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Sunday, May 06, 2012

A Sunday Jukebox Smorgasbord


I have some wonderful news to share with all of you today!

After nearly a year of writing this blog, I am happy to announce that The Pop Culture Addict’s Guide To Life has won its first blogging award!  YAY!


The award is called “The Liebster Blog Award”, and I guess you could describe it as a People’s Choice Award within the blogging community.  It is given to bloggers by bloggers, and this award came courtesy of my blogging buddy M.E. Franco.  If you click here, you can get linked to her blog.  She is not only a blogger, but a published author as well.  In fact, there’s links to her blog where you can buy some of her books including her novel “Where Will You Run?”

I’m honoured to accept this award.  And, the only condition is that I have to now recognize five other bloggers with this award in order to accept it.  So, I will be sharing blog love with the following bloggers.  Just click on the blogger names to link directly to it.

Heidi Powers’ blog is called “Finishing The Hat”, which could very well be one of the coolest self-improvement blogs I’ve ever read.  It mixes wit with great advice and tips on staying healthy.

Rev.Ron Swanson is a man after my own heart.  His blog deals with various movie reviews, and one thing I’ll say about him is that he is quite accurate with his selection.

I’ve always been a fan of Archie Comics, so I have to link to an Archie themed blog.  This one is for Zack Ziggster (whether it’s his real name or not, only he will decide).

Mark David is probably the man who has helped me improve traffic on my own blog with his advice.  Whenever he has thoughts on his mind, he’ll have the honesty and courage to post them as is.  Whether you agree or disagree, it’s definitely worth the read.

And, last but not least, Frank Balara, a man who balances writing projects with fatherhood, and who seems to be doing a bang-up job on both!

Now, all you have to do to accept this award is the following:

-      Show thanks to the blogger who awarded you by linking back to their blog
-      Pick 5 blogs with less than 200 followers and let them know about your nomination by leaving them a comment on their own blog
-      Post the award on your blog

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  Well, it is!

And now, onto today’s entry.

Initially, my plan was to talk about a single artist, but given recent events, I feel it necessary to sneak in another song by a completely different group, because I wanted to have a little memoriam in honour of this person.

I’m sure that many of you who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s knew who the Beastie Boys were.  The three-man group consisted on Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz, and Adam “MCA” Yauch.  Since the Beastie Boys formed in 1979, they released several hit singles over the course of their career including “Hey Ladies”, “So What ‘Cha Want”, “Sabotage”, “Intergalactic”, and this classic smash released on February 22, 1987.


You gotta fight, for your right, to paaaaaaarty!

Although I never got to see them in concert, or even owned many of their albums, it’s hard to deny the vast contribution that the Beastie Boys made in the world of music.  They changed the face of rap music forever, and sold upwards of 40 million albums worldwide.  When you consider that their big break was being the opening act for Madonna in 1985, that’s when you knew that they had made it big.

But on May 4, 2012, Beastie Boys fans all over the world were left saddened and heartbroken, as one of the members passed away.

Diagnosed with cancer in 2009, Adam Yauch fought the disease for three long years.  He passed away just two days ago...a mere three weeks after the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He was just 47 years old.

So, for the first part of this blog entry, I’d like to dedicate this portion of today’s entry to Adam “MCA” Yauch, thanking him for his musical talents over the years.  He will be greatly missed.


Adam Yauch
1964-2012

As of right now, there is no word on whether or not the Beastie Boys will continue making music.  I imagine that for now, both Mike D and Ad-Rock are grieving the loss of their bandmate and friend.  On one hand, I could definitely see the surviving members of the band putting out a tribute album in memory of MCA...but on the other, I don’t know if anything like that would even be on the cards. 

It’s hard to say at this time what the future of the Beastie Boys will be.  However, my prediction is that after a few months, or even longer than that, they’ll be back in the recording studio.  A lot of bands have gone on to huge success after a member of their band passes away.  Chicago singer Terry Kath accidentally took his own life in the late 1970s, and yet the band managed to have hits well into the 1990s.  INXS regrouped after the death of lead singer Michael Hutchence, and found a suitable replacement with J.D. Fortune.

And then there’s the (originally intended) subject of today’s blog.  And this case is unique for a couple of reasons.  One, the group is one that you likely never heard of if you happen to live in Canada or the United States (but if you live overseas, you’ve likely heard all their songs).  And secondly, the group also had to deal with the loss of one of their members to cancer...and in this case, the group was a pair of sisters.  Losing your singing partner is bad enough...but when the singing partner was your sister, you’d find it hard to find the courage to find your way back on stage, wouldn’t you?

Try telling that to Kim Appleby.


Kim Appleby was one-half of the successful Stock, Aitken & Waterman produced duo “Mel and Kim”.  And, Mel and Kim first burst onto the music scene with this song.


ARTIST:  Mel and Kim
SONG:  Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend)
ALBUM:  F. L. M.
DATE RELEASED:  September 20, 1986
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #78

Yes, I know.  The song didn’t do so well on the American charts (though it did hit #1 on the dance music charts).  However, in the UK, the song peaked at #3 in November 1986, making it the first of several hits for Mel and Kim in the United Kingdom. 

TRIVIA:  Showing Out was originally offered to Bananarama, but they turned it down.


For nearly three years, Mel and Kim were a huge act, and between 1986 and 1989, they managed to sell three million copies worldwide of their debut album, had four UK top ten hits, and one UK #1 smash (with 1987’s Respectable).  And, I’m sure that they would have continued to do well on the charts had Melanie Appleby not gotten sick.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

I imagine that you might want to know which sister was which.  If you watch the above music video, Mel’s the one wearing the red hat, while Kim wore the black hat.  And, contrary to what you might think, the Appleby sisters are not twins.  Kim was born in 1961, Mel born in 1966.

They both grew up in London, and in 1985, Mel Appleby had decided that she wanted to embark on a career in music.  At the age of nineteen, she recorded two solo demo tapes under the management of Alan Whitehead.  The producers fell in love with Mel’s voice, but they also felt that her voice would work better if it were paired up with another vocalist.

Mel asked her older sister Kim if she wanted to sing some songs with her, and Kim agreed to it.

Throughout 1985 and 1986, Mel and Kim recorded at least five demos to be shopped around to record producers.  One of the songs the duo reportedly recorded for their demo was the song “Wild And Crazy Love”, originally done by the Mary Jane Girls.

The demos ended up doing the trick.  The girls were immediately signed with Supreme Records, and then president of the record company, Nick East, hooked them up with Stock, Aitken & Waterman, who would also produce songs for Rick Astley, Samantha Fox, Donna Summer, and Kylie Minogue.

Originally, the debut single for Mel and Kim was planned to be “System”, but producers didn’t feel that it was powerful enough for consideration on the charts.  It later became the B-side for what would become their debut “Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend).

Throughout 1986 and 1987, Mel and Kim’s popularity grew in the United Kingdom.  Because Mel had worked as a glamour model prior to starting her singing career, many fashion magazines reported on the group’s sense of style, which was emulated by the British public almost as much as Madonna’s look was.  With their debut album flying off the shelves, it seemed as though Mel and Kim had found their groove.

But in June 1987, things would take a stunning turn.


That month, Mel and Kim were doing a promotional tour in Japan when Mel Appleby started feeling incredible pain in her lower back.  She had been complaining of back problems for a few months prior, but by 1987, it was taking a toll on her.  At first, Mel and Kim had believed that Mel had simply had a spinal disc herniation.  But when the duo flew back home from Japan and Mel went to the hospital to get checked out, she got some horrible news.

She had cancer.  Even worse, this had been the second time she was diagnosed with cancer.

When Mel was eighteen, she was diagnosed with liver cancer, but went into remission shortly before starting up Mel and Kim.  But in 1987, the cancer had returned in the form of malignant paraganglioma, and Mel had to undergo chemotherapy immediately following the diagnosis.

It was a rough time for the duo, and both Mel and Kim went into seclusion shortly after while Kim took care of Mel.  As a result of this, Mel and Kim had an unfinished video for their single “F.M.L.”, which had to add clips of them performing at a festival to complete.  And for their 1988 video for “That’s The Way It Is” (pictured below), they didn’t even appear in the video at all. 


There was a reason for this though.  When the song was recorded, Mel temporarily checked herself out of the hospital to record the vocals with Kim for the song.  She was still too sick to do any of the dance steps or perform the song in front of the camera, so a dance crew was brought in as a replacement.

At first, the duo denied that Mel was terminally ill, issuing statements that Mel had a debilitating back injury, which lead to the group taking a break.  But by early 1988, the sisters decided to come clean with the real reason.  In April of that year, Mel and Kim appeared on the “Wogan” show while Mel was still undergoing treatment, as part of “European Cancer Week”, and if you click below you can watch the interview.




Did you notice how brave a face Mel put on during that interview?  That just went to show everyone just how determined she was to battle the disease, and how she never let anyone see her fear.  Her only intent was to beat cancer once and for all and get back in the recording studio with her sister.  Tragically, she would never get that chance.

On January 18, 1990, Melanie Appleby passed away from pneumonia after her immune system was weakened by chemotherapy.  She was only 23 years old.

The loss shook Kim hard.  Kim had been by Mel’s side throughout her battle, and never gave up hope that Mel would beat the cancer.  I can only imagine how devastated she was to have to say goodbye to her sister.

But if you thought that Kim Appleby’s music career was over, think again.

Kim had long believed that the best way to honour her sister’s memory was to continue doing what she loved to do, which was sing.  And Kim had dozens of songs that were written by Mel (which were assumed to have been recorded by the duo for their follow-up album that never came to be).  Kim, with help from her boyfriend at the time, Craig Logan, recorded a solo album, “Kim Appleby”, and the first single off the album happened to hit #2 in November 1990 on the UK charts.


“Don’t Worry” became the first of many solo efforts by Kim Appleby, and almost all of the songs on Kim’s debut album were written by Mel.  It was an album that was largely filled with energetic, toe-tapping songs, but at the same time, they were some of the last words that Mel ever wrote.  Here’s another song that came from the Kim’s solo album, and if you watched the Wogan interview, you might find it a bit familiar.


And, I think that’s the point that I wanted to make with this blog entry.  Well, actually, there’s a couple.

Number one, it’s never easy to say goodbye to someone that you love.  Especially when they succumb to a disease such as Melanie Appleby or Adam Yauch did.  But, as long as we always remember them as well as the work they did while they were here, their legacy never really fades away.  With regards to Mel and Kim, Kim recorded a whole album filled with songs written by Mel, so in a way, Kim was sharing that success with her sister the whole time.  And, with Adam Yauch, millions of people took to Facebook and Twitter to share their thoughts of his passing, and many celebrity faces issued public statements dedicating their love and prayers for Yauch.

But secondly, the lesson that we can take from this blog entry is that it is okay to live our lives after someone passes on.  In fact, I would reckon that almost every dying person’s final wish is that their loved ones are taken care of after they pass away...and this includes living your life to the fullest.  Certainly Adam Yauch and Melanie Appleby did exactly that right up to their dying breaths.

It’s too soon to tell what the future of the Beastie Boys will hold, but for Kim Appleby, she has released a few more solo albums since the death of her sister (her last single release was in 2007), and has done a few interviews in regards to what her life is like now, as well as reminiscing about her sister Mel.  But Kim also found a way to balance the grief she had over losing her sister and maintaining her own happiness along the way.  It can be a very difficult thing to do after losing someone you love, but eventually we all get to a point where it gets easier.  The pain will never go away completely, but somehow you know that things are going to be all right.


“In no time, you’ll be fine, don’t worry”.

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Bill Nye The Science Guy




Science and I did not mix.

When I was in school, science was easily one of my least favourite subjects. I didn't quite understand the difference between inertia and kinetic energy, I bungled up the periodic table of elements on a regular basis, and I didn't particularly like working with bunsen burners for fear that the science experiment that I was working on would explode directly in my face.



My grades in science class were always on the low side. I didn't fail any science classes, but I didn't exactly do well in the subject either. Thankfully, I had lab partners who actually knew what they were doing or else I would have been stuck in high school science forever!

(I make a far better writer anyways.)

At the same time, there were instances in which we would have science tests and quizzes, and have to create science projects in school, and I would be a complete disaster at them. Whenever we had the school science fair where all the seventh and eighth grade students had to create their own science projects for display, my science fair projects were always considered to be among some of the worst ones. I ended up doing a science fair project on how to turn a mirror into a magnet using a makeup mirror from a discarded compact my sister owned, a bolt, and a fridge magnet shaped like the letter “W”.



At least they rewarded me with a participation certificate...

To say that I needed help in making sure that I didn't get an “F” in science class would be an understatement. Problem was, I didn't have a whole lot of options to get me through the pitfalls of science class. My parents were just as clueless about science class as I was, and although one of my siblings went through to become a registered nurse (which meant a lot of science classes for her), she could only help out with the biology portion.

I needed a miracle. And that miracle came on September 10, 1993.



That was the day that the television show “Bill Nye The Science Guy” debuted on PBS (or TVOntario, which was the station that I remember watching it on). Hosted by Bill Nye, the show ran until the spring of 1998, winning nineteen Emmy Awards and producing exactly one hundred episodes in total.



Even after nearly fifteen years since the last episode aired, Bill Nye The Science Guy still airs on some select PBS stations, and many schools all over the United States and Canada still use the program to supplement lesson plans in science curriculums.

This show made all the difference for me in science class. I watched this show religiously during the entire time it aired. I didn't care that I was 17 years old when the show finally aired. If it was helping me pass science, then it had to be good, right?

But, that's exactly what Bill Nye's show did. He made science easy to understand. He made learning about science FUN!



Each program dealt with a particular scientific concept. The episodes covered a wide variety of subjects such as buoyancy, blood and circulation, momentum, energy, and space exploration, and Bill Nye explained things so clearly. He made it easy to understand each of the scientific terms, but he didn't talk down to the viewer. It was absolutely perfect.

I suppose one of the best ways that I could best describe the show is what might happen when you infuse 1990s era MTV with a science lecture. The show itself was made up of quick cuts, flashy visuals, bold colours, and all the other things that were guaranteed to make a 12-year-old tune in.

The show even produced science-themed music videos designed to help kids understand scientific themes. They were more often than not a spoof of a popular song at the time the show aired.

Some examples of this featured the following videos...whether the show was spoofing Nirvana...



...Madonna...



...The B-52's...



...or even Billy Ray Cyrus...



...the show did a fantastic job combining music and science together...even if they seem horribly outdated and cheesy by 2012 standards. But here's a little bit of an admission for you. At times during science class, I ended up playing some of these Bill Nye songs in my brain while I was taking science exams, and believe it or not, it helped me improve my science grade!

But, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Bill Nye was so knowledgeable in the field of science. Don't let the sky blue lab coat and bowtie fool you, this was a man who really knew what he was talking about.



Nye was born on November 27, 1955 in Washington, D.C, and at an early age, he was almost destined to pursue a career in science. His family background was quite impressive, as his father was a prisoner of war during World War II, and his mother worked as a codebreaker during that same war.

Shortly after graduating high school in 1973, he enrolled in Cornell University's mechanical engineering program, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977.

Nye began his career at Boeing Aircraft in Seattle, Washington, where he ended up getting his first taste of what life would be like in front of a camera...as the star of many of the training films that Boeing produced for new employees. But, while he was there, he also ended up doing some fantastic things for the company, including designing a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor, which is currently used in the design of Boeing 747s.

Bill Nye also assisted in the development of a small sundial that was included in the Mars Exploration Rover missions (which had significant meaning considering that his father once made a living selling sundials upon his return home from his POW days). Nye was also the vice president of The Planetary Society for five years, and holds several patents for various scientific inventions including one for ballet pointe shoes!

So, as you can see, Nye wasn't just an actor pretending to be a scientist. He knew his stuff. But it wasn't until 1984 that Bill Nye would start to make an impact in the world of television.

According to the Internet Movie Database, Bill Nye ended up winning a Steve Martin lookalike contest! I myself don't see the resemblance, but maybe when he was younger, he did...whatever the case, this contest ended up kickstarting Bill Nye's desire to become an entertainer in addition to working in the field of science. In 1984, Nye joined the cast of a local sketch comedy show called “Almost Live!” in Seattle, where he first donned the signature lab coat and bowtie. In that sketch, the host of the show mispronounced the word 'gigawatt', and when Nye corrected it, the host responded “Who do you think you are? - Bill Nye the Science Guy?'

The name stuck.

A few years later, Bill Nye ended up joining the cast of the animated series based on the “Back To The Future” trilogy. He wasn't actually animated into the series though...instead he starred in a special live action segment that was hosted by Christopher Lloyd (who of course played Doc Brown in the movies). Here's a clip of Bill in action from the show.



Okay, okay, so Bill didn't exactly speak a word in this segment. But from 1991-1993, that was his job.

Well, until “Bill Nye The Science Guy” came along, that is.

But don't think for a minute that Bill Nye stopped appearing in front of the camera after production wrapped up on the series. He stayed just as busy in front of the camera as he was off screen. In 2005, Bill Nye produced another series for PBS entitled “The Eyes Of Nye”. It was aimed at an older audience, but still focused largely on scientific themed information, as well as discussing politically relevant themes such as global warming and genetically modified food.

Other television appearances that Bill Nye made over the years after “Bill Nye The Science Guy” wrapped up include the following...

  • Portraying a science teacher in the 1998 Disney film “The Principal Takes A Holiday
  • Was the technical expert for the 2000-2002 television series BattleBots
  • Hosted the Science Channel series “100 Greatest Discoveries” from 2004-2005
  • Guest-starred on the television series Numb3rs
  • Made guest appearances on the VH1 reality series “World's Most Smartest Model”
  • A regular contributor to TV Land discussions
  • Is frequently the “Ask The Expert” lifeline in the syndicated version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
  • Countless appearances on various talk shows

That's about all that I have to say about Bill Nye the Science Guy. Not only did he make science fun to learn, but he saved me from getting terrible grades in my own science class.



Bill Nye the Science Guy, I salute you, good sir. Keep on doing what you've been doing.


Friday, May 04, 2012

The Tanner-Gibbler Connection


Today is Friday, and it also happens to be the final day of BEST FRIENDS WEEK.  I hope all of you have enjoyed this theme week.  I know I enjoyed this week.  It’s always nice to talk about the subject of friendship, and I managed to find a friendship theme in each theme day.

But, all good things have to come to an end. 

For the final day of BEST FRIENDS WEEK, I thought I’d put the focus on a pair of teenage girls who happened to be next door neighbours, and who were largely inseparable.


These two girls appeared on the television sitcom “Full House” for its entire eight season run.  One of the girls was a regular from the very beginning, while the other ended up becoming a regular character in 1991.  These two girls might have had some misunderstandings and fights over the years, but despite that, their friendship was absolutely genuine.

It’s just a shame that one girl’s family found the other girl to be the very definition of annoying.


Today’s subject is about the friendship of “Full House” characters Donna Jo “D.J.” Tanner and Kimberly “Kimmy” Gibbler, played by Candace Cameron Bure and Andrea Barber.


D.J. and Kimmy became friends with each other ever since D.J.’s family moved onto Gerard Street in the city of San Francisco, California.  When “Full House” debuted in September 1987, D.J. and Kimmy were both in the fifth grade.  It was a particularly rough time for D.J. Tanner when the series first started.  Her mother, Pam, was killed by a drunk driver earlier that year, and she was still trying to adjust to the loss.  To make matters worse, D.J. found that she was having difficulty adjusting to the new changes in her life.  Her uncle Jesse and Joey had moved in to help her father Danny out with taking care of the house, and as a result of this, D.J. was forced to share her room with her younger sister, Stephanie.

Somehow, D.J. managed to get through it.  And, I think a part of that came from her friendship with Kimmy Gibbler.  Although we never did get an episode of “Full House” that showed D.J. meeting Kimmy for the first time, I’d like to think that Kimmy was right by D.J.’s side when she had to grieve the loss of her mother.  In fact, it very well could have been Kimmy’s support of D.J. through the terrible time in her life that changed their relationship status from neighbours to best friends forever.

Now, you’d think that D.J.’s family would be absolutely supportive of her friendship with Kimmy.  Unfortunately for Kimmy, the opposite ended up happening.  Kimmy was seen as a thorn in the side of the entire Tanner family household, and at some point, Kimmy would end up offending almost everybody in the household.


Danny always saw Kimmy as a slob who kept popping over unannounced.  Joey seemed to be indifferent to Kimmy’s presence, but he too was annoyed by her in certain circumstances.  Jesse and Kimmy had a bit of a love-hate relationship.  Sometimes they aggravated each other, but they also respected each other.  And D.J.’s sisters, Stephanie and Michelle often made fun of Kimmy, and the three of them would usually end up fighting more than anything.  Really, only D.J.’s aunt Becky was the only member of the family to show any kind of respect towards Kimmy.  Not that Kimmy really noticed either way.

And, you know, I can see why they might be annoyed by Kimmy.  Kimmy seemed to spend more time at the Tanner residence than she did her own home.  She ate their food, watched their television, and could clear a room with the offensive odour of her sock feet.  It wasn’t a pretty sight.


But that’s the beauty of their friendship.  D.J. knew that Kimmy Gibbler had her obvious faults, but that didn’t affect their friendship one iota.  D.J. loved Kimmy for who she was, and Kimmy, in turn, did exactly the same for D.J.

Of course, the friendship between Kimmy and D.J. wasn’t exactly perfect all of the time.  These two ended up having quite a few conflicts with each other that could have potentially ended their friendship forever.

Birthdays were a particular sore spot in the friendship of D.J. and Kimmy.  One time, D.J. threw Kimmy a birthday party with the intention of giving her a day to remember.  But when Kimmy brought a couple of junior high girls to the party who didn’t really appreciate her at all, D.J. spoke out against them, and Kimmy ended up leaving her own party, ending the friendship with D.J.  The very next day, Kimmy realized that her new “friends” were only using her, and she and D.J. made up again.


Just a few years later, D.J. was so involved with her new boyfriend that she actually forgot all about Kimmy’s birthday that year.  Knowing that Kimmy had expected D.J. to do something special for her birthday (it was her sixteenth), D.J. managed to throw together a party with the help of her family in just a couple of hours.  Sure, the decorations were from Christmas and Halloween, and the birthday cake was made of ketchup and hash browns, but Kimmy was completely touched, and D.J. would have gotten away with it, had loose lips not been flapping and Kimmy discovered the truth.  Kimmy was deeply hurt, and she fled the party in tears, and D.J. was upset that Kimmy didn’t see the effort she put in.  But after a talk with Danny, D.J. realized that she could have treated Kimmy a little better, and again, they made up.

And then there was the time that D.J. tried to help Kimmy out by making her the sports editor of their high school newspaper with some rather mixed results.  Click HERE to watch a clip.

You mean people DON’T use napkins for word processing?  Who knew?

But, again, you know the drill.  D.J. and Kimmy never stayed mad at each other for long, and they made up.

And, that was always a good thing, because Kimmy and D.J. ended up bailing each other out of some really tricky situations.

Take D.J. for example.  Kimmy Gibbler should count her lucky stars that she had a friend like D.J. to help her out when she needed her.

Some examples include the following;


Kimmy was trying to get a good grade in her Spanish class so she could go to Spain for the summer with D.J., D.J. worked with her to make it happen. 


When Kimmy ended up getting drunk at a fraternity party that she and D.J. were invited to, D.J. took Kimmy home and let her sober up in her bedroom while she slept on the sofa.  Kimmy was initially angry with D.J., but later understood that D.J. saved her life. 

And when Kimmy was depressed about not getting into college and decided to elope with her boyfriend to Nevada, D.J. got her ex-boyfriend to drive her down so she could prevent Kimmy from making the biggest mistake of her life.  Now THAT’S friendship.

And, don’t think that the friendship between D.J. and Kimmy was completely one sided either.  Kimmy ended up being a guardian angel of sorts to D.J. as well.  D.J. and Kimmy teamed up together to deal with a situation involving a bratty kid and a staircase banister.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1kWrXOarRI

(Okay, maybe not the best example.)

But Kimmy helped D.J. hook up with her first boyfriend, Steve.  Kimmy helped D.J. with the “Stay in School” campaign that she started up.  When D.J. and Steve broke up, Kimmy was there for her.  And, when it came time for D.J.’s senior prom, and D.J. ended up without a date, Kimmy stepped in and helped her out in a huge way by convincing Steve to be D.J.’s escort.


D.J. and Kimmy’s friendship on the surface was not much different than friendships between other sitcom characters.  But if you dig a little deeper, you notice that D.J. and Kimmy’s bond was probably one of the strongest friendships on “Full House”.  It was stronger than the bond that Michelle shared with her friends.  It was stronger than the bond that Stephanie had with her friend, Gia.

No, what D.J. and Kimmy had was one hundred per cent genuine friendship.  It didn’t matter to either one of them that they were absolute opposites.  D.J. was quiet and shy while Kimmy was loud and boisterous.  D.J. dressed sensibly and appropriately, while Kimmy’s wardrobe looked as if a box of Crayola crayons barfed all over it.  D.J. was a good student whose grades were almost always stellar, while Kimmy only got good grades by looking off of D.J.’s test papers and homework assignments.

But who knows?  Maybe those differences were the very things that helped cement the friendship.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

The REAL People of Walmart


This Thursday Confession is going to work a little bit differently than others in that I won’t be revealing the confession until the very end of this blog entry.  The reason why this is the case is because I want to set up the confession with a few personal tales about myself.  I did say that this week’s Thursday Confession would be one of my most personal ones to date, and that’s a promise that I intend to keep.

I’m sure that some of you might have seen this video floating around the Internet through YouTube and other video sharing sites.  I debated whether or not to post the video for a couple of days, but decided that it was necessary as part of my confession.

So, here’s the video...but be warned, some of the images in this video range from eccentric to just plain obscene.


The video is based on a particular website known as “People of Walmart”, which basically showcases people all over the United States inside various Walmart locations in all their glory.  Apparently someone decided to write a song about these various people, and as of right now, it has over six million hits on YouTube.

I’ll readily be the first to admit that some of these images are quite shocking and disturbing.  But, again, that’s just my opinion.  To the people in the video, they seem absolutely fine with how they appear, and don’t really care what other people think of them.  I suppose in that aspect, I can respect that about them.  I honestly have to admit that I kind of wish I had that “don’t care” attitude on certain days.

And I get that the song is largely poking fun at these people, but there’s a subtle hint of positivity mixed in with the mark downs, roll backs, and shopping carts, in particular with the bridge of the song.  The first part of that bridge goes “where people are accepted for who they are, where no one’s gonna stop them from following their heart.”

I know it seems a bit crazy to admit this, but that portion of the song is actually a great life lesson to take away.  I’ve never really seen anybody banned from any Walmart based on their physical appearance.  People really are accepted for who they are no matter what they wear.

(Well, all right, I’m pretty sure that most Walmart locations require their patrons to wear pants at least.)


But, this blog entry really isn’t about those people of Walmart.  Rather, I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the ‘Real People of Walmart’...in particular, some of the people who work at Walmart locations all over the world.

And, I suppose that I would be an expert on this subject because my day job happens to be at a Walmart.  Has been for 7 ½ years now.


I’ll admit that there are times in which the job has its highs and lows.  Every job in the world has its challenges, and no job is perfect.  But, since I want to keep this blog on the positive side, I’m not even going to bring up any negativity whatsoever, nor do I want anyone else to do this either.  I realize that people do have strong opinions about the company, but I don’t want that to be the focus of today's entry.

No, I want to instead take the time to recognize the people who are out there stocking the shelves, scanning the items at the register, and running up to the courtesy desk to grab cold pick-ups.


I’ll be the first to admit that when I first started my current job in December 2004, I honestly didn’t think that I would last six months.  The work itself wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t used to working in the world of retail, nor was I used to dealing with the general public.  After all, I did spend quite a number of years isolating myself from the general public, so to say that I was out of touch with customer service would be an understatement.

There was some good news though.  I actually had people around me who were willing to help me out and that helped me deal with the general public a lot better.  Whether it was the girl behind the layaway desk, the cashiers who called for a carry-out, or even some floor associates who helped me find items for customers on the sales floor, it was of huge help to me.  Before, I likely would have gotten frustrated and given up, but these co-workers of mine were quite persistent, and refused to let me do exactly that.

Oh, sure, my time at my job hasn’t all been peaches and cream.  There have been some moments in which I’ve had to deal with some interesting situations.  I bet I’m the only person who has had to dodge flying objects at work aside from being the human target of a knife thrower at the circus.  And, even now, I can laugh about it instead of being bitter.

I attribute that to the patience of the people who I work with. 

You see, when I started my job at Walmart, I was in a really bad place in my life.  I was feeling lonely, depressed, and I didn’t feel as though I had a single friend in the world.  I also had incredibly low self-esteem, and I really didn’t like myself very much. 


And, I’ll be the first to admit that when I began at Walmart, I hardly spoke a word to anybody on the sales floor.  For the first three months or so, I just went in, did the job I was supposed to do, and went home without making the effort to socialize with anyone.  Come to think of it, I think that when I had my three-month evaluation, I was told that I would be staying on, but needed to show more warmth. 

I know...it sounds like such a random comment.  Though, looking back on it, it was true.  I was extremely guarded, and I had trouble trusting people, so I didn’t really share much with anyone for the fear that somehow it would get turned against me.  It likely lead to a few moments in my time at my job that I’m not particularly proud of.

However, some of the people who I worked with during that time were very supportive of me, and despite the fact that I might have come across as cold during my first year there, they still stood by me.  I still remember cracking jokes with door greeters at the front door of the store while I waited for a carry out.  I still remember the shoe department ladies who always had a kind word to say to me every time I walked by there.  Moments like that helped me realize that there were some good people there.  Mind you, since then all of those people have moved on to other careers, but their impact on me was great.

(The actual store I work at!  Well...before the 2012 renovations...)

A little over six years ago, I was moved to the food department after pushing shopping carts in the parking lot for a little over a year, and once I was placed there, I thrived in the excitement.  For one, I worked mostly in the dairy and frozen departments.  It sucked in the winter, but in the summer, I have the coolest job in the whole store. 

Like most jobs in the store, the food area had its challenges and its cons (I still hate it whenever chocolate milk goes on sale).  But it also had a lot of perks.

And one of those perks was having a team who was hugely supportive of me.

Really, I cannot think of a better group of people to work with.  Not everybody in the world can say that they have coworkers that they can absolutely trust, so I consider myself extremely fortunate in that regard.  And through them, I ended up learning a lot about myself.

I learned that I shouldn’t put myself down so much.  I am deserving of having happiness, and I am deserving of having fantastic friends in my life. 

I also learned how to better relate to the public.  You know, treat them the same way that I wanted to be treated.  I’ll admit that I had difficulty with that at first, but with the help of my co-workers, I’m getting better at it.

And, you know what?  I also learned the value of friendship just by working at Walmart (I bet you were wondering how I’d tie this into BEST FRIENDS WEEK, didn’t you?)

Sometimes, I’d have some bad days at work.  And, I went in the next day expecting to get disciplined for it.  But, to my surprise, I found that a lot of people were understanding, and really listened to me.  More importantly, I found that many of them listened in complete confidence.  Granted, some didn’t, and that was on them...but most did.  It made me feel better about myself, and gradually, the bad days became less and less.

Sometimes, I’d make a mistake at work, and as a result, we’d end up getting not enough stock to take us through a big sale.  But, the threat of getting fired was never a concern to me, because my coworkers never allowed me to feel sorry for myself.  Instead, they sat me down, went over things in a calm manner, and offered advice on how to fix the problem.  They didn’t bail me out, but they didn’t leave me hanging either.  Again, this helped improve my confidence.

And, I don’t think I even have to talk about how my coworkers were there for me when I endured a major health scare in 2011.  I’ve talked about it before on this blog this past Valentine’s Day, so I won’t post the details here, but I was off work for two months as a result of it.

They came and visited me in the hospital, called me at home to check up on me, and even sent me a card with well over one hundred signatures!  I come to later learn that some of it was spearheaded by my fellow dairy/frozen coworkers, but the vast majority of the attention given to me were from coworkers who I didn’t really know or work with who were genuinely concerned about me and my well-being.  When I came back to work two months later, everyone welcomed me back with open arms. 

It was in that moment that I realized the truth.  These people were friends.  In fact, I’ll even go one step further.  These were some of the best friends that I have ever had in my whole life.  They stood by me when others turned their backs on me, and they have always been a consistent positive force in my life.  They not only helped teach me what the value of friendship was, but they also became like family to me. 

My dairy/frozen coworkers are like the older brothers that I never had growing up (in some cases, much older brothers, mind you), and I will stand by that statement forever.  They helped me see myself for who I really am, and their friendship means the world to me.


I can honestly say that the vast majority of the people I work with at Walmart are good people.  They are people who work tirelessly to raise money for charitable organizations.  They are the people who set up barbecues and pot luck dinners to raise money for associates who happen to be in a terrible situation.  They are the people who I have done the Walmart Walk for Miracles every summer since 2009.  They are the people who helped me on my weight loss journey, which despite gaining back a few pounds as a result of my surgery I’ve done a good job maintaining.

Most importantly, they are the people who selflessly offered their friendship to someone who didn’t think deserved it...and they are the people who helped this blogger see that there truly are good people out there in this world.

Those are the REAL people of Walmart, as far as I’m concerned.

You know, the people I work with often get a lot of flak.  In some cases, it could be justifiable, but in others, these judgments are made by people who simply don’t want to understand what goes into working at a Walmart, or any retail establishment for that matter.  A lot of times, my coworkers and I have to deal with impossible situations, and for the most part, I am honoured to say that most of my coworkers handle these situations with dignity and class.  I can only speak for my store, of course, but I’m honestly proud to be associated with the group of people that I have worked with over the last 7 ½ years. 

So, to conclude this piece, I will now offer up my confession.

THURSDAY CONFESSION #18:  I have so much pride in my Walmart family (and yes, to me they ARE family).  They are some of the best people that I have ever known in my whole life, and I will stand up for them no matter what.  So, don’t mess with them...or else you’ll have to deal with ME.

That’s all.  J

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Betty and Veronica - Best Frenemies Forever


Way back in September, I wrote a little piece on the concept of a ‘frenemy’, which is best described as two people who support and love each other while simultaneously attempting to discredit them at the same time.  The example that I gave to illustrate this concept back then was Garfield and Odie.  It must have been a great subject, because as of May 2, 2012, it is my most viewed blog entry.

(If you’d like to read that Garfield and Odie article, locate the blog entry dated September 27, 2011.)

For today’s entry, I thought I’d revisit the ‘frenemy’ angle, and talk about a couple of teenage girls (who were really ‘born’ 70 years ago but don’t look a day over sixteen-and-a-half) who also happen to share what one would call a ‘frenemy’ type relationship.

But, wait!  Isn’t this supposed to be BEST FRIENDS WEEK and not BEST ‘FRENEMY’ WEEK?

Yes.  This is very much the truth.  But, what if I told you that there’s a lot more to these girls than you think?  What if I told you that 90% of the time, these two teenage gals love, respect, and have fun with each other?  Even better, what if I actually gave you a direct CAUSE behind why these two friends sometimes backstab each other, or spread catty gossip about each other?

This blog entry is all about the relationship between two of Riverdale High’s most beautiful girls.


Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.

Now, Betty and Veronica have had a rich, detailed history in the world of Archie comics since they were created by artist Bob Montana seventy years ago.  Betty Cooper arrived first, in Pep #22 (the same issue that saw the debut of two other Riverdale pals, Archie and Jughead).  Veronica came a few months later in Pep #26.  While their outfits, hairstyles, and teenage slang may have been updated and modernized over the years, Betty and Veronica have carried their basic personality traits and backgrounds through seven decades.


Let’s look at Betty Cooper for instance.  Betty could very well be considered the girl-next-door type.  She has long blonde hair (which she mostly wears tied back in a ponytail), she is a bright student, she can cook almost any meal in any cookbook from scratch, and she can even repair a car engine without getting her hands covered in oil.  Now that’s talent!  Betty grew up the youngest of three children, and enjoys a typical middle class upbringing in a two-parent household.  Although the Cooper family didn’t have a lot of disposable income, Betty kept a mostly positive attitude.  She took on babysitting jobs, made her own clothes, shopped at discount stores, and basically had fun living on a shoestring budget.


Compare that to the mega spoiled upbringing of Veronica Lodge.  With incredibly dark hair and a wardrobe filled with Paris originals, Veronica’s spending habits have saved the Riverdale Mall from going bankrupt at least a dozen times, if not more.  Much to the chagrin of her wealthy business tycoon father, Veronica takes after her mother in the fine art of credit card splurging.  Veronica isn’t exactly a model student in school, nor would she be caught dead in any of the stores Betty shops at.  After all, she is Veronica Lodge, and she is only used to having the very best money can buy.

So, as you can see, Betty and Veronica are about as different as day and night.  At first glance, you wouldn’t even think that they’d even speak to each other, let alone become best friends.

But, they did.

In fact, I’d have to say that the majority of the time, Betty and Veronica get along quite well.  They go to the mall together, they eat ice cream at Pop’s Chocklit Shop together, they work on class assignments together.  They basically do everything together.


But, don’t think that their friendship is all Brady Bunch like.  Sometimes, Betty and Veronica can get quite competitive with each other.  If both of them happen to enter a beauty contest together, you know that one (or both) will end up falling into a swimming pool at some point.  If both of them are working at the same job at the same business, you know that Veronica will try her best to get one over on Betty.  If both of them are running for school president against each other, you know that they’re not going to make it easy for the other one.  In fact, if you click HERE, you can see what happens when Betty and Veronica tried to run against each other in an election from the 1987 cartoon “The New Archies”.  Pay close attention to the ending of the episode though.  If anything, it will only prove my point.

And the point I want to prove is this.  Betty and Veronica may fight at times, but in almost all cases, they forgive each other because their friendship means more to them than a pageant title, part-time job, or school election.

And when it comes down to it, Betty and Veronica have gone above and beyond to help the other one cope with a problem they may be having, or if they are just in need of a friend.  Here are a few examples that I’d like to point out from various Archie stories that I have read over the years.

-      When Betty was sick with a contagious virus for a week, she was upset that nobody had come to visit her.  Veronica was out of town for a week, and had no idea that Betty was even sick.  When Veronica discovered that she was Betty’s first visitor, she rallied everyone else to send her get well cards and flowers, which cheered Betty up a lot.

-      When Veronica was having difficulty with the fact that her father was losing money, Betty calmed her down.

-      When Betty went to New York to compete in an essay writing contest, Veronica helped expose the scheme of a couple of girls who wanted to sabotage Betty’s chances of winning.

-      When Veronica wanted to stand up against her father when he announced plans to bulldoze a forest for one of his building projects, Betty wasted no time in standing up for her.

-      When Betty’s father ended up losing his job, it was Veronica who helped Mr. Cooper find one, thanks to her talking to her father about it.

-      Whenever Veronica goes on a trip to somewhere in the world, a good portion of the time, she’ll bring Betty along for the trip.

So, as you can see, the friendship between Betty and Veronica is one that I’m sure a lot of people have, or would like to have.  Their friendship has been one of the most enduring ones in the history of comics.  Their friendship survived World War II, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Operation: Iraqi Freedom, and the recession of 2008! 

However, there is one variable out there that prevents Betty and Veronica from having an absolutely perfect friendship.  There’s one little thing that can transform Betty and Veronica’s friendship into an instant rivalry.  Something red that can turn Betty and Veronica green with envy.


Enter Archie Andrews.

You know, looking at Archie up close, it’s a wonder Betty and Veronica seem to have any interest in him at all.  Yes, he seems like a nice boy (and most of the time, he is), and he is, after all, the character whom the publishing company that prints Archie comics is named after. 

Unfortunately, he is the major catalyst in the whole rivalry between Betty and Veronica.

There’s just something about this red-headed, freckle-faced, black and white sweater vest wearing teenager that makes both Betty and Veronica swoon with delight.  Both girls are crazy about him, and they waste no time in letting him know.

But, here’s where the problem lies.  For seventy years, Archie has been cursed with the gift of indecision.  He has not been able to decide whether or not he loves Betty or Veronica more.  And, this has lead to more than a few fights between Betty and Veronica.


More often than not, Betty and Veronica will try to sabotage each other’s chances at getting a date with Archie (though to be fair, the ratio is about 75:25 in favour of Veronica plotting against Betty).  They did almost everything possible to each other include ruining the other person’s fancy clothes, sending them on wild goose chases, and even dressing up as each other to confuse poor Archie to no end.  It was madness to see just how low Betty and Veronica would go to try and win Archie’s heart.


It all came to a head during the “Love Showdown” storyline of late 1994.  Through four different comic book issues (Archie #429, Betty #19, Betty & Veronica #82, and Veronica #39), Betty and Veronica fought against each other tooth and nail, practically forcing Archie to make a choice between them both.  And, Archie made his choice, all right.


He picked the red-headed buxom bombshell Cheryl Blossom.

Cue the steam rising out of the ears of both Betty and Veronica.

Both of them tried so hard to get Archie to notice them, and what was it for?  In the end, Archie Andrews ignored them both just to be with a woman who made a few brief appearances in the 1980s.

If I were Betty and Veronica, I probably would have cut my losses, and left Archie and Cheryl be.  Instead, they chose to be gluttons for punishment and actually teamed up together to break Archie and Cheryl up!

Insanity, thy names are Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.

Though, I suppose if you really looked at it up close, Archie choosing Cheryl seemed to thaw the animosity between Betty and Veronica.  Instead of hating each other, they mended fences and became closer...over their dislike of Cheryl.

So in conclusion, Betty and Veronica’s friendship is a strong one...provided that Archie is millions of miles away.

But, of course, that was 1994.  Eighteen years later, it seems as though Archie and Cheryl’s spark had fizzled, as you don’t really see them dating any more.  But, Cheryl still pops up in the world of Riverdale.  While the animosity between Veronica and Cheryl is still very much present, Cheryl and Betty have forged a truce with each other, and treat each other in a friendly manner. 

Three years ago, the Archie title finally offered up the answer to “what would it be like if Archie married either Betty or Veronica?”


In issues #600-602, Archie was married to Veronica.  In issues #603-605, he tried married life with Betty.  And in both issues, when Archie proposed to one of the girls, the other one did not take it well at all.

But one final point to add.  Once the initial shock that Betty and Veronica experienced went away, they were more than supportive of their friend.  Betty happily stood beside Veronica as her maid of honour, while Veronica arranged a special wedding reception surprise for Betty and Archie. 

So, who knows?  Maybe in their adult lives, Betty and Veronica ended up adopting a mature attitude in regards to Archie, and realized that their friendship was more important than a guy.

But as long as Betty and Veronica are still appearing as teenagers in the regular comics and digests, I’m sure that they’d always maintain a little rivalry with each other, especially where Archie is concerned.  Deep down though, they love each other the way that sisters would, and when the chips were down, Betty and Veronica could count on each other to help them through.

If they could only get over their ill-conceived love affair over the most indecisive teenager in comic book history, their friendship would be unbreakable.