Pink Cookies for a Blue Lady

Began the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. Lambie gets jealous when Doc pays more attention to her new heart toy Val than her on Valentine's Day in "My Huggy Valentine." Doc assures her that she'll always be her favorite girl, no matter how many toys she gets. As a teddy bear collector with allergies, I really appreciate "Dusty Bear." Doc can't figure out why her brother Donnie won't play with his beloved bear Teddy B, until she realizes how dusty he is. A good spin in the wash eliminates the dust and keeps Donnie from sneezing.

Pluto is frustrated when no one at the garage will play with him in Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures. Mickey accidentally tosses his Frisbee into a tree in the park, knocking out a bird's nest. The three baby seagulls become attached to their "Papa Pluto." Pluto quickly learns a lesson in responsibility when  he has to keep the trio from wrecking havoc in the garage, then find their mother. The Happy Helpers are "Happy Valentine Helpers" when they roll out their trailer to make Valentines for everyone. Daisy thinks that a huge order is from Donald and uses the Super Charger to make him something incredible. They both learn it's the thought that counts when he rescues her after her gift goes out of control.

I wanted to make the strawberry-white chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day next, but I put too much oil in. They ended up spreading too much and looking more like strawberry pancakes. Oh well. I'd still give them to my niece and nephew, to a neighbor's daughter, and to a friend and her daughter. 

Rounded up my Valentine's cards that go out in the mail and the treat bags for Khai and Finley (along with the pet treats for their dogs and cats I forgot at Christmas) and headed out for a short walk. Dropped the cards in the mail box, then strolled down West Clinton to Common Grounds Coffee House. By 4 PM, they were full to capacity with college students doing homework and friends chatting over lattes. I ended up in a chair by the door. At least I was able to eat my small spinach feta pastry and most of the banana, and the Violet London Fog tea drink wasn't too sweet and did indeed taste of violet. 

Headed back to the White Horse Pike after I dropped the bag of goodies at Rose's front steps. I realized I'd forgotten three cards, so I stopped at Family Dollar. Thankfully, there was no trouble this time, despite it being almost as busy as the coffee house. I went in, got three cards for my neighbor, my friend, and her daughter, and got out.

By the time I was back on the White Horse Pike, snow had begun to drift softly down from the slate-gray sky. Though it wasn't windy, it was very cold, barely in the 30's. Between the weather and the fact that my stomach is still off, this was no day to linger. I went straight home. 

Went online and watched the 1947 movie New Orleans next. I go further into this historical romance about Louis Armstrong and the birth of the blues in the Big Easy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

New Orleans (1947)

Watched Match Game '91 when the movie ended. The first week of 1991 brought Charles Nelson Reilly back from vacation, along with Tom Villard and Pam Stone. Sally Struthers plugs her role as the voice of businesswoman and single mom Rebecca Cunningham in one of my favorite cartoons of the early 90's, the Disney action comedy Tale Spin. 

Got a call while the show was on. It was from the JC Penney at the Cherry Hill Mall. I'd applied for a receptionist job at their hair salon. Apparently, it was already closed, but they were interested in me for a saleswoman job. No. Absolutely not. Nice of them, but I want out of retail period. I don't mind manning their desk, but I'm not selling anything. I told her to keep me in mind if another receptionist job opened. 

Switched to Lost In Boston III while working on the New Orleans review. I love the Lost In Boston CD series, which covers songs that were cut from shows that made Broadway. By far my favorite here is the hilarious "Mama's Talkin' Soft" from Gypsy, performed by two little girls as in the original concept. This fast-paced number basically says Louise and June have seen their mother seduce guys and likely will again, and it's so good, it's since been restored to several productions. Other good numbers include "Travelin' Light" from Guys and Dolls, "Older and Wiser" from Bye Bye Birdie, "Big Fat Heart" from Seesaw, and the touching "Pink Taffeta Sample Size 10" from Sweet Charity. 

Finished the night with The Very Best of Vaughan Monroe. Though Monroe and his band were active well into the 50's, they did most of their best work during and after the war years. Among his hits were his theme "Racing With the Moon," the ballad "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," "Dance, Ballerina, Dance," "Ghost Riders In the Sky," and the later "The Duckworth Chant." Today, he's probably best-known for introducing the holiday standard "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" 

Oh, and as Monroe pointed out, it has indeed continued to snow for most of the evening. I was feeling a bit blue myself about the cookie mess, my upset stomach, the job rejection, and a few other things, which made the arrival of my tax return today very welcome. I probably won't have the time to do much with it until next week, but I do need a new cell phone.

And I have no intention of seeing the Eagles parade in Philly on Friday. I've taken enough time off work lately, the floral department manager will need the help, and I'm not up to wandering around among the crowds. Not to mention, I really have no desire to get crushed, and public transportation will probably be packed to the rafters. 

Flowers and Games

Started off the morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers. An Elmer Fudd-like Cupid spreads love among the Toons, sending an amorous dame after detective Daffy and Pepe Le Pew into the Foreign Legion. Bugs thinks he's meddling. He's just as good at marrying off the Tasmanian Devil and keeping Yosemite Sam from marrying Granny for her money. Cupid throws an enormous Hungarian bunny after him to prove his point.

Took Uber to work, since my stomach continues to be off. No trouble there. The morning drive arrived in 4 minutes, the afternoon in 11. No traffic on the road or problems getting anywhere. 

Considering the way my stomach felt, it's probably just as well that I spent the day in the back storage area, helping the floral department manager load bouquets for Valentine's Day into buckets. My biggest problem was figuring out how to load the huge sprayer machine we used to fill the buckets, and how much water to put on it. I couldn't get the nozzle on right. I kept getting myself wet. And no matter what I did, those buckets always seemed to have too little or too much water. 

Other than that, everything went fine. I'd fill the buckets, and the floral department manager or the other two women who are helping her this week would take them up front. After they all left, I hurried to bring the remaining flowers up to the front and finish everything before my shift ended. I mainly did roses, but in the last two hours, I also pulled out chrysanthemums, carnations, and dyed mums and daisies, which were all in the same large boxes together.

Needed a few more things after work that I didn't pick  up yesterday. In addition to grabbing more ginger ale and ginger lemon soda, I got real ginger and lemon to make into ginger lemon tea. Picked up two last Valentines to send out and a gift card for Jessa, whose birthday is Wednesday. 

Once I got home, I took the laundry downstairs, had dinner and watched Match Game '90. The week with Rebecca Arthur and Bill Kirkenbauer got really exciting when a guy picked up over $20,000. Jo Anne Worley joined Charles, goofy soap star Jacklyn Zemen, and a far more subdued than usual Jimmie Walker in the next week. If you grew up when I did, you'll remember stand-up comic Roger Behr as the voice of McDonald's mascot Mac Tonight and two of the original Transformers. 

(Oh, and while I've seen it on YouTube, Buzzr just posted episode 7 of Match Game '73 there in a much better quality with some of the buzzing issues that's plagued that episode for decades fixed and the last five minutes or so of the episode, including its original commercials, intact.)

Finished the night on YouTube after I brought the laundry back up with dating and relationship game shows. The gold standard for dating shows is The Dating Game. This Chuck Barris creation ran from 1965 through 1973 on ABC and has been seen frequently in syndication thereafter. The premise is simply one bachelorette asks three bachelors hidden behind a screen questions. The one whose answers she likes the most is the one she's going out with. Though later episodes became known for the many celebrities who appeared on it looking for dates (both before they were famous and during the height of their fame), I went with their early Valentine's Day special from 1967 that sticks with normal contestants and a better view of the original format.

Tattletales and The Newlywed Game were hit variations on "couples tell all" games. Main difference was celebrities played Tattletales, while more couples got involved in Newlywed. I remember catching the 1986 Newlywed Game revival occasionally when I was a kid, though I didn't understand much of it then. Check out the brief square dance one of the couples do! After having enjoyed seeing Get On Up again last week, I thought I'd watch an episode of Tattletales featuring the real James and Deidre Brown. The real winners here were regular couples George Hamilton and his wife Alana and combative Charlie Brill and his wife Mitzi McCall.

Kids tried to get in on the dating games in the NBC Saturday morning show Double Up from 1992. Here, two sisters and brothers ask the questions to find dates for their siblings. Whomever isn't chosen ends up in the dumpster. Um, no. Kids are way too young for this sort of thing, and frankly it's more creepy and obnoxious than fun. J.D Roth tries to make the whole thing a lot less offensive. 

Some adults had trouble with dating shows, too. Bzzz! from 1996 starts with a woman choosing a man from behind three screens, then asking them more questions to whittle down the choices to one. The two couples come back at the end of the show to answer a series of questions where they raise signs to see if they're compatible with one another. Certainly fast-paced, with a very late-90's in-your-face set and a rare energetic female host in Annie Wood. Wood, however, can get annoying fast, and the last round comes off as silly and unnecessary. This doesn't seem to have ever worked, not in syndication or when Buzzr ran it briefly during the first half of 2020.

The GSN show Baggage from 2010 could get even meaner. Here, the lady has to choose between three men carrying literal suitcases that hold their real-life secrets. When she decides on one, they have to decide if her secret is too much baggage to keep her. I suspect Jerry Springer being the host for this show was one of the primary reasons for its successful two-year run. It's not really that exciting, but if anyone knows how to keep a show about trashy secrets moving, it's a guy who used to host a show about trashy secrets for a living. 

Charles Nelson Reilly had his own problems dealing with Sweethearts in 1989. This is basically The Newlywed Game crossed with To Tell the Truth. Three couples claim to have met in unusual ways. The celebrity panel has to guess which is the real couple. Reilly was a lot of fun on Match Game and elsewhere, but his braying voice and mincing manner were all wrong for hosting a game show, and none of the couples or their stories were all that interesting or unique. Neither this nor its original British version from 1987 lasted more than a few months. 

See how crazy relationships can get with these outrageous and provocative episodes! 

The Dating Game Valentine's Special (1967)

Tattletales (1975)

The New Newlywed Game (1986)

Sweethearts (1989)

Double Up (1992) 

Bzzz! (1996)

Baggage (2010)

And here's the upgraded Match Game '73 episode from Buzzr, featuring the only Waltons actors to appear on the show, Michael Lerned and Richard Thomas! 

Match Game #7 (1973) 

Match Bowl Champions

Got a quick start today with breakfast and another Goofy sports short. Goofy shows "How to Play Football" in a hilarious take on gridiron rivalries that's one of his funniest shorts. It's Taxidermy Tech vs. Anthropology A&M in an absolutely insane fight to the finish. Taxidermy elects to keep its star player off the field until the last minute...but when he's run over by the competition, his coach has to revive him pronto!

Called for Uber. My stomach is still really off, even if the rest of me feels fine. Not to mention, I wasn't sure what the roads would be like by 4:30 or so on Super Bowl day. I'm actually glad I did. The lady going there arrived within 7 minutes, wore an Eagles jacket, was in a great mood, and said she'd given her family's vintage one to a nephew who appreciated it. The guy going home came in 11 minutes and at least dodged the traffic on the White Horse Pike. 

She wasn't the only one in a good mood. Everyone at work was really happy today, from my co-workers to the customers to the Girl Scouts who sold cookies by the front door. I saw every variation on Eagles gear existing, including on the Girl Scouts! It was awesome. This was the most cheerful our customers have been since Christmas. People really wanted this win. And there were a lot of them. We were really busy today. I needed help doing the front trash, which was overflowing because I hadn't had the time to get to it. At least the Sunday bagger and afternoon bagger were there to help out. The weather could have been worse, too. It was windy and cold, but the clouds that were out this morning had broken up by the time I finished.

I even ran into Rose and Finley around noon, the latter toting a stuffed black kitty. Rose invited me over to her house for the Super Bowl. I would have loved to, but I didn't think my stomach would be up to it. I declined and later texted her that I'd be bringing her kids Valentine's treats later in the week.

Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 4 PM that I had no trouble doing my own grocery shopping. In fact, I mainly went to work for Mylanta. Grabbed lots of ginger ale, ginger lemon soda, and lemon-lime soda, both prebiotic and regular zero Sprite. Restocked granola bars, yogurt, and bagels for this week. Bought white chocolate chips to make strawberry white chocolate chip cookies, which I intend to give out for Valentine's Day.

When I got home, I went straight into the shower, then got a little dinner and went upstairs. Puttered online while watching It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown is less concerned about the outcome of the big game and more about escorting the Little Red Haired Girl, the school's homecoming queen, after the game. Too bad he's the kicker and Lucy's holding the ball...

Switched to the game on Tubi after the cartoon ended. First of all, more Super Bowls ought to be in New Orleans. The National Anthems were played by Dixieland and jazz musicians, and they were terrific. Second, this was an amazing game. The Eagles took the reigns from the very first and ran with them. They sacked Patrick Mahommes six times, including a strip-sack, got five turnovers, and got points on two interceptions. In fact, I was disappointed that the Chiefs didn't really wake up until the third quarter. They're a genuinely good team. They did finally manage to get points on the board, but it wasn't enough to out-run the Eagles. The Eagles won the Super Bowl 40-22. 

(And I heard they literally flooded the streets elbow-to-elbow and climbed garbage trucks in Philly! All we got here in the South Jersey suburbs were fireworks and a lot of cheering.)

Went back and forth between the game and the Match Game marathon on YouTube after that started, then finished the night with the marathon. Gene Rayburn loved his fancy suits, and some of them could get pretty lavish. His two most (in)famous were likely the god-awful green and red plaid and the gray checked with the pink bow tie that Brett and Pat Harrigan joked made him look like half of a vaudeville team. There was also the tuxedo with the very flashy gold and black vest made from a piece of fabric he apparently got in China. He was especially proud of a pair of wingtip shoes he wore on several occasions.

Gene occasionally went casual, too, notably the episode when he sported a turtleneck and jacket. Betty White rolled up his pants legs, revealing plaid socks. He ended up giving them to a woman in the audience. Richard helped him with his shoes. He wore red suede shoes on a later PM episode. Brett sported a black velvet gown that Charles joked made her look like an opera diva. The Audience Match got really wild when Richard Paul, Brett, and Charles sang "The Eyes of Texas" as an answer to the "The Eyes of __" and the contestant ended up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap. 

Some of the fashion on the syndicated shows could get pretty interesting as well. Ted Lange once came on an episode and demanded Fred Grandy give him his suit back, leading Fred to strip on the air. Gene stripped once, too, when the panelists complained about his bland gray suit. McLean Stevenson borrowed a suit jacket from Gene, and then a blue one when he didn't like the plaid. He didn't do much better with Ted dressing him in a white suit and cowboy hat that made him look like he'd gotten lost on the way to the set of Dallas. As Brett said several times during the suit coat incident, he had no flair for fashion. 

Check out some of the most fashionable suits and memorable fashion disasters of the 70's and early 80's in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Best Dressed and Fancy Suits on Match Game

Matches at Home

While I did manage to sleep through the night this time, when I woke up at 7:30, my stomach was still queasy and I had a massive headache. I called out again. I don't think the manager was too happy, since the head bagger apparently called out for a funeral as well, but I wasn't quite up to pushing carts and sweeping floors yet. I'll go in tomorrow to help with the Super Bowl crowds regardless of how my stomach feels.

Went back to sleep, then read The Fairy Godmother and wrote in my journal. Put on the 2018 Muppet Babies when I got moving and had a little Cream of Wheat and sliced bananas for breakfast. Gonzo is upset when he doesn't find any valentines in his cubby, so he becomes Dr. Meanzo and declares it "Happy Villain-tine's Day!" The others try to stop him from destroying their valentines. Gonzo and Summer are the proud parents of the narwhal bride and potato groom in "My Best Toy's Wedding." Summer is ready to call things off when Gonzo insists on doing everything his way, until Nanny and the others remind him that relationships are about compromise.

The original 1984 Muppet Babies also did a Valentine's episode (in fact, their only holiday episode). Nanny gives the kids Valentine's cookies, but Rolf's is missing. When he disappears as well, the other Muppets make valentines in their own ways to cheer him up in "Be My Muppet Valentine."

Went to Tubi next for the Golden Films Beauty and the Beast. I go further into this 1992 take on the French fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Beauty and the Beast (1992) 

Puttered around online until the Match Game marathon began. This show was even more fun when a married or dating couple was on the panel. The first in 1973 was Dick Gautier and his then-wife Barbara Stuart. Brett Somers appeared with her husband Jack Klugman for three weeks in 1973. They spent most of those three weeks fighting, which is one of the many reasons they got divorced (or separated, depending on who you talk to). By 1978, they were no longer together. That didn't stop the others from holding a mock wedding for them, or them from arguing over the existence of Hallmark Hall of Fame. 

Other couples were less combative. Patti Deusch and her writer husband Donald Ross appeared together for a memorable week in 1974 that also included some very funny answers from the all-time winner at that point Janet Finn. Married dancers Elaine Joyce and Bobby Van made occasional appearances together from 1973 through 1975, including the week in 1973 where they sat next to each other on the upper tier. Richard Dawson tried to keep Gene from drooling over his then-girlfriend Jody Donvan when she sat with him on New Year's week 1976. Gene's beloved wife Helen occasionally turned up in the audience, including during one episode where Richard called her his fiancee. 

 No couple got more out of their appearances on the show than Betty White and Allen Ludden. They were already beloved on Password, and they had just as much fun during their first week together in 1975. Dolly Martin joined in to see Allen show off his fancy watch to anyone who would listen and go down for a talk with Gene when he said "I've had Betty" as a response to the Audience Match. The contestant said she'd belly dance if she won. The music department played the Star Spangled Banner instead, but that didn't stop Brett and Betty from demonstrating their own version of belly dancing! Allen and Betty made one final appearance in a nighttime episode in 1981 with Jimmie Walker and Jonnelle Allen. 

Along with Betty and Allen, the couple who appeared the most in syndication were Dolly and Dick Martin. They joined Nipsey Russell and Patti Deusch to witness the hilarious contestant who was so excited, she dragged Gene around the room. He hid behind his question holder after that! Nipsey, on the other hand, had no trouble running out for a squeeze! Even later on, Steve Allen and his wife Jayne Meadows appeared on one of the last weeks of Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1984.

Make a love match with some of the funniest couples to ever appear on game shows!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Couples Marathon

(Oh, and considering it poured off and on later in the day, I'm glad I called out.)

No Stomach for Viruses

I did not feel better the next morning. I spent the entire night tossing and turning. I just couldn't sleep. My stomach hurt like heck, I had chills, and my head felt worse. Oddly, I didn't feel like I had a fever, and had no problems going to the bathroom. It was mostly just my stomach. I finally decided my stomachache wasn't going to go away as quickly as I'd hoped and called out of work at 9:30. 

Spent most of the day sleeping fitfully off and on, trying to catch up on the sleep I didn't get last night. Read The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey, checked out a few short videos on YouTube I'd been waiting to be posted, and looked up my symptoms on my phone. The manager who picked up the phone when I called work said there was something going around, and I wasn't the only person who called out complaining about stomachaches. I hope it's just that.

The other problem was I just could not eat. My stomach felt too sore to get anything in it. I drank water and Propel, but could barely get down a granola bar. I couldn't eat more than a few spoonfuls of vegetable soup a friend gave me later, either. My friend said she knew family members who also had this stomach virus, a lot worse than I did! As long as I don't end up in the hospital or have to call out the whole week, I'll be fine.

Because I got a LOT of hours next week. The floral department manager needs my help with getting ready for Valentine's Day. I work more than 30 hours, and my only day off is Tuesday. (She did warn me ahead of time that this would be the case, though.) The only days I'm not in the floral department are Sunday and next Saturday.

Got up in time to watch Match Game '90. Brad Garrett and the female contestant showed just how much taller they were compared to everyone else in the first week. They were joined by Dana Fleming, Vicki Lawrence, and a noisy Richard Simmons. Meredith MacRae was doing a talk show when she made her only appearance on the show. Sally Struthers, comedian Bill Kirkenbaur, sweet Tom Villard, and Rebecca Arthur of Perfect Strangers and her beloved poodle Emmy came along here to help celebrate host Ross Shafer's birthday with hats, noisemakers, and a cake. 

Let it run into Tattletales next. I had no idea Darryl Hickman looked so cute with a beard. He was joined by his sweet then-wife Pamela Lincoln. I always love it when Scoey and Claire Mitchelll are on. They were so in tune with each other, they'd be married for over 50 years, until his death in 2022. Didn't recognize the third couple, soap star Bob Welch and his wife Ann Williams. Darryl and Pamela won the first episode. They split it with Scoey and Claire in the second.

Finished the night with The Love Boat on Paramount Plus. Captain Steubing is giddy over "The Captain's Portrait" when the artist turns out to be a beautiful woman (Lee Merriweather) who is very captured by her subject! He begins to regret letting her "paint her feelings" when the painting may be a little more scandalous than he's willing to show. A newly-married law student (Dean Butler) is horrified when he encounters an old man (Henry Jones) who owned the liquor store where, during his years as a drunk, he stole a bottle from. The man thinks he did a lot worse and threatens to ruin his career in "Familiar Faces." A young woman (Arlene Golonka) won't look twice at a man (Sonny Shroyer) who lives in her building, due to her policy against dating guys who live near her. He tries to prove they can be "Good Neighbors." 

Ain't That a Groove

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "It's Love Day!" and Daniel is looking forward to giving all the kids in class his paper hearts. They have their own way of showing him how much they care, but who left  him the boat-themed Valentine in his cubby? "Daniel's Love Day Surprise" is the arrival of Grandpere. He hides paper hearts as a special surprise for him, then gets upset when Margaret finds one first. His grandfather assures him that Margaret didn't know, and handing her brother a heart is her way of showing she cares.

Mickey Mouse creates "A Surprise for Minnie" on Valentine's Day on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He and Donald go to deliver his Valentine to Minnie and Daisy at the park. This is complicated by Pete asking for flower petals in order for them to enter the park, and then Donald realizing he totally forgot something for Daisy.

Headed out after the cartoon ended to eat and run errands. Started with the eating part. I haven't had Genova Pizza in a while. It was past 1:30, and they were pretty quiet other than one guy. They didn't have diet soda, so I grabbed water along with cheese and a square margarita pizza. Enjoyed my pizza while listening to ESPN on the TV over the counter.

Started at Target. Wanted mouthwash, but they didn't have what I usually use. I just bought a cake mix to make strawberry white chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day. Did better at Sprouts. Picked up apples, a bag of small grapefruit for 98 cents, coconut milk, cinnamon chip scones with a bakery clearance tag, and two energy sodas.

After I got home, I put everything away while watching Get On Up: The James Brown Story. I go further into this 2014 biopic of "The Godfather of Soul" with Chadwick Boseman in the title role at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Get On Up: The James Brown Story

Did writing next. Kathleen insists that she must go home. Not because she doesn't want to help Mother Nature, but because she has to get supplies and tell her boss Mrs. Rowland that she has something to do. Mother Nature encourages Sir Michael to see her home.

Watched Match Game '90 while I worked. Dolly Martin was far more commonly seen on this version than she was on the original show, with and without her husband Dick. Here, she, Charles, and Marcia Wallace are joined by Khrystyne Haje of Head of the Class, Roger E. Mosley of the original Magnum P.I, and comedian and impressionist Fred Travelena. One of Fred's many voices was Bart Simpson, and since Marcia Wallace played Bart's teacher Mrs. Krabappel on the show for many years, they couldn't resist him turning up in a Bart mask so she could scold him for not being in class.

Finished the night listening to music while working on that review. James Brown's Greatest Hits is one of the first records I bought after I started collecting them in 2006. I believe it was a yard sale find. All of his best-known songs are here, including "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," and "Please, Please, Please." These songs always bring me back to the Saturday nights I spent listening to the oldies show on a local radio station in the late 80's and early 90's. I would knot a scarf around my nightshirt and another around my head and pretend I was in the 60's when those songs were new.

Brown also turns up on my Soul Train collection, here singing "Good Foot." There's some terrific songs on this LP based around the beloved R&B and soul-based variety show. Along with Brown, we have the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose singing "Treat Her Like a Lady," "Keeper of the Castle" by the Four Tops, "Me & Mrs. Jones" by Billy Paul, "Guilty" by Al Green, "Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield, and "Everybody Plays the Fool" by Main Ingredient.

Why didn't this entry show up last night? By the time I finished my review last night, I felt absolutely dreadful. My chest burned. My stomach hurt like hell. I figured it would be easier to sleep on it and do this tomorrow than to try to do it while I felt lousy. Not to mention, it was late when I finished. I have no idea where it came from. I felt fine earlier in the day. I hit the sack and hoped to feel better tomorrow. 

Ghosts of the Planet Mongo

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Bluey. Bluey and her mother Chili use their hands as puppets to play two sisters going over "Blue Mountain." Little sister Bingo is a fairy who helps them. Dad Bandit is the "mountain." When he awakens, he joins in as a suspicious wolf luring the older sister off the path.

It was so late when I got downstairs, I took Uber. Even with the guy arriving in 7 minutes and minimal traffic, I was still two minutes late. It wasn't bad when I arrived, but by 11 AM, it picked up to the point where I had a hard time keeping up with the carts on my own. I'm the only one who works Wednesday mornings. The head bagger has Wednesday off, and none of the other baggers work mornings. At least it was only four hours, and I was in and out.

Wanted to pick up a few things, since I'm not sure if I'll get out tomorrow due to the ice storm. Had an online coupon for Cream of Wheat. Haven't had that in years. The Acme had more Slice flavors, including a grape that I hadn't seen online, and it was on sale. 

My other reason for sticking around after work was to upgrade my cell phone and renew my pre-paid service. There was a T-Mobile in the back of the Acme, or so I thought. Turns out it was Metro by T-Mobile, which is something totally different. It must have switched carriers when it moved to a larger store further down in the mall about two or so years ago. I don't see the difference. It's still owned by the same company. If it's not the same company, it shouldn't have "T-Mobile" in the name. They sold me my service and phone in 2021. Though the lady was fine, I was still embarrassed for not figuring it out. I ended up walking back to the Acme and picking up Uber from there.

(The lady said I'd have to talk to a regular T-Mobile office. The closest are in Lawnside and the Market Place shopping center in Cherry Hill. Honestly, I wonder if I ought to keep them as a carrier. I only have them because Jess did when she gave me that phone years ago and the T-Mobile had their office in the back of the Acme. There's now an AT&T and a Cricket back there, too, and a Boost Mobile on the White Horse Pike. Maybe I should do some research and see if I can find someone cheaper who'll give me less hassle.)

Got off at the Oaklyn Municipal Building across from the pretzel shop on the White Horse Pike. I figured it would be easier for the driver to drop me off in a parking lot than the tiny parking spaces on the street. They were a lot less busy than the Acme was! I had no trouble buying a cheesesteak stuffed pretzel and two regular pretzels for lunch, then walking home.

Changed and had lunch, then relaxed while watching the serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. This time, Ming (Charles Middleton) is spreading something called "The Purple Death" across Earth. Flash (Buster Crabbe), Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon), and Dale Arden (Carol Hughes) visit their friend Prince Barin (Roland Drew) at Arboria to seek solutions. Apparently, only Polarite from the planet Frigia will counter the Purple Death. Flash and Barin do manage to get Polarite and use it to stop the Purple Death, but Ming gets his hands on Dale and Zarkov. Flash and his Arborian friends return to Mongo to rescue them, then to plant a laser that will take down Ming once and for all...if they can get around the primitive Rock Men who live in the Land of the Dead and the treacherous Lady Sonja (Anne Gwynne).

I get a real kick out of these early space opera serials. Obviously, the special effects are dated and the dialogue is cheesy as heck, but that's part of the charm. Buster Crabbe so much looks like someone's idea of a square-jawed hero, it's hardly surprising that he'd play these types of roles well into the 50's. This isn't my favorite of the three, but they're all worth checking out if you love vintage science fiction or the more out-there serials.

Worked on the fairy tale next. Sir Michael doesn't trust Kathleen, who has no magic. How can she help them? Kathleen is somewhere between annoyed and starstruck - she's had a crush on Sir Michael for years. Mother Nature insists that she knows what she's doing.

Watched Match Game '90 as I worked. The next week spotlighted General Hospital. My parents loved that show in the 80's, but I couldn't tell you much about it now. Soaps bored me even in 1990. I wish I remembered Stuart Damon and his co-star Lynn Herring, as both played very well and seemed to enjoy themselves. Charles was joined by comedians Bill Kirkenbauer and Pam Stone, the latter of whom tossed out many southern jokes.

Finished the night after a shower and game show premieres on YouTube with more Mystery Science Theater 3000. Tormented from 1960 is unusually quiet for this show. Jazz pianist Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) lets his ex-girlfriend Vi (Juli Reding) fall off the railing of a dilapidated lighthouse rather than interfere with his marriage to wealthy Meg Hubbard (Lugene Sanders). He keeps seeing her everywhere after that, from footprints in the sand to a disembodied head in the lighthouse. He gets so paranoid, he'll literally kill to keep anyone from finding out...but things really get sticky when Meg's little sister Sandy (Susan Gordon) finds out and almost ends up as another victim.

Wow, this one gets dark for a 60's horror flick. They almost let a little girl and an old blind woman die. Even Joel and the robots comment on it. Like Flash Gordon, this one loses some effectiveness due to the rather ridiculous special effects that make Vi's disembodied head look more comic than scary. It doesn't help that neither Vi nor Tom are especially pleasant people who deserve pretty much everything they get. Even producer Bert I. Gordon's daughter Susan as Sandy doesn't always come off as the nicest kid. Even with the special effects problems, this is still worth seeing for those who like their horror on the quiet and creepy side, with or without robot wisecracks. 

Dolls and Sisters

Got a late start today with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "The Mole Machine" is a drill that can burrow right through the Earth. Mr. Frumble inadvertently sets it off before Mr. Fix-It can finish it, causing all kinds of problems...but also solving the traffic congestion in Busytown. "The Royal Game of Denis" is tennis, created by two bored monks who didn't want to wash their abbot's socks. The French king loves it so much, he makes it into an institution. "Now That's Progress" says Mr. Gronkle when he decides to demolish his decaying family residence and build a mall. The rest of Busytown, who use the grounds for picnics and outdoor games, disagrees and start a petition to save it.

Switched to Family Feud before finally getting around to making a few calls and texts I'd put off. I texted Jessa and told her I'd love to go out to dinner and thrift shops tonight or Friday night, since the weather is supposed to be lousy tomorrow night and Thursday. She agreed to go tonight. Didn't have nearly as much luck getting in touch with Sue at Abilities Solutions. They're apparently in the midst of finding me a new counselor and will call me when they have.

Spent the next few hours dressing the dolls for Valentine's Day and winter. The current Lunar New Year dress at American Girl is too fussy for laid-back Jessa, so she gets Ivy's Chinese New Year Dress. Samantha wears her dusky pink Talent Show Dress that's so authentic, it's based after a real dress from 1904 in a museum. Ariel is nice and warm in the floral pantsuit with the zipper turtleneck. It's not sandals weather, so I put the boots from the Calico Dress on under them. 

Josefina is pretty and romantic in the pink and magenta floral empire-waisted dress with the lace wrap and elastic collar I picked up for her on eBay years ago. Whitney's pink poodle skirt and blouse also came from eBay; her pink sweater with the pearl trim was a yard sale find. The Sweet Spring Dress from a few years ago is short enough to pass for a knitted minidress for Barbara Jean. Felicity is ready for tea ceremony lessons in her Laced Jacket and Petticoat. Molly wishes she could have something more glamorous than her plaid School Jumper and the black strap shoes she borrowed from Samantha. 

Listened to children's records while I dressed the dolls. A Golden Collection of Fairy Tales is actually something of a misnomer. Heidi is a children's book, The Owl and the Pussycat comes from a poem, and the Tortoise and the Hare is an Aesop's Fable. Jack and the Beanstalk is a severely truncated version that doesn't even give us the giant. Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks and the three Bears are much better, especially Little Red and her growly wolf. 

The Tale Spinners for Children version of Cinderella is a slightly shortened version of the Perrault story. There's no stepmother here, only two spoiled stepsisters, and Cinderella easily forgives them in the end. If it all sounds like an English pantomime, it turns out that the Tale Spinners series originated there, under the Atlas Records label. 

Beauty and the Beast and Other Stories is darker than the flat-out children's recordings, maybe because they're read by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. "Beauty" is the Villenveuve version, with the lovely lass falling for a handsome prince she keeps dreaming of and turning down the Beast's proposals. "Princess of the Glass Hill" is a male Cinderella story that's pretty close to the version on my CD set. "The Boy Who Kept a Secret" is entirely new to me. A young boy keeps his secret and won't tell anyone, not even the king, who locks him up until he does. His daughter takes pity on him and feeds him, and even helps him when the Turks invade and he's the only one who can push them back. 

After I finished with the dolls, I had a quick and late lunch while watching The Five Heartbeats. I go further into this look at a fictional male R&B group of the 60's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Five Heartbeats

Jessa picked me up promptly at 5:30. This time, we started with dinner. I've always wanted to try the Collingswood Diner, but it's on a highway in Pennsauken that's too busy for bikes to cross. They were so quiet, we thought they were closed when we first went inside. The scent of lemon-fresh cleaner didn't help there. 

Turns out, yes, they were open, but they get bigger crowds earlier in the day. Too bad. Jessa had an enormous chicken Parmesan fillet with cream of chicken soup and a giant plate of spaghetti. I had a grilled chicken BLT with fries. The grilled chicken was too dry, but the bacon was nice and crispy, and the fries were so good, Jessa snitched a few. The only other people there were a group of black men who reminded me a bit of the older Five Heartbeats near the end of the movie. 

The other reason I wanted to eat at the Collingswood Diner is it's a few blocks down from 2nd Avenue Thrift Superstore, the largest non-Goodwill thrift shop in the area. This huge old building holds shelves of everything from appliances to toys and racks and racks of clothes! I don't really need clothes right now, so I dug into the books and media. Jess bought two sweaters for work. I came up with three books:

Journeys Through ADDulthood by Sari Solden

My Life On the Road by Gloria Steinem

Briar Rose by Janet Yolen

Four CDs:

The soundtracks from Rocky IV and Toy Story 2

The original cast of the 1987 revival of Anything Goes with Patti LuPone and Howard McGillin

Stevie Nicks - The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space

And a DVD collection of four Steve McQueen movies - Bullitt, The Cincinnati Kid, Papillion, and the original The Getaway

It was past 7:30 when we finally got out of the Thrift Superstore. We drove over to Goodwill to check that out, but they close at 7. We figured that was that, and there wouldn't be much else open by almost 8 PM. She finally drove me home.

After I got in, I finished The Five Heartbeats. Ended the night with that Anything Goes revival. This was a surprise hit in 1987 at Lincoln Center. Patti LuPone takes Ethel Merman's original role as the singer Reno Sweeney who ends up helping Wall Street broker Billy Crocker avoid the cops who think and Moonface Martin, a rather lousy gangster who wants to move up from being merely Public Enemy 13. They add a hilarious "Friendship" for Reno and Moonface, "Easy to Love" (which apparently was cut from the show during rehearsals) for Billy, "It's De-Lovely," and "Goodbye Little Dream Goodbye." This really fun revival ended up outrunning the original show, and with some great performances here, it's not hard to tell why. 

Angels and Games

Began the day with breakfast and a double dose of The Scooby Doo Show. The kids are saying "Jeepers, It's the Jaguaro!" when they encounter the legendary creature in the Amazon jungle after an emergency landing. Shaggy and Scooby dodge the creature while the others try to decide what it's really after and why pieces of glass seem to be so important. Shaggy's yelling "Make a Beeline Away from That Feline" after they encounter the literal cat burglar in New York City. Daphne's Aunt Olivia thinks it's her, but the others suspect she's being set up after she's sent a strange pendant. 

Switched to Supermarket Sweep while getting organized. Came just in time for the Big Sweep. None of the contestants did especially well, but for once, it was team 2 that got the most. (Including a stuffed tomato bonus that reminded me of a smaller stuffed tomato we had in the 80's and 90's.) They made up for a relatively small Big Sweep with a fast win at the bonus round.

Headed out to run errands after the show ended. Couldn't have picked a nicer day for it, either. Though it was sort-of cloudy, it was also far warmer, into the upper 40's-lower 50's, and windless. Good thing it was a nice day. I was able to find new hair bands, Valentine's cards and treats, and honey at Dollar General...but not what actually went there for, which was an undated weekly and monthly planner. Ended up buying that at Family Dollar. (And remembered why I don't like going in Family Dollar when an older woman yelled at the perfectly nice man behind the counter for no reason. He says she always goes in there and throws a fit over nothing, and he's always telling her to not come back.)

Had lunch at Jalapeno's Bar and Grill about two blocks from Family Dollar. They're one of the only restaurants on the Oaklyn side of the White Horse Pike that's open on Mondays. Enjoyed a yummy shrimp quesadilla and home-made tortilla chips. It was pretty quiet, other than the mother and her two small children and the younger couple chatting over chips. 

Strolled home after lunch and straight into baking. Instead of cake, I thought I'd try something a bit simpler. I bought the honey to make Honey Bee Cookies from the Alpha Bakery cookbook. I've made them before, for myself and to give away at Christmas, and they came out well. Added the unsweetened coconut I bought at Christmas and made Honey Coconut Cookies. Oh, yum! The bottoms on the first batch got burnt, but it wasn't too bad. Otherwise, they came out very well, just sweet and chewy enough. 

Took the laundry downstairs and into he wash after the cookies were in the oven, then got them out, cleaned up the cookie mess, and went back upstairs to vacuum, dust, and Swifter my rooms. Watched The Mystery Man while I worked. Chicago reporter Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) ends up stranded in St. Louis after he really gets drunk one night. He uses his last cents to pay for broke Anne Oglivive's (Maxine Doyle) coffee and donuts. They manage to con their way into a hotel room before he convinces a local paper that he has a line on the Eel, a local mob boss. Trouble is, his boss in Chicago is tired of his drunken antics and won't vouch for him. He attempts to pawn his gun, only to get mixed up in one of the Eel's robberies and arrested for murder. Now, he and Anne have only 24 hours to clear Larry's name and get that scoop, before he ends up writing the prison newsletter.

Slow-moving B crime comedy-drama takes forever to get where it's going. We get nearly a full half-hour of obnoxious Larry and bland Anne conning everyone in sight before the real story kicks in. The title is a cheat, too. There's no mystery man. The Eel is hardly hiding his identity, and the audience knows who Larry really is (even if the publisher in St. Louis doesn't want to believe it). Ehh, fine for just background noise when you're cleaning or working around the house, but nothing you absolutely need to see.

Switched to Buzzr for Match Game after I put the laundry in the dryer. To my surprise, they were running Match Game '90. The Halloween week with Brett and Charles sitting next to each other and Scorch the Dragon excited for the holiday is fun, but I've seen it before. Looks like they've temporarily moved that Match Game 90 marathon that's been going on for the last two weeks to the evening shows. 

Went to the Roku Channel for Charlie's Angels instead while eating dinner and bringing the laundry upstairs. The girls get involved with "The Sammy Davis Jr. Kidnapping Caper" when Davis's (himself) manager reveals there have been several kidnapping attempts in the past few weeks. The girls act as bodyguards...and while they are able to protect the real Sammy, the kidnappers end up with his double (also Davis), the owner of liquor store chain. Bosley brings the kidnappers the money they request, while the ladies do more research to find out who is trying to profit off of Sammy's disappearance.

Finished the night after a shower with game shows featuring more beloved black performers. Nipsey Russell was known as the "Poet Laureate of Television." He had a witty rhyme for every occasion and was a favorite on every panel he appeared on, including this 1977 episode of To Tell the Truth. Soupy Sales sits in for Bill Cullen, who is hosting while Garry Moore is on vacation. Southern natives Nipsey and Soupy Sales don't have a hard time figuring out which North Carolina mayor pushed his town as "the capital of chitlins" (pig intestines). They do even better deciding which lady was an authority on dreams and dreaming.

What's My Line featured Mystery Guests of every stripe, including rock stars. The Supremes appeared on the show twice, and in fact started off this 1966 episode that also featured Lana Turner. Dionne Warwick, Vanessa Williams, and Gladys Knight (without the Pips) played Bobby McFarrin, Luther Vandross, Little Richard, and members of the Manhattan Transfer on a 1989 Family Feud syndicated special. Though the men won in the episode I have here, the ladies generally beat the pants off them that week.

Whoopi Goldberg was one of the first women to headline a game show with her version of Hollywood Squares. I used to look forward to watching this in college, switching between this and Jeopardy before staying with Wheel of Fortune after they ended. You never knew which funny people would be tossing out quips or what you'd see next. I have an episode from very early in the run, when it's still Whoopi in the center square.

Singer and actor Clifton Davies was appearing on the sitcom That's My Mama when he did this 1975 episode of Tattletales with his then-girlfriend Lorraine. Ironically, this episode features two men who are now best-known for playing priests on TV. Davies would go on to appear as the younger preacher on Amen in the 80's, while William Christopher was playing Father Mulcahey on MASH when this episode first ran.

Like Davies, LeVar Burton was best-known as a character actor when he appeared on this 1986 episode of $100,000 Pyramid. For kids who grew up from the 80's through the 2000's, he's the gentle and soft-spoken host of Reading Rainbow, the PBS show that adapted children's books, then gave segments related to them and a list of related books. Here, he gets to witness history as that $100,000 is won for the second and last time.

Celebrate Black History Month with these beloved African-American Greats!

What's My Line? (1966)

Tattletales (1975)

To Tell the Truth (1977)

The $100,000 Pyramid (1986)

Family Feud Syndicated (1989)

Hollywood Squares (1998) 

Groundhogs and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Strawberry Shortcake and the Winter That Would Not End. I found this album version of the picture book my sisters and I loved in the early 80's at the Barrington Antique Center about a decade ago. Strawberry and her friends try to find the thief who stole the Snow Crystal when winter seems to go on for too long. It's too bad the specials didn't go in for the charming rural fairy tale of the original two books. This ends up being really sweet, with the lovely rustic artworks from the books on the disc.

My arms and wrist are still really sore, so I called Uber one more time. No trouble getting anywhere in the morning. The driver came in less than 2 minutes and got me to work in 5. Had a harder time when I got off at 3:30. The first driver canceled, and it took the second 9 minutes to come. And he ran into traffic on the White Horse Pike. Thankfully, it cleared out once we got past Cuthbert and took a little over 5 minutes.

No trouble at work, either. It wasn't bad when I arrived, but it started picking up around noon. Thankfully, this time I had the Sunday bagger and afternoon bagger helping me...and they're both college students who don't double as cashiers. I gathered the trash, but they did the sweeping and put away cold items. I was in and out with no problems whatsoever. 

Spent the rest of a gloomy, gray, cold afternoon eating dinner and watching tonight's Match Game marathon. There were even more episodes that are skipped, banned, or just plain rare than we saw last night. Some of them have answers that would never fly today, like Brett and Dick Gautier's naughty word for gays that that they used in two shows and Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce's response to what Batman and Robin were doing as a couple. Others just have bad tapes, like the Friday episode of the second week of '73 with Michael Lerned and Richard Thomas, who are both drowned out by loud buzzing on the end. 

Gene had the bad habit of letting out racial epithets that he probably thought were funny, but came off as more than a little offensive even then. Greg Morris tossed it right back at him in 1975 and Jimmie Walker was too full of himself to pay attention to it in 1981, but I'm not sure how happy a contestant was about the language later in '81. Buzzr doesn't appreciate midget jokes and, until the last few months, tended to skip or censor any episode that mentioned them. Game Show Network skipped some especially offensive Eskimo jokes in the syndicated era.  

See how standards have changed in the past 50 years in these thought-provoking and still often hilarious rarities! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Rare, Skipped, and Banned Episodes (Best of the Best) (Part 2)

Oh, and considering what the weather was like here, I'm a bit surprised to hear that Phil the groundhog saw his shadow. It was cold enough today for me to believe that six more weeks of winter prediction, even if it is supposed to warm up later in the week.

Matches On a Windy Day

Began the morning with breakfast and Snow Day. I go further into this TV remake of Nickelodeon's 2000 comedy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog

Family Fun Saturday - Snow Day (2022)

I'm still pretty sore from skating the other day, so I ended up calling Uber for a ride to work. No trouble there. The driver going to work arrived in 3 minutes. The one going home came in 8 minutes, and that was at quarter of 5 at the height of rush hour. Both got me there within five minutes with no traffic whatsoever.

Work, on the other hand, was a mess from start to finish. We were crazy all day. It's the beginning of the month. A lot of people likely just got their money today or will on Monday. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts and the sweeping and putting cold items away. And I had to sweep spilled blueberries and clean up a broken plastic gallon water jug, and do it all with no help. The head bagger ended up in a register all day. I never did get to the other side of the parking lot. Needless to say, I was very happy when I managed to get out with no trouble.

At least the weather was nice for all the trouble. It was sunny and bright blue, chilly but nothing like last week. If it hadn't been so windy, it might have been just about perfect.

Finished Snow Day when I got home, then took a shower. Had dinner while watching more Out of Control. Dave takes Herm on a flight to the North Pole in search of real "Eskimo Pies," despite Herm being terrified of heights. Meanwhile, Diz runs the studio and speeds up a little boy's paper route and Angela profiles Katz's Delicatessen in New York (which according to research still exists to this day and still serves everything). (Oh, and look for Dennis Miller as the guide explaining how to survive in the desert in the "Are We There Yet?" segment.) 

Diz is worried that Fred Thompson, the guy Dave is interviewing, will "Mouth Off" and take over his job. She encourages the others to help her get rid of the guy. Herm, however, smells an opportunity to brown nose to the new host. Dave, however, is friends with the guy and actually wants to share hosting duties with him.

Stayed at YouTube and finished the night with the Match Game marathon. For all of the episodes of this show that do exist and are in frequent rotation on Buzzr and Game Show Network, there's many that can only be found at YouTube. For instance, Buzzr skipped an episode of that recent week with Mary Ann Mobley and Richard Kiel that had a question about the Klu Klux Klan that would never have flown today (despite Gene's angry insistence that they were terrible people). Valerie Bertanelli only just cleared her one week of episodes from 1978 two years ago (mainly because she was 18 at the time and had been uncomfortable around randy old men Gene Rayburn and Ed Asner). There was an offensive Nazi-related answer to an Audience Match in a PM episode with Roz Kelly and Jimmie Walker. Other episodes don't turn up anymore because they have bad tapes, like two from the 1978 Christmas week that also features Joe Santos and Fannie Flagg (including the episode before Charles and Brett playing Santa and Bretzy La Bratt). 

See some of the rarest Match Game episodes of all in this though-provoking and very popular marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Skipped and Banned Episodes (Best of the Best)