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Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Mighty Hercules


This week's topic is going to be a fun one because the subject is on a show that I have not seen in years. I just don't really know just how many of you will know the subject. The show is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, and I only remember watching it when I was a very young boy. Back in those days, cartoons would air almost non-stop on Saturday afternoons, and one particular channel would mix the newest cartoons with old-school shows our parents grew up watching.

That channel was Global. But, then again, I must have told you this before. Probably ad nauseum. But hey...it was one of my favourite channels to watch as a kid (and to be fair, I watch it quite a lot as an adult too).

Anyway, there was one television cartoon that aired for years and years on Global in the afternoon block. And, when I was a kid, I mistakenly believed that it was a brand new show, as it hadn't aired on any other networks. It wasn't until the title screen came on, and I saw that there was a date stamped in Roman Numerals on the very bottom. When I was really small, I couldn't figure out what those letters meant until I began school. Once I figured out what the Roman Numeral for MCMLXIII meant, I was stunned to realize that the show first aired in 1963! Eighteen years before I was born!

It was a rather interesting show at that, because the show was based upon a heroic character found in Greek mythology. He was a person who could pick up a boulder weighing thousands of tons with the greatest of ease. He could pick up a rock and squeeze it into a fine powder. He could battle foes with valiance and strength, and always found a way to come up on top.

There was just one catch. In order for his powers to work, he had to have a particular piece of jewelry...one that he was given in the very first episode of the series, which aired on September 1, 1963.



I think most of you know where this is going now, so I'll just play the theme song for this cartoon right now.



INTERESTING TRIVIA: The iconic theme song for “The Mighty Hercules” was Johnny Nash, who you might know as the singer of this classic early 1970s hit single.



The Mighty Hercules” was just one of those shows that I was absolutely glued to back in the day. I honestly don't know what it was about the show, but I had to watch it. And, the show was unique in that it didn't screen just one 22-minute episode. Instead it was similar in format to “The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show”, in which a series of five-minute episodes were squeezed into a half-hour.



How the show began was like this. Hercules ends up competing in some ancient competition involving wrestling and a footrace. He comes up the victor against his friend, Theseus. For winning the competition, Zeus (that's the legendary God of lightning and thunder, for those of you who don't know) grants Hercules anything he wants.

The possibilities were endless. He could have a castle in the sky above Mount Olympus, he could have all the riches in the world, he could have his own personal brothel...



...well, okay, this was a kids show. Eighty-six the brothel.



Hercules, though, was not considered to be a selfish man. His request was quite simple, as far as he was concerned. He wanted to go to Earth to fight against injustice and evil. There was just one problem. If he did go down to Earth, he would lose his godly powers and become a mere mortal.

Which some people might see as a GOOD thing, but I digress.

Nevertheless, Zeus does not go back on his word (I imagine if he did, and this were modern times, Hercules could sue Zeus for breach of contract, in which Zeus would french fry Hercules' behind in retaliation with a big bolt of lightning). He crafts a ring that Hercules can use to keep his powers while on Earth.

Of course, Hercules has his allies on Earth who fight alongside him, who fall in love with him, or are just there to provide moral support.

And, well, I'll be honest with you. While there were some characters who I enjoyed watching, there were also some characters that annoyed me greatly.



Let's start with Helena. She's a beautiful young lady with blonde hair and a pink toga, who also happens to be the love interest of Hercules. We also have Timon, a young man from the kingdom of Caledon, as well as Dodonis, with his crystal rock of seeing, which warn Hercules of the dangers that he could face in Caledon.



But, as I said before, there were some characters who just irked me. Let's start with Tewt, a satyr who happens to lack the vocal ability needed to communicate with Hercules...so instead of using his voice, he used his flute. It was a nice gag for a little while, but after the twelfth episode, I just wanted to grab his flute and stomp on it.



And, don't even get me started on that annoying centaur known as Newton! He HAD to be the one to repeat EVERY FREAKING THING HE SAYS TWICE. Again, the first episode, that was kind of cute. But by episode three, I wanted Hercules to “accidentally” drop a boulder on top of him.

DISCLAIMER: I am definitely not a man who promotes violence, and I would never suggest that anyone drop a boulder on anyone. But, if you have ever watched Newton on “The Mighty Hercules”, you would understand why I find him grating enough to entertain that possibility.

And, what cartoon wouldn't be complete without the antagonists mixed in with the protagonists? After all, “The Mighty Hercules” would be kind of boring if Hercules was always happy.



Anyway, the main bad guy was a purple cloaked bearded man named Daedelus (almost all of the names of the characters were taken from actual figures in Greek mythology), and his main goal in life was to cause havoc in Caledon by using his evil wizard powers.



Daedelus didn't just act alone though. Like Hercules had his own allies, so did Daedelus. One of them was Wilhelmina, a sea witch, who kind of physically resembled Helena...if Helena were a chain smoker that wore drab clothing and hadn't washed her hair in about fifteen years.



We also had Murtis, a man who proved to be quite the formidable opponent for Hercules, as Murtis would be rendered invincible whenever he wore the Mask of Vulcan.

(Which was basically nothing more than a metal bucket with eye holes, but hey, we're supposed to believe that makes a person invincible. We were kids, what did we know, right?

Anyway, I think that what we should do to close this entry off is watch a couple of episodes of the series, just so I can jog your memory a bit. Just a couple of notes about the one entitled “Helena's Birthday”. One, I'm surprised that they had gift boxes and ribbons back in the days of ancient Greece. And, secondly, if it's Helena's birthday, why would Newton sing a song about Hercules?

Silly centaur.

DAEDELUS PASSES WIND (looking back on it, that is an unfortunate title!)

Hold on...I think I hear something...

OLYMPIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Friday, April 26, 2013

All Saints - A Special Across The Pond Blog


I think that for today's edition of this blog, I'm going to resurrect a former theme day that I used a couple of years ago. As much as I enjoy planning ahead with the blog and trying new things, sometimes it's good to look back at the past and borrow ideas from it.

What I have come up with is a spotlight on a show that was not seen at all in North America, but did insanely well in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

I don't know how many of you were following this blog back in the summer of 2011, but back in those days, Wednesdays were devoted to something completely different. Most of you following this blog currently know Wednesdays as the day where I feature books, magazines, toys, and games.

But back in 2011, Wednesdays were devoted to looking at pop culture around the world. I called it “Across the Pond and Beyond”. And, it was in this space that I featured topics on media from all over the globe. Past subjects included EastEnders, Coronation Street, Paddington Bear, Takeshi's Castle, Home and Away, Neighbours, and many many more.

The reason why I decided to give up the theme at the beginning of 2012 was simple. I was running out of topics to choose from, and I decided to put the column on hiatus for the time being. It was a decision that I briefly regretted because of all the blog topics that I enjoyed the most, it was the Across the Pond ones. For one, I loved having the opportunity to share television shows, movies, musical acts, and other miscellaneous things that not a lot of people have even heard about, let alone experienced. To be able to share these gems with a larger audience is fantastic.

And, secondly, these days I am finding more television shows being made overseas are a lot better in quality and storytelling than some of the programs made in my own country or the United States. I'll be the first one to admit that I actually got hooked on EastEnders when it began airing on our PBS affiliate, and I was once so addicted to the show “Home and Away” that I began watching the episodes online as people posted them from Australia.

And, in the case of this featured television series, I stumbled upon it purely by accident while I was doing research for another blog topic. It happened to be a complete episode of the series, and I sat down and watched it. To my surprise, I enjoyed it so much that I ended up watching a whole half a season of it that same day! And, then I watched the rest of the episodes over a two week period!

And, this is surprising for me because I normally can't stand hospital dramas.

I know that ER aired on television for fifteen years, but I think that I have only watched maybe an episode and a half of it. I know it was wildly popular, but there was something about it that made me not want to watch it. The same deal would likely be said about St. Elsewhere, Chicago Hope, and Presidio Med.

(That last one being a brief drama that starred Dana Delany and Blythe Danner that was cancelled after one year.)

But this hospital drama was a bit different. It was set in a Sydney, Australia hospital, and it featured a staff of doctors and nurses that worked in Ward 17. Now, Ward 17 was a ward that was affectionately known as the “garbage ward”. In actuality, it was the ward that was used for the overflow of patients whenever there wasn't a bed available in the various other wings of the hospital. This caused the staff of Ward 17 to always have unexpected days and nights, as none of them knew just what they would be getting themselves into. The patients could be unpredictable, and even violent, and yet the staff always treated them with dignity and respect...well, most of the time.



This is the television series known as “All Saints”.



All Saints” might not have run as long as ER (the show debuted in February 1998 and ran until October 2009 on Australia's Seven Network), but during its twelve season run, it was ranked within the Top 10 most watched programs in Australia. It is Australia's longest running medical drama series, and third longest running prime time series overall.

Part of the reason why “All Saints” performed so well was because of the talented cast who starred within the show. Despite the huge cast turnover throughout the years (only one original cast member stayed on the entire series), the show still had warmth, and very rarely excluded anyone.



Now, initially, the program was meant to be a starring vehicle for Australian actress Georgie Parker (who ironically enough starred in another Australian medical drama, “A Country Practice” from 1990-1992)...and the character that Georgie played on the television series is kind of a nice little play on words, given the title of the show.

All Saints” refers to the name of the hospital where the series takes place. And, the character that Georgie Parker plays, Therese Sullivan, is the Nursing Unit Manager of Ward 17.

Terri, though, has another interesting aspect to her personality. When the series began, she was a nun!

In fact, a lot of the early episodes of “All Saints” depicted the struggle that Terri went through trying to balance a career in medicine with the commitment of sisterhood. As the series progressed, we began to understand why Terri had joined the convent in the first place. It wasn't because she felt a need to serve as a nun out of duty or necessity...it was because she was trying to forget a relationship that she had with someone a decade earlier that did not have a happy ending. And, for the first season, everything was fine...



...until the door to the past was blown wide open when Dr. Mitch Stevens (Erik Thomson) waltzed right back into Terri's life to become the hospital's newest physician. Needless to say, the reunion between Terri and Mitch was awkward because she was still in love with Mitch. Terri began to detach herself from the convent, eventually leaving. And, she did spend a little bit of time dating other people. But, still...she always wanted to have a life with Mitch, and by the time she realized this, Mitch had already found love with somebody else, even fathering a child with the other woman, leaving Terri visibly devastated.



But then Mitch's wife began to lose her marbles just a smidgen, and began to make Terri's life a living misery, and Mitch decided that enough was enough. He left his wife to be with Terri, and he and Terri were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together...until Mitch died of a brain tumour.

Such is the life of a medical drama...there's always someone who ends up dying on the show. Just ask Stephanie Markham (Kirrily White), Sean Everleigh (Chris Vance), and Erica Templeton (Jolene Anderson).

Oh...wait. You can't. They were all killed off the series. Oh bother.

Of course, Terri and Mitch weren't the only main characters of “All Saints”...which is good, considering that both of them were gone by season eight, and the show ran for twelve years. By the end of the series, the main characters were...



...Frank Campion (John Howard), the tough-as-nails head of the emergency department who makes his patients top priority and pushes his staff relentlessly to make sure that the patients get the best care possible.



Dr. Charlotte Beaumont (Tammy Macintosh), is second in command of the emergency department, and was introduced into the series in season five. She has had a rather interesting backstory. In a story that was similar to Terri's, Charlotte was married to a man named Vincent (Christopher Gabardi), and left him for another woman! That relationship had fizzled by the time Charlotte joined “All Saints”, but interestingly enough, Dr. Vincent Hughes joined the staff of “All Saints”, and unlike the reunion between Terri and Mitch, theirs was a little...shall we say...happier.



Charlotte and Vincent reaffirmed their friendship and stayed close. But Charlotte's time in “All Saints” was not an easy ride. She had a one-night-stand with a doctor (who at the time was having a romance with Terri), got pregnant from it, was run over by a hit-and-run driver, and lost the baby. And, in the sixth season finale when a crazed gunman began shooting people in the hospital, Charlotte tried to calm him down. Below is that confrontation, but I warn you...the scenes below are not suitable for young children.



And, that's part of the reason why I think I liked “All Saints” better than most medical dramas out there. Because the broadcast rules are slightly more lax in Australia than they are in the United States, “All Saints” could get away with a lot more stuff than ER ever could. This meant controversial storylines and more colourful language. Hell, in one episode, John Howard's character of Frank Campion dropped the F-bomb in one of his lines!

It certainly offered up a grittier approach, making the drama very realistic. The make-up department was especially fantastic on the series, as all of the injuries that people sustained on the series looked very much real!



The show also tackled some rather serious issues over the years. Nelson Curtis (Paul Tassone) struggled with the demons of alcohol addiction throughout the whole time he appeared on the series. He relapsed several times, and after his fiancee was murdered, he left All Saints fearful over possibly hurting someone else because he couldn't control himself. A similar story was told with Sterlo McCormack (Henry Nixon), who became addicted to painkillers and drugs following being shot in the season six finale.



The show also tackled the subject of racism when Jessica Singleton (Natalie Saleeba) was forced to confront her biggest fears after having to deal with a patient who was a white surpremacist.



Jared Levine (Ben Tari) began as a nurse with a privileged background, and was mostly a supporting character. But when he was sexually violated in an attack, and Charlotte caught him trying to cure a disease he contracted as a result of the attack, Jared found it difficult to keep it together. Watch below, keeping in mind that again, this is not meant for younger viewers.



And, then there's Von...



Von Ryan (Judith McGrath) is the only character to last the entire run of the series, and during the twelve years that she was on the show, her character was more or less the same. She does not take too kindly to drama, whining, or laziness, but if you ever needed someone in your corner, she was definitely the one that you really wanted on your side.

The show also tackled the subject of suicide...only in the case of “All Saints”, the issue was brought up off screen, as one of the members of the cast took his own life in the summer of 2008.



Actor Mark Priestley played the role of Dan Goldman, a nurse with a winning personality who became interested in a career in nursing due to his attraction to blood and gore. On the show, Dan was destined for a happy ending as he had gotten married to his on-screen love, Erica Templeton. The episode aired on August 26, 2008.

One day later, Mark Priestley was found dead.

On August 27, 2008, Priestley's body was found on an awning at the Swissotel in Sydney, Australia. He had checked into the hotel that day under a different name, and jumped from a window of the hotel several stories up that afternoon. It was later revealed that Priestley had been suffering from depression for several years, having gone for treatment to ease the symptoms prior to his death.

He died just a few days after he turned 32.

Mark's character of Dan Goldman continued to air well into November 2008, as Priestly had taped several episodes of the series before he passed away. In a rather eerie manner, the final storyline that Dan was involved in dealt with the tragic murder of his wife, Erica, and presumably his last scene showed the police giving him the terrible news.



The show was retooled three different times during its run. For the first six and a half years, the show was set at Ward 17, but because of a slip in the ratings caused by the departure of Thomson's Mitch Stevens, the show was retooled and the action shifted to the emergency department. Then at the beginning of the show's twelfth and final season, the show included the medical response unit in its storylines.



Here's the shocking part. “All Saints” benefited from these changes. Ratings improved on both stints. In fact, “All Saints” was still getting decent ratings at the time of its cancellation. Unfortunately, running a show like “All Saints” was a huge cost to Seven Network, and Seven made the decision to put their backing on the comedy-drama series “Packed to the Rafters”...ironically enough starring Erik Thompson!



So, the final episode of “All Saints” aired on October 27, 2009, appropriately enough with Von Ryan retiring from her position.

So, that's my look back on “All Saints”...a show that really should have aired in North America. Take my word for it, if you can get past the Australian accents and have a strong stomach for gore and swear words, you'll love this one!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Awesome Customer Appreciation Post!


This is one of those Thursday Diary entries that had a last minute change over the last 24 hours. I was initially going to be talking about my first few days in a new area of the retail store I work at. But then something happened on my shift yesterday that kind of changed the topic ever so slightly.

Some of you who know me best might have an idea of what I am talking about...but it's not exactly what you might think. Confused? Read on!

April 25, 2013

Well, as I type this diary entry out, it is raining. Hard. I mean, enough rain that could fill up a flowerpot or quite possibly even one of those sandboxes or swimming pools. But, hey, at least with the rain falling, I don't have to worry about watering the cedar trees and hanging geranium baskets today!



Yes, as of today, I will have been in the Garden Centre area for a grand total of four days!  And, no, the image above is not our Garden Centre...just a stock image.

You know, I will honestly say this about the Garden Centre. It is a job that is not to be taken lightly. There are lots of perks to being in that department, but there is a lot of hard work involved as well...and that hard work is not necessarily for everyone.

Have you ever tried to cram an entire cedar tree into the back of a small car? I had that experience yesterday, and lemme tell you, I was so amazed that I ended up getting the whole thing inside! But, as long as the customer left with a smile on their face, it was worth the effort.



Or, have you ever tried to load a patio set inside a minivan only to find that the umbrella just doesn't quite fit? It took a bit of creative thinking as to how to arrange things in a way that all the boxes would fit comfortably, but you know what? I figured it out. Actually, the customer came up with the idea himself, and it worked perfectly fine. It was one of those rare happenings where teamwork between customer and employee worked miracles. In the end, the customer left with what he purchased in a good mood, and my stress levels remained at a neutral level.

(The only other alternative really was taking every piece out of the box and loading them in that way...which is a major pain in the butt to do. Trust me on that one. But even if it did resort to that, I'd do it.)



Even something as simple as loading bags of dirt, fertilizer, crushed clay, and mulch into the cars, trucks, vans (and in one case, even a trailer), could be very tiring, depending on just how many things you had to load into a vehicle. My very first experience in the soil compound was one of those instances in which I had to throw all fears and doubts to the wind. Imagine going out there for the first time, and having a car pull up saying that they wanted 40 bags of Black Earth Topsoil!!! And, that was my FIRST experience loading soil into the back of a truck.

But, to be completely fair, I really only ended up loading about half of that. The customer helped me load the other half. And, while we were loading up the vehicle, they were chatting to me about how nice a day it was, and just being very nice and kind. The guy even thought that I looked 25, which made this nearly 32 year old man smile in amusement and pride.

(It seems hard to believe that just a few years ago, I would have gotten so upset over the fact that someone would think that I looked young for my age. Now, I think to myself...cool!)

Anyway, that was basically the common theme of the last few days in the garden soil compound. I'd load up their cars with bags of dirt, and they would respond with gratitude and kindness.



And, that's really what I want to talk about. Appreciating customers who are pleasant, happy, and wonderful all around people.

Let's face it, for those of us working in retail, you're going to experience all sorts of people. There are going to be some who try to pull the wool over your eyes, trying to scheme their way to huge savings. And, yes...there are going to be some customers who are naturally grouchy, who complain about everything and anyone if things do not go their way, and who have a major attitude problem the minute they walk through the front doors of the store, and who take out their bad days on other people to make their days just as unpleasant.

(Yeah...I had one of those recently. 'Twas not a fun experience.)

But you know something? Who cares about those negative Nellies?

I suppose that I could have used this space to vent about this “charming” customer that I had to deal with not too long ago. But why give them attention? I certainly don't like to reward negative behaviour. All that does is put me firmly into the Nucleus of Negativity I despise so much.

Truth is, I'd rather talk about the customers that did put a smile on my face. Because A) they far outweigh the bad customers in number, and B) they are just simply more fun to talk about.

Why wouldn't I reward customers who treat people with kindness and respect? I know that there are some instances in which some places of employment have customer comment cards in which they can give kudos to employees who went above and beyond to service them (and yes, my workplace is one of those that does). But, I think it would also be interesting to reward customers who give employees kindness and courtesy.

In fact, I'm going to make a really big confession here. I typically am nice to most customers, and I will try to help them out whenever I can, even if there are times in which I don't know the answer. But if you cop an attitude with me at any time, then you will likely see my mood change as quickly as one of those mood rings from the 1970s. I'll still keep my composure and serve you to the best of my abilities, but know that I am silently turned off by you. And, also know that I have never claimed to be an actor, so there may be times in which my poker face might appear slightly disturbed.

Of course, most people never get to see that with me. Because most people that I serve are genuinely nice people!

So, that's why I talked about the coolest customer service experiences that I have experienced. I'd rather they get the limelight instead of the one nasty person.

I'd rather talk about the woman who was so grateful that I helped her find the pesticides that she let out a whoop! She had been looking around the store for several minutes and was getting frustrated, but she asked me very nicely where it was kept, and she looked relieved to find it.

Or, I'd rather talk about the long line of cars inside the soil compound, all of which wanted at least ten or more bags of topsoil, and all of the drivers worked together with me to load up four different cars with dirt at the same time. The teamwork between employee and customers was outstanding. I had never seen anything quite like it in my entire time in retail (not even when I was in the dairy department). It certainly not only made my job a lot easier, but I ended up serving all the customers in half the time in the process!

Or, I'd rather talk about the nice man who just wanted to buy a tree, but ended up buying several packages of seed and fertilizer. He was one of the nicest guys ever, and he actually kept apologizing for taking up so much of my time, and keeping me from other duties! There was no apology needed as far as I was concerned! I was just doing my job. He was the one who actually made me feel great about myself for being such a help to him!

You see, when a customer leaves in a good mood (regardless of whether they leave with nothing, or they leave with a huge order), I know that I've done a great job. Sometimes, the customer can leave slightly unhappy, but at least they're respectful about it, and in some cases, they don't blame me for what happened. And, that's true with every department. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and we can't really do anything about it. That's just how things are at almost any business in the world. You just dust yourself off and deal.

I think life is far too short and precious to spend it being negative towards other people. Why would you waste your time making other people feel bad when you can brighten up their day?

Shortly after I had that unpleasant encounter, I had several people who were in fantastic moods and who actually made me chuckle a couple of times! Soon enough, I had “nearly” forgotten how badly that other customer had made me feel.

(Hey...I said nearly.)

But, it has given me an idea for this post in the coming weeks.  I shared with you some of my positive customer experiences (and if I get any more, I will share them here as well). 

I am also interested in hearing YOUR stories.  Have you had customers that have made your day just a little brighter?  I would like to hear those stories too!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Go Fly A Kite!


I'm kind of on a time limit tonight, so this entry will be considerably shorter than what you might be used to. Who knew working outdoors would tire a person out so much? I'll be sharing more about that story tomorrow!

For now, here's today's entry.




Have you ever told someone who has been invading your personal space to go and fly a kite? Next time you hear someone tell you that, give them a big hug and thank them for the wonderful suggestion!

DISCLAIMER: Yeah, that suggestion? Scrap that one. Depending on the person, you might get a black eye, a bloodied nose, or a marriage proposal.

But, in all seriousness, I think that one of my all-time favourite outdoor activities to do during the spring and summer months was flying a kite. I still remember the very first kite I ended up receiving. If I remember correctly, it was purple and silver, and it had a really super long string. Whenever the wind picked up, and it was strong enough to keep a kite up in the air (but not so strong that it could smash a window or blow a garbage can down the street), I loved it! Seeing that kite flying high up above the air, trying to keep it up as long as possible...that was just one of those moments that defined childhood to me. Sometimes, the wind would be so blustery that it felt as though the kite would lift me up off the ground and take me sailing across the sky! Of course, that never happened. I would have to think that the kite would have to be huge in order to lift me up off the ground, and I honestly don't think that I would be able to lift it!




I should also note though that when I was flying a kite, I was always flying it under direct supervision from a grown-up. My parents and elder siblings would always make sure that I flew the kite in a nice, open area away from any sources of electricity like power lines. After all, we all know that a kite was included in one of Benjamin Franklin's most famous science experiment proposals.




You know the one that I am talking about right? The one with the kite and the key and the lightning storm? Benjamin Franklin published his theory in 1750 by claiming that lightning was electricity. Yeah, don't try that at home. Flying a kite in a thunderstorm is dangerous, and you should never attempt it. If lightning ever struck your kite, your hands could become crispy vittles!

Kites were also used in researching and developing innovations for the modern day airplane, and Orville and Wilbur Wright reportedly used them when they were designing the very first airplane.

Actually, kites have been around for thousands of years, if you can believe it. It is estimated that the kite first appeared in the country of China approximately 2800 years ago (so, circa 787 B.C.-ish). The earliest kites were made out of silk fabric and bamboo, and by 549 A.D., paper kites were being flown. It would take quite a long time for kites to be introduced into North America, but thanks to the hypothesis that Benjamin Franklin had come up with, as well as the fact that the Wright Brothers used them, we can estimate that by the 18th century, kites had found their way onto every continent in the world.

Well, except Antarctica, that is.

Most modern-day kites manufactured these days are made of printed polyester and lightweight wood (although in some cases, silk is still used). Though I suppose you could buy kites from the dollar store that are made from plastic. I wouldn't recommend those ones though. I once had a kite that boasted clear as day that it was “Easy-To-Fly”. Seriously, it had the words “Easy-To-Fly” written across the front!

Do you think it was easy to fly? Hardly. I got so frustrated with that kite that I wanted to rename it to “Never Flies, Even In Gale Force Winds”. Though it wasn't a complete loss. The kite did become a wall decoration for my childhood bedroom for a few years.

Kites could be traditionally found in either a diamond shape or a glider-type shape. The silver and purple one I loved so much was shaped like a glider. “Never-To-Fly” kite? It was a diamond shape. No need to ask which design I preferred, huh?




Kites can be made to look like almost anything. I've seen box kites, which have sails that are shaped like a box, I've seen kites that are designed to look like dragons, and I think I got jealous of one kid who had a kite that looked like Snoopy!

I wanted a Snoopy kite too!

Turns out that kites are used in a variety of celebrations all over the world, and depending on what part of the world you happen to be from, kites are a valuable addition to holiday festivities.

Take Asian countries, for example. Kite flying originated here, and clearly kites are still very popular. One of the most recent trends that has to do with kite flying involves a game known as “kite fighting”, which is when people try to use their kites to knock or cut other kites down.

Kite flying is also quite popular in Afghanistan (except during the period when it was still under Taliban rule), Pakistan, Vietnam, and India. In Greece and Cyprus, kite flying is a tradition for Clean Monday (the first day of Lent). And, kite flying is so popular in Brazil that it has almost become a necessity in some cases!

Who knew that so many people all over the world loved flying kites? But, then again, when you consider that kite flying has assisted in the fields of aviation, meteorology, science, broadcasting, athletics, military, and of course, entertainment, is it any wonder why the kite is held in such high regard?

So, the next time someone tells you to go fly a kite...do it!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

April 23, 1928

Tuesday Timeline time! Tuesday Timeline time! Tuesday Timeline time!

And, for this week's edition of the 'line, we're going to be honouring a true blue living legend in stage, screen, and film! Curious to know who we're going to be talking about and what year we're flashing back to? You'll find out soon enough!

For now, why don't we have a look at what else happened on April 23 throughout history. Now, there's quite a few important events that took place on this date, and I couldn't list all of them here. So, I went with some of the more important ones.

1616 – William Shakespeare passes away in Stratford-upon-Avon, England at the age of 52

1661 – King Charles II of England, Ireland, and Scotland is crowned in Westminster Abbey

1897 – Lester B. Pearson, the 14th Prime Minister of Canada is born in Newtonbrook, Ontario

1910 – Theodore Roosevelt makes his “Man in the Arena” speech

1932 – The 153-year-old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, Netherlands burns to the ground

1940 – A fire at the Rhythm Night Club in Natchez, Mississippi kills 198 people

1955 – The Canadian Labour Congress is formed

1968 – Students protest at Columbia University in New York City against the Vietnam War, leading to the takeover of several administration buildings

1985 – Coca-Cola introduces a new formula known as “New Coke”, which ends up becoming a colossal failure

1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th country to join the United Nations

1995 – Sportscaster Howard Cosell passes away at the age of 77 in New York

2002 – De Adriaan Windmill reopens after burning down seventy years earlier

2007 – Russian politician Boris Yeltsin passes away in Moscow, Russia at the age of 76

We're also going to take the time to wish Chuck Harmon, Alan Oppenheimer, Lee Majors, Joyce DeWitt, James Russo, Michael Moore, Jan Hooks, Valerie Bertinelli, George Lopez, Melina Kanakaredes, Barry Watson, John Cena, Kal Penn, Jaime King, Taio Cruz, Aaron Hill, Molly Burnett, Dev Patel, Matthew Underwood, Charlie Rowe, and Alex Ferris a happy birthday.

Now, you might be surprised at who I've included in the list of celebrity birthdays. Of the list, the final five are 25 and under. They may seem kind of young and haven't lived long enough to warrant much attention yet, but I do think that child stars should be recognized in this space. After all, today's blog subject was one of the biggest child stars in the entire world at one time.



And, today she blows out 85 candles on her birthday cake, putting her date of birth at April 23, 1928.

And to introduce this person to you...a personal story.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, my parents were really big on classic cinema. Until a few years ago, I never knew that they showed any interest in movies from the 1930s and 1940s. My mom never really watched many movies (well, except for “Grease” and “On Golden Pond”, her two all-time favourites), and my father only thought a movie was good if it starred John Wayne.

My father is kind of what you call one of those “urban cowboys”. No, actually, he'd be more suburban...yeah, that makes more sense.

Anyway, when my dad was younger, he and my Uncle Clark (who sadly I never met as he died six years before I was born) were watching a particular movie that was released before either one of them were born. The film was released in 1936, and the plot involved a sea captain rescuing a baby from the sea. The little girl grows up in the care of the captain and they live their lives in a lighthouse until a nosy old truant officer comes around and tells the captain that the girl needs to have a proper education. What's worse, because the Captain never took the steps to legally adopt the girl as her own, she could be taken away from his care forever unless drastic steps are taken. Of course, like most films from the 1930s, the ending is a happy one.

What was interesting about the film was that the main character was someone by the name of Helen “Star” Mason. At the time, my father had apparently fallen in love with the name “Star”, and he proclaimed to my Uncle Clark after watching the movie that if he ever had a daughter, he would name her after that movie character.

As it so happened, my father had two daughters (and a son, obviously), and he had almost convinced my mother to name their first born daughter “Star”. Unfortunately at the time, my maternal grandfather talked her right out of it, and my sister ended up with the name “Dawn” instead. But then six years later, my mother gave birth to my other sister, and this time around, my father got his wish, and she was named Star (albeit with an extra R at the end, which likely prompted some people to question whether my parents named her after a Beatle...which given the fact that she was born in 1972 would have made perfect sense.)



Anyway, the movie that served as the inspiration behind my sister's name was the 1936 film “Captain January”. And, the actress who played the role of Star was Shirley Temple.



Shirley Temple being the subject of today's blog...the one blowing out 85 candles on her birthday cake today.

I know, it seems almost insane to think that Shirley Temple would ever be that old, given that when we knew her best, she was that curly-haired sweetheart that could make the meanest man's heart melt into mush.

She was born April 23, 1928 in Santa Monica, California to Gertrude and George Temple, and she began her career at the ripe old age of THREE! Only the Olsen Twins could make the claim that they started their career younger than her.

In September 1931, Shirley's mother enrolled her in “Meglin's Dance School” in Los Angeles, California, and at the beginning of 1932, Temple already had a contract with Educational Pictures after there was a talent search at the dance school. Unfortunately, the company went belly-up just a year later, but Shirley's career was just beginning. When Shirley was barely six years old, she had signed a deal with Fox Film Corporation, and was loaned out to Warner Brothers and Paramount for cameo appearances in other films.

And, in April 1934, the film that helped make Shirley Temple a star was released.



The film was 1934's “Stand Up And Cheer!”, and Shirley's performance in the film was garnering rave reviews. Shirley found herself to be quite the charmer in her young age, with Fox heads promoting her long before the film was even released (which likely assisted in why the film could be considered Shirley's grand entrance, so to speak).

Soon after “Stand Up And Cheer!” was released, Temple's salary was bumped up to $1,250 per week (almost unheard of during the Great Depression). By the end of the year, she starred in the movie “Bright Eyes”, which featured this now-iconic song.



Shortly after Fox Films merged with Twentieth Century Pictures to become Twentieth Century Fox, Shirley Temple began to churn out four pictures a year, and by the time she was a teenager, she had featured in no less than thirty-two movies! Some of her most famous included “Curly Top”, “Poor Little Rich Girl”, “Dimples”, “Stowaway”, “Wee Willie Winkie”, “Heidi”, “Little Miss Broadway”, and of course, “Captain January”.



But going from a precocious young girl with ringlets in her hair, a song in her heart, and dancing dust in her shoes to a mature, beautiful young woman was not an easy one to make for Temple. The older she got, the less she got hired. As it happened, Temple's look ended up typecasting her forever, as she found that her movie projects just weren't being as well received as they had been back when she was a child. Shirley instead focused on school activities, and later, marriage and motherhood, before announcing her retirement from films on December 16, 1950.

But, don't think that this was the last time you would hear from Shirley Temple.

Although Shirley's first marriage to John George Agar did not last (it hit the skids in 1949, following the birth of their only child together, Linda Susan), she remarried just one year later...ironically enough on the very same day she announced her retirement from film making! Her second husband was Charles Alden Black. They had two children together, and stayed married until his death in 2005.



That's nearly 55 years of marriage, for those of you keeping score at home.

And, eight years after retiring from the film industry, Shirley Temple Black had found new life in television. During the whole of 1958, she starred in and narrated a program called “Shirley Temple's Storybook”, and made several guest appearances on several television programs throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Temple would later go on to a career in politics when she began campaigning for the Republican Party in California. She even tried running for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1967, but lost to Pete McCloskey – a Democrat.

Oh, well...I don't think it really hurt her that much. She went on to serve on the board of directors of several companies including Disney, Del Monte, and Bank of America, and has been a spokesperson for UNESCO and The National Wildlife Federation, and has raised awareness for breast cancer prevention after her own battle with the disease in 1972.

She was even an official American ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia!

And, of course, you can't deny her many contributions to Hollywood, which has netted her several honours, including her putting her handprints in the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater, received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, and was awarded a very special juvenile version of an Academy Award!

Not bad for a child star, don't you think?



Happy Birthday, Shirley Temple! And, to celebrate? Well, why not have a “Shirley Temple”...on me?



And, if you want to make your own, all you need to do is mix ginger ale with grenadine, and then add a cherry on top! They're just the thing to drink on a cool day, and because they're a non-alcoholic drink, you can go crazy on the Temples!

BONUS QUESTION:  What is YOUR favourite Shirley Temple film?