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Tuesday, October 04, 2016

October 4, 1970

Here we are...the first Tuesday Timeline for October 2016!  I'll admit that I struggled to find a topic for today, but with every little piece of my heart, I think I found someone worthy of the honour.

For now, enjoy this list of historical events that took place on October 4.

1302 - The Byzantine-Venetian War comes to an end with the signing of a peace treaty

1535 - The first English-language version of the Bible is published

1582 - The Gregorian Calendar is first implemented by Pope Gregory XIII

1779 - The Fort Wilson Riot takes place

1876 - Texas A&M University opens to the public - the first institute of higher education to open in the state

1883 - The Orient Express runs for the first time

1895 - The first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship is played in Newport, Rhode Island; also on this date, actor Buster Keaton (d. 1966) is born

1917 - The Battle of Broodseinde takes place during World War I

1923 - Actor and former NRA president Charlton Heston (d. 2008) is born in Wilmette, Illinois

1927 - Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore

1937 - Novelist Jackie Collins (d. 2015) is born in Hampstead, London, England

1957 - Sputnik 1 is launched

1963 - Over 6,000 people lose their lives when Hurricane Flora makes landfall over Cuba and Haiti

1965 - Pope Paul VI becomes the first Pope to visit the Americas, greeting people in New York City

1980 - Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" reaches the top spot on the Billboard Charts

1983 - Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour driving Thrust2 at the Black Rock Desert in the state of Nevada

1989 - Famous race horse Secretariat dies, aged 19

1992 - A devastating airplane crash occurs in Amsterdam when El Al Flight 1862 crashes into two apartment buildings, killing 43 on the craft and another 39 people on the ground

1997 - Boyz II Men's "4 Seasons of Loneliness" hits the top of the Billboard Charts

2001 - NASCAR driver Blaise Alexander dies in a car accident, aged 25

2006 - Julian Assange releases the WikiLeaks website

2010 - The Danube River and the Marcal River are severely polluted following an accident at Hungary's Ajka plant

And happy birthday to the following October 4 babies - Alvin Toffler, Leroy Van Dyke, Steve Swallow, Roy Blount Jr., Karen Cushman, Anne Rice, Clifton Davis, Susan Sarandon, Jim Fielder, Duke Robillard, Armand Assante, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Meg Bennett, Gil Moore, Bill Fagerbakke, Russell Simmons, Anneka Rice, Chris Lowe, Jon Secada, Liev Schreiber, Darren Middleton, Alicia Silverstone, Craig Robert Young, Philip Glasser, Rachael Leigh Cook, Caitriona Balfe, Melissa Benoist, and Dakota Johnson.

Okay, now let's hop in our Tuesday Timeline machine and set it back to today's chosen date.



Oh, look...October 4, 1970.  That seems like a good date to start.

It's also a good time to talk about a so-called curse in the world of music and entertainment.  Perhaps you might have heard of something called the 27 Club?

Believe me, it's a club that most people probably don't want to join.  Good thing for me - at 35, I'm ineligible to enter.



The 27 Club is a term given to all of those rock stars and musicians whose careers ended far too soon.  What makes this club unique is that every single one of them died before their 28th birthdays, making them forever 27.

Some members of this club include Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, and Mia Zapata, amongst others.

Sadly, it was 46 years ago today that another entertainer joined that club - the result of a heroin overdose likely sped up by alcohol abuse.  Her body was found in room #105 at Hollywood's Landmark Motor Hotel by producer Paul Rothchild, and with her death came the end of what might have been a promising career as a rock, soul, and blues singer.

Who knew that this particular song would end up being one of the last songs that she would ever record?





ARTIST:  Janis Joplin
SONG:  Mercedes Benz
ALBUM:  Pearl
DATE RELEASED:  January 11, 1971
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  N/A



Janis Joplin recorded that song in one take on October 1, 1970.  It's therefore sad to know that just 72 hours after recording this song that she would be dead.

And to think that when she was born on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, she really had no idea that her life would be cut so short.  Though, Janis' rebellious nature certainly seemed to start at a very early age.

You see, Janis was considered an outcast in her childhood years.  If she were still alive today, I could see her wearing that label with a lot of pride.  I think that's one of the reasons why I absolutely respect her as an artist because we are both cut from the same cloth.  Kids could be cruel, and certainly they were when Janis was attending school, attacking her on her weight, her acne scars, and even her tastes in music.  Keep in mind that Texas in the 1950s was very much a state that dealt with a lot of racism, and because Janis never felt that way, she was picked on as a result.  How far we've come since then!

Janis herself once stated that it was her listening to blues and soul music in her childhood that encouraged her to become a singer in the first place.  It was that love of blues music that prompted Janis to move halfway across the country to San Francisco, California, but a few years later, she moved back to Texas after getting severely addicted to drugs. 

She made an effort to clean up her life when she returned to her home state, and even had plans to get married to a man that she met while she was in San Francisco, but the wedding plans were called off, and Janis soon joined the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company.

And in 1967, when she and her band performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released their debut album, it certainly cemented the fact that Janis Joplin was going to be a huge star.  After all, the group enjoyed several hit singles, including this one below.



Though, Joplin's involvement with the band would turn out to be quite short.  News publications and music magazines frequently singled out Janis as being the star of the band, and the other band members seemed to be quite upset that Janis was getting all of the limelight.  Though, nobody could deny that Janis definitely had stage presence, and could motivate any crowd into losing themselves in the music.  She would leave the group in 1968 to pursue her own solo career that kicked off with the album "I Got Dem Ol' Kosmic Blues Again Mama", released on September 11, 1969.  Before that album was released, Joplin performed at the Woodstock festival, which only served to increase her popularity in the music world.

And you know, I'm sure that had Janis Joplin survived, she would continue to make music today.  Though, it's hard to guess what that music would sound like.  Would she have gone the New Wave route of the 1980s?  Would she have continued to be a singer-songwriter?  Would she have crossed over to country music?  None of us really know what might have happened.

What I can tell you is that Janis Joplin did inspire a lot of female musicians to follow their passions, and she very well was among the first wave of female singer-songwriters to dominate the charts throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  Stevie Nicks and Florence Welch have named her as one of their biggest influences in their own careers.  And Janis' hits have been covered by a multitude of artists, such as Gordon Lightfoot, Roger Miller, Faith Hill, and Kenny Rogers, among others.

One final footnote is that when Janis Joplin died 46 years ago, her funeral was done her own way and was meant to be more of a celebration of life rather than sorrow filled mourning.  Joplin's will clearly stated that two thousand five hundred dollars was to be set aside to throw a wake party which was held October 26, 1970.

You have to appreciate a woman who lived life by her own methods and not conforming to society.  I know that I certainly respect her. 

Sunday, October 02, 2016

As The World Turns - The Church Fire of 1997

It seems as though every single day we hear another tale of bad news every time the 6 o'clock hour comes.  These days, you can't turn on the television without hearing another story about another shooting. 

In particular, shootings involving police officers and men of African-American origin.

The rash of shootings has prompted several protests in several major cities, and the Black Lives Matter movement has continued to gain ground.  It's definitely been a tumultuous time in modern day history, and I almost think that this could be the beginning of another civil rights movement of sorts.

It's definitely hard for me to figure out what the right answer is.  I definitely am the type that believes that people of all backgrounds should have the right to live their lives without fear of getting shot, and I am most definitely against corruption of all kinds, be it with the police, or with politicians, or what have you.  At the same time, I think it's unfair to blame the entire police system for these incidents because for every bad police officer out there are ten good officers who genuinely want to uphold the law at all times.  Some might call me optimistic in that regard, but I've always been someone who has tried to see the best in a person before calling them out on their worst.  That's an aspect of my personality that I will never change no matter how old I get.

And sadly, these incidents are not exclusive to the year 2016.  As long as the world has been turning, there have been many instances of racial tension that has involved the police.  And I suppose this is a great way to lead into the topic that I have chosen for today.



How many of you remember watching the daytime drama "As The World Turns"?  The show was one of the longest running soap operas in the United States.  It debuted on April 2, 1956 and aired its final episode on September 17, 2010.  And "As The World Turns" was my mother's favourite soap opera.  She watched the show from its debut (she was 10 at the time) until its final episode.  Now, that is what I call a dedicated fan!



I still remember being a young child and how everything at my house had to be done by 2:00 in the afternoon.  Because from 2-3pm my mother would always be sitting on the couch to watch her favourite show.  I often wondered what else was on television at two in the afternoon, but I never got the chance to find out as Mom always reserved the television for that one hour each weekday.

So, I suppose that I would inevitably watch the show through osmosis in a sense.  I got to learn most of the character names such as Lily and Holden and Margo and James Stenbeck.  The last one I heard a lot in my childhood courtesy of my mother who would often insert a few adjectives that would have gotten me kicked out of kindergarten should I have dared repeat them.

I will say that "As The World Turns" did have some decent storylines.  And one storyline that aired in November 1997 certainly was ahead of its time - especially given everything that has been happening in the world today.



It's a tale featuring a bigoted, racist cop, a place of worship, race baiting, and a stunning conclusion that formed the basis for one of the soap's "supercouples". 

(Though, just between you and I, I despise the word supercouple.  Unless they have the ability to shoot lasers with their eyes or walk through walls, there's nothing 'super' about any soap relationship.  Just that in this case, they were a couple that fans loved.)

This tale actually began a few months earlier than our main plot.  I can't remember whether it was in 1996 or early 1997, but the incident that kicked this whole plot off began when a jogger was stopped by a police officer as he ran through a local park in Oakdale, Illinois (the fictional town that the show took place in). 



The jogger was Dr. Benjamin Harris, who police believed was the main suspect in a robbery that had taken place earlier.  The officer who arrested Harris was Officer Joe Teague, and he used excessive force against Ben to the point where Ben had suspected that he was being targeted because of his race.  Of course, everyone who knew Ben (which included his girlfriend Camille, and several friends) knew that he wouldn't be capable of committing such a crime, but Teague insisted that Ben was the culprit.

It wasn't until Ben launched a complaint against the Oakdale Police Department, insisting that something be done about Teague once and for all.  Certainly senior officers Hal Munson and Margo Hughes wanted to do all they could, but at the same time, they needed to have more proof that Ben was targeted solely because of his skin colour, and they needed to have proof that Teague was a bigot.

Now, keep in mind that I wasn't really watching the show regularly like my mom was, so I really had to rely on her to tell me how Teague was found out.  My mom wasn't quite sure how Ben cleared his name and got Joe exposed.  She did remember that Ben's arrest was not the first time that Joe had been involved in an arrest that was racially motivated, and that Joe's bigoted past came back to haunt him in a big way when Hal and Margo let him go from the police force. 

Of course, Teague wasn't ready to let Ben go so easily.  He had several of his racist friends stalk Ben everywhere he went - including the Milltown Baptist Church - a place that Ben worshipped at for years, and a place where its congregation and preacher were mostly African-American.  But that was about to change, as the church made the decision to make everybody in Oakdale feel welcome at the church, and in November 1997, the church had an open house to do just that.  Nearly everybody in the town (a.k.a. most of the 28 contract cast members, plus thirty or so extras) showed up at the church to sing songs, pray, and celebrate the love and the harmony that can come from what are supposed to be peaceful church gatherings.  In fact, to make the occasion even more special, the church choir was made up of people from several religious denominations and establishments, making sure that it truly was a concert in which everyone was welcome.



But what nobody in the church realized was that Teague had come to the church to do some serious damage and to get revenge on Ben Harris for having to give up his badge.  Opportunity presented itself when ex-con Molly Conlan got into an argument with Holden Snyder in the parking lot of the church, and Holden pushed Molly down on the ground.  After Holden was out of sight, Teague knocked Molly out cold, and proceeded to set the church on fire from the outside!  He planned to frame Holden for the crime by making it look like the fire was an accident as a result of Holden and Molly's fight, and he fled the scene, leaving a church filled with people to inevitably burn to death.

Nice guy, huh?

Now, before I go on with this, I'll let all of you watch the church fire scenes as they unfolded.  As of right now, the whole story arc spanning from November 20-24, 1997 are available on YouTube, though the quality isn't the best.  Perhaps the episode that shows the fire at its most intense is the one from November 21, and you can watch Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 by clicking on the numbers.

So, the end result of the fire was quite devastating.  A woman named Pamela was killed in the fire.  Barbara Ryan lost her unborn child as a result of the fire.  Kim Hughes was knocked unconscious by a falling beam and was comatose for weeks.  And the Milltown Baptist Church was reduced to ruins.  And Teague thought that with him dispatching Molly and framing Holden for the arson, he would get away scot free.

There were just a couple of things wrong with his plan.  First, Molly didn't die.  She survived Teague's attack.  Unfortunately, she woke up blaming Holden for it all, but that's another story.  The fact is that Teague didn't know that Molly didn't know that Teague had hit her, so that was one thing he had to fear.  But even more importantly, Teague didn't realize that Molly's cousin Carly and Holden's cousin Jack were hot on the case of trying to find out who really started the blaze.  And in that quest to find the truth, Jack and Carly ended up accidentally getting abducted by Teague and nearly froze to death in the frosty February air because of it!

I suppose that in the end it was poetic justice that Teague met his end at the hands of Ben Harris...the man who Teague had animosity towards from the very beginning.  When Ben and Lucinda Walsh happened upon Teague's cabin and they found Teague holding Carly and a wounded Jack hostage, Ben leapt into action and fought Teague one last time, ending with Teague getting shot by Ben.  Fortunately, no charges were laid against Ben and Teague's final words only served to prove that he was bigoted to the very end.



The storyline wrapped up with the church being rebuilt, Jack working at the police station to prove that there were decent, non-bigoted cops in Oakdale, and the supercouple that would come to be known as "CarJack" was born.  But once again, I really hate the word supercouple, so let's just say that Jack and Carly fell in love and got married...and then got divorced.  And then got remarried.  And then got divor...well, you get the picture.

At any rate, it was a brilliantly done storyline for a soap opera to tackle - and one that seemed to be ahead of its time.  With so many instances of hate crimes being committed and linked to the police, it's certainly worth a revisit.  In the case of Oakdale, Illinois, the storyline was wrapped up within three months...but in the real world, it's most definitely not the case.

I think the one thing we can agree on is that bigotry, racism, and prejudice are things that are most definitely not welcome in the world, and I think every single one of us needs to work harder to make sure that stays the case.

Friday, September 30, 2016

Jem Reviewed: Episode 28 - The Talent Search, Part Two

Previously on Jem Reviewed, Shana left the Holograms to work for a super diva named Liz Stratton, prompting Jem and the Holograms to find a new drummer.  The contest prompted the Misfits to recruit a new member themselves in the form of British sax player, Jetta.  Meanwhile, two semi-finalists have emerged to join Jem and the Holograms; the shy but sweet Raya, and Craig, who seems to have a crush on Aja.  But when Raya finds out that Jem is really Jerrica Benton, she's faced with a moral dilemma...especially when Eric Raymond is promising her anything she wants if she'll reveal who Jem really is.



Fortunately, as we begin Episode 28 - The Talent Search, Part 2 - Raya decides that she can't betray Jem's confidence and walks out on Eric.  Of course, she didn't really tell Eric to go flock himself.  Rather, she says that she'll think about it.  Seems like there's a fighter inside of Raya waiting to get out, but for now that fighter remains dormant.



At Starlight Music the following day, Jerrica, Kimber, and Aja are talking about the big contest which will feature Raya and Craig in a drum duel to determine which one will win the chance to join the Holograms.  The three of them wonder what Shana would think of this and they decide to invite her to the drum duel.  Whoa...way to rub salt in the wounds, ladies!  No wonder Shana has to be the sensitive one!

Okay, okay...I get that they are doing it to make Shana feel that she is still a part of their family, which is sweet.  But when Jerrica tries to talk to Shana on the phone, Shana is so busy with trying to satisfy Ms. Stratton's eight hundred demands that Shana unintentionally blows her off.  Jerrica shrugs her shoulders and tells Kimber and Aja that she's vurry busy, not realizing just how much hell Shana is in.



And before you can say "The Devil Wears Prada", Liz Stratton is in Shana's face about how her co-stars have better outfits than her, and she rips Shana's designs in half right in front of Shana's shocked face.  Liz then tells Shana to make her look better than everyone because she's Liz Stratton and she's much better than the peons she works with.  Okay, she doesn't exactly say this, but you know that's what she's thinking.  And Shana's thinking that she made the biggest mistake of her life.



It's another reused song.  This time, it's "Show Me The Way", originally seen in Episode 7.  I said before that there is nothing wrong with the song, but that it lacked a little oomph.  I still feel that way about the song, but Shana's confusion over taking the dream job that turned into a nightmare, and trying to find a way to come back to the Holograms definitely illustrates the meaning of the song very well.  So far the repeat songs seem to have better videos for Season 2 as they did with Season 1.



Let's peek into Misfits Music now, where the Misfits are giving Eric grief over being unable to convince Raya to spill her guts about Jem.  But Eric hasn't given up.  His next target is Craig Phillips, and Eric is determined to make Craig talk.



Conveniently, Craig happens to walk into the offices of Misfits Music with Stormer.  And if the blue hair on both of them isn't any clue to the real relationship between Craig and Stormer, I don't know what else I can do.  Turns out that Craig Phillips is Stormer's older brother.  And Craig volunteers that Stormer's real name is Mary!  Yeah, Mary Phillips sounds like either a folk singer or a member of a Motown group.  No wonder she adopted the stage name of Stormer!



Naturally, Eric makes the same offer to Craig that he did with Raya the night before, but Craig instantly tells him to flock off.  And besides, it's not as if Craig even knows Jem's identity anyway.



But here's where things start to get a little bit mean.  And it's new recruit Jetta that seems to get the ball rolling when she manages to convince Pizzazz and Roxy to tell Stormer that if she doesn't convince big brother Craig to help them, they will kick her out of the Misfits.  That is really cold.  Honestly, Stormer should probably tell them to flock off too.  But Stormer's self-worth is almost at rock bottom levels, so Stormer pathetically begs Craig to help Eric.  Because Craig loves his sister, he reluctantly agrees.  Okay, I'm gonna say it.  I hate Jetta.  I love the actress who plays her, but I hate Jetta.



Craig's plan to get Jem's identity involves him going on a date with Aja jogging through a park, and it seems as though a love connection has been made between them.  Craig admits his feelings for Aja, and Aja tells Craig that she hopes that he wins (which kind of sucks for Raya), and they share a moment.



Aw...isn't that sweet.  Well, at least it's sweet until Craig starts hitting Aja up about who Jem really is.  Aja, who is fiercely loyal to her band, naturally refuses to tell Craig anything, and Craig nearly tells Aja to flock off - but Aja surprises Craig by being understanding about it, and gently tells Craig that she made a promise to Jem that she would never tell and she has to honour it.  Craig's temper fades, and his heart melts into much over Aja's integrity, and the two of them play tonsil hockey as swans swim underneath the bridge they're on.  It's melodramatic, but how often does Aja even get screentime let alone a love interest?



Aja's integrity and compassion makes Craig so happy that he runs back to Eric's office and tells him to flock off, informing him that he will NEVER help him discover Jem's identity.  This angers Eric who is back to square one, and he makes the decision to try and work with Raya once more.  But he knows that Raya is difficult to read and that one false move will scare her off forever.



But wait.  Leave it to nasty Jetta to come up with an evil plan.  We don't exactly know what that plan is yet, but it involves a lot of dosh (slang term for money in the UK).  And Pizzazz and Roxy get a kick out of the fact that Jetta gets the dosh by pickpocketing Eric!  Yep, Jetta's a Misfit, all right.



While Jetta's evil wheels of scheming are turning in her head, Jem and the Holograms are gathered around a crowd of eager voters to watch the drum duel between Craig and Raya.  But of course, we can't have a drum duel without a song to play along with.  And I'll tell you...this season, the songs are definitely better.



It's hard to determine whether Craig or Raya did the better job, but one thing I can say is that "Beat This" is one hell of a song!  I think the thing that is awesome about this song is that it could also be sang by the Misfits with its lyrical content, but yet Jem and the Holograms make this song all their own.  That's a credit to Britta Phillips who definitely shows her talent here.  So far, the music is a major improvement over Season 1.  I hope this trend continues.

The way the contest works is that everyone is given a ballot.  They vote on which person they want to see win.  To prevent cheating, Jerrica has arranged to have an independent ballot counting service come in to count every vote, and the person with the most votes wins.  It's impossible to know which person did the best...but given that one of the two finalists was made into a doll and the other one wasn't - well, that should be a BIG clue.



While the drum duel is going on, Jetta is meeting with some unsavoury characters on a deserted Los Angeles city street.  Armed with Eric's cash, she bribes a local gang to do a task for her.  She gives half the money to the gang now, and will give them the other half when they provide proof that they did the job.  Uh-oh...this doesn't sound good.



The group breaks into Alonso Nurseries and armed with baseball bats and other assorted weapons, the group completely trash the place.  Windows are smashed, flowers are uprooted, topiaries are kicked (hmm, maybe they're related to Rio), and saplings are squashed.  Ah, so that's Jetta's horrible plan.  Destroy Raya's father's business and scare Raya into taking Eric's offer and revealing Jem's secret so that she can repair the damages.  It's cold, calculating, cruel...essentially, it's all Jetta.  I get the feeling that not even Pizzazz and Roxy would be that heartless.  And Stormer would outright stop this madness before it began.  Jetta's pure sociopath.  No wonder Roxy was right to be concerned!



Oh, and for proof of their destruction?  One of the creeps picks up a rare black orchid and tells the others that she'll love it.  I'm sure we'll NEVER SEE THAT ORCHID EVER AGAIN.



Daylight falls and the damage to Alonso Nurseries is severe.  Everything is completely destroyed and Papa Alonso is heartbroken over the loss of his plants.  It's so heartbreaking to see Papa Alonso so hurt, and it only intensifies my hate of Jetta even more.  Raya is upset and remarks that it will take a lot of money to fix all the damage, and she remembers Eric's offer.  Despite her brother trying to get Raya to stick around, Raya makes the decision to take Eric's offer in hopes that he will pay her enough to fix the damage that Jetta was ultimately responsible for.



And I am only guessing that Stormer has no clue what Jetta did because her main concern is getting Craig to find out who Jem is.  I'm assuming that the pair are at Stormer's house, which is on a nice quiet street and looks nice and cozy!  Craig is confused as to why Stormer is not only determined to find out Jem's identity, but why Stormer would allow herself to be taken advantage of by the Misfits in the first place.  Finally!  Craig asks the question that we've been wondering the last 27 episodes!  Why would Stormer continue to stay with a band that treats her like garbage?  Craig doesn't understand why Stormer insists that she would be nothing without the Misfits - but then when Stormer tells Craig that the Misfits will throw her out of the group if Craig doesn't discover Jem's secret, his big brother instincts kick in, and he storms out of Stormer's house in an anger filled beeline towards Misfits Music! 



Craig arrives at Misfits Music just as Raya is inside Eric's office about to accept Eric's deal.  And Craig happens to overhear everything about how Raya's father's business was vandalized and how she needs the money to fix it, and he hears Eric tell Raya that he will help her if she tells him who Jem is.  Craig also happens to notice that Jetta is in the room wearing a gigantic flower in her hair.  A flower that happens to look like a black orchid.  I wonder if Raya has noticed...



You remember how I said that Raya had a fighter inside of her just waiting to come out?  At the sight of the black orchid in Jetta's hair, Raya instantly grabs the orchid and tries to yank Jetta's hair right out of her head!  Raya is absolutely pissed, and by all rights she has every right to be!  Jetta is screaming in pain, but Raya refuses to let go until Jetta confesses that she was the one responsible for destroying her family business.  Jetta relents and Raya shoves her into Pizzazz and Roxy!  Okay, whereas I completely hate Jetta, I absolutely LOVE Raya!  This girl can stay!  To add insult to injury, Roxy snaps at Jetta that her plan was a failure!

Raya spews even more anger at Eric, telling him that she almost betrayed Jem, but after seeing what kind of a slimeball he is, she will NEVER help him and that he can flock himself!  She storms out of the office and past Craig, who by this point is ready to tear Eric apart himself!



Instead, he grabs a desk lamp and physically wraps it around Eric's neck!!!  Wow, Season 2 of Jem is more intense than the last season!  Don't worry though, Craig doesn't kill Eric.  But Eric is so frightened by Craig's temper that he is willing to give Craig anything he wants.  What Craig wants is lots of money.  Money that he plans to use towards the repairs for Alonso Nurseries.



Craig then sets his fury towards Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta, and angrily lets them know that he thinks that they are garbage and that Stormer can do much better than them, but also knows how much being a Misfit means to her, so he won't do anything yet.  But he angrily tears a Misfit poster to shreds and warns them that if they hurt her in any way, they'll have to answer to him.  Now, I don't think Craig would wrap a lamp around their necks as he actually does seem to respect women, but he has made it perfectly clear that he won't tolerate their abuse.  And with that, Craig leaves the building, making it clear that the Misfits can flock themselves.



But not before running into Stormer, and reassuring her that everything is okay and that he has made sure that nothing bad will happen.  Amusingly, Eric, Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta are hiding behind a doorway when Craig and Stormer are having their final conversation.  Who's big and bad now, Misfits?



So, with that, Craig makes a decision.  Knowing that he will end up going against his own sister's band if he wins the contest, he announces that he is taking his name out of the running, which devastates Aja.  Aja wants to know where Craig is going.  Amusingly, Craig announces that he is going back to Europe where he can avoid conflict.  And, how many wars began in Europe over the last two thousand years?  Aja is about to cry, but she understands Craig's decision, and gives him her scarf to remember her by.  But Raya is less than happy, as it means that she will only win the contest by default.  But Craig's final words in this episode are directed to Raya, and he tells her that she has so much talent and heart to share with the world and that Jem and the Holograms can help her a lot better than they can help him.



Okay, can we keep Craig and kill off Rio?  Please?



So, with Craig officially out of the contest, it's time to find out who would have won.  And well...let's just say that Craig's decision to quit wouldn't have changed the outcome.  Raya is the true winner of the contest and she officially becomes the newest member of Jem and the Holograms!  And while everyone in the crowd cheers the new line-up for Jem and the Holograms, Papa Alonso cheers the loudest!  Aw...I love Papa Alonso!



So, Raya is now a Hologram.  And right about this time, Shana is really regretting walking away.  After Liz Stratton once more spews her venom at Shana, Shana finally remembers that she has a backbone and promptly tells Liz Stratton to flock off, to choke on her opinions, and to strangle herself with orange scarves!  And the newly unemployed Shana discusses her future with Anthony Julien and how uncertain it is.  Anthony reminds Shana that she can always go back to the band, but Shana figures that they've already picked their new drummer and that they have no use for her any more. 



Well, she's right about the band choosing the new drummer, and as the press is interviewing Kimber and Aja about the contest, a representative for the ballot counting company approaches Jem looking for Jerrica to pay them.  Jem ducks behind a curtain to do her "Show's Over, Synergy" spiel, but when Raya sees a couple of journalists approaching the curtain, she rushes towards Jem and warns her not to change!  Raya redirects the journalists to another area of the room and Jem gives Raya a "what the flock are you talking about" look.



In a secluded area, Raya reveals to Jem, Kimber, and Aja that she has known that Jem is really Jerrica Benton for several days now, and that she almost sold her secret to Eric Raymond after Jetta arranged for her family's greenhouse to be destroyed.  Aja stares in silence - still likely upset about Craig not being chosen - but she seems supportive of Raya.  And Kimber isn't shocked that Eric would go to such lengths.  But Jem is very proud of Raya for not sharing the secret and reassures Raya that they made the right choice in adding her to the band.  Kimber even expresses delight over introducing Raya to Synergy!  Raya's just thrilled to be accepted by the band, and I'm thrilled that a character with as much heart as Raya is here to stay. 



But when the Holograms return to Starlight Mansion and see Anthony's car parked outside, they are very confused.  Jem, Kimber, and Aja ask Anthony what's up and Anthony basically tells them that Shana told Liz Stratton to flock herself.  The girls are thrilled by the news because apparently schadenfreude isn't a part of their vocabulary.  But also they're thrilled because Shana can now come back to the group.  Anthony reminds them that they said that they didn't need her, but they tell Anthony that they only said this so that Shana wouldn't give up on an opportunity and that they really miss her, which causes Shana to come out of hiding and have a happy reunion with the rest of the band.



Sadly, Raya doesn't see this happy reunion as being all that good news for her, and she comes to the conclusion that being a member of Jem and the Holograms for an hour is the best she can hope for.  She quietly leaves Starlight Mansion and goes back home where she is happy to hear that Papa Alonso received an anonymous donation from a friend to fix the damage to the nurseries.  I'll bet that friend was a man with blue hair named Craig.  



Raya is sad though because with Shana rejoining the band, she feels that they don't need her any longer.  So, imagine Raya's surprise when Jem, Kimber, Aja, Shana, and Rio arrive with their musical instruments telling Raya that if their drummer didn't want to go to Starlight Mansion that they would come to her instead.  Jem is insistent that Raya stay on as their drummer because they like her and she's talented and she can rip flowers out of Jetta's head...oh, wait.  They didn't see that part.



Raya is still unconvinced, but it's Shana who really brings her into the fold, saying that now that Raya is their drummer, Shana can play the instrument that she wanted to play in the first place, so all is right with the world.



And what a fitting note that the last song of the episode is a song called "All's Right With The World".  Again, the song is fantastic, and I really have to say that it's a nice video.  It welcomes Raya to the band, and I particularly love the scene in which Shana is the one to pull Raya onto the train, as if she's giving her seal of approval to the fifth Hologram.

Okay, seriously, if this is how Season 2 begins, I'm kind of looking forward to the rest of it.  Raya is a fantastic addition to the Holograms, and I think she could bring some fire to the band that can sometimes seem bland.  Jetta is an evil witch of a character, but fits in with the Misfits very well.  And it's nice to see some characters get more of a background story, and the Stormer/Craig story arc was very well done.  The music has definitely improved from last season, and all things considered, this two-part episode has very little wrong with it.

Oh, and your Jem Trivia for today?  Raya is voiced by Linda Dangcil, whose biggest role prior to Jem was on "The Flying Nun".  Sadly, Dangcil passed away in 2009 at the age of 67 from throat cancer.




Next week, one of the Holograms in embroiled in a scandal!  But, which one?

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Sixteen Things I Like About Myself



Absolutely serious about this too.

I'm not going to really tag anyone here, because I don't think anyone should be forced to do this activity.  By all means, if you want to take part, I encourage it!   But, I think that we all need a reminder of all the good things that we like about ourselves.  Some may constitute this as a bragging note, but I personally see it as an exercise in building up self-esteem, and self-worth...an exercise that some people should do to remind themselves that they are important and that they do have worth in this world.

I'm going to come up with sixteen things that make me...well...me.  Even more importantly, I'm going to give sixteen reasons why I'm a great person to know...and hopefully, it will inspire all of you to look deep within yourselves and find those qualities that you like best about yourself.

So, let's begin.



01.  I've always been obsessed with colour, and I like the fact that I'm not afraid to show them off.

02.  I'd like to believe that when it comes down to common sense, I have quite a bit of it.



03.  I have my own home.  More importantly, I saved up for the down payment for four years to achieve it.  I don't believe in free rides.

04.  Although I am not religious, I do believe in trying to show goodwill towards others because I truly believe that good wins over evil.

05.  I've been informed that I have some of the neatest handwriting they have ever seen.



06.  I can come up with song parodies as fast as Weird Al Yankovic.

07.  I'm a great speller as long as I can avoid typographical errors.

08.  I always give 100% at work...though sometimes I wish it were noticed more...but hey, don't we all feel that way?



09.  I always follow my own path and try not to follow fads.  I don't need to buy the latest TV, I don't need to be attached to a Blackberry, and I always keep my underwear completely under my slacks or jeans.  It's called UNDERwear for a reason.

10.  I initially appear shy when people first meet me, but once I get to know you, it amazes even me how much I open up.  I'm just a little bit socially awkward.



11.  I've never smoked a cigarette, dropped acid, or done any serious out of control drinking.

12.  I can do Christmas shopping on a budget and still manage to pick out perfect gifts.

13.  I'm a great writer.  Or, so I'd like to think I am.

14.  I am a firm believer in standing up for what you believe in, and I most definitely do this.  Sometimes I don't even think of any repercussions that might come from it until after I say it, which can be impulsive...but again, I make no apologies given that I suppressed myself for too long in my youth.

15.  I enjoy writing this blog...mainly because I feel I can get my real feelings out a lot better through written works than if I try to talk to people face to face.

16.  Although it has taken me years to realize this...I have some awesome people in my life who will truly stand by me.  The only thing I wish was that some of them were a lot closer to me, but I know that regardless of geographical location, that they'll always be there for me...and it makes me smile.

So, there's my 16 things.  What are yours?