Let It Snow a Little

The snow had long ended by the time I was up and about. Once again, it really hadn't done much. The streets and un-shoveled sidewalks were a little messy at 9 AM, but that was it. Once the plow came through, the street wasn't even bad. 

Put on Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You while eating breakfast. Pooh and the 100 Acres Woods gang are upset when they see Christopher Robin writing a valentine for a girl he likes. Convinced he loves her more than them, Owl tells them that only the Smitten bug will cure him. Christopher Robin finally reminds them that people always keep a place open for old and new friends in their hearts.

Did some writing after breakfast. While Laurie convinces her husband to join the pirates, Gene confronts Goodson. Goodson is not amused and doesn't think much of his brandishing swords in his face. He thinks even less of the Nartz brothers trying to attack him. He has his own ace up his sleeve...

Broke to pack for work and start heading out at 11. Watched "Un-Valentine's Day," the Valentine's episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, while I bustled around. Rabbit cancels Valentine's Day in order to stem the flood of unwanted paper valentines everyone received the year before. That works about as well as his canceling Thanksgiving and Easter did...which is to say, it doesn't. Someone leaves a pot of honey with a Valentine's card on Pooh's front door. Pooh thinks it's one of the others, which eventually leads to cakes flying everywhere and Rabbit putting on a play about love for Christopher Robin. But who did give Pooh the original pot of honey?

Rabbit also has problems in "The Three Little Piglets." They're trying to tell the story of The Three Little Pigs, but Pooh keeps inserting honey, and Tigger keeps changing the story. Rabbit's not happy when he's stuck playing The Big, Bad Bunny!

Headed out early, just in case I had trouble getting a ride. I got a ride in less than 10 minutes going to work and going home, and it was smooth sailing both times. By noon, the snow was long gone and the roads were totally clear. I'm not sure we even got two inches of snow this time. 

Work was no problem whatsoever, especially after yesterday. We weren't really that busy. I'm guessing everyone got their jitters out before the last couple of storms, or they're all waiting for the holiday weekend. Had plenty of help all day, inside and out. Swept inside once, then left it to the inside baggers and rounded up carts and did the trash and recycling for the rest of the evening.

Actually got home in time for the second half of Match Game PM. Lovely CHIPs cop Brianne Leary and handsome Lou Grant reporter Robert Walden return for jokes about what the desert prospector does to a cactus in the heat and what picture Bernie the Super Salesman sold Brett. (Hint - she was divorced from him by 1979.) 

The champ dominated Sale of the Century full-stop tonight. No one got close to her. She bought one Instant Bargain, won all three Fame Games, and killed at the Speed Round. She got the Bonus Round with three seconds to spare, even after missing a puzzle.

Finished out the night online with Mulan II. I go further into the direct-to-home-media sequel to Disney's Chinese-set feminist action tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Honoring Chinese New Year - Mulan II

The Cinder Girl and the Rocker

I overslept this morning and barely had the time for journal writing, breakfast, and To Tell the Truth. Came in just as the panel guessed which of three ladies was the first female pilot on a major airline. The next contestant had a sadder story. He wrote a book on suicide and was an advocate for taking suicide and mental health more seriously.

Thank goodness it didn't take me long to get an Uber driver, even at quarter after 8. The driver appeared just as the garbage truck had taken off down the street. I was only a few minutes late to work.

Spent the first few hours quietly gathering carts. It wasn't busy this morning, and there were no problems...until two managers called me in suddenly at ten minutes to 12. Seems the inside bagger got sick and went home early, and they had no one to sweep the store. The store has to be swept once a hour, starting at noon. I wouldn't mind doing it, if they'd told me about it earlier when the other bagger left. It threw me off and put me way behind, on sweeping and doing the carts. Couldn't have been happier when work ended and I got a ride home, even if I had to wait 20 minutes for that ride.

Went straight into writing when I got home. Gene finally unleashes the others, allowing them to overwhelm Goodson's forces. Meanwhile, Laurie steals a knife from a sailor and intends to help the others...and asks her husband Anson where his loyalties really lay.

Broke at 6:30 for leftovers and Match Game '74. The show started with a "shy" Gene Rayburn creeping out from his door only to end up kissing Joyce Bulifant on the arm in his idea of passion. After a question made jokes about Charles not wearing socks, a lady in the audience gave him a pair. Dolly and Dick Martin and Conrad Janis of Mork & Mindy joined in the fun on Match Game PM. 

Sale of the Century went almost exactly the same as it did yesterday. The female challenger pulled ahead first and bought the first Instant Bargain, but the champ did better after the first break. She picked up a $25 card on the Fame Game that helped her win the Speed Round by a wide margin. Alas, she missed the Bonus Round money by a few seconds.

Finished the night on Tubi with Cinderella. This unusual modern fairy tale was a hit on British television in 2000. Here, Cinderella goes under her Italian name of Zezolla (Marcella Plunkett), and she's a simple lass who spends her time wandering the mountainside. Her father (David Warner) brings home a new stepmother (Kathleen Turner) in outrageously bright-colored and tight-fitting clothes. All she cares about is spending her new husband's money on rich meals and fancy outfits for herself and her two spoiled and selfish daughters (Lucy Punch and Katherine Carteridge). When she finds out he has titles but little money, she slowly poisons him and turns him against Zezolla, forcing her to do all the chores. 

She eventually stumbles into a cave that leads her to Mab (Jane Birkin), a mer-witch who prefers the company of fish to people. She does take a shine to Zezolla in her own way, giving her food when her stepmother refuses to feed her. This is also where the gown for the ball comes from, and only because Zezolla wants to attend in order to stop her stepmother from murdering her father. Prince Valiant (Gideon Turner) is a bored rock and roller who would rather be playing his guitar, until he sees that mystery woman. Now, he'll do anything to find her...but her stepmother has her own plans for her innocent stepdaughter.

Ok, this is definitely one of the stranger versions of Cinderella I've run across. It's a peculiar blend of styles and eras that manages to serve up an odd magic of its own. Turner is way over the top as the obnoxious woman who is determined to get her daughters to the throne in any way possible; Birkin also does well as the anti-social mer-witch who claims she wants to be left alone, but has more heart than she'd admit. The costumes in particular are amazing, ranging from Elizabethan gowns to the Prince's leather jacket to the extra tight jewel-toned suits the stepmother and stepsisters favor. 

Bit too weird for me to watch all the time, but I'm still glad I gave it a try. If you're looking for a unique Cinderella story for older girls and teens, this may be what they're looking for. 

(And...it's snowing again at press time. Sounds like we're going going to get 2 to 4 inches again, and it should be long done by the time I go to work tomorrow.)

Sticky Situation at Home

Slept in a little today and didn't get moving until past 11. Threw on Sheriff Callie's Wild West while I had breakfast. Ella the cow owner of the milk bar can't resist snooping into anything, even her birthday present. "Ella Sneaks a Peek" at her present and gets into trouble when it literally runs away with her. Callie discovers a "Tunnel of Trouble" when milk disappears from Ella's Milk Days fair, despite The Milk Bandit seeming to be in prison.

Bluey has her own adventure at the "Movies." Dad takes the girls to see their first film, an animated musical about a monkey who feels out of place. Bluey's nervous about the thunderstorm in the finale, until she realizes how much she relates to that singing monkey. Dad's having a harder time keeping Bingo in her seat.

(And honestly, if my sisters and brother and I behaved the way Bingo did at the movies, we would have gotten into major trouble. The closest any of us came was spilling popcorn and the time I got up and wriggled to "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" during a re-release of The Aristocats. Mom was mortified. Maybe that's why she was usually the one who took us to the movies, or her and Dad together. The only time I remember Dad taking us solo was when we saw Goldeneye. Not only were we a lot older by then, but he slept through most of it.) 

Switched to Match Game '75 as I cleaned up and started making Peanut Butter Fudge. Shy jazz chanteuse Julie London and grumpy Ed Asner joined in to make jokes about their answers to the "Hook ___" Audience Match in the first episode and whether or not Gene's perfect teeth are real in the second. (Gene rather vehemently protests that yes, his teeth are real, insisting on a kind of scary close-up.) 

Tried to mix the marshmallows into the fudge as I switched to Hart to Hart. "Hart Shaped Murder" has Jennifer trying to figure out who destroyed or tried to steal the chocolate hearts she gave to the members of her charity committee. Meanwhile, the Harts and their butler Max are dieting...but they can only resist the "special" box of chocolates someone sent them for so long...

Not only did the fudge refuse to set, but the Roku box reset on me half-way through the episode. I finally gave up, shoved the fudge in the fridge, and went online. Had no more luck with renewing my food stamps. I need to print out my last couple of pay stubs, but I can't get into the Acme website. I thought I had the password listed, but nothing I've tried will come up...and I can't reset the password unless I know the original password. 

Gave up on that too by 3:30 and opted for a late smoothie lunch instead. The Tattletales episode was one I'd seen before. Gary and Barbara Crosby came back to win for the blue section, over comedian Milt Kamen and his wife Margot and songwriter Sammy Cahn and his wife Tita. Whammies flew fast and furious on Press Your Luck, and so did turns. The new champ won 10,000 in cash with only one Whammy.

Worked on writing for a while after that. Gary Burghoff is so angry at Richard Dawson's deception, he attacks him, pounding him until he has a bloody nose. Anson is upset, too. He's not allowed to be with his wife Laurie while on-board. All of this gives Goodson the chance to take his sword back and demand that Gene and the others be thrown overboard...until Richard calls to their crews...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Match Game '74. Sweet Janet Finn became the show's all-time winner at that point in an episode that had Charles playing up the drama before showing his Head-to-Head card...and nearly giving Gene, the panel, and poor Janet heart attacks. She was defeated in the next episode by a pretty Italian lady who spoke several languages, all of which delighted Gene and Richard.

Started Chocolate-Raspberry Muffins as Match Game PM came on. Elaine Joyce, Dick Martin, and Marcia Wallace joined Gene and the regulars for jokes about what Dolly Pardon is in pain after she plays and how the ladies from the typing pool are like the Seven Dwarfs. Martin ends up trying to help the winner pick up 10,000 with the Head to Head "Off and __," while Brett isn't overly happy that she matched Joe Santos of Rockford Files (who was a nice guy but not terribly good at playing the game). 

The champ just continues to win on Sale of the Century. The other woman bought a TV-VCR pair in the beginning, but the champ came back and started beating her after that. Jim Perry had to drop a trip to Santa Barbara to a dollar to get her to buy it. She won the Speed Round decisively, but didn't have as much luck with the Bonus Round this time.

(And incidentally, the fudge still hasn't set. I shoved it in the freezer in the hopes of getting to to solidify at least a little. The muffins came out much better. They're an eggless recipe that somehow still manages to come out moist every time.)

Finished the night with the original 1976 version of Sparkle. I go further into this tale of a sister singing group whose fame ends in tragedy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Sparkle

A Sunny Day In Winter

Slept in and had just enough time to begin my morning with Blockbusters. Turned the TV on just as the history teacher took on a mother-daughter pair. They were working on the first round when the episode ended. Listened to Charles Nelson Reilly, Helen Reddy, and Marcia Wallace match contestants on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour as I changed and packed lunch.

Left early to pick up a few things. The Uber driver arrived within six minutes and got me to work with plenty of time to spare. The Acme has a kiosk machine that allows you to get money for your old cell phone. Or it would have, if I hadn't realized you needed a cable to hook up the darn thing. I couldn't even figure out how to hook it to their port. I checked the kiosk's website yesterday, and they said I'd only get about 3 dollars for the phone anyway. It's old, and while it does light up - barely - and the screen isn't cracked, the phone itself and worn and crashes when it's not even half-empty. I just let them take it. I cared more about getting rid of the darn thing than the money. Picked up salad for dinner and hand soap for the kitchen after that.

Spent most of the rest of the afternoon pushing carts. It was a wonderful day for it. Though it was chilly, probably in the lower 30's, it was also calm and very sunny. The sun warmed the ground and melted the remaining ice...when there was sun. Any ice or snow in the shade froze and became icy places you'd have to watch out for. We were dead the entire afternoon. I also rounded up recycling and trash and swept the store once. Got stuck in a register at the end of the night when they wanted me to go in for the only cashier they had tonight. 

Called Uber after I finished...and they said they'd take 24 minutes. Oh well, I said. I bought another salad bowl for when I work until 7 on Thursday. Then I went outside and waited. And waited. And waited. When I checked the cell phone...it said the ride had been completed. Huh? I'd figure this one out when I got home. I got another driver, one who actually arrived in less than the 8 minutes stated and got me home quickly.

Had enough time for the last ten minutes of Sale of the Century while I had a snack. According to Jim Perry, the champ had been ahead the entire game, and she remained so in the Speed Round. She finished that with flying colors, then went on to win the Bonus Round money with time to spare.

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I cleaned up and got organized. "Daniel Likes to Be With Dad" because they have fun times together. Daniel Sr. takes his son to the beach to collect shells, plays superhero with him, and shows him his new Chime Time at the Clock Factory. "Daniel Likes to Be With Mom" as they turn her rusty old childhood wagon into a red trolley wagon for Dan and his little sister Margaret. 

Finished up the night online after a shower. It took me a while, but I did finally figure out how to put in a complaint about that botched ride on Uber. They agreed. Within minutes, they sent me an e-mail saying the driver made the mistake and they'd refunded the ride. 

Cheered myself up after that with Family Feud. The Richard Dawson version did a week in 1983 where ten popular game show hosts of the time were pit against each other. Among the "Heavenly Hosts" were Betty White (who won the first Emmy for a female host for the short-lived Just Men), Jim Perry, Bob Eubanks, Bill Cullen (I think he was finishing up Child's Play at the time), and Nipsey Russell. "Marvelous MCs" included Peter Marshall of Hollywood Squares, Leslie Uggams (who were doing a game show/reality show hybrid called Fantasy at the time), long-time Miss America host Bert Parks, and former and future Name That Tune hosts Tom Kennedy and Jim Lange. 

Nobody can outwit Betty White at game shows. Anyone who's seen Bill Cullen grill contestants on To Tell the Truth and I've Got a Secret knows how brilliant he was. Between the two of them and some great answers, The Heavenly Hosts won the week by far with over 35,000 for their charities. 

(And a few other notes - I didn't realize how tall Jim Perry was until I saw him standing alongside the diminutive Richard Dawson and Bill Cullen. He towers over both of them and had to lean over to talk to Cullen in the very end of the last episode. And the expressive Bert Parks reminds me a lot of Lionel Stander's Max in Hart to Hart. I half expected him to call Marshall and Uggams Mr. and Mrs. H.)

Here's the entire week on YouTube!

Family Feud Game Show Hosts Week

Super Snow Bowl

Not for the first time recently, I awoke to a white world. Snow drifted down slowly, like a gossamer lace curtain over Hillcrest Avenue. It didn't look nearly as bad as last week's storm, but I wasn't taking chances. I called the Acme and said I wasn't coming in today. I worked 12 to 7. The roads may have been all right now, but I had no idea what they'd be like after nightfall. There was also the Super Bowl to consider. Between that and the weather, it would likely take forever to get an Uber driver - if I could even find one - and I wasn't asking for a ride again after last Sunday.

Puttered around online for a while, then read No Ordinary Sound, the first book for the American Girl character Melody, who lives in Detroit in 1963. Since a lot of her story revolves around the Civil Rights Movement, I figured she was more than appropriate for this month. Wrote in my journal after I did a few chapters.

Broke for breakfast. Listened to the original Broadway cast of Hairspray while I had Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes and clementines. Marissa Janet Winkour is Tracy, with Harvey Firnstein enjoying his Tony-winning role as her mother Edna Turnblad. There's a few songs relating a subplot about Tracy landing in jail that were cut from the film. After a protest at the TV studio, all of the women end up behind bars, and Amber and her mother make sure Tracy stays there until Link and the kids break her out. "Without Love" reflected this and had to be re-written for the film.

Returned to the computer to get a few things done as the snow came down even harder. My non-driver's ID ends in late March. New Jersey now allows you to renew it online. After I did that, I finally figured out how to transfer the photos from my old phone to my laptop. That allowed me to reset the old phone and clear out my data, so I can deposit it in the cell phone ATM machine at the Acme. 

Had a banana-raspberry smoothie for lunch. Listened to my Tina Turner greatest hits CD Simply the Best while I sipped my drink and the snow fell heavily behind me. I grew up on Tina Turner. Mom loved her and Ike when she was a kid. She bought Tiny Dancer as soon as it came out. Turner was one of the first women besides my mother I remember admiring.

Returned to writing for a while. Gary Burghoff is raging angry with Richard Dawson for his betrayal, to the point where he breaks loose and throws a punch at him. The others have to drag him away, but he does leave Richard with a bloody nose...and the realization of how badly he's lost the others' trust. Laurie spies her husband Anson in the crowd and tries running to him, but the others cut them off. Goodson wants to send the entire crowd overboard...but Gene won't play that game again...

Got off the computer just in time to catch the start of the Super Bowl. Didn't see Jodie at home, so I had my own party. Forgot to take out the chicken I planned on using to top my nachos, so I made vegetarian nachos with blue corn chips, black beans, shredded cheese, tomatoes, scallions, and broccoli. Oh, yum! It came out absolutely perfect, just salty and crisp enough. 

Wish the game was as much fun as the food. The Chiefs just could not get anything going against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. They got three field goals, one in the first quarter, and that was it. I didn't even recognize the group that played at halftime, some weird, generic pop singer called The Weeknd. The commercials were a little better. Along with the ads for Paramount's new streaming service debuting next month I've been seeing on Paramount-owned Pluto TV, there was an adorable DoorDash Sesame Street commercial and a delightfully goofy Wayne's World reunion.

Finished the night online with sports-related game shows. The granddaddy of them all is Sports Challenge. This syndicated show from the 70's had popular athletes of the time answering trivia questions based around clips from sporting events. I just had to go with the 1972 episode that pit the 1971 Chiefs against the Dolphins. Dick Enberg hosts.

Boardwalk and Baseball's Super Bowl of Sports Trivia is a long-winded name for an ESPN college trivia show filmed at the Coney Island-themed amusement park in Orlando. Same deal here, only it's Chris Berman asking kids from certain colleges the sports questions, without the clips. Alas, neither the show nor the park lasted very long. The show ran until 1989; the park closed in 1990 (though its minor league baseball field existed until 2002). 

Sports Geniuses is another ESPN cousin to Sports Challenge, only with more typical contestants. The earlier syndicated show Grandstand is similar, only with clips and with two family pairs playing each other, rather like Blockbusters. Another ESPN offering, Sports On Tap, switches things up with a more informal sports bar setting and by allowing the guys to bet on who can answer trivia questions. 

Enjoy these sports shows while you recover from the big game! (Look for the original commercials on many of these...as well as for a rather bad tape on Grandstand.)

Sports Challenge (1972)

Boardwalk and Baseball's Super Bowl of Trivia (1988)

Grandstand (1988)

Sports On Tap (1995)

Sport Geniuses (2000)

(Oh, and by the way, the snow finally ended around 3-3:30. We got...probably the advertised 2 to 4 inches. I don't think we got as much as last time, nor did it stick to the ground like it did last week. The roads were slushy enough to make me glad I'd called out, though.)

Hazy Shade of Winter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Family Fun Saturday - Let It Shine

Masters of the Ice

Heard rain while I was still in bed, but by the time I finished Donna Parker On Her Own and writing in my journal, the sun was emerging. I got out for breakfast just in time for the second half of Body Language. They had a full month of teens playing with kid and teen celebrities. Very odd pair for this one, Scott  Cohen of The Goonies and Malcom Jamal-Warner of The Cosby Show. I came in just as Cohen and his contestant guessed the final puzzle correctly. Alas, they didn't do nearly as well at the Bonus Round, only getting 3 money guesses right and two of the three Bonus guesses.

Blockbusters was a nail-biter. The sweet history teacher played a sister pair...and they were all darn good. Neither wanted to give an inch. The two ladies won the beginning round, but the teacher came back and won the second. They were just about to start the tie breaker match when the show ended.

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood for this year's first Valentine's Day episode. "It's Love Day!" at Daniel's school. He's made valentines for his friends to show them that he cares. His friends all have their own way to express love, from Miss Elaina's hugs to Katerina's twirls to Prince Wednesday giving him one of his best rocks...but who gave Daniel the sailor-themed card? Grandpere visits for "Daniel's Love Day Surprise." Daniel makes heart-shaped pizza with his mother, then hides valentines for Granpere to find. He's upset when Margaret gets to one first, but Grandpere assures him Margaret did it because she loves him.

Headed out shortly after Daniel ended. It was a gorgeous day to run errands! I might have gone out, even if I didn't need to get anything done. The sun was out, the sky was that piercing blue, and it had jumped into the lower 50's. Everything around me was melting, a symphony of glistening drops pooling onto sidewalks and yards. 

First stop was Dollar General. I'm almost out of sugar and peanut butter. Had to dig in the back of the shelf for the former, and they were completely out of the latter that I like. Had more luck grabbing sponges. (And of course, I forgot two of the big things I wanted, hand soap for the kitchen and a new shower curtain. I can get the soap at work, but the curtain may have to wait.)

Didn't have as much luck walking on the White Horse Pike. The sidewalks in front of several buildings either weren't shoveled at all, or weren't shoveled well, and were now a slushy mess. Many of the streets are on a downward slope, forming huge puddles around the curbs at their ends too. I knew I should have worn boots. I had very wet sneakers when I got to the laundromat.

Thankfully, things improved from there. No one around at the laundromat. Good thing, too. I had a big load to wash, including towels. I was the only person exploring the House of Fun. They're moving to a new location on the 15th, and I wanted to check them out before they go. Saw nothing of interest, so I returned to the laundromat to toss my laundry in the dryer. 

Treated myself to lunch at Capitol Pizza. I'd be avoiding restaurants, even if things were normal. I'm trying to cut down on salt. Thought eating out one day in a month wouldn't hurt, and I deserved something fun after all the craziness at work this week. Picked up a slice of cheese, a slice of mushroom, and a can of Coke. There were only two other people eating on the other side of the room, and one left as I finished my mushroom slice.

After I got home, I put everything away, then put on The Ice Pirates while dusting the apartment. This goofy and rather odd sci-fi swashbuckler is set in a galaxy where water is scarce and ice is used as money. The Templars of Mithra have control of all the water in the galaxy, and they'll destroy planets with water to keep everyone coming to them. Pirates, lead by tough guy Jason (Robert Urich) raid ships to get that precious ice cargo. 

One such ship also holds Princess Karina (Mary Crosby), who is sleeping in a stasis pod in the hope of being alive when her missing father can be found. Jason and his men kidnap Karina and her nanny, but are captured and sentenced to slavery. Karina buys them, then needs their help again to avoid arrest by the Templars. She wants them to find her father, who vanished looking for a mystical planet that may hold vast quantities of water. Jason agrees to it for the money and the ice...but he doesn't expect to encounter time warps, weird little creatures, butler robots, or obnoxious noblemen who literally lose their heads over the mythical water planet.

Oh boy, is the gorgonzola ripe on this one. This is the most 80's swashbuckler I've ever seen. The men run around in costumes somewhere between Adam Ant and Mad Max, the special effects and sets are obviously cheap, and some of the gags get downright weird. When Bruce Villanch turns up in a movie playing a king with a ton of Amazonian henchwomen, you know it's two aliens short of a burst chest. 

This turned up a lot on cable in the mid-80's. Rose loved it. I thought it was too darn weird. I feel a little better about it nowadays...but it's definitely not for those who take their sci-fi seriously.

Switched to Tattletales as I finished up the dusting. Comedian Milt Kamen and his wife Margot and songwriter Sammy Cahn and his wife Tita were the big winners today over Gary Crosby and his wife Barbara. Future talk show host Jenny Jones hit the jackpot on Press Your Luck when the one guy Whammied out and the other woman also kept losing money. She picked up a trailer, among other prizes, and only one Whammy.

Went into writing after the show ended. Added a section with Brett claiming she and the ladies will hang back and come up with their own idea to distract Goodson's crew and save Charles. Meanwhile, Charles is berating Richard for taking off. Richard more-or-less says all's fair in love and war...but he's given Gene a wink...

Switched to Match Game '74 while having leftovers for dinner, and then as I made Bread Pudding. We skip up to the week featuring the wacky husband-and-wife team of comedy writer Donald Ross and comedienne Patti Deustch. Also on this week - Janet Finn, who would become the most winning contestant on the show up to that point. Donald blames Patti for his odd fashion sense, while Brett and Charles blame each other for bad answers (and we see when he puts out his leg for an answer that Charles really doesn't wear socks). 

Charles was on hiatus during tonight's Match Game PM episode, but jovial Dick Martin was a more-than-adequate substitute. Gene sat on Brianne Leary's lap to ask a question for Bill Daily, which didn't exactly tickle Brianne! She had even less luck with her answer for the Audience Match question "The Red __." 

It was all about the women on Sale of the Century. The champ and the other woman remained so close for most of the game, neither would buy an Instant Bargain or the Instant Cash. The other lady pulled ahead towards the end of the show and really came through in the Speed Round. She got the Bonus Round cash with one second remaining on the clock.

Finished the night online with the 1987 live-action version of Masters of the Universe. The evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) has captured the Sorceress (Christina Pickles) and intends to drain her power by the next moonrise. Hoping to stop him, He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and his friends Teela (Chelsea Field) and Man at Arms (Jon Cypher) rescue fuzzy locksmith Gwildor (Billy Barty) who has a Cosmic Key that can unlock portals to another universe. Attempting to storm Castle Greyskull only makes He-Man realize they need more help, so they flee through a portal Gwildor made...one that lands them right on Earth. 

Teenager Julie Winston (Courtney Cox) has her own problems. Her parents recently died in a plane crash, and all she wants to do is leave town. Her boyfriend Keith Corrigan (Robert Duncan McNeill) shows her the cool music synthesizer he found...which, of course, turns out to be the Cosmic Key. It calls Skeltor's minions to Earth and leads He-Man and his buddies straight to them. Julie ends up with He-Man, but Keith is arrested by tough Detective Lubic (James Tolkan), who refuses to believe anything the kid tells him...even when Eternians show up in town and start shooting at each other. Julie's hurt in the resulting carnage. He-Man finally says he'll go with Skeltor to save the others...but it'll take a team effort to make sure Skeletor doesn't keep the power he craves.

Though we taped this when it debuted on cable somewhere around late 1987, I wasn't a fan at the time. As you may have noticed from the plot description up there, the movie has very little to do with the cartoon besides a few character names. Of course, the cartoon hasn't exactly dated well either, but at least it was generally light-hearted and fun. This movie is dark, from the grimy costumes to the pitch-black exteriors to the subplot with Julie leaving because of her parents' death. Only Frank Langella having a blast as Skeletor and James Tolkan as the skeptical Lubic seem to have even the most remote idea of how to handle the material. 

I saw a lot more of this than I wanted to in the early 2000's. I watched the very well-done 2002 He-Man cartoon with my little brother Keefe when it debuted. He enjoyed it so much, Dad dug our copy of the movie out...and he  fell in love with it, watching it several times a week. I found the whole thing annoying. I feel slightly better about it nowadays. The first half, which sets up the good guys, the teens, and the time-travel, is slow-moving and dull. Things pick up when the action kicks in and everyone's after the Cosmic Key, and then when they get back to Eternia. 

I can kind of see why the movie's picked up a considerable fan base over the years, but...ehh. Some things are too cheesy, even for me. I'm glad I saw this again for old time's sake, but it's not something I'll be checking out a lot. If you're a fan of Langella or have fond memories like Keefe and me of catching this on cable, give it a try. Just don't expect it to be anything like any version of the original show. 

Blue Skies

Plip, plop, plip, plop. 

Awoke to the sound of water running off the roof. The sun shown brightly outside the big window in the front of my bedroom, melting the snow all around it. I celebrated the first full sunny day we've had in ages with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West on Disney Now. Callie's woodpecker deputy makes "Peck's Prisoner Promise" after they catch the leader of a group of bandits who are after gold in town. When the other bandits return for their leader, Peck vows to stay with them, no matter what. "Toby's Two-Step Trouble" is what happens when he agrees to judge the town dance contest. Everyone in town gives him bribes to consider their moves, until Toby has to figure out how to appease all of them. 

Worked on writing for an hour or so after the cartoon ended. Richard Dawson distracts the sailors and Charles by bringing out Gene, then trying to force Charles onto the plank. Gene's livid; Charles is just shocked he's alive.

Broke at 11 to get organized, change, and get to work early. Not only did I want to avoid being late again, but I needed to pick up something for dinner. The Uber driver showed up in less than 10 minutes, and there were no problems getting there. Had more than enough time to pick up a bowl of Caesar Salad. 

Spent the entire day outside with the carts. We were on-and-off busy, especially as rush hour drew nearer. I'd no sooner bring up carts than they'd disappear, and people would start taking them before I could put them out. No help this time, either. The other two baggers were inside cleaning or cashiering, and the night bagger got recruited to put together a new rack for our weekly flyers.

Didn't get as lucky with Uber going home. Once again, it took me ages to get a ride, and then I had to wait 20 minutes for them to arrive. I think a big part of the problem is almost all of the drivers live in Philly. Most of them have no idea where anything is around here, even with a GPS and their phones. It takes forever for them to find Audubon and Oaklyn when there isn't 5 inches of snow on the ground. 

It was so late when I got home, Sale of the Century was on. Changed and had a snack while watching that. They went back to the regular adult contestants today, though I believe they skipped ahead. The last regular episode had a male champ, and the champ was female in this episode. At any rate, though the other two gave her some competition early-on, she went on to fly through the Speed Round and just barely miss the Bonus Round money.

Finished the night online with Boarding House Blues at Tubi. I go further into this B musical about a boarding house that puts on a show to save their beloved building at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Boarding House Blues

What's My Snow?

Began a cloudy day with breakfast and To Tell the Truth. Gary Moore began by introducing Girl Scouts of various ages and their titles. This lead into their leaders, the head of the Girl Scouts in 1973. I went with chatty #1. Bill was the only one who chose #2...and he turned out to be right. The panel did better with three teen boys who claimed to be jewelry designers. (Their huge amethyst necklace and filigree miniature bike certainly caught Kitty Carlisle's eye; Bill Cullen praised their work, too.) I went with number 2. Most of the panel said #3, the most solemn of the trio...and they were very right.

Let What's My Line? run as I changed and got organized. Alan Alda and model Ruta Lee were on fire with their answers in this episode. Alda guessed almost immediately that a lady was the head of the Connecticut Boxing Association. Lee and Alda also caught on pretty quickly that a girl named Michael made an alarm for bicycles. (Why didn't I know about those two and a half years ago?) Alda and Soupy Sales demonstrated how the lock worked by trying to steal a bike it was attached to. Alda did...by taking the bike off-stage very slowly. Soupy made the mistake of sitting directly on the bike, which did set off the alarm.

Made the mistake of letting my phone update, which it took a lot longer to do than I thought. I used the time to write out my rent for Jodie. When it did finally finished, I called Uber...and it took even longer to get a driver. With all of that, to my embarrassment, I ended up being a half-hour late.

Thankfully, nothing else went badly. I spent almost the entire day outside rounding up carts. We had an unexpected snow shower in the middle of the afternoon, but by rush hour, the snow was long gone and the sun emerged. It was a lot busier than I expected. It's still the beginning of the month, and people may have been restocking after the storm, too. Thankfully, I had help later from a new bagger (who gave me a wonderful compliment, saying I looked like I was ten years younger than I am). 

To my frustration, it took forever to get an Uber going home, too. The Black Horse Pike, the roads in Oaklyn, and most of the Acme parking lot are clear, but other places may not have plowed or been able to plow yet. Took them 20 minutes to arrive. At least, once I did catch a car, the rides were smooth both ways, and the lady who drove me home was pleasant and chatty.

Watched Card Sharks when I got home and had a snack. The lady from yesterday was defeated by the Scottish gentleman with the beard and the thick brogue. He did well on the Money Cards bonus round...until he hit a double on the last line and went bust. He kept hitting two of the same number on the next game, too. 

Worked on writing for a while. Gene and the others push Goodson upstairs. His men have Charles bound and ready to toss overboard (or be manhandled), while Gary screams and curses as loudly as he can. Richard addresses the sailors, claiming he has broken the will of the pirates, and that Goodson authorized him to deal with Captain Rayburn's crew...

Broke for leftovers at 6:30. Dr. Joyce Brothers made her first appearance on Match Game '74 as she tried to figure out some of the weirder answers from Orson Bean, Betty White, and the regulars. Tonight's Match Game PM also got crazy as a bearded Bill Daily shed his suit vest (which ended up on Lee Merriweather) and Patti Deustch did not play through a haze of ginger bangs. 

Sale of the Century ended their Varsity Week on a high note as a young athlete who played at least three different sports beat a swimmer and a volleyball player. He just missed the Bonus Round money...but ended up hitting the right number on the Fame Game board and won the jeep and a trip to the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Finished the night online after a shower. Charlie's Angels become "Disco Angels" in the third season. Three older men are discovered strangled hours after they each visited a certain dance club. Kris goes undercover as a dance teacher, Sabrina as a reporter doing an article on the disco scene, and Kelly as a groupie to figure out who has it in for the elderly men.

Barney Miller also has trouble with the elderly in the third season episode "Community Relations." Poor Wojo is about to have a heart attack when an aggressive lawyer tries to get a more forceful testimony out of him. Meanwhile, Fish, Barney, and the others deal with a blind shoplifter and an aging veteran who is being forced out of his tenement home by the owner, who wants to demolish it. The officers have to find a way to make everyone happy...including Wojo's fast-talking lawyer. 

The Road to Winter

Kicked off another silvery snowy morning with breakfast and the tail-end of Blockbusters.  I came in as the father-in-law-son-in-law pair were taking on a young and pretty teacher. She just won her first round as the episode ended. 

(Incidentally, it was snowing when I awoke this morning, but that ended shortly after I rolled out of bed. It would mostly just be cloudy and cold for the rest of the day.)

Celebrated Groundhog Day (and Phil likely not seeing his shadow) as I cleaned up from breakfast with the Rankin-Bass fantasy Jack Frost. I go further into this 1979 celebration of several winter holidays at this entry from last Groundhog's Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Groundhog's Day - Jack Frost

Switched to Match Game '75 as I did a few chores around the apartment I put off over the past month, like gluing soles and heels back on two doll shoes and taking out the new "record" coasters Rose gave me for Christmas. I tried to get the photos off my old cell phone, but the phone kept crashing and just would not refill on my computer. The panelists did better than I did, handling a nervous contestant's very strange answer very well. In the next episode, Richard got a look-a-like dummy from an audience member he treated as well as he did his own sons. 

Spent an hour after that trying to get a movie on. Tried the MS3K episode Jack Frost twice, but the Roku reset both times. Ended up with Road to Utopia on DVD. In this one, Bing and Bob are a pair of vaudevillians who end up in Alaska after stealing the map to a secret gold mine from two suspected killers. It really belongs to local belle Skagway Sal (Dorothy Lamour), but saloon owner Ace Larson (Douglas Dumbrille) is after it, too. The duo keep falling for Sal, who, along with Larson's cohort Katie (Hilary Brooke) leads them across the Klondike and back again as they encounter talking wildlife and try to avoid the real Sperry and McGurk.

The only Road to movie set in a cold climate is also the closest this franchise came to spoofing western clichés. I have no idea what Robert Benchley and his annoying narration were doing there; he cuts in at the worst times. Bing and Bob have a couple of good gags, especially going after Sal, and Lamour has her own fun flitting between the two. Not the first Road movie I'd start with, but fun for fans of this wacky series. 

Cleaned the apartment while the movie ran. Scrubbed the bathroom and the kitchen, both of which needed it badly. Got to the vacuuming and Swifter-ing, too. 

Switched to Press Your Luck as I made peanut butter cookies. Things went a lot better today than they did yesterday for pretty much everyone. The one guy kept hitting Whammies and didn't have many turns to begin with, but the ladies both amassed a tidy sum. The second lady barely won the game after hitting her only prize, a trip to San Diego. 

Let the late 70's Card Sharks run as I pulled the cookies out of the oven. A kindly great-grandmother didn't do so well at the Money Cards as the show began. She was defeated by a much-younger woman who had returned to the show on a technicality and claimed she was about to become a grandmother herself.

Worked on writing after the show ended. Gene finally points his sword at Goodson and tells him to take them upstairs and stop his men from throwing Charles overboard. Reporter Robert Walden is more interested in getting a scoop from the dapper governor on corruption in the Navy. 

Returned to Match Game '74 as I made Arroz Con Pollo - chicken legs in a tomato-rice-vegetable skillet casserole - for dinner. Alejandro Ray is delighted when one of his own countrywomen is a contestant on the show, even though she doesn't last long. Match Game PM welcomed beloved puppets Kulka and Ollie as Eva Gabor helped a sweet young woman try to win 20,000. 

Varsity Week continues on Sale of the Century. Tonight, we had a close competition between a girl swimmer and two cheerleaders, one male, one female. The female cheerleader bought both Instant Bargains and dominated the Speed Round. Like the boy yesterday, she won the Bonus Round money with time to spare. 

(And mixed feelings on the Arroz Con Pollo. The chicken came out moist and flavorful - browning actually did help there - but the brown rice I have here never did cook all the way. Next time, I'll either cook this for longer or add more water.)

Finished the night online with Two Tickets to Broadway. Janet Leigh and Tony Martin try for stardom in the new medium of television in this backstage tale from 1951. 

Cult Flops - Two Tickets to Broadway

Dolls on a Snow Day

I awoke to a white world. The entire neighborhood was painted with white and gray as snow fell softly outside the front windows. It provided a lovely backdrop as I made Gingerbread Pancakes for breakfast and watched Blockbusters. The young solo champ and father-in-law-son-in-law pair went at it during the entire episode. They were only just finishing the second round when the show ended.

Switched to snow-themed specials as I did the dishes. Frosty Returns isn't a sequel to the Rankin-Bass special. Frosty comes to a snow-bound town and befriends a little girl who loves magic, but has trouble standing up for herself. He teaches her how to deal with the obnoxious executive in charge of the spray that can make snow vanish. 

Frosty's Winter Wonderland is the actual Rankin-Bass sequel. The kids realize that Frosty is lonely and build a snow wife for him. He names her Crystal, but is devastated when she's not "all-livin'" like him. Meanwhile, winter-making sprite Jack Frost is jealous of Frosty and will do anything to get rid of his magic, so he's the only snow friend around!

Switched to Match Game '75 while putting a few things away. Comedian Joe Silver and warm matriarch Esther Rolle of Good Times join announcer Bern Bennett (replacing a vacationing Johnny Olsen) this week. Gene gave Rolle a kiss after having forgotten to during the episode before, and there's an interesting jokes about then-president Gerald Ford falling off his skis and going down the mountain on his ___.

Dressed the dolls for February for the next few hours as snow and sleet fell outside. Samantha wears her pink Talent Show Dress. It's so authentic, it's based after a real Edwardian girl's dress in a museum. Molly is in her plaid School Dress and the black strap shoes from Sam's meet outfit. Whitney gets a pink felt poodle skirt and white blouse from eBay and Molly's saddle shoes. Josefina's pink and red flower-patterned empire-waisted dress and lace wrap also came from eBay. Felicity's in her Laced Jacket and Petticoat lessons outfit. Though it doesn't really fit her well, Jessa still wears (Ivy's) Chinese New Year's Dress with white socks and Josefina's black mules. (The shoes that actually came with the outfit don't fit Jessa's big older-doll feet.) Ariel's in the cream and gold-knitted Sweet Spring Dress, Molly's white t-straps, and pink tights from one of the ballet costumes. 

Had a late Tropical Berry Smoothie lunch while watching winter-themed Scooby Doo episodes. "There's No Creature Like Snow Creature" from What's New, Scooby Doo takes the gang to a snow boarding contest at a Colorado resort. When Fred breaks his knee chasing a monster who's been attacking snow boarders and Velma gets a cold, it's up to Shaggy to join the contest and find out what the Creature really wants.

"That's Snow Ghost" is from the original Scooby Doo, Where are You? Once again, the gang deals with a snow creature terrorizing a ski resort. This time, an old man from Tibet claims that the ghost of a snow monster followed him there. The kids think there's a more likely explanation, especially after Shaggy and Velma vanish...

By 3:30, the kids were out of school (or off lessons) and outside, playing in the snow. The hill just beyond the house leading down to the lake is steep enough for sledding. Uncle Ken and Dad always allowed the local kids to sled there, and from their screams and laughter, Jodie was fine with it, too. I thought they were so funny, I finally put on my winter gear and new snow boots and joined them.

By the time I finally got out, the older kids had fled inside. It was down to my next-door neighbors Savannah and Ryan and their mother. They took advantage of the other kids leaving their sleds and snow boards behind to enjoy a wide variety of rides. Ryan went further, nearly going down to the lake at one point. He finally dug in his heels and rolled off to stop himself before he went in. Savannah insisted on riding her neon green saucer sled belly-down and letting her feet drag, which stopped her from going far. 

Went back to my place in time for the second half of Press Your Luck. Everyone got slammed hard with Whammies during the second half. The eventual champ had no money and won because she was the only person who didn't Whammy out. 

Worked on writing after the show ended. Jack finally takes advantage of the situation to demand that Goodson take them upstairs. Reporter Robert Walden is more interested in asking Goodson questions about his corrupt empire. 

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Jodie made breaded porch chops with broccoli and alfredo noodles and decided to share her big meal with me. I don't normally eat porch chops (pork gives me indigestion), but this wasn't bad. The breading kept it from getting too dry. The noodles were the packaged type that get way too salty.

Ate while watching Match Game '74.  Alejandro Rey and Juliet Mills joins Gene, goofy Jo Ann Worley, and the regulars here. Rey especially got to have fun answering a question about his previous show The Flying Nun. Charles got a lot of ribbing about giving a contestant in blue the answer "Arms" to the Audience Match "Code of ___" on Match Game PM. After it turned out to be the 100 dollar answer, he went down to the stage and ripped his name off the Star Wheel!

Varsity Week continues on Sale of the Century. A swimmer, a football players with shoulders broader than Jim Perry's, and a track high jumper were within a question or two of each other for most of the game. The boy eventually bought both Instant Bargains and the Instant Cash and killed at the Speed Round. He put the adults in recent episodes to shame and won the Bonus Round with time to spare, too.

Finished the night with The Day the Earth Froze on Mystery Science Theater 3000. This early Joel episode actually begins with a simple short explaining the circus and its many acts. The main feature is a badly-chopped-up Finnish epic from 1959. A young Finn logger and a blacksmith travel to a dark land to rescue the blacksmith's sister from an evil witch. Angry when they steal the precious object the smith made for her, she releases her bags of wind to destroy the young man. He manages to return to land and marry his sweetheart...but then the witch steals the sun, prompting the entire kingdom to attack hers.

The robots were in rare form with this super-serious fairy tale, featuring more Scandinavian jokes than you can shake a smorgasbord at. They had even more fun with the "dark" jokes on the simple circus short.