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Sunday, March 25, 2012

A Question Of Faith...But What Is Sting's Answer?

Traditionally speaking, for the Sunday Jukebox, I tend to feature an artist, and have a huge write-up about their biography, how they got started in the business, what their first hit or most memorable hit was, and then wrap it all up in a nice pretty red bow.

Not this time.

One of the things that I feel make a great song is when they have a powerful meaning. And, today's song happens to have just that. But, what that meaning is? As it turns out, there's several that can be found. I'm going to open up the forum at the end of this blog entry so we can discuss the song at hand, and you can tell me what your thoughts are. Will they match my theory? Only one way to find out, and that's to go ahead with the subject.



I'm sure most of you know who Sting is. Sting (real name Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner), born October 2, 1951 in Wallsend, England, has had one phenomenal rise to fame. Forming the new wave band The Police with Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (who was later replaced by Andy Summers), the band won six Grammy Awards, released five albums, and had several hit singles before the band went their separate ways in 1983. While Copeland found success in composing soundtracks for film, television, and video games (including most of the early Spyro the Dragon games), and Summers recorded songs, and dabbled in writing and photography, Sting embarked on a solo career.

Just listen to some of the statistics and accolades that Sting has managed to achieve in his career.

  • Has recorded a variety of songs using a variety of musical genres including reggae, jazz, country, classical, new age, rhythm and blues, and worldbeat
  • Between his solo career and his work with The Police, Sting has won SIXTEEN Grammy Awards
  • Has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award, and was nominated for a few Academy Awards
  • Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 (along with Copeland and Summers)
  • Was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002
  • Has had seven American solo Top 20 hits between 1985 and 2000 (in the UK, the number is a little more than double that amount)

That's not a bad list of accomplishments, don't you think?

So, with all those songs to choose from, which one would be the one that I would ultimately pick to feature in today's space?



I thought about it long and hard. I mean, Sting has quite the catalog of songs, each one beautifully written. I ended up choosing a song from his 1993 album, “Ten Summoner's Tales”. Not only is the album my favourite of Sting's solo efforts, but it also contains my two all-time favourite Sting songs. “Fields Of Gold” happens to be one of those two songs. And, this one happens to be the second.



ARTIST: Sting
SONG: If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
ALBUM: Ten Summoner's Tales
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 1993
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #17

There's a lot that we can say about this song, and just like many other songs out there, it can be subject to many interpretations and theories behind its meaning. I'm going to share with you what the song means to me, and then I'll turn it over to you.



I think one thing we should look at right off the bat is the articulate imagery that is shown during the course of the video. With images of suns, crosses, flames, and reenactments of historical and biblical events, it can be said that the song is filled with references to religion and faith. In some ways, I do believe this to be true, though, that's only a part of the rich tapestry that surrounds my own interpretation of this song.

I think that the real key to deciphering this song is through its carefully crafted lyrics. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this song, like so many of Sting's other songs, is filled with powerful words and multiple meanings. Before Sting entered the world of rock music, he wanted to embark on a career in education and worked as an English teacher in the mid-1970s, so it's no surprise that he would be gifted in writing. And, one reason why I chose this particular song to do a case study on was solely for the different interpretations of the lyrics.

Let's start with the first verse, shall we?

You could say I lost my faith in science and progress
You could say I lost my belief in the holy church
You could say I lost my sense of direction
You could say all of this and worse but

Our narrator (assuming that we are talking about Sting here) talks about how many people seem to have the feeling that he has lost his faith in a lot of things. Certainly given what we're seeing in the news, I suppose that this could not be more true.



Take the first line about him losing faith in science and progress. In some ways, our lives have become a lot better with the inventions of such items as the automobile, modern-day kitchen appliances, and electronics. However, in other ways, science can cause a lot of damage and destruction. The images shown of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945 completely destroyed is one indicator of how a scientific discovery was used for harm, as the first atomic bombs were dropped in those two cities. Another argument supporting Sting's claim is the use of nuclear power plants. While nuclear power plants are widely considered to be a cleaner and less polluting power source than coal power plants, when something goes wrong, the effects can be devastating. It was a near nightmare in Three Mile Island, it WAS a horrible reality for the poor people around Chernobyl, and after the 2011 earthquakes that battered Japan, it's a miracle that there wasn't more nuclear destruction.

And, don't forget the cell phone addicted, iPod listening, text messaging people who take on the appearance of mindless zombies who can't spell a word without inserting a number in them.  Yeah, that's real progress there. 



And, the second line about him losing faith in the holy church. It's fairly easy to do these days. With religious organizations that seem to find every excuse in the book to hate people for flimsy reasoning (like Westboro), or the various sex scandals that have erupted in various church systems all over the world, it's a bit hard to follow the gospel taught in churches if many of the priests and nuns don't exactly practice what they preach, isn't it?

We've been conditioned that religion and science are two separate entities. Creationism versus evolution. But, if our narrator has lost faith in both, what's left for him then? What path does he follow?

Hence the loss in direction.

It gets even more descriptive in the second verse of the song.

Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world
You could say I lost my faith in the people on TV
You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me

This verse certainly offers up a lot more as we delve into the psyche of Sting. I'd definitely say that Sting was correct when he said that he was a lost man in a lost world. All you would have to do is revisit what he was saying in the first verse to confirm that.

The second line is quite interesting. Losing his faith in the people on TV. But, what exactly does he mean? Considering that Sting likely wrote this song in late '92 or early '93, I suppose Sting could be talking about a number of possible topics in relation to this. He could be referring to news anchors. He could be referring to television talk show hosts. He could even be referring to celebrities who take on political activism for causes that may or may not be legit, and who end up doing crazy (sometimes illegal) things to get their message out. I suppose the same could be applied to the current television landscape, with the plethora of bubbleheaded reality television stars. Granted, reality television is kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, but I would never take the word of these “stars” to be gospel.



And, in regards to Sting comparing politicians to game show hosts? Can you say 2012 Republican Primaries? I mean, just watching Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum in action, I honestly think that comparing them to game show hosts is actually an insult to Pat Sajak, Alex Trebek, Wink Martindale, and Drew Carey. And, I'm not even American! Mind you, I'm also undecided as to whether Barack Obama deserves another four years in office, but when given the alternative, it's not an easy choice to make. As far as Canadian politics go, I pretty much lost my faith in them when a certain Liberal leader took office. The less said about that matter, the better.

The point I'm trying to make is that the song talks about all of these instances and scenarios of events that people used to look up to for guidance and direction. And now, it seems as though they are all shadows of what they used to be. In some cases, they've almost become a farce. The belief and faith that may once have been so strong before is now shattered.

So, here's the question. Is there anything left for us to have any faith in?

According to Sting, the answer is yes.

The name of the song is “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You”. By listening to the song, we can see that Sting still has a little bit of optimism buried beneath his pessimistic thoughts. As long as he still has faith in something or someone, then it'll all be worth it.

But, of course, this leads to another question. And, this is where I open the floodgates to you readers out there.

Who do you think Sting has faith in?

And, this is where the multiple meanings come into play here, because there really are quite a few possibilities to consider here. I'll list a trio of them right now.

Theory number one is that Sting is talking about himself. Think about it for a second. When the whole world around you suddenly stops making sense, who's the one person who knows you best? I'd hope that in a lot of cases, it would be the person who is staring back at you when you look at a mirror. In many ways, we all look at ourselves, and tell ourselves that everything will turn out right. By doing this, we have to have a little bit of faith, don't you think? It makes sense. We have to believe in ourselves. If we stop having faith in ourselves, then the world suddenly becomes a much more frustrating and scary place.

Theory number two is that Sting is talking about someone very close to him, like a loved one or a lover. And, in a lot of cases, it makes sense too. I could easily see a newly wedded husband and wife choosing this song as one to dance to at their wedding reception. It is a lovely song, and if you take the lyrics at face value, it really is a moving sentiment to display to your spouse. Just picture it...you may have been lost in direction and felt like nothing made sense. And then you meet the love of your life, and it all makes sense.

Of course, there's the third theory. The theory that Sting is talking about God. It's hard to ignore. Sting is spinning a mobile of miniature crosses in a circle in several frames of the video. His face even appears in a cross. And, of course, there's the recreation of Moses parting the Red Sea. The religious imagery peppered throughout the video almost seems to make this theory a possibility. And, I know a lot of people who aren't overly religious, and who shun organized religion, but still manage to hold on to their faith in God.



So, what do you think the song means? I'm very interested in your thoughts.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?





I may have talked about this earlier in the blog, but I have always loved the computer game “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?” because it truly was one of the best educational games that one could play.

Aside from the fact that your main goal was to try and arrest Carmen Sandiego and her minions, who were guilty of stealing various objects and artifacts all over the world, the game really taught players various tidbits and facts about history and geography. Sequels to the game were made, including one called “Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?”, which focused more on history than geography. At any rate, the game was widely successful and is still played in elementary school classrooms all over the world.

But, did you know that the popular computer game series also spawned two successful children's game shows? And, in the case of one of them, it currently holds the record for being the longest running children's game show that ever aired on PBS, and the second longest running children's game show in the United States overall?





On September 30, 1991, the first of these shows debuted on PBS, and will be the show that will be mostly discussed in this blog entry. The show was “Where In The World In Carmen Sandiego?”, and it's probably best known for the catchy theme song that is performed by the band Rockapella. Oh, look, here's a song clip below.




Isn't that catchy? At least, I think it is, anyway.

Part of the reason behind the creation of the game show came from a National Geographic survey. The results showed that Americans did not have a whole lot of general knowledge when it came to global geography. When the survey was taken in 1989, the results claimed that only one in four knew which ocean was the Pacific. The same amount knew where the Soviet Union was located on a map. So, in an effort to make geography fun to learn, the game show was created.



The show debuted on PBS when I was ten, and it ended its original run in December 1995, when I was fourteen. Appropriately enough, the contestants of each show were roughly between the ages of ten and fourteen. All three contestants were dressed up like detectives, and were known as 'gumshoes'. One of Carmen Sandiego's henchmen (or henchwomen) had stolen an artifact from a historical landmark from somewhere in the world, and it was their job to go around the world to try and catch them.

Of course, the gumshoes had some help along the way.



Hosted by Greg Lee (who did work behind the scenes on “Double Dare” before hosting Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?), Greg took on the role as the Special/Senior Agent in charge of training new recruits at the ACME Detective Agency. But when you consider that the show was marketed towards a young audience, this meant that Greg's role on the show was purposely exaggerated. He was a goofball, and he often found himself in strange situations, but he was also very likeable, and I thought he made a great host.



You also had assistance from the chief of ACME, played by the late Lynne Thigpen. Unlike Greg, the Chief was no-nonsense, and did things by the book. Her dialogue was meant to be serious and powerful, but it often came across as funny, due to the overuse of alliteration, puns, and wordplay. Basically, the Chief was the Yang to Greg's Yin, and both of them worked well together. It made the show more enjoyable.

Lynne Thigpen's portrayal of the Chief proved so popular that she was actually incorporated into future Carmen Sandiego computer games, and she was invited back to be a part of the spin-off game show, “Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?”, hosted by Kevin Shinick.



(Kevin Shinick has since become a writer and voice actor for the show “Robot Chicken”.)

So, why don't we watch an episode, and then discuss how the game was played?




So, the way the show worked was like this. As I said earlier, we'd see a clip of one of Carmen's minions stealing a landmark from somewhere in the world. It could be the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, the Statue of Liberty's torch, or Abraham Lincoln's nose from Mount Rushmore. We also knew the identity of the criminal who did the deed, and more often than not, the name would be a pun. With criminals named Patty Larceny, Sarah Nade, RoboCrook, Top Grunge, and Double Trouble (a set of twins), I suppose it's to be expected. It was a show for children.

During the first couple of rounds, Greg would show the contestants a segment, or act out a skit that would determine where the villain would be spotted next. Usually, these clips would have clues for the location. It could be a species that is native to that country, or it could be the mention of the capital city of the country, or they could bring up a popular landmark, or famous export that the country is known for. If savvy players could put all the clues together, they could narrow down the city or country where the thief was spotted.

And, sometimes the clues were given by celebrities, such as James Avery from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, pop princess Debbie Gibson, and various sports heroes.

Each person was given a set number of points, which were known as ACME Crime Bucks. The more you had, the better chance you had of staying in the game. Each question was worth a certain number of Crime Bucks, and the more questions you got right, the more points you got. Eventually, the chase would stop after a few questions were asked, and the final question would be asked. Unlike other questions asked, the gumshoes would be shown a map of three possible destinations that the criminal were spotted in, and this really helped the contestants wager as few or as many points as they liked, based on how well they knew the area that was focused on. The two contestants who had the highest scores would move onto the next round. The loser would get some prizes including a subscription to National Geographic World, and a world almanac. Something geography related anyway.

So, once the contestants narrowed down where the crook was located, they would transport to the area where the crook was found, and then learn a little bit about the area. Once they had that, they were taken to a board where there were fifteen different locations where the loot could be found, where they could obtain a search warrant, and where the criminal was hiding out. The trick was that the places had to be found in the correct order...loot, warrant, criminal. The first person to get all three items in the right order would win the chance to play in the final round, where the prize was very nice. The loser was given almost a similar parting gift at the third place finisher.

Now, here's where the real test came. As the show progressed into its final round, there was much celebration to be had...but Carmen was still out there, and you still had no idea where she was. Fortunately, the minion you just helped send to jail would be of some help. S/He would give out the location of a continent, and it was up to the detective to chase her around the continent.

The winning contestant would be taken to a gigantic world map, and armed with seven giant map markers, Greg would announce the name of a country or city, and it was the detective's job to place the marker on the correct place. The maps included the United States, North America, South America, Asia and Australia, Europe, and Africa. If they were right, they would move to the next destination. If not, they only one more chance to get it correct before they were forced to give up and move to the next destination. They had to get a specific number correct before time ran out to win the grand prize. The grand prize in the first couple of seasons was a trip to anywhere in the interlocking 48 states of the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), but in later seasons, the destination was expanded to anywhere in North America.



So, in conclusion, I thought that “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?” was a fantastic video game, and for children, it was also made into a wonderful television game show. Sure, it hasn't aged well over the last twenty years, but at least I can say that watching the show greatly helped my own grades in geography!


Friday, March 23, 2012

The Bold and the Beautiful

There was once a time in which soap operas dominated the block of programming known as daytime television.  Between the hours of eleven in the morning and four in the afternoon, millions of people would tune into their “stories” and be captivated by the affairs, the romance, the mystery, and the scandal that would be broadcast five days a week for 30-60 minutes at a time.

That’s why it’s almost shocking to know that there are only four American soap operas currently on the air.

Over the last four years, soap operas have been disappearing from the airwaves at an alarming rate.  In 2009, we said goodbye to “Guiding Light” after 72 years (57 of which were on television).  2010 was the year the world stopped turning on “As the World Turns”.  In 2011, we said farewell to “All My Children”.  And, just this past January, we saw the last flicker of life go out from the soap opera “One Life to Live”.

So, to say that the genre known as daytime drama is in danger is an understatement.

However, the four soap operas that have managed to survive are still holding on.  “General Hospital” is currently the soap that has been on the longest, and currently the only ABC soap still on the air.  “Days of Our Lives” have been keeping the sands in the hourglass filled since 1965.  And, “The Young and the Restless” has been the #1 daytime drama on television since 1988!

But, for today’s look back on television pop culture, we’re going to be talking about a daytime drama that has exploded in popularity all over the world.  And, as it so happens, today happens to be the show’s silver anniversary.

Twenty-five years ago today, this daytime drama debuted on CBS after the cancellation of another soap opera, “Capitol”.  At the time, it was one of only three half-hour soap operas that aired (the other two were “Ryan’s Hope” and “Loving”, both of which are now cancelled), and the concept of the program was unlike many of the other soap operas at the time.  Focusing on the drama and the trials of a fashion conglomerate, the show was the second daytime creation of William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell.  Their first creation was the popular show “The Young and the Restless”, and they had hoped for success with a second daytime drama.

Little did anyone know just how successful this soap opera would become.


The show, of course, is “The Bold and the Beautiful”.


Debuting on March 23, 1987, “The Bold and the Beautiful” initially focused on the fashion business known as Forrester Creations, which was responsible for some of the glitziest, classiest, and elegant fashions for the sophisticated Los Angeles socialite.  As a result, it wasn’t uncommon to have scenes set in executive boardrooms, fashion shows, and photo shoots, in addition to the prerequisite bedroom and hot tub scenes.

Over the show’s twenty-five year history, there have been countless actors and actresses that have come onto the show.  Some of them became famous after appearing on the program, and some celebrities even had cameo roles in the program.  But, we’ll get to more of that a little bit later.

Since 1987, the revolving door of cast members has been constantly spinning.  Despite this, four cast members have been on the program since the show’s debut.  Those four characters are...


Stephanie Forrester (SUSAN FLANNERY)


Eric Forrester (JOHN McCOOK)


Brooke Logan Forrester (KATHERINE KELLY LANG)


Ridge Forrester (RONN MOSS)


TRIVIA:  Ronn Moss was in the band, “Player”, who had a huge hit in 1978 with “Baby Come Back”.

From the very first episode, we’re introduced to these four players in a big way.  For the record, because I am very dedicated to this blog and making sure that I have all of my facts straight, I did a lot of research on this show, just so I could make it as accurate as possible.  That being said, if I do make any inaccuracies, please let me know, as I don’t make it a point to watch this show.

Anyway, when the show began, we’re first introduced to Ridge (and for that matter, who the heck would name their child after a type of potato chip anyways?).  Ridge is the son of Stephanie and Eric (despite the fact that there is only a seven year age difference between the actors playing Ridge and Eric in real life), and he is every bit the apple of his mama’s eye.  In fact, some might say that the relationship between Stephanie and Ridge is a tad creepy.  But, I’ll leave that up to your judgment.


Ridge is set to marry Caroline Spencer (Joanna Johnson).  With a new bride, and his job as vice president and head fashion designer of Forrester Creations, 1987 was looking like a great year for Ridge Forrester.  The wedding was to have been the biggest spectacle of the whole year, and because of Ridge’s playboy past, many wondered what was so special about the woman who finally made Ridge settle down.

One of these women was Brooke Logan.  Brooke, a chemistry student at a local university, hailed from a working class family, far removed from the glitz and luxury that Forrester Creations was known for.  As it so happened, Brooke’s mother was once the sweetheart of Eric Forrester, which probably kickstarted the on-again, off-again feud that Stephanie Forrester and Brooke Logan would have throughout the show’s 25-year history.  At some point, Brooke ends up falling in love with Ridge, and this leads to one of the biggest on-again, off-again romances seen in the history of daytime drama.

Of course, not everyone was thrilled with the idea of Brooke and Ridge finding their happily ever after.  Their biggest obstacle, as I said was Stephanie Forrester, and one thing I will say about her is that you don’t want to mess with this woman, for she is capable of doing much damage to her enemies.  Take a look at the clips below to see what I mean.


Of course, Brooke wasn’t exactly Little Miss Innocent in the series either.  In fact, I’m kind of surprised that she isn’t wearing a permanent scarlet letter around her neck for some of the things she’s done over the years.  Oh, sure, she’s made a name for herself in the fashion world, inventing a non-wrinkle fabric innovation called BeLieF, and starting up several lines for the company, including a controversial lingerie line.  But, it’s just a shame that her personal life has overshadowed these legitimate accomplishments.  Let’s open up Brooke’s closet and see what pops up.

Between 1987 and 2012, Brooke Logan has...

-      Gotten married to Ridge countless times

-      Gotten married to three of Ridge’s family members (Brooke was married to Eric Forrester, and Ridge’s two half-brothers, Thorne Forrester and Dominick Marone)

-      Had an affair with her daughter’s husband, resulting in the birth of her daughter Hope

-      Married at least two other men (Whip Jones and Grant Chambers)

-      Accidentally slept with her daughter’s boyfriend during a masquerade party




-      Was lead to believe that she had slept with her stepson after ingesting strange berries



I only WISH I was kidding about those last two storylines, but alas, they really did happen.

Oh, but don’t think that Stephanie was entirely innocent either.  Not only did she lie about Ridge’s true paternity for forty some years (his real father was some guy named Massimo Marone), but she also had just as many sordid scandals as Brooke did.  Stephanie indirectly caused Brooke to get raped.  Stephanie almost murdered Brooke at a mountain cabin (though to be fair, she had just broken Thorne’s heart at the time).  Stephanie even lied about having a heart attack to break up Brooke and Ridge!  And, I found the aftermath of that storyline down below!


Of course, one can say that Brooke simply brought out the worst in Stephanie.  At least Stephanie could always count on her frenemy, Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley) to be there for her.


Or maybe not.

Oh, but she also has the support of her ex-daughter-in-law Taylor Hayes Forrester (Hunter Tylo) too, right?


Actually, scratch that too.

Oh, wait, there’s her friendship with Jackie Marone (Lesley-Anne Down).


You know what, FORGET IT!  J

By all accounts, the show does appear to be a bit messy, don’t you think?  It’s campy, it’s unpredictable, it’s unbelievable...it’s almost like you’re watching an episode of Jerry Springer, only all the guests are decked out in Armani suits and dresses by Stella McCartney.  However, it is a formula that has proven to be wildly successful all over the world.

“The Bold and the Beautiful” is the most-watched daytime soap opera in the entire world.  With an estimated worldwide audience of 26 million people on any given day, the program can be seen in well over fifty countries, and is translated into several different languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, and Swedish, just to name a few.

TRIVIA:  The show is reportedly so popular in Italy that the show has filmed on location there several times.  Ronn Moss even competed in the Italian version of “Dancing with the Stars”!

The show has also been successful in its home country as well.  It’s consistently scored at the #2 most watched daytime drama for years, and has won thirty-one Daytime Emmy Awards during its 25-year history, including the award for Outstanding Drama Series for three consecutive years in 2009, 2010, and 2011!

“The Bold and the Beautiful” has had some crossovers with its sister show “The Young and the Restless”.  Several characters have crossed over to both shows at some point.  Sheila Carter, Deacon Sharpe, Amber Moore, Lauren Fenmore, and many other characters have once called both Y&R and B&B home. 


And, believe it or not some famous faces have popped in on the show to play roles as either themselves or as someone else.  Mario Lopez and Lark Voorhies from Saved By The Bell both had contract roles on the soap at one time.  Phyllis Diller has made several cameos on the program for years now.  Wonder Years star Alley Mills currently plays Stephanie’s whacked-out sister, Pam Douglas.  Finally, television’s it-girl, Betty White once played the role of Stephanie’s mother, Anne.  Here’s proof below.


So, whether you like soap operas or hate them, one thing is clear.  With shows like “The Bold and the Beautiful” going on strong for twenty-five years and counting, clearly there is still an audience for programs like this. 

Though, even I admit just by watching clips for the sole purpose of writing this blog, the show itself is wacky and unbelievable.

Although, I suppose that’s the point of soap operas...to escape the humdrums of daily life to a fantasy world.

Or, in the case of “The Bold and the Beautiful”, a world where the decisions that other people make on the show somehow make you feel a lot better about your own levels of intelligence and common sense.

Happy birthday, B&B!



Thursday, March 22, 2012

How "Resin" Almost Hardened My Heart

I have always enjoyed writing.  Even when I was a youngster, I was always scribbling away on sheets of paper.  Sure, my ‘R’s looked a little bit weird, and sometimes I wrote the letter ‘N’ backwards, but I still enjoyed writing.


I think that was the one constant throughout the first nineteen years of my lifespan.  No matter what the situation, I was always writing things down.  Although my daily journal in first grade was mostly made up of fictional events and dreams that I had, I still enjoyed doing them (probably one of the only things I actually got out of first grade, matter of fact). 

Throughout school, I always managed to do quite well with creative writing assignments, book reports, and any other project that involved writing.  Projects like those came easy to me.  Just yesterday, I talked about how I wrote and drew my own picture books for my third grade class to read, and that was just one example.  If the assignments involved writing in some manner, I had the confidence to get that A+ grade paper. 

I do believe that the various teachers that I had in elementary school saw potential in my writing abilities as well, because from second grade to eighth grade, I was placed in the advanced English curriculum for elementary school students.  There weren’t many kids in the group.  I think of the average twenty-seven student classroom, a third of us were in the advanced program.  But, I didn’t mind it much, because the kids in the accelerated program did a whole bunch of cool activities associated with them.  Sure, it involved a lot of extra class work, and a lot of writing, but as someone who loved writing, I was really in my element.

I even won the Grade 8 faculty award for English when I graduated from elementary school seventeen years ago.

(Wow...I graduated elementary school seventeen years ago...now, I feel old...)


During high school, my writing interests were unfortunately stagnated by the fact that I never really had much of an outlet to bring them forth.  Unlike many high schools in the area, my high school never really had much of a high school newspaper.  And, I imagine that if it had, the majority of the paper would be devoted to sporting events and fundraising drives (neither of which really piqued my interests).  Sure, there were a couple of ideas to bring forth a school newspaper during my time there, but ultimately, the plan didn’t come to be, due to a lack of participation. 

So, during high school, I mostly did my writing outside of school hours.  I wasn’t exactly the most social of high school students, so I spent a lot of time by myself, just writing away.  Although during my high school career, I did manage to enter a couple of writing contests, where at the very least, I placed an honourable mention for competing.  But, during high school, I really wish I had more of an opportunity to use my writing skills to their maximum potential.

In fact, it wasn’t really until I graduated high school, and enrolled in my brief stint at university (which is another story altogether), that I had the ability to really showcase my work.  But, this is where the Thursday Confession takes an interesting twist.  And, I realize that this confession will completely contradict everything that I wrote in my opening paragraph.  So, I’m just going to come out with it.


THURSDAY CONFESSION #12:  I almost gave up writing after a terrible personal experience.

Yes.  You’re reading this statement correctly.  I almost gave up writing.  An incident happened to me while I was enrolled in my short-lived university stint that left me feeling so hurt, and so betrayed, and so angry that I swore to myself that I would never write anything ever again.

The weird thing about it is that the decision that I came close to making had nothing to do with unconstructive criticism, or even constructive criticism.  Anyone who knows me very well knows that as far as my writing abilities are concerned, I am open to most kinds of criticism.  As long as people are respectable in their opinions, I will listen.  In a lot of cases and in my experience, it turns out their points were valid, and helped me become a better writer as a result.

No, to begin this tale of betrayal and broken promises, we have to go back in time a dozen years.

It was September 2000, and the beginning of the school year.  I was trying to get adjusted to being away from home for the first time in my life, and I was basically a small fish in a gigantic ocean.  Though, it was strange...unlike the stench of insecurity and obnoxiousness that permeated the corridors of my high school, the university residence halls were filled with friendliness, compassion, and kindness.  I had never experienced those feelings at any point during my formative years.  As a result, I admit that I may have let my guard down for the first time in who knows how long.  And, ultimately, I think that probably contributed to what eventually happened that made me almost hang up my pens for good.



Anyway, a couple of people were looking at the bulletin board hanging up in the main hallway of my residence floor.  This was a board where work study program applications, upcoming floor parties, and university campus clubs advertised events.  As it so happened, one of the posters on the board advertised two of the campus newspapers, and both were looking for writers.  One of them was The Charlatan, which was the main newspaper of the university campus.  However, I was warned ahead of time by some upper-years that it was very difficult for first-year students to get their work published in there, so I dismissed that idea.   But the listing for The Resin - the newspaper delivered to students who lived in residence -  looked promising.  So, when the meeting was called in the cafe downstairs, I decided to go, to check it out.

And, I will say this.  From the first meeting, I was automatically blown away at how much opportunity there was to write.  The newspaper was run by students, and printed for students.  The newspaper covered a wide variety of subjects and topics that seemed interesting.  And, plus, you could also score free CD’s and go to movie premieres, provided you wrote a review for them.


And that’s what I did.  My first couple of months writing for The Resin helped add to my music collection.  The first CD review I did for that newspaper was “Maroon” by the Barenaked Ladies, and I guess the staff really liked it.  They liked it so much that they started to assign more CD reviews to me.  I reviewed albums by Great Big Sea, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Everclear, The Tea Party, and some other lesser known Canadian bands.  Eventually, I graduated to reviewing concert performances.  In one month alone, I saw performances by Blue Rodeo, and Wide Mouth Mason.  In the case of the latter, I ended up interviewing the band for an exclusive feature!  Those first few months that I wrote for The Resin were some of the best times I can ever recall.

I would estimate that before the Christmas break, I wrote about thirty articles for the newspaper alone.  Most of them were CD and concert reviews.  I ended up doing a few movie reviews during my time there, and I believe that I even wrote a few front page news articles for the publication.  I guess the only gripe that I had with my time there was that my work was largely ignored by the people who lived in residence.  Although The Resin was free to every residence student, nobody really read it.  I think I actually remember one person throwing their copy in the trash without reading it, which happened to be the one and only issue where a story I wrote was the dominant front page story.


Ouch.

But, you know, back in those days, it didn’t matter to me if people read my work.  The fact that I even had something in print gave me the illusion that I did have something good enough to publish.  As long as I had the desire and the will to keep on writing, I figured that my break would come.  I even sacrificed my weekends to work on the newspaper by copy editing and designing advertisements for businesses who sponsored the paper.  That’s how much I loved working for that newspaper. 

Or, rather, volunteering for the newspaper.  I never got paid for my work the first few months.  But, that was fine.  I could always use it as a reference for volunteering, and I had so much fun helping with the newspaper that I didn’t need to be compensated financially for it (though as a broke university student, it would have helped greatly, I admit).

As the calendar changed from 2000 to 2001, I was on top of the world.  I had done not too badly on my mid-term exams, and I still had a blast writing for the Resin.  But, then something happened that before the end of the school year was out, would have me taking back every bit of praise that I had for The Resin forever.

It all began in January 2001 when one of the editors resigned from his position.  The position of co-editor was posted, and I thought that I would apply for the job, just because I had the experience with working on the paper.  Unfortunately, the job went to another person who was a year ahead.  My disappointment was evident, but I kind of figured that I wouldn’t get the position anyway, so I wasn’t broken up about it.

Just one week later, we had our staff meeting in our usual place, and I was asked by the current editors to stay behind at the meeting.  Turns out that the editors knew I had applied, and apologized to me for not getting the job, and they came up with a proposition.  They worked out a deal with the university residential offices on campus to start paying me for my services effective January 11, 2001.  I absolutely jumped at the opportunity, thinking that all of my hard work had finally paid off.

But, as the weeks turned into months, I quickly learned how much a promise by The Resin was worth.

February 3 – After nearly four weeks, I still had not gotten any sort of payment from The Resin, so I asked the editors what was happening.  They assured me that money was on the way, but that it would be in the form of a lump sum payment.  That should have been a red flag moment for me, but as I was still wearing rose-coloured goggles at that time, I took their word to be gospel, so I waited.

By the February reading week, I still had not heard anything, but again, like a lot of other students, I went home during that time.  In all likelihood, the offices for The Resin were closed during that week, so it would have been a waste of time to try.

By the first of March, 2001, I was losing patience.  I still had not been paid a dime since I was promised that I would be.  Two months had passed, and still nothing.  It was beginning to be very frustrating.  At this time, the positions for editors were posted.  I had come to the conclusion that the current pair of editors that we had at the time would be moving off campus the following year, and since I was planning to stick around residence, I figured that I would apply for the job.  With my experience working for the newspaper, plus all the work I did for the paper, I was a shoo-in.  And, had I gotten the position, then maybe I could be persuaded to overlook the fact that the company had seemingly forgotten the first promise they made me.

Well, guess what?  I didn’t get the editor position.  And, guess what?  The people who did get the positions were the same people who ran the paper the year before.  I was thinking to myself “what was the point of even having the interview if the same people were going to be hired anyway?”

By this point, the rose-coloured glasses were yanked off and smashed on the ground.  I was fed up with being used and mistreated and lied to by an organization that gave me the runaround for two months.  I typed out a scathing letter of resignation to the editors of the newspaper, and I did not hold back.  I certainly didn’t use profanity or salty language, but I definitely was not writing a letter that was filled with sunshine or rainbows.  I was incredibly furious, and I let it all out.  I wanted them to know my anger.

But once I had sent the letter, it didn’t make me feel any better about myself.  Especially when I got a reply from one of the editors in response to it.  Upon first glance, it seemed as though the editor was trying to defend the reputation of The Resin...but reading between the lines, I could tell that she was really hurt by it.  Back then, I wanted an outlet to get all the pain and hurt that I was feeling out of there.  It’s only now that I see that the way I handled it was not the right way to go.  I should have hashed it out in a meeting behind closed doors rather than handle it the way that I had, and I do regret it. 

But, two weeks after that incident, I had gotten a call from the same editor in my dorm room, where she informed me that there was something waiting for me at The Resin offices.  I was warned by a couple of my friends to ignore the request, as the paper had already caused me enough frustration, but I needed to have closure once and for all.  So, I went to the offices one final time, and I had thought that it was the lump sum payment that I had been promised almost three months earlier.  I admit that I felt bad for how the situation had soured, but at the very least, I was getting what I had asked for, so in a way, I had felt it was a bittersweet victory.

But then I saw the amount that was written on the cheque, and my eyes bugged out...and not in a good way.  I’ll put it to you like this.  Just based on the amount of hours that I spent working on the newspaper over the last three months in both writing articles and copy editing, I reckon that I ended up making a little less than ninety-seven cents an hour.

97 cents an hour.

And, so, after getting the cheque, I walked back up to my residential floor, walked inside the storage room on the floor, and in the darkness collapsed on the floor and burst into tears.  It may sound a bit melodramatic upon retrospect, but I had spent so much time and energy on that newspaper, and for it to end so badly, I was absolutely exhausted.

As a result of this terrible experience, I swore to myself that I would never write another article, story, or limerick ever again.  If all that it led to was hurt feelings and getting screwed over, I wanted no part of it.  I was done with writing for good, and I had a brief period where I no longer enjoyed writing anymore.  That’s how negative of an experience it was at the time.

To me, the fact that I had finally gotten paid after getting the runaround wasn’t the issue.  Many of the people who lived on my floor told me that I should have just ripped up the cheque, and that the final payment that I had gotten was insulting.  But, you have to understand that during this time, I was a broke university student.  I didn’t feel any guilt for using The Resin’s money to do some laundry, or buy food.  The little payment that I did get, I was owed anyway.  I think I was more hurt and betrayed by the fact that an organization that I once looked up to and respected really used me to their advantage.  In the end, I was left looking like a fool.  If only they hadn’t had made that offer to pay me in the first place, things would have ended so differently.  I was enjoying what I was doing for free, and I was already getting a lot out of the job, such as free CD's and writing experience.  But because they made that offer, and reneged on their promise until I spoke up and said something, that experience was ruined for me.  I find that to be the most unforgivable part of that whole experience.

But, on the positive side, that was a learning experience.  I learned many lessons from that time in my life.

1 – I learned that when somebody makes a promise...GET IT IN WRITING

2 – I learned that when resolving a conflict to not let emotions get in the way

3 – I learned not to let one bad experience sour me on my dreams


That third lesson is arguably the most important one.  A few months later, 9/11 happened, and I was inspired to write an article about the effect it had on online communities.  Instead of going to The Resin, I pitched my idea to The Charlatan, and to my surprise, it was put in the newspaper as a feature article.  It was nice to see, and that moment helped me realize that writing was something that I still wanted to do.

The epilogue of the story is quite complicated.  I now realize that the fault of what happened to me in regards to The Resin scandal of 2001 was solely at the feet of the organization that printed the paper.  I realize that the editors weren’t exactly blameless, but I do also realize that I don’t blame them as much as I used to.  I honestly believe that they were merely pawns in the chess game that was being played with me by the owners of The Resin.  I actually hope that one day, I can run into the former editors once more, so that we can finally have the conversation that we should have had eleven years earlier.  But, when I left The Resin, I did come to a point of mutual understanding with the editors, so at least I can say that something positive came out of it.

It’s funny though.  I was used by The Resin, and as far as respect went, I certainly didn’t get much given to me, but as badly as it ended, I still have some fond memories from that time.  I never would have gone to concerts if not for them.  I wouldn’t have interviewed people if not for them.  I actually believe that I became a better writer from my time there.  Of course, most of those good times occurred before 2001, but still, those good memories are all that I have to hold on to, because they prevent me from becoming bitter over the experience.

Because let’s face it, the subject of bitterness makes for difficult writing.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A Crayola Kid For Life!





I can’t think of a single time in my life where I did not have at my disposal some sort of writing utensil and a stack of paper.

I’m being serious here.  Some of my fondest childhood memories involved heading down to the local department store, and practically begging my parents to shell out the loose change they had to buy a bundle of lined paper and a package of crayons, markers, coloured pencils, whatever.  When I was growing up, I would be constantly creating various arts and crafts.  Most boys my age were playing with Transformers, WWF action figures, and Micro Machines.  I was just as content with a doodle pad and a ball point pen.  I loved drawing pictures, and scribbling in margins, and illustrating my own picture books.

I still have this fond memory of life in third grade.  When I was in the third grade, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were one of the most popular television shows in the world, and I was a huge fan.  I was such a fan that I would often design and draw my own Ninja Turtles picture books.  Most of the time, I was finished in-class assignments early, so I took the free time that I was given to draw my creations. 

I regret to say that I no longer have these books that I created.  Third grade was twenty-two years in the past and sadly I think I accidentally tossed them in the garbage.  It honestly didn’t matter much, because as to be expected with 9-year-olds, my artwork was quite childlike, and my vocabulary wasn’t exactly huge.  But, I did spell the names of all the turtles correctly, so at least I had that going for me.  And for what it’s worth, I remember asking my teacher, Mr. Porter, if I could display my “books” on the book reading table for the rest of the class to read.  He agreed, and I was surprised to see so many of the kids in my class taking a peek at them.  Whether it was to make fun of them, or whether they were really interested in them, I can’t really say.  But, I did have the claim to fame in that I was the only self-published author in my third grade class.  At least that’s something, right?

But, this blog topic isn’t about self-publishing.  Nor is it about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  But it is about a subject in relation to these two topics.

After all, in order to create these books on a subject I absolutely adored in my childhood, I needed to have good, quality art supplies, right?  I needed to have supplies that were durable and long-lasting enough to last me several hundred pages, but yet still provided bright colours, sharp images, and just overall fun.


Enter the wonderful world of Crayola crayons, markers, poster paints, and coloured pencils.


I can’t remember a time in which I didn’t love Crayola products.  One of my earliest memories of Crayola products comes from my very early childhood.  Back in those days, I used to love McDonald’s Happy Meals (these days, I hardly ever go inside a McDonald’s), partly because of the fact that inside each one, there was a special treat.  And one year, McDonald’s gave out Crayola art supplies.  It wasn’t much, just one marker, or a package of three crayons.  But, when I reached inside the Happy Meal box and pulled out the bright red marker inside, I was instantly a fan.  I think I coloured with that red marker until the whole thing dried out.

Over the years, I have owned several Crayola products, and I have so much to say about the Crayola products that have made appearances in my lifetime so far...but before I go into that, why not have a little bit of a history lesson behind the creation of Crayola, and how it evolved over the years.


The year was 1885.  In New York City, cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith (whose names were printed on the labels of every Crayola crayon for a number of years) started up the company, only back in those days, the company was simply known as Binney & Smith. 

It may surprise some of you to know that when the company was first founded, it wasn’t initially a company that made art supplies.  Instead, it focused on the manufacturing of industrial dyes and pigments.  Some of the earliest products that the company manufactured at first were red iron oxide pigments for use in barn paint, as well as carbon black chemicals that were not only used to make tires black, but to also increase the lifespan of the tires.

In 1900, the company started manufacturing the first of what would become many writing utensils, the slate school pencil.  Four years later, the company invented the first “dustless” white chalk, which would win a gold medal at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair!

And, it was right around that time that Binney and Smith would end up creating their flagship product, as well as the popular name associated with the product.

It began in 1902, when Binney and Smith developed the Staonal marking crayon.  Shortly after that, Edwin Binney and his wife, Alice Stead Binney, started the development on a line of wax crayons.  The crayons were first sold on June 10, 1903, and originally came in eight colours.  These colours were red, yellow, blue, orange, green, violet, brown, and black.

But instead of having the product go under the Binney and Smith name, a new name was coined.

Crayola.


The origin for the name was originated by Alice Stead Binney, and the name came from two sources.  The “Cray” came from the French word for chalk, ‘craie’.  The “Ola” came from the word oily (to simulate the feel of the wax crayon).  Put them together, and you have Crayola!

Originally, the crayons would only come in eight colours, but by 1905, there were several packages of various sizes to be had.  Various packages that could be bought at the time were counts of 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 24, 28, and 30 (of these, only 8’s, 16’s, and 24’s are sold today).  In 1926, Crayola purchased the Munsell Color Company product line, and as a result, twenty-two new colours were added to the Crayola line-up.  Additional colours included carnation pink, grey, peach (then called flesh), and various mixtures of colours including blue-green, blue-violet, and red-orange, among others.    A few years later, Crayola combined its lineup with Munsell’s colours to create a Drawing Crayon 52 Color Assortment.  In 1949, Crayola introduced the 48 count, the first box to be featured in a non-peggable floor box.  Nine years later, the company would bring out its first 64 count box, with a built in crayon sharpener!

As of 2012, the popular crayons can be bought in 8’s, 16’s, 24’s, 48’s, 64’s, 96’s, and 120’s.  A 150 count package in a telescope shaped case was introduced in 2006, which contains all 120 current colours, plus special Metallic and Glitter crayons.


Other products that the company has made over the years include markers (introduced in 1978, with washable ones produced since 1987), coloured pencils (introduced in 1987), and various other products including glue, construction paper, calligraphy pens, poster paint, erasers, and even safety scissors!  I still remember the gift of a Crayola caddy that I received for a Christmas gift, and using the poster paint to...ahem...decorate my toys!  I still even have a Crayola crayon gift set with collectable case that I got back in 1991!  And, I still use it today!

When you look at it, there’s a lot of history that is associated with the various colours that Crayola has introduced in its over 100-year history, and I thought I’d take this time to share some of those trivia facts about the crayons (and all things Crayola for that matter) with all of you.

1 – For all the Crayola crayon colours that have existed over the years, there are some colours that are not retired.  The list of thirteen Crayola crayons that are no longer manufactured are;


Lemon Yellow, Navy Blue, Teal Blue, Thistle, Mulberry, Maize, Blizzard Blue, Violet-Blue, Blue-Grey, Orange-Yellow, Green-Blue, Magic Mint, and Raw Umber.

2 – Eight of the Crayola Crayons listed above were retired in 1990.  The eight colours replacing them were Wild Strawberry, Vivid Tangerine, Dandelion, Jungle Green, Cerulean, Royal Purple, Fuchsia, and ironically enough, Teal Blue!


3 – Binney & Smith acquired the rights to Silly Putty in 1977.

4 – Some Crayola colours were renamed due to cultural or sensitivity issues.  These colours include;

Flesh to Peach

Indian Red to Chestnut

Prussian Blue to Midnight Blue

5 – A Yale University study concluded that the scent of Crayola crayons is one of the twenty most recognizable scents for adults.  It came in at #18, beating out bleach and cheese!


6 – A commemorative postage stamp with a picture of a box of Crayola crayons on it was issued in 1998, for the 95th anniversary of the invention of the product.

7 – A Crayola Colour Census was held in 2000, where Americans could vote on what their favourite colour was.  Blue came in first place in the poll, followed by Cerulean and Purple Heart.  (As for my favourites, I’m torn between Cerulean and Royal Purple).


8 – In October 2003, The Crayola Factory (a museum and visitor center that opened up in Easton, Pennsylvania five years earlier) unveiled the “World’s Largest Crayon”.  The blue crayon, made in celebration of the crayon’s 100th birthday, weighed fifteen hundred pounds and measured fifteen feet in length.  The crayon itself was made using leftover crayon shavings and bits sent in by children all over the United States.

9 – Some of the current Crayola crayons were named by fans of the crayon, in particular with the Metallic FX series.  Some of the colours named by fans include such names as Blast Off Bronze, B’dazzled Blue, Metallic Seaweed, and Illuminating Emerald.

10 – Specialty crayons have been created over the years in stand-alone packages.  They include Silly Scents (scented crayons), Heads and Tails (a crayon with two different coloured ends), Crayola Twistables, True to Life, Color Mix-Up, Pearl Brite, Gem Stones, Silver Swirls, and Changeables (colour-changing crayons).

I think that’s all the information that I have to say about Crayola crayons and other Crayola products.

I have always loved Crayola products.  When I designed those picture books in third grade, I didn’t use anything else but Crayola products.  Crayola markers, Crayola crayons, if the brand name was Crayola, I knew I could count on it to be good.  Even now, if I have to make an art project, I always gravitate towards Crayola art supplies.  While Crayola products remind me of childhood, and a carefree time in which colouring pictures was all that I needed to use them for, I love using them now as an adult.  They’re still high quality, they’re affordable, and they have more colour choices than ever before.

My name is Matthew W. Turcotte, and I am a Crayola kid for life!