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Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Jetsons


I'm going to be absolutely up front here. This blog entry is going to seem somewhat rushed compared to some of my other works. Part of the reason behind this is due to technical problems. My laptop (which I was using to type my blog entries as of late) has decided to pitch a hissy fit, and now it will not even turn on properly. So, I'm using my six-year-old desktop computer that is kind of on its last life to bring this entry to you. Here's hoping that I can find a way to get my laptop working once more, as it is a pain to type this on an old computer, and I really don't want to shell out the hundreds of dollars to replace it.

Sigh...here I was thinking that as we evolved in the world, things would become easier to use, and life would end up being more convenient. Instead, it appears as though things get more and more complicated as time goes by.

In many ways, the future can be quite a scary place because of its uncertainty. We don't exactly know what the future will hold for us an hour from now, a week from now, a year from now, or even a century from now.

(Though admittedly for most of us, we won't live long enough to see a century of life.)

There have been dozens of examples of what people have predicted the future to be like, and I'll admit that some of the ideas that people have come up with have been quite creative. Would you believe that some people believed that as we approached the twenty-first century, that we would all be driving flying cars? It's true that aviation has had its innovations over the decades, but alas, no flying cars yet.

We were also lead to believe that we would never have to walk anywhere in the world again because all of the sidewalks would move by themselves. This also has not happened yet...unless you count the fact that “moving sidewalks” are part of the lyrics in Dan Hartman's “I Can Dream About You”.

Oh, and we were also supposed to have our very own robotic servants that would help us make like a little easier. This too has not quite happened yet, although the invention of the Roomba is probably the first step.

It's actually quite funny reading what some of the predictions were going to be for the future. Even Archie Comics got into the act during the 1960s when they published a series of comics that were set in the year 2001...and let's put it this way. I lived through 2001, and I don't recall the world being nearly as technologically advanced as Archie Comics claimed it would be. Why, in 2001, the only blackberry we knew was found in supermarkets displayed in the produce section! I know! How did we ever survive?

(And, yes, that is sarcasm at its finest.)

Of course, there are some questions about the future that remain unanswered, and in the case of today's blog entry, the show is set in the year 2062...which is 49 years away. And, just listen to some of the things that according to this program we can expect to see.

  • Houses and businesses built on gigantic columns high above the Earth's surface which you can adjust to whatever height you wish.
  • Having your home being completely controlled by the push of just a few buttons.
  • Having a work week of just two out of seven days.
  • Only being allowed to work one hour every shift.
  • Driving an aerocar from place to place.
  • Having a digital diary to record your private thoughts.

Well, okay, some of these have come true. I know that in regards to the digital diary...well, let's face it. You're currently reading one right now! And, push-button technology has been a part of our lives for several years now from the keypad of a telephone, to the buttons on microwaves and remote controls. Some people can even adjust the temperatures of their homes and businesses with the push of a button.

We still have a way to go before we are able to put our own homes sky high though. And labour laws in this province at least require most employees to work a minimum of TWELVE hours, so no one hour work day for you yet!

(Seriously, to only work one hour a day and two days a week? You'd have to be making $35,000 an hour to achieve middle class status!)



But that was life in the world of The Jetsons!



The Jetsons was just one of the many creations fronted by the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. And, the Jetsons was an interesting show as far as scheduling goes because it aired in two separate decades, and both times it aired, it was extremely popular.



The original series (contrary to what some might believe) only lasted for a twenty-four episode run, from September 23, 1962 until March 17, 1963. It aired in primetime for the run, then switched over to Saturday mornings on ABC affiliates beginning with the 1963/1964 season. It would air on and off on Saturday mornings on all three major networks before airing in syndication sometime during the mid-1980s. Interestingly enough, brand new episodes of The Jetsons were produced between 1985 and 1987...almost twenty-five years after the original series was shown. Thanks to the new episodes that were produced, the show extended to seventy-five episodes in total, plus a feature film that was released the summer of 1990.

Now, I imagine that a few of you have seen many of the episodes of The Jetsons, and I would hazard a fairly good guess that the vast majority of you have watched at least one episode for sure. So, I won't go into detail over the main characters of the program. You already know George Jetson, who loves his family, but ends up causing great frustration to himself and his loved ones due to his impulsive, not well thought-out decisions. You know his wife Jane, who takes care of the family household while having an eye for fashion and gadgetry.



In short, Jane Jetson is a Real Housewife of the 21st century.

There's George and Jane's two children, teenage Judy Jetson and six and a half year old, Elroy Jetson. Judy is a typical teen girl who loves hanging out at the mall with her friends, and shopping, while Elroy could be considered a bit of a child prodigy when it comes to the maths and sciences.

Oh yeah...there's also the beloved family pet, Astro, and the beloved family maid, Rosie the Robot, to round out the cast.



And, of course, every great show has to have some antagonist...in the case of the Jetson family, that comes in the form of Cosmo G. Spacely, whose ideas often backfire just like George's. I would reckon that George has been fired by Spacely...well...seventy-five times! But, he always manages to get his job back by the end of each show.

So, would you like to know some interesting trivia about “The Jetsons”? I happened to find out quite a bit!

01 – The Jetsons made history on ABC by being the network's first show to be broadcast entirely in colour from the very beginning. Compare that to “The Flintstones”, which only saw colour episodes airing after the first two seasons had already aired in black and white.

02 – A large number of voice actors on The Jetsons also provided the voices for characters on other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Here's a list.

Daws Butler (Elroy Jetson) also voiced Yogi Bear.
Jean Vander Pyl (Rosie the Maid) also voiced Wilma Flintstone.
Janet Waldo (Judy Jetson) also voiced Josie of Josie and the Pussycats.
Don Messick (Astro) also voiced Scooby-Doo.
Frank Welker (Orbitty) also voiced Freddy from Scooby-Doo.
Mel Blanc (Spacely) also voiced Barney Rubble.



03 – The role of George Jetson was portrayed by George O'Hanlon from the beginning of the series until the 1990 film “The Jetsons” was released. O'Hanlon passed away from a stroke on February 11, 1989...just a few moments after he finished recording his final line for the movie. The film was dedicated in both O'Hanlon and Mel Blanc's memory (Blanc himself passing away in July 1989).

04 – The voice of Judy Jetson in the 1990 film was provided by “I Think We're Alone” and “Could've Been” singer Tiffany.



05 – Unfortunately, Tiffany's contribution to the movie was considered controversial...reportedly Janet Waldo had recorded all of Judy's dialogue prior to Tiffany being brought in!!!

06 – Hoyt Curtin composed the theme song for The Jetsons, which actually became a minor pop hit during the mid-1980s!

07 – According to many sources, there's a live-action film based on The Jetsons on the horizon in the near future. Sources state that the film has a tentative Summer 2014 release date, but we're to stay tuned. I don't know...I did like The Flintstones live-action movie, but The Jetsons? I'm a bit skeptical.

08 – At some point, several comic book publishers released Jetsons comic books. These publishers include Gold Key, Harvey, and Archie Comics.

09 – Penny Singleton voiced the character of Jane Jetson. She passed away in 2003 at the age of 95.



10 – Janet Waldo is the only surviving member of the original Jetsons cast.

11 – Ever wanted to call the Jetsons? Just dial VENUS-1234. Weirdly enough, ten digit phone numbers became necessary in the early 2000s in quite a few places, including Canada.

12 – The family was seen selling Electrasol Dish Washer Tabs in print ads circa 2004/2005.

And, that's our look back...

...no wait...look AHEAD at The Jetsons. Actually, what's really freaky is that as of 2013, George Jetson still hasn't been born yet (he was 40 when the series began, putting his date of birth at 2022).

At any rate, we still have 49 years to see if the future really does go the way of the Jetsons. I'll be eighty-one years old then. If I'm still alive then, I'll let you know how the future is.

Well, provided you lived long enough to see in the 2060s, anyway.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Miami Vice


Well, here we are at the cusp of another weekend, which means that it is time to talk television.

And, in order to set the stage for today's show discussion, I'll be sharing a story from my early childhood...and I'll warn you ahead of time, it is a rather embarrassing tale...which likely means that you will all find it absolutely hilarious!

I'm not exactly sure how old I was when I had this memory...I want to say that I was four or five. It was just before I started school anyway as I skipped preschool (and junior kindergarten for that matter).

I'll tell you though...having a childhood that spanned almost the entire decade of the 1980s was an interesting experience to say the least. Back then, the cartoons were fantastic, the music was awesome, and the fashions were...well, awful, to put it frankly. Whenever my mom and I would walk downtown, the entire population seemed to be decked out in their Sunday best...which at the time included gigantic bangles on arms, earrings as big as donuts, and hair that was so teased and permed that it looked like everyone in town decided to stick kitchen utensils into their toasters at exactly the same time.

(In some cases, people still dress like this even in 2013, but we won't go there today.)

Anyway, for some unknown reason, my older sister and her friend decided that I needed a makeover for whatever reason. Keep in mind that I was four or five at the time, and my style was limited to striped sweaters and overalls. But apparently both of them were inspired after watching an episode of the show that we'll be discussing today.

They grabbed all of the hair spray, hair gel, and other hair care supplies that were stashed around the house, called me upstairs to the bathroom, and slathered the goop all over my head. Needless to say the whole experience was somewhat traumatizing for me, I ended up crying when I saw how bad I looked, and the horrible experience left me avoiding all hair products for at least ten years. It was not a pleasant experience at all. Thank goodness my family's camera was out of film at the time, because if they had snapped a picture, I would have not been very happy at all.



Of course, my sister and her friend were laughing up a storm over the whole thing, and they seemed very upset when my parents grabbed a bunch of towels to wipe all of the product out of my hair. All they wanted to do was style my hair in a way that it looked like Don Johnson's.

(Keep in mind that at the time, I didn't know who this Don Johnson was.)

Turns out that he was one of the stars of a show that used to air on NBC back in the 1980s. Because of the fact that the show contained violence, crime, and other adult themes, I was forbidden to watch it. In all honesty, I was likely in bed by then anyway. But, Don Johnson certainly had a unique style back in the day, and it was so influential that by the end of the 1980s, almost every man emulated his style in some fashion.

(Well, except my father, who has been rocking the “Urban Cowboy” look prior to “Urban Cowboy” coming out in the movie theatres.)

And, here are the opening credits of the show.



Yes, we're going to be talking about the show that inspired my “break-over”. “Miami Vice” was a show that aired on NBC from September 28, 1984 until May 21, 1989. Created by Anthony Yerkovich, the show focused on criminal activity in Miami, Florida, and the two pastel-coloured detectives who worked together to keep crime off of the city streets.



Don Johnson assumed the role of Detective James Crockett (better known as “Sonny”), a former football player and Vietnam War veteran who joined the Metro-Dade police force and at the time of the series worked as an undercover detective of the vice unit. He would also respond to the name of his undercover alias, Sonny Burnett, who would infiltrate gang activity by posing as a drug runner.



His partner was Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), a New York transplant who relocated to Miami to get revenge on his brother's killer. His alter ego name is “Rico Cooper”, who often poses as a wealthy buyer from out of town in order to catch the bad guys.



Initially, the vice squad was headed by Lieutenant Lou Rodriguez (Gregory Sierra) for the first few episodes of the first season...but unfortunately his tenure didn't last as he was killed off in episode four. He was replaced by Lieutenant Martin Castillo (Edward James Olmos), whose personality often clashed with the free and easy philosophy that Crockett and Tubbs lived by. He stayed on the series for the remainder of the show's run.



The rest of the cast was rounded out by Saundra Santiago (Gina Navarro Calabrese), Olivia Brown (Trudy Joplin), John Diehl (Larry Zito), and Michael Talbott (Stan Switek).

All of the cast members stayed on the show the entire run with the exception of Diehl, who departed the series in 1987 to pursue other opportunities. His character was subsequently killed off.

Initially when the show was being created, the show was originally to be called “Gold Coast”, but was originally changed to “Miami Vice”. And, the show was rather revolutionary in many ways.

It was one of the first shows to broadcast in stereophonic sound, which was considered a good thing given how the show relied on musical cues and songs to progress the story along. The instrumental music that played between scenes in each episode was composed by Czech Republic native Jan Hammer for the first four seasons of the show's five year run. He even composed the theme song for the show, which you can hear in its entirety below.



ARTIST: Jan Hammer
SONG: Miami Vice Theme
ALBUM: Miami Vice Soundtrack
DATE RELEASED: October 11, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 1 week

Not only was the track a number one hit (and the last instrumental to top the Billboard charts as of April 2013), but it earned Hammer two Grammy Awards. The song also helped the Miami Vice soundtrack to become the most-successful television soundtrack for a twenty-one year run, bested by the soundtrack for “High School Musical” in 2006.

Of course, Hammer's song wasn't the only one featured in the show and the soundtrack. Glenn Frey contributed two songs to the soundtrack, and he even guest starred in an episode of Miami Vice at the same time. But, it wasn't unusual for musical artists to be lured to Miami Vice. Miami Vice would often pay as much as $10,000 per episode to buy the rights to the songs that they wished to play. The gimmick not only helped increase ratings for the show, but it also provided the artists with some ingenious publicity for their record sales. Is it any wonder that Little Richard, The Power Station, Phil Collins, Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent, James Brown, and Gene Simmons would make cameos in the show?




Another famous singer to have a recurring role in the fourth season was 1980s pop starlet, Sheena Easton, who portayed pop singer Caitlin Davies. Crockett was assigned as her own personal bodyguard, and they ended up falling in love and getting married. Tragically, Caitlin was killed off following a performance of “Follow Your Rainbow” by one of Crockett's foes, and to add to Crockett's pain, Caitlin was pregnant when she was murdered. And, this senseless death lead to one of the most talked about moments of the series. Watch the scene closely, as you'll see what I mean by how music enhanced the show.



Okay, so forget the fact that the guy's hand appeared to be moving after Sonny shot him. The song playing in the background is the one that Caitlin was singing before she died. Talk about irony!



The music wasn't the only thing that Miami Vice was famous for. The fashion that Crockett and Tubbs wore in each episode became the go-to look for many men who lived through the 1980s. Suddenly, they were buying Italian sportsjackets in banana yellow, bubblegum pink, turquoise blue, and lavender, wearing slacks that were whiter than the average person's teeth, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and shoes without socks. The look became so popular that department store chain Macy's devoted an entire section of their store to Miami Vice inspired fashions! I would imagine that had Miami Vice continued into the 1990s, we'd have seen Crockett and Tubbs in fluorescent colours!

And, of course no episode of Miami Vice would be complete without Crockett's vehicle of choice, which was a 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spider 365 GTS/4. But, here's a bit of a shocker. The car used in the show was a fake! The car was actually a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette C3 chassis that was fitted with Ferrari-shaped body panels! The car lasted until season three, due to Enzo Ferrari launching a lawsuit telling the manufacturers of the fake Ferraris to cease production. So, at the beginning of the 1986/87 season, the producers got rid of Crockett's Ferrari the best way that they knew how.



Crockett's new car? A white 1986 Ferrari Testarossa! The pair of cars were donated by Ferrari following the destruction of the other car!

NOTE: I don't recommend you blowing up your cars in order to get a car company to replace it with a newer model!

To close this article off on Miami Vice, I thought I'd give you some additional trivia facts about what the actors of Miami Vice are up to now, as well as generic trivia about the show itself.

01 – One of the most loved episodes of the series was the season two episode “Out Where The Buses Don't Run”. It was ranked at #90 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.

02 – The show ranked near the top of the ratings when it originally aired Friday nights at 10:00pm. But when a time slot change caused the show to go head-to-head against “Dallas”, ratings fell...which is astonishing when you consider that this was the season that followed the infamous “it was all a dream season” on Dallas.

03 – Edward James Olmos actually has an asteroid named after him...Asteroid 5608 Olmos.

04 – Olivia Jones' brother was once a hockey player who played for the Edmonton Oilers.



05 – Saundra Santiago may have fought for good on “Miami Vice”, but a decade after the show wrapped, she took on the role of Carmen Santos on the soap opera “Guiding Light”. Santos was the matriarch of a powerful crime family!

06 – John Diehl portrayed G. Gordon Liddy in the 1995 film, “Nixon”. In a strange twist, Liddy actually appeared on “Miami Vice” in a recurring role!

07 – Some famous faces got their first taste of acting on “Miami Vice”. These faces included Laurence Fishburne, Viggo Mortensen, Jimmy Smits, Bill Paxton, and Don Johnson's own two-time love interest Melanie Griffith!

08 – Philip Michael Thomas has moved onto a career in voicing video game characters, and you can hear his voice in the Grand Theft Auto series.

09 – Don Johnson had a one-hit-wonder during the filming of “Miami Vice”. Can you believe that it actually hit the Top 5? To end this blog off, I'll play the song in its entirety. You're welcome.


Thursday, April 11, 2013

Dairies To Daisies - A Change Will Do Me Good


The theme of this week's Thursday Diary entry is change. I'm about to experience a change in my own personal career path (not a huge one, mind you, but still a change), and along with that change in career comes a change in how I look at the world, and the people in it. Don't worry though...I've been “declawed”, and I'll be nice...mostly.

April 11, 2013

I've decided to be a little bit different when it comes to today's Thursday Diary. Normally, I would be typing this entry in blue font to try and mimic the printing style that I normally use when I write in a notebook or a journal with a pen and paper.

Today, I'm using green.



And yes, there is a reason behind my choosing green as the colour for today. I figure that since I'm going to be spending the next three months or so in an area where I'll be helping people exercise their green thumbs, I thought green would be an appropriate choice.

By now, most of my closest friends and co-workers know this news already, but for the rest of you out there, I thought I would share with you my news.

For the last seven years, I've been working at a retail store in the grocery department. While I've worked at least one shift in every area of the grocery side (excluding deli and bakery), my specialty is dairy and frozen foods. I can help you tell the difference between lactose-free and sugar-free ice cream. I can help you tell the difference between homogenized and skim milk. I can provide you with coffee creamer in eight different flavours including Vanilla Toffee Caramel, Irish Crème, and Mint Chocolate Truffle.



Heck, I'll even help you find chocolate milk, marble cheese, and containers of “I Can't Believe It's Not Butter”...three items that always drive me closer to insanity the moment they go on sale.

Well, beginning next Saturday, I'll be saying goodbye to the milk, cheese, butter, eggs, yogurt, and orange juice, and trading in my cooler jacket for a pair of shorts, because I'm heading outside.



I'm movin' on out...to the West Side...to the deluxe soil compound nearby,
Oh yeah, I'm movin' on out...to the West Side. To the Garden Centre post outside!



(Well, okay, it's not quite as good as the iconic Jefferson's theme song, but it works for the time being.  And, no, that is NOT a picture of my store...but it is a reasonable facsimile for the real thing.)

I'm going to be honest with all of you though. Going out to the seasonal department after spending seven years stocking groceries is going to be an initial shock to me at first.

My original area of the store was always climate-controlled and I got so used to being in that area that I could walk into the walk-in cooler (which hovers around the 0 C/32 F mark) in just my short-sleeved T-shirt...



...and pants...I always wear pants at work! Get your minds out of the gutter, people.



My new area will be one that is almost entirely outdoors, which means that I will likely face the following; extreme heat and coldness, sunshine, rain, fog, sleet, strong winds, thunder and lightning, and considering how weird April has been lately, we might even get frost, snow, and ice rain on top of that!

And, you know what I say? Bring it on!

You know, I'm going to confess something to all of you. Some of you may already know this about me, but others will not. When I first started at my current workplace, I didn't always work in the food department. I started off in a position that was called “store standards”. The official description of the job was to make sure that the store ran efficiently and that we kept up the standards of customer service, as well as the appearance of the store itself.

What the job description REALLY was, was essentially grunt work.

This is only a prediction here, but I'm sure most people out there would NOT enjoy a job where they have to brave the elements to collect shopping carts from outside, or clean up any spill that might occur in the store (which unfortunately involves bodily fluids on the rare occasion), or make sure that the bathrooms were always sparkling and shiny, or cramming giant television sets into a Mitsubishi, Volvo, or even a SmartCar.

Yet for the first year I worked at the store, that's exactly what I did. And, what a thankless job it could be at times. You basically had to run around the store doing grueling, back-breaking work, where the only reward was that you got to do more grueling, back-breaking work outside in the parking lot. If you were lucky, you might get a thank you from a gracious customer instead of a complaint because their car was too tiny for me to shove a giant barbecue inside the back seat.

Still, no matter what I did, I gave it my all, even though there were some days in which I wanted to either walk off the job entirely, or pass out from dehydration/exhaustion/frustration/any adjective ending in -tion. And, that hard work paid off because I was moved to the food department after a year on the job...where I've remained ever since.

Well, at least until April 20th when I begin the next chapter in life.



Even though it's only a temporary move, I'm looking at the seasonal area as a new challenge for me. In many ways, working out in the Garden Centre area has some similarities to store standards in that I'm going to be outside most of the time. In all honestly, I've a feeling that I'll be doing a lot of slugging and lugging out there loading up bags of black earth, cedar trees and patio sets into people's vehicles...but I'm okay with that. A lot has happened over the last eight years, and the Garden Centre job will allow me to work my muscles while getting a tan in the process.



Hey, if anything, it might give me the opportunity to lose those 35 pounds I gained after my 2011 surgery. No, seriously! One of the pitfalls to working the dairy/frozen department was doing price changes on items that would tempt me like fattening ice cream and high-calorie sugary snacks. Going out to the Garden Centre will eliminate those temptations for me! Out of sight, out of mind, right? Because let's face it...the last time I ate dirt, I was two and a half...and even then I didn't develop an insatiable appetite for it.

I'm also fairly optimistic about venturing to the Garden Centre this year because I happen to know most of the people who will be working outside with me there, and as far as I'm concerned, they're a good group of folks. The main thing that I'm all about is teamwork. There's no way that I'm going to be able to lift up a 300 pound patio set all by myself. I'm going to need people to help me! Fortunately, I don't see that as much of a problem, as many of the people that I know are team players.



Of course, there are going to be some challenges that I'll have to face while I am out there. I know absolutely nothing about gardening, and I'm positive that any house plant that I've ever owned, I brutally murdered. I don't know the difference between a geranium and a chrysanthemum, I have no idea how often one is supposed to water a plant, and I really couldn't tell you which fertilizer would work the best when planting azaleas.

(Though, I suppose knowing how to spell azalea and chrysanthemum is half the battle, right?)

And, I should admit this before I continue on with this blog entry. I've filled in for Garden Centre shifts for a one-off, and the last time I was out there, I accidentally chopped off a garden nymph's head while I was pricing them. So, if the department managers of the Garden Centre are reading this right now, you may want to keep me away from the statues for the first week.



And, of course, there's always the possibility of having to get cash training so I can serve customers out in the Garden Centre area. I've been petrified to learn how to use a cash register since I started at my job, and I've managed to avoid the registers for eight and a half years...and I'm kind of secretly hoping I can keep avoiding them for the time being because I know that I would be awful on them. But, if the opportunity presents itself, I'll bite the bullet.

After all, when I first started on the food side, I never thought that I would feel comfortable using our electronic pricing guns (also known as a Telxon or Gemini), but now I can do price changes and count requests like a pro. I thought I would have a nervous breakdown the day that I began doing orders for the department, and now I can do them without any worry (though admittedly, ordering organic milk is always a crapshoot for me).

So, if I learned those new skills by swapping departments, there's no reason why I can't learn other skills in other areas of the store. It'll help me update my resume with more information, and make me a more well-rounded person in the process. And, while I will admit that I will probably need a couple of weeks to get familiar with a new area, I think that if people are patient enough with me and will work with me, it'll be easy peasy.



And, that's the most important thing of all. I need people to work with me to help me understand how things work and who are willing to show me. And, most of all, I want people to have a positive attitude with me. A lot of the frustration that I experienced in my job in the past has been related to the “Nucleus of Negativity” I spoke about two weeks ago in this very space. When people are generally in a good mood, and are optimistic about how things are going, it rubs off on others, and if others are happy, there's a good chance that I'll be happy too.

On the flipside, if I'm in an area where everyone is in a bad mood, and where everyone is super-stressed, and where everyone around me does more complaining than anything else, then that too will rub off on me.

What can I say? When it comes to feelings and emotions, I'm like a sponge.

Of course, I'm not saying that anything like this has happened in any of the departments I worked in. I still have warm fuzzies for my dairy and frozen peeps, and I have love for the people who I have worked with in some of the other food departments I worked in as a substitute.

Even on store standards I had people who...well...actually, come to think of it, most of the people on that job kind of screwed me over, which lead to my wanting out of store standards in the first place. Okay, bad example!



The point is that I'm really looking forward to the change. I think that while I will be out of my comfort zone for the first few days, I'm sure that nobody will leave me completely stranded either. It'll take time, but I have full confidence that I will embrace my new role in my new department in a matter of days.

And, if not, I have other options on the backburner! But, those will have to remain hidden for another time.

Hey, a diary's gotta have a FEW secrets, right?

I start over there April 20...I'll let you all know how it's going in the April 25 entry, all right?

TO BE CONTINUED...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Annette Funicello & Beach Blanket Memories


Before I continue on with today’s blog topic, there’s something that I want to address within this blog.  As it so happens, the topic that I chose for this subject kind of loosely ties into the subject that I had initially chosen for today.  So, I suppose in some ways, this could be a double blog entry.  In one perspective, we’re going to be talking about some wonderful outdoor activities that I’m sure that most of us partook in during our childhoods.  And, in another, we’ll be paying tribute to a woman who charmed audiences everywhere for several decades, while showing the world how strong she was following a life-changing medical diagnosis which eventually lead to her death two days ago at the age of 70.


For the first part of this entry, we pay tribute to actress/singer/Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.

I’ll admit that when I was younger, I wasn’t exactly sure who Annette Funicello was at first.  I had heard the name before, but I never really knew just how famous she was. 

It actually wasn’t until I saw her appearing on a television sitcom that I began to understand why so many people loved her.


The sitcom was ABC’s “Full House”.  And, don’t make fun...I was barely ten years old at the time, and I thought it was funny back then.  Now I can’t get through an episode without getting a toothache based on how sugary sweet the show really was, but back then I thought it was delightful. 

On March 29, 1991, the fourth season episode of the series aired, entitled “Joey Goes Hollywood”.  The basic plot of the episode had Joey and the Tanner family heading down to Hollywood so that Joey could audition for a part in a new sitcom. 

(The B-plot involved Stephanie wanting to change her name to Dawn, but nobody really cared about that.)

Anyway, if Joey had gotten the part, he would have starred in the sitcom “Surf’s Up”, which had Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello as the main stars.  And, of course, the cuteness of Full House was into major overload with Michelle calling Annette “Annette Funny Jello”, and Danny confessing that he wrote a fan letter to Annette when he was a child, soaking it in Lemon Scented Pledge in the process. 

The episode ended on a somewhat disappointing note, as the sitcom wasn’t picked up...but apparently the show was retooled as an animated series, and Joey, Frankie, and Annette would end up providing the voices for the cartoon characters...a dream that Joey had for years.  Another happy ending on “Full House”!  What a surprise.

But, it was through watching that episode of “Full House” that helped me understand why Annette Funicello was so loved.  The stage presence that she had in that one episode was absolutely mesmerizing, and she was absolutely charming throughout the whole episode.  I may have only been barely ten, but I thought she was beautiful...even though she was old enough to be my mother!  And, throughout the episode, I ended up getting some clues as to how she grew to be such an icon in show business.


Through Annette’s dialogue with Bob Saget (who played Danny), we learned that she was a former Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club...and one of the most popular.  Just have a look at a clip of her in action from early 1958...when Annette was just fifteen years old.


We also learned from the scenes that involved John Stamos and Lori Loughlin (who played Jesse and Becky on “Full House”), that Becky had a bit of a crush on Frankie Avalon after seeing him and Annette in the various beach party movies that they starred in throughout the 1960s. 


Come to think of it, I suppose the fact that the sitcom within the sitcom was set at a beach was somewhat of a cliché...but I don’t think Frankie and Annette minded too much, as both of them must have had such fond memories of the beach.

At any rate, one thing that I noticed about that “Full House” episode was how full of life Annette Funicello was through the whole show.  She was singing and dancing as if she was a woman half her age, and her smile lit up a room.  Therefore, it’s almost mindboggling to realize that just one year after filming that episode, she sat down with Mary Hart on “Entertainment Tonight” to reveal a devastating secret that she had kept for five years.


Annette Funicello was battling multiple sclerosis.  She had been diagnosed with the disease back in 1987 while she was filming the movie “Back to the Beach” with Avalon.  By 1992, she had been walking with a cane, and just six years later, she was having difficulty speaking.  During this time, a television movie was made entitled “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, which featured CSI: Miami star Eva LaRue as Annette.  Annette Funicello made a cameo in the movie as herself, and as it happened, it would be the last acting role she would take on.

Annette fought the disease valiantly, and she had millions of fans and supporters who gave her the motivation to keep going.  But her condition worsened over time, and on April 8, 2013, she passed away from complications associated with multiple sclerosis.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t alive at the time that Annette’s star was shining its brightest, because I have a feeling that had I been born 40 years earlier, I would have liked her.  If seeing her on an episode of “Full House” brought me happiness, I’m almost certain that watching her on the Mickey Mouse Club would have been a fantastic and rewarding experience.

And, I’m also sorry that I wasn’t around at the time that she filmed all those beach movies with Frankie Avalon either.  I know that all of the films are readily available on VHS or DVD by now, but it’s not quite the same as actually going to the movies and watching them.

I would imagine that Frankie and Annette would have had a lot on fun on that beach.  Aside from the kisses and romance that their characters shared on the big-screen, the beach was always a place that seemed to have a lot to do.  You could go swimming, surfing, and play with several beach toys.


And, that’s how we’re going to transition into the second (and original) part of this blog entry.  We’re going to be talking beach memories here!

Now, I know that it’s only April, and in a lot of places, the beach is still too cold to hang out at (particularly since in my part of the world, we seem to be experiencing the winter that will not die), but what can I say?  I’m optimistic.  Warm weather will come soon enough, and that’s something that I keep telling myself as I make a bit of a career transition in the next few days (I’ll talk more about that tomorrow).

When I was a kid, I used to love going to the beach.  At the time, we had a couple of beaches that were accessible to the general public.  One was Brown’s Bay, which was a great picnic area, and at the time I was a kid, was quite affordable.  The only downside was that the swimming area was a little too deep for my liking, so I couldn’t go wading in the water.

CONFESSION:  Because of a swimming pool accident in which I almost drowned, I did not learn how to swim until I was 22...and even now, I wouldn’t consider what I do to be “swimming”.


The other beach that I preferred was St. Lawrence Park, aptly named after the river that flowed beside it.  At the time, St. Lawrence Park was the place to take a dip, get some rays, and grab a snack from the canteen located near the playground equipment.  It was the place where I spent the first thirteen or fourteen summers of my life.  My parents would take me swimming there, as unlike Brown’s Bay I actually could stay in the shallow end.  I also remember that there was a family picnic held at St. Lawrence Park every August (coinciding with the Civic Holiday), and for some reason I remember one vivid memory at one of these picnics where I played BINGO – and winning five dollars in cash for winning two games in a row!


I also remember going to St. Lawrence Park every Thursday to swim while I was enrolled in a parks and recreation playground program.  So many memories of chewing sour gumballs while splashing other kids (and getting splashed myself) in the water.  Although, I admit that I may have been splashing a little too vigorously at times, as I have distinct memories of being yanked out of the water by the lifeguard!  Ah well...

But, swimming wasn’t the only memory that I have of the beach.  I recall the many attempts at building sand castles that I partook in - only to have every single one of them fall apart.  I think my biggest problem was not enough water.  The beach, as cool as it was at St. Lawrence Park, was also very tiny...and all of the prime spots where the wet packed sand was were always monopolized by other kids. 

It wasn’t until years later in which I assisted everyone in building a sand sculpture at Mooney’s Bay Park in Ottawa during Frosh Week that I learned how to perfect my sand castle building skills.  If memory serves me, our sculpture actually did quite well in judging.

I also played on the playground equipment that was located around the snack stand.  There was a play structure that everyone played on, and I remember sliding down that slide dozens of times...although I also have a rather bad memory of the slide.

There was one mishap in which I ended up sliding down the slide and I landed the wrong way...ended up bashing my head against the bottom of the slide which lead to a huge gash in my head.  And, yes, it was a very bloody mess.  Surprisingly enough, I didn’t develop a fear of slides.


I’ve even gone swimming in one of the Great Lakes.  I live not too far away from Lake Ontario, and a few summers ago, I went on a mini-vacation to Kingston, where there was a theme park called “Lake Ontario Park”.  It was a great place with lots of carnival rides, including the Tilt-A-Whirl, Bumper Cars, The Scrambler, and a merry-go-round.  And, of course, there was Lake Ontario, which was a nice lake to look at.  I just wish someone had warned me that on the rocky shore of Lake Ontario the water make the rocks extremely slippery.  I lost count of how many times I slipped and fell...I think it was at least thirty-seven times though.  J

But, those are just some of my most favourite beach memories.  What are yours?