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Monday, January 02, 2012

Toy Story

Now that we are in the year 2012, a lot of people have the attitude that a new year brings forth new hopes, new dreams, heck, new everything!
For many people, the change in calendar year brings about an attitude of ‘out with the old, in with the new’.

There’re lots of examples that I can come up with right off the bat that suggest that a new year brings out new change.  Many people take the first few days of 2012 to clean out their closets, for instance.  Tossing out those shirts that no longer fit, jeans that are threadbare and fading, socks that look like they were taken from a swiss cheese factory...you know.

After all, many people get new clothes for Christmas, and need a space to put all of their brand new clothes.  It’s quite common for people to donate, sell, or throw away their old wardrobe to make way for the new one.

Well, unless you’re a hoarder, but that’s another story altogether.

I imagine that during the first week of 2012, I will be rearranging my closet to fit in the half dozen sweaters that I received as gifts for Christmas 2011.  As someone who has limited closet space, it’s almost become a bit of a necessity, really.  But, don’t worry.  Most of the clothing items I have given up in the past have gone to charity.  I hate being wasteful.

The new year also tends to be a busy time for home redecorating projects.  Between buying new furniture for a living room, to renovating a bathroom, to painting a home a different shade of white (who knew that there were one hundred different shades of white for that matter?), people see the new year as a chance to remodel everything within their personal space.

I know that if I ever get the chance to own my own home, I’d probably welcome the opportunity for change to my own living area.  As it stands right now, I’m very limited in what I can do.  There’s always time to change this though.

Even growing up, there were instances where we had to let go of the past to incorporate the future...even in something as simple as what I kept inside of a toy box.

I can remember growing up, I would get wonderful gifts and presents for Christmas and my birthday.  Nothing too extravagant or expensive, as my family was working class, but I have such great memories.  But there came a time in which the toys and games that I had gotten accumulated, and the space I had in the toy box was less and less each year.  There eventually came a time in which I had to make some heavy decisions about my belongings (well, about as heavy as a decision made as a child could be).  Making the choices between what toys to keep, and which toys to sell or give away were some of the hardest childhood decisions that I ever had to make.  How could you choose?

Ideally, I wished that I could have kept everything that I had gotten.  Some of the toys and games that I had gotten were from family members who I had loved, and I had the feeling that if I let go of them, I’d end up hurting their feelings.  But, when given the choice between keeping a brand new toy and keeping a toy that was falling apart after five years of non-stop play, the choice was made obvious in a lot of cases.

I’ve still managed to keep a few things from my childhood.  Certainly, one thing that I refuse to let go of are my collection of comic books.  After all, those comic books helped cheer me up after many, many horrible school days.  I still have my Intellivision that I got as a Christmas present one year, as well as the games that go with it.  And I have a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fridge magnets from the early 1990s that I’ve kept just for nostalgic purposes.

So, I ask you guys this...if you had an old toy that you’ve had for years, and a new toy that you just got two days ago, would you get rid of the old to make way for the new?  Keep both?  Not play with EITHER one?

In the case of Andy Davis, this was a choice that was central to the plot of one of the most profitable and enjoyable movies ever made.



That movie is the 1995 classic Pixar movie, 'Toy Story'.  The first of five animated feature films that will be featured in the Monday Matinee entries during the month of January.  The movie starred Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the voices of Woody and Buzz Lightyear respectively.

When Toy Story was released in November 1995, it brought forth a whole bunch of firsts with it.  It was the first feature film made by Pixar, for one.  On that note, we can say that it was the first feature film that was done entirely in CGI animation.  It was a really big deal when it was first released.  The film did extremely well at the box office, and was the top-grossing film on its opening weekend.  The film made almost four hundred MILLION dollars worldwide, and spawned two successful sequels (Toy Story 2 in 1999 and Toy Story 3 in 2010).  And that isn't even counting all of the toys that were made in conjunction with the film releases.  To say that the Toy Story trilogy was successful would be one hell of an understatement.

Really, I could talk about all three films, because all three of them were superb.  But I wanted to focus especially on the first one because it is the film that started the whole thing off.



Anyway, Andy Davis is the main human character of the film.  He's a young boy who lives a happy, carefree life with his family in a suburban paradise.  His favourite things in the whole world are the massive collection of toys that he has accumulated over his childhood.  He literally has every toy a boy could want.  He has a piggy bank named Hamm.  He has a Slinky Dog.  He has Mr. Potato Head.  He has enough toys to stock a shelf at Toys R Us!



Perhaps Andy's most favourite toy is his beloved cowboy doll named Woody.  Woody is a typical pull-string doll.  You pull the string, Woody will say such positive statements as 'You're my favourite deputy!'

However, Andy has a birthday coming up.  And whenever Andy celebrates a birthday, or Christmas comes around, or there's a special event where Andy will get a brand new toy to play with, the toys get very worried.  They seem to have the fear that whenever a new toy comes on the scene, Andy will focus all of his attention on them, and ignore all the others.

This is a notion that Woody seems to ignore, at first.  Woody tries his best to reassure the rest of Andy's toys that they have nothing to fear.

Well, that is until Andy gets his birthday present.

It seems as though every year has their own version of the 'must have toy of the season'.  In 1983, it was the Cabbage Patch Kid.  In 1996, it was the Tickle Me Elmo doll.



And in 1995 apparently, it was the Buzz Lightyear action figure.

And what a cool dude Buzz was.  He was an astronaut who could go to infinity...and beyond!  His overall personality seemed to match his larger than life exterior.  With his booming voice, fancy buttons, and all the bells and whistles, Buzz Lightyear definitely stood out amongst the sea of toys in the room.

And Woody hated every minute of it.



To make matters even more frustrating, Buzz didn't even seem aware that he even WAS a toy!  He actually believed that he was the original Buzz Lightyear.  To Woody's frustration, he even seemed to convince the other toys that the fantasy that he has been lead to believe was true really was true!

To Woody, Buzz posed a real threat to usurp him off of the 'Andy's Favourite Toy' throne.  And the last thing Woody wanted was for that to happen.

As the movie progresses, we learn that it's a busy time at the Davis household.  Not only is it Andy's birthday, but we also learn that the family is moving to a new house.  But before the move, a birthday party is planned for Andy at a Chuck E. Cheese like restaurant known as the 'Pizza Planet'.  Since the restaurant is space themed, Andy wastes no time in deciding to bring Buzz Lightyear with him to the party, infuriating Woody even further.

The normally upbeat and positive Woody takes drastic measures to ensure that Buzz doesn't make it to the party, even going so far as to knock him out of Andy's bedroom window!  The plan does work, as Andy decides to bring Woody with him instead of Buzz.  Of course, this success is short lived, as Buzz finds a way inside the Davis family car anyways.  This sets the scene for a fight between Buzz and Woody.  The fight causes Woody and Buzz to fall out of the vehicle, but Woody manages to hitch a ride on a truck, and convinces Buzz that if he goes with him to Pizza Planet, he can go back to his home planet for good.  The gullible Buzz agrees.



At the restaurant, Buzz is immediately drawn to a giant mechanical claw game which he believes is the spaceship that Woody promised would be there.  The spaceship is even filled with an assortment of little green alien toys who seem to believe that Buzz is their master.

At this point, Woody is beginning to feel a little guilty for the trick he played on Buzz, and he tries to go inside the game to rescue Buzz.  But unfortunately, Woody, Buzz, and an alien toy are taken by Andy's twisted neighbour, Sid Phillips.



And what a nasty piece of work Sid was.  I'm sure all of us have mutilated or destroyed toys in our lives.  I know I used to bury my sister's Barbie dolls in the backyard when I was younger.  But Sid takes it to the extreme.  He rips the guts out of one toy and attaches them to another toy to make a demented, warped version of some mutant toy.  It may seem like harmless destruction in the human world, but to the toys, it ultimately ends up being their worst nightmare come true.

To make the situation even more dire, while imprisoned at Sid's, Buzz happens to watch a television commercial advertising Buzz Lightyear dolls, and Buzz comes to the sad realization that he is nothing more than a toy.  He is so taken aback by the shock that when Woody decides to come up with an escape plan, Buzz is simply too shaken up to care.

So here we have our conflict.  Woody is forced to work together with his nemesis to try and get back to Andy before he moves away, but Buzz is depressed.  Even worse is the fact that time is running out for both of them, as Sid's latest sadistic plan is to attach a rocket to Buzz Lightyear to scatter his remains to infinity and beyond.  Can Woody and Buzz work together to escape Sid's clutches and get back home to where they belong?

Well, okay, considering that the movie spawned two sequels, you probably already know the answer to that one.  But just watching the toys get one over on Sid is worth checking out.  Karma couldn't taste so sweet.

I absolutely love the movie Toy Story.  It has warmth, it has nostalgia, it has toys...it's one of the most perfect movies to ever come out of the decade known as the 1990s, and helped put Pixar on the map as a reputable movie maker.

But I think I also enjoyed the movie because it took me back to the days when I was a child, and the hardest decision I had to make was to decide which toys I loved the best.  For Andy, it almost proved to be an impossible situation because he had a special memory associated with each toy.  Just as I had.

I guess the lesson we can learn from Toy Story is the fact that childhood is a precious time in all of our lives, and sometimes, having a special toy to hold onto through the good and the bad can help a lot.

I think also that a lesson can be learned about taking care of your possessions.  That maybe we should try our best to preserve our things and memories so that we can either enjoy them in our older age, or keep them to provide another child the same joy that we got out of them when we were playing with them.

Because you never know when a Sid will pop up.

And you never know what dire fate that a Sid could end up facing when he destroys one too many toys...

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!!!



Good morning, everybody, and welcome to 2012!

I’m very optimistic about this brand new year.  I say, bring on the twelve!  2012 is looking like one of those years where anything could be possible.  While I’m usually not the type of person to make New Years resolutions, I do have the opinion that this year will be one that is filled with new opportunities, new friendships, and new hope.


And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am not a believer in the Mayan predictions that 2012 is going to be our last.  I scoffed at the Y2K bug of 2000, and laughed off both of Harold Camping’s phony-baloney doomsday prophecies.  I have my doubts that we’re ever going to be in a position where John Cusack and Amanda Peet save us all from global destruction.

Well, at least not in 2012 anyway.

So for this, the first blog entry of 2012, I thought that this would be a great day to make some changes to this blog.  You may have already seen a couple of these changes previewed by the change in font, and my becoming a lot more personal in my blog entries as of late.  But that was just the tip of the iceberg, my friends.

The truth is, I was always very resistant to change growing up.  For years, I wore my hair the same way, always had to have the same colour shoes, never changed my bedroom decor.  I was essentially stuck in a rut because I refused to embrace the power that change could bring.

It took me a great many years for me to break out of the cocoon I had crafted for myself to emerge into that butterfly.  Well, okay, maybe not butterfly.  I don’t know what you’d call it.  A moth, maybe?

Anyways, part of growing into adulthood is making changes to your day to day life because in most cases, change is good.  Change helps one learn things about themselves that they may not have known before.  Change helps average people become extraordinary.  Change is what makes this world a better place to live in.

Sometimes change doesn’t exactly work out, and sometimes change can make things spiral out of control.  But taking that risk to change even a small thing in your life can sometimes be worth it.

So, I’m going to be taking a risk with this blog.  I’ll be changing several of the theme days, as well as changing the way that the 2012 blog collection is presented.  It’s my hope that with these changes, I’ll be able to put out more of myself out there for all of you to get to know me better.  But also, my hope is to get more discussion from all of you out there.  As much as I enjoy writing this blog, I want you all to know that this space is as much yours as it is mine.  Judging from comments I have gotten from you on past entries, as well as looking back on the statistics of page views over the last seven months, I think I’ve made the necessary changes that I hope will improve this space for everyone who reads this space on a daily basis.

Who knows?  I could end up changing this again in three months time.  At least give it a shot, anyway.

Okay, so the first change that I’ll be making is ditching the preface on blog titles.  You know, the Sunday Jukebox, Monday Matinee, TGIF...yeah, those are gone.  You’ve been reading this blog for seven months now.  You know what the days are.  I know what the days are.  Redundancy at its finest.  Besides, now I can come up with more creative blog titles by doing it this way, so it’s a win-win all around.

Although for the first week of 2012, I’ll likely keep them up anyway, because the theme days of the week as you know will be changing.

Not all of them though.

For starters, I’ll let you know that the three most popular days that people seem to respond to with the most positivity are the weekend entries.  TGIF, Saturday Morning, and Sunday Jukebox are the three theme days that seem to get the most responses, so as far as I’m concerned, those three will be sticking around another year.  I may add some educational programs to the Saturday Morning feature, and adding daytime dramas and prime time soaps to TGIF to expand the topics further, but that will be the only minor change I’ll make.

I’m also going to be keeping the Monday Matinee feature up and running.  With thousands of movies (plus a movie rental place just a block away from where I live), I have no shortage of topics for the coming year.  In fact, stay tuned for the month of January, as every Monday Matinee this month will feature an animated feature film.  It’s no secret that I have a bit of a soft spot for animated movies, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to feature more of them.

So, I guess you’ve figured out that the three days that will be getting an overhaul will be the ones mid-week.

The first day that will be changing is Tuesday.  Tuesdays have always been known as ‘Whatever Tuesdays’, where the topic is completely random.  On Tuesdays in the past, I’ve talked about everything from the Magic 8-Ball to chocolate milk!  In some ways, the new Tuesday entry will be similar to that, as the topic will also be random.  But in this case, the new name for the day will be the TUESDAY TIMELINE.

And just because I’m a little devious so that you’ll read it, I’m not even going to reveal the subject of the blog!  Not in the title, or even the picture next to it.  All you will see is the date that the Timeline will be featuring.  It could be 2011.  It could be 1981.  It could be 1812!  Consider it your...mystery blog entry.  Trust me, I think you’ll find it neat.  At least, I hope so.

The next day to change is our Wednesdays, and this one really was tough.  Wednesdays were known as ‘Across The Pond And Beyond’ Wednesdays, and they were some of my favourite ones to write.  But there’s only so many topics that one can write about before one runs out of topics.  I may end up featuring some foreign entries on some of the other theme days, but for this year, I think that I’ll be putting the old Wednesday on ice.

Instead, while figuring out a new theme to take its place, it dawned on me that I don’t have any blog days for toys, games, books, and magazines.  And where can you find all of these things? 

Gift shops!

Hence our new Wednesday...THE WEDNESDAY GIFT SHOP GRAB BAG!

I’ll be talking about memories that come from playing board games, childhood toys, comic books, magazines, and books that I remember checking out of the school library years ago.  And believe me, there’s a lot of life lessons that can come from childhood favourites!

The final day that will be changing is Thursdays.  As I alluded to on my final Thursday Night At The Arcade post, the one posted on December 29, 2011 was my last one for a while.  Thursdays was traditionally my lowest-rated day of the week, so I thought I’d do something radically different.

Thursdays will now be known as the THURSDAY CONFESSIONAL.  This will be a day in which pop culture will take a back seat (though I may post references to it as a supplement).  This will be the day where I’ll allow you guys to get to know me a little bit better.  I could post a rant.  I could post a compliment.  I could post about current events.  I could even post about what colour my socks are.  Whatever happens to be on my mind that particular Thursday, it’s getting posted unfiltered, uncensored, and other un words.  I’ll likely have more of an explanation when I post my first Thursday confessional this coming January 5th.

So, let’s recap the new schedule for the week as we approach 2012...

SUNDAY:  Sunday Jukebox

MONDAY: Monday Matinee

TUESDAY: Tuesday Timeline

WEDNESDAY:  Wednesday Gift Shop Grab Bag

THURSDAY:  Thursday Confessional

FRIDAY:  TGIF (now with more drama!)

SATURDAY: Saturday Morning (now with more educational value!)

Got all that?

I know it seems like a lot of changes, but I’m hoping that these changes will be positive ones.  If not, we’ll try tweaking it around in three-six months time.  At least give it a shot.

That’s about all I have to report for this blog entry.  I hope you have a happy new year and that 2012 brings you everything that you want and more.  But, seeing as how today is Sunday, I can’t very well leave this blog without posting one song.

Take it away, Mr. Bowie!

ARTIST: David Bowie
SONG:  Changes
ALBUM: Hunky Dory
DATE RELEASED:  January 7, 1972
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #66
It may not have been his biggest hit, but certainly one of David Bowie's most well-known.  I'd also recommend Butterfly Boucher's cover of this song as well, which was very well done.

A perfect song to set the tone of the blog entry for today, and the rest of the year.


The twelve is here!  Bring on the changes!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve


Can you believe that today is the final day of 2011?  This whole year has been one that seems to have flown by, hasn’t it?

So, how was 2011 for all of you?  Good?  Bad?  Indifferent?

Well, I’ll tell you, 2011 for me was a year that was sort of like a boomerang year.  You know how sometimes you have a day that starts off bad, gets better midway through, and then ends terribly?  That was 2011 for me in a nutshell.

The year 2011 began on a really terrible note.  I had to have emergency surgery earlier in the year, which caused me to have my gall bladder removed.  It was a very complicated surgery which required the doctor to remove part of my liver in order to remove the gall bladder.  I realize that had I let it go, it would have eventually killed me, so in one sense, I am lucky that I ended up surviving.  Of course, having a twelve-inch scar across your chest that will likely end up remaining for the rest of your life is a permanent reminder of the fact that you almost died, so how could you forget such a moment?  Although the painful two month recovery afterwards certainly was no picnic.

2011 ended on a sad note as well for me in my personal life, as I had to say goodbye to somebody who provided happiness, great advice, friendship, and joy for a little over a decade.  It’s never easy to have to say farewell to someone you love, and let’s just say that Pierette’s influence on my life will never be completely lost.

2011 began on a rough patch medically.  2011 ended on a tragic note in a more personal manner. 

But, what about the middle months of the year? 

For me, the middle of the year was absolutely fantastic.  Certainly, it wasn’t all perfection, but it was definitely a high point.  I reconnected with some old friends from my high school years (probably some of the only friends from high school), and I met some talented, creative, writer friends who have actually helped me become a better writer through their commentary, constructive criticism, and compassion.

(How’s that for alliteration at its finest?)

And of course, 2011 was also a big year for this site.  It was on May 24 of this year that the first post on ‘A Pop Culture Addict’s Guide To Life’ was posted.  Two hundred and twenty-five entries later, the blog is still going strong, and I have to say that none of this would have been possible without the feedback and support that I have gotten from all of you.  To say that I want a career in writing is probably an understatement.  I want to make a career out of writing, and my dream one day is to make a living doing the very thing that I love to do best.  Knowing that everyone who reads this blog has given me so much support in this venture gives me the hope that my dream to make it big in the writing community can come true.  So, for that, I wish to thank you all for helping me confirm it.

So, what should I talk about for the last day of 2011?  For a while, I struggled with what I wanted to make the New Years Eve topic all about.  There were dozens of possibilities out there.  And given that New Years Eve falls on a Saturday this year, it would almost have to be expected that I end up doing a blog entry on an animated series, right?

Wrong.

Fear not, boys and girls.  The Saturday Morning cartoon feature will return next week.  But since today is a day that is meant for looking back on what the year brought forth, I wanted to feature a once-a-year program that did exactly that. 

It was a show that for years was an annual tradition for me.  Until recently, I never missed it, because it was the show that had the hottest entertainment of the year, sandwiched in a three hour long program.

And although a new host has taken control of the show for the last few years, it continues the tradition that began in the early 1970s by a man once dubbed ‘America’s Oldest Teenager’.


The show was also our ticket to the huge New Years Eve celebrations that go on every year in New York City’s Times Square.  When I was younger, I used to think that going down to Times Square on New Years Eve was something that I had to do in order to get the real New Years Eve experience.  Now that I am a little older, I’m realizing that the experience looks too claustrophobic for me to really enjoy it.  So to have this show take us down to Times Square so we could watch the ball drop on New Years Eve from the comfort of our own homes was much appreciated.  It was like we were magically a part of that huge party. 

That show, of course, is Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve, an annual tradition that has aired on ABC since December 31, 1974, but began two years prior to that on NBC.


For the first thirty-one years of its lifespan, the program was hosted by radio and television personality, Dick Clark.  In 2004, however, Clark suffered a stroke, and Regis Philbin stepped in as host for the 2004/05 broadcast.  Since December 31, 2005, the program has been hosted by American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest.  Every year, at 11:59 pm, the countdown begins to the New Year, and the host of the program counts down as the ball drops.  At the stroke of midnight, the new year begins, and we can count on one tradition occurring around that time.  Since the program began in 1972, we can count on Dick Clark giving his wife a New Years Eve kiss.  Even after suffering his stroke, Clark continues to make appearances on the show, and like clockwork, we still see him kissing his wife every January 1, just after midnight.

Just take a look at one of these ball drops just to see what I mean.  This is the one from 1994.


Hard to believe that clip aired eighteen years ago today.  Yikes!

But, that’s how much of a thrill it was.  Certainly, as an adult, you’ve seen one ball, you’ve seen them all.  But as a child who normally wasn’t allowed to stay up past midnight, New Years Eve was the perfect excuse to break the rules.  For many years as a child, I can remember going out to the store the night before with my parents, stocking up on snacks such as popcorn, chips and dip, pumpernickel loaves with spinach dip, and Cherry Coke or Crystal Pepsi (or whatever the novelty soda was that year).  Then we would eat said snacks and drinks while we stayed up to watch the various performances of the Rockin’ New Years Eve parties. 


Granted, other networks would air New Years Eve specials as part of their holiday programming, and all of them tried to compete with each other by getting as many musical groups as possible to perform.  But my family always tuned into Rockin’ New Years Eve because it was just better.  It just seemed as though the ABC special (particularly during the years in which Dick Clark hosted) had more artists to choose from, as well as a wider selection of musical genres.  One year, they might have had Mariah Carey.  The next, they’d have Brooks And Dunn.  It seemed for a while, every year got better and better. 

Take the first year that I was allowed to stay up late to watch my first Rockin’ New Years Eve special.  And thanks to YouTube, I now know when it was.  It was Rockin’ New Years Eve 1989, and the only thing that I remember about that year (aside from it being the first one I ever watched) was that Richard Marx was one of the performers.  It made sense, being that 1989 was a huge year for Marx in his singing/songwriting career.  Here’s a clip of that performance below.


Check out that mullet, by the way.  And, yes, I too sported a mullet in 1989.  Don’t judge me, as I bet most of you men had that same hairstyle had you been around in ’89 too!

Of course, Dick Clark probably had a lot of experience with booking these music acts for the show.  He was after all the host of American Bandstand for several years.

And here’s some trivia for you.  The first Rockin’ New Years Eve aired in 1972, to ring in the year 1973.  The musical guests for that year?  Three Dog Night, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Helen Reddy, and Al Green, just to name a few.

Over the years, hundreds of artists would take part in the special.  From The Pointer Sisters to the Spice Girls.  From Blondie to Ke$ha.  From Linda Ronstadt to Carrie Underwood, and everyone in between, there was something for everyone.

And the show has consistently been the highest rated program of all the New Years specials over the last few years.  So even after 40 years, the program is still going strong.

Although, one could argue that the show has really only been on the air for 39 years.

See, back in 1999, everyone was all about everything millennium themed.  When they weren’t building underground bunkers for the supposed Y2K disaster, they were wearing those tacky plastic glasses that were shaped like the number 2000.  Granted, the year 2000 was a big year for me, as it was the year I graduated high school, but other than that, it wasn’t that big of a deal.  Heck, I had to go to work at my part-time job back then shortly after midnight on January 1, 2000, so that wasn’t a great New Years Day at all!


But ABC was very much affected by the millennium bug.  So much so that the decision was made to devote the whole day’s programming of December 31, 1999 to the welcoming of the new millennium.  The event was known as ABC 2000 Today, and it was hosted by the late ABC news anchor Peter Jennings.  The special showed various places all over the world ringing in the year 2000, as well as kept us updated on whether there were exploding bank machines and airplanes plummeting from the skies (there weren’t) as fears of the Y2K bug were later proven to be misguided.

However, as a result of this 24-hour long coverage, the Rockin’ New Years Eve special for 2000 was cancelled indefinitely.  Although Dick Clark did do the countdown for that year (which only East Coast viewers in Canada and the U.S.A. got to see), there was technically no special for that year.  It was brought back to much fanfare for 2001 though.

But whether it was 39 or 40 years, ABC is marking the event with a special retrospective program before Rockin’ New Years Eve 2012 kicks off, showcasing all of the highlights of the specials gone by.  It’s slated to air on most ABC affiliates at 8 pm and will run for two hours.  I’m posting this entry as early as possible so you are all aware of it because I think it might be fun to look back on the show, and see if we can remember where we were when the show originally aired.

Although it’s been years since I’ve watched the show now (partly because I find Dick Clark to be irreplaceable as host, and partly because I haven’t been overly impressed with 2000s music), I may end up tuning into this retrospective special, as there are several New Years Eve parties that I wasn’t alive to witness, and it would be neat to see how much the parties have changed over the last four decades.


And, who knows?  Maybe I’ll even give the Rockin’ New Years Eve special another go-round...even with Seacrest at the helm.

I hope all of you enjoy the final day of 2011, and that you party responsibly.  Don’t overdo it, don’t drink and drive, and make sure everyone is safe at your get-togethers.

And have a happy new year!  I’ll be back on the first day of 2012 where there will be some changes to the blog. 

But that’ll have to wait until next year.  ;)

Friday, December 30, 2011

TGIF: Silver Spoons



Have you ever heard of the expression ‘born with a silver spoon in their mouth’?

Quite the expression, isn’t it?

The expression is best used to describe somebody who was born into a life of privilege and wealth.  Someone who has not known a life of poverty or hardship.

But do you know how the phrase was coined?

If we take a look back at the time period in which the Korean Joseon Dynasty, silver spoons were used as a way to detect poison in various substances.  Because silver is a metal with high reactivity, if it makes contact with other elements, such as sulphur for example, the silver will tarnish.  This made it very easy for people to tell whether their food had been tampered with via poison.  As one of the most common poisons used during that time was arsenic sulphide, the silver spoons were necessary to prevent assassination attempts on the nobility of the dynasty.

Kind of a rather morbid way to look as that expression, but it does make sense, doesn’t it?

Of course, in a less morbid fashion, silver spoons are a symbol of high class, as many people who lived during the Middle Ages would have them as a sign that they were doing well in life.

So, now that you know a little bit about the use of silver spoons in the historical sense, I ask you this question...have you ever known anyone who acted or lived as if they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths?

I know in my life and times, I’ve known a couple of people who certainly seem to fit that description.  And while I’ll readily admit that the thought of poisoning their food never once came to me, I’m sorry to say that my experiences with these people weren’t exactly the most positive.

As someone who isn’t normally a braggart by nature, sometimes when I hear people blabbing on and on over how much they have, how they have the latest gadgets, wear the most expensive clothing items...well, it annoys me, to tell you the truth.

Believe me, it isn’t jealousy.  It isn’t jealousy at all.  I just don’t understand why telling people how much you have, and how you can afford anything that money can buy is all that important.  If it were, I suppose I should find it in my heart to worship the very ground that Kim Kardashian and her siblings walk on, I guess.

I suppose that I find it difficult to understand how the other half lives because I’ve never been on that other half.  They say that some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths.  In my case, I think even a tin spoon is too valuable for my situation. 

Well, okay, maybe my financial situation isn’t that dire.

But you know something?  Rich or poor, we’re all human, and we all have our problems that link us together.

Even those of us who are snacking in a different bracket than everybody else.

And I can’t think of a better example of this to showcase than today’s TGIF blog post.



Have you ever heard of a program called Silver Spoons?  Don’t worry if you haven’t.  Sometimes the show is hard to find considering that it was first released almost thirty years ago.

The show’s history was not unlike other shows that aired during the wonderful decade known as the 1980s.  Debuting September 25, 1982 on NBC, Silver Spoons ran for four seasons on that network until May of 1986 when it was cancelled alongside Punky Brewster. 

But Silver Spoons and Punky Brewster managed to find new life in syndication, and in the case of Silver Spoons, it ran for one final season in syndication, ending for good in 1987.


The sitcom is probably best known for its young star, a young Ricky Schroeder.  Some of you who may not have been old enough to remember Silver Spoons might remember Ricky Schroeder from his other high-profile role on the ABC dramatic series NYPD Blue.  But back when Ricky was a pre-teen, he ended up getting lots of recognition (as well as thousands of fan letters from pre-teen girls of the program) from his role as Ricky Stratton.

The series was produced by Embassy Television and was created by Martin Cohen, Howard Leeds, and Ben Starr.  These three men also worked on other sitcoms of the 1980s, including ‘The Facts of Life’ and ‘Who’s The Boss?’. 

The sitcom’s premise is made immediately known right from the pilot episode.  In that episode, Ricky Stratton is about to meet his father for the very first time since he was born.  You would think that the father-son reunion would be incredibly touching, and that Ricky would naturally have a lot of questions for him.  Questions such as, ‘who are you?’ or ‘where have you been?’.

What Ricky finds out is that his father apparently lives a life of luxury.  Upon setting foot at the front steps of the mansion belonging to his father, Ricky is excited to meet him.  He wants nothing more than to finally reunite with him and get to know him better.


But what Ricky doesn’t count on is that his father is more or less a 10-year-old boy trapped in the body of a 40-year-old man.

I’ve managed to find the first part of the pilot episode of Silver Spoons, which probably best introduces the main characters of the show.  Get a load of the pop culture references inside this clip while you’re at it!

Go ahead and click HERE to watch the video.  Go on.  I’ll wait.

Have you finished watching it yet?  Great!  Let’s continue.

So, judging by the fact that we’re introduced to Edward Stratton III (Joel Higgins) through him riding on a toy train track, dancing along to the Pac-Man theme music each time he plays the game, and the fact that he seemingly has a traffic light on his wall like Mister Rogers did in his neighbourhood house, it’s clear that he is a man who doesn’t like the responsibilities that come from adulthood.

I mean, the guy basically ignored all warnings from financial institutions and lawyers and seemed genuinely shocked that his cash flow was pretty much non-existent.  No more Pac-Man for him.

And then there’s the whole idea of Ricky suddenly walking back into Edward’s life, which stuns Edward immensely.  He isn’t even aware of the fact that he even had a son.  But then, Edward doesn’t seem aware of a lot of things.




The fact that Edward seemed oblivious to the fact that he was broke was just one of the many adult responsibilities that he ignored.  Of course, this wasn’t the only one.  Did you see the woman who made an appearance in the clip I posted?  That woman was Kate Summers (Erin Gray), who was probably the most level-headed person in the whole show.  She worked as Edward’s personal assistant, and more often than not, ended up being the person who encouraged Edward to face up to his responsibilities.  She also seems to have a bit of a crush on her employee, but it doesn’t seem to go noticed for quite some time, much to her frustration.

At any rate, Edward seems to be reluctant at first to accept Ricky into his life as his son.  Having had shirked off his responsibilities onto other people his whole life, the last thing he wanted was to bring his son into his messed-up life.  But when Ricky tells Edward about how his mother remarried, and how she sent him off to military school, he seems to have a change of heart and decides to let Ricky stay for a bit.  But, it becomes painfully clear to Ricky that the more he gets to know Edward, the more he realizes just how not ready he is to grow up and face the truth.

You know, I think it’s time to post part two of this pilot episode right HERE.

Because in part two, we see some conflict resolution happening.

Let’s begin with the case of the missing money.  Turns out that Edward wasn’t quite as big the louse he was with the company books.  In fact, Edward seemed to want to do the responsible thing by donating money to charities.  It was just unfortunate that the ‘charities’ he donated to were completely fraudulent.  One of Edward’s associates was stealing every penny, dime, and dollar away from Edward until he had nothing left.  And he would’ve gotten away with it too...

...if it wasn’t for Edward’s newly-found meddling kid of his.

After overhearing the business associate’s nasty plans, a clever Ricky manages to pull one over on him, and outs his criminal activity to Edward once and for all (although Edward’s obliviousness to it all was incredibly frustrating to watch).  At any rate, the business associate presumably gets his pink slip, and a grateful Edward wastes no time in thanking Ricky for everything he did.  Ricky seemed quite pleased with it too, for he thought that by saving his father’s fortune, it would help him see that he could be an asset, and that Edward would change his mind about letting him stay.

But, unfortunately, he asks Kate to drive Ricky back to the military school where he came from.  When a shocked and saddened Kate asks why, he blames himself for being a terrible son and a rotten husband to Ricky’s mother (it is later revealed that the two of them got married and lasted a week before pulling off a Britney Spears like annulment).  He feels as though if he lets Ricky stay, he’ll only end up hurting him more than he already had.

The thing is, he didn’t realize that he was also hurting himself by letting Ricky go again.

Which is why the last scene, where Edward disguises himself as a monster in hopes of scaring everyone else away to bring Ricky back to his home, was quite touching.  It was true what Edward said, you know.  Edward could sense that Ricky was miserable at the military school, and that all he wanted to be was just a regular, happy child.  Certainly with his child-like manner, and his having every possible toy ever made up to 1982, Edward could provide that for Ricky.

But having Ricky with him would also help Edward learn a few things about himself.  While it was true that Edward may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had everything handed to him, he didn’t have to continue living that way.  With Ricky in his life, Edward knew pretty quickly that he would have to get his act together.  After all, he was a parent now, and he had to assume the responsibility of acting as one, no matter what.  But having the proper and mature Ricky as a son also contributed to Edward finding that mature side of his personality and developing it further.

By the end of the series, both Edward and Ricky ended up becoming well-rounded men.  Edward grew a little more serious, while Ricky discovered his playful side.


And they also discovered something else.  That they had a father and son relationship that most would be honoured to have.

So, if you’re looking for a comedy that has heart, humour, and all the 1980s references you can think of, I recommend Silver Spoons.  And, it’s a show that people of all economic backgrounds can enjoy!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Thursday Night At The Arcade: Crash Bandicoot

This is a very big day for me in my own personal life and times, as this is the first blog entry that I will be doing from my brand new laptop computer!

I know that for some of you out there, this may not seem as though this is that big of a deal, but for me, this is the first time that I have even owned a laptop computer.  Prior to Christmas Day 2011, I did all my blog entries the old-fashioned way, which was through a desktop computer.  But now, I can literally take my computer anywhere I want wherever I want.  Heck, I could head on down to Starbucks right now to type out a blog entry while sipping on an overpriced chocolate-banana smoothie!

Of course, I’m not doing that.  I’m in my bedroom, typing away, reflecting on just how much I really was tied down before I got this laptop.  I even got a really cool plastic surface with a cup holder so I can type away without my laptop heating up to the point that my furniture catches on fire.  Believe me, we WOULDN’T want that.

Certainly as someone who is entering the laptop world for the first time, it’ll take a bit of getting used to, but I think that after a while, it will eventually become second nature for me.  At least I started the laptop revolution before 2012 got here, so I can truly ring in the new year with a new computer.

And, well, let’s just say that when 2012 gets here, there are going to be some changes to the Pop Culture Addict’s Guide To Life blog.  Some changes will be minor, but others will be major.  The fun all begins January 1, 2012, so you have a few days to adjust.

But just to preview some of the upcoming changes that will be happening to the blog, I’ll state this.  Today is Thursday Night At The Arcade. 

And, as of now, the December 29 entry will be the LAST Thursday Night Arcade posting for a while.

The reason for the change is partly due to the fact that my Thursday entries are typically my lowest viewed blogs.  I suppose the audience for video games is somewhat small compared to those who watch television or listen to music.  But mostly, I’ve decided to drop the feature because I’m running out of games to talk about.  My tastes in video games is quite narrow, and frankly, I’m running out of ideas to keep the feature going on a full-time basis next year. 

Of course, that’s not to say that I’ll be dropping the feature altogether.  In fact, I’ve got some ideas on how I can bring it back on an occasional basis.  But, I’ll have more details for you once 2011 becomes another page in the world history books.

But today’s blog posting is somewhat linked to the whole idea of change, and how one video game company revolutionized the video game industry by creating their own mascot for a brand new game console.

In 1995, Sony had tossed their hat into the highly competitive video gaming market by coming up with their own console.  That console would become the first edition of the Sony PlayStation.  Since 1995, Sony has become a force in the gaming world, and the Sony PlayStation managed to sell millions of consoles.  Within a matter of years, the Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 would also manage to sell a huge amount of consoles and games all over the world.  Today, Sony is just as big of a power player in the world of video games, and is right up there in sales alongside the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft’s XBOX 360.

But when Sony was first starting out, they lacked one thing that their biggest competitors had. 

Sony lacked a mascot.

Back in 1995, Sega and Nintendo were the two heavyweights in the world of video gaming, and both of them had representatives that one could easily associate with the company.

Sega, for instance, had a cash cow in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog.  Since 1991, Sonic managed to make the company millions of dollars through the little blue hedgehog.  Nintendo had double the success, as they had success with both the Super Mario games and the Adventures of Zelda games featuring yet another Nintendo mascot, Link.

Even lesser known consoles like the Turbo Grafx 16 had a cute little caveman character named Bonk.

So when Sony was designing their PlavyStation console, Sony knew that they needed a character to represent the company, and hopefully with much marketing and fun games, they could have a character that would help generate the same exposure and sales that other companies received with their mascots.



Enter Crash Bandicoot.

The little red Eastern Barred Bandicoot first appeared in the Sony PlayStation game ‘Crash Bandicoot’, released on August 31, 1996.  Since then, he has appeared in no less than eighteen video games total, and has sold more than 50 million units worldwide.  A very impressive total, wouldn’t you say?



The background behind the creation of Crash Bandicoot actually began two years prior to his first game appearance.  In 1994, Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin were in the process of a cross-country move from Massachusetts to California.  Naturally, a trip that long was going to have a lot of downtime in between, so both of them used the opportunity to plan out a new kind of video game.  The early sketches they had come up with were jokingly referred to as ‘Sonic’s Ass Game’, as the player would be forced to look at the backside of the protagonist through much of the game.

All kidding aside, the two men had a meeting with a representative of Universal Interactive Studios, Mark Cerny, who agreed to help the two men produce their game.  Production of the game began in September 1994, through video game company, Naughty Dog.

Over the course of the next year, the development of the game took place, and artists were brought in to design the main character of the game.  Artists Joe Pearson and Charles Zembillas were brought in to design the main protagonist.  Zembillas would also be responsible for the design of another Sony PlayStation mainstay, Spyro the Dragon, in 1998.

It’s interesting to note though that when Crash Bandicoot was created, his original name WASN’T Crash.  He wasn’t a bandicoot either.  Instead, he was known as ‘Willy the Wombat’.

So, I ask you this question.  Would YOU play a video game with the cutesy name of Willy the Wombat?  It may have some appeal, but it seemed to me to be a little bit too cutesy-pooh for my personal tastes.

But, the name Willy stood...at least until the level development phase began.

By August 1995, three full levels had been completed, and a demo was prepared for submission for Sony Computer Entertainment.  It was discovered that during the demonstration that the levels were quite empty in certain places because at the time, the Sony PlayStation’s technology didn’t allow for the game to display many enemies on screen at a given time.   It was also discovered that the various puzzles that were scattered throughout the game were way too easy for players to solve.  Something had to be done to amp up the difficulty level of the game, and to find a way to fill up the vast emptiness of the levels.

Jason Rubin, however, came up with a tentative solution.  What if he created boxes that had a variety of symbols on the sides of them?  Ones that could be used to trigger puzzles that were planned for the video game?

The idea was for the boxes to be positioned in such a way that they could fill in the empty spaces of the game.  And the purpose of these boxes would be used to challenge the game even further.


Thus, the Crash Bandicoot crates were created.  In January 1996, the first crate was ‘built’.  And when the main character was used to smash the crates, the sound of the destruction was used to rename the main character from Willy the Wombat to Crash Bandicoot!

Now you know how Crash Bandicoot came to be!

And, Crash Bandicoot was definitely a fun and challenging game to play.  I owned both Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2, and I enjoyed them both.

And just to give you some perspective on how challenging the first game really ended up becoming, I’ll alert you to this.  I can fully beat the sequel to the game, but I’ve never beaten the original.  I know some of you hardcore games are probably coming up with comments telling me how much I’ve been pwned, but I’m telling you, I find the first Crash Bandicoot game to be tough!  Just have a look at the video I’ve included with this blog entry to see what I mean!



Here’s the thing with Crash Bandicoot though.  If you really dissect it, you’ll find that the game isn’t much more different than that of a Super Mario game or Sonic the Hedgehog game.

Take the items you have to collect for example,  In Mario, it’s golden coins.  For Sonic, it’s golden rings.  In Crash Bandicoot, you have to collect Wumpa Fruits...none of which are gold in colour.

Or, take the idea of bonus challenges that one has to unlock throughout the game.  Certainly Mario has warp whistles and keyholes to access secret levels.  Sonic has those Chaos Emeralds.

And Crash Bandicoot has coloured gems and pink crystals that he has to collect to be able to fully complete the game.  And some of these gems were NOT easy to find.  Sometimes you’d have to go through a level without breaking a single crate.  Sometimes, you had to locate a secret exit.  Sometimes, you had to beat the level within a certain time limit.

I’ll tell you, getting that yellow gem in Crash Bandicoot 2 was definitely a hair-pulling experience.


Something else the three games have in common?  There’s always someone you have to save.  Sonic has to save the forest creatures from Dr. Robotnik.  I’ve lost count of how many times Mario has had to rescue that stupid Princess Peach.  And in the first game, Crash has to rescue his girlfriend, Tawna from the evil Doctor Neo Cortex, who in turn serves Doctor Nitrus Brio (N. Brio).

Crash also seems to have a lot of mini bosses that Crash is forced to defeat in order to get close to the real baddies of the game.  He has to beat a demented kangaroo named Ripper Roo, a gangster wannabe named Pinstripe, a hybrid of a dingo and crocodile named Dingodile, and several other baddies.


And why wouldn’t Crash want revenge?  It was because of Cortex and N.Brio that Crash ended up becoming who he was.  The evil doctors experiments mutated Crash into the creature he became, as well as several of the other jungle creatures within the area.  Crash was supposed to have been used as a puppet for the evil doings of the mad Doctors, but at the last moment, he was rejected, as he was deemed unworthy by them.  His girlfriend, Tawna, is slated to be the next victim of their plots, so is it any wonder why Crash may harbour a little bit of resentment towards them?

At any rate, I wanted to end the Thursday Night At The Arcade feature with a bang...ah, erm...crash, so to speak, and I figure that this was a great way to do exactly that.

I hope you enjoyed the look back on these video games over the last year, and I’m sorry to see this feature go.  But as this entry is about embracing change, and moving ahead towards the new year, I felt that it was time to let this go.

But fear not.  You may see video games still being featured on other days of the week.  And I’ve got plans for Thursdays for the new year already set in place.  So, stay tuned to this blog, as many more changes are sure to come.

And maybe by the time 2012 arrives, I’ll have gotten more comfortable with the laptop.  J