I awoke to a phone call. Yes, it was the Acme. They wanted me to come in two hours early, at noon. No problem. I was only working four hours today, and I need the extra hours. I didn't have too much planned for this morning, either.
In fact, the only thing I really had planned for today was some organizing in my bedroom. I wanted to make room for the Ever After High dolls, clear off the top of the printer (which tends to accumulate everything from receipts to old phone messages), and clear all of the printer paper out of a drawer in my desk and off the top of the crate holding oversized comic books. I recycled the receipts and moved everything else that was on top of the printer but the phone and the phone book into the drawer. The printer paper was moved to the top of the printer. Fancier paper and lined paper were switched to the shelf under the printer. The box holding my stationary went under the phone. I moved Gram Bear and Tenderheart over to the top of the comic books crate. (Tenderheart may not stay. He doesn't fit well with plump Gram and Polite Panda.) That leaves space for Cerise and Briar on the children's hardback books shelf, appropriately under the Sailor Moon dolls.
Ran March of the Toy Soldiers as I worked. This is the renamed 1934 Babes In Toyland with Laurel and Hardy as the fat and thin comic relief, this time on the right side of the law. Once again, nasty Barnaby comes between two Mother Goose lovers, here Little Bo Peep (Charlotte Henry) and Tom Piper (Felix Knight). Stan and Ollie first have to help Bo Peep and her mother, the Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe, get the mortgage on the shoe from Barnaby. Though they get into trouble for it, they do ultimately manage to get things right. After that, Barnaby outright gets Tom exiled. Bo Peep and the boys don't believe it and, after the boys prove his innocence, travel into Bogey Land to rescue him.
The Babes you go for depends on which cast you prefer and how big of a fan of Laurel and Hardy's antics you are. I honestly like them both. Though I grew up on the Disney version, I do like Laurel and Hardy, and there's much that's charming about this one, too.
The March of the Toy Soldiers DVD is filled with public domain extras culled from here, there, and everywhere. I ran a few of them as I had a quick lunch and prepared for work. At least 15 years before Rankin-Bass did their version, Paramount put out a very sweet (and somewhat more accurate to the original story) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer animated short that's been a staple in Christmas-themed public domain sets for years. Two shorts were also rather sweet. One, Christmas Toy Shop, has Santa telling all about his toys to two wide-awake youngsters. The other was a more traditional telling of The Night Before Christmas.
Though it wasn't bad when I came in, by about 2:30, we were absolutely swamped with people buying things for Thanksgiving and for relatives visiting next week. We still don't have enough help to deal with them all, either. There were long lines all day - we'd call stock people and bakers to deal with them, and then they'd go back to their section...and then we'd have to call them again when the lines would get long again. This went on all evening. I was tired and got so stressed! Thankfully, they had one of the college boys come in for me, instead of going into stocking; I originally didn't have a relief.
When I got home, I had leftovers for dinner and quickly ran a Backyardigans episode to unwind. Uniqua is a librarian in Veja, California, who loves her job more than anything. When a book goes missing, she becomes "The Masked Retriever" to bring it back to the library! Don Austin has a book he refuses to return. The Masked Retriever chases him across the California and Mexican countryside to get him to renew it.
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Chilled November
Started out another sunny but cold day with some Backyardigans. "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve" pit elves Tasha, Uniqua, and Pablo against abominable snowcritters Austin and Tyrone, who accidentally took Santa's magic sack. If they can't get it back, Santa won't be able to give out toys for Christmas! Uniqua and Pablo run "The Big Dipper Diner," the finest hash house in deep space. Their favorite customer is a sweet little alien named Hugs. Cops Tasha and Tyrone mistake Hugs for the Blarg, a nasty little alien who shrinks everything in sight! Hugs has a surprise for everyone when she teaches all of the kids about the word "no."
My first stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library. There were baskets, baskets, and more baskets everywhere, filled with everything from beauty products to toys to food. The librarian and one of the Friends of the Oaklyn Library were preparing the baskets for the auction at the American Legion building a few doors down on Saturday. I organized DVDs and listened to the Weather Channel report about the heavy snow in the Midwest (and people think it's cold here - at least it's also sunny and cloudless), heading out after about a half-hour.
My next stop was the Haddon Township Library. I had one last video and book donation to make for this year, along with books and DVDs to return. Surprisingly, there weren't that many DVDs to put away. The children's shelves were still overloaded, but not as much as they have been. (And they need to start pulling doubles again.) I continued working on the paperback romance novels as well. The M and N titles were fine, but P, Q, and R needed work. Good thing more than half the R titles were by Nora Roberts - made it easier to organize. I read her stuff on rare occasions myself, when the emphasis is more on action than romance.
(And I didn't take anything out this week. I probably won't have the time to return them next week. I did take Cranberry Thanksgiving out of the Oaklyn Library - I bring Grandma's Cranberry Bread to Mom's house for a hostess gift.)
Made two quick stops on the way home. Dollar Tree was busy, but I just needed Thanksgiving cards. WaWa was even busier with people on their way home from work and school. I ordered The Gobbler turkey sandwich again for a very late lunch.
When I got home, I had my lunch, then made a Mint Devil's Food Cake while watching the 1961 Babes In Toyland. Mary Contrary (Annette Funicello) is set to marry Tom Piper (Tommy Sands)...but not if the wicked Barnaby (Ray Bolger) has anything to do with it! When sending his men to eliminate Tom doesn't work, he steals Mary's sheep. Mary's siblings go after them, and Tom and Mary go after the kids. They all end up in Toyland, trying to help the goofy Toymaker (Ed Wynn) and his beleaguered assistant Grumio (Tommy Kirk) with the Christmas deadline. Barnaby is still on their trail, though...
Colorful and cute version of the ever-popular early 1900s operetta. Bolger in particular is having a blast playing against type - check out his "Castle In Spain" dance.
Stuck with music and fantasy as I moved to DuBarry Was a Lady. Red Skelton is Louie, a hat-check boy at a nightclub who wins a fortune. He hopes to convince beautiful singer May Daly (Lucile Ball) to love him. She really loves the club's MC and dancer (Gene Kelly), but has convinced herself that it's more practical to marry for money. When Louie accidentally takes a drugged drink, he dreams that he's the King of France, May is the scandalous title lady, and Kelly is the revolutionary she loves. Nice if you're a fan of the cast, the World War II era, or big band music (Tommy Dorsey has a couple of extraneous numbers); ok time-waster if you ever run into it on TCM otherwise.
Oh, and I ordered myself the first dolls I'm buying in a series I've had my eye on for a while from Amazon.com. Ever After High details the adventures of the offspring of famous fairy tale and fantasy story characters. Some want to follow in their parents' footsteps and keep the stories exactly the way they've always been; others, especially villains, want to change the stories and re-write their own happy endings. I never really paid much attention to its sister line, Monster High. Those dolls always seemed too bright and campy, even for me, and I'm not into horror. Fairy tale characters who wanted to re-write their stories were something else again, and the dolls and their designs were exquisite.
It took me ages to decide, but I finally decided to start with Cerise Hood and Briar Beauty. Cerise is the mysterious daughter of Little Red Riding Hood whose back story isn't exactly the same as the original. Briar is the party girl daughter of Sleeping Beauty who is having too much fun to sleep for a 100 years. I love Cerise's different mold and her beautiful red outfit, including the famous hood, not to mention her back story. I always did like beasts. I also like Briar's outfit, and while her party-hearty persona is a little shallow, the doll itself is one of the prettiest from the first wave. (And they were both more than half-off. I couldn't resist a bargain.)
I'm really only interested in the "basic" original versions of the dolls - no fancy Thronecoming gowns or beach outfits or pajamas, please! I'm hoping to pick up the hippie daughter of Cinderella, Ashlynn, and her swain Hunter the Huntsman in their original 2-pack for Christmas. I'll probably get Madeline Hatter, the nutty, lovable daughter of the Mad Hatter, along with them. After that, I'll grab either Cedar Wood (the daughter of Pinocchio who literally can't lie) or Blondie Locks (the gossipy daughter of Goldilocks) with tax return money in February.
My first stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library. There were baskets, baskets, and more baskets everywhere, filled with everything from beauty products to toys to food. The librarian and one of the Friends of the Oaklyn Library were preparing the baskets for the auction at the American Legion building a few doors down on Saturday. I organized DVDs and listened to the Weather Channel report about the heavy snow in the Midwest (and people think it's cold here - at least it's also sunny and cloudless), heading out after about a half-hour.
My next stop was the Haddon Township Library. I had one last video and book donation to make for this year, along with books and DVDs to return. Surprisingly, there weren't that many DVDs to put away. The children's shelves were still overloaded, but not as much as they have been. (And they need to start pulling doubles again.) I continued working on the paperback romance novels as well. The M and N titles were fine, but P, Q, and R needed work. Good thing more than half the R titles were by Nora Roberts - made it easier to organize. I read her stuff on rare occasions myself, when the emphasis is more on action than romance.
(And I didn't take anything out this week. I probably won't have the time to return them next week. I did take Cranberry Thanksgiving out of the Oaklyn Library - I bring Grandma's Cranberry Bread to Mom's house for a hostess gift.)
Made two quick stops on the way home. Dollar Tree was busy, but I just needed Thanksgiving cards. WaWa was even busier with people on their way home from work and school. I ordered The Gobbler turkey sandwich again for a very late lunch.
When I got home, I had my lunch, then made a Mint Devil's Food Cake while watching the 1961 Babes In Toyland. Mary Contrary (Annette Funicello) is set to marry Tom Piper (Tommy Sands)...but not if the wicked Barnaby (Ray Bolger) has anything to do with it! When sending his men to eliminate Tom doesn't work, he steals Mary's sheep. Mary's siblings go after them, and Tom and Mary go after the kids. They all end up in Toyland, trying to help the goofy Toymaker (Ed Wynn) and his beleaguered assistant Grumio (Tommy Kirk) with the Christmas deadline. Barnaby is still on their trail, though...
Colorful and cute version of the ever-popular early 1900s operetta. Bolger in particular is having a blast playing against type - check out his "Castle In Spain" dance.
Stuck with music and fantasy as I moved to DuBarry Was a Lady. Red Skelton is Louie, a hat-check boy at a nightclub who wins a fortune. He hopes to convince beautiful singer May Daly (Lucile Ball) to love him. She really loves the club's MC and dancer (Gene Kelly), but has convinced herself that it's more practical to marry for money. When Louie accidentally takes a drugged drink, he dreams that he's the King of France, May is the scandalous title lady, and Kelly is the revolutionary she loves. Nice if you're a fan of the cast, the World War II era, or big band music (Tommy Dorsey has a couple of extraneous numbers); ok time-waster if you ever run into it on TCM otherwise.
Oh, and I ordered myself the first dolls I'm buying in a series I've had my eye on for a while from Amazon.com. Ever After High details the adventures of the offspring of famous fairy tale and fantasy story characters. Some want to follow in their parents' footsteps and keep the stories exactly the way they've always been; others, especially villains, want to change the stories and re-write their own happy endings. I never really paid much attention to its sister line, Monster High. Those dolls always seemed too bright and campy, even for me, and I'm not into horror. Fairy tale characters who wanted to re-write their stories were something else again, and the dolls and their designs were exquisite.
It took me ages to decide, but I finally decided to start with Cerise Hood and Briar Beauty. Cerise is the mysterious daughter of Little Red Riding Hood whose back story isn't exactly the same as the original. Briar is the party girl daughter of Sleeping Beauty who is having too much fun to sleep for a 100 years. I love Cerise's different mold and her beautiful red outfit, including the famous hood, not to mention her back story. I always did like beasts. I also like Briar's outfit, and while her party-hearty persona is a little shallow, the doll itself is one of the prettiest from the first wave. (And they were both more than half-off. I couldn't resist a bargain.)
I'm really only interested in the "basic" original versions of the dolls - no fancy Thronecoming gowns or beach outfits or pajamas, please! I'm hoping to pick up the hippie daughter of Cinderella, Ashlynn, and her swain Hunter the Huntsman in their original 2-pack for Christmas. I'll probably get Madeline Hatter, the nutty, lovable daughter of the Mad Hatter, along with them. After that, I'll grab either Cedar Wood (the daughter of Pinocchio who literally can't lie) or Blondie Locks (the gossipy daughter of Goldilocks) with tax return money in February.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Against the Wind
Started out a very cold day early with Muppet Family Christmas. This 1986 special brought the characters from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock together for a story that had everyone visiting Fozzie's mom for Christmas. While Mrs. Bear and Doc from Fraggle Rock try to figure out where to put all these crazy critters, Kermit worries about Miss Piggy, who is stranded in a snowstorm. Very cute special with some wonderful moments...but thanks to the three different groups of Muppets being owned by different companies, not the easiest program to find intact today. Try YouTube or other online sharing sites.
Headed out around quarter after 10 to get this week's laundry load done. I had slightly more to do than last week, so it did take a little longer. It was fairly busy, too, surprisingly on a Tuesday morning. I mostly spent it watching Let's Make a Deal and The Price Is Right.
When I got home, I ran my John Denver: Christmas With the Muppets CD while putting away my laundry. This special is also hard to find today, which is a shame because the album is a classic. The opening "Twelve Days of Christmas" and closing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and Denver's "Peace Carol" and "A Baby Just Like You" are especially delightful.
As soon as I finished, I did a quick pump on my bike tires, then headed out again. I had counseling today, and I didn't want to be late and have to rush, like I did last month. I got out around quarter after 12, giving me plenty of time before my 2 PM appointment. I went across Haddon Lake Park to Cuthbert. Needless to say on such a cold day, there were only a few hearty joggers and dog walkers and the Canadian geese out with me. The wind was so heavy, it actually blew a thick branch off a tree with a resounding, noisy crack as I passed! Thankfully, the branch was on the side of the tree that overlooked the water. As the dog walker coming from my other side pointed out, you don't see that every day.
That bridge that was out through most of last year had finally been repaired....all two wide rectangles of it. I can't believe it took over a year to repair a bridge that was barely longer than the driveway for the front apartment at my house. I did cut across it, then found a parking lot that went under the PATCO railway. I rode up to the Westmont PATCO station, then turned and rode up to Haddon Avenue.
The Westmont Family Diner is in a small shopping center right across from the PATCO. It was the perfect place for a quick lunch. They were busy, but I did get a booth pretty fast. They were a nice little place, with honey-colored wooden walls and booths. I had a delicious zucchini, sausage, and cheese omelet, whole wheat toast, and some of the tastiest home fries I've had outside my stepdad's. The hot chocolate was messy and probably came from a mix, but at least it was warm.
After I left, I rode up Haddon Avenue to Haddonfield. Since I arrived a half-hour early for counseling, I took a brief look at the Happy Hippo Toy Store before moving onto Mrs. Stahl's office. Even with the side trip, I was still 15 minutes early.
We mostly discussed my Thanksgiving and Christmas plans and what I hope to do after the holidays. I want to use my February tax money for a couple of online writing courses. I just can't seem to finish my solo creative writing projects. I do fine in my journal and blog and with Lauren, but on my own, I start things, then never continue them. And I still have no idea of what to do with my talents. I really would like to get some ideas from this. Everything I've tried up to now either hasn't worked or fell by the wayside or I was just too scared to do it.
She pretty much just said "enjoy the holidays and keep those classes in mind." That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I love the holidays. The family aspects of Christmas in particular do get me a little down at times. I'm the only person in my family with no kids or significant other. I sometimes feel left out, especially at parties. Otherwise, I'm a big fan of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and always have been. I love the shopping and the wrapping and the baking and the decorating and the warm, cozy feeling the holidays bring.
(And this was my last counseling session of 2014. December is crazy enough without taking a day off to hike up to Haddonfield. My next session is in mid-January.)
When I got out, though, I was feeling pretty darn good. I got to counseling without rushing or hysterics, and despite the 33-degree chill, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and if the wind was blowing, hey, it felt more like the holidays.
I made two brief stops on Haddon Avenue. One was to check out a new used book and CD store that had just opened. I didn't buy anything, but there were some interesting items, mostly related to movies and art; I'll look again in January. The other was at Jersey, an expensive but tasty little coffee shop. I really needed to use their bathroom, but I also took advantage of the warm room with the fireplace and the heavy dark furniture to rest and sip a chai latte and nibble at a sweet roll with cream cheese glaze.
I took the same way I came under the PATCO rails and across the bridge to Cuthbert. I had to make a really quick stop at the Westmont Acme. I was out of toilet paper, and I needed grapefruit, too. They also had bags of Emerald glazed pecans and cinnamon-coated mixed nuts for the holidays that I hadn't seen at the Audubon Acme. I went with the cinnamon bag. I love anything with cinnamon and sugar.
This time, I went straight home, cutting across Newton River Park again. When I finally got in, I went right in the bath, listening to one of my Christmas oldies collections. Ahhhh. That felt really nice. I haven't had a bath in ages. I looked over Christmas craft books and a Wilton Christmas cake book from the 70s to get ideas for my holiday baking and just relaxed.
Ran two Rankin-Bass animated specials as I made salmon in lemon sauce with leftover broccoli and the last of the Cranberry Flummery for dinner. Cricket On the Hearth is a real oddity from the late 60s, from the slightly psychedelic animation. Roddy McDowell narrates as the title character, who brings together a blind girl (Marlo Thomas) with her sweetheart, whom she believed lost at sea (Ed Ames). This Dickens story is rather strange, even for Rankin-Bass. The girl goes blind from the shock of her beloved sailor, and the cricket is nearly killed by a crow and his lackeys...who are killed by a nasty sea captain off-screen. Little kids might not get a lot of this one, despite the cute cricket - try it on older kids who think they've seen everything (especially if they have a romantic vein).
Finished out the night with Frosty the Snowman. The original 1969 cartoon is one of the simpler Rankin-Bass tales. Frosty (Jackie Vernon) is brought to life by a magic hat that was tossed away by a phony magician (Billy DeWolfe). When the magician sees that it really can do magic, he wants it back...to the point of following Frosty, his rabbit, and a little girl named Karen to the North Pole when they try to find Frosty a home. This is one of the most famous of all Rankin-Bass specials and is required viewing, especially for families with younger kids.
Oh, and sigh. A fond farewell to Arthur Rankin Jr., who passed away today. Christmas, Easter, and stop-motion animation wouldn't be the same without him and his partner's animation studio.
Headed out around quarter after 10 to get this week's laundry load done. I had slightly more to do than last week, so it did take a little longer. It was fairly busy, too, surprisingly on a Tuesday morning. I mostly spent it watching Let's Make a Deal and The Price Is Right.
When I got home, I ran my John Denver: Christmas With the Muppets CD while putting away my laundry. This special is also hard to find today, which is a shame because the album is a classic. The opening "Twelve Days of Christmas" and closing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and Denver's "Peace Carol" and "A Baby Just Like You" are especially delightful.
As soon as I finished, I did a quick pump on my bike tires, then headed out again. I had counseling today, and I didn't want to be late and have to rush, like I did last month. I got out around quarter after 12, giving me plenty of time before my 2 PM appointment. I went across Haddon Lake Park to Cuthbert. Needless to say on such a cold day, there were only a few hearty joggers and dog walkers and the Canadian geese out with me. The wind was so heavy, it actually blew a thick branch off a tree with a resounding, noisy crack as I passed! Thankfully, the branch was on the side of the tree that overlooked the water. As the dog walker coming from my other side pointed out, you don't see that every day.
That bridge that was out through most of last year had finally been repaired....all two wide rectangles of it. I can't believe it took over a year to repair a bridge that was barely longer than the driveway for the front apartment at my house. I did cut across it, then found a parking lot that went under the PATCO railway. I rode up to the Westmont PATCO station, then turned and rode up to Haddon Avenue.
The Westmont Family Diner is in a small shopping center right across from the PATCO. It was the perfect place for a quick lunch. They were busy, but I did get a booth pretty fast. They were a nice little place, with honey-colored wooden walls and booths. I had a delicious zucchini, sausage, and cheese omelet, whole wheat toast, and some of the tastiest home fries I've had outside my stepdad's. The hot chocolate was messy and probably came from a mix, but at least it was warm.
After I left, I rode up Haddon Avenue to Haddonfield. Since I arrived a half-hour early for counseling, I took a brief look at the Happy Hippo Toy Store before moving onto Mrs. Stahl's office. Even with the side trip, I was still 15 minutes early.
We mostly discussed my Thanksgiving and Christmas plans and what I hope to do after the holidays. I want to use my February tax money for a couple of online writing courses. I just can't seem to finish my solo creative writing projects. I do fine in my journal and blog and with Lauren, but on my own, I start things, then never continue them. And I still have no idea of what to do with my talents. I really would like to get some ideas from this. Everything I've tried up to now either hasn't worked or fell by the wayside or I was just too scared to do it.
She pretty much just said "enjoy the holidays and keep those classes in mind." That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I love the holidays. The family aspects of Christmas in particular do get me a little down at times. I'm the only person in my family with no kids or significant other. I sometimes feel left out, especially at parties. Otherwise, I'm a big fan of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and always have been. I love the shopping and the wrapping and the baking and the decorating and the warm, cozy feeling the holidays bring.
(And this was my last counseling session of 2014. December is crazy enough without taking a day off to hike up to Haddonfield. My next session is in mid-January.)
When I got out, though, I was feeling pretty darn good. I got to counseling without rushing or hysterics, and despite the 33-degree chill, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and if the wind was blowing, hey, it felt more like the holidays.
I made two brief stops on Haddon Avenue. One was to check out a new used book and CD store that had just opened. I didn't buy anything, but there were some interesting items, mostly related to movies and art; I'll look again in January. The other was at Jersey, an expensive but tasty little coffee shop. I really needed to use their bathroom, but I also took advantage of the warm room with the fireplace and the heavy dark furniture to rest and sip a chai latte and nibble at a sweet roll with cream cheese glaze.
I took the same way I came under the PATCO rails and across the bridge to Cuthbert. I had to make a really quick stop at the Westmont Acme. I was out of toilet paper, and I needed grapefruit, too. They also had bags of Emerald glazed pecans and cinnamon-coated mixed nuts for the holidays that I hadn't seen at the Audubon Acme. I went with the cinnamon bag. I love anything with cinnamon and sugar.
This time, I went straight home, cutting across Newton River Park again. When I finally got in, I went right in the bath, listening to one of my Christmas oldies collections. Ahhhh. That felt really nice. I haven't had a bath in ages. I looked over Christmas craft books and a Wilton Christmas cake book from the 70s to get ideas for my holiday baking and just relaxed.
Ran two Rankin-Bass animated specials as I made salmon in lemon sauce with leftover broccoli and the last of the Cranberry Flummery for dinner. Cricket On the Hearth is a real oddity from the late 60s, from the slightly psychedelic animation. Roddy McDowell narrates as the title character, who brings together a blind girl (Marlo Thomas) with her sweetheart, whom she believed lost at sea (Ed Ames). This Dickens story is rather strange, even for Rankin-Bass. The girl goes blind from the shock of her beloved sailor, and the cricket is nearly killed by a crow and his lackeys...who are killed by a nasty sea captain off-screen. Little kids might not get a lot of this one, despite the cute cricket - try it on older kids who think they've seen everything (especially if they have a romantic vein).
Finished out the night with Frosty the Snowman. The original 1969 cartoon is one of the simpler Rankin-Bass tales. Frosty (Jackie Vernon) is brought to life by a magic hat that was tossed away by a phony magician (Billy DeWolfe). When the magician sees that it really can do magic, he wants it back...to the point of following Frosty, his rabbit, and a little girl named Karen to the North Pole when they try to find Frosty a home. This is one of the most famous of all Rankin-Bass specials and is required viewing, especially for families with younger kids.
Oh, and sigh. A fond farewell to Arthur Rankin Jr., who passed away today. Christmas, Easter, and stop-motion animation wouldn't be the same without him and his partner's animation studio.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Enchantment In the Rain
It was pouring when I got up this morning. I ended up spending it eating breakfast, making Norsk Apple Muffins, and watching holiday programming. My favorite traditional version of The Nutcracker is the American Ballet Theater version from 1978. Clara (Gerry Kirkland) receives a special present from her godfather - a toy nutcracker doll. She dreams that the doll comes to life, fights a wicked Mouse King, and turns into a prince (Mikhail Baryshnikov) who takes her to the Land of Sweets.
Switched to a Thanksgiving special as I ate leftovers for lunch. Molly's Pilgrim is an Oscar-winning short subject from 1985. Molly and her family just came to the US from Russia, and she's having a hard time fitting in. Her clothing looks old-fashioned compared to the other girls, she speaks English with an accent, and her lunch is real food, rather than just sandwiches. She's looking forward to the assignment to make a pilgrim girl, until her mother makes the doll look more like a Russian girl. Molly and her classmates finally learn how the Pilgrims really came up with the idea of a harvest feast...and that it takes all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving.
Moved back to Christmas as I got ready for work. The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas takes us to Beartown, where curious Ted E. Bear wants to know all about this peculiar time of the year. He's teased by the other bears and shunned by authority figures who think he's crazy or just plain stupid for fighting instinct. He's determined to find Christmas at any cost. A toy store brings him close, but it's a plump old man in a red suit who finally shows him the real meaning of the holiday.
Dad ended up driving me to and from work. It poured on and off all day. Work was quiet when I arrived. It was on and off too, mostly because we're still short on help. Otherwise, there were no major problems. My relief arrived just in time for me to hurry out to Dad.
Switched to a Thanksgiving special as I ate leftovers for lunch. Molly's Pilgrim is an Oscar-winning short subject from 1985. Molly and her family just came to the US from Russia, and she's having a hard time fitting in. Her clothing looks old-fashioned compared to the other girls, she speaks English with an accent, and her lunch is real food, rather than just sandwiches. She's looking forward to the assignment to make a pilgrim girl, until her mother makes the doll look more like a Russian girl. Molly and her classmates finally learn how the Pilgrims really came up with the idea of a harvest feast...and that it takes all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving.
Moved back to Christmas as I got ready for work. The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas takes us to Beartown, where curious Ted E. Bear wants to know all about this peculiar time of the year. He's teased by the other bears and shunned by authority figures who think he's crazy or just plain stupid for fighting instinct. He's determined to find Christmas at any cost. A toy store brings him close, but it's a plump old man in a red suit who finally shows him the real meaning of the holiday.
Dad ended up driving me to and from work. It poured on and off all day. Work was quiet when I arrived. It was on and off too, mostly because we're still short on help. Otherwise, there were no major problems. My relief arrived just in time for me to hurry out to Dad.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Blues In the Day
I awoke to dark skies and blustery but slightly warmer temperatures. Ran A Broadway Christmas while making Banana-Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast. I found this CD at the ARC thrift shop in Rio Grande a few months before I moved in late fall 2005 and have loved it ever since. Favorites include the lovely "Christmas Eve" which was cut from She Loves Me, the gentle "Christmas Gifts" from a stage musical version of It's a Wonderful Life, the touching "I Thank You For Your Love" from something called The Mummer's Play, and the previously unpublished Irving Berlin number "The Happy New Year's Blues." Of the better-known songs, I love the 80s-pop-ish version of "Turkey Lurkey Time" from Promises Promises (which is a lot more fun than the slower one on the cast album!) and a really nice take on "Hard Candy Christmas."
I wish I'd stayed with the Christmas music. Work was crazy again almost the entire afternoon, and for the same reason - still not enough help, especially managers. Most people took it pretty well, but some were still in bad moods. Two women put back their entire order they discovered that not only did that free turkey coupon end Thursday, but the coupon was required - and it only came in the mail. You had to spend 100 dollars AND use the coupon. It didn't just come off if you spent 100 dollars. They were only buying the order to get the turkey. That makes no sense whatsoever. You buy the order because you need food. The turkey is supposed to be a nice bonus.
It was so busy, the guy who was working self-checkout had to go in for me, and I barely got out on time. I went home, changed into regular pants (I was already wearing my Eagles jersey for work), wrote off my rent check really fast for Miss Willa and Richard, delivered it to their mailbox, and headed back out. Dad was having a late football party for the big Packers-Eagles game.
It was a lot busier than the last time I made it to a football party. In addition to Jodie, Dad, Vanessa, and Mark (Mark is a big Packers fan), several neighbors were there, along with Jodie's son's girlfriend Dana and their cocker spaniel Helio. Khai was playing in the yard with Helio and Dana when I arrived. My sister Rose came later - she was making a grocery store run. (I saw Dana at the Acme earlier as well, along with Jessa and Joe.)
There was tons of food. Jodie's birthday was yesterday, so we got to have the leftovers from her party. When I came in, there were meatballs and sausage, two kinds of pasta salad, cole slaw, water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, tasty little cream puffs, apple cake with raspberry frosting, and the last of Jodie's chocolate birthday cake. Jodie pulled out baked ziti and stuffed mushrooms a bit later.
I wish the game was as nice as the company. The Eagles played terrible today. I don't know what got into Mark Sanchez. He had four interceptions, and that was the least of his troubles. The Packers finally flattened them 53-20.
I went home just as the halftime show was ending, around 6:30. I was full, Rose and Khai were about to leave as well, and I was tired of listening to Dad complain about the game. I rode home in a steady but fairly light shower. When I got in, I met Miss Willa at her door before going to my place. I was able to give her the rent, and I signed a few more papers for her.
I also confirmed some holiday plans with Rose. Yes, we're still going down to Mom's for Thanksgiving, probably around 10 again. No, she's not having the Christmas party. It's just too much with her current workload as a novice lawyer. Dad and Jodie will have Christmas breakfast at their house. I may just spend the rest of the day at my apartment, watching movies - it worked pretty well last year.
I wish I'd stayed with the Christmas music. Work was crazy again almost the entire afternoon, and for the same reason - still not enough help, especially managers. Most people took it pretty well, but some were still in bad moods. Two women put back their entire order they discovered that not only did that free turkey coupon end Thursday, but the coupon was required - and it only came in the mail. You had to spend 100 dollars AND use the coupon. It didn't just come off if you spent 100 dollars. They were only buying the order to get the turkey. That makes no sense whatsoever. You buy the order because you need food. The turkey is supposed to be a nice bonus.
It was so busy, the guy who was working self-checkout had to go in for me, and I barely got out on time. I went home, changed into regular pants (I was already wearing my Eagles jersey for work), wrote off my rent check really fast for Miss Willa and Richard, delivered it to their mailbox, and headed back out. Dad was having a late football party for the big Packers-Eagles game.
It was a lot busier than the last time I made it to a football party. In addition to Jodie, Dad, Vanessa, and Mark (Mark is a big Packers fan), several neighbors were there, along with Jodie's son's girlfriend Dana and their cocker spaniel Helio. Khai was playing in the yard with Helio and Dana when I arrived. My sister Rose came later - she was making a grocery store run. (I saw Dana at the Acme earlier as well, along with Jessa and Joe.)
There was tons of food. Jodie's birthday was yesterday, so we got to have the leftovers from her party. When I came in, there were meatballs and sausage, two kinds of pasta salad, cole slaw, water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, tasty little cream puffs, apple cake with raspberry frosting, and the last of Jodie's chocolate birthday cake. Jodie pulled out baked ziti and stuffed mushrooms a bit later.
I wish the game was as nice as the company. The Eagles played terrible today. I don't know what got into Mark Sanchez. He had four interceptions, and that was the least of his troubles. The Packers finally flattened them 53-20.
I went home just as the halftime show was ending, around 6:30. I was full, Rose and Khai were about to leave as well, and I was tired of listening to Dad complain about the game. I rode home in a steady but fairly light shower. When I got in, I met Miss Willa at her door before going to my place. I was able to give her the rent, and I signed a few more papers for her.
I also confirmed some holiday plans with Rose. Yes, we're still going down to Mom's for Thanksgiving, probably around 10 again. No, she's not having the Christmas party. It's just too much with her current workload as a novice lawyer. Dad and Jodie will have Christmas breakfast at their house. I may just spend the rest of the day at my apartment, watching movies - it worked pretty well last year.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Strange Tales of the Supernatural
Started off the morning with a run to the Collingswood Farm Market. Today is the Farm Market's second-to-last weekend, and there's now far more craft booths than food booths. There were enough food booths left open that I made a decent haul. I ended up with my bananas from the tropical fruit sellers, mushrooms, my favorite little apples, cranberries, and sweet potatoes. It was cold this morning, barely in the 40s, and while it was crowded, it wasn't quite as bad as usual despite a nice, sunny day.
Work was massively insane for a lot of the day. It's a little less than two weeks before Thanksgiving. A lot of people are picking up their non-perishable goods and their meats for the holiday. This was made even worse by a huge lack of help. That's what they get for cutting hours in mid-November. The managers kept calling up stock kids to take the lines whenever they got long. When they slowed down, they'd let them go...and they'd have to call them back again when the lines started snaking around the store. It didn't help that many people were nasty, rude, and just plain grouchy. I was utterly delighted when one of the college girls appeared on time so I could grab some skim milk and rush home.
When I got home, I made spiced chicken thighs and roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner while finishing out Gravity Falls, which I began this morning. The strange tales of life in the weirdest little town in Oregon continue, as twins Dipper and Mabel find more odd conspiracies. Dipper himself causes some of the biggest scares, thanks to his desire to get a date with sensible teen Wendy. In "The Time Traveler's Pig," he, Mabel, and Mabel's new pet pig Waddles swipe a machine from a man from the future that allows them to travel through time. Dipper wants to change his chances of impressing Wendy...but it seems that his desire to win his girl may cost his sister her beloved porcine pal.
"Summerween" also involves Dipper trying to impress Wendy. This time, he attempts to blow off Mabel's trick-or-treating for the town's mid-summer Halloween celebration in favor of a party Wendy is attending. He has second thoughts when a "Summerween Trickster" forces him, Mabel, her friends, and Soos to collect 500 pieces of candy or get eaten!
The obnoxious, bratty Gideon from the last collection reappears in "Little Dipper." Dipper is tired of being teased about his height. He finds a crystal in the woods and uses it to make him taller than Mabel. It's all well and fun until Gideon gets his hands on it. After Gideon shrinks them and Soos, they have to work together to stop Gideon from taking the Mystery Shack from Grunkle Stan.
The most creative episode was "Bottomless Pit." It was actually a mini-anthology of four short cartoons, told as stories when Grunkle Stan, Soos, and the twins fall into the afore-mentioned everlasting pit. Soos' story has him and the twins finding themselves inside a pinball machine that doesn't like how Soos cheated at it. Dipper's story is another variation on him trying to avoid being teased - here, he takes a liquid that makes his voice deeper, but unnatural for a 12-year-old. Mabel's story shows her giving Grunkle Stan a pair of teeth that make him tell the truth constantly. He almost gives away all his secrets - including tax fraud - before the twins get the teeth out. (Grunkle Stan's was basically a two-second short on how wonderful he thinks he is.)
Finished out the night with more traditional Disney. Mickey's Christmas Carol was an added attraction with a re-release of The Rescuers during the Christmas season of 1983. Mickey plays Bob Cratchit in this abbreviated retelling of the beloved holiday novella. Uncle Scrooge, of course, is Ebeneezer Scrooge, who learns an important lesson in charity from four strange ghosts (Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, Willie the Giant, and Big Pete) one Christmas Eve.
Work was massively insane for a lot of the day. It's a little less than two weeks before Thanksgiving. A lot of people are picking up their non-perishable goods and their meats for the holiday. This was made even worse by a huge lack of help. That's what they get for cutting hours in mid-November. The managers kept calling up stock kids to take the lines whenever they got long. When they slowed down, they'd let them go...and they'd have to call them back again when the lines started snaking around the store. It didn't help that many people were nasty, rude, and just plain grouchy. I was utterly delighted when one of the college girls appeared on time so I could grab some skim milk and rush home.
When I got home, I made spiced chicken thighs and roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner while finishing out Gravity Falls, which I began this morning. The strange tales of life in the weirdest little town in Oregon continue, as twins Dipper and Mabel find more odd conspiracies. Dipper himself causes some of the biggest scares, thanks to his desire to get a date with sensible teen Wendy. In "The Time Traveler's Pig," he, Mabel, and Mabel's new pet pig Waddles swipe a machine from a man from the future that allows them to travel through time. Dipper wants to change his chances of impressing Wendy...but it seems that his desire to win his girl may cost his sister her beloved porcine pal.
"Summerween" also involves Dipper trying to impress Wendy. This time, he attempts to blow off Mabel's trick-or-treating for the town's mid-summer Halloween celebration in favor of a party Wendy is attending. He has second thoughts when a "Summerween Trickster" forces him, Mabel, her friends, and Soos to collect 500 pieces of candy or get eaten!
The obnoxious, bratty Gideon from the last collection reappears in "Little Dipper." Dipper is tired of being teased about his height. He finds a crystal in the woods and uses it to make him taller than Mabel. It's all well and fun until Gideon gets his hands on it. After Gideon shrinks them and Soos, they have to work together to stop Gideon from taking the Mystery Shack from Grunkle Stan.
The most creative episode was "Bottomless Pit." It was actually a mini-anthology of four short cartoons, told as stories when Grunkle Stan, Soos, and the twins fall into the afore-mentioned everlasting pit. Soos' story has him and the twins finding themselves inside a pinball machine that doesn't like how Soos cheated at it. Dipper's story is another variation on him trying to avoid being teased - here, he takes a liquid that makes his voice deeper, but unnatural for a 12-year-old. Mabel's story shows her giving Grunkle Stan a pair of teeth that make him tell the truth constantly. He almost gives away all his secrets - including tax fraud - before the twins get the teeth out. (Grunkle Stan's was basically a two-second short on how wonderful he thinks he is.)
Finished out the night with more traditional Disney. Mickey's Christmas Carol was an added attraction with a re-release of The Rescuers during the Christmas season of 1983. Mickey plays Bob Cratchit in this abbreviated retelling of the beloved holiday novella. Uncle Scrooge, of course, is Ebeneezer Scrooge, who learns an important lesson in charity from four strange ghosts (Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, Willie the Giant, and Big Pete) one Christmas Eve.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Scooby Doo and the Chilly Day Mysteries
Brrr! I awoke to 40-degree temperatures and lots of wind. Finished Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm while snuggled under the covers. Rebecca is similar to Emily of New Moon. Once again, a spirited young girl finds herself in the care of grouchy old maids and changes the lives of them and everyone around her. Rebecca is a lively chatterbox with a knack for getting into trouble. She's moved to a small New England town to live with her aunts and attend school. Her story is surprisingly fun and not nearly as sugary as its reputation would have it.
Ran the first Scooby Doo holiday special, "A Nutcracker Scoob," as I ate breakfast. This episode from the early 80s incarnation of the show has Fred joining Daphne, Scrappy, Shaggy, and Scooby, who are taking part in a small orphanage's Christmas show. A nasty old man threatens to throw the kids out, and Mystery Inc is determined to find out why. Meanwhile, the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives to scare the Dickens out of the entire group!
Continued with a couple of shorts while I cleaned up my breakfast and got ready for work. "Alaskan King Coward" has Shaggy and the dogs gold-mining in Alaska. They accidentally unthaw an ancient lizard while searching for gold. Shaggy and Scooby try to outrun him...but Scrappy wants to take on this scaly claim-jumper! Went to Popeye for "I-Ski-You-Ski." Popeye and Olive go mountain climbing in order to get to their skiing cabin. Bluto's determined to make stop them...and then to be the only one Olive goes skiing with!
Work was on-and-off busy all day. While the turkey coupon promotion is over, we still have turkeys on deep sales, including big Butterballs. Not to mention, there's all the people who got rain checks when we were out of turkeys. I was in express all day, which meant I had some crabby customers who wouldn't bag or were in a hurry. I also had lots of people paying with checks, despite the sign in front of the register clearly stating that the express line is check-free. Thankfully, they were able to call in a stock person for me, as my relief is one of the newly-hired college kids who has to work a few months before they can come in for someone.
I had a little grocery shopping to do after work. A 99 cent sale on Cool Whip inspired myself to grab a pie crust and dark chocolate mousse mix as well and make a pudding pie for dessert. Needed a major meat restock, too. Fortunately, Purdue was on a 40% off sale. I bought two containers of ground chicken and a package of chicken breasts. Got three more dollar fish packs for quick after-work meals. The other big thing I needed was cereal. I ran out this morning. I found the Acme generic Multi-Grain Cheerios for two dollars. The many baking sales yielded I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for $2.50.
My schedule for this week is a little better than last week's. Same amount of hours. That's not only disappointing for this time of year, it's impractical. Thanksgiving is two weeks from yesterday! Two weeks from the biggest food holiday of the year is a bad time to be cutting hours. Otherwise, my schedule is pretty decent. Two days off (Tuesday for counseling) and nothing earlier than 11:30 or later than 7.
When I got home, I had the last of the leftover turkey tenderloin with carrots, sweet potatoes, and Cranberry Flummery for dinner while watching Barbie In the Nutcracker. The first Barbie In/As special and the first of three Barbie holiday specials to date is Mattel's interpretation of the beloved ballet. Barbie tells the story of Clara, a young woman who is dying to show her grandfather and aunt how adult and responsible she can be. She gets her chance when she goes with the Nutcracker her aunt gave her to help her return to her original size and him return to his original form. Not a bad start to the Barbie series; the animation is stiff and waxy (and so's the Nutcracker), but the story is enjoyable and the dancing is lovely.
Finished out the night with more Scooby. "That's Snow Ghost" from the original show has Mystery Inc visiting a run-down ski resort that's being terrorized by what appears to be the ghost of the Abominable Snowman! An elderly Tibetan man thinks the ghost is after him, but the kids have a different idea about what the "Snow Ghost" is up to.
Ran the first Scooby Doo holiday special, "A Nutcracker Scoob," as I ate breakfast. This episode from the early 80s incarnation of the show has Fred joining Daphne, Scrappy, Shaggy, and Scooby, who are taking part in a small orphanage's Christmas show. A nasty old man threatens to throw the kids out, and Mystery Inc is determined to find out why. Meanwhile, the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives to scare the Dickens out of the entire group!
Continued with a couple of shorts while I cleaned up my breakfast and got ready for work. "Alaskan King Coward" has Shaggy and the dogs gold-mining in Alaska. They accidentally unthaw an ancient lizard while searching for gold. Shaggy and Scooby try to outrun him...but Scrappy wants to take on this scaly claim-jumper! Went to Popeye for "I-Ski-You-Ski." Popeye and Olive go mountain climbing in order to get to their skiing cabin. Bluto's determined to make stop them...and then to be the only one Olive goes skiing with!
Work was on-and-off busy all day. While the turkey coupon promotion is over, we still have turkeys on deep sales, including big Butterballs. Not to mention, there's all the people who got rain checks when we were out of turkeys. I was in express all day, which meant I had some crabby customers who wouldn't bag or were in a hurry. I also had lots of people paying with checks, despite the sign in front of the register clearly stating that the express line is check-free. Thankfully, they were able to call in a stock person for me, as my relief is one of the newly-hired college kids who has to work a few months before they can come in for someone.
I had a little grocery shopping to do after work. A 99 cent sale on Cool Whip inspired myself to grab a pie crust and dark chocolate mousse mix as well and make a pudding pie for dessert. Needed a major meat restock, too. Fortunately, Purdue was on a 40% off sale. I bought two containers of ground chicken and a package of chicken breasts. Got three more dollar fish packs for quick after-work meals. The other big thing I needed was cereal. I ran out this morning. I found the Acme generic Multi-Grain Cheerios for two dollars. The many baking sales yielded I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for $2.50.
My schedule for this week is a little better than last week's. Same amount of hours. That's not only disappointing for this time of year, it's impractical. Thanksgiving is two weeks from yesterday! Two weeks from the biggest food holiday of the year is a bad time to be cutting hours. Otherwise, my schedule is pretty decent. Two days off (Tuesday for counseling) and nothing earlier than 11:30 or later than 7.
When I got home, I had the last of the leftover turkey tenderloin with carrots, sweet potatoes, and Cranberry Flummery for dinner while watching Barbie In the Nutcracker. The first Barbie In/As special and the first of three Barbie holiday specials to date is Mattel's interpretation of the beloved ballet. Barbie tells the story of Clara, a young woman who is dying to show her grandfather and aunt how adult and responsible she can be. She gets her chance when she goes with the Nutcracker her aunt gave her to help her return to her original size and him return to his original form. Not a bad start to the Barbie series; the animation is stiff and waxy (and so's the Nutcracker), but the story is enjoyable and the dancing is lovely.
Finished out the night with more Scooby. "That's Snow Ghost" from the original show has Mystery Inc visiting a run-down ski resort that's being terrorized by what appears to be the ghost of the Abominable Snowman! An elderly Tibetan man thinks the ghost is after him, but the kids have a different idea about what the "Snow Ghost" is up to.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Winter's Comin'
It was cloudy, damp, and much cooler when I heard feet stomp onto my porch. Richard and his sons were going to clean the gutters and rake and sweep up all the leaves while Mother Nature was still cooperating. Fine by me. They needed to be done rather badly. The cleared some of the debris off the side of the porch being repaired, too.
I ignored them and had breakfast while watching two Thanksgiving specials. Garfield's Thanksgiving may not be much fun when Liz the Veterinarian puts him on a diet, and then Jon invites her to Thanksgiving dinner! The Peanuts learn about "The Mayflower Voyagers" when they play pilgrim children on the journey to the new world in the mini-series This Is America, Charlie Brown.
Dubbed The Pajama Game while sweeping out the two pantry shelves and under the sink where I keep pots and pans. Sid (John Raitt) is a new manager at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. He's not the nicest guy. When he shoves an obnoxious worker, the worker complains to grievance committee head Babe Williams (Doris Day). Sid's immediately interested. Babe isn't...not at first. Their budding romance is threatened by Babe's pushing for a seven and a half cent raise with the other workers at the factory. Meanwhile, secretary Gladys (Carol Haney) deals with her very jealous boyfriend Hines (Eddie Foy Jr.), who thinks she's after every guy in the factory.
It's too bad a lot of this comes off as thin and a bit dated today, because the songs are still fabulous. Stanley Donen directed this with George Abbot, which becomes obvious in big set pieces like "Once-A-Year-Day" that feel like numbers from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The ladies in particular shine. Day has a blast with Raitt on "There Once Was a Man" and gets a lovely reprise of "Hey There," while Haney shows off some early Bob Fosse choreography in "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." Mainly recommended for fans of the big Broadway musicals of the 50s and 60s or Day.
Returned to animation while making a quick spinach and egg "pancake" for lunch. The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold is one of the last and most unusual holiday specials made by Rankin-Bass. Art Carney narrates the tale of a young sailor who comes ashore to dig up a Christmas tree. He accidentally releases a banshee who wants the gold hidden by a little leprechaun, or she'll be turned into tears on Christmas Day. It'll take the revival of a troubled marriage to help the young man when he falls under the banshee's spell.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of the most famous holiday specials ever made. The title character is determined to take the food and fun out of the Whos' holiday. The Whos turn out to be more resilient than anticipated, and they finally teach the grouchy Grinch a lesson about the real Christmas spirit.
Work was crazy through about 7:30-ish. Today is the last day for the turkey coupon. They were somehow out of the darn turkeys (again) and offered substitutes. A lot of people ended up standing around while customers and employees chased after the substitute turkeys...and even longer while we called a manager to get the turkeys off, since they hadn't been labeled properly. Thankfully, it was dead as a doornail by the time work ended. I was able to leave slightly early without a relief.
I quickly discovered why we died so fast when I got outside. It was raining and snowing at the same time, and coming down pretty good, too. It was too late to ask for a ride, so I just rode home and got wet.
I ignored them and had breakfast while watching two Thanksgiving specials. Garfield's Thanksgiving may not be much fun when Liz the Veterinarian puts him on a diet, and then Jon invites her to Thanksgiving dinner! The Peanuts learn about "The Mayflower Voyagers" when they play pilgrim children on the journey to the new world in the mini-series This Is America, Charlie Brown.
Dubbed The Pajama Game while sweeping out the two pantry shelves and under the sink where I keep pots and pans. Sid (John Raitt) is a new manager at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. He's not the nicest guy. When he shoves an obnoxious worker, the worker complains to grievance committee head Babe Williams (Doris Day). Sid's immediately interested. Babe isn't...not at first. Their budding romance is threatened by Babe's pushing for a seven and a half cent raise with the other workers at the factory. Meanwhile, secretary Gladys (Carol Haney) deals with her very jealous boyfriend Hines (Eddie Foy Jr.), who thinks she's after every guy in the factory.
It's too bad a lot of this comes off as thin and a bit dated today, because the songs are still fabulous. Stanley Donen directed this with George Abbot, which becomes obvious in big set pieces like "Once-A-Year-Day" that feel like numbers from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The ladies in particular shine. Day has a blast with Raitt on "There Once Was a Man" and gets a lovely reprise of "Hey There," while Haney shows off some early Bob Fosse choreography in "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." Mainly recommended for fans of the big Broadway musicals of the 50s and 60s or Day.
Returned to animation while making a quick spinach and egg "pancake" for lunch. The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold is one of the last and most unusual holiday specials made by Rankin-Bass. Art Carney narrates the tale of a young sailor who comes ashore to dig up a Christmas tree. He accidentally releases a banshee who wants the gold hidden by a little leprechaun, or she'll be turned into tears on Christmas Day. It'll take the revival of a troubled marriage to help the young man when he falls under the banshee's spell.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of the most famous holiday specials ever made. The title character is determined to take the food and fun out of the Whos' holiday. The Whos turn out to be more resilient than anticipated, and they finally teach the grouchy Grinch a lesson about the real Christmas spirit.
Work was crazy through about 7:30-ish. Today is the last day for the turkey coupon. They were somehow out of the darn turkeys (again) and offered substitutes. A lot of people ended up standing around while customers and employees chased after the substitute turkeys...and even longer while we called a manager to get the turkeys off, since they hadn't been labeled properly. Thankfully, it was dead as a doornail by the time work ended. I was able to leave slightly early without a relief.
I quickly discovered why we died so fast when I got outside. It was raining and snowing at the same time, and coming down pretty good, too. It was too late to ask for a ride, so I just rode home and got wet.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Visiting With Dad
I was up really, really late last night. I had problems with Comcast, which is very rare. I think this marks only the fourth time Comcast has gone down while I was online at night. When I did get up, ran Care Bears The Nutcracker as I had cereal and half of a grapefruit for breakfast. The only holiday special for the late 80s version of the franchise has several bears and two Cousins trying to help a lonely little girl and her brother, who just wants adventure. The kid gets more than he bargained for when a nutcracker appears in his home, followed by The Rat King. The Rat King's boss, the Vizier, wants to take over all of Toyland...but not if the Care Bears and their new friends can stop him!
It was such a gorgeous day, I went for a walk after the Care Bears ended. Started at the Oaklyn Library. It was past 1 PM by the time I made it there. Needless to say, between the late hour (they close at 2) and the nice weather, it was pretty quiet there. I organized the DVDs, looked over the kids' books, and headed out after about a half-hour.
Continued to the House of Fun on the White Horse Pike to do some Christmas shopping. They're our local supplier of Sanrio items. I get most of my friend Amanda's Hello Kitty presents there. I looked over some things for Lauren as well, but I didn't know what she'd want and held off. It was surprisingly busy there, maybe because, for the first time since they moved into larger quarters a few years ago, all of their standing arcade machines were on and working. Someone was even playing Street Fighter Vs. Capcom while I was there.
I made a few other, shorter stops. I wasn't that hungry; just had a quick slice of mushroom pizza and a can of Diet Coke at Capitol Pizza. I ate outside. It was windy, but still warm for the time of year, probably in the mid-60s. I enjoyed watching the cars go by and just being able to walk around in only a sweater.
Family Dollar seems to be in the midst of a major reorganization project. They were even more of a mess than usual. I wanted to buy a broom from them, but I finally gave up trying to figure out where everything was. Had more luck at CVS, where I took advantage of sales and bought Crest ProHealth toothpaste and Secret deodorant.
Since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I dropped by Dad's house to say "hi." I haven't seen him in ages. He was relaxing at home, getting ready to clean his beloved red vintage Corvette and put it away for the season. We had a nice, long chat, for over an hour. He told me that Rose may not be having her Christmas party this year. I'm surprised. It seemed to go really well last year. I guess she just doesn't have the time with the law job anymore. He's upset that he's lost a couple of boat delivery jobs and may not be able to make the kind of money he usually does at this time of year.
I went straight home after talking to Dad. Dubbed the 1949 Little Women while making Turkey Stir Fry from vegetables and leftovers, along with more Cranberry Flummery. I have a soft spot for the first color version of the famous story of four very close sisters growing up during the Civil War. This was one of the first videos we ever bought for the whole family in the mid-80s, and for many years, it was "our" version of Little Women. I like the 1933 and 1994 versions as well, but nostalgia aside, this isn't bad. A blond Elizabeth Taylor makes an especially funny Amy; this is one of her better early performances.
It was such a gorgeous day, I went for a walk after the Care Bears ended. Started at the Oaklyn Library. It was past 1 PM by the time I made it there. Needless to say, between the late hour (they close at 2) and the nice weather, it was pretty quiet there. I organized the DVDs, looked over the kids' books, and headed out after about a half-hour.
Continued to the House of Fun on the White Horse Pike to do some Christmas shopping. They're our local supplier of Sanrio items. I get most of my friend Amanda's Hello Kitty presents there. I looked over some things for Lauren as well, but I didn't know what she'd want and held off. It was surprisingly busy there, maybe because, for the first time since they moved into larger quarters a few years ago, all of their standing arcade machines were on and working. Someone was even playing Street Fighter Vs. Capcom while I was there.
I made a few other, shorter stops. I wasn't that hungry; just had a quick slice of mushroom pizza and a can of Diet Coke at Capitol Pizza. I ate outside. It was windy, but still warm for the time of year, probably in the mid-60s. I enjoyed watching the cars go by and just being able to walk around in only a sweater.
Family Dollar seems to be in the midst of a major reorganization project. They were even more of a mess than usual. I wanted to buy a broom from them, but I finally gave up trying to figure out where everything was. Had more luck at CVS, where I took advantage of sales and bought Crest ProHealth toothpaste and Secret deodorant.
Since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I dropped by Dad's house to say "hi." I haven't seen him in ages. He was relaxing at home, getting ready to clean his beloved red vintage Corvette and put it away for the season. We had a nice, long chat, for over an hour. He told me that Rose may not be having her Christmas party this year. I'm surprised. It seemed to go really well last year. I guess she just doesn't have the time with the law job anymore. He's upset that he's lost a couple of boat delivery jobs and may not be able to make the kind of money he usually does at this time of year.
I went straight home after talking to Dad. Dubbed the 1949 Little Women while making Turkey Stir Fry from vegetables and leftovers, along with more Cranberry Flummery. I have a soft spot for the first color version of the famous story of four very close sisters growing up during the Civil War. This was one of the first videos we ever bought for the whole family in the mid-80s, and for many years, it was "our" version of Little Women. I like the 1933 and 1994 versions as well, but nostalgia aside, this isn't bad. A blond Elizabeth Taylor makes an especially funny Amy; this is one of her better early performances.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Salute the Troops
First of all, I honor all the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces on this Veteran's Day. This includes my biological father Bruce (Vietnam), my late uncle Ken (World War II), and two who are currently serving in the Navy, my brother Keefe and my friend Jen Waters.
It was still sunny when I got up this morning, not to mention more humid and even warmer than yesterday. I celebrated nice weather and Veteran's Day by starting the day with the Donald Duck In the Army shorts. These cartoons were released from 1942 to 1944, when the US was in the thick of World War II. Donald became Disney's number one short subject star during this time. Like Woody, Daffy, and Bugs, his brash temper was more in tune with the spirit of the era than the toned-down one Mickey Mouse was using by then.
The series kicks off with "Donald Gets Drafted," which is what the title implies. Donald finds himself in the Army without a paddle, and with Sargent Pete yelling at him for being the smallest guy around. But what Don really wants to do is become a pilot. He does finally get in the air in "Sky Trooper," but he's shocked when he finds himself in the parachute brigade! He finds a way to get even with Pete in "The Vanishing Private." He discovers camouflage paint to use for a cannon, but ends up using it on himself when Pete thinks the cannon is missing.
Mickey didn't figure too much into World War II shorts, but he did make one war-oriented short early in his career. "The Barnyard Battle" pits skinny rubber-hose Mickey against a platoon of huge Hun cats! Scrappy Mickey figures out how to use farmyard items to make this a much fairer fight.
The Pink Panther was one of the few characters of the 60s to land in Vietnam in "G.I Pink." Cranky drill sergeants, crankier mascots, and land mine filled fields make him wish he'd just stayed home. His commanding officer gets so fed up, he sends him off to the Navy instead!
I hit the laundromat after Pink ended. Needless to say, it was busy on what is a holiday off for most people. I didn't mean to sound rude to the older lady who asked me how much the larger washers cost. I really don't know. I guess I emphasized this a bit too much. She got all offended. I don't mean to offend people. Thankfully, I had a very small load. I was in and out in less than an hour.
When I got home, I put away my clothes, then made a nice lunch of leftovers at home for once while continuing the war theme. The Three Stooges also saw their popularity rise during the violence-loving war years. They inadvertently round up a group of Nazi spies while fixing their doorbell in "They Stooge to Conga." They're "Back to the Front" when they find themselves stranded on a Nazi war ship and have to don creative disguises to save their hides. They go "Higher Than a Kite" when they escape an irate officer in a missile and end up capturing the enemy. A trio of "Dizzy Pilots" want to create a home-made plane that'll keep them from getting drafted. They have more luck getting Moe in the air than the plane.
I headed back out after lunch to do chores and errands. First up was sweeping the porch. It had clouded over by that time, though it remained warm. The wind picked up, too. For every pile of leaves I swept, another seemed to quickly replace it. I finally gave up and went downstairs.
I was originally going to rake the side path today, but I couldn't find the old rake. My neighbor's son was working on fixing the path leading to the front apartment. He said it was broken, so he got rid of it. Great! That rake should have been tossed years ago. However, he hadn't replaced it, and couldn't find a rake at his parents' house. I finally gave up waiting, decided I'd rake tomorrow, and headed out.
I wanted to go to Rite Aid yesterday, but I ran out of time. I mostly just needed shaving lotion. I also started my Christmas shopping. Grabbed presents for my friends Lauren and Amanda. Lauren's big present this year will be cookies. She'll only be getting a few small items. Amanda, however, isn't really into food. I'll be looking for more for her.
I stopped at WaWa on the way home. I was out of skim milk. I picked up a pretzel and one of those tasty Sparkling Ice sparkling waters (Black Raspberry) as a snack while I was there.
When I got home, I made Ginger Cookies while running Clipped Wings. The fourth and final Bowery Boys Armed Services-themed comedy puts Sach and Slip in the Air Force, this time without the aid of their usual crew. They were originally there to help a friend out of jail. One wrong turn later, and they find themselves signed up as recruits. While Slip cleans his way through the barracks, Sach somehow finds himself assigned to the women's quarters and drives his female sergeant crazy. When their friend is captured by spies, they go after him in a plane that they can't seem to control.
Made baked salmon with roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner while watching The Corsican Brothers. This 1941 adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas book tells the story of two Siamese twin brothers (both played by Douglas Fairbanks Sr.) who are separated at birth when their parents are killed by an evil baron who wants to rule Corsica. Mario is taken to Paris, where he becomes a dandy. Lucian remains in Corsica and becomes a rough-riding bandit...but he has visions of a young man in splendid surroundings who looks just like him. When the brothers finally meet each other, Mario joins Lucien as a bandit to avenge their parents and restore their family name. They start to question their vows when they fall for a beautiful countess (Ruth Warrick) whom the Baron wants for his bride.
Pretty standard stuff with surprisingly well-done special effects for 1941 - you really do believe Fairbanks is two different men who share a psychic bond. Fairbanks has a blast with the derring-do, especially as the somewhat foppish Mario. Most copies currently available (including the one I dubbed) have been colorized, but that actually works pretty well with the story. Recommended if you can find it for fans of swashbucklers and old-fashioned action.
It was still sunny when I got up this morning, not to mention more humid and even warmer than yesterday. I celebrated nice weather and Veteran's Day by starting the day with the Donald Duck In the Army shorts. These cartoons were released from 1942 to 1944, when the US was in the thick of World War II. Donald became Disney's number one short subject star during this time. Like Woody, Daffy, and Bugs, his brash temper was more in tune with the spirit of the era than the toned-down one Mickey Mouse was using by then.
The series kicks off with "Donald Gets Drafted," which is what the title implies. Donald finds himself in the Army without a paddle, and with Sargent Pete yelling at him for being the smallest guy around. But what Don really wants to do is become a pilot. He does finally get in the air in "Sky Trooper," but he's shocked when he finds himself in the parachute brigade! He finds a way to get even with Pete in "The Vanishing Private." He discovers camouflage paint to use for a cannon, but ends up using it on himself when Pete thinks the cannon is missing.
Mickey didn't figure too much into World War II shorts, but he did make one war-oriented short early in his career. "The Barnyard Battle" pits skinny rubber-hose Mickey against a platoon of huge Hun cats! Scrappy Mickey figures out how to use farmyard items to make this a much fairer fight.
The Pink Panther was one of the few characters of the 60s to land in Vietnam in "G.I Pink." Cranky drill sergeants, crankier mascots, and land mine filled fields make him wish he'd just stayed home. His commanding officer gets so fed up, he sends him off to the Navy instead!
I hit the laundromat after Pink ended. Needless to say, it was busy on what is a holiday off for most people. I didn't mean to sound rude to the older lady who asked me how much the larger washers cost. I really don't know. I guess I emphasized this a bit too much. She got all offended. I don't mean to offend people. Thankfully, I had a very small load. I was in and out in less than an hour.
When I got home, I put away my clothes, then made a nice lunch of leftovers at home for once while continuing the war theme. The Three Stooges also saw their popularity rise during the violence-loving war years. They inadvertently round up a group of Nazi spies while fixing their doorbell in "They Stooge to Conga." They're "Back to the Front" when they find themselves stranded on a Nazi war ship and have to don creative disguises to save their hides. They go "Higher Than a Kite" when they escape an irate officer in a missile and end up capturing the enemy. A trio of "Dizzy Pilots" want to create a home-made plane that'll keep them from getting drafted. They have more luck getting Moe in the air than the plane.
I headed back out after lunch to do chores and errands. First up was sweeping the porch. It had clouded over by that time, though it remained warm. The wind picked up, too. For every pile of leaves I swept, another seemed to quickly replace it. I finally gave up and went downstairs.
I was originally going to rake the side path today, but I couldn't find the old rake. My neighbor's son was working on fixing the path leading to the front apartment. He said it was broken, so he got rid of it. Great! That rake should have been tossed years ago. However, he hadn't replaced it, and couldn't find a rake at his parents' house. I finally gave up waiting, decided I'd rake tomorrow, and headed out.
I wanted to go to Rite Aid yesterday, but I ran out of time. I mostly just needed shaving lotion. I also started my Christmas shopping. Grabbed presents for my friends Lauren and Amanda. Lauren's big present this year will be cookies. She'll only be getting a few small items. Amanda, however, isn't really into food. I'll be looking for more for her.
I stopped at WaWa on the way home. I was out of skim milk. I picked up a pretzel and one of those tasty Sparkling Ice sparkling waters (Black Raspberry) as a snack while I was there.
When I got home, I made Ginger Cookies while running Clipped Wings. The fourth and final Bowery Boys Armed Services-themed comedy puts Sach and Slip in the Air Force, this time without the aid of their usual crew. They were originally there to help a friend out of jail. One wrong turn later, and they find themselves signed up as recruits. While Slip cleans his way through the barracks, Sach somehow finds himself assigned to the women's quarters and drives his female sergeant crazy. When their friend is captured by spies, they go after him in a plane that they can't seem to control.
Made baked salmon with roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner while watching The Corsican Brothers. This 1941 adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas book tells the story of two Siamese twin brothers (both played by Douglas Fairbanks Sr.) who are separated at birth when their parents are killed by an evil baron who wants to rule Corsica. Mario is taken to Paris, where he becomes a dandy. Lucian remains in Corsica and becomes a rough-riding bandit...but he has visions of a young man in splendid surroundings who looks just like him. When the brothers finally meet each other, Mario joins Lucien as a bandit to avenge their parents and restore their family name. They start to question their vows when they fall for a beautiful countess (Ruth Warrick) whom the Baron wants for his bride.
Pretty standard stuff with surprisingly well-done special effects for 1941 - you really do believe Fairbanks is two different men who share a psychic bond. Fairbanks has a blast with the derring-do, especially as the somewhat foppish Mario. Most copies currently available (including the one I dubbed) have been colorized, but that actually works pretty well with the story. Recommended if you can find it for fans of swashbucklers and old-fashioned action.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Golden Autumn
I couldn't believe how gorgeous it was when I got up this morning. The sun filtered through the bright yellow leaves on the trees outside my apartment, giving my whole bedroom a golden glow. I started Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, then had Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Muffins and a grapefruit half for a very late breakfast.
Ran more wartime shorts while I ate. Walter Lantz and his studio at Universal only dealt sporadically with war-related matters. Woody Woodpecker's only military short was "Ace In the Hole." Woody wants to join the Air Force and become a pilot, but his commanding officer would rather have him shave horses. He's less than thrilled when Woody does finally make it into the air!
Some Lantz one-off characters had more luck in the military. "$21 A Day (Once a Month)" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" depict the pre-war draft; both were released a few months before the US entered the fray. "$21 A Day" features Woody and Andy Panda in cameos. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" tells how a Chicago musician was drafted and gets his camp moving with his hot reveille. While it's marred by heavy African-American stereotypes, it is one of the few cartoons of the 40s to show minorities in the military.
"Pigeon Patrol" is a more typical wartime tale. Homer Pigeon is a country bumpkin who wants to join the carrier pigeon squadron. He wants to impress his girlfriend, but is literally deflated when they reject him. He gets his chance when he delivers secret papers for a downed squadron member, dodging a nasty (and caricatured) Japanese vulture.
I heard a knock on the door as I got organized to head out. It turned out to be a middle-aged gentleman in a sweater. He said he was one of my neighbors' sons, the one who intends to move downstairs next year. He wanted to do some measuring in and around my apartment.
He gave me a long list of things downstairs and up here that have be replaced or fixed before anyone can move anywhere, starting with the porch. I told him about the mice and showed him the broken window in my bedroom and the mailbox that's been falling apart for years. He said in addition to the porch, I'll be getting new kitchen cabinets, a new counter, a new toilet, and a new front door. The windows will be replaced. The kitchen will be rearranged to give me slightly more room. The roof will be repaired next summer. The area over the front door will be raised so tall people don't bang their heads on the frame when they enter anymore.
Along with fixing the porch and clearing out the mice, the other big thing to be concentrated on right now is the plumbing. It's old and clogged with river gunk. I've had problems with it running slow for years. That toilet is a pain, too. You have to hold down the handle to keep it from making noise. I'm so glad they're finally doing all this. It's needed to be done for years, but I never had the heart to push Miss Ellie (and I suspected she didn't have the money).
I finally headed out around 12:30. It was an absolutely glorious day for a ride in Newton Lake Park. There were tons of parents with strollers, people out for a walk, and Canadian geese basking in the glory of autumn in South Jersey. The trees are at their peak now, dripping rivers of scarlet, sienna, umber, gold, and pale green. The day was warm and bright, probably in the lower 60s, with no wind and not a cloud in the soft blue sky.
Given the beautiful day, I wasn't surprised that it was dead when I arrived at the Haddon Township Library. There wasn't really much to shelve. I worked on organizing the kids' movies and continued with the romance novels. I did from H through L and finished out the first set of revolving shelves. I'll start the second set next week.
I didn't take out anything live action this week. I still have 9 videos to dub here, plus more wartime shorts I want to watch for Veteran's Day. I did find a few animated sets. The newest collections for Strawberry Shortcake and Gravity Falls had arrived. I also renewed Rio 2, which I never got to last week.
I had a very late lunch at Friendly's. Though there was only a couple of secretaries enjoying a leisurely late lunch when I arrived, more people came as I ate my Turkey Cranberry SuperMelt and French fries. It was basically the same thing as "The Gobbler" hoagie from WaWa, only with melted cheese, real turkey instead of sliced deli turkey, and surprisingly less stuffing. I complimented the nice day and the fall meal with a scoop of Apple Pie ice cream.
After lunch, I made a quick stop at Dollar Tree. I was mainly there to buy a birthday card for my sister Anny, whose big day was today. I also ended up with bags of Christmas cookie containers (I give away a lot - I like to keep well-stocked), a Dora the Explorer calender (I like colorful character calenders to brighten my bedroom), and a box for cookies being shipped out of town.
I went home this time, dodging rush hour traffic on the White Horse Pike. After I got in, I put everything away, signed Anny's card, then went right back out. It was too nice to be inside for long. Though it had gotten a bit chillier by 4:30, the weather otherwise remained stunning. A few people still had Halloween decorations outside, but most had replaced ghouls and witches with leaf garlands and friendly scarecrows. Banners represented the Eagles, Thanksgiving, or saluted our troops. There was a lovely sunset at the landing on the end of Goff Avenue, all orange sherbet and soft molten pink.
When I got in, I switched to Popeye shorts while making Banana Honey Muffins from The Pooh Cook Book Blueberry Muffins recipe. Replaced the white sugar with brown sugar and the blueberries with mashed bananas and added nutmeg and cinnamon. Oh, yum. Moist and flavorful and just sweet enough.
Like the Walter Lantz characters, the Fleischer Brothers put Popeye in the war several months before America actually entered, in "The Mighty Navy." "Fleets of Strength" was more typical. Popeye gets into trouble with the commander on his ship before he finally gets a chance to take down the enemy.
If he wasn't fighting the Japanese, he was fighting Bluto for Olive's hand. Popeye's "Kicking the Conga Around" in order to impress the lovely Senorita Olive with the then-popular dance. The two discover that "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix" when Olive's visit to their ship leaves them with that sinking feeling.
Three of my favorite wartime shorts featured Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Bugs becomes "Super Rabbit" in order to stop a cowboy and his horse from harming all bunnies. When the going gets tough, he turns into a real superhero...a Marines officer. Daffy, on the other hand, would rather avoid that persistent "Little Man From the Draft Board" in "Draftee Daffy." And for once, Bugs goes around with an antagonist who gives as good as they get, a little gremlin who is sabotaging planes, in "Falling Hare."
Moved to Strawberry Shortcake while making a spinach-mushroom omelet for a quick dinner. Once again, the girls have to help each other to make a building in a short time. Here, it's a new marketplace for the Berrykins' increased harvest. In the first story, Orange Blossom wants to prove she can handle the enormous amounts of fruits and vegetables sent to her store alone. The massive harvest proves to be more than even the most organized girl in Berry Bitty City can deal with, prompting the creation of the marketplace.
In the second, while the head Berrykin tries to figure out how to store his harvest during the building of the marketplace, the girls try to surprise Strawberry by building her the apartment of her dreams upstairs. Trouble is, they ignore her ideas in favor of what they want, and Strawberry doesn't have the heart to correct them. She finally gets the nerve to explain that, though she appreciates their help, they should have discussed any changes or suggestions with her first.
The third story is completely different. The girls are joined by Cherry Jam to rehearse their band for a local gig. They're thrilled when Cherry Jam gets them a booking at the opening for the athletic games in Berry Big City! Orange Blossom is nervous. She's never been away from home for more than a few days before. While the Berrykins try to figure out how to run Berry Bitty City in the girls' absence, Orange Blossom finds reasons to stay. Strawberry and Cherry finally remind her that, even though she's leaving, she'll be back...and she has a huge adventure to look forward to.
Oh, and the Eagles played the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football this week. They dominated the Panthers up through the 4th quarter. They faltered a bit then, but still went on to win 45-21. Replacement quarterback Mark Sanchez had a big game, and rookie Jason Matthews is starting to look like a real find.
Ran more wartime shorts while I ate. Walter Lantz and his studio at Universal only dealt sporadically with war-related matters. Woody Woodpecker's only military short was "Ace In the Hole." Woody wants to join the Air Force and become a pilot, but his commanding officer would rather have him shave horses. He's less than thrilled when Woody does finally make it into the air!
Some Lantz one-off characters had more luck in the military. "$21 A Day (Once a Month)" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" depict the pre-war draft; both were released a few months before the US entered the fray. "$21 A Day" features Woody and Andy Panda in cameos. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" tells how a Chicago musician was drafted and gets his camp moving with his hot reveille. While it's marred by heavy African-American stereotypes, it is one of the few cartoons of the 40s to show minorities in the military.
"Pigeon Patrol" is a more typical wartime tale. Homer Pigeon is a country bumpkin who wants to join the carrier pigeon squadron. He wants to impress his girlfriend, but is literally deflated when they reject him. He gets his chance when he delivers secret papers for a downed squadron member, dodging a nasty (and caricatured) Japanese vulture.
I heard a knock on the door as I got organized to head out. It turned out to be a middle-aged gentleman in a sweater. He said he was one of my neighbors' sons, the one who intends to move downstairs next year. He wanted to do some measuring in and around my apartment.
He gave me a long list of things downstairs and up here that have be replaced or fixed before anyone can move anywhere, starting with the porch. I told him about the mice and showed him the broken window in my bedroom and the mailbox that's been falling apart for years. He said in addition to the porch, I'll be getting new kitchen cabinets, a new counter, a new toilet, and a new front door. The windows will be replaced. The kitchen will be rearranged to give me slightly more room. The roof will be repaired next summer. The area over the front door will be raised so tall people don't bang their heads on the frame when they enter anymore.
Along with fixing the porch and clearing out the mice, the other big thing to be concentrated on right now is the plumbing. It's old and clogged with river gunk. I've had problems with it running slow for years. That toilet is a pain, too. You have to hold down the handle to keep it from making noise. I'm so glad they're finally doing all this. It's needed to be done for years, but I never had the heart to push Miss Ellie (and I suspected she didn't have the money).
I finally headed out around 12:30. It was an absolutely glorious day for a ride in Newton Lake Park. There were tons of parents with strollers, people out for a walk, and Canadian geese basking in the glory of autumn in South Jersey. The trees are at their peak now, dripping rivers of scarlet, sienna, umber, gold, and pale green. The day was warm and bright, probably in the lower 60s, with no wind and not a cloud in the soft blue sky.
Given the beautiful day, I wasn't surprised that it was dead when I arrived at the Haddon Township Library. There wasn't really much to shelve. I worked on organizing the kids' movies and continued with the romance novels. I did from H through L and finished out the first set of revolving shelves. I'll start the second set next week.
I didn't take out anything live action this week. I still have 9 videos to dub here, plus more wartime shorts I want to watch for Veteran's Day. I did find a few animated sets. The newest collections for Strawberry Shortcake and Gravity Falls had arrived. I also renewed Rio 2, which I never got to last week.
I had a very late lunch at Friendly's. Though there was only a couple of secretaries enjoying a leisurely late lunch when I arrived, more people came as I ate my Turkey Cranberry SuperMelt and French fries. It was basically the same thing as "The Gobbler" hoagie from WaWa, only with melted cheese, real turkey instead of sliced deli turkey, and surprisingly less stuffing. I complimented the nice day and the fall meal with a scoop of Apple Pie ice cream.
After lunch, I made a quick stop at Dollar Tree. I was mainly there to buy a birthday card for my sister Anny, whose big day was today. I also ended up with bags of Christmas cookie containers (I give away a lot - I like to keep well-stocked), a Dora the Explorer calender (I like colorful character calenders to brighten my bedroom), and a box for cookies being shipped out of town.
I went home this time, dodging rush hour traffic on the White Horse Pike. After I got in, I put everything away, signed Anny's card, then went right back out. It was too nice to be inside for long. Though it had gotten a bit chillier by 4:30, the weather otherwise remained stunning. A few people still had Halloween decorations outside, but most had replaced ghouls and witches with leaf garlands and friendly scarecrows. Banners represented the Eagles, Thanksgiving, or saluted our troops. There was a lovely sunset at the landing on the end of Goff Avenue, all orange sherbet and soft molten pink.
When I got in, I switched to Popeye shorts while making Banana Honey Muffins from The Pooh Cook Book Blueberry Muffins recipe. Replaced the white sugar with brown sugar and the blueberries with mashed bananas and added nutmeg and cinnamon. Oh, yum. Moist and flavorful and just sweet enough.
Like the Walter Lantz characters, the Fleischer Brothers put Popeye in the war several months before America actually entered, in "The Mighty Navy." "Fleets of Strength" was more typical. Popeye gets into trouble with the commander on his ship before he finally gets a chance to take down the enemy.
If he wasn't fighting the Japanese, he was fighting Bluto for Olive's hand. Popeye's "Kicking the Conga Around" in order to impress the lovely Senorita Olive with the then-popular dance. The two discover that "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix" when Olive's visit to their ship leaves them with that sinking feeling.
Three of my favorite wartime shorts featured Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Bugs becomes "Super Rabbit" in order to stop a cowboy and his horse from harming all bunnies. When the going gets tough, he turns into a real superhero...a Marines officer. Daffy, on the other hand, would rather avoid that persistent "Little Man From the Draft Board" in "Draftee Daffy." And for once, Bugs goes around with an antagonist who gives as good as they get, a little gremlin who is sabotaging planes, in "Falling Hare."
Moved to Strawberry Shortcake while making a spinach-mushroom omelet for a quick dinner. Once again, the girls have to help each other to make a building in a short time. Here, it's a new marketplace for the Berrykins' increased harvest. In the first story, Orange Blossom wants to prove she can handle the enormous amounts of fruits and vegetables sent to her store alone. The massive harvest proves to be more than even the most organized girl in Berry Bitty City can deal with, prompting the creation of the marketplace.
In the second, while the head Berrykin tries to figure out how to store his harvest during the building of the marketplace, the girls try to surprise Strawberry by building her the apartment of her dreams upstairs. Trouble is, they ignore her ideas in favor of what they want, and Strawberry doesn't have the heart to correct them. She finally gets the nerve to explain that, though she appreciates their help, they should have discussed any changes or suggestions with her first.
The third story is completely different. The girls are joined by Cherry Jam to rehearse their band for a local gig. They're thrilled when Cherry Jam gets them a booking at the opening for the athletic games in Berry Big City! Orange Blossom is nervous. She's never been away from home for more than a few days before. While the Berrykins try to figure out how to run Berry Bitty City in the girls' absence, Orange Blossom finds reasons to stay. Strawberry and Cherry finally remind her that, even though she's leaving, she'll be back...and she has a huge adventure to look forward to.
Oh, and the Eagles played the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football this week. They dominated the Panthers up through the 4th quarter. They faltered a bit then, but still went on to win 45-21. Replacement quarterback Mark Sanchez had a big game, and rookie Jason Matthews is starting to look like a real find.
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