Tuesday, July 05, 2011
What Balloons Have Taught Me About Myself
I'm sure that some of you remember the NBC show 'Fear Factor'. The show that used to place contestants in worst case scenarios all designed to help them face their fears in some of the grossest and heart-stopping situations possible.
Could you imagine dunking your whole head inside a tank filled with scorpions and Madagascar hissing cockroaches? Could you imagine having to swallow whole spiders or half-developed duck embryos? Could you imagine balancing on one foot on a tightrope between two buildings four hundred feet up in the air?
People on 'Fear Factor' have done all those things, and more...all for the chance to win a fifty thousand dollar jackpot at the end of each episode.
Now, I don't know about any of you out there, but I don't think I could do any of those things for $50,000. Not because I'm fearful of any of those things, mind you, but because you're gonna have to add a couple of more zeroes onto that number before I even think about choking down eggs that have a duck fetus inside of them.
Still, they are legitimate fears that a lot of people do have. A lot of people are afraid of insects, and try to avoid them. I know...ever since I stepped on a bee and it stung me in between the toes, I haven't really liked them very much after that. Some people have fears of trying foods that they find disgusting. I think I've talked enough about duck embryos to illustrate that point. Some people have fears of heights. I know I don't particularly like them much myself.
Again, all rational fears that a lot of people in this world have.
But what about irrational fears? People, places, or things that people find scary, even though there's no rational reason behind what makes them that way.
They could have an unhealthy fear of lollipops, intersections, Colonel Sanders. Whatever the reason, they get freaked out by it so much that their reactions can range from mild discomfort to full-blown panic attacks.
Would you be shocked if I told you that I have an irrational fear? A fear that most people don't seem to possess, but yet is one that I have been cursed with having. A fear that if you've read the title you probably know what it is.
That's right, everyone. I have an irrational fear of balloons. But not all balloons. Speech balloons in comic books are all right.
These balloons don't bother me too much. They're beautiful to look at up in the sky, and while I get a little wary of high places, I am not afraid of hot-air balloons. We used to have a hot-air balloon festival in my hometown years ago called 'The Great Balloon Rodeo'. No, these balloons are okay.
I actually don't even mind the Mylar balloons either. They're pretty to look at, and they aren't as easy to destroy as the other ones.
No, actually, it's these balloons I can't stand.
Look at them. All eight of them smiling at me like they claim to be filled with more than just air. They have that look about them. All big and bold, in the brightest possible colours. Their warm smiles hiding the real cruelty within. Sure, they may look innocent, but these balloons are evil! EVIL!
I imagine that there was a time in which I absolutely loved balloons. Balloons were great fun at one time. In fact, I think there are some old photos kicking around of me at age two where the whole ceiling was filled with balloons.
But somewhere along the line, I began to like balloons less and less, and I started to fear them more and more. There was some instances in which I actually skipped school because I found out ahead of time that the class would be popping balloons in gym class, or rubbing balloons on our heads to demonstrate the wonders of static electricity.
And, don't even get me started on those silly clowns who twist those long, skinny balloons into balloon animals. People like that gave me nightmares. I couldn't stand the noise that the twisting and the rubbing of the balloons as they became dogs, and swords, and other animals. We occasionally get people making balloon animals for charity at my workplace, and I understand that kids are excited to get black and blue balloon swords. Myself, I try to stay far away from the balloon animal breeder...as well as the destructive little urchins that happen to be holding these 'weapons of mass sonic destruction'.
I imagine the lot of you are reading this, and laughing out loud, because you've never met anyone with an obvious hate for balloons like me. Most people love balloons, and I reckon in North America, millions of dollars are spent on balloons for decorating wedding receptions, prom dance floors, parade floats, and birthday parties.
I'll admit that if balloons are positioned in such a way that they can't be accessed by the average person, I'm fine with them for decorative purposes. Just keep them away from me.
You see...I really cannot stand the loud bang that a balloon makes when it's pricked by a needle, or squashed by stomping on it, or just by blowing them up too big (a phonomenon that is called 'blow to pop'). That loud bang has made me literally run screaming from one room to another, usually at my own expense. I know it sounds like a really oddball thing for someone to have a fear of, but I've never made it any real secret that my way of thinking is kind of oddball on my best days.
There are dozens of videos on YouTube that show lots of people blowing up balloons so big that they get that little lump on the bottom of the balloon, and they'll keep blowing into it until they make one gigantic bang. Apparently, these videos have garnered quite a following, and some people have even gotten turned on by watching these videos.
The only thing I want to do is turn off the videos! I don't want to see them! I'd throw a bowling ball through my computer screen just so I don't have to hear that big bang.
You want to know what the most frustrating part about my fear of balloons is? I have absolutely no idea why I have this fear in the first place. None whatsoever.
I mean, yes...balloons do make a loud bang, but so do other things. Some of them do bother me just like balloons. I always had to wear earplugs as a youngster whenever I would head down to the Canada Day fireworks display. I never played with cap-guns because I hated the bang they would make. I avoided Christmas crackers like the plague. Still, other things, like loud music or bass drums, or motorcycle engines. They don't seem to bother me as much as balloons do.
The truth is...it's a mystery to me as to why I can't stand balloons. It's something that I've tried to adapt to, and I'm at the point where I can be in the same room as a balloon provided that a little child doesn't try to grab it. Oh, and don't expect me to win you a gigantic stuffed Smurf at the fair by playing one of those pop a balloon, win a prize games, because that'll never happen.
When I was a child, I tried my best to hide my fear from others, but during one school day, some people from ScienceQuest came to visit our school. They had this experiment where they lit balloons that were filled with different kinds of gases, and with every balloon that got torched, my fear was exposed to my classmates.
After that day, some of the more...shall we say...immature of the bunch immediately headed off to the store to buy those Quarter-Pound bags of balloons and brought them to school with the purpose of trying to exploit my unusual fear. They'd chase me around the playground popping them, or they'd stick them on my locker, or they'd simply threaten to bring them to school.
It was such an awful feeling to have to go through. Imagine them knowing your weakness, and having them try to exploit it every day at school. It was incredibly difficult.
Eventually, around high school, I had enough of it, and I told a complete bold-faced lie to the lot of them in an effort to get them to stop, as well as getting bombarded with constant questions like 'why are you afraid of balloons' that were really nobody's business but my own. I told them that there was a childhood trauma associated with balloons...that when I was younger, I was blowing up a balloon, and it popped in my mouth. I then told them that one of the pieces went down my throat and I almost choked to death. I told that story so convincingly, and with a couple of notable exceptions who will remain nameless, the majority seemed to believe the tale, and laid off accordingly.
So, that was that. I got them to leave me alone, even by lying through my teeth.
And you know, it really shouldn't have even come to that. I shouldn't have to lie to people in order for them to be my friend, or to understand my fears and anxieties, as absolutely mind-boggling as they might be.
And I won't from this moment on.
My fear of balloons may be an inconvenience, and it may be a fear that I may or may not completely get over. But if there's anything that it taught me, it's that I shouldn't have to explain away, or make excuses for any unusual traits or personality quirks I might have. I should embrace them, and if I want to change them, I should do so at my own pace...not because others tell me I have to, or because I feel like less of a person if I don't.
If people feel a need to harass me or make fun of me or torture me because of this fear, they are not welcome in my life. I don't need the drama, the hassle, or the hurt feelings.
It is a quirk and an unusual fear, I admit it...but I've made efforts to try and get better at handling it. And really, those people who are my true friends will understand, and not judge me any differently because of it. I know that to be true in my heart.
Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll have a son of my own who wants to buy every balloon in the circus, and maybe, I'll buy him as many balloons as he wants.
Or, maybe I'll just take him to the movie theatre or some other balloon-free zone instead. ;D
Monday, July 04, 2011
Monday Matinee - Independence Day
Hello, blog readers! I just wanted to start off by wishing any American readers out there a happy 4th of July!
The 4th of July is a very important holiday for those who live in the United States of America. It happens to be their independence day. This year marks the 235th birthday of the U.S.A. and for most American citizens, it's an excuse to celebrate all things American. Baseball games, barbecues, fireworks. It's a fair assessment to see many of these things present as America celebrates its independence day.
Therefore, it almost seems out there in a sense for the 4th of July to be associated with spaceships, aliens, and worldwide destruction. Almost.
Independence Day 1996, however, proved differently (well, in a fictional sense anyways).
On July 2, 1996, the movie Independence Day was released in theatres. The original release date was supposed to have been the following day, but due to the hoopla and the buzz surrounding the film, some theatres opted for an earlier release.
And why wouldn't people be excited about it? Directed by Roland Emmerich, the film made a total of over $800 million and as of July 4, 2011, it is the 27th highest grossing movie of all-time.
It's been fifteen years since the movie was released, so I am only in assumption that the majority of you who are reading this blog entry know what the movie is about. For those of you that do not though, here's the Cliff's Notes version. At the beginning of July, a fleet of speceships led by one massive mother ship enter the Earth's atmosphere. There are thirty-six in total that are positioned all over the world, but in this film, we only see three. One in Los Angeles, one in New York City, and one in Washington D.C.
(Apparently Chicago, Dallas, and Miami were deemed not worthy enough to be shown being invaded.)
Anyway, in New York, David Levinson (played by Jeff Goldblum) discovers transmissions coming from the aliens which he thinks is a countdown to a global attack. He tries to head to Washington D.C. to warn President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) about the attacks.
Meanwhile, the alien presence wreaks havoc in the cities where the alien saucers are located. Television signals get jammed, and people who believe that the aliens have come in peace celebrate their arrival, not aware of the danger that they are about to face.
Levinson makes it to D.C. just in time to warn the president, and they board Air Force One just as the aliens launch their attack.
The ensuing attack completely destroys New York, Washington, and Los Angeles, as well as other cities around the world, and as dawn breaks on July 3, the loss of life is staggering.
There are some survivors. Hiller's girlfriend and her young son take cover inside a freeway tunnel, and they happen to find the First Lady, clinging to life after her helicopter went down in the attacks. Hiller is sent to an area outside of the destroyed Los Angeles to launch a wave of attacks against the aliens. During the course of the attack, he manages to capture one of the alien pilots and with help from a refugee group, finds out why the aliens have attacked Earth. The alien species travel from planet to planet, to drain the planet's resources before moving on to the next planet. They did not come in peace, as some people had believed before they were fried. Instead, they came to destroy.
And that was something that the surviving people of Earth would not let happen.
I don't really need to go on any further with this. This movie is a classic tale of good versus evil, set in a science-fiction world where the Santa Monica beach erodes and the Empire State Building goes up like a roman candle.
The one thing I would like to talk about in regards to this film is how a huge group of people, who could not be more different from each other personality wise, comes together in the face of tragedy.
Now, granted...the odds of aliens hovering over our planet to turn our major cities into a gigantic stir-fry are astronomically high. Not saying that it can NEVER be possible, as none of us really ever know if there is life elsewhere on Earth, but for the sake of argument, let's just say that it won't be happening today. The point is that in the face of disaster, it's nice to know that people can put aside their differences to reach a common goal, and really, shouldn't we all feel that way?
I mean, let's look at the characters. You have David, who can best be described as the computer nerd type. You have Captain Hiller, a brash and fearless fighter pilot who doesn't know the meaning of the word afraid. It seems highly unlikely that the two of them would so much as acknowledge each other if they ran into each other in the middle of Times Square. But once Times Square was blown up by the aliens, and the two had to work together to fight them, they actually made a decent team, who ended up becoming heroes as a result.
You could say the same about the scenes in the nuked Los Angeles between Hiller's girlfriend Jasmine, and the First Lady. By all appearances, the First Lady was a demure, sophisticated lady. Contrast that to Jasmine, who worked as an exotic dancer, and whose exotic dancer friends ended up getting zapped by the aliens during the attack. But when the First Lady suffered serious injury, Jasmine was there for her. Jasmine's quick thinking also managed to save the lives of herself, her son, and their dog during the attacks.
So, I guess if there's one lesson that we can learn from this movie, it's that we really shouldn't go up on top of a skyscraper to greet foreign flying objects, because otherwise, you may end up being cremated.
More importantly though, if there's anything we can learn, it's that in times of crisis, we all need to stand by each other and support each other in order to approach a common goal. Whether it be raising money to stop a hospital from being closed, or rebuilding a town that was torn apart by a tornado, or helping find shelter for those who have lost everything in a natural disaster, people can achieve more on a united front, and get more accomplished.
Maybe this speech from the fictional President Whitmore might explain things better than I can.
The 4th of July is a very important holiday for those who live in the United States of America. It happens to be their independence day. This year marks the 235th birthday of the U.S.A. and for most American citizens, it's an excuse to celebrate all things American. Baseball games, barbecues, fireworks. It's a fair assessment to see many of these things present as America celebrates its independence day.
Therefore, it almost seems out there in a sense for the 4th of July to be associated with spaceships, aliens, and worldwide destruction. Almost.
Independence Day 1996, however, proved differently (well, in a fictional sense anyways).
On July 2, 1996, the movie Independence Day was released in theatres. The original release date was supposed to have been the following day, but due to the hoopla and the buzz surrounding the film, some theatres opted for an earlier release.
And why wouldn't people be excited about it? Directed by Roland Emmerich, the film made a total of over $800 million and as of July 4, 2011, it is the 27th highest grossing movie of all-time.
It's been fifteen years since the movie was released, so I am only in assumption that the majority of you who are reading this blog entry know what the movie is about. For those of you that do not though, here's the Cliff's Notes version. At the beginning of July, a fleet of speceships led by one massive mother ship enter the Earth's atmosphere. There are thirty-six in total that are positioned all over the world, but in this film, we only see three. One in Los Angeles, one in New York City, and one in Washington D.C.
(Apparently Chicago, Dallas, and Miami were deemed not worthy enough to be shown being invaded.)
Anyway, in New York, David Levinson (played by Jeff Goldblum) discovers transmissions coming from the aliens which he thinks is a countdown to a global attack. He tries to head to Washington D.C. to warn President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) about the attacks.
Meanwhile, the alien presence wreaks havoc in the cities where the alien saucers are located. Television signals get jammed, and people who believe that the aliens have come in peace celebrate their arrival, not aware of the danger that they are about to face.
Levinson makes it to D.C. just in time to warn the president, and they board Air Force One just as the aliens launch their attack.
The ensuing attack completely destroys New York, Washington, and Los Angeles, as well as other cities around the world, and as dawn breaks on July 3, the loss of life is staggering.
There are some survivors. Hiller's girlfriend and her young son take cover inside a freeway tunnel, and they happen to find the First Lady, clinging to life after her helicopter went down in the attacks. Hiller is sent to an area outside of the destroyed Los Angeles to launch a wave of attacks against the aliens. During the course of the attack, he manages to capture one of the alien pilots and with help from a refugee group, finds out why the aliens have attacked Earth. The alien species travel from planet to planet, to drain the planet's resources before moving on to the next planet. They did not come in peace, as some people had believed before they were fried. Instead, they came to destroy.
And that was something that the surviving people of Earth would not let happen.
I don't really need to go on any further with this. This movie is a classic tale of good versus evil, set in a science-fiction world where the Santa Monica beach erodes and the Empire State Building goes up like a roman candle.
The one thing I would like to talk about in regards to this film is how a huge group of people, who could not be more different from each other personality wise, comes together in the face of tragedy.
Now, granted...the odds of aliens hovering over our planet to turn our major cities into a gigantic stir-fry are astronomically high. Not saying that it can NEVER be possible, as none of us really ever know if there is life elsewhere on Earth, but for the sake of argument, let's just say that it won't be happening today. The point is that in the face of disaster, it's nice to know that people can put aside their differences to reach a common goal, and really, shouldn't we all feel that way?
I mean, let's look at the characters. You have David, who can best be described as the computer nerd type. You have Captain Hiller, a brash and fearless fighter pilot who doesn't know the meaning of the word afraid. It seems highly unlikely that the two of them would so much as acknowledge each other if they ran into each other in the middle of Times Square. But once Times Square was blown up by the aliens, and the two had to work together to fight them, they actually made a decent team, who ended up becoming heroes as a result.
You could say the same about the scenes in the nuked Los Angeles between Hiller's girlfriend Jasmine, and the First Lady. By all appearances, the First Lady was a demure, sophisticated lady. Contrast that to Jasmine, who worked as an exotic dancer, and whose exotic dancer friends ended up getting zapped by the aliens during the attack. But when the First Lady suffered serious injury, Jasmine was there for her. Jasmine's quick thinking also managed to save the lives of herself, her son, and their dog during the attacks.
So, I guess if there's one lesson that we can learn from this movie, it's that we really shouldn't go up on top of a skyscraper to greet foreign flying objects, because otherwise, you may end up being cremated.
More importantly though, if there's anything we can learn, it's that in times of crisis, we all need to stand by each other and support each other in order to approach a common goal. Whether it be raising money to stop a hospital from being closed, or rebuilding a town that was torn apart by a tornado, or helping find shelter for those who have lost everything in a natural disaster, people can achieve more on a united front, and get more accomplished.
Maybe this speech from the fictional President Whitmore might explain things better than I can.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Sunday Jukebox - "Baby Baby" by Amy Grant (Plus a BONUS song!)
Crossover artists.
Many have tried to be successful with switching from one type of music to another, but not a lot of people seem to have had success with it.
It can be a tough enough job to make a mark on the music scene in one category alone. To go out of that comfort zone and make a name for yourself to a whole different type of music with a completely different fanbase than what you're used to...it can be a scary experience.
I can't really say that I know what it is like based on my own experiences. I'm such a tone-deaf, terrible singer that I would likely be barred from American Idol, The Voice, and America's Got Talent at the same time. I can only imagine how tough it can be though.
Sometimes, people do succeed.
Right off the bat, I can name off Shania Twain and Michelle Branch in the success category. Shania in the mid-1990's dominated the country charts, but had a couple of successes on the pop charts with "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" and "That Don't Impress Me Much", giving her success on country and Top 40 radio. On the flipside, Michelle Branch had success in the Top 40 charts with songs like "Everywhere" and "Breathe", and a couple of years later, formed "The Wreckers" and had success in country music as well.
Some haven't done so well. Jewel as a folk-like singer. Good. Jewel as a dance-diva singing "Intuition"...not so good. And don't even get me started on Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines, the most unsuccessful crossover of 1999, and possibly of all time.
And sometimes you have singers who actually do better in their new style of music than they ever did in their original path.
I bet it might shock some of you knowing this but, did you know that when Katy 'I Kissed A Girl' Perry first started out, she was a contemporary Christian artist? It's true!
The artist featured in this blog entry also started out as a contemporary Christian artist, much like Katy Perry did. While she's been kind of quiet on the charts lately, and while she never changed her image as drastically as Katy Perry, she still had a ton of success on the pop charts, and even had a hit or two on other charts as well. She's more versatile than you think!
Amy Grant was born in Georgia on November 25, 1960, and she started off her career in contemporary Christian music. Some people even refer to her as the 'Queen of Christian Pop'.
This isn't at all surprising though. Since she released her first album in 1977, she has sold more than thirty million albums, cassettes, and compact discs globally. That's mighty impressive.
With songs such as "El Shaddai", "Angels", and "Father's Eyes", Amy Grant became a sensation on Christian radio, and in 1986, she made an impact on the Billboard 100 by singing a duet with Peter Cetera entitled "The Next Time I Fall".
The duet with Cetera proved to be a major hit, hitting #1 on the Billboard charts in late 1986. Still, Amy Grant had never had her own solo hit on the Billboard charts. Certainly, she had scored several number one hits on the Contemporary Christian charts, but it wasn't until five years after that duet with Peter Cetera that she would score her own number one hit on the Billboard charts. It was that one hit that cemented Amy's place on the Billboard charts for the next few years.
When Amy Grant released the album 'Heart In Motion' in March of 1991, her fans seemed shocked that the album was mostly pop music, and that only a minute few of the tracks were Christian themed. While most of Amy's fans embraced Heart In Motion, some members of the Christian community frowned upon the album as a result of Amy's desire to change the focus of her music. However, Amy did get her wish, as Baby Baby, the first release off the album, hit number one status in April of 1991.
Certainly the album was very successful in both the pop and Christian charts. Five of the album's singles reached Top 20 status between 1991 and 1992, and it set the stage for Amy to continue with her career on the pop charts, releasing two more albums in 1994 and 1997, also with some Billboard success.
Baby Baby is probably her most well-known hit, and what some might not know about this song is the inspiration behind this song.
In 1989, Amy and her then-husband Gary Chapman had a daughter, Millie. Millie's birth was actually the moment that inspired Amy to write the song Baby Baby.
The song Baby Baby wasn't initially about falling in love with the right person, and pledging your love to them forever, as the music video portrays above. In fact, it was Amy writing about how she loved Millie, and how she promised to love her with 'the sweetest of devotion'. If you really listen to the lyrics of the song closely, you can see that the lyrics are ambiguous enough to be defined as both the love for a child, and/or falling in love with someone special.
Of course, there are some reports that the video for Baby Baby was not the original concept. Had Amy had her way, she would have sang the song in a mermaid costume while dozens of diaper-tushed babies crawled all over her. Thankfully, she didn't go that route. Could you imagine what might have happened had the original concept had gone through? As much as I like Amy Grant and this song, I don't think it would've been well-received.
Over the years, Amy Grant has made several changes in her life, as well as her music. She never stopped performing contemporary Christian music. She still records and sings it even today.
In 1994, Amy Grant sang a duet with established country music artist Vince Gill, entitled "House Of Love". The song became a Top 40 hit for both Gill and Grant, and unbeknownst to them, it would be a song that would change both of their lives forever. One might call it kismet.
Many have tried to be successful with switching from one type of music to another, but not a lot of people seem to have had success with it.
It can be a tough enough job to make a mark on the music scene in one category alone. To go out of that comfort zone and make a name for yourself to a whole different type of music with a completely different fanbase than what you're used to...it can be a scary experience.
I can't really say that I know what it is like based on my own experiences. I'm such a tone-deaf, terrible singer that I would likely be barred from American Idol, The Voice, and America's Got Talent at the same time. I can only imagine how tough it can be though.
Sometimes, people do succeed.
Right off the bat, I can name off Shania Twain and Michelle Branch in the success category. Shania in the mid-1990's dominated the country charts, but had a couple of successes on the pop charts with "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" and "That Don't Impress Me Much", giving her success on country and Top 40 radio. On the flipside, Michelle Branch had success in the Top 40 charts with songs like "Everywhere" and "Breathe", and a couple of years later, formed "The Wreckers" and had success in country music as well.
Some haven't done so well. Jewel as a folk-like singer. Good. Jewel as a dance-diva singing "Intuition"...not so good. And don't even get me started on Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines, the most unsuccessful crossover of 1999, and possibly of all time.
And sometimes you have singers who actually do better in their new style of music than they ever did in their original path.
I bet it might shock some of you knowing this but, did you know that when Katy 'I Kissed A Girl' Perry first started out, she was a contemporary Christian artist? It's true!
The artist featured in this blog entry also started out as a contemporary Christian artist, much like Katy Perry did. While she's been kind of quiet on the charts lately, and while she never changed her image as drastically as Katy Perry, she still had a ton of success on the pop charts, and even had a hit or two on other charts as well. She's more versatile than you think!
Amy Grant was born in Georgia on November 25, 1960, and she started off her career in contemporary Christian music. Some people even refer to her as the 'Queen of Christian Pop'.
This isn't at all surprising though. Since she released her first album in 1977, she has sold more than thirty million albums, cassettes, and compact discs globally. That's mighty impressive.
With songs such as "El Shaddai", "Angels", and "Father's Eyes", Amy Grant became a sensation on Christian radio, and in 1986, she made an impact on the Billboard 100 by singing a duet with Peter Cetera entitled "The Next Time I Fall".
The duet with Cetera proved to be a major hit, hitting #1 on the Billboard charts in late 1986. Still, Amy Grant had never had her own solo hit on the Billboard charts. Certainly, she had scored several number one hits on the Contemporary Christian charts, but it wasn't until five years after that duet with Peter Cetera that she would score her own number one hit on the Billboard charts. It was that one hit that cemented Amy's place on the Billboard charts for the next few years.
ARTIST: Amy Grant
SONG: Baby Baby
ALBUM: Heart In Motion
RELEASED: January 18, 1991
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 3 weeks
Amy Grant's main goal was to become a singer. However, she also wanted to be able to broaden her musical message and to widen her fan base. Her dream was to be the first Christian singer-songwriter to also be successful on the Billboard charts as well. The seeds to her pop career seemed to have been planted around 1985, when she released her album 'Unguarded'. The album cover showed Amy dressed in a leopard-print jacket, and had a more mainstream sound than her previous albums before that. The album still had contemporary Christian songs, but there were a couple of pop songs for a wider audience to listen to. Her 1988 release 'Lead Me On' was more of the same. A mixture of pop and contemporary Christian music which seemed to perform well on the Adult Contemporary charts, but didn't really make much of an impact on the pop charts.
It wasn't until 1991 that it seemed that Amy Grant had decided to steer her career almost entirely away from the Christian pop that had made her well-known, and more into the mainstream pop world.
When Amy Grant released the album 'Heart In Motion' in March of 1991, her fans seemed shocked that the album was mostly pop music, and that only a minute few of the tracks were Christian themed. While most of Amy's fans embraced Heart In Motion, some members of the Christian community frowned upon the album as a result of Amy's desire to change the focus of her music. However, Amy did get her wish, as Baby Baby, the first release off the album, hit number one status in April of 1991.
Certainly the album was very successful in both the pop and Christian charts. Five of the album's singles reached Top 20 status between 1991 and 1992, and it set the stage for Amy to continue with her career on the pop charts, releasing two more albums in 1994 and 1997, also with some Billboard success.
Baby Baby is probably her most well-known hit, and what some might not know about this song is the inspiration behind this song.
In 1989, Amy and her then-husband Gary Chapman had a daughter, Millie. Millie's birth was actually the moment that inspired Amy to write the song Baby Baby.
The song Baby Baby wasn't initially about falling in love with the right person, and pledging your love to them forever, as the music video portrays above. In fact, it was Amy writing about how she loved Millie, and how she promised to love her with 'the sweetest of devotion'. If you really listen to the lyrics of the song closely, you can see that the lyrics are ambiguous enough to be defined as both the love for a child, and/or falling in love with someone special.
Of course, there are some reports that the video for Baby Baby was not the original concept. Had Amy had her way, she would have sang the song in a mermaid costume while dozens of diaper-tushed babies crawled all over her. Thankfully, she didn't go that route. Could you imagine what might have happened had the original concept had gone through? As much as I like Amy Grant and this song, I don't think it would've been well-received.
Over the years, Amy Grant has made several changes in her life, as well as her music. She never stopped performing contemporary Christian music. She still records and sings it even today.
In 1994, Amy Grant sang a duet with established country music artist Vince Gill, entitled "House Of Love". The song became a Top 40 hit for both Gill and Grant, and unbeknownst to them, it would be a song that would change both of their lives forever. One might call it kismet.
Because six years after they recorded that song, Amy Grant and Vince Gill ended up getting married to each other. With both of them coming out of divorces, and having formed a friendship since 'House Of Love', they fell in love with each other, and have been together ever since.
And to think, none of that would have been possible if neither Gill or Grant had been afraid of change.
I think that's ultimately what we all want. None of us can't be too afraid of change that we end up stagnating ourselves. In order to make something out of ourselves, sometimes we have to take change, and stare at it in the face to become better people who get the most out of life.
Amy Grant's decision to venture out into the world of pop music by stepping away from her safety zone was a big risk for her to take, but she wanted success so badly that to her, it was worth the risk. And it was. She ended up having a hit record because of it, and it was because of her pop ambitions that she ended up working with, and later falling in love with her current husband.
So, I guess the lesson Amy Grant can teach all of us is that sometimes, taking risks can be worth the payout. You'll never know until you try.
And, hey...if Amy Grant can make a success out of herself for taking risks, I suppose I can do the same.
(But, try to make your risks realistic...and not to take any that'll cause bodily harm.)
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Saturday Morning - You Can't Do That On Television
From one Canadian blog entry to another!
I always loved You Can't Do That On Television. Apparently a lot of people my age did in both Canada and the United States, where the show was a flagship show for the Nickelodeon channel for many years. And why wouldn't they like it? It was a show that was true to its name. It got away with bathroom humour, poking fun at subjects some may deem controversial. Basically all the things that your parents did not want you watching for fear that it would corrupt them.
I got news for you people...I watched the show for years, and I wasn't corrupted.
Much.
The show had a long shelf-life in itself. Debuting in 1979 on CJOH-TV, the show didn't exactly start off the same way that most of us remember it. Sure, you still had the locker jokes, the link set, and of course, the green slime. There were also contest giveaways. Live performances. Music videos. It was basically like MTV before MTV even existed. Unfortunately, most of us probably never saw the 1979 episodes, as Nickelodeon didn't take them as part of the package for syndication purposes. As a result, most of the tapes containing the 1979 episodes were erased.
(Though some people saved their Betamax recordings, and have posted some 1979 clips on YouTube, which you'll see in a little while)
The show took a brief hiatus and returned to the airwaves two years later in 1981, which is where the Nickelodeon package began. For eight years (barring another brief hiatus in 1988), the show trucked along, making fun of such topics as pop culture, garbage, and even drug use, all while using dozens of cream pies and gallons of water and green slime.
I'll just go on the record to say that I loved this show so much. Everything about the show was just awesome.
So awesome that I've decided to make this blog entry more like a top 25 list. Because the show itself has a lot of trivia surrounding it that some of you probably know, but some of you don't. I'm sure you want me to share some of these trivia bits with all of you right here, so without further adieu, here they are.
1. In the course of the show's history, there have been hundreds of kids who have gotten slimed on the show. But, which cast member holds the record for being slimed the most times on a single episode? It happens to be Lisa Ruddy. On the March 17, 1979 episode of You Can't Do That On Television, Lisa Ruddy was slimed SIX TIMES! You can see some of these slimings in the clip below, as well as some bonus footage. (You'll have to crank the volume up high to hear it)
2. On the flipside, the one cast member who was NEVER slimed during any of the episodes she was featured in was Marjorie Silcoff, who appeared on the show from 1983-1985. She got water dumped on her, but she was never slimed at all. Not even once. It was rumoured that on the show about Revenge, Marjorie was supposed to have gotten slimed, but the scene was cut from the episode when it aired.
3. The 1987 episode 'Adoption' was an episode so controversial at the time that it only aired once in the United States before being banned. I remember watching that episode, and maybe it was because I was young and didn't understand it, but I didn't find it overly bad. You be the judge.
(Yes...that is the FULL episode. I found it on YouTube. You're welcome.)
4. However, in Canada, the 'Adoption' episode still aired without problem. The 1984 'Divorce' episode, somehow was left out of the YTV airings.
4. However, in Canada, the 'Adoption' episode still aired without problem. The 1984 'Divorce' episode, somehow was left out of the YTV airings.
5. 1989 cast member Jill Stanley had trouble remembering her lines during rehearsals. That became a running gag throughout the 1989/1990 season.
6. Another running gag for that season was Ross purposely mixing up cast members Ted Wilson and Nick Belcourt. It stemmed during another rehearsal sketch where Ted accidentally read Nick's lines.
7. During the 1982 season, Christine McGlade dyed and cut her hair into a short punkish style, which contrasted severely from the look she sported in the 1981 season. As a result, she was forced to wear a synthetic wig for the 1982 season until her hair grew back out. She did wear one made from human hair in some scenes, but for scenes where she was watered or slimed, the synthetic wig was brought out.
8. Christine McGlade happens to also hold a record for the show. Aside from the late Les Lye and Abby Hagyard, she was the longest serving child actor on the series, acting in episodes from 1979-1986.
9. The most common slime colour we've seen is obviously green slime. But over the years, we've seen red, black, white, blue, yellow, and even striped slime! See what I'm talking about here.
10. The above clip appeared in the 1987 motion picture 'Fatal Attraction', starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close.
11. Want to attempt to make your own green slime at home? Although there have been several recipes for the gooey green substance, the one that seems to be the formula used the most involves the following ingredients. Water. Green Jell-O. Flour. Baby Shampoo. You can also add green food colouring to the mix if you want it REALLY green. Just mix it in a bowl and chill it slightly, and voila. Instant slime.
12. A total of 143 episodes of You Can't Do That On Television were produced.
13. Almost every episode of You Can't Do That On Television starts with a pre-empted program that was usually a spoof of a pop culture reference. Other pre-empted shows include Rambo vs. The Librarian, Miss Piggy Eats Ham Sandwiches, and Pac-Man Eats General Hospital.
14. Cast member Lisa Ruddy's nickname on the show was "Motormouth". Can't possibly imagine where she'd get a name like that.
15. There were three official hosts of You Can't Do That On Television. Christine McGlade (1979-1986), Alasdair Grant (1985-1986), and Chris Bickford (1989-1990).
16. Clearly, everyone knows that Alanis Morissette (1985-1986) was a cast member of the show who became a star. Some other 'where are they now' moments include the following...
- Klea Scott and Vikram Sahay furthered their acting careers
- Justin Cammy is now a professor of Jewish studies
- Adam Reid and Kevin Kubusheskie ended up working behind the scenes of the show as writers
- Vanessa Lindores, Brodie Osome, and Marjorie Silcoff filmed a special one-off reunion video called 'Project 131', which was used in one of the SlimeCon gatherings.
17. SlimeCon was a convention that took place in Ottawa, where the show was initially filmed, where fans of the show could meet their favourite cast members, talk about the show, and tour some of the old sets if they wished. There were a total of three held...one in '02, '04, and '09. No word on whether another SlimeCon will ever take place.
18. Les Lye (who passed away in 2009) played more characters than anybody else on the show. His most constant role on the show was that of Ross, but he also played Lance Prevert, Mr. Schindler, the doctor, the dentist, the baseball coach, El Capitan, and probably my favourite character listed above. Barth and his Barth burgers.
19. Wanna know the real reason why Abby Hagyard always wore those yellow gloves in all of her scenes as the mother? Apparently her hands were too 'elegant' for a dish-washing stay-at-home mom to have (it was the eighties after all), so she hid them with the gloves.
20. Although water was always used in the show, it wasn't until 1983 that the word 'water' was the sole trigger for the shower of water that came flowing down. Sometimes, it didn't even have to be in English!
21. The 1985 'Fears, Worries, and Anxieties' episode had to be redubbed. Initially, Alasdair Gillis was in a sketch where he had to talk about a bully named Killer Curtis. The name was changed to Crusher Willis after producers discovered that there was a serial killer named Killer Curtis.
22. The 1989 season holds the record for most slimings in a single year, with seventy-two.
23. When You Can't Do That On Television ended the 1987 season, the show didn't come back until 1989. Reason? Roger Price, the creator of the show, moved to France, and CJOH didn't want to produce new episodes without him.
24. When You Can't Do That On Television returned in 1989, only four cast members from the previous season returned. Andrea Byrne, Amyas Godfrey, Rekha Shah, and James Tung.
25. On the 1989 'Age' episode, Vanessa Lindores returned to the show for a one-off guest appearance. There was an inside joke surrounding her return. Because she was a main character in the banned 'Adoption' episode, she was asked to come back to the 'Age' episode to make up for it. If you catch the end of the episode, you can spot cameo appearances by Christine McGlade, Lisa Ruddy, and others.
Friday, July 01, 2011
TGIF: The Royal Canadian Air Farce
First off, I want to acknowledge the fact that July 1 is Canada Day. Today marks the 144th anniversary of the day that Canada became an independent nation, so on behalf of any Canadian readers out there, I'd like to wish Canada a very happy birthday.
And because today happens to be Canada Day, I wanted to make today's blog entry all about something Canadian.
This proved to be a challenge though. Today is TGIF day, which is a day that is dedicated to television sitcoms of yore. Problem is, I had a bit of difficulty coming up with an appropriate show. The only sitcom I could think of that was produced in Canada that had great success was 'Corner Gas', but I've only seen a few episodes of that show...not nearly enough for me to make up a blog entry about it...well, yet anyways.
So, for today, I decided to take a different route, and instead am focusing on a little sketch comedy program that began as a radio show. Once it made the transition to television, it skyrocketed in popularity, and made millions of Canadians laugh with their witty and acerbic look on Canadian politics and pop culture bits.
The Royal Canadian Air Farce was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1970, but that wasn't its original name when it began. Initially, the comedy troupe had the name of 'The Jest Society', which was a play on words inspired by a comment uttered by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau had the goal of wanting to make Canada a 'just society'. And, well...that's the origin.
In 1970, the group was just an improv team. The original members of the group were Roger Abbott, John Morgan, Patrick Conlon, Martin Bronstein, and Gay Claitman.
By 1973, Claitman and Conlon had departed the team, and were replaced by Luba Goy, Don Ferguson, and Dave Broadfoot. The name of the group had changed too, to the Royal Canadian Air Farce. In December of 1973, the Air Farce landed a show through CBC radio, broadcasting from the Curtain Club in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The show proved to become a hit, and the location of the show eventually relocated to Toronto, and soon after that, they would travel across the country.
The team tried to bring their radio show onto the television airwaves in 1980, and while the show did garner some attention, it wasn't as successful as they had initially hoped. Part of the reason was that it was hard to showcase radio sketches onto the television screen, and it didn't seem to work out all that well.
Twelve years later, in 1992, the troupe decided to try again with television. By that time, the Air Farce contained the quartet of Abbott, Ferguson, Goy, and Morgan. They debuted their special on New Years Eve, 1992, and called it 1992: Year Of The Farce.
The ratings were huge. So huge that the show hosted another New Years Special in 1993. Then in early 1994, the show began to air more regularly, and by 1997, the television show was so successful that the radio show was cancelled in May of that year, so that the Air Farce could focus solely on their television show.
The show underwent some cast changes during its run. John Morgan retired in 2001, and Jessica Holmes came onto the show two years later. Craig Lauzon and Alan Park joined the following year, and when Holmes went on maternity leave, Penelope Corrin filled in for her. As a result of the addition of these four people on the show, the show could portray younger politicians, and younger celebrities like Paris Hilton or Justin Timberlake.
The show continued to air on CBC television until the 2008/2009 season, when it was announced the show would come to an end. The final episode aired in December 2008, with two specials following on December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010.
I'm sure that some of you want some examples of this sketch comedy, so being the good-humoured Canadian that I am, I will oblige. After all, I was such a fan of the show when it originally aired, so I look forward to celebrating Canada Day by laughing. Because laughter makes things so much better. Take that lesson to your graves, people. Laughter makes everything better.
Okay, so here's a little Dancing With The Stars spoof featuring the 2007 cast.
Here's a Weakest Link spoof, featuring Goy, Abbott, and Ferguson.
How about some 'trouser popcorn'?
Or, would you like to 'Get Stuffed'?
My all-time favourite Air Farce clips have to involve the Chicken Cannon, though.
But, what is the chicken cannon, you ask?
The chicken cannon is a gigantic cannon that can be filled with anything and everything. Operated by Colonel Stacy (played by Ferguson), the targets were often lousy Canadian politicians, disgraced athletes, annoying celebrities, or sometimes even inanimate objects. The more vilified a target, the grosser the ammunition. Watch and learn.
And there you have it. A Canadian institution for many years, and kept us in stitches the whole time.
Before I close this note, I do have to add some final closing remarks, as well as a tribute to two men associated with this show.
Roger Abbott (left), passed away on March 26, 2011 after a fourteen-year battle with leukemia. He was 64. John Morgan (right), passed away on November 15, 2004 after suffering a heart attack at the age of 74. Both of these men were part of the original line-up of the Royal Canadian Air Farce. Had it not been for the contributions of these two men, the Air Farce wouldn't have gotten off the ground.
Thanks for making us laugh, Roger and John. You continue to be missed.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday Night at the Arcade: Bubble Bobble
Have you ever had a memory triggered by watching a television show, or viewing a movie? A memory that may seem insignificant or even silly, but still remains in your brain years after the fact?
One memory of my life gone by was inspired by the video game Bubble Bobble. At first, I thought that it was such an insignificant memory, but it turned out to have more of an impact than I realized.
Before I go on further, let me talk about the game a little bit.
Initially released by Taito in Japan in 1986, Bubble Bobble was ported to American gaming systems in the late 1980's. The game was a puzzle based game where you went from level to level to defeat monsters and collect items to get to the next room. In short, it had the same idea as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Rampage.
What set the game apart from the others was the gameplay, and the plot.
Whereas games like Pac-Man didn't really have a plot (unless you count mindless chomping of yellow dots as a plot), Bubble Bobble had a purpose. You played as either one of two little dinosaurs. Bub (the green one), and Bob (the blue one). Their girlfriends were abducted by some monsters, and you have to break into the monster's hideaway to save them.
Above, you'll see a screenshot of the arcade version of the game, and I figure that the best way to describe the mechanics of the game is to point out what each of them stand for.
As I said, the object of the game is to move from room to room to save your girlfriend from the monsters within. The best way to do this is with your bubble power. These dinosaurs can blow gigantic green and blue bubbles that can trap the monsters inside. When Bub or Bob pop the bubbles, the monsters die, and are sometimes replaced with power-ups or food treats.
The monsters in the game are of different varieties and varying degrees of difficulty. They can be robots, ghosts, whales, and other miscellaneous creatures. It's a good idea to try and get them trapped in bubbles and popped as soon as possible, because one of two things could happen.
One...the monsters will eventually kill you. That's not something you want. Furthermore, if you trap a monster in a bubble and the monster somehow gets out of the bubble itself, the monster will turn red, get really angry and move more aggressively through the room...eventually killing you.
I should also mention that each level has a time limit and if you go over it, all the monsters will become angry, and more monsters will pop up, trying to get you the dreaded 'Game Over' screen.
Not all is lost though. There are a few things in the above screenshot that can help you in your journey.
When you kill the monsters, they leave behind lots of yummy treats for the dinosaurs to eat. I'm not entirely sure that back in the days of the dinosaurs that they ate popsicles, french fries, and cartons of milk, but in Bubble Bobble, those foods were considered the 'breakfast of champions'. Eating these also gave you a boost in the high scores department.
Occasionally, popping bubbles with monsters inside of them netted you power-ups which could improve your chances of success. The yellow bubblegum you'll see at the right hand side of the screenshot allows Bub or Bob to blow bubbles twice as fast. Depending on the power-ups though, you can do so much more. You can breathe fire, you can turn monsters into expensive diamonds, and you can even skip whole levels.
Another thing to collect are the rainbow letter bubbles, which float around if you kill two or more enemies at the same time. If you collect all six bubbles, spelling the word 'EXTEND', you can skip the current level you happen to be on, as well as a bonus life. Collecting the bubbles can definitely be an asset. There were also special bubbles that randomly appeared that could drown monsters or electrocute monsters if popped.
So, there were just as many positives to consider in the world of Bubble Bobble. Would you care to see some of these in action? I bet you do!
Now that you know what Bubble Bobble is, and how it's played, I suppose you want me to tell you about why this game sparks a childhood memory from years ago.
Well, I am getting to that.
You'll have to take a trip back in time to 1989. It was the year that the Berlin Wall came down. The year Madonna had a Pepsi commercial pulled. The year that Dan Quayle spelled the word 'potato' incorrectly.
Me? I was just an eight year old kid.
During that year, one of my haunting grounds happened to be the little cornerstore just around the block from my house at the time. It was a little variety store called 'Darling's', and inside the store was everything that a kid my age loved. You had a candy counter right inside the store. A magazine rack with the latest in comic books and magazines. You even had a little corner in the store that was filled with Nintendo games that you could rent for a little over two dollars a day.
The piece de resistance of the whole store was the whole back wall. Along the back wall were three or four arcade games that kept changing every two months or so. All sorts of games, ranging from Mr. Do, to Super Mario Brothers, to Michael Jackson's Moonwalker even! So many memories, and so many quarters wasted. Good times.
I'll never forget the week that the 1989-1990 school year started. During that time, Darling's changed their arcade games around, and one of the new games was the arcade version of Bubble Bobble.
Although the game only stayed at Darling's for six months at the most, those six months were filled with me practically begging my mom for some quarters so I could run over to Darling's and play Bubble Bobble. It was my all-time favourite arcade game, and I would always go there after I did my homework (if I had any), and play until I ran out of quarters. I loved that game so much, and I looked for every excuse to play it.
One day around Halloween of 1989, I headed to Darling's, and I had a fistful of quarters in my hand, and I managed to get onto the Bubble Bobble game, and happily started to play away.
It was then that a group of kids from the nearby high school crowded into the store. Some of them were in the red and black football jerseys, so I kind of figured that they were just getting out of football practice at the time. Anyway, the group of them almost immediately made a beeline towards the Bubble Bobble arcade game, and immediately demanded that I step aside because they wanted to play, and they wanted to play it NOW!
Now, you would have thought that I would have backed down, and stepped aside and let them play while I had to settle for the not nearly as fun Burger Time arcade game.
Surprisingly enough, I stood my ground. I mean, here were these sixteen, seventeen year old guys crowded around this eight year old kid...easily twice my height and weight. Yet, I stood up to them.
Part of it could have been that they were the same age as my sister at the time, who attended the same school, and I knew that if they tried anything, I could tell my sister, and she would quite literally kick their asses all the way from Darling's to Denver, Colorado.
Part of it as well could have been that the store clerks kept a really close eye on the arcade area, and I knew that if they tried anything, they would have thrown the mob out. It was really that simple.
And, besides, Bubble Bobble was my favourite game, and it was there for a limited time, and I got there first. They would just have to wait.
Or, maybe I could do something even better.
Seeing as how Bubble Bobble was a two player game, instead of stepping aside, I decided to issue a challenge to the ringleader of the group. Head-to-head combat. One against one. We'd play until one of us got a Game Over. The winner would continue to play Bubble Bobble. The loser got stuck with Burger Time.
My challenger was a twelfth grader, aged seventeen, who readily agreed to compete against me. He even so much as gave his companions a high-five, and said that he would make it his mission to crush me. He was one cocky bastard, he was.
I took control of the green dino. My opponent was in blue. It was a valiant effort by both of us, and both of us lasted a long time. The screenshot up above was the level that we both made it to before one of us got the dreaded Game Over message. Level thirteen ended up being an unlucky number for one of us.
And it was NOT me!
That's right. Cocky twelfth grader ate it on the heart shaped course. Broke his little heart too being beaten by an eight-year-old. I, on the other hand, felt great about it.
So, as promised, the gang had no choice but to step aside, and let me play Bubble Bobble until I ran out of quarters (which actually wasn't all that long, as I only brought $1.50 worth). I didn't care though. I knew that I had played the game so long that I could hold my own against any challenger. I was so confident in my Bubble Bobble abilities that it worked out rather nicely.
I suppose that's the lesson that Bubble Bobble taught me. If you keep at things long enough, you start to develop confidence. And a confident person is a happy person. However, you don't want to become over-confident to the point where you begin to turn into a jerk about it. Otherwise, you end up spending your quarters making gigantic electronic burgers, much like my opponent did.
Whatever the case, that one autumn day in 1989 was one that I'll never forget. Whenever I'm lucky enough to play Bubble Bobble again, I'll never forget that day, because that day had a...
One memory of my life gone by was inspired by the video game Bubble Bobble. At first, I thought that it was such an insignificant memory, but it turned out to have more of an impact than I realized.
Before I go on further, let me talk about the game a little bit.
Initially released by Taito in Japan in 1986, Bubble Bobble was ported to American gaming systems in the late 1980's. The game was a puzzle based game where you went from level to level to defeat monsters and collect items to get to the next room. In short, it had the same idea as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Rampage.
What set the game apart from the others was the gameplay, and the plot.
Whereas games like Pac-Man didn't really have a plot (unless you count mindless chomping of yellow dots as a plot), Bubble Bobble had a purpose. You played as either one of two little dinosaurs. Bub (the green one), and Bob (the blue one). Their girlfriends were abducted by some monsters, and you have to break into the monster's hideaway to save them.
Above, you'll see a screenshot of the arcade version of the game, and I figure that the best way to describe the mechanics of the game is to point out what each of them stand for.
As I said, the object of the game is to move from room to room to save your girlfriend from the monsters within. The best way to do this is with your bubble power. These dinosaurs can blow gigantic green and blue bubbles that can trap the monsters inside. When Bub or Bob pop the bubbles, the monsters die, and are sometimes replaced with power-ups or food treats.
The monsters in the game are of different varieties and varying degrees of difficulty. They can be robots, ghosts, whales, and other miscellaneous creatures. It's a good idea to try and get them trapped in bubbles and popped as soon as possible, because one of two things could happen.
One...the monsters will eventually kill you. That's not something you want. Furthermore, if you trap a monster in a bubble and the monster somehow gets out of the bubble itself, the monster will turn red, get really angry and move more aggressively through the room...eventually killing you.
I should also mention that each level has a time limit and if you go over it, all the monsters will become angry, and more monsters will pop up, trying to get you the dreaded 'Game Over' screen.
Not all is lost though. There are a few things in the above screenshot that can help you in your journey.
When you kill the monsters, they leave behind lots of yummy treats for the dinosaurs to eat. I'm not entirely sure that back in the days of the dinosaurs that they ate popsicles, french fries, and cartons of milk, but in Bubble Bobble, those foods were considered the 'breakfast of champions'. Eating these also gave you a boost in the high scores department.
Occasionally, popping bubbles with monsters inside of them netted you power-ups which could improve your chances of success. The yellow bubblegum you'll see at the right hand side of the screenshot allows Bub or Bob to blow bubbles twice as fast. Depending on the power-ups though, you can do so much more. You can breathe fire, you can turn monsters into expensive diamonds, and you can even skip whole levels.
Another thing to collect are the rainbow letter bubbles, which float around if you kill two or more enemies at the same time. If you collect all six bubbles, spelling the word 'EXTEND', you can skip the current level you happen to be on, as well as a bonus life. Collecting the bubbles can definitely be an asset. There were also special bubbles that randomly appeared that could drown monsters or electrocute monsters if popped.
So, there were just as many positives to consider in the world of Bubble Bobble. Would you care to see some of these in action? I bet you do!
Now that you know what Bubble Bobble is, and how it's played, I suppose you want me to tell you about why this game sparks a childhood memory from years ago.
Well, I am getting to that.
You'll have to take a trip back in time to 1989. It was the year that the Berlin Wall came down. The year Madonna had a Pepsi commercial pulled. The year that Dan Quayle spelled the word 'potato' incorrectly.
Me? I was just an eight year old kid.
During that year, one of my haunting grounds happened to be the little cornerstore just around the block from my house at the time. It was a little variety store called 'Darling's', and inside the store was everything that a kid my age loved. You had a candy counter right inside the store. A magazine rack with the latest in comic books and magazines. You even had a little corner in the store that was filled with Nintendo games that you could rent for a little over two dollars a day.
The piece de resistance of the whole store was the whole back wall. Along the back wall were three or four arcade games that kept changing every two months or so. All sorts of games, ranging from Mr. Do, to Super Mario Brothers, to Michael Jackson's Moonwalker even! So many memories, and so many quarters wasted. Good times.
I'll never forget the week that the 1989-1990 school year started. During that time, Darling's changed their arcade games around, and one of the new games was the arcade version of Bubble Bobble.
Although the game only stayed at Darling's for six months at the most, those six months were filled with me practically begging my mom for some quarters so I could run over to Darling's and play Bubble Bobble. It was my all-time favourite arcade game, and I would always go there after I did my homework (if I had any), and play until I ran out of quarters. I loved that game so much, and I looked for every excuse to play it.
One day around Halloween of 1989, I headed to Darling's, and I had a fistful of quarters in my hand, and I managed to get onto the Bubble Bobble game, and happily started to play away.
It was then that a group of kids from the nearby high school crowded into the store. Some of them were in the red and black football jerseys, so I kind of figured that they were just getting out of football practice at the time. Anyway, the group of them almost immediately made a beeline towards the Bubble Bobble arcade game, and immediately demanded that I step aside because they wanted to play, and they wanted to play it NOW!
Now, you would have thought that I would have backed down, and stepped aside and let them play while I had to settle for the not nearly as fun Burger Time arcade game.
Surprisingly enough, I stood my ground. I mean, here were these sixteen, seventeen year old guys crowded around this eight year old kid...easily twice my height and weight. Yet, I stood up to them.
Part of it could have been that they were the same age as my sister at the time, who attended the same school, and I knew that if they tried anything, I could tell my sister, and she would quite literally kick their asses all the way from Darling's to Denver, Colorado.
Part of it as well could have been that the store clerks kept a really close eye on the arcade area, and I knew that if they tried anything, they would have thrown the mob out. It was really that simple.
And, besides, Bubble Bobble was my favourite game, and it was there for a limited time, and I got there first. They would just have to wait.
Or, maybe I could do something even better.
Seeing as how Bubble Bobble was a two player game, instead of stepping aside, I decided to issue a challenge to the ringleader of the group. Head-to-head combat. One against one. We'd play until one of us got a Game Over. The winner would continue to play Bubble Bobble. The loser got stuck with Burger Time.
My challenger was a twelfth grader, aged seventeen, who readily agreed to compete against me. He even so much as gave his companions a high-five, and said that he would make it his mission to crush me. He was one cocky bastard, he was.
I took control of the green dino. My opponent was in blue. It was a valiant effort by both of us, and both of us lasted a long time. The screenshot up above was the level that we both made it to before one of us got the dreaded Game Over message. Level thirteen ended up being an unlucky number for one of us.
And it was NOT me!
That's right. Cocky twelfth grader ate it on the heart shaped course. Broke his little heart too being beaten by an eight-year-old. I, on the other hand, felt great about it.
So, as promised, the gang had no choice but to step aside, and let me play Bubble Bobble until I ran out of quarters (which actually wasn't all that long, as I only brought $1.50 worth). I didn't care though. I knew that I had played the game so long that I could hold my own against any challenger. I was so confident in my Bubble Bobble abilities that it worked out rather nicely.
I suppose that's the lesson that Bubble Bobble taught me. If you keep at things long enough, you start to develop confidence. And a confident person is a happy person. However, you don't want to become over-confident to the point where you begin to turn into a jerk about it. Otherwise, you end up spending your quarters making gigantic electronic burgers, much like my opponent did.
Whatever the case, that one autumn day in 1989 was one that I'll never forget. Whenever I'm lucky enough to play Bubble Bobble again, I'll never forget that day, because that day had a...
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Across The Pond and Beyond: Kylie and Dannii Minogue
The vast majority of us know what it is like to have brothers or sisters around. Sometimes, there may only be eleven months between siblings, while in other families there may be eleven years. Nevertheless, any of us who have siblings know that sometimes sibling rivalry is a part of being a sibling to someone.
Most times, it's friendly competition between brothers and sisters, such as trying to shoot more free throws in basketball, or who can wear the better bathing suit to a summer beach party.
In extreme cases, brothers and sisters can end up becoming bitter enemies, and try to harm each other or embarrass each other in cruel and unusual ways. Sometimes one sibling can even kill the other one.
It happened with Cain and Abel, didn't it?
Fortunately in most cases, siblings don't really have that much malice towards each other except on soap operas and biblical tales.
It's hard enough trying to manage sibling rivalry in the privacy of your own home. It becomes an entirely different thing altogether when the siblings happen to be in the public eye.
Certainly we've seen our fair share of sibling stars. Jake and Maggie Gyllenhall. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. The Kardashians. Sometimes they fight, and sometimes they don't, but they've all managed to make their mark in some form in the entertainment industry.
(Well...okay, Ashlee Simpson did a hoe-down on SNL following a lip-synching fiasco, but she still had that.)
Because this is the Across the Pond and Beyond day, I figure that I would do this blog entry on a couple of sisters from Melbourne, Australia. A couple of sisters who found fame and fortune in their own ways, and who have had lofty career ambitions. What makes this story unique was that quite often, both of them ended up competing against each other on the music charts, on the television, and well, just about every media outlet you can imagine, really.
These two sisters are the Minogue sisters. On the left is Danielle (who goes by Dannii) Minogue, born on October 20, 1971, and on the right is Kylie Minogue, born May 28, 1968.
In North America, more people are probably more familiar with Kylie Minogue. She had a couple of hits in the late 1980's and made a comeback in late 2001 with this hit.
I realize now that you probably can't get that out of your head right now, and for that I sort of apologize.
Now, Dannii on the other hand, is rarely known at all here in these parts. The only time I ever remember hearing her name was when she was briefly engaged to race car driver Jacques Villeneuve. So, needless to say, I had to do a little bit of research on her.
Not so much with Kylie, who I readily admit to having a celebrity crush on. Hey, I may be 30 years old, but I'm not dead. ;)
Just looking at both of their biographies, there certainly looks like there would be ample opportunities for both Kylie and Dannii to clash with each other.
They both got their careers started in Australian television when they were both young children. Ironically enough, both of them appeared on the same shows! Mainly on Australian dramas that never ended up airing in North America.
So clearly both of them decided that they wanted to have a career in the arts and entertainment sector by basically going after similar parts in similar shows.
In 1981, there was a show on television called Young Talent Time in Australia (which I suppose would be like the Australian version of Kids Incorporated or the Mickey Mouse Club maybe), and Kylie submitted a demo tape to the program, hoping that the show would cast her on the program. Kylie had decided that she had wanted a career in music, and figured that by getting on the show at thirteen was a good stepping stone. Kylie appeared on the show once as a guest, but unfortunately wasn't cast.
However, her ten year old sister Dannii WAS cast.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the Minogue residence in 1981.
Kylie didn't let it get her down though. As Dannii continued to have success on Young Talent Time, Kylie was getting involved in the world of Australian soap operas, and she landed the role of Charlene Mitchell Robinson on Neighbours.
After a few years on Young Talent Time, Dannii left the program, wanting to further her acting abilities, and it is here where something interesting happens along the way.
Let's follow the bouncing ball, shall we?
Kylie Minogue appeared on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She played Charlene Mitchell Robinson for two years from 1986 to 1988. Charlene was best described as a rebellious teenager.
Dannii Minogue appeared on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. She played Emma Jackson for a year from 1989 to 1990. Emma was...also a rebellious teenager.
Think that's a coincidence? There's more.
While Kylie was working on Neighbours, she went to a benefit concert for a football league along with some Neighbours cast members. The cast decided to put on their own talent show where they entertained the crowds, but it threw Kylie for a loop, as she had nothing prepared. At the last minute, she decided to sing a cover version of the following song.
The Loco-Motion. Originally a hit for Little Eva back in 1962, Kylie managed to put her own signature on the classic hit, and it got her signed to a recording contract with Mushroom records. Soon after, she was signed onto the successful pop music writing team of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, where she recorded her first five albums with the team. Her sudden success as a pop music artist in Australia and the United Kingdom was a key factor behind her leaving Neighbours and solely focusing on music.
Dannii Minogue, who seemed to be literally following Kylie in everything she did, followed suit. She decided to leave Home and Away to record her debut album in 1990, and much like Kylie's debut single, Dannii's first song was considered to be mindless, bubble gum fluff. Let's take a listen, shall we?
Just like her sister's debut, Dannii's 'Love and Kisses' has not aged very well, at all. Yet, it was still big enough for Dannii to get her first top five hit in Australia.
Unfortunately for Dannii, 'Love And Kisses' was her only top five smash.
Part of it could have been the fact that it was Dannii's first album, but Kylie arguably had better success with her debut than Dannii did.
It also didn't help Dannii that Kylie had released her third album the same year that Dannii released hers. In fact, the albums were released six weeks apart. Although Dannii had the edge with releasing her album first, Kylie had released the first single from her album six months earlier.
Better The Devil You Know became Kylie's twelfth top five single globally (except in North America where it never charted), while Dannii was lucky to have had one.
As a result of the sisters releasing their albums so close together, it was a safe assumption that the Minogues would often find themselves on the charts at the same time. Although Dannii had the success on Young Talent Time, Kylie had the success on the charts. In fact, in Australia and the UK, the majority of Kylie's albums had terrific sales and had better critical reception as she matured. Dannii on the other hand had a rockier road.
Before I started this blog entry, you probably could name at least one song by Kylie Minogue. I bet you couldn't do the same for Dannii. Some of you probably didn't even know who Dannii Minogue even was!
Okay, so if you're keeping score, Dannii may have gotten her first big break before Kylie, but Kylie was having more success than Dannii was on the charts. Though both of them ended up having meaty roles on competing soap operas.
The public kept comparing the two sisters, and the media seemed to have a field day constrasting elder Minogue from younger Minogue. They compared their musical talents, their acting talents...some even went so far as to print polls asking which Minogue sister was sexier.
I guess in some weird way, I too am guilty of comparing Kylie and Dannii in this blog. Though in my case, no maliciousness is intended, which is more than I could say for the UK tabloids at the time.
It was almost like the media was salivating over any reports of strain between the sisterly bond between Kylie and Dannii...like they wanted the sisters to have a relationship so dysfunctional that they ended up shoving each other into a fountain.
Here's the irony of the situation though. Despite the competition between the Minogue sisters on the television airwaves and the music charts, the relationship between Kylie and Dannii remains stronger than ever before.
None of that was made more evident when both sisters experienced their own crisis points in their careers.
We will start with Dannii.
You'll see Dannii on the far right of this picture, and on the left is former American Idol judge Simon Cowell. This is a picture of the judging panel of the UK show 'The X-Factor'. You may have heard that an American version of the show is slated to premiere in a few months, which will reunite Simon with Paula Abdul. The American version is based on this show, which works the same way as American Idol, only with a wider range of contestants. There wasn't an age limit, and people can perform in groups if they wish.
Anyway, Dannii Minogue was a judge on that show for several seasons, and during her tenure as judge, it was rumoured that she had been involved in feuds with other judges. Apparently, Dannii Minogue didn't get along with Sharon Osbourne. When Sharon left the show to judge America's Got Talent, she reportedly didn't like replacement judge Cheryl Cole. She was also attacked by other prominent musical figures, questioning her ability to judge the contestants fairly, and wondering if her credientials were enough. And she got into an on-air verbal sparring match with fellow judge Louis Walsh over a contestant's song choice, which left Minogue in tears.
Dannii's time on the X-Factor was filled with controversy, and her having to try and deflect her critics, whether the comments were accurate or not. To add insult to injury, Louis Walsh kept making comments that basically stated that she was inferior to her more successful sister.
And that's when big sister Kylie stepped into the ring to defend little sister Dannii by saying this about Louis Walsh's comments.
"It was so cheap. I’m just so proud of my sister and it annoys the hell out of me when comparisons between us are made in an unfavourable way to her. In England, you lot don’t know where she came from. She was on TV every week from seven years old. I think that makes it harder for her when she gets Louis Walsh’s rather pathetic jibes – one of which is she hasn’t had a hit record. That’s not true. He has no idea where she’s come from. No idea. And neither does England. And that’s quite hard."
To me, it sounds less like sibling rivalry and more like a family uniting together to get the facts straight. Sure, Louis Walsh may have been completely justified in what he was saying, but he should have acted more diplomatically about it...because then he had to face the wrath of Kylie. And even though Kylie's only 5'1", I hear the small ones are dangerous when provoked.
Kylie herself had her own crisis...one which could have been life-threatening.
2005 was shaping up to be a great year for Kylie. Her latest album 'Body Language' was doing relatively well on the charts, and she had kicked off her 'Showgirl' world tour. Approaching birthday number thirty-seven, she was at the height of her career, and it seemed like nothing was going to get her down.
That was until May 17, 2005, when she received the news that would end up being her biggest challenge yet. Kylie Minogue was diagnosed as having breast cancer.
Her Showgirl tour was postponed indefinitely as a result, and she had to pull out of several appearances that she had pre-planned before the cancer diagnosis. Four days later, she underwent surgery and endured chemotherapy shortly after that.
By 2006, Kylie's cancer went into remission, and in November of 2006, she resumed her Showgirl tour in Australia, where she gave some of the most emotional performances in her career. She was still feeling exhausted from the chemotherapy she had undergone, and she had to take longer breaks in between songs to regain some strength from the performances. She somehow found the strength to continue on with the tour as a thank you to her fans for supporting her through her battle, and on a personal note, I find that to be so inspiring that she cared enough about her fans to even attempt putting on a concert just eighteen months after her initial diagnosis. In an era where concert tickets are way overpriced to mediocre performances at best, Kylie Minogue was determined to give back to her real fans, which was very cool to see.
And who else would support Kylie during her toughest time than her little sister, Dannii? In this interview with Piers Morgan filmed in 2009, this is how Dannii explained it all.
I think if you're still questioning whether there's a sibling rivalry between Dannii and Kylie, this video clip should end all that.
Now, Kylie and Dannii's relationship is a unique one, as much of it has been seen in the public eye, but as we've learned, it really wasn't any different between any other sibling relationship out there.
Naturally, as a brother to two older sisters, we all had our fair share of disagreements and fights. I remember my sister screaming at me to get out of her room, so I destroyed her Barbie dolls. The other sister later retaliated by pouring a whole tube of Alberto styling gel on my head to give me the Miami Vice look.
(Yeah...that event happened in 1985, in case you were wondering).
The point is that yes, there are times where I have felt like I needed to compete with them, and there are some times in which I would find myself being compared to them in terms of where we all are in life. It still doesn't mean that I don't love them any less. They're my siblings. They were there for me when I was getting my gall bladder removed, and I was there for them through their medical scares.
TRIVIA: My two sisters and I all had surgeries on our mid-sections for three different medical problems, and as a result, we all have unique scars. My oldest sister made the crack that if we all became victims of a serial killer they could use our chests to identify us. Heh.
The point is that your siblings are people who you may have a close relationship with, or you may not. They're still your family no matter what.
If Kylie and Dannii Minogue can find a way to have a strong sisterly bond with each other in the public eye, anyone can make that effort. You won't know until you try.
Besides, at least Kylie and Dannii can poke fun at themselves with it.
Most times, it's friendly competition between brothers and sisters, such as trying to shoot more free throws in basketball, or who can wear the better bathing suit to a summer beach party.
In extreme cases, brothers and sisters can end up becoming bitter enemies, and try to harm each other or embarrass each other in cruel and unusual ways. Sometimes one sibling can even kill the other one.
It happened with Cain and Abel, didn't it?
Fortunately in most cases, siblings don't really have that much malice towards each other except on soap operas and biblical tales.
It's hard enough trying to manage sibling rivalry in the privacy of your own home. It becomes an entirely different thing altogether when the siblings happen to be in the public eye.
Certainly we've seen our fair share of sibling stars. Jake and Maggie Gyllenhall. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. The Kardashians. Sometimes they fight, and sometimes they don't, but they've all managed to make their mark in some form in the entertainment industry.
(Well...okay, Ashlee Simpson did a hoe-down on SNL following a lip-synching fiasco, but she still had that.)
Because this is the Across the Pond and Beyond day, I figure that I would do this blog entry on a couple of sisters from Melbourne, Australia. A couple of sisters who found fame and fortune in their own ways, and who have had lofty career ambitions. What makes this story unique was that quite often, both of them ended up competing against each other on the music charts, on the television, and well, just about every media outlet you can imagine, really.
These two sisters are the Minogue sisters. On the left is Danielle (who goes by Dannii) Minogue, born on October 20, 1971, and on the right is Kylie Minogue, born May 28, 1968.
In North America, more people are probably more familiar with Kylie Minogue. She had a couple of hits in the late 1980's and made a comeback in late 2001 with this hit.
I realize now that you probably can't get that out of your head right now, and for that I sort of apologize.
Now, Dannii on the other hand, is rarely known at all here in these parts. The only time I ever remember hearing her name was when she was briefly engaged to race car driver Jacques Villeneuve. So, needless to say, I had to do a little bit of research on her.
Not so much with Kylie, who I readily admit to having a celebrity crush on. Hey, I may be 30 years old, but I'm not dead. ;)
Just looking at both of their biographies, there certainly looks like there would be ample opportunities for both Kylie and Dannii to clash with each other.
They both got their careers started in Australian television when they were both young children. Ironically enough, both of them appeared on the same shows! Mainly on Australian dramas that never ended up airing in North America.
So clearly both of them decided that they wanted to have a career in the arts and entertainment sector by basically going after similar parts in similar shows.
In 1981, there was a show on television called Young Talent Time in Australia (which I suppose would be like the Australian version of Kids Incorporated or the Mickey Mouse Club maybe), and Kylie submitted a demo tape to the program, hoping that the show would cast her on the program. Kylie had decided that she had wanted a career in music, and figured that by getting on the show at thirteen was a good stepping stone. Kylie appeared on the show once as a guest, but unfortunately wasn't cast.
However, her ten year old sister Dannii WAS cast.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the Minogue residence in 1981.
Kylie didn't let it get her down though. As Dannii continued to have success on Young Talent Time, Kylie was getting involved in the world of Australian soap operas, and she landed the role of Charlene Mitchell Robinson on Neighbours.
After a few years on Young Talent Time, Dannii left the program, wanting to further her acting abilities, and it is here where something interesting happens along the way.
Let's follow the bouncing ball, shall we?
Kylie Minogue appeared on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She played Charlene Mitchell Robinson for two years from 1986 to 1988. Charlene was best described as a rebellious teenager.
Dannii Minogue appeared on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. She played Emma Jackson for a year from 1989 to 1990. Emma was...also a rebellious teenager.
Think that's a coincidence? There's more.
While Kylie was working on Neighbours, she went to a benefit concert for a football league along with some Neighbours cast members. The cast decided to put on their own talent show where they entertained the crowds, but it threw Kylie for a loop, as she had nothing prepared. At the last minute, she decided to sing a cover version of the following song.
The Loco-Motion. Originally a hit for Little Eva back in 1962, Kylie managed to put her own signature on the classic hit, and it got her signed to a recording contract with Mushroom records. Soon after, she was signed onto the successful pop music writing team of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, where she recorded her first five albums with the team. Her sudden success as a pop music artist in Australia and the United Kingdom was a key factor behind her leaving Neighbours and solely focusing on music.
Dannii Minogue, who seemed to be literally following Kylie in everything she did, followed suit. She decided to leave Home and Away to record her debut album in 1990, and much like Kylie's debut single, Dannii's first song was considered to be mindless, bubble gum fluff. Let's take a listen, shall we?
Just like her sister's debut, Dannii's 'Love and Kisses' has not aged very well, at all. Yet, it was still big enough for Dannii to get her first top five hit in Australia.
Unfortunately for Dannii, 'Love And Kisses' was her only top five smash.
Part of it could have been the fact that it was Dannii's first album, but Kylie arguably had better success with her debut than Dannii did.
It also didn't help Dannii that Kylie had released her third album the same year that Dannii released hers. In fact, the albums were released six weeks apart. Although Dannii had the edge with releasing her album first, Kylie had released the first single from her album six months earlier.
Better The Devil You Know became Kylie's twelfth top five single globally (except in North America where it never charted), while Dannii was lucky to have had one.
As a result of the sisters releasing their albums so close together, it was a safe assumption that the Minogues would often find themselves on the charts at the same time. Although Dannii had the success on Young Talent Time, Kylie had the success on the charts. In fact, in Australia and the UK, the majority of Kylie's albums had terrific sales and had better critical reception as she matured. Dannii on the other hand had a rockier road.
Before I started this blog entry, you probably could name at least one song by Kylie Minogue. I bet you couldn't do the same for Dannii. Some of you probably didn't even know who Dannii Minogue even was!
Okay, so if you're keeping score, Dannii may have gotten her first big break before Kylie, but Kylie was having more success than Dannii was on the charts. Though both of them ended up having meaty roles on competing soap operas.
The public kept comparing the two sisters, and the media seemed to have a field day constrasting elder Minogue from younger Minogue. They compared their musical talents, their acting talents...some even went so far as to print polls asking which Minogue sister was sexier.
I guess in some weird way, I too am guilty of comparing Kylie and Dannii in this blog. Though in my case, no maliciousness is intended, which is more than I could say for the UK tabloids at the time.
It was almost like the media was salivating over any reports of strain between the sisterly bond between Kylie and Dannii...like they wanted the sisters to have a relationship so dysfunctional that they ended up shoving each other into a fountain.
Here's the irony of the situation though. Despite the competition between the Minogue sisters on the television airwaves and the music charts, the relationship between Kylie and Dannii remains stronger than ever before.
None of that was made more evident when both sisters experienced their own crisis points in their careers.
We will start with Dannii.
You'll see Dannii on the far right of this picture, and on the left is former American Idol judge Simon Cowell. This is a picture of the judging panel of the UK show 'The X-Factor'. You may have heard that an American version of the show is slated to premiere in a few months, which will reunite Simon with Paula Abdul. The American version is based on this show, which works the same way as American Idol, only with a wider range of contestants. There wasn't an age limit, and people can perform in groups if they wish.
Anyway, Dannii Minogue was a judge on that show for several seasons, and during her tenure as judge, it was rumoured that she had been involved in feuds with other judges. Apparently, Dannii Minogue didn't get along with Sharon Osbourne. When Sharon left the show to judge America's Got Talent, she reportedly didn't like replacement judge Cheryl Cole. She was also attacked by other prominent musical figures, questioning her ability to judge the contestants fairly, and wondering if her credientials were enough. And she got into an on-air verbal sparring match with fellow judge Louis Walsh over a contestant's song choice, which left Minogue in tears.
Dannii's time on the X-Factor was filled with controversy, and her having to try and deflect her critics, whether the comments were accurate or not. To add insult to injury, Louis Walsh kept making comments that basically stated that she was inferior to her more successful sister.
And that's when big sister Kylie stepped into the ring to defend little sister Dannii by saying this about Louis Walsh's comments.
"It was so cheap. I’m just so proud of my sister and it annoys the hell out of me when comparisons between us are made in an unfavourable way to her. In England, you lot don’t know where she came from. She was on TV every week from seven years old. I think that makes it harder for her when she gets Louis Walsh’s rather pathetic jibes – one of which is she hasn’t had a hit record. That’s not true. He has no idea where she’s come from. No idea. And neither does England. And that’s quite hard."
To me, it sounds less like sibling rivalry and more like a family uniting together to get the facts straight. Sure, Louis Walsh may have been completely justified in what he was saying, but he should have acted more diplomatically about it...because then he had to face the wrath of Kylie. And even though Kylie's only 5'1", I hear the small ones are dangerous when provoked.
Kylie herself had her own crisis...one which could have been life-threatening.
2005 was shaping up to be a great year for Kylie. Her latest album 'Body Language' was doing relatively well on the charts, and she had kicked off her 'Showgirl' world tour. Approaching birthday number thirty-seven, she was at the height of her career, and it seemed like nothing was going to get her down.
That was until May 17, 2005, when she received the news that would end up being her biggest challenge yet. Kylie Minogue was diagnosed as having breast cancer.
Her Showgirl tour was postponed indefinitely as a result, and she had to pull out of several appearances that she had pre-planned before the cancer diagnosis. Four days later, she underwent surgery and endured chemotherapy shortly after that.
By 2006, Kylie's cancer went into remission, and in November of 2006, she resumed her Showgirl tour in Australia, where she gave some of the most emotional performances in her career. She was still feeling exhausted from the chemotherapy she had undergone, and she had to take longer breaks in between songs to regain some strength from the performances. She somehow found the strength to continue on with the tour as a thank you to her fans for supporting her through her battle, and on a personal note, I find that to be so inspiring that she cared enough about her fans to even attempt putting on a concert just eighteen months after her initial diagnosis. In an era where concert tickets are way overpriced to mediocre performances at best, Kylie Minogue was determined to give back to her real fans, which was very cool to see.
And who else would support Kylie during her toughest time than her little sister, Dannii? In this interview with Piers Morgan filmed in 2009, this is how Dannii explained it all.
I think if you're still questioning whether there's a sibling rivalry between Dannii and Kylie, this video clip should end all that.
Now, Kylie and Dannii's relationship is a unique one, as much of it has been seen in the public eye, but as we've learned, it really wasn't any different between any other sibling relationship out there.
Naturally, as a brother to two older sisters, we all had our fair share of disagreements and fights. I remember my sister screaming at me to get out of her room, so I destroyed her Barbie dolls. The other sister later retaliated by pouring a whole tube of Alberto styling gel on my head to give me the Miami Vice look.
(Yeah...that event happened in 1985, in case you were wondering).
The point is that yes, there are times where I have felt like I needed to compete with them, and there are some times in which I would find myself being compared to them in terms of where we all are in life. It still doesn't mean that I don't love them any less. They're my siblings. They were there for me when I was getting my gall bladder removed, and I was there for them through their medical scares.
TRIVIA: My two sisters and I all had surgeries on our mid-sections for three different medical problems, and as a result, we all have unique scars. My oldest sister made the crack that if we all became victims of a serial killer they could use our chests to identify us. Heh.
The point is that your siblings are people who you may have a close relationship with, or you may not. They're still your family no matter what.
If Kylie and Dannii Minogue can find a way to have a strong sisterly bond with each other in the public eye, anyone can make that effort. You won't know until you try.
Besides, at least Kylie and Dannii can poke fun at themselves with it.
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