes. Charles complained about not dressing as Santa that year. Um, he dressed as Santa once at that point, in 1973. They skipped ahead slightly for the last episode to New Year's Eve 1976. Charles caught the paper mache egg from the very ugly Goody-Toddy Bird and head boss Mark Goodson came on to make a speech before the balloons dropped, announcing the start of Match Game '77!

Finished the night at Tubi with more vintage swashbuckler fun. The Bold Caballero from 1936 was the first Zorro movie to be made with sound and in color. It starts with Zorro (Robert Livingston) in prison, having been accused of murdering the Spanish governor. He does manage to escape and return to his day role as foppish nobleman Don Diego Vega, just as the new governor arrives. The previous governor's daughter, Lady Isabella Palma (Heather Angel), takes over her father's role running the colony. She's determined to follow in her father's footsteps and arrest Zorro for his murder. Don Diego seemingly encourages Commendante Sebastian Golle (Sig Ruman) to court Isabelle, but he really has his own reasons for pushing Golle at her. His real interest is in lowering the taxes on the Native American population and freeing their sons. Isabella starts to fall for him, especially as she begins to realize how unjust those taxes are. She's furious when she finds out who he is...but it turns out that the Commendante has his own secrets he'd rather not discuss.

This ended up being a lot of fun. Top marks go to Angel as one of the toughest women I've ever seen in a western or a swashbuckler. Isabella brooks no nonsense from anyone, not the Commendante, not the seemingly silly Diego, and certainly not this upstart Zorro. This may be the only Zorro story I've ever seen play the fat, foolish Spanish officer as the actual bad guy. Usually, as in the Disney TV version, they're the sidekick to sleeker, more conniving officer. The color is attractive, too, all soft blues and deep greens and flaming reds. I do wish Livingston had more chances to actually play Zorro. When we do see him, he's usually chasing Isabella as Diego.

All in all, this is still highly recommended for fans of Zorro films, swashbucklers, or those who want to see what Zorro looked like in color well before the Italians got to him in the 60's or the 90's Antonio Bandares films. 

Tales of a Rainy Day

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. "Evil-Lynn's Plot" is to turn herself into a sweet young woman to trick the elf-like residents of Widget into giving up their Cordite mineral. Skeletor wants to make a sword that's even more powerful than He-Man's. The Widgets learn a lesson about not believing everything you see when they end up being the ones who help He-Man out after Evil-Lynn reveals her true intentions.

Took down the summer decorations and put up the fall decorations while the cartoon finished. Not only is today the first day of fall, but for once, it feels like it. It was cloudy and rainy and barely in the 60's. The stuffed owl with the book and the candy corn candles and the stuffed pumpkins and apples and raffia bow wreath and wooden leaf, pumpkin, and acorn hanging went up today. The Halloween decorations will go out in about two weeks. 

Spent the rest of the morning looking up the basics on Habit for Humanity and finishing yesterday's blog entry. On one hand, I wasn't looking to have a home built for me, but they apparently do build condos, too, and they can help with finding homes for low-income families. I'll do further research on this and the waiting lists when I get back from vacation.

Listened to CDs and cassettes while I worked. 20 #1 Hits of the '20's does feature a few songs that are still well-known today, like "St. Louis Blues" by Marion Harris, "Singin' In the Rain" performed by Cliff Edwards, and Van & Schenck turning "Ain't We Got Fun?" into a comedy novelty number. Others here are far more obscure. "Charmaine" is a graceful waltz from the rowdy silent comedy What Price Glory. Eddie Cantor has fun with "No, No Nora," while Al Jolson brays about his "Swanee." The patter from "Two Black Crows" has dated far less well today.

Switched to Let's Pretend while eating a quick chicken-Swiss wrap for lunch. "Faithful John" is a servant tasked with keeping watch over the handsome young prince in his care. He discovers a conspiracy to kill the king, but can't tell him why he has to shoot a horse or remove drops of blood from his wife, or he'll turn to stone. The fairy who cast the stone spell claims the prince can only free John by killing his own son. Fortunately, just threatening the child here is enough to release John. In the actual fairy tale, the prince does kill his children and use their blood to free John, but John returns them to life. 

"The Little Mermaid" is probably the least-changed of the stories I listened to today. It's pretty much the story as Hans Christian Anderson wrote it, up to and including the dark ending where the mermaid dies and comes back as a spirit. "Why the Sea Is Salty" is more obscure today, and a lot more fun. A young peasant brings a salt grinder out of the sea, but is delighted to discover it can grind a lot more than rocks when it creates instant wealth for him and his wife. His greedy brother buys it, but can't control it. Nor can the captain who also buys it, but creates so much salt, it goes into the sea...

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is the most changed. The original story is just a poor shoemaker who is helped by elves who make shoes he can sell. Some versions of the story do give the shoemaker a wife. Here, he has a wife, a son, and a pretty daughter. The last is coveted by the miserly old man who owns the store and will throw them out if she doesn't marry him. Of course, the person who bought the most shoes from the Shoemaker just happens to be the head of the town. 

I hurried out at around 2:25. It rained for most of the morning, but the rain was long gone by 2 PM. It was cloudy and cool, but not raining. I figured I was all right to take the bike to Thomas Sharp. Maybe it's just as well that we only had 16 younger kids today, 5 in my group. It started raining harder while they were eating their snacks. There could be no thought of anyone at any age going outside. 

Things did get noisy when the older kids came in the cafeteria to eat their own snacks. By the time we left, the head teacher settled the kids down with an art project. She cut out paper ice cream scoops, cones, bowls, cherries, and whipped cream topping and glued them to sheets of construction paper. The kids could decorate them however they wanted. One girl went with a rainbow sherbet cone. Another did what she called her "Superman cone," a red cone with blue and red ice cream scoops and a red cherry. When I didn't admire artwork and sharpen colored pencils, I built apartment buildings and space stations with the boys at the magnetic tile tables. By the time I left, there were only two girls and a boy remaining, and one of the girls went when I did. 

Thank heavens it wasn't raining when I got back out, even though my bike was soaked. Given it was still cloudy, cool, and humid, I went straight home. Hit the shower when I got in, then had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Most of tonight finished out the week with Susan Sullivan and Gary Burghoff. By the end of the night, they'd skipped ahead slightly again as everyone welcomed Orson Bean back to the show. 

Finished the night with a more recent episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Emily became the first female host to interact with the 'bots as they tried to figure out the treasure-hunt adventure film Beyond Atlantis. This story of boat owner Vic (Patrick Wayne) who has to deal with sleazy hustlers and falls for an anthropologist Dr. Katherine Vernon (Lenore Stevens) while searching for massive pearls around a remote island is both creepy and pretty darn dumb. The only normal-looking humans on the island are of course the king (George Nader) and his gorgeous daughter Syrene (Leigh Christian), whom he wants to produce an heir who is a heck of a lot more attractive the the bug-eyed, in-bred inhabitants of the island. She chooses Vic, but despite her grabbing him and doing things in coral underwater, he's already in love with Katherine. The rest of the gritters just care about the enormous pearls they've dragged up from the sea.

Um, yeah. On one hand, this does have its fun points, including them looking for pearls and just how tough East Eddie (Sid Haig) is. There's also some pretty decent cinematography on and around the island, when they're on land. All that swimming underwater looks murky and dull, and likely was there because underwater photography was still pretty new in 1973. Wayne and live wire Haig are the only people who come off as even remotely interesting. The ping-pong-eyed natives are more likely to give you nightmares than make you long for the wonders of the South Seas, the sets are minimal, the story silly and cliched. Honestly, it's for aficionados of bad B-action and horror films and major camp lovers only. 

(Oh, and to my knowledge, the rain has not returned since I got home. It's stayed cloudy, windy, and cool the rest of the night.)

Eye On Harvests

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchicchis. Snog, the second-in-command grumplin, gets a hand on his boss' grumpstaff and a big head when his boss is focusing on a machine to turn the Monchicchis into stone in "Grumpstaff Grief." He proceeds to use so much of the magic, he drains the Wizzar's magic staff. The Monchicchis have to go to the Grumplins' world to recharge it. 

Headed out after the cartoon ended to Collingswood for this week's Farm Market. The booths groan with the late summer-early fall harvest. There are piles and piles of eggplant, peppers, plums, apples, beans, pears, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins, grapes, and winter squash. I ducked through the crowds buying produce for their late summer barbecues and the Jewish New Year holidays to pick up tiny Honeycrisp apples and black table grapes.

Went down the street for brunch next. I was originally going to eat at Sabrina's Cafe, but they always have a long line on Saturdays. I ended up going across the street to Palmona Restaurante instead. I made the right choice. Not only was the Mexican restaurant a lot quieter, with only one large group enjoying their meals across the room, but the food was delicious. I had a huge, fluffy waffle topped with sliced strawberries and a blueberry-blackberry compote and turkey bacon. The waffles were incredible, so soft and moist, and the compote was wonderfully tangy and sweet.

Since the Farm Market was still going on, I went back that way for a cream pop from the Bubba's Creamery cart. Went with chocolate mint this week. Whew, was that minty! Tasted like the purest mint chocolate chip ice cream you could imagine. I enjoyed it while listening to a really good accordion group play "Sunrise, Sunset."

After that, I got on my bike and rode down Haddon Avenue to Kresloff's Eye Associates. Even with lunch and the cream pop, I was still 20 minutes early. Thankfully, I had no trouble here. Signed the paperwork, went in the back for the exam. My eyes are no better or worse than they were last year. I did pay for drops that would make them less diluted sooner. 

I did that because I still had grocery shopping to do. Walked my bike to the Westmont Acme next. Did really well there. There were a lot of sales, and I had a 10 percent off coupon from my vaccination last week. Had online coupons for Swiss cheese, yogurt, shredded chicken, granola, granola bars, and more of those yummy Popcorners chips. They had Fresca in the 20 ounce bottles, too. Didn't really need much at Sprouts. I only bought oat milk, chocolate chip cookies, and more of that Nektar Pop (which is still buy one, get one). 

After all that, I went straight home. Put everything away, then went down for a nap. I've had an extremely long and busy week. Went to sleep at quarter after 3, didn't get up until almost 5. 

Watched The Sword of Monte Cristo next. In 1858 France, Lady Christiane (Rita Corday) dresses as a masked cavalier to lead the peasants against the Emperor Louis Napoelon (David Bond). The real power behind the throne is his corrupt minister Charles LaRoche (Barry Kroger). He orders Captain Renault (George Montgomery) to arrest Christiane's uncle the Marquise De Montableu (Robert Warwick), the only man who can read the symbols on the Sword of Monte Cristo and unlock a fabulous treasure. Christiane tries to regain the sword, only to be found out by Renault. Renault, however, is loyal to the Emperor, not to LaRoche, and the treacherous minister shows his true colors when he has Renault jailed and forces the Emperor and Marquise to help him find the treasure. It's up to Renault and Christiane to join forces and assure the fabulous untold riches go right into France, where they belong.

Montgomery is out of place in this generally enjoyable bit of blarney, too modern to be believable as a swordsman of the 1800's. Corday is better as the woman determined to see justice for her people. Look for William Conrad as LaRoche's equally smarmy second in command Major Nichoret. 

Finished the night with dinner and the Saturday Match Game marathon. Jokes about Adam and Eve abounded on a show that loved nothing more than a good, mildly titillating sex joke. There was an Adam and Eve joke from a young man in a rather ugly tweed jacket who impressed Phyllis Newman during her one week late in 1974, and one the week with Ed Asner and Marcia Dodd in 1976. Foster Brooks heard on one his first week in 1979. Jack Albertson accidentally gave an answer away in an episode in 1975. Fannie Flagg had a snake-and-apple-themed sequined t-shirt that she wore several times, notably during a nighttime episode in 1975 that also featured Asner and Julie London.

Step into the garden of Eden to find out just how Adam and Eve lost their blank in this hilarious and thought-provoking marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Adam and Eve Marathon

They Seek Him Here

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. Adam's sword does a "Disappearing Act" when Orko accidentally sends it back in time while cleaning his room. Orko and Cringer have to go back in time to retrieve it after Skeletor kidnaps Adam and uses him as ransom to bring He-Man out of hiding. Man-at-Arms creates a He-Man robot to use as a decoy while they rescue the real thing.

Called Uber after that. No trouble here today at all. The first driver arrived in 9 minutes. I got to the Acme just in time. I called the second driver early. They arrived in 8 minutes and got me to Thomas Sharp School more than 20 minutes before my shift started. The one going home, to my surprise, came in 5 minutes during the height of rush hour.

The Acme wasn't much of a problem, either. It's the middle of the week and the middle of a relatively calm month. We were quiet until around noon, by which time a college boy was sent out to help me with the carts and trash. I mostly spent the morning sweeping and pushing carts with no trouble whatsoever.

I hadn't had lunch at Rexy's in ages, so I went across the street next. They too have a new fixed price lunch menu, $20 for an entree, dessert, a drink, and soup or salad. I went with an enormous fried cod sandwich with Asian slaw, huge but slightly bland onion rings, iced tea, and the most delicious bowl of broccoli cheddar soup I'd ever tasted. It was topped with sour cream, croutons, and more shaved cheddar. Thick, rich, and decadent. The tiramisu was more disappointing. They said it was homemade, but the middle tasted frozen. It must have been in the freezer with the scoop of orange sorbet before they brought it to me and they didn't give it time to defrost all the way.

After I got to Thomas Sharp, I relaxed at the curved stone wall surrounding a tree and a small garden before going inside to start my shift. The kids were in the hall again when I came in, but at least they weren't out there for long. We had 19 kids today, 7 at my table. There was no trouble in the bathroom - in fact, they got in and out pretty fast. They did get noisy in the cafeteria, but they weren't there for very long. Soon as they all finished eating, we took them outside. 

That didn't work out the way it has the past two days. Though it remains sunny, it was a little warmer and slightly more humid, in the lower 80's, with barely any wind. The kids gathered under the shady trees, looking for ladybugs and digging into its bark to find more bugs. I waited a half-hour to let them on the swings. It didn't help much. All they did the entire time was fight over who got to swing with whom. At least they all had their turns by 4:30, when we finally took them inside to color pictures of unicorns and the Avengers. I finished the picture of Joker-Pruitt, Shadow Man Scott, Lunar Lady Maple, and Power Girl Betty fighting against an urban landscape, then did one of Mr. Eldridge, Gertie, Lady Voltage Hilary, and Magnetic Boy C.J.

Went straight into The Price Is Right when I got home after I took out the recycling. Once again, the Showcases were a tad on the chintzy side for this show. The regular Showcase was just a game table, dining room furniture, and china. The "story" Showcase had a prize for each of the four seasons. Dian's summer dune buggy was the big prize there. 

Let it continue into Match Game '76 after dinner. Eager Jimmie Walker and sassy Roz Kelly joined Betty White and the others for one of the funnier weeks of the year. Brett spent one episode teasing Betty about her lime-green peasant blouse, calling her a Swiss Miss. Roz wasn't too happy about a question that said what she'd do when Fonzie called for her. (One of the reasons she left the show was she most definitely wasn't the type of girl who came when called.) There was also the hilariously effervescent contestant who clung so hard to Gene when she won, he had to reach around her to shake the other contestant's hand. Richard got a little too into kissing her after she won the Audience Match. Roz grabbed Gene for a kiss, and Betty somehow ended up with announcer Johnny Olsen.

Finished the night at Tubi with The Scarlet Pimpernel. The version I watched is from the anthology DuPont Show of the Month from 1960. Maureen O'Hara is Marguerite, Michael Rennie is Sir Percy Blakney, Reginald Denny is Chauvelain, and a young William Shatner is Sir Andrew. The first half honestly sticks to the original story very well, slightly revising how Marguerite finds out what her husband is up to. The second half is more condensed, ending with Percy tricking Chauvelain and replacing his men with the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel at the Inn rather than following him in disguise. 

I wish the copy here was in better shape, because this wasn't bad. Rennie was a tad stiff, but Shatner was charming and O'Hara was a wonderful, fiery Marguerite. I don't know if this is the first version of this story I'd seek out, but if you love O'Hara or secret identity swashbucklers or want to see a different side of Shatner, it's worth checking out once. 

Making Lemonade From Looney Tunes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At Home In the Rain

Got a quick start on a cloudy morning with breakfast and a couple of shorts featuring the entire Disney gang. They're all excited to be on a "Hawaiian Holiday" as Mickey plays the ukulele and Minnie practices her hula. The others have less luck on the beach. Goofy just can't seem to figure out surfboarding, Donald sits on a starfish, and Pluto does battle with a very crabby crab.

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy leave the shores of Wakiki to hit the road in "Mickey's Trailer." This state-of-the-art (for 1938) RV has everything an animated animal could want in a modern trailer...except a driver who can take over while Goofy eats. When he rushes to take control of the vehicle, he accidentally sends Mickey, Donald and the trailer back down a busy and treacherous Hill.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Considering the weather, the drivers arrived surprisingly fast. The one this morning came in 4 minutes, the one going home in 10 despite the heavy rain. No trouble either way other than ongoing road construction and some flooding in Oaklyn.

Work was no trouble, either. I spent the morning cleaning deli displays and the large cases for seafood and chicken and dusting the latter. We were pretty quiet for almost my entire shift. Sometimes after my break at 11, the sky finally opened, and it started pouring. It was pouring when I called for a ride home, and it would continue pouring and storming off and on for most of the day. 

Went straight into lunch and Remember WENN when I got home. "From the Pen of Gertrude Reece" has the station's receptionist (Margaret Hall) showing Betty her magnum opus radio script, Rendezvous In Rabat. This turns into a hilarious spoof of Casablanca, with Scott in the Rick Blaine role, Betty as Ilsa, Victor Comstock as Victor Lazlo, Maple as the cafe singer and the refugees, Mackie as Major Renault, C.J as the bartender and a German officer, Mr. Eldridge as Carl the waiter, Hilary as Rick's rejected girlfriend, and Jeff as the waiter. As with the real Casablanca, Gertie's having a hard time figuring out an ending. Nothing that she or Hilary suggests passes muster. Betty types out her own idea of whom Ilsa should end up with before insisting to Gertie that she should really figure out her own ending.

"Eugenia Bremer, Master Spy" is the station's kindly organist who is delighted to be dating British secret agent Desmond Quist (Daniel Davis). He claims there are still secret codes going out over the airwaves and makes the cast "paraphrase" their scripts to keep them out of enemy hands. Eugenia's been receiving mysterious calls and speaking German words, but it turns out there's a far more benign reason for her behavior than spy capers.

Switched to Clue after lunch in honor of Tim Curry, who passed away two days ago. Based on the board game, six strangers are called to a dinner party at the spooky Hill House by Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving). They're each given a weapon and reveal that Boddy has been blackmailing them. After the lights turn off, Boddy is found dead, and everyone has a means and a motive. Butler Wadsworth (Curry) tries his best to explain it all as they try to figure out who did it "in the hall, with the revolver," before they become the next victims!

This is an old favorite in my family. We taped it somewhere around 1987 and watched that tape for over a decade. Mom used to call it our "stormy weather movie." I can still quote most of the dialogue. Curry is delightful as the supercilious butler, but the entire cast of some of the 80's best comedians has a blast. 

The movie starts slow with the set up, but give it time. By the end, you'll be breathless just watching Curry run around summing up all the murders! There's also the gimmick of having multiple endings that baffles critics to this day, but makes it the perfect rainy-day DVD watch. (The DVD lets you choose a random ending, or watch all three, as in the video and streaming versions.) Highly recommended for your own stormy day viewing if you're a fan of Curry or any of the comedians or love a good ensemble comedy.

Moved to The Gong Show next at YouTube in honor of singer Jaye P. Morgan, who died yesterday. Morgan was a staple on the wackiest amateur show to almost be live from Hollywood, at least until she bared her breasts in an episode. She was joined in the show I saw by Steve Martin and Arte Johnson. The tuba players were surprisingly fun and a guy playing his lips was honestly pretty nifty, but the singer attempting to ape Neil Diamond was terrible, and I had no idea what the guy with the dog was doing there. 

Went to Disney Plus for Morgan's episode of The Muppet Show. You'd think a lady who frequently judges the weirdest amateur show on television would have no problems with the Muppets, but first she's not happy when she ends up in a bird costume for the cutesy "Tweedle Dee," then gets hit with bombs all over the place. She finally bonds with Scooter's crotchety uncle JP Gross, the owner of the Muppets's theater, and gets a pretty nifty rendition of  "That Old Black Magic" with the Electric Mayhem.

Stayed at Disney after a shower for The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in honor of Peter Cullum, who did the voice of Eeyore in this show. The second episode of the show kicks off with "Friend, In Deed." Rabbit is so fed up with Pooh borrowing his honey, he makes him think he's moving. The others really think he's moving and try to get him honey from a hive so he'll stay. Piglet sees Eeyore sitting on the cliff side and thinks he's sad. The others try to be a "Donkey for a Day" and make him happy, but they do what makes them happy, not him. It isn't until Piglet admits he doesn't know what makes Eeyore happy that the gloomy donkey shows Piglet what he was really doing on the cliff.

Moved to Match Game '76 as I made nectarine-banana pancakes for dinner. Gene wears a very, very bright red coat in the first episode that prompted a lot of cracks from the panelists, including Mary Wickes telling him to stay out of the bullring. The first episode of the next week with Bill Daily and soap ingenue Bennye Gatteys was rather important, as it kicked off with Gene announcing that Richard is going to host a new show called Family Feud in the fall...

Finished the night at Tubi with Blue Valley Songbird. I discuss this Lifetime musical drama from 1999 featuring Dolly Parton as a troubled singer at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

A Salute to Dolly Pardon - Blue Valley Songbird

Rainy Afternoon at the Library

Started my day with breakfast and He-Man. The "Song of Celice" is the only thing that can tame a monster named Yog that terrorizes the Kingdom of Tahryn. Skeletor kidnaps the beautiful singer to hypnotize her and have her bring Yog to Castle Greyskull and attack the Sorceress. He-Man and his friends have to break her out of it and remind her that her music is intended to be peaceful.

Headed out on foot after the cartoon ended. I had originally intended to take my bike into Collingswood, but it had already rained. In fact, the rain was just ending as I made my way down East Clinton. This was not a biking day. Collingswood isn't really that far on foot anyway, not more than 10-15 minutes. 

When I got to Haddon Avenue, I made a brief stop to browse in the brand-new housewares store Twelvetrees before making my way down to the Collingswood Library. Other than a couple of kids and their parents in the children's area and the librarians, they were utterly quiet. Everyone must have been at lunch. I spent a pleasant hour and a half relaxing in a plump scarlet chair with a book I haven't read in almost 30 years or more. 

I forget where I first found the original 1978 print of American Musical Theater: A Chronicle by Gerald Boardman. It was either the Cape May Library, the Villas Library, or one of the school libraries. This jumps much further back than most books that cover the history of musical theater, all the way to the 1866 extravaganza The Black Crook. It goes into detail about early musicals in particular that are practically forgotten now, like Harrigan and Hart and their Mulligan Guards' Ball, A Trip to Chinatown that sounds like a trial run for Hello Dolly over 60 years later, the comic opera Robin Hood, the Weber and Fields music hall comedies, and Victor Herbert's beloved operettas. This is how I know about these shows at all. I certainly hadn't heard of them before I read this, other than watching Yankee Doodle Dandy every 4th of July and the Disney Babes In Toyland on the Disney Channel. 

(The entries are less detailed after the 1940's. I don't think Boardman appreciated the musicals of the mid and late 20th century the way he did the late 19th and early 20th century shows. He seemed to find most of them to be too dark and leaned too heavily on rock and newer forms of music.)

I would have lingered longer, but I wanted to have lunch before the weather turned. My original plan was Sabrina's Cafe, but I know how busy they get at lunchtime. Palerma's Restorante was practically empty other than a couple on the other end near the window. I had a lovely and quiet meal, enjoying a slightly spicy breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, black beans, bacon, and avocado and the best darn restaurant home fries I ever tasted while admiring the large, lovely, and very real yellow roses on the table.

Made one last stop at Haddon Culinary to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper for the walk home. I also enjoyed a matcha latte and bought a slice of Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake with cannoli icing to eat at home later. The matcha latte was ok. It really tasted more of oat milk than green tea. The pound cake was nicely dense and just sweet enough, especially that cannoli icing!

(Oh, and it did finally rain...at 3:30, almost a half-hour after I got in. And when it rained, it monsooned. Lashing winds, heavy downpours, the whole nine yards. Some areas even reported tornadoes, though I don't think that was a concern here. The rain has continued off and on for the rest of the evening.)

Soon as I got home, I went straight into Camp Rock 3. I cover the newest Disney Channel original musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Camp Rock 3

Switched to Remember WENN after the movie ended. "In the WENN Small Hours" kicks off the third season as Victor Comstock explains what he's doing at the station and how he managed to survive the Blitz. Meanwhile, station organist Eugenia Bremer (Mary Stout) interviews explorer Cutter Dunlap (Malcom Gets) for her late-night show, and wonders if it was such a great idea when he starts spouting nonsense Betty and Victor fed him after he caught them together. Victor can't let anyone but Betty know he's alive...including Scott, whom it seems he may not know all that well after all.

Betty's still trying to figure out what's going on with Scott and his arrival at the station in the next episode "Prior to Broadway." His letter of introduction from Victor sounds awfully familiar, including using Scott's familiar "Oh, would you look at the time?" catchphrase. Hilary's more interested in getting her and Jeff back on the stage. They perform a play written by the handsome Euripides Moss (Harry Hamlin), but can't decide if it's a comedy or a drama before it goes on the air in front of their sponsors the Sweets (Peggy Cass and Louis Zorich). 

Went straight into Match Game '76 next. Darlene just kept winning and flirting with Richard, straight into the next week with Jimmie Walker and Fannie Flagg. Jimmie thinks that the person who plays Snow White in a question should look a lot more like him. Richard and Fannie find what they claim to be the key to that infamous Encino motel room that's a running gag between Brett and Gene.

Finished the night with The Polar Bear King on YouTube. I used to see this Norwegian fairy tale fantasy a lot at local video stores throughout the 90's. It's based on the Scandinavian stories "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "The White Bear, King Valedmon." A lovely young princess (Maria Bonnevie) marries a polar bear, only to discover he's the King Valemon (Tobias Hoesl), who has been cursed into that form by an evil witch (Anna-Lotta Larson). If she can hold out not seeing his face for seven years, he can avoid marrying the witch. Unfortunately, the princess uses a candle given to her by her silly sisters to look at his face. The witch takes him away, and the princess must find him with the help of Valemon's mother (Monica Nordquist) and her children, whom the queen took away to protect from the witch.

I remember liking but not loving this as a kid. On one hand, the bear was actually created by the Jim Henson Company, and he's pretty realistic-looking and moves really well. The movie's pretty cheap for a romantic fantasy, though, and some of the dubbed dialogue in the English language version is stiff as heck. Still worth checking out if you're a fan of fairy tales like I am (especially considering "White Bear" isn't often adapted in North America). 

Tropical Adventures at Home

Started off my morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear's "Picnic On Pudding Hill" gets pretty crazy when No Feet decides to join in, then Emily's hat blows away and everyone chases it. Even after they catch Emily's hat, it turns out No Feet decided to start the picnic without them. "Little Bear's Walkabout" takes him in the woods to find mysterious creatures. He learns about such unusual woodland animals and insects as a month, a tortoise that's so big, it gives him a ride, and a woodpecker. Little Bear's "Secret Friend" is a whale, who tells him all about the sea while he explains land creatures.

Headed out to work after that. No trouble there. We were quiet all morning. There wasn't even the usual mid-morning surge. I spent the entire time sweeping, pushing carts, and enjoying a hot, humid, sunny summer's day. Was in and out with no difficulty whatsoever. I even took the long way down Nicholson, dodging the traffic just to enjoy the weather a little longer.

In fact, when I got home, I decided I wasn't quite ready to go in yet. I changed clothes, then went back out and rode my bike to WaWa to grab lunch. Tried their Chicken Ranch Wrap and Strawberry Passionfruit Smoothie, along with a bottle of watermelon Propel. Yummy! The smoothie was just the right sweet-tart, and the wrap had lots of chicken and bacon and ranch dressing.

Had lunch while watching the last two Remember WENN episodes of the second season. Station go-fer and janitor Mr. Eldridge (George Hall) is excited when his old friend, former vaudevillian Pepper Carnasie (Eddie Bracken), visits the station. Unfortunately, he's working for overbearing hearing aid salesman Blair Foley (Michael Patrick McGrath) and his company, who use him as a shill. Frankly, Pepper and Mr. Eldridge are more "Like a Brother" than obnoxious Blair is with his little brother, silent sound effects master Mr. Foley (Tom Beckett). Scott and Foley finally find a better use for Foley's new laugh track machine than to bolster Mackie's bad jokes...showing the overbearing Blair just how important listening is, at any age.

It's "Magic" time at WENN when sponsor Kurt Holstrom are among those who sit in on the debut of Hilary and Jeff's mind-reading act. Scott and Betty are more concerned about the coded messages on Amazon Andy, the show Holstrom sponsors, not always making sense. Holstrom and the codes turn out to be a lot darker than anyone thinks as the cast works together to stop a spy from sending coded information. Mackie's just hoping Hilary's claim that "someone at this station will pass through the doorway between life and death" doesn't mean him. She's right, but not in the way she thinks. After the others leave for questioning, Betty has a late-night visitor...one she thought perished in the Blitz months ago, whom she never expected to see again...

The second and third seasons of WENN are far and away my favorites. Scott's in his element as the con-man station manager, vivacious Maple is a great addition, and this is the season where Hilary and Jeff function the most like a team and get some of the best lines. "Christmas In the Airwaves" is my favorite episode, but "Scott Sherwood of the FBI," "Close Quarters," "Magic," and "Radio Silence" are all enjoyable, too. And if you thought that cliffhanger on "Magic" was crazy, things get even more complicated from here on in...

Switched to Fire & Ice on Tubi after lunch. Ralph Bakshi of American Pop fame made this Conan the Barbarian-esque animated fantasy in 1983, during the height of the early 80's sword-and-sorcery craze. Evil Queen Julliana (Susan Tyrell) and her spoiled sorcerer son Nekron (Stephen Mendel) use his magic to create a series of glaciers that destroys any village in their path. They send a delegate of their neanderthal-like goons to negotiate with Jerol (Leo Gordon), king of the volcano kingdom Firekeep. They're really there to kidnap his beautiful daughter Teegra (Maggie Roswell) and force her to marry Nekron. 

Teegra manages to escape and runs into Lam (William Ostrander), a warrior from a village that was destroyed by the glaciers. They fall for each other, but he loses her again when she's captured after he fights a giant squid. She ends up at Icepeak, while Lam falls in with masked warrior Darkwolf (Steve Sandor), who has his own bone to pick with Julliana and her bratty son. Lam and Darkwolf are the only ones who can rescue Teegra from Icepeak, before the glacier hits the Firekeep volcano, and the entire country melts away.

He-Man aside, I never was much for those grunt-and-groan barbarian movies from the early 80's. Rose loved Red Sonja and the Conan films, but I thought they were dumb. This doesn't really change my mind. Bakshi's gorgeous animation, with its rotoscoped, barely-dressed figures against lush tropical or icy backgrounds, doesn't offset the heavily cliched story. Teegra being rescued once or twice would have been interesting, but it happens at least four or five times. 

There's the violence, too. There's a lot of blood and stabbing people in this movie. Most of the dialogue, especially in the middle third, consists of grunting and gasping as everyone tries to either avoid or kill everyone else. Even with the cliches and lack of dialogue, if you're like Rose and you're a fan of Conan or Red Sonja, this is worth checking out at least once for that incredible animation.

Moved to Sailor Moon at Hulu next. Usagi desperately wants to go on a couples-only cruise to find a boyfriend, but Rei gets two tickets and invites Ami instead. Usagi sneaks aboard with Luna anyway and discovers that "I Want a Boyfriend: The Luxury Cruise Ship Is a Trap" when she and the girls are attacked by Jedite and a monster who were taking energy from couples in love.

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. Though the first episode of the night finished the Tom Poston/Barbara Shawma week, most of the night was devoted to the next week with Greg Morris, Betty White, and Price Is Right model Anitra Ford. Richard spent that week flirting with statuesque blonde Darlene, who wound up being the show's biggest winner to that point.

Finished the night listening to the 2008 South Pacific revival recording. This was enormously well-received when it debuted and ran for three years, and it's not hard to tell why here. Kelli O'Hara is a winning and lovely Nellie. Her "Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" and "Honey Bun" are especially charming. Paulo Szot made such a wonderfully masculine Emille, he picked up one of this show's seven Tonys (still the most for a revival). Loretta Ables Sayres has too much fun with "Happy Talk" and a gorgeous "Bali Hai." This CD also features music that tends to get left off of other recordings of this show, including "My Girl Back Home" (here a solo for Cable), the full Overture and Entre' Acte, and all reprises. 

If you want South Pacific in your collection, this and the exceptional original cast with Mary Martin are probably the best choices. (Though I have heard good things about a 1967 Broadway revival with a well-cast Florence Henderson as Nellie.)