Luigi has to break out of the shadows to save Mario's life. How is that an "incredibly stupid idea?" Do you just hate Luigi's Mansion? And I don't see why some people condemn parodies in Mario cartoons while worshipping The Simpsons. I also don't see what's so wrong about using parodies as vehicles to tell stories when the only two Super Mario Bros. games at the time were so scarce on story.
I'm sorry, we're derailing this conversation, huh? Let's just agree to disagree. As for the calendar, I found a reference in Partners in Time where E. Gadd says something about "toast on Sunday morning." Confirmation of multiple calendars, or just an idiom?