Super Match Bowl

Slept in more than I should have this morning and got a really quick start. At least the Uber drivers were just as fast. The one coming here arrived in less than 2 minutes. The one going home didn't even take 4 minutes. The lady who drove me home stopped and very briefly bought Girl Scout Cookies from the young ladies out today before we got going. She said it was for her husband. I thought it was adorable.

The floral department was frantic today. The managers are behind on pulling out flowers and making arrangements. I spent the morning pulling bouquets out of boxes and putting them in buckets of water. Got to help make "chop and drop" arrangements - ones where you just cut off the ends of a bouquet and place it in a vase with no additional fussing - after lunch. We also pulled plants that weren't doing well from the floral display in the seasonal aisle, and I watered the plants that were in good shape. And I'd never crushed so many boxes in my life, or piled so many into the store's bailer. We got a lot done, including a whole cart full of bouquet boxes.

Went straight home and into the shower. After I got out, I watched two vintage Disney football shorts that can currently be found on YouTube. "How to Play Football" pits teams of Goofys from Taxidermy Tech and Anthropology A&M against each other in a free-for-all spoof. When Taxidermy's star player gets knocked out of the game, the coach has to figure out  how to get him back on track.

A grandfather and his grandson imagine what it would be like if teams from "Football Now and Then" competed against each other. Bygone U. plays Present State in a game that's almost as hard-fought as Goofy's short. While Grandpa eventually forgets the point, the cartoon insists that there's a lot to be said for both modern methods and a little bit of old-fashioned know-how, off and on the field.

Match Game Productions also celebrated football of the past with his Super Bowl Sunday Classics marathon. In addition to the weeks featuring former players Rosey Greer and Alex Karras, we saw episodes with jokes about or references to long-time sportscaster Howard Cosell. I didn't really see much of Cosell as a kid in the 80's, but during the run of the original show and syndicated series, he and his nasal voice and toupee were fixtures on Monday Night Football. He was apparently as known for his ego and ugly toupee as his play-by-play, which came in for frequent ribbing. Patti Deustch in particular could do a great imitation of him. 

Future Super Bowl-winning coach Brian Billick appeared on Match Game PM in 1977, years before he led the Baltimore Ravens to victory. I'm afraid his ability to make plays didn't translate into the ability to match answers. He proved to be too sweet for this spicy show and didn't make a single match. 

Make it to the end zone with beloved football players, coaches, and the most famous sports announcer of all time in this riotous marathon!

Super Bowl Sunday Night Classics - Featuring Football Players, Coaches, and Howard Cosell

I alternated between the marathon and the Super Bowl itself while it was on. The game didn't start well. The 49ers coasted to an early lead 10-3 before Usher's big show in halftime. Things really picked up in the second half, when the Chiefs finally figured out what they were doing. They'd get a touchdown, then the Niners would run back and get another one. It finally went into overtime, and even that was crazy, with the Niners getting a field goal before the Chiefs got a touchdown in the literal last seconds. They eventually won one of the most thrilling Super Bowls I've seen in a while 25 to 22. 

Matches In the Year of the Dragon

Began the morning with breakfast and Over the Moon for Chinese New Year. I go further into this sweet animated Netflix adventure at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Honoring Chinese New Year - Over the Moon

Headed out soon as the movie ended. I had no trouble getting a ride to work. Uber arrived in 4 minutes. Getting home at 6 PM on the Saturday before the Super Bowl was a lot harder. I went through two drivers, and the second took 12 minutes to arrive. At least there was no traffic either way.

I had less trouble at work. I spent almost the entire day outside pushing carts. It was cloudy and breezy, and while not warm like yesterday, it wasn't freezing cold, either. Dodged two sets of Girl Scouts selling cookies. The first were darling little Daisies in blue who had funny sword fights with their sale signs. The other group had older girls, Juniors, I believe, who held up a huge "$6 Girl Scout Cookies" banner to entice customers. I bought cookies from them yesterday, but I did pick up white chocolate chips and strawberry cake mix to make cookies for Valentine's Day.

After I got home, I changed and sent that cover letter to Irene. Watched more Vega$ while I worked and had dinner. "Love, Laugh, or Die" has Tanna searching for the killer of a former call girl who was about to write a tell-all book about her clients. Her mother wants her to find out if it was a smarmy singer (Bobby Van), a former tennis pro (Robert Mandan), or a shady construction executive (Andrew Duggan). 

Switched to YouTube for the only holiday episode of the 1984 Muppet Babies, "My Muppet Valentine." The Babies are excited when Nanny gives them all heart-shaped cookies frosted to look like them, but Rolf is upset when he doesn't get one. The other Babies make him the fanciest Valentines they can come up with, but he keeps hiding from them. It turns out he may have the best - or at least, the most heartfelt - valentine of all.

Stayed at YouTube for tonight's Match Game marathon. Smooth actor and singer Clifton Davies appeared on the show starting in early 1975, well before his best-known stint as a preacher on Amen. He got to hear Brett and Gary snipe at each other on his very first episode. He was around for the week with gossip queen Rona Barrett much later in '75, and to see Fannie Flagg's infamous fried egg sweater in '76. He did a singer's week during the syndicated era that also featured Lawrence Welk Show singer Gail Ferrell (the only Welk performer brave enough to attempt Match Game) and Paul Williams. 

Davis was probably the most relaxed of the semi-regulars. Very little ruffled his feathers, including Gene making a few unwarranted "back of the bus" comments in his presence. (One of which now has the second nighttime episode banned from the air.) Even Charles and Brett's fussing couldn't throw him. In fact, he helped all of the men on the panel lift Brett into the air during a 1976 PM episode.

You'll be saying "amen" for a laid-back favorite in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Featuring Clifton Davis On the Panel

Flowers On the Air

Slept in a little this morning, but had enough time for the 2018 Muppet Babies before I left. In "Happy Villain-tine's Day," Gonzo is looking forward to getting a ton of valentines. When he sees is cubby is bare, he thinks the others don't like him and turns into "Dr. Meanzo" to steal their valentines. The others try to explain that they have a surprise for him. Summer and Gonzo are initially thrilled when her stuffed narwhal Narry and his Potato pal are getting married. "My Best Toy's Wedding" turns out to be more of a problem when Gonzo ignores Summer's ideas and wants to do everything his way. Nanny reminds them that marriage is really about compromise.

Headed to work shortly after the episode ended. The floral department is in the midst of preparing for Valentine's Day next week. They cleared off several tables for the influx of flowers and plants. I watered plants on a large display table in the seasonal aisle. I helped one of the managers set up teddy bears holding birthday balloons on another display near the registers. I wiped down those cleared-off tables. I found places for football-shaped Super Bowl balloons. I blew up smaller balloons that would be added to the bottom of the big helium ones. 

Not entirely happy with my schedule next week. In good news, more hours, and I'm in floral every day but Wednesday. (And more than likely, I'm only bagging that day because the head bagger takes Wednesdays off.) Trouble is, my next day off is Friday. My last day off was Thursday. I'm glad I won't be pushing carts the whole time, but I hate it when I have to work a week or more straight through. I can understand working through Wednesday, but Thursday is the day AFTER Valentine's Day. I'd be surprised if we had any flowers left by then.

Went straight into grocery shopping after I finished. Had online coupons for yogurt and to get a free heart-shaped box of candy if I bought three cards. I bought the three cards, but I went with a pretty red heart tin with less candy that seemed more practical. Practical, yes, but it wasn't part of the sale. At least the tin's nice and it was on a smaller sale anyway. Also restocked apples, blood oranges, granola bars, and bagels. 

No trouble with Uber today. The one going to work showed up in less than a minute! The one going home took over 10, but it was the height of rush hour. They got me there and back quickly, despite some traffic on the White Horse Pike later.

Karen sent me a revised cover letter to use for Irene, but I got it at work. I checked it out, and e-mailed her that I approved of it. I'll send a copy to Irene to see it tomorrow. 

Worked on writing next. Joyce awakens to find Good Witch Patti standing over her. I decided to speed things up by going with the movie version of how they got out of the poppies - Patti sent snow to muffle the scent. (In the original book, field mice helped get Dorothy and the Lion out after the Lion spared their queen.) She assures them that yes, this was the Warlock of the West's doing, but they're also close to Television City. 

Continued with WKRP In Cincinatti while I worked. Herb is perpetually "Out to Lunch," maybe a little too often for his co-workers' liking. Those three-martini lunches the ladies complained about in the previous episode are starting to affect his performance. It's not until he realizes he gave away a winning sweepstakes ticket while drunk and an advertising buddy (Craig T. Nelson) admits drinking cost him his job that Herb sees what alcohol is doing to his life.

Arthur and Carmen want it to be "A Simple Little Wedding" when they decide to renew their vows. Everyone at the station is thrilled, until Mrs. Carlson starts butting in and trying to take over. Arthur and Carmen finally decide they'd rather do things their way. Meanwhile, Herb insists on throwing a huge bachelor party for Arthur.

Everyone is on edge after the station is robbed in "Nothing to Fear But..." Arthur orders a burglar alarm, while the others begin to suspect everyone and everything. Herb tries to set up a big party for a client, but it ends with everyone upstairs when they think they hear a noise.

Johnny is thrilled when one of his ex-wives declares she's remarrying and he'll no longer have to pay alimony. He can take the vacation he always wanted. Then he actually meets her fiancee, and he begins to wonder if "'Till Debt Do We Part" is all it's cracked up to be when the guy turns out to be a jerk.

Had a quick dinner while watching Match Game '79. The show opens with a Peruvian woman who recently became a full-fledged American. She was darling, even as a few Spanish accent jokes were tossed out. Fannie got to sing a bit of her answer for the Audience Match "__ Sleeves."

Returned to the last third season episode of WKRP after a shower. Evangelist Dr. Bob Halyers (Richard Paul) claims he and his group want to "Clean Up Radio Everywhere" and hands Arthur a list of songs to ban on the station. Arthur complies at first, until they start giving him longer and longer lists. When Andy gets fed up and points out that it's censorship, they start harassing their advertisers. Arthur finally argues with Halyers over the rights to free speech and what images and music should be presented in mass media.

Switched to Vega$ for "Mother Mishkin." Miskin (Molly Picon) is a former madam who hires Tanna after she receives death threats. Tanna thinks it's a real estate developer after her property, but the real perpetrator hits far closer to home. Meanwhile, Bitzer attempts to catch a man whose car needs to be repossessed, but he can't figure out the keys Tanna gave him. 

"The Heartless Valentine's Day" is the series finale of Sheriff Callie's Wild West. Everyone is upset when bandits steal the town's Valentines. Farmer Stinky is especially disappointed. The others go looking for him after they round up the bandits, only to discover that Stinky has a special surprise for them. Dirty Dan and Dusty argue with two girl pigs over whether a giant gold nugget is "Mine All Mine." It almost costs them their lives when the nugget nearly rolls away and they go after it.

Dolls On a Warm Winter Day

Kicked off the late morning with breakfast and the original 1975 Tom and Jerry Show at Tubi. I definitely remember seeing this show on cable when I was a kid. The opening song alone prodded a few memories. While the violence level is toned down, due to concerns about children's cartoons at the time, these were otherwise really cute. Tom and Jerry compete for the affections of a lovely "Ski Bunny" kitty, but she proves fickle in the end. "Two Stars are Born" when the guys are hired as stunt doubles for a snooty pair of look-a-likes who do not want to get hurt making their latest superhero film. They become "The Sorcerer's Apprentices" when a magician wants them to organize his room. His actual apprentice dog wants his job back and wrecks havoc.

Spent the next few hours dressing the dolls for February. Jessa doesn't really fit Ivy's Chinese New Year dress very well, but I like it better for her than the girlier Lunar New Year's outfit American Girl currently has on their site. She wears it with black flats borrowed from Josefina. Samantha's dusky pink Talent Show Dress is so authentic, it's based on a real little girl's dress from 1904 in a museum. Ariel sports Julie's Calico Dress with the tall boots and the scarf to wrap around her masses of copper waves. Kit's nice and cozy in her red and navy Treehouse Cardigan Sweater and blue knit hat. The sweater I found on eBay didn't come with the skirt or socks, so she borrowed Molly's navy skirt from her meet outfit, Samantha's white stockings, and  Josefina's summer outfit boots. 

Barbara Jean wears the Sweet Spring Dress, which can probably pass for an outfit from the mid-late 60's. Josefina and Whitney get hand-made outfits from eBay. Whitney's the perfect sock hopper in a poodle skirt, white blouse, a lace-trimmed crinoline, and a pink pearl-trimmed sweater I found a yard sale, while Josefina goes for the romantic look in an Empire-waisted ruffled dress in a sweet pink and magenta flower print with a lace wrap. Felicity's in her Laced Jacket and Petticoat and is nice and warm in a crocheted wrap Mom made years ago. Molly wishes she could wear something more glamorous than her plaid school jumper, white blouse, and Samantha's black strap shoes.

I initially listened to one of the K-Tel albums while I worked. Some of my favorite rock and R&B ballads of the late 70's can be found on their romantic Together album. Among the hits are "Sharing the Night Together" by Dr. Hook, "Reunited" by Peaches & Herb, "I Just Fall In Love Again" by Anne Murray, "Love Is the Answer" by England Dan and John Ford Coley, and "Just Remember I Love You" by Firefall.

Switched to Split Second after the record ended. I came in during the second half of the first episode. Though the young man and two ladies were close, the young man wiped the floor with them in the Countdown Round. He opted to come back and earn the car...and was defeated at the last minute when one of the ladies made a comeback and got all of her Countdown questions right. 

Let it continue into Let's Make a Deal as I got organized and put the dolls' things away. The first episode did feature a Big Deal win from a couple who gave up trying to win a car when they (rightly, as it turned out) realized they'd likely picked the wrong item in a pricing game. They ended up with a stereo system and living room furniture instead. A young woman in a pink harem outfit carried a bag of items the entire episode, only to give it up for the Big Deal of the Day. Neither she nor a woman dressed as a tomato won t he Big Deal, but she came out a little better with over $3,000 in bedroom furniture.

Headed out as that ended to run a quick errand. I needed Shout at Dollar General. My bottles of stain remover have broken twice and gotten all over everything. Grabbed a Cherry Coke Zero, too. Thankfully, they weren't that busy, and I was in and out quickly.

It was too nice of a day to hang out inside anyway. The sun was out, the sky was brilliantly blue, and it was a bit warmer, into the lower 50's. I'm surprised I didn't see more people out and about as I strolled around the neighborhood, especially given it was 3:30 and many folks were coming home from work. Despite the warmth, we're still very much in the midst of winter. Trees and gardens remain bare. A few folks put up Valentine's decorations or haven't gotten around to taking down the ones from Christmas yet, but most settled for their empty gardens.

Had a late lunch while watching Vega$ upstairs. The first actual episode has a "Centerfold" (Cristina Farrere) coming to Tanna for help when goons threaten to send nude pictures they took of her while she was drugged to the papers. Her manager originally came up with the scheme to settle his debts, but was killed when he thought it went too far. Meanwhile, Dan also has to find a runaway lion named Lucille for Circus Circus lion tamer Mr. Rene (Morey Amsterdam).

Put on Krush Groove while doing some job research. I went further into this fictionalized take on the early days of Def Jam Recordings at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Krush Groove

Worked on writing for a while after the movie ended. Joyce passes out in the poppy field, with Rover beside her. I'm trying to stick to the book more than the film, but to speed things up, I did use the movie's idea of having Good Witch Patti make it snow to muffle the poppy's scent. 

Had a quick dinner at 7:30 while watching Match Game '79. Kukla and Ollie were really nervous when they got hit for the Head-to-Head not once, but twice in a row. They calmed down enough to bring out their "friend" and puppeteer Burr Tillstrom at the very end. 

Finished the night with more TV show binges, starting with Vega$. "The Games Girls Play" get ugly when a senator comes to Tanna asking him to retrieve some racy photos that could derail his anti-pornography bill if they're leaked. Turns out they were taken by three bored Beverly Hills housewives who just want their husbands to pay more attention to them than their work. Dan doesn't have much luck getting the photos until someone mows down one of the women, and he learns that another private eye with a very different motive is on their trail.

Returned to WKRP In Cincinnati for "I am Woman." Everyone is horrified when the building where WKRP is housed will be sold and demolished in a few months. Bailey, who is known for pushing her many causes on the others, rallies them to the defense of the building...until Arthur reveals his mother will pay to have his dream building erected. Bailey finally convinces him that preserving Cincinnati's history is just as important and Johnny Fever that some causes aren't as lost as they seem. 

Les is upset when he's barred from a White House conference. Turns out no, they're not offended by his on-air anti-communist rants. His real father (Bill McLean) had been a Communist years ago, and they thought he still was. Les finally goes to his father's barber shop to learn the "Secret of Dayton Heights" and find out the truth. Meanwhile, the ladies scold Herb for his liquor-fueled lunches and Jennifer speaks nothing but French to prepare for an upcoming trip to Paris. 

Sleepytime Angels

Got such a quick start this morning, I barely had time to write in my journal, eat, and go. The Uber driver only took 8 minutes to arrive, but I was so late in starting, I wound up being a few minutes late to work. Had far more luck going home, getting a ride in three minutes.

Not that it mattered. There was no one up front when I came in. I'm not sure anyone even realized I was late. I spent the entire lovely morning pushing carts and sweeping, and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. It was a gorgeous day to be pushing carts, sunny, blue, and breezy. Just about as perfect of a day as you can get in early February. No trouble here whatsoever.

Went straight into a nap when I got home. I'm tired, and I've been up too late recently. Passed out soon as I got home at 2:30 and didn't get up until 4:30.

Worked on job hunting and finally sending what little I have done to Irene Perez after I rolled out of bed. Watched the Vega$ feature-length pilot episode "High Roller" while I worked. Dan Tanna (Robert Urich) is a private eye based out of the title city who mainly works for Desert Inn owner Phillip "Slick" Roth (Tony Curtis). Tanna is hired by a midwestern couple to find their young daughter. He catches her as a call girl and manages to rescue her, but she's killed shortly after. He follows the clues into the seedy underbelly of Sin City to find out who murdered her and why. Meanwhile, Roth would rather he figured out a tricky older gentleman (Red Buttons) has been making a killing at his slot machines.

Switched to Match Game '79 after dinner. Vintage TV puppets Kukla and Ollie made their only appearance on the show this week, and the only time puppets appeared on any version of Match Game without a ventriloquist. Brett adored them and spent the week flirting with Ollie the Dragon. Gene arrived in the first episode on roller skates. In the second, Eva Gabor nearly started a riot over whether "toy pistol" matched "water pistol."

Finished the night after a shower with another Aaron Spelling show, Charlie's Angels. The ladies set "The Jade Trap" in order to catch a cunning thief who has been targeting safes belonging to wealthy residents of a live-in hotel. After one of the residents is killed during a robbery, there's concerns that the thief has turned violent. Kris poses as a Swedish actress who wants to sell her late husband's jade collection, Kelly as a southern belle out to buy it, and Bosley as an auctioneer in order to catch the thief in his own web. Meanwhile, Sabrina discovers that a handsome sailor may know more than he's telling. 

Strangers In a Strange World

Slept in this morning and didn't get moving until nearly noon. Watched Scooby Doo and Guess Who? while I got organized. This is Hanna-Barbara's second attempt at paring the Mystery Inc gang with various kid-friendly celebrities...and some who are likely more familiar to their parents. Mark Hamill really did grow up in a Naval family and went to high school in Japan. "The Sword, the Fox, and Scooby Doo" has the gang helping Hamill to rescue his old drama teacher after he's kidnapped by a giant Japanese fox during a high school reunion. 

Headed out after that. It was so late, I started off with lunch at Capitol Pizza. Had two slices of broccoli-mushroom that I didn't end up finishing and a Diet Pepsi. They weren't busy, even at 12:30. I saw one other guy come in to pick up a delivery while I ate and watched the NBC local news. 

After that, I ran to Family Dollar on the next block to get a drink for the movies. It took me two tries, but I finally found a strawberry-kiwi Propel. I had less luck getting an Uber. Took them ten minutes to arrive, and then they thought I was across the street at Dunkin' Donuts for some reason. Thankfully, I finally saw them, and after I got in, we made it to the Cinemark in Somerdale without incident. I slid into Argylle just as the previews were beginning.

I won't go heavily into the plot because of spoilers, but I did like it...to a degree. I don't think it's the worst thing ever like many critics are claiming. Far from it. The first half and the last twenty minutes or so are a lot of fun. I just wish they hadn't felt the need for that ridiculous, wild twist in the middle. I would have preferred to see the writer (Bryce Dallas Howard) actually be whom she claimed she was, a normal neurotic writer who got caught up in wild circumstances. The one thing I do agree with critics about is that it's way too long. It did not need to be two and a half hours. A lot of that sagging middle could have been trimmed with no one the wiser, and the big action finale just keeps going on and on.

I'm surprised this isn't going over better. That 1:20 showing was actually fairly full for Tuesday afternoon. Tickets are half-price on Tuesdays, which may account for part of it, but as far as I could tell, the audience did seem to enjoy it. The length and the convoluted plot may be a big part of the problem. If you love action thrillers or have fond memories of 80's action comedies like Romancing the Stone, this is recommended...but be prepared for some head-scratching near the middle. 

(Nothing new in the commercials. I still haven't seen Ghostbusters: Afterlife. I'll get to Frozen Empire after I do that. Kung Fu Panda 4 is a lot more interesting. I don't think it's the most necessary thing in the universe, but I loved the other three movies, so I'm still all-in.) 

Made a brief stop at WalMart after that. I did pick up granola bars and peanut butter, but I mainly needed to make change for the bus. There's a combination Subway/Aunt Annie's right behind the self-checkout lines that provided the change and a tasty pretzel snack.

I misread the times on the bus schedule and thought it was coming earlier than it did. At least it wasn't terribly late when it did finally appear. Despite it being the height of rush hour, there were no problems getting home, other than people wanting to get off at every other block. The sun was just going down when I finally got off at the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn and walked the two blocks home.

Went straight into job hunting and Beat Street when I got home. I go further into this look at New York's rap culture in the early 80's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Beat Street 

Switched to Match Game '79 while I ate dinner. Nipsey Russell's nervous about helping the contestant with "Get Off My __" in the Head-to-Head. Joyce Bulifant has a lot more fun at the end of the episode when she and a contestant show off their jitterbugging moves! Everyone claps along, and even the music department kicks in with an appropriate swing tune.

Moved to WKRP after Match Game ended. Johnny Fever is initially eager to host a local TV dance show, until he realizes it's a disco show. He's not a disco fan. When a network employee who has the hots for him holds him to his contract, he creates the more flamboyant "Rip Tide" as the host. Suddenly, "Rip Tide" is the talk of Cincinnati, and Johnny's having a hard time keeping him and his radio persona separate. It takes a meltdown on TV for "Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide" to realize what he really loves doing.

Jennifer finds herself playing Dear Abby when the psychiatrist they were originally going to feature on the air passed out just before the show begins. She initially enjoys the attention her "Ask Jennifer" advice show is a big hit, until some of the advice she gives goes wrong and a woman gets hurt.

Finished the night with the more comic Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers. An Elmer Fudd-like Cupid spreads love among the Looney Tunes, despite Bugs' insistence that he's meddling. He tries to fit Bugs with a romance of his own, but as usual, the nimble rabbit ducks out of it. Another series of clips from various shorts with a tenuous romance theme. At least there's some cute clips, including Bugs calling a lady Tasmanian Devil as a mate for Taz and detective Daffy dodging a dame who says she's guilty of nothing but falling for him. 

A Day Out With My Sister

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Scooby and Scrappy Doo. You can't get much more late 70's than "The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco." Mystery Inc is in Hollywood for a big premiere when the lights are suddenly cut at the Hollywood Bowl. Turns out he has a connection to the new roller disco in town. The gang has to figure out what's really causing the panic at the disco, especially after the lights go off at Grauman's Chinese during the movie premiere, too.

Jessa picked me up a little after 11 AM. Our first stop was the Blackwood Outlets. It was a gorgeous day to stroll around there. Unlike when I visited the outlets last February, it was sunny, breezy, and bright, in the mid-40's. There were a few people walking around, but not to the degree of the week after Christmas. 

We were in and out of stores for the next hour. We both picked up something at Old Navy. She bought a shirt. I grabbed another pair of the chinos I bought at the Cherry Hill Mall, these in green, along with getting a super ball out of a 25 cent machine. I found a brown hoodie at Eddie Bauer for $18, more than half its original price. Picked up good clothes at the Loft, a plain straight black skirt and soft tan and yellow plaid pants. 

Had lunch at Friendly's pretty much by default. The only other restaurant there is Starbucks. Unlike December, they weren't busy at all, and never got busy. We shared their new mini mozzarella sticks. She had the broccoli cheddar soup and BLT I had last time. I had tomato soup and a tasty turkey club. Since it was Friendly's, we had to go for ice cream, too. I had a dish of Viennese Mocha Chunk. She had cookie dough in a cone. 

Hit Columbia after lunch, since they're a few doors down from Friendly's and Eddie Bauer. Jess looked at a puffy aqua coat, but said she'd just bought one. I finally found slippers. They're red and black checked moccasins, and they are the warmest things I've ever worn. They were intended for men, so they're a tad big for me, but that's ok with slippers. We peeked at Toys and Socks and Go! Games and Toys, but neither of us are exactly desperate for toys right now.

Our next stop was Ollie's Bargain Outlet in Deptford across from the mall. I've seen these around, but had never checked one out. Basically, it's the same idea as Ocean Job Lots and Big Lots - they sell damaged goods and overstocks. There was so much of everything jammed haphazardly onto sagging shelves, including an extensive book section. I ended up with a huge coffee table overview of the 20th century, a jar of apple butter, and a pair of sleep socks. Jessa bought tea and a t-shirt. 

Jess drove us to the Woodbury Goodwill after we left Ollie's. I did slightly better here than I did last October. Dug out two records, the K-Tel love song collection Together and a 70's soft rock collection from Warners, Rockin' Gently, and two CDs, the original London cast of Oliver! (I've had the movie soundtrack for years) and a collection of jazz greats from Verve Records. I also picked up a good dark red blouse with a gray and black paisley print and pearl-trimmed cuffs.

After Jess dropped me off, I took everything upstairs and got organized, they took a big load of clothes down to the laundry. I did some job searching after that, breaking for dinner and Match Game '79 at 7 PM. For some reason, they skipped ahead to the next week with Jack Jones and Loni Anderson. The first episode had Brett walking off the set in protest of "cannon ball" not matching. In the second, Gene auctioned off a poster of Loni in a bathing suit at the beginning of the episode. Charles won it and proudly displayed it for the rest of the show.

Took a shower and brought my laundry upstairs, then finished the night on YouTube with my own African American Greats marathon. One of my favorite singers Lena Horne appeared at least twice on the original early 60's Password. In the episode I have here, she wipes the floor with playwright Abe Burrows, making it to the Lightning Round at least three times compared to his one. 

Sammy Davis Jr., another favorite of mine, loved anything that would get him in the spotlight. He was the Mystery Guest on What's My Line several times, and he never could hide his voice. His talent was  unmistakable. Dorothy Kilgalien, who may have reviewed his shows, gets him here. I also loved his response to a comment on Frank Sinatra - "I take the fifth!"

Whoopi Goldberg was one of the first black women to headline a game show in the late 90's-early 2000's Hollywood Squares. I went with their 500th episode from 2001. Joining Goldberg here are Wendie Malick, Star Jones, Maury Povich, Brad Garrett, Richard Lewis, Kathie Griffith, Kate Jackson, and Big Bird. (And at least Big Bird got host Tom Berganon's name right.) 

Comedian Scoey Michillll made many appearances on Match Game, but he claimed he was happier appearing with his wife Claire on Tattletales. Given how well they do in this early episode from 1974, I'll believe it. Claire has a terrific but very long story about what happened when she got locked out of their hotel room once and couldn't wake up Scoey. 

Singer and actor Clifton Davies was appearing on the short-lived sitcom That's My Mama when he turned up on this 1975 episode of Match Game. He'd be better-known later as the younger preacher on another sitcom, Amen. Here, he shows off the smooth persona he'd have for years dealing with gossip queen Rona Barrett and a frisky Betty White. 

Brian Stokes Mitchell is now a Broadway star, but he started out on TV as one of the doctors on Trapper John MD. He showed the creativity and dexterity that continues to make him a stage favorite in a 1984 episode of Body Language. Not only did he and his contestant handily beat Phyllis Diller (who is no slouch with physical comedy herself), but they managed to become one of only two pairs to get all the words and make it through the entire bonus round.

Wayne Brady was the second comedian to take over a CBS game show after Drew Carey. He started doing the revived Let's Make a Deal in 2009, and his show has been paired with The Price Is Right in daytime ever since. I went with the Valentine's Day episode from 2013 here, showcasing cute heart or cupcake-themed costumes. A fairy princess in a pretty peach gown made a big win on a race game that had her choosing cards. If she chose hearts or clubs, she could get a car or the computer she badly wanted. Let's say her Valentine's Day wound up being very sweet indeed. A gnome and his heart wife originally won a ski vacation, but traded it in for the Big Deal of the Day. They didn't get that, but they did go home with some nice furniture anyway. 

Celebrate Black History Month with these game show greats!

What's My Line? (1959)

Password (1963)

Tattletales (1974)

Match Game (1975)

Body Language (1984)

Hollywood Squares (2001)

Let's Make a Deal (2013)

Living One Day at a Time

Began the morning with breakfast and Prime Time Musicals. I ran into this Varasae Sarabande musical collection on eBay in late 2020 and was very intrigued. As per the title, this one takes songs from rare TV musicals. Some are lost; others, like the Barry Manilow movie Copacabana and the Gene Kelly live action/animation hybrid Jack and the Beanstalk, are available but just aren't seen that often. 

I really wish more of these were easier to find. I've dug up two of them, High Tor and the Cole Porter Aladdin, on YouTube, and found the soundtrack for On the Flip Side at Innergroove. Some of my favorites remain elusive, though. I love "One Hand Tied Behind My Back" from the western No Man Can Tame Me, the very sweet "Listen to Your Heart" from Pinocchio featuring Mickey Rooney in the title role, and the lovely "Ride On a Rainbow" from Ruggles of Red Gap. The most famous number here is probably "Love and Marriage," originally written for a musical version of Our Town but now best known as the theme from Married...With Children. 

No trouble with Uber today. Got the ride there in 4 minutes. The ride home said 7, but I don't think it took anywhere near that long. No traffic anywhere.

It was all at the Acme. We were much busier today. I mainly pushed carts, enjoying the gorgeous sunshine, searingly blue sky, and windless mid-40's temperatures. I did get called to bring trash from the produce department to the compactor at one point, which didn't make me happy. The boxes of watermelon rinds and wilted lettuce leaves were huge, heavy, and made my bad wrist sore. One was so big and hard to lift, I finally gave up on it and asked a manager to find someone who could lift it. Grabbed soda and used an online coupon for macarons on the way out.

The Match Game marathon started early today. It had been going on for over 2 hours when I got home. Dick Martin was in the spotlight in honor of his birthday on January 30th. Martin started in early 1975 and quickly became one of the show's more popular semi-regulars. He wasn't the best at matching, but his quick wit and good nature made him a favorite with panelists and viewers alike.  

He was also one of the few men to sit in all three seats. He usually turned up in the first seat, especially during the CBS run, but he occasionally could be found on Brett's other side when Charles was out appearing in or directing a play. Brett adored him and thought he was too cute for words. He was so popular,  he was one of three men who replaced Richard Dawson in the fifth "smart guy" seat during the syndicated run.

Dick's goofy sense of humor could occasionally get a little too pointed. He was censored twice during the original show's run, the second time for an answer that would have overly offended a celebrity. He was there for Richard Dawson's last week before he finally quit in 1978. His wife Dolly happily joined in for a classic 1979 episode that saw an overly excited contestant chase Gene Rayburn around the room, before Nipsey Russell grabbed her for a squeeze! He was around during that week with Foster Brooks that was on last week, and the one with Barbara Rhodes that was just on Buzzr not long ago. Later in syndication, he sat in Charles' seat during that wild week with Sharon Farrell and Betty White and saw Eva Gabor and Elaine Joyce lean over McLean Stevenson and constantly shove their assets in his face.

He did a memorable week on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, the first week of 1984. Got to admire Alison Arngrin's classy black suit and hat and see a very young Butch Hartman, later creator of The Fairly Oddparents, try for $30,000. He made his last Match Game appearance in 1991, sitting next to Dolly (who appeared more often on that version) one more time. 

Say good-night Dick to one of Hollywood's party kings in this hilarious, extra-long marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Dick Martin's Top Episodes

(I also heard from Jessa and Karen earlier in the evening. Jessa and I will be getting together to go shopping at the Blackwood Outlets tomorrow. Karen's going to see if she can help me with that cover letter I can't figure out before we get together again.) 

Since the marathon began and ended early, I finished the night at Buzzr. Every weekend night this month, they'll be spotlighting great African-Americans who either played on a game show, or appeared as a guest or on a panel. Buzzr also honored tonight's Grammys with the Family Feud "All Star Grammy Greats" week from 1989. Among those playing for the "Sensational Sisters" were Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight (sans the pips). The Magnificent Males included Luther Vandross, Bobby McFarrin (whose "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a massive hit that year), and rock legend Little Richard. The members of Manhattan Transfer split between the two groups. 

Vandross and McFarrin tried hard, but they were no match for sisters working together. The ladies wiped the floor with the guys, winning four times to their one. They made it to the Fast Money twice in the episodes I watched and won once. The guys only made it once, but they did win that one time. Little Richard seemed kind of out of it and wasn't great at the game, but everyone else had a terrific time, and these episodes were a blast to watch. 

Blondes and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Piglet's Big Movie. I go further into this sweet retelling of three original Pooh stories featuring his porcine buddy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Piglet's Big Movie

Headed out even before the movie ended. No trouble with Uber today at all. The one going to work arrived in 5 minutes. The driver going home originally said 4 minutes, but I think he barely took two minutes. The fact that it was a gorgeous day, sunny and in the upper 40's with no wind, probably helped. 

Not a whole lot going on in the floral department, either. I think we did a lot of it last week for that corporate visit. I helped the floral manager put some of those pink hydrangea plants from yesterday into fancy bags. I made plastic containers of rose buds that were too wilted to use for bouquets, but too good to get rid of. They'll be used for weddings or other events involving rose petals. I made two single rose bud arrangements today, a yellow one with the floral manager's help and a red one on my own after she left. I swept up the floral department, mopped the floor, and took a trash bag in the back. 

I'm still having trouble with balloons. Apparently, all inflated birthday balloons were taken down in favor of Valentine's Day balloons. That would be great, if Valentine's Day wasn't next week. Birthdays happen every day. At least three people asked to inflate birthday balloons after the floral manager left. I'm still really nervous about doing it. I had to ask a front end manager for help. 

Went straight home after work and into the shower. Finished Piglet's Big Movie after I got out, then had dinner while watching today's Match Game Saturday marathon. Dick Martin was originally supposed to be in the spotlight tonight for his birthday on the 30th, but for some reason, YouTube cut off his marathon. MGP switched it to Elaine Joyce instead. Fine by me. The last time there was a marathon based around Elaine in September, I was on vacation and missed half of it. 

Actress and dancer Elaine Joyce pretty much ran the gamut on the series, sitting in all three women's spots at one time or another. She started early in 1973 with her husband Bobby Van and appeared straight through to the end of the syndicated era. Elaine could get annoyingly ditzy when she turned up early on, but by 1976, motherhood had mellowed out some of her goofier tendencies. 

She did love showing off her fashionable wardrobe. She and Mitzi McCall wore matching brief floral tops (Elaine's was a halter top) during that week in 1974 that also featured Don Adams. She helped out with Evie, the shiest and most nervous contestant to ever appear on the show, in 1975. Later that year, she turned up on that hilarious week with Bill Macy. She was also on the week in syndication where Jack Klugman sat in for his wife Brett in order to avoid paying alimony and strutted her stuff with Gene later in 1981 to show off her slender body in very early 80's peach tunic and fluffed hair.

Dance into winter with the blond bombshell of game shows in this very funny marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Featuring Elaine Joyce's Top 20 Episodes

No Shadow for the Groundhog

First of all, no, Phil didn't see his shadow. It may be cold and cloudy now, but considering it's supposed to be in the 50's by this time next week, I'll believe that early spring prediction. I'm already seeing sprouts in a few places.

Began a late morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "It's Love Day!" and Daniel is giving valentines to all his friends to show his love. He's having a harder time figuring out who gave him the boat-themed valentine, though. "Daniel's Love Day Surprise" is hiding valentines for his Grandpere to find. He's upset when his little sister Margaret finds one first, but Grandpere reminds him playing along is her way of showing she cares. Mrs. Tiger's way of showing love is to bake her family a delicious heart-shaped vegetable pizza.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. No trouble whatsoever with Uber today. It looked like it rained early this morning, and again during the afternoon while I was at work, but it was fine when I was going there and back. Getting there took 4 minutes; going home took 7 at the height of rush hour.

No trouble at work, either. I spent the afternoon helping the floral manager put out the dozens of flowering plants she got for Valentine's Day and watered every single one of them. This was harder than it sounds. Many of the flowers were already packed in bags for the holiday or in hard-to-reach places. I had to pull the bags off to get the water in, or stretch to reach them. Put the smaller balloons on sticks on a rack made for them. I think they're supposed to go in bouquets, but they're mostly popular with kids who want a balloon but either can't afford or don't have the room for the big ones. 

Got my schedule during lunch. I'm back to the same low hours I had before this week, which is what I expected. The only reason I got the amount of hours I did this week was because of the corporate visit. Disappointed that I only have one day in floral next week, but I also have three days off. I might see if I can use the rest of that gift card I got for Christmas and go see Argylle. 

Did grocery shopping after that. I mainly needed to restock yogurt. Took advantage of online coupons to pick up the Oiko Triple Zero four-pack. Grabbed a few apples and bagels for lunch next week. It was expensive, but I still wanted coconut milk.

After I got home, I went straight into Jack Frost for Groundhog's Day while I looked up jobs. I went further into this Rankin-Bass special about the title character wanting to be human at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in February 2020. 

Happy Groundhog's Day! - Jack Frost

 

Did a little writing next. Joyce tries to get across the poppy field, but they're too strong. They're too strong for Rover and Avery, too. Richard and Charles are able to carry Joyce and Rover away from the poppies, but they'll need help with big Avery...

Broke for dinner and Match Game '79 at 7 PM. They're into the first week with Foster Brooks and Lorna Patterson that ran on the YouTube marathon last Saturday. In the first episode, Dick Martin is nervous about doing "In Your __" in the Head-to-Head, while Lorna is happy to match a question about what orthopedics are needed by an elderly stripper. The second one had Foster joking about why he appreciates St. Bernards while the others try to answer "The Cheap ___" in the Audience Match. (Which prompts a few comments from Dick about what he really thought of his stint hosting the supremely weird and short-lived The Cheap Show.) 

Finished the night with more WKRP In Cincinnati. Bailey is enamored of "The Painting" that Herb wins in a church auction. She tries to buy it off him, but he wants to sell it for more money. Bailey and Les finally figure out how to turn the tables on him when he learns it originally belonged to a rich family.

Arthur's speech about radio history prompts the other staff members to drift into their own "Daydreams." Herb and Jennifer's dreams get into Dynasty-esque soap opera turf. Les imagines himself and Bailey as determined news reporters during World War II. Andy wonders what it would be like if he were a mob boss and could actually get everyone at the station to listen to him (or help Jennifer with her request to eliminate Herb). Bailey dreams of life with Johnny Fever, while Johnny imagines himself as a concert promoter and Venus dreams he's a stand-up comic. 

Herb's "Frog Story" goes sideways when he accidentally spray paints his daughter's beloved frog pink and has to try to help bring it back to life. The others somehow get him a foot doctor instead of a veterinarian. Meanwhile, Les somehow inflates Johnny's basic cold into several life-threatening diseases.

"Venus and the Man" has the evening DJ recruited by his worried mother to keep a young man from quitting school. The kid doesn't see the value in education. Venus reminds him that there's always a way to learn when he recalls his own days as a teacher and uses street terms to teach the young man about splitting atoms. 

Adventures On the Air

Began the morning with breakfast and Care Bears Family. Grams tells Hugs the story of "The Most Ancient Gift" to assure the boy cub that he doesn't need a fancy present for his sister. King Champ wanted to bring a priceless necklace to seal his alliance with King Brave Heart, but Beastly and Shreeky try to steal it and break their truce. Champ finally learns that it's not the price of the gift that matters, it's the love behind it when he ends up giving something very special to him. Bright Heart gets into "Ski Trouble" when he goes skiing alone, rather than wait for Champ, and Beastly and Shreeky go after him. 

Headed out to run errands on the bike after that. My first stop was PNC Bank to take out money. Went inside, used the ATM machine, went back out with no trouble.

Headed down to Westmont to check out a few stores next. Most of the Valentine's Day decorations they had at Westmont Party were cardboard hangings I really can't use right now. Had more luck at Samaritan Thrift. Picked up a sage-green mock turtleneck, a birthday card for my stepsister Jessa (whose birthday is next week), and the book The Kitchen Front, about four women competing for a co-hosting spot on a BBC radio cooking show in World War II England. 

Despite nearly an hour's worth of searching, I didn't do nearly as well across the street at Phidelity Records. I only came up with The Best of Manhattan Transfer and the original cast album for The Pajama Game. At least they were two dollars and one dollar respectively.

Headed down Haddon Avenue, dodging early rush hour traffic as I made my way to Sprouts. They were having good sales on Hint flavored water (two bottles for a dollar!) and bags of huge, sweet tangerines. Kind granola bars were buy one, get one 50 percent off. Got more Zevia soda (only three this time, as they weren't on sale) and decided I wanted to try their lemon coconut cookies. 

Made one last stop at the pretzel shop on the White Horse Pike for lunch. Once again, I went in, bought an "original" pepperoni-stuffed pretzel and a regular pretzel, and headed out.

Had lunch while finishing out the WKRP In Cincinnati disc. Andy's attempt to land the Vicky Von Vichy advertising account at the "Hotel Ocean View" gets hotter than he originally planned when he can't get the projector used for his speech to work, Herb discovers that Vicky's assistant is not what she seems, and Arthur wonders if their bartender is actually the Dayton Poisoner. 

Herb's not thrilled about jury duty, but Andy convinces him to do it while he tries to finally get some of their accounts to actually pay them. He assigns Venus to take his role as program director. The trio all learn how hard it is to walk "A Mile In My Shoes" when Herb takes charge of the jury and finds out how hard it is to be a leader, Andy either can't get their small-time accounts to pay or is conned out of it, and Venus ends up programming nothing but R&B hits. 

Since I did "Bah Humbug!" at Christmas, I skipped to another winter episode, "Baby It's Cold Inside." Johnny Fever's idea of warming up when the heat's out at the station is to down a fifth of whiskey. He ends up sharing it with Jennifer, and Mama Carlson gets more than her share...which makes both more than a little frisky.

Did some job hunting for a while, then worked on writing. Joyce attempts to run across the poppy field, but the scent is too overpowering. She finally passes out...and vaguely hear Richard and Charles attempt to lift her, then the lion, before calling for help.

Broke for dinner and Match Game '79 at 7 PM. Charles is so confident that his answer to "Seeing __" will be at the top of the Audience Match, he stands in front of the board when it's being revealed. Later, Scoey gets upset that Fannie will give a goofy answer when the contestant sorely needs the match. (For the record, she didn't. And considering I can count the amount of times Scoey matched on one hand - including this episode - he's hardly one to talk.) Brett tries to defuse the situation with a stripping routine.

Finished the night with music on Hoopla. The collections of lesser-known material from musicals and albums performed by stage stars Veresae Sarabande released on CD in the 90's seem to have migrated there. I started with Michelle Nicastro's Toonful, a collections of songs from various animated musicals. Most of them were well-known standards from Disney animated films. The reason I rented this one was for "Betty Boop," a hilarious number about the famous 30's cartoon cutie that I've never heard anywhere else. There was also a very cute medley of songs from vintage TV cartoons, including Casper the Friendly Ghost, The Flintstones, Magilla Gorilla, and Mighty Mouse.

I've had the CD version of Unsung Musicals II for almost 20 years. I originally found it at a CD store in Ocean City, and it remains my favorite of the Unsung Musicals series. The adorable "Everything In the World I Love" from a failed musical version of The Yearling and the ballad "Smashing New York Times," on most performers' desire for good reviews, from the one-night disaster A Broadway Musical are my favorites here. Other good ones include "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" from the short-lived magic show Merlin, the hilarious "That Man Is Doing His Worst to Make Good" from an even shorter-lived stage version of Carnival In Flanders, "The Memory of Tonight" from a stage musical Arthur that has yet to play the US, and the lovely title song of Roadside.