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Monday, October 13, 2014

Thanksgiving Memes That I Have Found Over the Last Couple of Days

Hello, everybody! 

I hope most of you are having a wonderful Monday so far (well, as wonderful as Monday can possibly be, anyway).  But for those of you living in Canada, I just want to wish everyone a...



I certainly hope your Thanksgiving celebrations will be fantastic, and I hope that you all don't gorge yourselves too much on turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie.  After all, you have to save some room for the Halloween candy and Christmas feast!

All right, so as it so happens, Thanksgiving falls on Monday in Canada, which coincides with FUNNY MONDAY!  And, well...Thanksgiving isnt exactly known for its humour.  After all, it's a day in which we're supposed to give thanks for everything we have and to share our blessings with those closest to us.

Though, I can't help but chuckle at some of the funny Thanksgiving memes that I've discovered over the last couple of days.

So, I thought that I would use this holiday Monday to write a blog entry that is short, but sweet.  And funny.

And, by funny, I mean posting some of these Thanksgiving memes that I have found over the last couple of days.  It's a blog entry I like to call...

"THANKSGIVING MEMES THAT I HAVE FOUND OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS"

Sigh...you'll have to forgive me.  I'm still groggy from the turkey that I ate last night for dinner. 

As always, I want to give credit to the following sites - someecards.com, girltomom.com, livelyproductions.org, dumpaday.com, egotvonline.com, funnypictures.com, RD.com, and pinterest.com - for the selection of images used today.

Okay, let's get this started!



1.  Judging by this picture, I'm fairly sure that this boy is trying to kill his family's Thanksgiving turkey with what appears to be a watermelon.  I'm also fairly sure that the turkey is either mocking him for his choice of weapon, or attacking him because he wants to survive another autumn.



2.  Oh, look...they're having Ned for dinner.  And practicing cannibalism in the process.  Yum yum!



3.  This cartoon really does make a lot of sense from a retail perspective.  Back when I worked in foods, people got mad because they couldn't find a fat enough turkey.



4.  Something tells me that this turkey has been taught the "Chick-fil-A" method of advertising.



5.  This doesn't really apply in my family that much, but I see some of you probably thinking "that is SO true!"



6.  Ah, now that makes more sense.



7.  I suppose you could also be thankful that you get to see your wine addicted relative to a drunken faceplant into the green bean casserole.



8.  Blunt, but direct and to the point.



9.  This meme made more sense in 2012 when Carly Rae Jepsen had the #1 song in the nation.



10.  Hey, even headless turkeys need to find love!



11.  Okay, so maybe this meme might not make sense in Canada, as our Thanksgiving predates Halloween.  However, I do agree that the Christmas celebrations beginning in early November is TOO SOON!



12.  Wise words from the late Erma Bombeck.



13.  Today's episode of Sesame Street has been brought to you by the number ate...ahem...eight. 



14.  I have heard that wild turkeys can be dangerous creatures.  Proceed with caution this October and November...



15.  For what it's worth, our family usually waits until 4:00.



16.  Clever disguise!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band

So, I was trying to come up with a way  to incorporate a Halloween theme into the SUNDAY JUKEBOX entries in this blog for the rest of the month, and admittedly, it's been really difficult.

I mean, sure, finding spooky songs isn't the real issue.  There are hundreds to choose from.  The problem is that I had already decided that I would make every Sunday Jukebox entry for 2014 a #1 single...and ironically enough, not too many Halloween singles topped the charts during the month of October.  Not "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo, not "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr., not even Michael Jackson's "Thriller"! 

So, I decided to try and look at this from a different perspective.  After all, Halloween isn't necessarily just about spooky and scary stories (though admittedly, it is one of the more fun things about Halloween).

For instance, I know that when I was still in my youth, one of the most important things about Halloween was finding the right Halloween costume.  And costumes didn't have to be scary.  They could be cute, fun, exciting, and creative as well.  And let's put it like this.  I come from a family of creative people.  Almost all of my costumes were homemade, which meant that I could basically ask to be whatever I wanted to be.  It was great!  And, I don't like to brag, but some of my homemade costumes turned out being much better made than the store bought costumes that people purchase from department stores. 

Of course, I can imagine that had I decided that I wanted a store bought costume, I would gravitate towards whatever costumes were most popular back in the day.  If I was a kid in 2014, I'd probably want to be a Ninja Turtle.  Though, it's kind of funny that twenty-five years ago, I actually did go as a Ninja Turtle because they were popular!  Though, my turtle shell costume was handmade!

And, well, had I been alive in the late 1970s, I can hazard a guess what one of the more popular costume choices were.



I don't know if my two sisters ever dressed up as any "Star Wars" characters during Halloween, but I can only imagine that many people their age at the time certainly did.  Since the movie series debuted in 1977, I would imagine that there were thousands of Han Solos, Luke Skywalkers, Darth Vaders, and Princess Leias wandering through neighbourhoods saying trick-or-treat in hopes of getting all the delicious candy they could eat!  I would even make a guess that Star Wars costumes are still just as popular now as they were thirty-seven years ago.  It is a rather epic series of movies.



Well, at least Episodes IV through VI were, anyway.

You want to know what else was huge during the 1970s?  Instrumental tunes.  Songs without lyrics seemed to be all the rage during the decade of the energy crisis, pet rock, and discotheque.  



After all, without the 1970s, we wouldn't have "The Hustle".



We wouldn't have "Tubular Bells".



We wouldn't even have "A Fifth of Beethoven"!

So, let's see.  I've talked about "Star Wars" and I've talked about 1970s instrumental songs.  So, what would these two things have to do with today's featured #1 single?

Lots actually.  Have a listen.



ARTIST:  Meco
SONG:  Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band
ALBUM:  Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk
DATE RELEASED:  July 1977
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 2 weeks

Yep.  Thirty-seven years ago this week, Star Wars crossed with disco to create this chart-topper.  And if you thought that the single being #1 for two weeks was impressive, consider this.  In the UK, it was the #1 single for nine weeks total! 

So, how did the marriage of disco and the prophecy of boldly going where no man has ever gone before come to be?  Well, we can thank Meco for this.

Meco (real name Domenico Monardo) was the brainchild behind this hit.  The Pennsylvania based record producer and musician always had a keen interest in space and science fiction, and spent many of his boyhood days building model spaceships.  At the same time that this was going on, he had inherited a love of music from his father, and began playing the slide trombone at the age of nine, and he must have been very talented.  After all, he was not only playing in a high school band while he was still in elementary school, but at the age of 17, he was awarded a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  While a student there, he formed the Eastman School of Music Jazz Band with a couple of his friends, and later, when he enrolled at West Point, he played in the Cadet Band.

After serving in West Point, Meco moved to New York City and joined Kai Winding in his four-trombone band and for the next nine years of his life, he went on as a studio musician, and while he certainly didn't have any interest in pop music when he first began his career as a studio musician, but upon hearing Petula Clark's "Downtown", he began to change his mind.  And throughout the late 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, he worked on several different projects.  Some of which included the following...

- playing the horn section on Tommy James' "Crystal Blue Persuasion".
- working on the musical arrangements of several Coca-Cola commercials featuring Neil Diamond.
- appearing on Diana Ross' 1980 album "Diana"



But perhaps his biggest claim to fame was the "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" single that he released in 1977 - his one and only #1 hit on the charts.

I suppose it was no shock to hear that a science-fiction nut like Meco was a huge fan of the movie "Star Wars".  After watching the film on its May 25, 1977 release date, Meco was mesmerized by the whole movie.  So much so that he reportedly saw the movie at least a dozen times by the end of the month! 

(Which I imagine must have been a rather costly affair, as there were no Blu-ray players, DVD players, or cable television back in 1977.  Even VCR's were worth several thousand dollars back in those days!)

Anyway, after watching "Star Wars" so many times, Meco really had his heart set out on making his own version of the epic "Star Wars" theme, as originally composed by John Williams.  But he wanted to make it a disco flavoured effort, as 1977 was the year in which the disco craze exploded.  I suppose that "Saturday Night Fever" might have had a little bit to do with that fact.  He eventually contacted Neil Bogart at Casablanca Records to pitch his idea, however Bogart wouldn't commit to the idea unless both the movie and the original score became popular.

So, naturally, with "Star Wars" being one of the most popular films of the 1970s, Bogart quickly agreed to help Meco record it.

It only took twenty-one days for the musicians to come together and record the track and other songs that appeared on the LP "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk".  And just three months after this single was first released, the song hit the top of the charts.

Believe it or not, the song was even nominated for the "Best Instrumental Pop Performer" Grammy Award in 1977.  Amusingly enough, it lost to John Williams for his original theme!  Ah, such is life.

At any rate, the song became a hit in disco clubs all over America and Europe, further proving the fact that the 1970s were a time of kitsch, fad, and pop culture.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Hocus Pocus

All right, welcome to the first spooky entry of the SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES feature.  I know I promised this would happen last week, but you are probably aware that last week was kind of crazy.  To make it up to you, I have another movie post planned for this coming Wednesday.  And yes, it will definitely be Halloween themed.

In the meantime, for today's spooky entry, I thought we'd start things off slowly, and with each passing entry, the movie blogs would get scarier and scarier until the final movie entry.  After all, building up suspense is the best part of creating the perfect atmosphere for spookiness. 

At least, I'd like to believe that this is the case.

So, for today's blog entry, we're going to be featuring a G-rated film.  In fact, this film is one of those live-action Disney films that was released a little over twenty years ago.  And surprisingly enough, although the film could be considered a Halloween classic, it was released during the summer of 1993! 

It also happens to be one of the most requested films in our electronics section of the store I work at currently.  In fact, allow me to tell you a story about this movie.

Now, I'm still fairly new to the world of electronics.  I've only been in that department since July of 2013, so a little over a year.  While I consider myself to be more knowledgeable in most devices in that particular year (just don't ask me any questions about Android phones, GPS devices, or security cameras as I have absolutely no idea how any of those things work), when I first began in electronics, there was only one area of the department I felt comfortable in.

DVD's and Blu-Ray movies.

Seriously, my nickname at work is the "Matt-abase" because whenever customers ask me if we have a movie in stock, 99% of the time, I can tell them with certainty whether we have the movie at the store or if they have to go somewhere else to find it.  I'm up to date on movie releases, and am fairly confident in knowing whether a movie is out of print or has even been released on DVD or Blu-Ray.  And if a movie is not available in the store, they could usually find the movie on the store website which they could order directly from the site. 

So, last Halloween, I couldn't believe the number of people who were looking for a particular movie for their Halloween celebrations.  And last year, we did NOT have this movie in stock.  Sure, we had other Halloween movies to choose from, but for some reason we did not carry this one. 

Which absolutely shocked me because with the movie being released on July 16, 1993, I would have sworn that a 20th anniversary edition would have been released. 

Well, I guess my store learned from that lesson because currently at my store, we have approximately two dozen copies available for purchase in two different areas of the electronics department.  I suppose a 21st anniversary celebration is just as good as a 20th.



So, today we're going to have a look at the movie "Hocus Pocus", a Disney film directed by Kenny Ortega.  Starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, the movie depicts the events that take place when three witches are brought back to Earth after a three hundred year slumber to cause a whole lot of trouble in the community of Salem, Massachusetts.



Yes, that's right.  Salem, Massachusetts.  The town that hosted the infamous Salem Witch Trials in the 1690s.  Back in those days, witchcraft was a serious offense, punishable by death.  And when I say death, I mean the most painful deaths ever.  Some were burned at a stake, while others were drowned.  It certainly wasn't worth anybody's while to be suspected of being a witch back in 1693.



Especially if the witches were as dangerous and wicked as the Sanderson Sisters.  Winifred (Midler), Mary (Najimy), and Sarah (Parker) were definitely not relatives of Glinda in "The Wizard of Oz".  More like cousins of the Wicked Witch of the West.

The movie begins in the year 1693 when a young teenage boy named Thackery Binx (Sean Murray of NCIS fame) finds himself in a bit of a quandary.  His sister Emily (Jodie Rivera) has been kidnapped by the Sanderson Sisters for one reason alone - to absorb Emily's life force so that they can stay forever young.  Naturally, Binx tries to save Emily, but ends up failing in his quest.  Emily's life force is drained after the witches transform Binx into an immortal black cat.  The sisters are eventually captured by a mob of angry people and are sentenced to death by hanging (I knew I was forgetting a method of witchicide up above), but not before Winifred casts a spell which will grant all three sisters the power to be resurrected at a future date.  All they would need is for a "virgin" to light a black-flamed candle on Halloween night.  But with Binx being condemned to live out all eternity as a black cat, it's up to him to guard the former Sanderson cottage to prevent someone else from bringing the sisters back to life - a job he holds for three hundred years...

...that is until October 31, 1993.

Three hundred years later, a teenage boy named Max Dennison (Omri Katz) is having a really difficult time of things.  His family has recently moved to Salem from Los Angeles and he is feeling very homesick.  Although he has befriended a young girl named Allison (Vinessa Shaw), he has to deal with a couple of bullies named Ernie and Jay (Larry Bagby and Tobias Jelinek) who consistently make his life a living...well, you know.

To make matters worse, instead of having fun on Halloween night, Max is forced to take his little sister Dani (Thora Birch) out trick-or-treating while their parents attend a Halloween party. 



Interestingly enough, Dani is the one who sets the events in motion, as she convinces Max and Allison to go with her to explore the Sanderson cottage.  She had read a lot about them and wanted to learn more about them, and reluctantly, Max and Allison agree to do some investigating in which they come across the enchanted candle.

Can you guess what happens next?

Well, the witches are revived, Binx appears and helps Max gain possession of Winifred's spell book, and this prompts a chase of epic proportions between the Sanderson Sisters and the three teenagers who accidentally reopened a three hundred year old mystery.

Along the way, the witches cast a spell that puts the entire adult population of Salem out of commission for the rest of the night, and the witches only have one goal in mind...to find a child, kill them, and use their life force to remain on Earth forever.  And how fortunate it was for them that the Sanderson Sisters came across three children who resurrected them from the dead? 

In fact, Winifred had one trick up her sleeve - resurrecting her old boyfriend Billy (Doug Jones) from the dead to help her in her quest to live forever.  However, there a sticky family secret in the Sanderson family tree, and poor zombified Billy happens to be the missing piece of the puzzle.  And when one of the children happens to be kidnapped by the Sanderson Sisters, will Max be able to keep his wits together and stop the witches once and for all?

You know what?  I'm going to leave you with that thought as we head into the trivia portion of the blog.

1 - This film was originally intended to be a made-for-TV movie for The Disney Channel, but Walt Disney Studios felt the script was strong enough to warrant a theatrical release.

2 - Bette Midler has said that "Hocus Pocus" was "the most fun I'd had in my career up to that point".

3 - The film is set in Salem, Massachusetts, but only some of the exterior shots were actually filmed in Salem.

4 - The movie is widely considered a cult classic by fans all over the world.

5 - Interestingly enough, on the show "Who Do You Think You Are?", Sarah Jessica Parker (who played Sarah Sanderson) discovered that one of her relatives was accused of witchcraft!

6 - Leonardo DiCaprio was offered the role of Max, but turned it down - he had already committed to "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"



7 - There's one scene in which Doug Jones spits out moths out of his mouth.  That wasn't digitally enhanced in any way.  Those were REAL moths!

8 - Although Sean Murray played the human form of Binx, his dialogue was dubbed over by actor Jason Marsden - the voice actor of the feline Binx.

9 - Omri Katz was under the weather when he auditioned for the role of Max and nearly didn't get the part as a result!

10 - Rosie O'Donnell was offered the part of one of the Sanderson Sisters, but turned it down as she didn't want to play the part of a scary witch.

11 - Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall have uncredited cameos in this movie - playing a husband and wife at the party!

12 - The soundtrack was supposed to feature a song by Roxette, "Almost Unreal".  The song instead was featured in "Super Mario Bros."

13 - Charles Rocket - who played Mr. Dennison in the film - tells Max to "watch his language".  It was Rocket who sent audiences into a tailspin for dropping an F-bomb on "Saturday Night Live" in February 1981.

14 - Take a look at the three little girls who steal the witches brooms.  Do their costumes look familiar to you?

And, so wraps up the first of several spooky film blogs.  And admittedly, we started off on a tame note.  The rest won't be so.  This I promise you.  

Friday, October 10, 2014

Turkey Gobble-degook

Before I get into today's edition of the blog, I have some extremely good news to share.  Although she still has to take it easy for the next few days, I'm happy to report that my mother is now out of the hospital and back home.  This is awesome news indeed, and I once again want to sincerely thank those of you who were there for me and my family during this time.  You guys have no idea how much you mean to me.  Seriously.

Anyway, since I kind of skipped out on the FOODIE FRIDAY post last week, I thought that I would do one this week - even though this week's entry only really surrounds one type of food.



Turkey.

Yeah, Canadian Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and although my own holiday plans are kind of still up in the air at the moment (I think we're postponing our own dinner because of everything that has happened over the last few days, which is a decision that we all agreed on), I'm sure most of you out there from the shores of British Columbia to the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador are busy making last minute preparations for their Thanksgiving tables.

And the clear cut winning main course of most people's Thanksgiving dinners is the turkey.  Some may choose ham.  Some might choose chicken.  A couple of people I know skip meat altogether and instead choose six different types of pasta.  But I would say that turkey ultimately takes the top prize for the star of the Thanksgiving feast.



And, why not?  There's just something about turkey that makes it the perfect holiday food.  I don't know whether it's the flavour of the stuffing that seeps into the bird to give it that wonderful taste, or whether it's the way the spices blend together in perfect harmony, or whether it's the fact that as soon as you eat it, you fall asleep two hours later.  I honestly couldn't imagine my Thanksgiving without a turkey being present - however, if no turkey was available, I'd gladly take one of those spiral hams with a honey glaze. 

Heck, I would gladly take any sort of food that is available for Thanksgiving.  After all, Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for the fact that we do have a lot of food to keep our stomachs full.  And, sadly, some people seem to have forgotten what the real meaning of Thanksgiving really is.

I mean, I am so grateful that my mom is out of the hospital for Thanksgiving and is able to spend the holiday with us.  She still has a lot of recovery time left in her, but she is back home at least which is all that any of us really wanted.  This year, having a turkey for Thanksgiving seems less important than ever.



I sort of am reminded of the very first holiday show that the television sitcom "Full House" ever did.  Interestingly enough, it was a Thanksgiving episode.  Actually, if I remember correctly, it was the only Thanksgiving episode that "Full House" ever aired.  And what a disaster of a Thanksgiving it was too!  D.J. forgot to defrost the turkey and it came out frozen.  Then when Joey tried to reheat the turkey, he accidentally set it on fire and blackened it.  And to cap it all off, Stephanie accidentally dropped her "Mom's Picture-Perfect Pumpkin Pie" all over the kitchen floor.  This was one Thanksgiving in which nothing went right.

But while the episode's shenanigans were fun to laugh at, there was a rather serious tone to the episode.  After all, it was the first Thanksgiving without the matriarch of the family.  Danny's wife Pam had been involved in a car accident with a drunk driver and died a few months before the first episode aired and Danny asked his best friend, Joey and Pam's brother, Jesse to move in with him and his three daughters.  And while the family all mourned the loss of Pam at separate points in the show, they were all thankful that they were together and celebrating Thanksgiving together as the brand new family that was formed - even if the turkey looked more like a gigantic charcoal briquette.

The point I'm trying to make is that Thanksgiving should be about the time you spend with your loved ones, and while having a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie are nice things to have, they should not be the things that make a perfect Thanksgiving.

Honestly, I think too many people put too much emphasis on the things that don't matter instead of the things that do matter.  And, unfortunately, I've seen the ugliness that can come out of a person when they don't get their way.



I've worked in the retail business for nearly a decade.  Seven of those ten years were spent on the grocery side of the operation.  I know first hand how testy some people can be when it comes to not being able to get all of the things that they need for their holiday dinners.  I think in those seven years that I worked in grocery, I've ruined sixty-six Thanksgivings, forty-one Easter Sundays, and nearly three hundred Christmases simply because we ran out of some key ingredients for holiday feasts.

But, whatever.  That was the past.  Now I sell televisions, XBOX consoles, and Blu-Ray players, and I no longer ruin people's Thanksgiving celebrations.  The amount of Christmases I've wrecked has now doubled though.

But I know how incredibly frustrating it was to work on holiday weekends, and I know how much abuse that I took from people because we ran out of turkeys.  I've been yelled at, screamed at, had shopping carts tossed at me, and that was on a good day!  It just absolutely boggled my mind that grown adults would act in such a boorish fashion just to get their hands on discounted poultry.  I mean, sure, I would find it frustrating not to get a turkey for Thanksgiving, but you improvise.  You buy a ham instead.  You buy a chicken instead.  You buy turkey lunchables and serve those instead, while saving the mini Kit Kat bars for Halloween to hand out to the trick-or-treaters.

(Well, okay, maybe I wouldn't recommend that last suggestion.  That is tacky even by anyone's standards.)

The point is that I don't think not being able to get a turkey is a make it or break it moment.

I especially don't think that it is right for anyone to do the following in their quest to grab the perfect turkey for Thanksgiving.

- push someone out of the way
- push someone on the floor
- trample over someone who has fallen
- yelling at the sales staff because there are no turkeys
- making rude phone calls to sales staff because there are no turkeys
- trying to barge into the meat department doors to get their hands on a turkey
- calling a sales floor associate a few choice words because they don't like the answers that they are given.



I mean, SERIOUSLY JUST STOP IT!!!

Have people seriously lost their marbles?  Is this what Thanksgiving has come to?  Trying to hurt and destroy other people around you just so you can prove to everyone that you're the most self-centered person in the world?  How dare they?!?

I'm sort of glad that I don't work on the food side anymore.  Truth is that had I stayed, I would have been fired by now because I would find it really hard to stare at an angry person who is demanding to see a turkey in their hands, and me grabbing a mirror, showing it to them, and tell them that their turkey is right in front of them.

Gobble, gobble, fool.

I think it's time that people took a step back and realized that it's not cool to be selfish on Thanksgiving.  If I found out that any of my family members belittled and hurt someone else's feelings because of a turkey, I would feel so incredibly disappointed and embarrassed because there is no need for that. 

I guess this year more than ever, I know what the meaning of Thanksgiving is all about.  It's not about hate.  It's not about hurt.  It's not even about turkey.

It's about sharing.  Giving.  Kindness.  Togetherness.

I just wish others saw Thanksgiving the same way that I do.

Thursday, October 09, 2014

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Do you want to know the one thing that always surprises me whenever I write out my blog entry for the day?  Whenever people drop me messages about a previous blog entry.  I love getting messages from people!  That tells me that I actually have readers who check into the blog, be it by accident, or whether they have been reading it from the very beginning.  I appreciate each and every page view that I get and I could not be more thankful.

So, in the spirit of being thankful, I thought I'd share a portion of a recent message that I received from a reader who happened to stumble across a piece I wrote a few months ago while he was searching for Peanuts specials released on DVD.  He stumbled across my blog that I had written on the semi-forgotten Peanuts special "Why, Charlie Brown, Why?", which originally aired in 1990.  That special was about Linus and the rest of the Peanuts gang coping with the fact that one of their classmates had cancer.  If you haven't watched this special, do give it a whirl.  When I wrote that piece, it was still available on YouTube, though I fear that with copyright laws the way they are, it may have been removed.  Still, do try to seek this special out.  It's a good one.

Anyway, the following comes to us from a man named Matthew M. from Massachusetts, and as it turns out, his message came at a rather appropriate time as I had planned on doing a blog on the Peanuts gang anyway.  And since he gave me permission to reprint his message, here's a sample of what he had to write about.

Hey Matt....I was actually searching for old Peanuts DVDs online, and I came across an old blog you did about "Why Charlie Brown Why?" Being a die-hard Peanuts fan I tried to answer your blog but I think it's archived. So I'll give you my thought:

*In my opinion, one of the best specials in the series. In my top five..
1. Charlie Brown Christmas

2. Great Pumpkin

3. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

4.Why Charlie Brown Why?

5. It Was a Short Summer Charlie Brown

As for "WCBW?" I loved how they played in a few traditional comic strip gags into the story as comic relief. (Woodstock and Snoopy bickering over building a nest and Snoopy giving the bird one of his traditional Bleeeah tongues in frustration. Or the hospital cafe scene where Snoopy comes out with a tray piled up with junk food while wearing his " world famous doctor" scrubs. A bit of Schulz sarcasm towards doctors who should practice what they preach).

I also liked how Linus was given lead character in this one and his true good nature and compassion was well presented. They left out his blanket as they wanted him to be shown as s mature pre-teen rather than a kid. And there's Janice....a Peanuts character who has fans writing in to campaign that she appears in future specials. Little trivia...her last name is Emmons, as was Lila's in "Snoopy Come Home". They look remarkably alike, and fans understand them to be cousins! Incidentally, Lila also was hospitalized in SCH. Good linking of characters by the writers.

As for Lucy....I wouldn't lynch her, and I don't hate her....without her you would not have some of the funniest moments in the series' history. Her pining for Schroeder, her battles with Snoopy...and he always trying to steal a kiss. Everybody, even Charlie Brown knows how to handle her, and usually her sarcasm and crabbiness blows up in her face. The comedy is the look on her face when she knows or has to
think about how the other character just turned around and made her look like a fool. Snoopy is the best at it ( watch the arm wrestling match in " Short Summer"). Trust me, Lucy usually ends up being the butt of jokes rather than the villian, and that is what makes the series so funny. Her comments towards Janice is just her being an ignorant kid just because she has no idea what cancer really does and she reacted the same way many others would. Linus easily puts her in her place.

The bully's name is Joe Agate and appears a few specials later in "He's a Bully Charlie Brown". Charlie Brown, with a little help from Snoopy...puts him in his place. As for the scene on the playground with Janice, I'm pretty sure in real life Linus would have used much saltier language. I'm thinking the words " a**hole" or "douchebag" rather than "cementhead" was what most likely was shouted. Cement is much harder than block so you know that cursing was implied.
Acceptable for the situation.

First things first, thank you Matthew for the thought-provoking comments.  Your view on the special and the Peanuts gang overall was well thought out and intelligent, and because you took the time to write in your thoughts, I thought I'd dedicate this edition of the blog to you!

And you're in luck!  Today's topic is your number three most loved Peanuts special!

Now, I know what the readers of the U.S.A. must be thinking.  It's way too soon to be thinking about Thanksgiving.  And, yes, I can see how you would think this, as your Thanksgiving isn't scheduled until the twenty-seventh of November this year. 

But for my fellow Canadian readers, our Thanksgiving is quickly approaching.  October 13, to be exact.  I certainly hope that you bought your turkey already because time is certainly running out! 



So, that's why I decided to host "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" in this edition of Tube Talk Thursday, which originally aired on November 20, 1973.  But don't worry, America, I'll have another Thanksgiving themed holiday special planned for November 27.  Just keep your eyes on the blog for more information on that one.

Now, here's the problem with "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving".  It's one of those specials that I've probably only seen twice in my entire life.  And the reason why is because of the holiday confusion.  Because the American Thanksgiving is in November, I always seemed to never know when it was on because what Canadian wanted to watch a Thanksgiving special in November?  But because our Thanksgiving in Canada is in October, I could never seem to find it on television anywhere - though during the month of October, I managed to watch "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" at least three times a month!



So, needless to say, I had to really sit down and watch this special once more so that I could refresh my memory, and basically this is the show which opens up with Lucy once again setting Charlie Brown up for failure using a football as her weapon of choice.  Geez, Lucy, come on.  It's a holiday!  Let Charlie Brown kick the football already.  Don't make me send Peter Griffin after you!



Okay, so now that we have that out of the way, we all know what Thanksgiving is all about.  It's all about families gathering together to celebrate the holiday over a table filled with holiday dishes such as turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.  And naturally, Charlie Brown and Sally are two members of the Peanuts gang who plan on spending the holiday at their grandmother's condo.  But what happens when Peppermint Patty calls Charlie Brown at home and invites herself to the meal?  Well, it sets off a complete chain reaction.  Once Peppermint Patty invites herself, it prompts Marcie to send herself an invitation, which gives Franklin the motivation to invite himself, and so on and so forth.

Before Charlie Brown is aware of it, and before Charlie Brown can say no, he comes to the realization that he has somehow allowed half of the Peanuts gang to come to dinner with him.  Geez, maybe Peppermint Patty is more assertive than Lucy!

Leave it to level-headed Linus to come up with a perfect solution.  Host two different Thanksgiving dinner celebrations.  One for Peppermint Patty and the rest of the Peanuts, and one for Charlie Brown's immediate family.  Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, not really.  Turns out Charlie Brown - in addition to being a lousy football kicker - is also a lousy chef.  His claim to fame in the kitchen involves making cold cereal and toast.  Not exactly what one would consider to be typical Thanksgiving fare.  Still, Linus insists that the feast continue and recruits Charlie Brown and Woodstock to assist in the table set-up.



Here's an interesting note of trivia for you - did you know that the song "Little Birdie" is written and SANG by longtime Peanuts music provider Vince Guaraldi!  Yeah, that's right!  This is one of the only moments in which you actually hear him sing, so take advantage of this.  I posted the video of that song above.  It's quite good!

Now, I don't think it would be cool to reveal how this special ends, just because I think most of you already know anyway...but let's just say this.  It causes Peppermint Patty to rethink her strategies when including herself in other people's plans.  It makes us realize that Linus may have found his calling as a man who writes great speeches.  And it taught all of us that pretzels, jelly beans, and buttered toast can be somewhat acceptable substitutions for Thanksgiving feasts.

Oh, and it also taught us that if you want things done right to just let the dog do it.


To my Canadian friends, I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving this upcoming Monday.  And for my American friends, stay tuned.  I'll have more Thanksgiving fun in November!

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Knowing Who Your Friends Are - Online and Off

Before I begin this edition of WHO AM I WEDNESDAY, I have a couple of things that I have to talk about.  The first piece of news is very good.  And the second piece of news is not so good.

First, the good news.  Mom is slowly, but surely getting better, and she's improving each day.  As far as when she'll be released out of the hospital, I have no idea when that will be.  The hospital wants to make sure that all of the infection is gone before they discharge her, which makes complete sense.  After all, the last thing anybody in my family wants is for her to get worse.  But all of us have been doing everything possible to keep her positive which seems to be helping.  I'm hopeful that she'll continue to improve, and I absolutely want to thank all of you for supporting us during this time.  Thank you everyone.

And now comes the bad news.  As my mom continues to improve, one of my friends has sadly passed away. 

My friend Tom from New Jersey is someone who I "met" online approximately a dozen years ago on a website forum, which I've talked about on this blog at least a couple of times.  He was someone that I felt instantly connected to, probably because he was a huge fan of Disney cartoons, as I was - his most favourite of the cartoons being "TaleSpin", which served as the inspiration behind his screenname.  You see, "TaleSpin" was inspired by the 1967 classic "The Jungle Book", and Baloo, King Louie, and Shere Khan all made appearances in "TaleSpin".  But of course, the creators of "TaleSpin" had to create some new characters to mingle with the classic Jungle Book characters, and one of those characters was a young teenage bear cub named Kit Cloudkicker who looked up to Baloo as a father figure.



So, my pal Tom decided to go by the name of Tom Cloudkicker.

Over the last dozen years, he and I interacted with each other in many ways.  I still remember him being quite happy when I finally did a blog entry on "TaleSpin", and linked the post to his Facebook page so he would be able to read it.  I think he approved.

Oh, but Disney cartoons were not the only thing he was passionate about.  He also had a keen interest in numerology - particularly his favourite number, which was "7".  You couldn't log onto his social media site without seeing at least one seven posted nearby.

He was also very keen on rescuing and saving domestic animals.  He would often post links from animal shelters encouraging people who lived in his home state of New Jersey to adopt animals.  His love for animals was that strong, and I always respected him for that.

Sadly, Tom had been having health problems over the last two or three months...and just a couple of days ago, he passed away at the age of 50.  And, let me tell you, he died way too soon.

I will always miss Tom's kindness, his warm heart, his creativity, and the passion that he brought to each day, and I only hope that he is finally at peace.

And this leads to today's
WHO AM I WEDNESDAY...

October 8, 2014

Did I ever tell you that I have always struggled with making and keeping friendships?  It's the absolute truth - or at least it was. 

These days, I'm really coming to the conclusion that I probably have more people in my corner than I have ever had when I was younger.  I guess in some ways, I was (or rather, I can be) too stubborn to see it.  I suppose that we all have days in which we all feel as though we're being excluded or left out, and believe me, there are days in which I feel that way.  But you know, it's taken the last few days for me to really get an idea of just who my friends are.

For instance, when my mother was admitted into the hospital almost a week ago, I had no idea that she had touched so many lives until I saw just how many people came up to visit her in her room.  And by extension, I really had no idea just how many people who were connected to my immediate family cared about all of us until this happened.

When you have a crisis happen, it can be one of the most frightening things in the world.  At the same time, it can also bring forth a moment of clarity.  For it is when times are tough that you realize just who your friends are.  Knowing that so many people are wishing us well certainly helps us out a lot, and I hope that they know that their love and support is very much appreciated.

And, I'm not only talking about relationships and friendships with face-to-face people.  I'm also referring to online friendships as well.  And I'm extremely grateful to have quite a few of those as well - some of those friendships dating back 12-13 years!

A couple of days ago, one of my best online friends, Tom, passed away, and it got me thinking about some of the other people who touched my life without me actually meeting them face to face.

Like my friend Pierette, who lost her battle with cancer in December 2011.  Pierette and I were very, very close.  She was almost sort of like an online mom of sorts.  She was nearly a quarter of a century older than I was, but there was something about her that made me gravitate towards her.  She was wise, thoughtful, and kind - but she also had a razor sharp wit and didn't take any sort of...well...you know...from anybody.  If I remember correctly, she spearheaded the Christmas card exchange on one of the fallout boards that opened following the demise of Yesterdayland in 2003.  I still have some of those cards that Pierette sent me in the mail, and I will always treasure them forever.

I also have a fridge magnet of a calendar that I received way back in 2007 from another online friend named Rosemary.  She went by the screenname of TexasRose because she was named Rose, and she was from the state of Texas (I believe she lived near the Houston area).  And believe it or not, she was born in the year 1936!  I mean, here was a woman who was in her late sixties using the Internet a lot better than some kids in their teens!  She was the very definition of "cool grandmother".

(Of course, you never dared call her Grandma...she would have sassed you over that remark.)

Sadly, that 2007 calendar would be the last thing that Rose ever sent us.  She died just three months later at the age of seventy, and I still miss her nearly eight years after her passing.  She was one remarkable woman and I feel like I became a better person just by knowing her.  Just as I feel like I became a better person for having known Pierette.  Just as I feel like I am a better person for having known Tom.

It's very interesting just how much of an impact online friendships have.  Some people dismiss online friendships because they claim that it's not the same as hanging out with someone at a coffee shop, but I don't see it that way at all.  As far as I'm concerned, my online friends matter just as much as my real-life friends, and I think anyone who has a healthy balance of both is quite the lucky person indeed.

So, I remember Tom, and Pierette, and TexasRose - as well as our other YL friends 55dodger, enjaydee, The Professor, and KB9KNO today.