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Thursday, July 05, 2012

Fond Farewell Of Food Favourites


It’s very hard to say goodbye to a place that holds so many happy memories.  This past weekend, I had to say goodbye to one.


I’ll make a bit of a mini-confession here before I get to the big one.  I am somewhat of a pizza snob.  I’m quite fussy when it comes to finding the perfect pizza.  I’d say that the part of a pizza that I am most fussy about is the pizza sauce.  To me, the pizza sauce can make or break a pizza.  I’ve had pizza where the sauce is runny, or has no flavour.  I’ve had pizza where the sauce is so spicy, I can’t swallow it.  And, I swear, there is one pizza place in my hometown whose pizza sauce literally tastes like the two main ingredients are mucilage and no-name brand ketchup.

And, no, I won’t reveal the name of this pizza place either.  I don’t believe in slander.


About nine years ago, a new pizza place opened up in town.  The name of the place was Milano’s Pizzeria.  It was a pizza place that was conveniently located within walking distance from my apartment building.  Because it was a new place, I was very keen on trying it to see what it was like.  At the time, I was a bit disappointed with the selection of pizza parlours we had in town, and decided to give it a whirl.

It ended up being the best pizza I had ever tasted.  The cheese and toppings were delicious, the crust was the right amount of thickness, and the sauce was my idea of perfection.  From the summer of 2003 on, I had found my main pizza hangout.

Oh, but they just didn’t make pizza.  Their poutines were fantastic (in case you don’t know what a poutine is, it’s a dish made with French fries, gravy, and cheese curd).  They also made delicious onion rings, hamburgers, chicken wings...really, everything on the menu was delicious.  I also got to know the people who ran Milano’s, and they were great people.

However, this past weekend, I received the news that I dreaded.  On June 30, Milano’s was closing up shop for good.  I won’t go into the details over why it happened, but I will say that I respect their decision, and wish them all the best.  But I will say this.  Their last day of business, I made sure to order one final pepperoni pizza, because I wanted to enjoy it one last time.  While it was just as delicious as all the other pizzas that I had eaten there, it was bittersweet because I knew that it would be my last one.

And, it got me thinking about today’s Thursday Confession.

THURSDAY CONFESSION #27:  Milano’s Pizza isn’t the only food item that I have mourned the loss of.


And, that's what this blog entry is about.  The foods from my childhood that no longer exist.  And the foods that I want back in my life.  The most recent one, of course, is Milano's Pizza...but there's other foods that I used to love in my childhood, and I am so upset that they no longer exist, or they are too hard to find.


I'll come up with a list of these foods below.  Who knows?  Maybe some of you will remember them.


Okay, here's the first item.






BONKERS FRUIT CHEWS


I think that a lot of you who are my age or older will likely remember the commercials over the candy itself.  You know, the ones where the lady gets crushed by oversized pieces of fruit, and then for whatever reason laughs about it?  I remember the commercials well, but I also remember the fruit chews.  They came in all sorts of flavours which included grape, orange, watermelon, and even chocolate flavoured.  I don't know what it was about those candies, but I couldn't get enough of them.  And back in 1986, it seemed as though Bonkers dominated every candy counter and supermarket check-out stand in Canada.  I even remember getting Bonkers fruit chews on Halloween when I went trick or treating.  There was just something delicious about the dark, rich center of the chew that made the flavour burst into your mouth.  However, it has been years since I've had Bonkers fruit chews.  I don't even know if they are still being made any more.  If they are, they certainly can't be found in Canada.  I'd love to know.






LEA AND PERRINS BARBECUE SAUCE


This is one that still makes me furious even though this was discontinued in Canada well over fifteen years ago.  I know that many of you associate the Lea and Perrins name with worcestershire sauce, but years ago, they made a barbecue sauce with a lot of bite to it.  The sauce was so delicious, and it went with almost any type of meal.  Steak, chicken, burgers (and yes, I do eat meat)...it made them even tastier.  When the only supermarket that carried it ditched the sauce, I was devastated.  I couldn't stand the other leading brand named barbecue sauces at the time, so I thought that my steaks would remain forever bland.  This story has a semi-happy ending, as I discovered that Bulls-Eye barbecue sauce had a similar taste to Lea and Perrins...but it's not quite the same.






STRIPED CHIPS AHOY


I will make a bit of an announcement before I continue on with this.  Nothing, and I mean, nothing, will top my mother's homemade, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.  Homemade cookies are always the best kind ever.  But as far as store bought cookies go, I do have my favourites of those as well.  I've always liked Oreos, and I don't mind the Pirate cookies (the ones with the peanut butter filling inside of them).  Chips Ahoy are another cookie that I used to eat as a kid, but there were only one kind of them that I liked.  Years ago, they had a "Striped Chips Ahoy" cookie.  It was a standard cookie that had stripes that were made with chocolate drizzle.  I used to eat those cookies all the time as a kid.  Granted, those cookies probably contributed to the weight problem I endured throughout school, but regardless, I loved them.  So, naturally because I loved them, they got rid of them.  Typical.






YOGURT WITH GREEN TEA

Okay.  Let's get it out of the way.  I am not a big fan of green tea.  But, I love most flavours of yogurt.  So, when I embarked on a weight loss journey three years ago, and saw a yogurt made by Danone with green tea extract mixed in, I was skeptical.  But, looking at the nutritional value inside the yogurt, I thought I'd give it a shot.  It ended up being delicious.  It turns out that when you mix fruits such as raspberries and pineapple with green tea, you can't even taste the green tea.  All it tasted like was, well, raspberry or pineapple.  It was a great tool in my quest to get healthier.  It's just a shame that I was apparently the only one who liked it.  The yogurt only lasted a year on the market.

PURPLESAURUS REX KOOL-AID







All right.  I do not drink much Kool-Aid these days.  But when I was a kid, I used to guzzle the stuff down every day.  I enjoyed several flavours of the drink, including cherry, lime, grape, and tropical punch.  But my all-time favourite was a flavour known as Purplesaurus Rex.  It was purple in colour, but the flavour was unique.  It was a mixture of grape and lemonade, and it tasted awesome.  I think I must have drank gallons of the stuff in 1989 alone.  But it didn't last too long on the market, and shortly after Purplesaurus Rex disappeared from the shelves, I stopped drinking Kool-Aid.

Those are just a few of the food items that I mourned the loss of as a child, and that I admittedly still miss.  But I ended up surviving it, and soon found other foods to eat.  I'm sure that I'll survive the closing of Milano's Pizza too...although I'm now struggling with finding a new pizza place to satisfy my pizza snobbishness.  



BONUS QUESTION:  What are some foods of the past that YOU miss?

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Baby, You're A Firework


Hey, everyone! I hope that you're having a fantastic Wednesday today.



Today is July 4th, and for most countries in the world, it's just a typical, average day. However, if you're American, I want to wish every one of you reading this a Happy 4th of July!

I decided to do a special 4th of July entry for the American audience for a couple of reasons. One, did you know that more Americans read this blog more than any other nationality? Considering that I'm Canadian, I consider this to be a great thing!

(For the record, the top 5 are United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and India.)

So, I wanted to offer some gratitude towards the Americans who have supported me in my writing ventures by doing a special blog entry dedicated to you. I've even done this blog in red and blue to make it even more special (I would have added white as well, but it's hard to see on yellow.)

But secondly, I wanted to choose a topic that seemed to fit with the American holiday. After all, when you ask an American what the 4th of July means to them, I imagine that most of them will have the same answer.



Freedom.

So, I thought that I would use this opportunity to help our American readership celebrate America's 236th birthday by choosing a subject that is not only represents the 4th of July, but represents freedom as well.

Confused yet? Don't worry. It'll all become clear soon enough.

In the meantime, I thought that I would post an appropriate song that befits the day. Have a look at this.



ARTIST: Katy Perry
SONG: Firework
ALBUM: Teenage Dream
DATE RELEASED: October 16, 2010
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 4 weeks

Katy Perry's “Firework” was the third single from her highly successful “Teenage Dream” album. It was also her third of five consecutive #1 hits from the same album. It also happens to be my favourite song of hers that she has ever done. The song itself is catchy, and it's got a great beat.

The video, however, is a masterpiece, and it certainly illustrates the topic that I want to discuss.

Today's blog subject is about the two F's associated with the 4th of July. Fireworks and Freedom.



As most of you know, fireworks are quite symbolic with the 4th of July. They rank right up there with stars, stripes, and barbecued hamburgers. Certainly, fireworks are a huge deal up here in Canada as well, especially on holidays like Canada Day which was just three days ago.

I can remember as a child going to the waterfront every July 1st. At the time, we had a summer festival that always ended with a humongous fireworks display. Watching the bursts of light streaking across the sky in shades of red, blue, white, green, gold, and purple always left me with such a high. Okay, so I had to watch the fireworks displays with my fingers lodged in my ears because the loud pops and bangs were a little too loud, but still, the visual stimulation was fantastic.

I imagine that for Americans today, they get those same feelings as they watch the annual fireworks display light up the sky.



But do you know how fireworks came to be invented? Well, nobody really knows when the first instance of fireworks being used came to be, but it's estimated that the practice of lighting fireworks first began around the 10th century, in the country of China. The Chinese reportedly designed several varieties of fireworks using different effects and colours. During the Song Dynasty, it wasn't uncommon to see the people of China buying fireworks from market vendors, and as early as 1110, large fireworks displays were set off. It would take about another hundred years before the fireworks would be launched into the air (a record dating back to the year 1264 states that a rocket-propelled firework went off near the Emperess Dowager Gong Sheng, which startled her during a feast held in her honour).

By the mid-17th century, Chinese fireworks were gained popularity with the development of “chinoiserie”, and in 1758, Jesuit missionary Pierre Nicolas le Cheron d'Incarville took notice. He was living in Beijing at the time, and he was so impressed by the technology behind Chinese fireworks that he ended up writing a piece on the methods and composition behind making them. He sent it into the Paris Academy of Sciences which revealed and published the account five years later. The writings were translated in 1765, which added fuel to the fire, so to speak. Within a matter of time, fireworks became immensely popular.

So, now you know how fireworks were invented and became popular. But, what does the American Independence Day have to do with them?

Well, apparently some of America's earliest settlers used fireworks and black ash to celebrate important occasions long before the American Revolutionary War. Most of you know that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, and the first celebration of America's Independence day was held a year later in 1777. Fireworks were a part of that celebration, as well as in 1789, with the inauguration of George Washington.

So, it's easy to see why so many people see fireworks as being a symbol of freedom. After all, they were lit on the very day that the United States of America became an independent nation, free from the rule of other countries. I'm not American, but it's a beautiful feeling...one that I'm sure the residents of my country felt back in 1867.

TRIVIA: Do you want to know the place that reportedly uses the most fireworks? Apparently, it's the Walt Disney Company! Given the elaborate fireworks displays held at Anaheim's Disneyland and Orlando's Walt Disney World, it's easy to see why.

So, that's your history lesson on fireworks for today.

Now, you're probably wondering why I posted the Katy Perry video up above. The reason why I did was because it's the perfect example of illustrating the concept of freedom.

That is, the freedom of being yourself.

The whole concept of the video is coming to terms with who you are, accepting your insecurities, and facing your fears in order to become the person you know you can be. In the course of the video, you see several unfortunate situations. You see two children caught in a domestic dispute between their parents. There's a girl who is battling cancer and has lost all of her hair. You have a teenage boy at a party who seems to be feeling alone. There's a pool party where a girl is encouraging someone else to strip down and jump in, but she's self-conscious about how she looks. And there's a boy who is being cornered by a group of thugs, and things look grim.

But somehow, the people in the video seem to find who they are, and as a result, they let their colours burst in the form of shiny, sparkly fireworks. And, once that happens, things start to get better. The boy finds the courage to tell his fighting parents to knock it off. The girl with cancer finds the strength to face the world. The self-conscious girl dives right into new self-confidence. The teenage boy at the club finds true love. Even the boy in the alleyway manages to escape injury through the power of magic. At the end, there's a huge celebration filled with thousands of newly-inspired teenagers who have now found a sense of inner freedom by breaking free of the negativity and self-consciousness that they carried with them for so long.

In that sense, the video does a great job linking big, bold, and bright fireworks in the sky to finding the freedom within yourself to be the person that you want to be. Just as fireworks are linked to being a symbol to a country's independence, I think that fireworks can also be linked to a feeling of personal independence as well, at least, that's the image that the Katy Perry video presents.

When you stop and think of it in both of those senses, fireworks really do represent the value of freedom. Not just in the United States, but for all countries. Whether it's the freedom of being an independent nation, or freedom from negative stereotypes holding you down...I think that freedom should be celebrated, don't you?

I think that's why I enjoy fireworks displays, even if the noise bugs me. They illustrate something so beautiful and pure, and something that lies dormant inside of us, just waiting to come out.



Happy Independence Day, America.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

July 3, 1971


It's our first Tuesday Timeline entry for the month of July, and this month is going to be featuring FIVE trips back through time. It's not as rare as you may believe, though. Both the months of January and May 2012 have had five Tuesdays before this month. But, I think it's a bit of a cool thing to have five Tuesday Timelines in a month. Besides, statistically, Tuesdays are the days that I have the most page views, so I find it a plus to have as many Tuesdays as possible in a month.

Alas, I am rambling.

It is July 3rd today. It's two days after Canada's birthday, and one day before the American Independence Day, and as it turns out, there have been a lot of events that have happened throughout history on this date. Let's have a look at some of these events.

1608 – Quebec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain

1754 – George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces

1767 – The oldest Norwegian newspaper, “Adresseavisen” is founded

1819 – America's first savings bank, The Bank of Savings, opens in New York City

1844 – The last of the Great Auks is killed

1848 – Slaves are freed in the Danish West Indies (now called the U.S. Virgin Islands) by Peter von Scholten

1863 – The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett's Charge

1884 – Dow Jones publishes first stock average

1886 – Karl Benz unveils prototype for Benz Patent Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile

1890 – Idaho is declared the 43rd U.S. State

1938 – Franklin D. Roosevelt lights eternal flame at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg Battlefield

1952 – Constitution of Puerto Rico approved by U.S. Congress

1969 – Soviet N-1 Rocket completely obliterates its own launchpad in what was called the worst explosion in the history of rocketry

1979 – Jimmy Carter signs first directive for secret aid to opponents of pro-Soviet regime in Kabul, Afghanistan

1988 – U.S. Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over Persian Gulf, 290 people are killed

1994 – 46 people are killed in separate car crashes in Texas, which prompts the Texas Department of Public Safety to declare July 3, 1994 as the deadliest day in Texas traffic history

Those are just some of the events that have occurred on July 3. Now let's take a look at some of the celebrities who are having a birthday today. Celebrating July 3 birthdays are Gloria Allred, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Cole, Johnny Lee, Dave Barry, Betty Buckley, Jan Smithers, Montel Williams, Aaron Tippin, Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode), Tom Cruise, Hunter Tylo, Thomas Gibson, Yeardley Smith, Connie Nielsen, Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies), Audra McDonald, Shawnee Smith, Julian Assange, Patrick Wilson, Emma Cunniffe, Andrea Barber, Shane Lynch (Boyzone), Olivia Munn, Justin Torkildsen, and Corey Sevier.

That's quite a huge list, wouldn't you say?

For today's look back through time, I thought we'd take the time to look back on a life that was cut tragically short. And for me, this was a tough task, because as it happens, a lot of famous people died on July 3.

There was former Rolling Stone, Brian Jones, who died July 3, 1969...but I already did an entry on him. I have also done an entry on author Mordecai Richler, who died on July 3, 2001. We also lost soap star Benjamin Hendrickson in 2006, Gilligan's Island star Jim Bakkus in 1989, and even Roy Rogers' horse, Trigger, passed away on this date in 1965.



Today we're going back to a date in which another famous person died. July 3, 1971.



July 3, 1971 was the date that The Doors frontman, Jim Morrison, passed away at the age of 27. And, we'll be talking about that a little bit later in this blog entry.

It really seems hard to picture this now, but if Jim Morrison had lived, he would be 68 years old today. Does that not seem a bit wild to picture? I often wonder what kind of career he would have experienced had he lived? Would he still be relevant in 2012? Would he have disappeared and had a comeback tour? Would The Doors even still be together? All these questions will sadly never get answered.

Jim Morrison was born on December 8, 1943 in the community of Melbourne, Florida. His father was Real Admiral George Stephen Morrison, and his mother was Clara Morrison. When Morrison was just four years old, he allegedly witnessed a deadly car accident which involved an entire family of Native Americans. The incident reportedly left such an impression on Morrison's life that he would eventually use the imagery associated with the accident in some of his future projects. Of course, his family always denied that the incident happened the way that Morrison described, though they did state that they did pass by a car accident and that Jim was visibly upset by it.

As a result of his father serving in the U.S. Navy, Morrison's childhood was filled with a lot of relocating and moving. While he was moving around from school to school, Morrison developed a keen interest in poetry and philosophers. His main focus of study was that of Friedrich Nietzsche, Plutarch, Arthur Rimbaud, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Baudelaire Moliere, and Franz Kafka, amongst others.

He ended up graduating from George Washington High School in 1961, and four years later, he earned a degree through UCLA's film school within the Theater Arts Department of the College of Fine Arts. He opted to skip the graduation ceremony, choosing to have his diploma mailed to him. He then ended up making a few short films both during and after his time in UCLA.

All of this was fine and good, however, It wasn't until the summer of 1965 that Jim Morrison's calling would come.



At the time, Morrison was happily living the bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach. He spent many days and nights on the rooftop of his friend's apartment building, writing poems that would eventually become song lyrics. According to his friend, Dennis Jakobs (who owned the building that Jim was living on top of), he was surviving on a diet of canned beans and LSD (the breakfast of champions). Around this time, Jim Morrison had recruited UCLA student Ray Manzarek to join a project that he was working on...a band that he had wanted to call “The Doors”.



The story behind the creation of “The Doors” is one that many call legendary. Manzarek was lying on Venice Beach one day when he came across Jim Morrison. After they got to talking, and Morrison showed Manzarek some of the poems he wrote, Manzarek was immediately impressed, stating that his poems were perfect “rock group” material. That's how the friendship and partnership between Morrison and Manzarek began. Throw in guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, and you ended up with “The Doors”.

TRIVIA: Would you like to know how the band came up with the band name? It came from the title of a book written by Aldous Huxley (who also wrote the novel “Brave New World”). The book that inspired the band name was “The Doors Of Perception”. The title itself was a reference to the unlocking of doors of perception through psychadelic drug use.

It took a while before people began to take notice of the band, though. In June 1966, “The Doors” were the opening act at the Whisky a Go Go at the last week that Van Morrison and his band, “Them” were playing. That performance would end up shaping Jim's own performance style. He was in awe of Van's stagecraft, his reckless persona, his improvisation of poetry...heck, they almost had similar names to each other. It was almost kismet. On the final night, both bands performed together on the song “Gloria”.

In the beginning of 1967, The Doors signed a recording contract with Elektra Records, and just a few months later, the band released their debut single:



ARTIST: The Doors
SONG: Light My Fire
ALBUM: The Doors
DATE RELEASED: April 24, 1967
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 3 weeks

And, boy, do I have some trivia about this song. Did you know that when the song was recorded, it clocked in at well over seven minutes in length? But because the single had garnered such a positive response, and fans demanded to hear it on the radio, a radio edit was made without the lengthy instrumental break in the middle of the song.

The success of the song caused the band to appear on several television shows. Their television appearance on “American Bandstand” went off without incident. But when the band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show...well, let's just say that it was a bit controversial.

When Ed Sullivan invited the band to appear as guests, the agreement was that the band would perform two songs. “People Are Strange”, and “Light My Fire”. However, Sullivan's censors had decided that the original lyrics needed to be changed. Though the song did not contain any obscene language, it did contain alleged references to drug use...particularly with the lyric “Girl, we couldn't get much higher”. The censors wished for the band to sing the line “Girl, we couldn't get much better”. Morrison assured everyone that they would follow the rules, and sing the changed lyric.



That promise lasted a grand total of about six minutes, for when the band appeared on camera to sing, Morrison inserted the original lyric. Needless to say, Sullivan and his staff were not impressed. Morrison was later asked why he made the decision to renege on his promise to the show's staff, and he simply stated that he had forgotten about the change of lyrics once the band approached the stage. Sullivan was reportedly so angry over what had happened that he refused to shake Morrison's hand, nor did he shake the hands of the other band members. Shortly after that, a show producer told the band that they were now banned from the show, and they would never do the show again, to which a defiant Morrison exclaimed that they had already done the show.

Whatever the case, it didn't seem like the gaffe on the Ed Sullivan Show really made a dent in the career of The Doors. Their next few single releases also did well on the charts, and by the time their second album, “Strange Days” was released in September 1967, The Doors had become one of the most recognized and beloved psychadelic rock bands in America. The band would eventually release two more albums in 1968 and 1969.

But as the band's popularity zoomed, Jim Morrison's personal life seemed to spiral out of control. Jim Morrison had always been a heavy drinker and was into the drug scene, but by 1968, his actions caused negative effects within the band. He would often show up for live performances and concert gigs too drunk to even sing coherently. In some cases, he would even show up late, prompting the band to fill the time with instrumentals, or having Manzarek take on lead vocals until Morrison finally showed.



Morrison's physical appearance also changed. Whereas before he was svelte and often performed wearing leather pants, he had gained some weight, grew a beard, and started dressing more in a low-key manner.

On March 1, 1969, Morrison attempted to spark a riot at at concert in Miami, Florida. He ended up failing at his attempt, but was arrested anyway three days later following the infamous “indecent exposure” incident. Of course, drummer John Densmore insisted that Jim Morrison never exposed himself on stage, and that it was a hoax. But, since Jim isn't here to own up to it or deny it, it's hard to say.

It was also reported that although Jim Morrison was in a committed relationship with a woman named Pamela Courson (who encouraged Morrison to continue writing his poetry), he reportedly had flings with several groupies, and was the subject of at least twenty different paternity claims, a claim that Alice Cooper dismissed, stating that he was incredibly devoted to Pam, and that he avoided sexual encounters with other women while he was on the road. Still, their relationship was widely tumultuous, with reports of screaming matches and periodic separation periods.

In March 1971, just months after The Doors released what would end up being their fifth and final album, Jim and Pam relocated to Paris, France. While he was there, he dropped some of the weight he gained, and shaved off his beard. He even jumped into an impromptu studio recording with a couple of American street musicians (although Manzarek referred to the session as nothing more than “drunken gibberish”.

Sadly, this would end up being the last recording that Morrison would ever do. On July 3, 1971, the body of Jim Morrison was found inside a bathtub by Pam. There was no autopsy performed, as the medical examiner deduced that there was no sign of foul play (which under French law was perfectly acceptable). However, due to the lack of an autopsy, the real cause of Morrison's death remains unknown.

Jim Morrison was just 27 years old. And it is here that I bring up the reason why I brought this fact up at the beginning of this entry in addition to right here, right now.



Have you ever heard of something known as the “27 Club”? It's a term that has been used in the music world quite frequently. It's the theory that when a popular musician tragically dies, it will most likely happen sometime immediately following their 27th birthday.

Jim Morrison is just one of these musicians who died at the age of 27...but he certainly wasn't the first, and he definitely wasn't the last. Ironically enough, one of these people who happened to gain admittance into the club was Janis Joplin, who was rumoured to have had an alcohol-fueled affair with Morrison. She passed away in 1970, aged 27. Also dying in 1970 at age 27 was Jimi Hendrix. Brian Jones, of the Rolling Stones, was also 27 when he died, exactly two years before Morrison's death.

More recent examples of the 27 Club inductees include Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in April 1994, and Amy Winehouse, who died of a drug overdose in July 2011 at age 27. Tragically, Pamela Courson would end up dying of a drug overdose a few years after Jim's death...at age 27.

Is this something that young musicians should fear, or is it just a mere coincidence? I'll let you be the judge here, but I tend to believe the latter. While the idea of so many musicians dying at the same age is alarming, it doesn't mean that all musicians will die at that age. Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson both outlived their 27th birthdays, after all.



At any rate, although it has been 41 years since Jim Morrison's death, his legacy continues on. His gravesite in the Parisian Pere Lachaise Cemetery is one of Paris' most visited attractions, and many musicians have covered and sang his classic songs. There was even a biopic film that was released on March 1, 1991 that featured Val Kilmer in the role. I know I have only scratched the surface of Jim Morrison's larger than life presence in this blog entry, but I recommend watching this film to get more information. I liked it, anyway.

So, that's our look back on July 3, 1971. Did it light your fire?

Monday, July 02, 2012

I Know What You Did Last Summer


Maybe it’s just me, but there’s just something cool about watching scary movies in the middle of the summer.  Even better is when you have a scary movie that takes place during the summer months.

In a way, it’s unexpected.  Most people seem to associate summer with fun, excitement, freedom, and peace.  So when that peace seems to be shattered by a murder, you can imagine the shock that can come from it.

Well, I suppose I have no choice but to imagine it, because I’ve never faced a situation like this.

But what would you do if you were?

Here’s a scenario for you all to ponder.  Suppose that one summer, you and your friends are having the time of your lives doing all the things that make summer worthwhile.  You go swimming at a pool party, go dancing at a night club, host a clambake at the beach...

...that is if people still do such a thing as a clambake.  I am a bit old-fashioned.

Anyway, suppose at some point during your summer of fun, something happens that unexpectedly and abruptly changes everything...such as, oh, I don’t know, accidentally injuring someone on your way to your next destination.  What would you do if you were faced with a terrible situation like this?  Would you immediately call 911 on your mobile phone and try to save their life?  Would you attempt to give them first aid?  Or, would you drive off into the distance pretending that what just happened really didn’t happen, and leave the person to die? 

For four teenagers in a 1997 film, they opted to take the final decision.  And while I’m not intending to quote poet Robert Frost here, they ended up taking the road less travelled by...and that has made all the difference.  For that decision ended up having some rather devastating consequences.

But we’ll get to that a little bit later.


Today’s Monday Matinee feature is “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, which was originally released on October 17, 1997.  Based on a popular novel written by Lois Duncan, and adapted into a screenplay by Kevin Williamson (who was also responsible for the various “Scream” movies), the film starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Freddie Prinze Jr.


TRIVIA:  The movie wasn’t the only production that Sarah Michelle and Freddie were involved in.  They played Daphne and Freddy respectively in the live-action Scooby-Doo movies.  In addition, the couple tied the knot in 2002, where they ended up creating another project, their daughter Charlotte, who was born in September 2009.

Anyway, the movie may have been critically panned by various people, and currently holds a 37% approval rating, but despite this, the film amassed $125 million at the box office.  I suppose I can definitely attest to the popularity of this movie just based on the fact that most everyone in my grade eleven class had seen this film in theatres.  I think I was the only one who waited until it came out on video.

The film begins as we’re introduced to the four main characters of the film.  There’s Barry William Cox (Phillippe), Helen Shivers (Gellar), Julie Nicole Johnson (Hewitt), and Ray Bronson (Prinze Jr.).  At the beginning of the film, Helen ends up winning a beauty contest where she is named Miss Croaker (a deliciously ironic pageant title as you’ll see when you watch the film in its entirety).  Helen is thrilled to win the title, and she and her three friends decide to hit the town to celebrate her victory.  It was supposed to be a perfect end to a perfect night.


But in an instant, the carefree lives of the four change, and things will never be the same.  They accidentally runs over a pedestrian in his new car, and the four teens make the assumption that they have killed him.  In a panic over the situation (and at a time in which the iPhone had not yet been invented), they make the decision to toss the body in the ocean and drive away.

A whole year passes, and the following summer, Julie arrives back home from college.  She hasn’t seen Helen, Ray, or Barry since the accident happened, and she’s tried to forget that the incident last summer ever happened.

It’s just too bad that someone else wants to make her always remember what she and her friends did.  In the mail, Julie receives a letter that has just seven chilling words.

“I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER”

Naturally, Julie is freaked out by the whole thing.  She wonders if anyone else had gotten the letter.  Upon showing Helen the letter, Helen tells Barry, and the three of them decide to find out who it is that appears to be stalking them.  Immediately, Barry accuses a man named Max Neurick (Johnny Galecki) of sending the letter, a claim that Max denies.  Barry and Max get into a huge fight, with Barry warning Max that he had better keep his mouth shut.  At the same time, Julie reconnects with Ray, who holds a job as a dock worker, and Ray attempts to reconcile with Julie, but she just isn’t interested.

Shortly afterwards, things get very crazy.  Max ends up getting murdered, and Barry gets run over with his own car following an attack by a raincoat cloaked figure armed with a hook.  Although Barry survives the attack, he couldn’t get a good look at the killer.  Later, at the hospital, the four friends reunite and Julie mentions that she may know the identity of the person that they accidentally hit that fateful night.  She was reading some old newspaper clippings and came across an article on David Egan, whose body had washed up on shore weeks after the accident.  They initially come up with a new theory that David’s sister Melissa (Anne Heche) is the one stalking them, but following a meeting with her, they seemingly dismiss that theory after she tells them that her brother had a meeting with someone named Billy Blue just before he died.


But before the four can investigate this development, the stalker strikes again.  He breaks into Helen’s room and cuts off her hair while she slept, and later on, Julie discovers Max’s dead body stuffed into the trunk of her car with a bunch of live crabs.  Even stranger, when she tries to show Helen and Barry what had happened, she finds that someone had taken the body and crabs out of the trunk while she was gone.  This leads to a lot of paranoia within the group, and Barry and Ray even trade a blow or two in the process.  Julie decides to take matters into her own hands, and goes and visits Missy again while Barry and Helen vow to protect each other during the Miss Croaker pageant and parade.

On the second visit, Julie manages to get some more information from Missy about David Egan.  Missy shows Julie a suicide note that David reportedly wrote, which seemingly matched the same style as the note that Julie had received.  Missy explained that David had been feeling depressed since his fiancée, Susie, was killed in a car accident some time earlier, and that he took his own life because he couldn’t cope with the loss.  Julie tries to tell Missy that she and her friends were the ones who accidentally hit David that night, but this only causes Missy to react with anger, and she throws Julie out.

So, Missy’s provided Julie with some nice tidbits about David...but are Julie’s conclusions correct?  As the film progresses, the action shifts over to the Miss Croaker pageant, where before the night is over, the body count will continue to rise, the truth about what really happened to David Egan will be revealed, and Julie ends up in a fight for her life after stumbling across the truth.

All in all, I find “I Know What You Did Last Summer” to be a movie that could easily be considered mindless fluff.  It certainly isn’t a film that would be worthy of an Academy Award, but it is a great film to watch while you’re stuffing your face with Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn.


And, look at it this way.  If the film wasn’t so successful, it wouldn’t have spawned a sequel the following year, “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”.  But, you know, I’ve always had a bit of a bone to pick with the sequel title.  Should it not have been called “I Know What You Did Two Summers Ago”?  Well, unless the sequel is making a reference to the first movie, which did happen the previous summer.

I’m so confused.  I think I’ll check my mail.  Oh, look, here’s a letter for me.



AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 01, 2012

A "Reckless" Canada Day Celebration


Welcome to July, everybody, and if you happen to be living in Canada as I am, I want to wish all Canadians a happy Canada Day!

Yes, Canada turns the big 145 today, and I plan to celebrate by donning the red and white today.  Just like yesterday, today’s blog post will be written entirely in red.

And today, I’m going to do another album spotlight.

I’ve done two album spotlights before in this blog.  One was on the Huey Lewis & The News album “Sports”, and the other one was on the 1987 holiday compilation “A Very Special Christmas”. 

And today, I’ll be featuring an artist from Canada, in the spirit of Canada Day.

But, first, let’s meet this artist in question.


Without a doubt, Bryan Adams has not only made his mark on the Canadian music scene, but internationally as well.  Here are a few statistics on Bryan Adams by the numbers.

10 studio albums released
5 compilation albums
4 live albums
67 singles released
11 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Charts
4 #1 singles on the Billboard Charts
20 Juno Awards
15 Grammy Award nominations

And, that’s not all.  In addition to his music, Bryan Adams is also a skilled photographer, taking hundreds of photographs which have been published in various books and magazines all over the world.  Not bad for a 52-year-old who was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, eh?

Since 1977, Bryan Adams has been making music, and with the release of his debut album in 1980, his rise to the top of the charts began.

It was very difficult for me to select just one album of his that best describes his career.  1983’s “Cuts Like A Knife” could easily be considered his breakthrough album, but with only three singles charting, the entry wouldn’t be very interesting.  And while my favourite Bryan Adams album is his 1991 effort “Waking Up The Neighbours”, his most overplayed song happens to be on that same album.  While it’s a lovely song, I don’t want the focus to be on just one song.


So, what album did I decide to feature?  The answer is “Reckless”, Bryan Adams’ fourth album, which was dropped on November 5, 1984.

The reason why I chose this album is because it was certainly one of his biggest selling albums.  The album went five times platinum in the United States, and sold over one million copies in Bryan’s native Canada.  The album also did very well in the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.  The album holds the distinctive honour of being the first record in Canada to sell over one million copies, and was the first album of Bryan’s to reach the top of the Billboard 200. 

Six singles (or 60% of the album) were released from “Reckless” between 1984 and 1985, and each single managed to reach the Top 15, a feat only matched by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.  So, for this July 1st, I thought we’d listen to these six singles, and have a bit of a discussion about each of them.

They’ll be posted in chronological order.  Here was the first release.


“RUN TO YOU”
RELEASED:  October 18, 1984
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #6

I think of all the songs that were released on “Reckless”, this one is probably one of the most recognizable of any song released by Bryan Adams.  The song was actually one of the first to be recorded.  It was recorded in late March 1984, shortly after Adams toured Asia.  Ironically, it was the last song to be written for Reckless.  And, here’s a bit of trivia for you.  Did you know that the song was originally offered to Blue Oyster Cult?  They turned the song down, but Adams jumped on the chance, and it became his highest charting single at the time (it dethroned “Straight From The Heart” which peaked at #10 in 1983).  Another interesting fact about this single is that it was nominated for five MTV Video Music Awards, and lost all five awards.  However, if there is some good to take away from this, it is that “Run To You” was the most nominated video out of any of the ones that Bryan Adams ever made.


“SOMEBODY”
DATE RELEASED:  January 7, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #11

“Somebody” was one of those songs that had two different videos made of it.  The one that I have posted is the most common one that most people have seen.  The other one took place inside a football stadium, and featured the same woman (Lysette Anthony) who starred in the “Run To You” video.  The song itself has been praised for its simplistic chorus, with Adams’ long time collaborator Jim Vallance stating that the chorus is so simple that you could sing along with it even if you had never heard the song before.

“I need somebody, somebody like you.  We all need somebody.  Oh yeah.”  Yep, I can sing along to that one splendidly.


“HEAVEN”
DATE RELEASED:  April 9, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1

I’m sure that “Heaven” holds a special place in Bryan’s heart.  It was, after all, his first number one single on Billboard’s Hot 100.  The song was actually recorded around the time that his “Cuts Like A Knife” album was climbing the charts, in June 1983.  The song also appeared on the soundtrack of the 1983 film “A Night In Heaven”.  However, Bryan was reluctant to include the song on “Reckless”, as was producer Jimmy Iovine.  The slow ballad seemed out of place when compared to the hardness of the other tracks intended for “Reckless”, and he recommended that Adams not include it in the final cut.  But just before production wrapped, Adams had a change of heart, and “Heaven” was added to the list of final tracks.  Good thing too, considering how successful the song was.  Easily one of my favourite Bryan Adams songs.

Although I don’t know if I can ever forgive DJ Sammy, Yanou, or Do for completely bastardizing it in 2001 with this interpretation.


Oh, and here’s some trivia for you.  The scheduled drummer for the song had another commitment, and wasn’t able to make the recording session for this song, so another drummer filled in...Journey percussionist Steve Smith!


“SUMMER OF ’69”
DATE RELEASED:  June 15, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #5

There’s a bit of an argument in regards to what the actual meaning is of the number sixty-nine in the song.  Some would argue that the song refers to the year 1969.  Bryan Adams stated that the number is a reference to the classic sex position, but Jim Vallance contradicted Adams’ claims, stating that it has no relation.  What do you think?

At any rate, “Summer of ‘69” is definitely one of those songs that you really have to have in your summer soundtrack.  The music video was directed by Steve Barron (who also directed “Run To You” almost a year earlier).

The song underwent some changes as Adams and Vallance wrote and re-wrote the lyrics, and they almost agreed to name the song “Best Days Of My Life”, as those words appeared in the song more than “Summer of ‘69”.  And here’s some trivia that you may not have known.  You know the line in the song that states “Jimmy quit, and Jody got married”?  If Jim Vallance had his way, the names would have been changed to Woody and Gordy, after members of his high school band.  Adams decided to go with his names instead.  He wasn’t sure where the name Jimmy came from, but Jody was based off of sound-manager Jody Perpik, who had actually gotten married during the “Reckless” recording sessions.


“ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR”
DATE RELEASED:  September 28, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #13

This was the fifth single from “Reckless”, and the song was as the title described.  It was a song about a one night stand.  Although the song didn’t perform as well as the other singles from “Reckless”, there is an amusing inside joke between Adams, Vallance, and guitarist Keith Scott.  There’s a lyric in “One Night Love Affair” that reads “if the night was made for love, it ain’t for keeps.”  When Adams and Vallance played it back for Keith, they changed the last word to ‘Keith’, which amused him greatly.  As a result of this joke, whenever the song is performed in concert, he stares directly at Keith and sings the manipulated line in an effort to get him to at least crack a smile of amusement during the show.  The next time you’re lucky enough to see Bryan Adams in concert, and he plays this song, keep an ear open.



IT’S ONLY LOVE (duet with Tina Turner)
DATE RELEASED:  November 3, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #15

1985 was a huge year for Tina Turner.  She had made a comeback the year before with the song “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” and ever since that song, she found herself on the top of the charts once more.  So when the opportunity came along for Tina to share a duet with Bryan Adams, (who himself saw his star power rise in 1985), she couldn’t refuse.  Nor could Bryan Adams, who stated that it was one of the most memorable collaborations he had ever worked on.  And, keep in mind that this was coming from a man who would eventually sing with Sting, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand and Melanie “Sporty Spice” Chisholm over the years. 

But there was just something special about Tina.  Adams used to watch Tina perform in clubs, and was mesmerized by her from the start.  To have the opportunity to sing with her at only twenty-four years of age was nothing short of awesome.  It’s just a shame that the song was the lowest performing single on “Reckless”, as I felt that it was one of both Bryan and Tina’s best singles.

And, there you have it...a look back on the 1984 album “Reckless” by Bryan Adams. 

Now I turn over discussion to you.

What is YOUR favourite Bryan Adams song and/or album? 


Happy Canada Day, Canadians everywhere!  And for you American readers out there, I haven’t forgotten about you.  I have a 4th of July entry planned that will lead off with a bang!