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Friday, May 24, 2013

Elyse Keaton's Family Ties




First things first, I want to take the time to thank every single one of you for helping me celebrate this blog's second birthday. As I alluded to in yesterday's blog entry, I definitely would not be here if not for your continued interest and support in my writing. So, once again, a big thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last couple of years. Here's hoping that this year will be the best year ever!

Now, I also alluded to the fact that I would be making some significant changes to this blog format in the coming weeks, and some of you may have noticed a few of these changes in place as you logged in today. The colour scheme is going to be staying the same (I think the purple/yellow scheme works) and so is the logo...but I've been tweaking around with the fonts of the blog. It just dawned on me that I had quite a few different fonts cluttering the page at one time, and it just didn't look very professional. So, I've decided to change the headers to the Impact font, which the logo is currently in to make it blend more. I've also changed the side text to a font known as “Droid Sans”, to make it have a cleaner appearance. And, if I can find a way to incorporate that font into the main text of this blog, this may be the last entry you see written in Palatino Linotype, although my Thursday Diary entries will still be done in Comic Sans MS, as right now, it is the only font I have that sort of resembles a person's printing.

Which is just fine by me, because I like Sans Serif fonts slightly better.

(And, yes, I am a font nerd.)

And, starting June 1st, you're going to be seeing a lot more entries in which I tell stories and personal anecdotes, and less entries on pop culture. I won't abandon the pop culture angle completely though...just using it as an enhancer. Fear not, I'll still be doing blog entries on Lady Gaga, Alec Baldwin, Bugs Bunny, and the soap opera “Passions”...but don't be surprised if I skip a theme day or two along the way to tell more personal stories. I'm specifically looking at the weekend of June 15-16 in particular when I give a detailed account of my Relay for Life adventures. Just a heads up for you.

In the meantime, we're still going to do the pop culture thing for today. After all, we're in the middle of a special theme for Fridays in May in which we celebrate sitcom moms of yore. And, if you read last week's entry on the television series “One Day At A Time”, you might have already figured out what the topic is (well, before the title of the blog entry gave it away, that is.)

In that entry, I had mentioned that one of the co-creators of “One Day At A Time” was a woman by the name of Whitney Blake, who used her own experiences as a single mother as the basis behind the creation of Ann Romano, the main character of the show portrayed by Bonnie Franklin. As it turned out, one of Whitney's three children would grow up to portray a television sitcom mother herself!

Whitney's daughter, Meredith Ann Baxter was born on June 21, 1947 in South Pasadena, California, and it took a while for Meredith to get into the world of show business. When Meredith was 25 years old, she was cast in the 1972 sitcom “Bridget Loves Bernie” alongside Audra Lindley, David Doyle, and a man by the name of David Birney. The show was a colossal failure on CBS, only squeezing out a one-season run. But the love affair between Meredith and David was born during the filming of the show, and the two got married just one year after the show was put to pasture.

And, Meredith began going under the stage name, Meredith Baxter-Birney. It would be a name that she would use for the next fifteen years before divorcing David in the late 1980s. During this time, she landed a role on the ABC sitcom,
“Family”, in which she stayed on during the show's 1976-1980 run. She also landed a part in the 1981 film “Valentine”, which starred Annette O'Toole and Shelley Hack.

But it wasn't until one year after “Valentine” was released that Meredith Baxter-Birney would land her biggest role to date.



That role was former hippie and largely liberal mother Elyse Keaton, and the program was “Family Ties”, which aired on NBC between September 22, 1982 and May 14, 1989. And, when Meredith took on the role, there were some interesting nuggets of trivia that unfolded as the cast assembled for the first time.



First, when Meredith signed on to do “Family Ties”, she joined the elite club of being in at least one show that aired on each of the main three networks.
Secondly, Meredith had something in common with co-star Michael Gross (who played Elyse's husband, Steven). Michael's birthday is June 21, 1947...the same exact day that Meredith's birthday is.
Thirdly, it's a good thing that Michael J. Fox looked a lot younger than his twenty-one years when he was cast as Alex P. Keaton, as there was only a fourteen year age difference between Fox and his television parents!

But, those are just minor details.



At any rate, I thought that Meredith Baxter-Birney did a wonderful job playing the role of Elyse Keaton. And, let me tell you, Elyse and Steven were up for many challenges as they settled down and raise their family.

Originally, the show's tagline was “hip parents, square kids”, and during the show's first season, this definitely seemed to be the case. Elyse and Steven were part of the baby boomer generation, and they completely embraced the hippie culture. They immersed themselves in the make love, not war concept, and when the two first met, they fell head over heels in love with each other. They got married in 1964, and over the next few years, they joined the Peace Corps, attended college, and developed careers (Elyse as an architect, Steven as a television station manager). Throughout this time, the couple would have four children together. Alex, Mallory (Justine Bateman), Jennifer (Tina Yothers), and Andrew (Brian Bonsall).

TRIVIA: All four children's birthdates were revealed on the show (which was unusual for a television sitcom). Alex was born in 1965, Mallory was born in 1967, Jennifer's birthday was November 1972 (she was born on Election Day), and Andrew was actually born on-screen in the episode “Birth of a Keaton, Part II” which aired January 31, 1985. The reason why the pregnancy was written into the show was due to Meredith's real-life pregnancy.

Now, what could be more challenging than raising four children under one roof? Having four children under the same roof with different, clashing personalities, with the vast majority of your children's values contradicting your own! That was exactly the challenge that Elyse Keaton had to face.



While Steven and Elyse were former hippies and took on a free spirit approach to life, their eldest two children were not about to follow the same path. Alex Keaton was almost like a Donald Trump in training. His idol was Ronald Reagan, and it seemed as though his main goal in life was to become the next top business mogul. His Republican leanings and his constant perusing of the stock market pages helped shape who he was, and this set the stage for constant clashes between Alex and his parents (though to be fair, Elyse and Steven did love and support Alex whenever he needed it).



Daughter Mallory wasn't much better. Sure, she wasn't really into the whole political spectrum, but she certainly did adopt the “hey, big spender” attitude that a lot of people had in the prosperous 1980s. She spent a lot of time at the local shopping mall, and spent whatever money she had to stand out amongst her yuppie-in-training classmates. If it wasn't for the fact that Justine Bateman lacked the accent, Mallory probably could have become the stereotypical air-headed Valley Girl of the 1980s.



Even little Andy wasn't completely immune to the charms of 1980's corporate greed, as Alex quickly bonded with his little brother and filled him in on everything he knew. Heh...it's just too bad that by the time Andrew would have become Alex's age it would have been right around the time of the 2008 recession.



Only younger daughter Jennifer seemed to break from the mould. Jennifer didn't really care about Reaganomics or fashion. She was content just being a tomboy and doing her own thing. If anything, Jennifer was the one Keaton child that seemed to embrace the values that Elyse and Steven held so dear.

(Which might explain why Jennifer was always this blogger's favourite Keaton...although I do admit that Alex did get the best lines.)

But, raising kids aside, Elyse seemed to be the key figure to several storylines...many of them considered hot button issues for television. Here's a list of some of the topics that Elyse had to deal with.

SEASON 1: OOPS (12/22/1982) In this issue, the topic of teen pregnancy is touched upon. Don't worry, none of the Keaton kids ended up giving birth...but one of Mallory's friends accidentally found herself knocked up after having sex with her boyfriend...and of all the people that she confides in, she chooses Elyse. But, it was a good episode, because Elyse really sat down with her and listened to her voice her fears.

SEASON 1: THE FUGITIVE (1/19/1983, 1/26/1983) Before he became an A-list Hollywood star, Tom Hanks guest starred in this two-part episode as Elyse's brother, Ned. At first, it's a lovely family reunion...until Ned reveals that he is being hunted down by the FBI for embezzling money from his workplace. This puts Elyse in a very tough position...turn her brother in, or help him hide out. The decision she ends up making is a difficult one, and she finds pros and cons to both sides. But in the end, I think she did the right thing, setting a great example for her children in the process.

SEASON 2: THE HARDER THEY FALL (10/19/1983) – Have you ever had your mom punch a teacher out at your parent-teacher conference? I know my mom actually WANTED to in a couple of occasions. Well, in this episode, Elyse did exactly that, and Alex is mortified as he thinks Elyse completely ruined his chances at getting a college scholarship. By the end of the episode, it is Alex who learns the lesson.

SEASON 2: THIS YEAR'S MODEL (10/26/1983) It seemed like a grand idea at the time. Mallory and Elyse entering a mother-daughter beauty pageant. And, why wouldn't they? Both Keaton women were very beautiful. Mallory later gets upset when Elyse gets far more positive attention than she does, and when Elyse notices that Mallory is upset with her, she tries to smooth out the situation.

SEASON 3: THE GAMBLER (9/20/1984) – When a trip to a casino in Atlantic City tempts Elyse into the lure of gambling, it's up to the rest of the Keaton family to convince her to stop.

SEASON 4: THE OLD COLLEGE TRY (11/7/1985) – It's war at the Keaton household when Mallory informs Elyse that she has decided not to go to college.

SEASON 6: SUPER MOM (10/18/1987) – It's a struggle that a lot of working moms go through when raising a family. Elyse has the opportunity to work on an architecture account which will earn her much accolades. But the cost is that she has to spend time away from her family. Can she find a way to do both at the same time, or will she have to make a difficult choice along the way?

SEASON 7: HEARTSTRINGS (12/4/1988, 12/11/1988, 12/18/1988) – If there is one single episode arc of Family Ties that showcases Elyse Keaton at her best, this is the one to watch. It depicts Elyse's struggle to maintain hope, sanity, and optimism after Steven has a heart attack in the middle of the Keaton living room.

SEASON 7: THE WRECKER'S BALL (2/12/1989) – And, to close off this look back on Elyse Keaton, I present to you this episode. In the episode, the very first building that Elyse designed as an architect is set to be demolished, and she is very upset over hearing the news. But her whole family rallies around her to try and fight the demolition so that something that Elyse created with love and passion can remain standing. I won't reveal the conclusion of the episode, but if there was any doubt over Elyse Keaton's mothering abilities, this episode should prove just how awesome a mom she was.

Elyse Keaton, I salute you!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Two Years Of Pop Culture - Minus A Day


This is a rather huge moment for this blog.



In just 24 hours from today, “A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life” will be celebrating its second birthday! And, lemme tell you all right now, these past two years have been anything BUT terrible! I hope that over the past two years, you've learned a lot of things about pop culture, and I hope that you've enjoyed hearing some of my personal tales and stories that I've told over the last couple of years. Most of them were silly tales, some of them were sad, a few were tinged with anger, but every one of the blog posts that I have made since May 24, 2011 were written with love, passion, and heart. And, I just want to thank every single one of you for sticking with this blogging project for all this time. I would not be consistently challenging myself in this space had it not been for all of your support and interest. I really don't know how I can show enough gratitude towards all of you.

I know that my main goal for this blog was to take a look back on some of my fondest memories of childhood (of which 99.9% of them involved pop culture of some level), and I really wanted to share that love with all of you out there. But, in the process of doing this, I've done a lot of self-reflection in my own life. And, it's dawned on me that in the last couple of years, I've come to a better understanding of myself, and I think that I'm ready to head forward to the next few chapters of my life.

The scary thing is that in order for me to do this, I'm contemplating making a significant change to how this blog is presented within the next couple of months. And, as the Thursday Diary entry begins, you'll learn more about what this potential change is...as well as how you can help influence my decision about what you will see in future entries of “A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life”.

May 23, 2013

As I write this entry out in my blog, it's dawned on me that as of tomorrow, I'll have been doing this blog for two whole years!



You know something? When I first began writing this blog on May 24, 2011, I was at a point in my life that was considerably hectic. I had just turned thirty years old six days prior, and I was still recovering from the traumatic surgery that I endured three months earlier in which a simple gall bladder removal surgery turned into a two-week-long hospital stay of horrors. Needless to say, it was probably one of the most interesting periods of my entire life thus far.

My intention wasn't initially to create a blog. I mean, I knew people who had kept blogs going a lot longer than I had before I started mine, but I never thought that I would be able to keep the commitment of jotting down my thoughts over the course of a two year period.

And, well...here we are.

I don't really know what was going on in my mind that made me decide to start “A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life”, but my hobbies have always included creative writing and the arts. I was never really big on the sciences and mathematics that my peers all seemed to gravitate towards. I was more or less happy with a notebook, a pen, and maybe some coloured cardboard and Crayola markers to pass the time with. I was always an artsy kind of kid and still am today.



Prior to starting up this blog, I used my Facebook profile to jot down my thoughts in the handy-dandy Notebook section (and forgive me for channeling Steve Burns from Blue's Clues). And, it worked out well for a little while as I let the feelings of bitterness that I carried around with me for years out. Even better, I did it in such a way that it didn't look as though I was blaming the entire world for my problems. I'm not gonna lie though. There were plenty of days in my life in which I did exactly that. But writing it all out and re-reading it was surprisingly therapeutic, and it helped me come to terms with a lot of the anger that I still had over things that I should have let go of.

But when I was penning my notes on Facebook, I didn't do a note a day. If anything, I only did at most four notes per month. And, looking back on it, that was all that I had the energy to do back then.

You see, what a lot of people didn't know back then was just how emotionally exhausting writing those notes was. I mean, it was fun to be able to use my skills in writing to get a lot of feelings out there, but at the end of a particularly emotional piece, I was completely drained. I still remember the time that I wrote about my High School Confessionals, and by the end of the last piece, I was so emotionally drained that I fell asleep immediately afterwards. So, needless to say, one Facebook note a week was all that I was capable of doing.

I think the idea for the blog came about right around the time that Facebook made one of its nineteen different layout changes in a four year period. Back in 2007/2008, the layout of the Facebook notes section was absolutely perfect, and all of my notes were easily displayed and organized. But right around the time of my surgery, the layout changed, and I found that I didn't like it as much.

(Surprise, surprise, I know.)

It was then that I came up with the idea that maybe my ideas would be better displayed in a blog format than it would be on my Facebook notes section. And, I started off my blog with a post that I initially wrote in my Facebook notes section.



If you're really curious about what that first blog entry was, you can click on it HERE. It was about the Simpsons secondary character known as Ralph Wiggum, and how I could identify with him.

Funny thing is that the Ralph Wiggum piece helped me come up with the general theme for this blog, which as you well know is pop culture.




I came up with the theme days (which have changed over the last couple of years), I called the blog “The Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life”, and I spent countless hours researching various topics, and watching videos on YouTube, and double checking any questionable facts. After all, the last thing that I wanted was to have any erroneous facts on full display.

(Though admittedly, there have been more than several occasions in which I have had to click on the edit button post haste because of spelling errors, or factual errors. Hey, what can I say? Nobody's perfect.)

As time passed, I sort of grew more comfortable with blogging, and within a matter of time, the blog didn't seem like it was work anymore. I chose topics that I knew, and knew well. Truth be told, a lot of the topics that I did pick were some of my all-time favourite television programs, movies, video games, and pop singles because they brought me happiness in my childhood.

And, in a way, my memories of pop culture were very much a protective shield for me.

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of television. Some might argue that I watched too much. I've actually been flat out told by several people that I watched too much television as I can quote commercials, lines of dialogue, and can probably tell you all the winners of Big Brother. But if they really took the time to get to know me instead of making snap judgments about how I spent my time as a kid, then maybe they might have understood that at the time I was a kid, I had some hardships.

I mean, granted, every kid's childhood isn't exactly perfection on a stick. But every child has their own way of coping with pain. They might go out on a bike ride, or they might paint a picture. In my case, I watched a lot of television, played a lot of video games, and immersed myself in really bad pop music from the early 1990s, such as the offering from Melissa Tkautz below.



(Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that when I was 11, this type of music was all I listened to.)

And, I think that for years, I viewed pop culture as my security blanket in many ways. Watching television shows like “Full House”, “Family Matters”, and “Who's The Boss” was nice because it made me feel like I could escape my troubles and go to a friend's house every weeknight at 8pm. Listening to music always made me happy and was almost guaranteed to put a smile on my face every time, which was definitely needed. Playing video games allowed me to improve my problem solving skills, and helped me get some much needed frustrations out by pretending that the Goombas and Koopa Troopas that I was stomping on were the heads of my many aggressive classmates in school.



(Well, okay, I'm only slightly kidding about the last part.)

The point is that choosing pop culture as the main topic of discussion for this blog was a no-brainer back in 2011. I could gab away at whatever topics I wanted, hoping that it would spark some discussion from other people who remembered it, which keeping that security blanket in full view.

But as time went on...I began to realize that I relied a little TOO much on the world of pop culture...and as several people rightfully pointed out, I kind of turned my blog into just an information dump. In my quest to come up with the perfect pop culture resource, I didn't really share too much of myself in the blog. It was like my security blanket had completely covered up who I was.

I think that's why I began the feature known as the Thursday Confessional (which has since changed to the Thursday Diary). I wanted to give people the chance to get to know the real me. All flaws revealed. At the same time, I still wanted to have my old pop culture blanket with me, just to give me the courage to do exactly that.

I suppose in some ways, it's similar to being in a crowded room and walking around completely naked, but having a towel in your hands at all times to cover yourself up in case you feel a little bit shy.

And, for what it's worth, the Thursday Diary entries have been well-received, and I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from being so candid and honest about a variety of topics.

And, it's here that got me thinking about the future of this blog. Obviously, I won't be abandoning the pop culture theme of the blog entirely. It was how many of you found this blog on the Internet in the first place (and truth be told, I don't really feel like changing the title or the logo at all). But, I do want to kind of expose myself a little more to my audience. I kind of want to loosen my grip on that towel that I used to cover myself, and I want to chat more about what I am doing. It's only been recently that I've been taking part in more community events and am feeling more comfortable in my skin (even though one side effect of my surgery was that I gained back half the weight I lost in 2009). But, hey, maybe the possibility of joining a gym could be a funny future Thursday Diary entry.

So, while I won't be getting rid of the pop culture...I will be making it less of a focus. If I decide to keep the theme days, rather than have trivia facts about movies, I'll compare a movie hero to my own life, and talk about how we're similar. On Sunday Jukeboxes, I'll briefly talk about the facts, but I'll also talk about why the song means a lot to me in my own life. You know, things like that.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is...do you want to see less pop culture and more of me sharing my own stories? And, do you have any suggestions on how I can make 2013 one of the best years yet for this blog? I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for all of you, so I value your suggestions and opinions completely. I really do want to hear from you on how I can bring more of myself to this blog without compromising the pop culture theme.

This is a big thing for me. Before I started this blog, I neglected to talk about myself much because I didn't really think my life was all that interesting. And, now I'm actually getting the courage to try new things and do new experiences so that I can have some more things to share with all of you. Yesterday's post on yard sales was a prime example of that.

I'm going to keep the same format going on for about another week. But, I'm thinking of starting a new format beginning June 1st.
It's a brand new year in “A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life”. And, I'm looking forward to showing off more of the person that I am inside. Are you ready?

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

How to Host the Perfect Yard Sale


I've shared quite a bit of stuff inside of this blog. Very personal stuff about myself, my school years, the mistakes I've made, and the lessons that I've learned from those mistakes.

But, I haven't really posted many candid snapshots of myself in this blog at all. Of course, this should really come as no surprise to some of you. I did after all write an entire blog piece last year about how much I hated getting my photo taken.

But you know something? I'm another year older, and I don't nearly take myself as seriously as I used to. So, I promise you that when the opportunity comes up, I'll be bringing a little more of myself to this blog. In fact, I'll be talking more about this in tomorrow's Thursday Diary entry. I'm toying around with some ideas for the second anniversary of this blog, and I really want your input and suggestions for the new direction that I plan on taking this blog in the coming months.

For now, since I promised all of you that I would post more photos of myself in this blog, I thought that I would share this one with you. Don't worry, it's linked to today's scheduled topic.



This photo was taken on the morning of May 18, 2013 (coincidentally the same day that I turned 32). At the time this photo was taken, we were setting up a yard sale outside of the store that I work at as well as a barbecue that was going on at the same time. I've mentioned this before, but next month I am taking part in the Relay for Life in memory of several friends who have passed away from cancer. It's an event that will require me to stay up all night long as I walk around a track. Every dollar raised for the event will go towards cancer research so that one day a cure can be found. Several members of my team are cancer survivors, and almost every single one of us has known someone who battled cancer.

Now, as part of being on my workplace's team, I am required to get donations myself from various people, and so far, I've been doing okay. It's hard to get individual donations from people, but my feeling is that if I can get at least $100 raised, it's a great effort. And, I'm only fifteen bucks away from that goal. If worse comes to worse, I'll throw in the money myself.

Besides, our team all agreed that the bulk of our fundraising efforts would be a team effort. Hence the motivation behind the yard sale/barbecue.



And, luckily for Saturday, it was a beautiful day for a sale. The sun was out the entire day, there was not a drop of rain falling from the sky, and the temperature was slightly higher than normal...variables necessary for guaranteeing huge sales. We even had a local band volunteer their time to perform in front of our store to attract customers to the sale, which was fantastic to see. I only wish that I had a video clip to show you because I thought the band did a wonderful job.



And, boy oh boy, did we have sales! The event was a two-day event, and it spanned May 18 and 19 (which in Canada is a long weekend, as Victoria Day falls on the third Monday in May). The Saturday was the better day of the two. With the warm temperatures and sunshine, we did a lot of business. Sunday, on the other hand, was cold, and it began to rain about four hours into our sale, so we had to pack things up a little earlier than we wanted to.

Regardless of that, our final total between the yard sale and the barbecue was almost $2,000 raised for Relay for Life! And, let me tell you, I've been to many garage sales in my lifetime, and I have never seen any of them raise two thousand dollars. That is absolutely fantastic, and I want to publicly acknowledge the population of my hometown for coming out to see what we had to offer and generously donating money to supporting our cause.

And, well...since I talked about my experience at the charity yard sale, I thought that I would make today's topic all about yard sales!



So, how many yard sales have you been to in your lives? And, how many have you hosted?

For some people, the yard sale is almost like a rite of passage, and you can automatically tell when Spring has arrived by the amount of yard sales that pop up in suburban neighbourhoods all over the world.

I mean, let's face it. Everyone has heard of the phrase “Spring Cleaning”. The beginning of Spring is the time of year in which a lot of people go through their houses and get them all spruced up for another year. They scrub all of the walls and floors, they vacuum every room in the house, they fluff the pillows, they bleach the clothes, they beat the rugs...

...actually, do people even beat rugs anymore? Or, is that strictly a turn of the twentieth century thing? Inquiring minds want to know!

Spring cleaning is also the time of year in which people go through all of their stuff and decide what things they want to keep and what things they want to get rid of.

Well, unless you're one of those people who have a hoarding issue.

And, once you have a list of all the household items that you want to dispose of, you have to decide if you just want to throw them in the trash, donate them to the local Goodwill shop or Salvation Army charity stores, or if you want to become an entrepreneur and set up shop outside of your home.

Well, let me tell you from experience. If you want people to come to your garage/yard sale, you have got to advertise, advertise, advertise. And, that just doesn't mean going around town posting signage on telephone poles all over town with a big red balloon attached to each sign (although I won't fault anyone who does go that route).

We live in an era where social networking is an effective tool in self-promotion. And, I think that part of the reason why our yard sale at my workplace was very successful was the fact that everyone on our Relay team posted about the event multiple times on Facebook and Twitter. We even contacted a local online magazine to cover the event to give us added publicity. It was absolutely amazing to see just how many people dropped by to check out what we had because they saw our posts on social media sites.

Another rule that you should have in place for a successful yard sale is to make it stand out from everyone else's. Of course, in our case, we had some advantages. We had a live band, and were in a high-traffic area. Not every yard sale will have that. But, in my experience, you can still have a lot of people interested in your sale if you display your items in an ingenious way.



I mean, it sounds simple enough to group like items with like items. That much is common sense. But, if you have a whole bunch of toys to donate and you happen to have a sandbox or play equipment in your front yard, why not transform the area into a miniature play area for kids? The kids could get a feel of what toys they like they best, and while the moms and dads are browsing the kitchen accessories and used electronics, the kids could pretend that they were playing in the park. Of course, you should probably have someone supervising the play area so that people don't accidentally take things that are meant to be sold. And, you should also stress that the sandbox and play structures are NOT for sale! It's just simple things like this that can make the difference between getting pocket change for your items and getting a crisp five dollar bill!

I think another way you can make your garage sale successful is to let people who come and visit your sale make you an offer before making the commitment to sell, rather than immediately price things right away. I mean, if you have a whole box of action figures, dolls, and McDonald's Happy Meal toys, offering a quarter a toy is fine. But, if you have big ticket items like a full-length mirror, a Tassimo coffee maker, or a crock-pot, sometimes it might be better to let the customer make you a deal, and go from there. You don't have to accept the first price they offer. You can bargain with them so that both of you get the best deal possible. I know that when I am shopping at garage sales, and I see an item that I want, I like it when the people selling the items allow me to make an offer first.

Just going back to our yard sale in support of the Relay for Life, we never set prices on anything. We just told people that all they had to do is make a donation to the Relay, and they could pay whatever price they wanted. And, for the most part, most of our customers were very generous, handing us five and ten dollar bills in some cases because they were given the opportunity to pay what they wanted. Mind you, there were a couple of people who seemed to take advantage of this, but because all the money went to charity, we couldn't really refuse the offers. For the most part, it was a system that worked well. I even managed to sell an old box of comic book doubles that I had from the 1990s for ten dollars. It may have been a lot less than what the comics were actually worth, but I was happy to see them go, and the customer who bought them was happy to be able to introduce the world of Archie comics to her children!

And, of course, you have the most important rule of all. If you're going to have a garage sale, you make sure that all of the items are at the best quality they can possibly be for used items. This means, no clothing with obvious stains, no books with pages ripped out of them, no dodgy appliances or electronics, and definitely no thousand piece jigsaw puzzles with only six hundred and seventy-six pieces in the box!

I still remember one instance in which I went to a yard sale as a young kid. As a kid, I was very much into board games, and I really wanted to find the board game Clue. It was the one game that I loved playing at other people's homes, and I really wanted a copy of my own...but at that time, a brand new edition of Clue was more than I could afford with my tooth fairy money and weekly allowance.



So when I saw Clue at a yard sale being sold “as is” for two bucks, I happily handed the people at the sale a two dollar bill (this was a time before Canada began using 'toonies'), and went home to play Clue.

But when I opened up the box, I found that the board game was missing half of the cards, someone had swiped the candlestick and lead pipe, and apparently Mrs. Peacock and Colonel Mustard were murder victims alongside Mr. Boddy, as both playing pieces were not to be found.

So, what I ended up buying was a Clue game that I could not play. After that, I inspected every board game and toy closely so that I would not make the same mistake of purchasing a board game that was absolutely useless.

Let's put it this way. If you have an item that you're unsure of whether it works or not, play it safe and throw it out. Nothing annoys yard sale customers more than purchasing an item only for it to be complete junk. If you won't buy it at another yard sale, why would you sell it at yours?



So, the next time you decide to host a yard sale, keep those tips in mind. You don't have to follow them all, but if you play your cards right, you could make a fortune at your next sale!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

May 21, 1990


As the sun rises up on another day, I am saddened to hear of the devastation that occurred yesterday in the town of Moore, Oklahoma. A powerful tornado swept through the community turning homes to rubble and making a direct hit on an elementary school. At the time of this writing, I am still unsure of what the death toll is, nor do I know the full extent of the damage, but based on what I am witnesses in various news reports, it does not look good. Thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Moore, Oklahoma. We're all sending our thoughts to all of you in this terrible time.

Today is May 21, 2013, and in this edition of the Tuesday Timeline, we're going to look at a particular television show. But rather than focus on how the show began, we're going to discuss the ending. Because anyone who watched the end of this particular series will know just how shocking and unbelievable the finale ended up being.

Of course, before we do that, we have to talk about some of the other events that took place on May 21 throughout history. Let's begin with celebrity birthdays.

A very happy birthday to Alice Drummond, Heinz Hollinger, Ronald Isley, Bobby Cox, Hilton Valentine (The Animals), Bill Champlin (Chicago), Jonathan Hyde, Leo Sayer, Al Franken, Mr. T, Janice Karman, Stan Lynch, Judge Reinhold, Richard Appel, Carolyn Lawrence, Lisa Edelstein, Fairuza Balk, Ricky Williams, Gotye, Sarah Ramos, and Hutch Dano.

And, here are some of the significant events that have taken place on May 21...

996 – Otto III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor at the tender age of sixteen

1502 – The island of Saint Helena is discovered by Joao de Nova, of Portugal

1851 – Slavery is abolished in Colombia, South America

1856 – The community of Lawrence, Kansas is burned to the ground by pro-slavery forces

1881 – Clara Barton establishes the American Red Cross

1917 – Some 2,000 homes and businesses are completely destroyed in the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917

1924 – Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. murder teenager Bobby Franks in a “thrill killing”

1927 – Pilot Charles Lindbergh completes the world's first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean

1932 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, exactly five years after Lindbergh

1939 – The Canadian National War Memorial is unveiled by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa, Ontario

1946 – Louis Slotin succumbs to radiation poisoning following an experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory

1972 – Michelangelo's “Pieta” is vandalized by Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian geologist who had a mental breakdown

1979 – Riots take place in San Francisco, California following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for assassinating Harvey Milk and George Moscone

1981 – Irish Republican hunger strikers Patsy O'Hara and Raymond McCreesh die of starvation in Maze Prison

1996 – The ferry MV Bukoba sinks in Lake Victoria, killing one thousand people

1998 – Abortion clinics in Miami, Florida are targeted by a butyric acid attacker

2005 – Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, making it the tallest roller coaster in the world

2006 – Race car driver Spencer Clark is killed in an auto accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the young age of 19

So, what date are we going back in time to this week?



The date is May 21, 1990.

At that time, Madonna's “Vogue” was topping the charts, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was still performing very well at the box office, and on a personal note, I was just finishing up the last stretch of third grade.

It was also the day that a long-running sitcom aired its last episode. But what made the series finale so unique was the fact that the last few minutes of the episode was kept so under wraps, and was so shocking that many people were still talking about it weeks later. In fact, this show's series finale is widely considered to be one of the most clever and memorable show endings ever broadcast in recent history.



And, we're going to get into the very reasons why Newhart's series finale was so memorable in a few minutes. But before we get into how the series ended, we should take a brief look back on how it all began.



Newhart was the second successful sitcom that had Bob Newhart as its star. He had previously struck ratings gold with “The Bob Newhart Show”, which aired on CBS between September 1972 and April 1978. On that series, Bob Newhart played the role of Dr. Bob Hartley. Four years after “The Bob Newhart Show” aired its final episode, Bob decided that he would try his luck with another sitcom on CBS. And, so, on October 25, 1982, the sitcom “Newhart” debuted its pilot episode. And, as it so happened, “Newhart” became an even biggest success than Bob's previous show, running two seasons longer than “The Bob Newhart Show”.



The premise for “Newhart” was simple enough. Bob Newhart played author Dick Louden, a man who earned his living by writing a series of do-it-yourself books. Originally from New York City, Dick and his wife Joanna (played by the late Mary Frann) decide to get away from the hectic city life and take a sabbatical in a rural town in the state of Vermont. Aesthetically, the town is absolutely gorgeous and picturesque, as the opening credits of the series showcase a beautiful lake and quaint streets.

(Fun Fact – Some of the footage of Newhart's opening credits was comprised of stock footage from the 1981 film, “On Golden Pond”.)



When the Loudons arrive in Vermont, they decide to run the Stratford Inn, a two century year old manor that doubles as a hotel. I'm a bit too young to remember the show's early years, but to me it kind of looks like one of those stereotypical bed and breakfast places you see in the brochures of many New England travel guides.

At first, it seems like a nice, cozy way to spend the rest of their lives. But as Dick quickly finds out, he and Joanna just happened to move to the one community where everyone appears to have some sort of eccentricity. Which would be fine if they were dealing with them one at a time. But together as a group? Well, that's enough to make a guy want to abandon the inn and host a local talk show at the television station.

(No, seriously, that's what Dick Loudon did beginning around season three.)



So, who are these quirky townspeople? Well, there was George Utley (Tom Poston), the handyman of the Stratford Inn, who doesn't appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. You also had Leslie Vanderkellen (Jennifer Holmes), a former ski bunny with a wealthy background who takes on the job of hotel maid to experience “normality”. Leslie was written out in season two, and in to take her place was her equally spoiled sister, Stephanie (Julia Duffy). Stephanie would later end up marrying Michael Harris (Peter Scolari), the producer of Dick's talk show whose annoying quirk was that he spoke in alliteration.

She sells seashells by the seashore indeed.



And, then there's Larry. Who has a brother Darryl. Who in turn also has a brother named Darryl. And, what's interesting about the trio (played by William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss, and John Voldstad) is that Larry was the mouthpiece for all three of them for the entire series run. The Darryls did not speak until the very last episode of the series! Initially introduced as recurring characters, they became permanent fixtures in season three taking over the Minuteman Cafe from Kirk Devane (Steven Kampmann).

For eight seasons, this motley crew of characters caused much frustration and headaches for both Dick and Joanna, but they stuck with it, and planned on staying there for the rest of their lives.

But when the show aired its finale on May 21, 1990, it seemed as though the Loudons would not get their wish.

The finale, titled “The Last Newhart” begins as a wealthy Japanese tycoon visits the Stratford Inn, and is so charmed by the town's beauty that he decides to purchase the whole town to transform it into a golf course and resort! Most of the townspeople accept the huge payoffs that they are given to vacate their homes and businesses, but two people who refuse to go along with the rest of the crowd are Dick and Joanna. The two refuse to take any offer, and they refuse to leave their inn, so Dick and Joanna stay at the inn while everyone else departs.

Flash forward five years later to 1995, and Dick and Joanna realize that maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to remain in town. With the constant golf balls smacking against the walls of the inn, Joanna being forced to dress like a Japanese geisha, and the replacements for the departed staff being even more incompetent than the ones that worked there before, it was enough for the normally sane and rational Dick to get a little bit teed off. Perhaps the one event that sends Dick on a one-way ticket to crazy town is the fact that all of the former townspeople pay Dick a visit (even more odd and eccentric than ever before), and not one of them are interested in taking Dick's ideas seriously. So, Dick decides that he has had it, issues one final monologue to the entire staff, and opens the door to leave his life in Vermont behind...

...and then he gets smacked on the head by a golf ball and is knocked out cold.

But, if you thought that the series ended with Dick getting injured...well, just watch the last few minutes of the Newhart finale, and you'll see why the finale ending remains one of the most talked about series finales ever.



You see? The entire series of “Newhart” was all a dream! It was Dr. Bob Hartley's dream! A dream that lasted eight years, mind you, but it was all a dream! You know, looking back on it, I wonder if this was the producers way of poking fun at the dream season of “Dallas”. I don't know for sure if that's what the plan was, but it would have made some sense if that was where their heads were at.



Anyway, it was always intended for the series finale to include that final scene in which the bedroom set from “The Bob Newhart Show” was shown, and with Suzanne Pleshette reprising her role as Emily Hartley. But to keep the top secret finale plans a secret, the producers kept the secret from nearly everyone. According to some sources, only Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette knew what was really going on. The other cast members were just as shocked as the audience was when the real ending was revealed. The producers even leaked a phony ending to the tabloids, which would have seen the wayward golf ball kill Dick Loudon, and Dick ascending up to heaven where he would have spoke to God in the last few minutes.

I thought that it was an ingenious move by the producers part. Nowadays, we live in a world where plot twists and character departures are spoiled with the click of a mouse button, so it makes it really hard to keep secrets on set. Even way back in 1990, there were always people who blabbed set secrets to reporters and tabloid magazines. For the production staff of “Newhart” to keep everyone guessing how the show would end until its finale was pure genius. And, for the whole world to react with gasps, open mouthed stares, and thunderous applause when Suzanne Pleshette came out of hiding...it truly was something to see for yourselves. I don't think a show nowadays would get away with keeping a secret that huge. It just goes to show you that there was once a time in television where the cast, crew, and producers all worked together to create an entertaining finale that people would still be talking about nearly 25 years later. And, maybe one day, we will find a way to have that again.

So, that's what happened on May 21, 1990.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Back to the Future: Part II


This is the second of a three part Monday Matinee series.

Last week, we took a look at the classic 1985 film, “Back to the Future”. It was a film that made household names of Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson (although all three were established stars prior to the making of the film), it was one of the highest grossing films of the year, and it was probably one of the films that I remember most from my own childhood.

Well, in this edition of the blog, we're going to be looking at the second part of the “Back to the Future” trilogy.

When we last left off, Marty McFly accidentally traveled back in time from 1985 to 1955, where Marty accidentally set off a chain of events that could have prevented his parents from even falling in love. In fact, had Marty not gone out of his way to make everything okay between his parents, Marty's own mother would have ended up falling in love with a guy named “Calvin Klein”.

Fortunately, all was made right in the world, and 1985 was much improved at the McFly household. But when Doc Brown pays a hasty visit to Marty and informs him that his children are in peril in the future, it appears as though Marty will have to go back to the future once more.




Hence the reason why the movie is named “Back to the Future Part II”, which began broadcasting in theatres on November 22, 1989. As was the case with the last film, the film was produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Bob Gale.



At first, film director Robert Zemeckis was not going to do a sequel to the wildly successful first film. He thought that the original ending was funny and humourous enough to not warrant a second edition. However, the fact that the first film did incredibly well changed his mind. The only request that he had was that Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd would at the very least come back to reprise their roles. Christopher Lloyd immediately agreed to come back as Doc Brown, and since “Family Ties” wrapped up production in 1989 (the same year as the film's release), Michael J. Fox was free to honour his commitment to the movie.

Other actors and actresses returning to the film was Lea Thompson (Lorraine McFly), and Thomas F. Wilson (Biff Tannen).



There were however a couple of recasts that had to be made. For starters, Marty's girlfriend Jennifer was played by Elisabeth Shue. For what it was worth, Claudia Wells was asked to come back to the role she originated, but she was unable to make the commitment due to some personal issues. This actually lead to one scene from the 1985 version being completely re-shot for inclusion in the 1989 film!



And, then there's the Crispin Glover story.

You might recall that back in 1985, Crispin Glover played the role of Marty's father, George McFly. Glover was in talks with producers to reprise his role for the sequel, but the only sticky point of the deal was the issue of salary. Crispin Glover made the claim that the highest offer that he was given by the producers was $125,000. A modest sum by anyone's perspective for a job...but when you consider that the other actors and actresses were making at least twice the amount for the same job, I suppose it could be understood as to why Glover turned it down. The producers scrambled to try and find a way to keep George McFly in the production, and they settled on using old footage of Glover from the first film, and editing it together with new footage shot by replacement actor Jeffrey Weissman. To hide the fact that the actor was a replacement, prosthetics and clever camera angles were used. But this only served to tick Crispin Glover off even more. Glover even launched a lawsuit against the producers of “Back to the Future: Part II” because he did not give them permission to use his likeness in the film after he turned the project down.

For what it's worth though, Glover's lawsuit did cause the Screen Actors Guild to revise several clauses in their policies which have prevented a situation like Glover's from happening again.

Okay, so now that we've gotten the controversy out of the way, why don't we continue the story from where we left off, shall we?

Although the film was made in 1989, the present day that the second film is set in is still 1985. October 26, 1985, to be exact.

It is on this date that the ending of the first film takes place...where Doc Brown arrives at the McFly household and tells Marty and Jennifer that they have to take a trip to the future so that they can prevent their children from getting into serious trouble. Marty understands completely what Doc is saying, but Jennifer has the “what are you talking about” look down pat. Regardless, Doc, Marty, and Jennifer hop in the DeLorean time machine and arrive in the year 2015...unaware that Biff Tannen has witnessed the whole thing.



Now, Doc realizes that Jennifer might not react too well to the idea of going ahead in time thirty years, so he hypnotizes her and leaves her in a temporary catatonic state in an alleyway while Doc and Marty go forward with their plan to save Marty's future child, Marty McFly Jr. To do this, Marty swaps places with Marty Jr. (as they both looked exactly the same), in hopes of refusing an offer to cause mischief with Biff's grandson, Griff Tannen (also played by Wilson). Marty successfully does this, but it causes Griff to get into a fight with him. Of course, this ends up being a futile attempt, as Griff and his buddies find themselves getting arrested.

And, that's the end. Happy ending for everyone.

But, WAIT! There's more.

Have you ever had the wish that you wanted to go forward in time a week, take a look at the newspaper listings for winning lottery numbers, record them, go back in time, purchase a ticket for the week ahead, and become an instant millionaire? On the surface, it sounds like an ingenious idea...but remember, changing an event in the future could affect the past (either positively or negatively).



So when Marty purchases a sports almanac in 2015 Hill Valley, which has a complete guide to every sporting event between 1950-2000 (including final scores in games), Doc warns him of that very thing...how profiting from time travel could have negative benefits. But before Doc and Marty could dispose of the almanac, the police have picked up Jennifer, and are now taking her to the future McFly household, leaving Doc and Marty to try and rescue her.

Of course, this leads to a pivotal plot development in which Jennifer hides in the McFly household while she witnesses the surreal sight of her future family sharing dinner. A lot of information is doled out at this family dinner, in which it is revealed that future Marty was involved in a car wreck, and that Marty has lost his job thanks to him entering a shady business deal with his co-worker Needles (played by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers). There are several faxes located in the McFly household, and Jennifer grabs one and sticks it in her pocket. But the adventure ends when young Jennifer bumps into old Jennifer, and the two faint. This sets the stage for Doc and Marty to rescue Jennifer and go back in time to 1985.

What they don't realize was that 2015 Biff followed Marty and Doc, pilfered the 2015 almanac, took the DeLorean back to 1955 Hill Valley, gave teenage Biff the almanac telling him to bet on every game that was recorded in the book, and used the DeLorean to go back to the future before Marty, Doc, and Jennifer discovered that anything was wrong.

As a result of this, the 1985 Hill Valley is drastically changed, with Biff being the supreme ruler of the community and the rest of the city in ruins. And, as far as the McFly household goes, his father meets his tragic fate, and his mother ends up married to her worst nightmare!

So, this means that Marty has to go back in time again to 1955, and prevent 2015 Biff from giving 1955 Biff the almanac...without undoing everything that he accomplished in the first film.

Confused yet? Well, here's one more thing to ponder. You know that fax that Jennifer pilfered in 2015 Hill Valley? It plays an important part in the movie we'll be discussing for next week's Monday Matinee.

For now, I thought that it would be fun to take a look at some of the predictions that “Back to the Future: Part II” made, and see how many of them actually came true. I know that 2015 won't be here for a couple of years yet, but since we're so close, we might as well have a look at what the film got right, and what the film got wrong. Things the film got right will be highlighted in green, and things that the film got wrong will be written in red.



WATCHING SIX TELEVISION SHOWS AT ONCE

Okay, let's face it. In 1989, we were not that skilled with multi-tasking, and back in those days, we could only watch one show at once. But in 2015 Hill Valley, Marty could watch six shows on the same screen. In the real world 2013, thanks to the addition of picture-in-picture technology, as well as DirecTV implementing the technology for people to watch eight football games at once, it's safe to say that this prediction is one that came true.



HOVERBOARDS

In 1989, we had skateboards. In 2015, they supposedly had hoverboards, a skateboard that you could ride through the air. As of May 2013, we still don't have hoverboards. We do have segways though. Those things are kind of cool.



PEPSI MAX

If you were to go into the 80s cafe that has opened up in 2015 Hill Valley, you'd see 80s artifacts on display, 80s games in the arcades, and four flavours of Pepsi. You'd have regular Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, and Pepsi Perfect. Well, we don't quite have Pepsi Perfect just yet, but Pepsi Max (which is sort of similar to Coke Zero is that it claims to have zero calories, but all the same taste as a regular Pepsi) has been a regular fixture in North America since 2008/2009. So, that prediction came true.



Though there's a part of me that kind of hopes that the 2015 Pepsi logo will actually look like the ones that were shown in the film. No offense to Pepsi, but your current logo is kind of ugly.

QUEEN DIANA

This is one that you have to freeze-frame to get. When Marty is looking at a newspaper from 2015 Hill Valley, it makes reference to Queen Diana. Sadly, there's a couple of reasons why this prediction obviously won't come true.



Firstly, Diana was killed on August 31, 1997 following a chase in a Parisian tunnel. So, there was no way that she would have been queen. But even if Diana had lived, chances are that Queen Elizabeth will still be queen in 2015. She's still Queen now in 2013. And, this isn't even taking into account that Charles and Diana officially divorced six years after “Back to the Future: Part II” was released.



VIDEO CONFERENCING

I imagine that in 1989, there weren't a lot of people thinking that we would be able to sit down and chat with someone via a video screen. And, well, now we have Skype, YouTube, and all sorts of other Internet sites which allow us to stay connected through video. How's that for a prediction come true?



LASERDISCS

Hey, remember when laserdiscs first came out in the late 1980s, and how they resembled gigantic CD's, and how they were going to be the biggest thing since the invention of the VCR? Yeah, me either. These days, I'm not even sure that one could find a laserdisc player, let alone a laserdisc. I vaguely remember my elementary school having one back in the early 1990s, and that was probably the only time I remember seeing one. As we well know by now, in 2013, the DVD and Blu-Ray disc has effectively killed the VHS tape (and the laserdisc). And, I would think that by 2015, Netflix and TiVo may send the DVD to its inevitable doom. So, the fact that so many laserdiscs appear in Hill Valley 2015 seems a bit fishy.

Those are just a few of the predictions that “Back to the Future: Part II” made. Seriously, just watch the first half of “Back to the Future: Part II” and make note of everything that was shown. You may be surprised at how many predictions they got right!

Coming up next week, the conclusion of the Back to the Future series.