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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Honourable Mayor Of Sim City

When I first started this blog over a year ago, I initially had a different set of theme days. Initially, I had a feature that I used to do every Thursday known as “Thursday Night At The Arcade”. It has since been replaced by the Thursday Confessional, mainly because I was running out of topics to cover for the video game feature. 

But just for today, I'm going to bring back the video game feature...at least for this week, anyway. After all, I decided that Wednesdays are a day where we would talk about books, toys, and games. And as far as I'm concerned, video games certainly fit in with the theme.

But alas, I am rambling. I'll shut up now.

For today's blog entry, we're going to take a look at a simulation game that has been ported to several consoles and personal computers over the last few years. It's a video game that has captivated millions of people all over the world, and the game allows the player to assume the role of mayor.

I'm sure that all of us at some point have fantasized about what it would be like to run an entire city. I imagine that for some, it would be too much power and responsibility to handle, but for others, it would be a dream position.

Think about it for a second.  A mayor of a city often has to make some difficult decisions.  You have to decide whether or not a community needs an industrial park or more schools.  You have to decide if you want to build a mass transit station or fix the roads that you have.  If a natural disaster occurs, you want to make sure that you have the best emergency plan possible so that your whole city doesn't burn to the ground.  And to add to that, you also have to maintain a budget, balance taxes, and make sure that everyone in the city has electricity.

Do you still want to be mayor of a city now?

If the answer is yes, then you might just be in luck.  There is a video game available that can serve as a test.  It's a game that puts you in charge of an entire city.  You can assume the role of mayor in an assigned city, or build one directly from scratch.  Your actions will determine how happy your citizens are.  Just remember though, the happier the people are, the better chance you have of staying on as mayor.  If not, well, it's GAME OVER.



Of course, the game that is on the discussion table for today is SimCity, which was created by Will Wright.  It was first released on October 3, 1989 for the PC, and over the past 23 years, several versions have been released of the classic game.  The one I played the most was when it was ported to the Super Nintendo console in 1991.



The history of the creation of the game is this.  Will Wright had created another computer game for the Commodore 64 called "Raid On Bungling Bay".  The game was a basic war-based shoot 'em up game, and one of the features that Wright worked on was designing the various maps that the levels took place on.  However, Wright soon discovered that he enjoyed creating the levels more than playing the actual game itself.

This was how the idea that would become SimCity was born.





Wright developed the first draft of the game in 1985, and the original title was supposed to be "Micropolis".  In fact, the game itself was a bit unusual in comparison to other computer games in the market, as initially it was designed as a game that couldn't be won or lost.  And game manufacturers were wary or distributing the game at first because of this.  Even Broderbund (which was responsible for putting out the Carmen Sandiego games) turned Wright down.  Wright. however, refused to give up.

And it's a good thing he didn't because three years after creating the game that would become SimCity, he met with Jeff Braun, the founder of a little company known as Maxis.  In 1988, he agreed to release SimCity through Maxis.  Later that year, both Wright and Braun returned to Broderbund to clear the rights to the game when it was nearly completed.  But when a couple of Broderbund executives saw the game in action and saw how fun and infectious it was, they immediately signed Maxis to a distribution deal.  The following year, the game was released on both the Amiga and Macintosh platforms, as well as the Commodore 64 and IBM platforms shortly after.





So here's how the game is played.  You are responsible for creating your own city and serving as mayor of said city.  There are three kinds of zones that players can build.  There are residential zones, which include cottages, houses, apartment buildings and condos.  There are commercial zones, which include small shops, office buildings, and shopping plazas.  And industrial zones contain your factories and manufacturing plants.  In addition, you can build police stations, fire stations, power plants, and airports.  Now, depending on how one places these zones, the zones can develop at different rates.  Now, if you were to place a residential area right in the middle of an industrial zone, you'd be fairly hard-pressed to get people to move in.  But if you have a residential zone near a commercial zone, you might get both zones to grow.  After all, people like to be able to shop close to where they live, right?

In the Super Nintendo version, the game also provides bonus buildings to place within your city if you do well with growing it.  For instance, if you reach certain levels in population, you can build amusement parks, casinos, statues, and city parks.  Each reward has its perks (for instance, casinos can add money to the yearly budget), and it's been my experience that if you place these rewards in the center of either a residential or commercial block, they will be guaranteed to grow huge.  I once put a park in the middle of a residential block, and immediately got a hospital, a school, and six condos!  It's the power of rewards.

You also have control of spending money to pave roads, fund police and fire stations, and ensure that your citizens have transportation options.  But of course, you need money to be able to grow your city.  And, sometimes you may have to raise taxes to pay for the cost.  Not a nice feeling to do, but sometimes you may have no choice.

Well, unless you enter a CHEAT code that gives you unlimited money.  If you're good, I may reveal the code at the end of this blog.  :)

Now, each new game begins in the year 1900, and you have to do a budget every January.  This part of the game always threw me, which is why I tended to use the cheat feature.  However, the largest city I've built was one that had 300,000 people, so I consider that a success.





Oh, and did I mention that at random occasions, you might have to save your citizens from random disasters that may occur?  The basic game of SimCity had half a dozen possible disasters that could happen, and if you weren't careful, these disasters could spell doomsday for your poor city.  I'd say the two most common disasters are fires and plane crashes.  In my experience, I've seen those two more than any other ones.

TRIVIA:  In the Super Nintendo version, if you do not build an airport, you will never see a plane crash.

But there are so many other disasters out there.  And as if SimCity isn't complicated enough, the game has six scenarios that will put you to the ultimate test.  And, each scenario is actually based on real-life cities, and even real-life situations.  The six scenarios are...




San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

Tokyo Monster Attack of 1961 (based on the Godzilla movies)
Bern Traffic Crisis of 1965
Detroit Crime Crisis of 1972
Boston Nuclear Meltdown of 2010 (thankfully not real)
Rio de Janeiro Flooding of 2047 (I guess we'll find out in about 35 years if this is real or not, eh?)

Each scenario lasts between 5-10 years of game time, and some scenarios are harder than others.  In my experience, I've beaten exactly half.  I can complete the Bern, Detroit, and Boston scenarios without much hassle.  The hardest one in my opinion is Rio de Janeiro.  But, if one can beat all of these scenarios on the Super Nintendo version, two more scenarios will open up.  One takes place in 1991, where you have a land mass with no rivers or lakes whatsoever, and the other takes place in 2096 where you have to stop an alien invasion in Las Vegas.

However, these scenarios just add a lot more fun to an already fun and challenging game.  A game that really helped people decide whether or not they could handle running a city.



As for me...I'd make a terrible mayor.  But, hey, I'm honest about it.

And, now, as promised.  Here's how you can score almost unlimited funds on SimCity's Super Nintendo version, courtesy of GameFAQS.




$999,999

At any time while playing a city, spend all of your money on buildings that require funding (such as police stations, fire stations etc). When the tax screen apears at the end of December hold down L. Select ''Go With Figures'' and then go back to the tax screen. Turn all of the dues to 100% and exit still holding L. When you release L your money will be at $999,999.
 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

June 26, 1927


Welcome to the twenty-sixth of June, everybody. Because it's Tuesday, we're going to go back in time to a significant event in history dealing with pop culture and entertainment. This time around, we're going back in time to a year that I've never done before. In fact, we're actually going back to a decade that I have never done before.

Of course, before we do that, we have some other bits and bites to get through first. June 26th was a busy day in history, and I think that we have to talk about some of these events before we get to the main topic. After all, it's what we do every Tuesday, right?

All right. So, let's see who is celebrating a birthday on June 26th, shall we? We have Charlotte Zolotow, Eleanor Parker, Yoshiro Nakamatsu, Colin Wilson, Dave Grusin, Robert Maclennin, Jean-Claude Turcotte (no relation to me), Billy Davis Jr., John Beasley, Pamela Bellwood, Mick Jones, Gedde Watanabe, Chris Isaak, Patty Smyth, Greg LeMond, Terri Nunn, Harriet Wheeler, Sean Hayes, Chris O'Donnell, Gretchen Wilson, Rebecca Budig, Derek Jeter, Jason Kendall, Matt Striker, Chris Armstrong, Ed Jovanovski, Chad Pennington, Quincy Lewis, Brandi Burkhardt, Jason Schwartzman, and Jennette McCurdy.

In short, June 26 seems to be the year of the athlete, as most of these people listed play some form of professional sport. Look it up if you aren't convinced.

And, in case you're wondering, here are some of the significant events that took place on June 26.

1723 – Baku surrenders to the Russians after a siege and bombardment

1848 – The end of June Days Uprising in Paris, France

1857 – The first investiture of the Victorian Cross in Hyde Park, London

1870 – The Christian holiday of Christmas is declared an official federal holiday in the United States

1886 – Elemental Fluorine is isolated by chemist Henri Moissan

1907 – 1907 Tiflis Bank Robbery takes place in what is now called Freedom Square in Tbilisi

1917 – The first U.S. Troops arrive in France to fight alongside Britain and France against Germany in World War I

1934 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passes the Federal Credit Union Act, which leads to the creation of credit unions all over the United States

1936 – Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the world's first practical helicopter

1941 – Soviet planes bomb Kassa, Hungary during World War II, which leads to Hungary declaring war the next day

1942 – The first flight of the Grumman F6F Hellcat

1945 – United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco, California

1948 – Shirley Jackson's short story, The Lottery, is published in The New Yorker

1959 – The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway

1960 – Madagascar becomes independent from France

1973 – Nine people are killed following an explosion of a Cosmos 3-M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome

1974 – The first UPC is scanned at a grocery store in Troy, Ohio using a package of Wrigley's gum

1975 – Two officers are killed as well as a member of the American Indian Movement in a shootout at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; Leonard Peltier is charged with the murders and later convicted in a controversial trial

1978 – Air Canada Flight 189 crashes into Etobicoke Creek ravine, killing two

1983 – Daytime soap opera “Loving” debuts on ABC as a two hour movie starring Lloyd Bridges and Geraldine Page, show would be cancelled in 1995

1996 – Irish journalist Veronica Guerin is shot in her car on the outskirts of Dublin

2003 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that gender based sodomy laws are unconstitutional

2007 – Fashion designer Liz Claiborne passes away at the age of 78

2008 – U.S. Supreme Court declares the District of Columbia handgun ban unconstitutional

Wow, June 26th was a busy day in history, wasn't it? It kind of makes you wonder what year we're going to focus on, doesn't it?

Well, we're going back in time eighty-five years to June 26, 1927.



(And, yes, I did design the year picture just like the logo. I think I'm going to do this for all future Tuesday Timeline entries.)

So, what happened on June 26, 1927? Well, it happens to be a very important day in the world of amusement parks. I imagine that for those of you who love riding on roller coasters at the park may know the significance of this date in history. But for those of you who don't, I'll fill you all in.



Have you ever heard of a place known as Coney Island? It happens to be located on a peninsula just outside of Brooklyn, New York. Traditionally, it has been known to be a hub of entertainment filled with amusement parks, at least one major resort, and a national hot dog eating contest. Between 1880 and 1945, Coney Island was considered to be the largest amusement park area in the United States. At the height of its popularity, there were three parks in direct competition with each other. There was Dreamland, Steeplechase Park, and Luna Park. 



Steeplechase Park closed up in 1964, and MCU Park now sits in its former location, and both Dreamland and Luna Park closed after they were both destroyed in separate fires. However, these parks later reopened as new incarnations with the same name in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Another park, Astroland, was in operation between 1962 and 2008. In addition to Dreamland and Luna Park, there are Deno's Wonder Wheel and Amusement Park, 12th Street Amusements, Eldorado Arcade, and Kiddie Park.

And Coney Island is where our story begins. For on June 26, 1927, a Coney Island treasure first opened up...a treasure that has provided thrills to riders over the last eighty-five years. It has since been named a historical landmark by New York City (one of three Coney Island rides to get that honour), and it continues to be loved by thousands of people each year.



Today, we're going to take a look at the Cyclone, one of America's oldest wooden roller coasters currently in operation. The coaster was opened to the public eighty-five years ago today.

During the period known as the Roaring Twenties, roller coasters were all the rage. It seemed as though a new roller coaster was being built every few months. On Coney Island, two roller coasters were already getting a lot of buzz. When the Thunderbolt was completed in 1925, and the Tornado was built just a year later, it prompted brothers Irving and Jack Rosenthal to come up with a roller coaster design of their own. The brothers invested $100,000 into the project (a ridiculously high amount in 1927), which was to be built on the intersection of West 10th Street and Surf Avenue. Vernan Keenan was hired to design the coaster, while Harry C. Baker supervised the construction of the coaster. When the coaster was finally completed in early 1927, the estimated final cost of the coaster was approximately $175,000 (in 1927 dollars).

TRIVIA: When the ride opened, the cost to ride the coaster was a mere quarter. As of 2011, it costs eight dollars to ride!

The ride itself boasted a series of features that made it stand out when compared to other roller coasters. It contained an eighty-five foot drop, could carry almost fifteen hundred riders per hour, and went at a speed of 60 miles per hour. When the Cyclone was completed, it was at the time the fastest roller coaster in the world, an honour that it held onto for almost five decades before it was unseated by the Screamin' Eagle in 1976.

The ride was extremely popular for years after it was completed, and the coaster was reportedly the site of a supposed legend. Although I have no proof of whether this event really happened, but I found it to be an interesting tale to say the least. Reportedly in the late 1940s, a coal miner who had aphonia (the inability to talk) rode the coaster. Upon reaching the coaster's first drop, the man screamed and said the words “I feel sick”, the first words he had spoken in years! Upon the realization that he had spoken, he passed out cold! Again, it's hard to say whether this story is real or make-believe, but either way, I was amused.

Of course, there were some instances in which the Cyclone almost shut down for good. By the late 1960s, the ride was beginning to show signs of decay, and was actually shut down the following year. The Cyclone was purchased by the City of New York in 1971, but due to the decrease in riders, the ride was officially condemned, and was at risk of being demolished completely when the New York Aquarium expressed a desire to expand. But thanks to an impromptu “Save The Cyclone” petition was started up, the Cyclone was soon leased to the Astroland Amusement Park (which was situated nearby), and was completely refurbished by the owners of the park. On July 3, 1975, the Cyclone was re-opened, and has remained open ever since. Even though Astroland went out of business in 2008, the ride is still in operation, largely due to the fact that it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991.

While the majority of the history is positive in regards to The Cyclone, the roller coaster has had its share of horrible accidents. At least three people have been killed while riding the Cyclone. However, in at least two of those cases, it was carelessness by the riders themselves that caused the deaths, not the ride itself. In the third case, a 53-year-old man broke several vertabrae while he was riding and died from complications from surgery to repair the damage four days later.

But in the long run, The Cyclone has been at the center of a lot of accolades. It was prominently featured in the 1978 film, “The Wiz”, as well as the 1988 film “Shakedown”. You can watch the trailer for that film below to see what I mean.



The coaster is also the site for a world record set by Richard Rodriguez. In 1977, when Rodriguez was 19 years old, he rode on the Cyclone for a grand total of 104 consecutive hours on a roller coaster! And for the Cyclone's 70th anniversary in 1997, tightrope walker Tino Wallenda walked across a tightrope suspended between the two highest points of the coaster.

TRIVIA: Does that last name sound familiar? If you watched Nik Wallenda traverse Niagara Falls across a tightrope just a week and a half ago, you might see the connection.


One final note to add before I end this look back through time. You know how the Cyclone was built after a couple of other successful roller coasters were built on Coney Island previously? You know, the Thunderbolt and the Tornado? Well, the Thunderbolt was closed up in 1982, and torn down with the arrival of the new millennium, while the Tornado's fate was sealed by arsonists who torched the coaster in 1977.

Of the three coasters that were built during the 1920s on Coney Island, the Cyclone is the only one still standing, and still in operation. No wonder it's loved so much by so many people.

That's our look back on June 26, 1927. I hope you enjoyed the ride!


Monday, June 25, 2012

Never Been Kissed


When I was in high school, it seemed to me that the radio and music video stations were taken over by boy bands.

I don't know exactly why the period between 1995 and 2000 was saturated with teenage boys in groups of four and five singing and dancing up a storm and warbling songs about love, girls, and loving girls.

Let's see...there were The Backstreet Boys, *Nsync, 98 Degrees, 5ive, Take That, O-Town, BBMak, Westlife, No Mercy, and Hanson during my years of high school alone. And, you people thought that New Kids On The Block were overkill!

And then there's the group known as The Moffatts, the Canadian boy band of brothers who dominated American radio in the late 1990s. The band was composed of eldest brother Scott Moffatt, and his younger brothers, Clint, Dave, and Bob (who happen to be triplets). Together, they managed to join the boy band brigade with their pop-infused songs, including “Girl Of My Dreams”, “Miss You Like Crazy”, and “I'll Be There For You”.

While I'll readily admit to not being a huge fan of The Moffatts in my tumultuous teenage years (or any other boy band, might I add), I will admit that there is one song of theirs that I admit is not terrible. And, here it is (albeit edited).



ARTIST: The Moffatts
SONG: Until You Loved Me
ALBUM: Chapter I: A New Beginning
DATE RELEASED: April 26, 1999
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: N/A (#23 in Canada)

The single was actually the fifth release from The Moffatts album “Chapter I: A New Beginning”, which was released almost a year prior in Canada, on May 18, 1998. The album would not be released until 1999 stateside. But this particular song did make an impact on American pop culture, even if it didn't do so hot on the charts.

It ended up as part of the soundtrack of a film that was released just a couple of weeks before “Until You Loved Me” hit the charts, on April 9, 1999. Although the film received mixed reviews and had gotten some rather harsh reviews from various film critics in America, I have a bit of a confession to make. I didn't mind this movie. I remember the first time I watched it, I rented it from Jumbo Video (which has since closed its doors), and I admit to being somewhat glued to the film. Certainly it was hokey, and certainly the plot was quite farfetched. At the same time, I couldn't help but identify with the main character of the film. Because we both had a lot in common at that time. I'll get into that a little bit later.


Today's Monday Matinee is the Raja Gosnell directed “Never Been Kissed”. And, for what it's worth, while the film was mediocre according to critics, its star power was incredible. The movie starred Drew Barrymore, Michael Vartan, David Arquette, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Alba, Marley Shelton, James Franco, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Jordan Ladd, Garry Marshall, and Jeremy Jordan.



Yes, THAT Jeremy Jordan...another teeny-bopper singer...this time from my grade 7 days.


When the movie begins, we're automatically introduced to a woman by the name of Josie Gellar (Barrymore). She works as a copy editor at the Chicago Sun-Times along with her best friend, Anita (Shannon). She likes what she is doing, even though she is kind of klutzy and inept. But if one were to look beyond that shell, one might be surprised to know that she is actually quite intelligent.

However, we also learn that Josie has a painful past. She had a terrible experience in high school, being shunned by the popular kids, and had hardly any friends whatsoever. And in regards to high school sweethearts, forget it. Those experiences were filled with lots of heartbreak and pain. She very rarely dated in high school, and not at all after graduation. In fact, at twenty-five years old, she still had yet to have her first kiss.

Hence the reason why the film was titled “Never Been Kissed”.

Anyway, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Rigfort (Marshall) holds a staff meeting to discuss new stories to cover in the newspaper, and he actually assigns copy editor Josie to do an undercover expose. Although Josie had been out of high school for over five years, Rigfort wanted her to pose as a seventeen year old high school student to report on what high school life was like in the late 1990s, as a way to help parents become more involved in their children's lives. She would report the information back to her direct supervisor, Gus (Reilly).


At first, Josie was a little intimidated by the assignment, but soon realized that this story could help her experience something that she had never had before...the chance to redo high school as one of the popular girls. After all, she had to deal with the fact that her brother Rob (Arquette) was popular in high school and had dozens of friends and romances in high school. And Rob of course reminded her that during her first stint in school, the kids always used to call her “Josie Grossie”, a name that still causes chills down her spine. Nevertheless, Josie decides to go through with the assignment...

...and almost immediately regrets it, as history seems to repeat herself. Guy Perkins (Jordan) and his crew immediate take Josie's car and hide it, while the Queen Bees of South Glen South High School, Gibby, Kirsten, and Kristen (Ladd, Alba, and Shelton respectively) acted like complete snobs towards Josie. The only saving grace was that she ended up befriending a quiet, studious girl named Aldys (Sobieski).

TRIVIA: As it turned out, Josie wasn't the only person who was a 25-year-old playing a teenager. Apparently when the movie was filmed, Jeremy Jordan was 25 as well.


But, anyway, back to the plot. Aldys and Josie become fast friends, and Aldys informs Josie that she despises Guy and his friends. Aldys convinces Josie to join a club for intelligent students of South Glen South called the Denominators, which Josie does. However, Josie is still at a loss as to what to write for a story.


Oh, and did I mention that at some point, Josie ends up falling for one of the teachers at South Glen South? Sam Coulson (Vartan) happened to be the English teacher at South Glen South, and surprise, surprise, Josie happens to be in his class. And, surprise, surprise, Josie ends up developing a mad crush on him. But, it seemed as though the good Mr. Coulson read what happened to Mary Kay Letourneau, and despite the growing closeness between them over their shared love of Shakespeare, he cannot bring himself to fall for her.

At first, Josie's story seems to be going nowhere. Despite getting close to a hangout that Guy Perkins hangs out at known as The Court (which is a hub for underage drinking and other illegal activities for teenagers), another newspaper snaps up the scoop before Josie. And, while Aldys wastes no time in telling Guy and his friends off, calling them “lemmings”, Josie could tell that all Aldys wanted was to be popular. After all, Aldys reminded her a lot about herself.

This was all nice and good, but Gus was about out of patience. In a last ditch effort to get a story, he basically orders Josie to wear a hidden camera and befriend the most popular students in the school. The resulting investigation gets the entire office buzzing, as well as sparks a rather interesting pairing. But, I won't reveal it all. I'll let you watch the movie to find out for yourselves.

Of course it goes without saying that Josie's attempt to infiltrate the cool crowd didn't go without a hitch. After getting advice from her brother to befriend one cool kid (his reasoning is that if she befriends one, the rest will follow), Josie decides to go to a bar where a band is playing. After an awkward meeting with Sam and his girlfriend (who didn't seem interested in him at all), she happens to meet up with Guy and his friends. Unfortunately, Guy's buddies trick Josie into sampling a “special” brownie, and she ends up getting a wee bit high. The following day, she oversleeps and is late for school, and to her horror, she finds that her forehead happens to have the word “LOSER” written across it, a reminder of the “LOSER” stamp that she was given at the bar the night before. All the kids make fun of her, and she runs to the bathroom completely humiliated. It was so unfair, and it reminded her of the day that she was the victim of a very cruel joke played on her the night of her senior prom.


My heart broke watching that scene. Not because I had the same thing happen to me, but because I know the humiliation that she must have felt. Believe me. I have been there.

But once Josie composes herself (well, after she accidentally knocks herself out by crashing into a door), she comes to the stunning discovery that Rob has done exactly the same thing she did...enrolling as a high school student. Rob has decided to do this for a couple of reasons. He planned to get the cool kids at school to like Josie by telling them all sorts of interesting half-truths to get them to like her. But he secretly had an ulterior motive of his own. He was denied the chance to play for the pros the first time around when he was a player on the school baseball team, and he felt that this was a second chance to prove himself.

At any rate, Rob's plan worked like a charm, and the cool kids began treating Josie a lot better, even though Aldys was less than impressed, and it seems that the friendship between Aldys and Josie is on the verge of ending.

The movie all comes to a head at the prom. Naturally, everyone at the school is in attendance, including Josie who happens to be Guy's date. It all happens to be coming together. Although Josie would rather be dancing at the prom with Sam, she was satisfied with being the date of the most popular guy in school. And everyone in the newspaper office watched with delight as Josie was crowned prom queen...an achievement that Josie would never have gotten during her own high school career. It was all coming together. After all these years, Josie would have finally gotten the ideal, perfect, high school life that she wished for.

If only she didn't happen to foil a cruel scheme against Aldys.

You know the mean girl trio of Gibby, Kristen, and Kirsten? They planned on throwing a whole can of dog food all over Aldys at the prom (Aldys' nickname was Alpo). And Josie, knowing the humiliation that she faced at her prom, decided to stop them. As a result, the Queen Bees ended up wearing the Kibbles 'N Bits with extra gravy instead of Aldys.

Oh they were steamed. They were angry. They told Josie that she didn't deserve to be prom queen.


And for the first time in her whole life, Josie finally stood up for herself with this powerful and moving speech. You can click here to watch it, but I think you also have to read it word for word.

Let me tell you something. I don't care about being your stupid prom queen. I'm 25 years old! I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and I've been beating my brains out trying to impress you people. Let me tell you something, Gibby, Kirsten, and Kristen, you will spend your lives trying to keep others down because it makes you feel important. Why her? Let me tell you about this girl, she is unbelievable. I was new here, and she befriended me no questions asked. But you, you were only my friend after my brother Rob posed as a student and told you to like me. All of you people, there is a big world out there...bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter whether you're prom queen, the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are, and try not to be afraid of it!”

WOW. In that moment alone, Josie Gellar became one of my favourite Drew Barrymore roles ever. She was honest and at her most vulnerable, but she didn't care. She did something that nobody else did. She gave those kids a reality check. Everything she said was true. High school is simply that. It should not be ruling the way you live the rest of your life.

(Admittedly, it took me about a decade for this to sink it. I'm happy that it did though.)

Anyway, Josie's outburst had a ripple effect through the school. It made Aldys rethink her feelings, and she was grateful that Josie had reciprocated her kindness in that moment. It made Guy and the Queen Bees rethink the way that they had treated her. It made Rob incredibly angry at Josie for outing him. And it deeply devastated Sam, who felt as though Josie played him for a fool. And it was Sam's reaction that hurt Josie the most, as she really developed feelings for him. According to her, she had ruined things forever.

Or, had she?

I won't reveal the end of the movie. All you need to know is that Josie ended up getting her story after all...and the ending involves a baseball diamond, a time clock, and this Beach Boys song.


You know, I have to give Josie credit for a lot of things. She may have been bullied as a teen, but she seemed to overcome it. She ended up making a true friend in Aldys, and she ended up becoming popular by being herself. While it was true that Rob may have influenced the popular kids, you could tell that once they got to know Josie, they found her to be quite cool. Once you see the ending, you might be surprised to see where they stand at the end of the film. Kind of makes one realize that there is good in mostly everyone.

And, you know, since Josie was brave enough to share her story, I'll now share the main similarity between Josie Gellar and myself. And, well, if you read the title of the blog and movie, you may have figured it out too.

Because I myself went through high school having never been kissed. And, hey, I survived. Josie Gellar did too.

That's all that I have to say on that subject.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

School's Out


We’re almost at the end of June, and you know what that means?  Summer vacation is just around the corner!

Well, all right, depending on the region you live in, summer vacation might already be here, but in the area I grew up in, the last day of school was usually held the week of June 21-27. 

And I was one of those kids who could not WAIT for the school year to end.

I mean, let’s face it.  Many of my classmates and I did not see eye to eye, so to have freedom from them for two months was a wonderful perk.  However, there were other reasons to celebrate the end of the school year.  It meant two months of being able to sleep in as late as you wanted.  It meant not having to do any sort of homework until September.  It meant partaking in many days and nights of summer activities.  In fact, if you stay tuned for this week’s upcoming Thursday Confession, I’ll tell you about one of my fondest summertime memories.

I think perhaps the reason that I enjoyed summer vacation the most was the fact that after being cooped up in school for ten months, it was nice to have a couple of months of relaxation and peace.  No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.

Yes, even in the late eighties and early nineties, we kids still sang this rhyme.  Except during the holiday season, where we sang “Joy to the world, the school burned down, it burned right to the ground...”.

It seems like such a silly, innocent childhood rhyme.  But, did you know that rhyme ended up being included in a Top 10 hit back in the 1970s?  It happens to be true.  In fact, why don’t we take a listen to the Sunday Jukebox entry for today right now?



ARTIST:  Alice Cooper
SONG:  School’s Out
ALBUM:  School’s Out
DATE RELEASED:  June 1972
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #7


I think it was almost a rite of passage to play this song on full blast at least once on the last day of school.  I know that I used to.  It really was a perfect song to describe the joy we children all felt on the cusp of summer vacation.  As it turns out, that was the very reason why the song was written, according to the artist who performed this hit.


Meet Vincent Damon Furnier.  He was born on February 4, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan.  Believe it or not, he grew up as the son of a lay preacher and the grandson of an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Furnier was also fairly active in his church during his childhood, most notably between the ages of 11 and 12.

During his childhood, Vincent suffered from a series of childhood illnesses, but managed to stay in school, and actually gained admission to several post-secondary institutions including the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado.  But Vincent turned down these offers, instead wanting to pursue a career in music.

Nobody could blame him though.  He had a love of music, and when he was sixteen, he ended up getting his first taste of being a part of a band.  He was eager to participate in a local annual letterman’s talent show, but he felt that he needed a group to perform with him so that he could get the full experience.  So, he gathered a group of people who were on the school cross-country team, and together they formed the group known as “The Earwigs”.  However, nobody in the band knew how to play any musical instruments, so they basically mimicked a performance by “The Beatles”.  The group ended up winning the talent show, and they loved the experience so much that they decided to learn how to play real instruments.  After purchasing some from a nearby pawn shop, the group soon changed their name to “The Spiders”.  The group consisted of Vincent on vocals, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, John Tatum on rhythm guitar, John Speer on drums, and Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar.  The group often performed around the Phoenix area where they appeared on stage in front of a huge black spider web backdrop.  The group even released a single in 1965, a cover version of The Blackwells song “Why Don’t You Love Me”.

The following year, John Tatum left the band and was replaced by Michael Bruce, and scored a local #1 hit on the radio with “Don’t Blow Your Mind”, an original composition.  They changed their name to “The Nazz”, replaced the departing John Speer with Neal Smith, and relocated to Los Angeles, California.  However, the band was left with a bit of a dilemma when they discovered that musician Todd Rundgren had also been using the name “Nazz” for his band, which meant that the band was forced to change their name for the fourth time in four years. 

However, Vincent Furnier also believed that the band needed a gimmick.  They needed something that would stand out.  So, imagine their surprise when Furnier suggested the name “Alice Cooper”.  Furnier believed that the name was so wholesome and non-threatening that it would knowingly clash with their hard-edged, gothic image and sound.

(Plus Alice Cooper happened to be the name of Betty’s mom in Archie Comics.)


Eventually, Vincent would later adopt the band’s name as his own stage name, and since 1968, he has gone by the name Alice Cooper ever since.  As for Alice Cooper’s signature look, he explained that it came from a variety of films that he watched over and over, including “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane” and “Barbarella”.

However, with the new name change and direction, the band Alice Cooper soon found that it was difficult to get their name out there.  It certainly didn’t help matters much that at a gig at the Cheetah Club in Venice, California, everyone left after just ten minutes!  However, this misfortune worked out to Alice Cooper’s advantage as they were approached by music manager Shep Gordon.  Gordon saw potential in the band, and arranged a meeting with Frank Zappa, who was actively looking for acts to sign to his new record label, Straight Records.


TRIVIA:  Zappa had told the band to show up at his house at 7:00.  What the band didn’t realize was that Zappa had meant 7:00 PM.  Instead, they showed up at his house at 7:00 AM!  However, while most people would likely not be impressed at being woken up by psychedelic rock early in the morning, Zappa was impressed, and immediately signed the band to a recording contract!

Over the next few years, Alice Cooper seemed to struggle with trying to get their music out there, as their first two albums didn’t make a great impact on the charts.  And then there was the “Chicken Incident” at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969, where Alice Cooper mistakenly believed that a live chicken that happened to make it on stage could fly, and as a result, the chicken ended up being completely torn apart by the people in the audience, labelling the band as being “shock rockers”.

But when Alice Cooper released the single “I’m Eighteen” in 1970, the single ended up reaching #21 on the Billboard Charts.  When Warner Records ended up purchasing Alice Cooper’s record contract from Straight Records, the album that the song came from (Love it to Death) was re-released, and became the band’s breakthrough album, finally giving the band some recognition.

Of course, over the next few decades, Alice Cooper would end up going solo, releasing hundreds of singles, and dozens of albums.  But, I think everyone can agree that “School’s Out” was probably one of his best and well known hits.

As I said earlier in this blog entry, Alice Cooper stated that the reason behind writing the song was based on his response to the following question...what are the greatest three minutes of your life?

Alice Cooper suggested that there were two times in which we all felt this during the year.  One was on Christmas morning just before you open up your gifts.  The second was on the last day of school, particularly during the last three minutes which Alice Cooper described as being similar to a slow fuse burning.

And, in this case, that slow fuse burned into a huge explosion.  Quite literally, if the lyrics are any indication.  Not only is school out for the summer in the song, it’s out FOREVER, as the lyrics imply that the school has blown up.

But if there’s one thing that the song did other than make kids look forward to the end of the school year, it netted Alice Cooper their biggest hit yet.  And, it made people see that there was more to Alice Cooper than just a novelty hit, and showed that they rose above the “Chicken Incident” to become respected artists in the music industry.

And besides, it inspired a really awesome Staples commercial.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Woman Behind Lamb Chop's Play Along


I have always said that my blog topics can come from a variety of sources. The vast majority of them cover television shows, movies, and music that I loved growing up. Some of them were requests from readers. And some were inspired by pictures and quotes that people have posted on social networking sites, believe it or not.

This is one of those blog entries that was inspired by one of these social networking sites.

On the day that I was stricken with inspiration, I was perusing one of these sites when I happened to come across a topic posted by a friend of mine who lives in Jolly Old England. Her name is Helen S. Anyways, on this particular day, Helen was talking about how she was doing some housecleaning, and she happened to come across a long forgotten treasure along the way. And, she posted a picture of it for everyone to see.



This is a picture of a puppet, affectionately named Lamb Chop. When she posted that picture, it prompted everyone on her friends list to discuss their memories of Lamb Chop. I even had a memory of my own. Well, okay, it was my sister's memory, but I was there. It was Christmas 1993, and one of the gifts that my sister received that year was the Lamb Chop doll. She also received Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy, Lamb Chop's closest friends in addition.



At this point, I should also mention that when Christmas 1993 came around, my sister was 21 years old. But, as many people pointed out underneath Helen's picture, age was not a factor in regards to how much one adored Lamb Chop. In fact, I have to admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for the little lamb myself.

So, for today's entry, I thought that I would talk about Lamb Chop, and the woman who helped make her a star.



That woman, of course, was Shari Lewis. Of course, she wasn't exactly known as “Shari Lewis”. Her birth name was Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz. I don't exactly know how Sonia became Shari, but the Lewis came from a marriage that didn't last too long.

Anyway, Shari Lewis was born in January 1933 in The Bronx, New York. Her mother, Ann Ritz, and father, Abraham Hurwitz, had encouraged Shari to become an entertainer when she was just a teenager. By the time she was thirteen, she was already learning magic tricks from her father. After all, Shari's father was once named New York City's official magician by then mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the Great Depression.

But Shari didn't just limit herself to performing magic. She studied acrobatics, learned how to juggle, played the piano and violin, and learned how to ice skate.

(You see kids, people DID have fun without iPads.)

Shari also ended up learning one other talent from a man named John W. Cooper. John was a skilled ventriloquist, and he ended up teaching a young Shari some of his finest techniques. Little did Shari know that these lessons would end up changing the course of her life forever.

However, Shari didn't quite pursue the career of a ventriloquist right away. She studied at the New York High School of Music and Art, and went on to dance at the American School of Ballet, all while acting in a neighbourhood playhouse. I tell you, Shari Lewis was one ball of fire in her youth!

In 1952, Shari Lewis would end up getting her first big break, when she won first prize on the CBS television series “Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts”. And, do you know what her winning talent was? Puppetry!

Soon after that appearance, she appeared on a variety of children's television programs, including hosting a program called “Facts 'N Fun” on July 5, 1953. Lewis was only 20 years old. Unfortunately, the program barely lasted three months on the air. However, shortly after that, she took over Ted Steele's role as host of WPIX's Kartoon Klub, a variety show featuring a live studio audience, her sidekicks Randy Rocket and Taffy Twinkle (who also appeared with her on Facts 'N Fun), and aired cartoons. The program was so successful with Lewis as host that the name changed twice. It became “Shari & Her Friends” in 1956, and later that year, the name changed again to “Shariland”. In between her hosting duties, she would appear on other children's shows including Captain Kangaroo. And in March 1956, Shari Lewis appeared on Captain Kangaroo with a new friend for everyone to meet.



Lamb Chop.

A year later, Shari was on a brand new program called “Hi, Mom”, which ran from 1957-1959. It was on this show that Lewis introduced three more characters in addition to Lamb Chop. There was Charlie Horse, the slow-witted and jokester of the group. Hush Puppy, a dog that spoke in a Southern Accent, and Wing Ding, a black crow. Along with Lamb Chop, Shari would often have all four characters interacting with her on the show, which the audience loved.

In 1960, Shari Lewis began production of another show, “The Shari Lewis Show”, which debuted on October 1, 1960. For the next three years, Shari, Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, and Wing Ding would entertain millions of children each week. In fact, let's watch a clip of the Shari Lewis show below to see what it was like. Fair warning though, the show is in black and white.



Wasn't Shari just a natural? She was so professional in her craft. Almost made it look effortless.

And with the success of the show came merchandising deals. Puppets of Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy flew off the shelves during the early 1960s.

However, Wing Ding was left out of the merchandising opportunities. It was speculated that Wing Ding was dropped entirely during the 1960s because it was feared that Wing Ding was not socially acceptable any more, as his characterization was widely considered by some people to be stereotypical of African-Americans. Whatever the case, I did find one photo of Wing Ding, just so you can see what he looked like below.



During the 1970s and 1980s, Lamb Chop and her friends kind of went on the backburner (although they did make sporadic appearances between 1975 and 1991), as Shari herself focused on acting commitments, conducting symphonies, and writing children's books.

TRIVIA: Shari's second husband was Jeremy Tarcher, who ended up writing a third season episode of Star Trek, entitled “The Lights of Zetar”.

However, in 1992, Lamb Chop and her friends would bring laughter and joy for a new generation of children all over the world with this show.



Lamb Chop's Play Along”. A show that was dedicated to making young children have a lot of fun, and make them smile. And you know what, I'll admit it. I saw a few episodes of this when I was twelve, and I readily admit to being bemused by it. Make fun of me if you wish, but I can see why so many young children liked watching it. Just watch a clip of the program below to see what I mean.



The show was a perfect example to showcase each and every single one of Shari's talents. She sang and danced to the viewing audience each show. She used the magic tricks that she learned from her father to amaze the children who came to visit her at the studio. And of course, she had her friends Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, and Charlie Horse...who ended each show the same exact way.



I bet you can't get that song out of your head now, can you?

The program itself did very well on PBS, and it stayed on the air for five years between 1992 and 1997. A second series called “The Charlie Horse Music Pizza” aired shortly after the filming of “Lamb Chop's Play Along”, and produced several home videos starring her famous puppets including “Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah”, which received the Parents' Choice award for 1996. Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop also made guest appearances on several television programs, including a memorable episode of Fran Drescher's show “The Nanny”, which aired in 1995. You can watch it by clicking HERE if you want.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg for the accomplishments that Shari Lewis achieved. In her lifetime, she won the following awards;

12 Emmy Awards
Peabody Award (1960)
Monte Carlo Prize (1963)
John F. Kennedy Center Award for Excellence and Creativity (1983)
7 Parents' Choice Awards
Action for Children's Television Award

These are just a few. Do a little research and you'll see many more awards that she has won.

Perhaps one of Shari Lewis' finest hours could be traced back to the year 1993. That was the year that Lewis appeared in front of Congress to testify in favour of protections for children's television. But Lewis wasn't the only one to speak. Turns out that Lamb Chop herself had something she had to get off her chest. And when the little lamb was given permission to speak, her passionate speech definitely left a huge impression on the people in the room.

Not bad for a lamb puppet who claimed she was “only six”.



Of course, all things eventually do come to an end. In Shari Lewis' case, the end came in the summer of 1998. On August 2, 1998, Shari Lewis succumbed to viral pneumonia, a complication brought upon by a diagnosis of uterine cancer just two months prior. She was 65 years old.



However, Lewis' death did not mean that Lamb Chop died with her. Her daughter, Mallory Tarcher (who now goes by the name Mallory Lewis in honour of her late mother) worked on both “Lamb Chop's Play Along” and “The Charlie Horse Music Pizza” shows as a writer. She basically grew up with Lamb Chop in her life. So it wasn't all that surprising when it was announced in 2000 that Mallory would take over as the puppeteer of Lamb Chop. Have a look below.



You know, I'm sure that if Shari Lewis could say it now, she would be proud that something she created all those years ago is still making children laugh and sing all these years later. I also believe that she would be happy that her daughter is continuing the Lamb Chop name.

And, I once again want to credit Helen S. for giving me the great idea for today's blog!