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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

July 24, 1969


Welcome to another thrilling installment of the Tuesday Timeline!

It is Tuesday, July 24, 2012, and we're going to take a look at all of the exciting events that have taken place on this date. Today we're going to feature a woman who happens to be celebrating a birthday today, and we'll be discussing her life, her career, and her many romantic dalliances over the years. Won't that be exciting?

Of course, we should really talk about some of the other happenings that have taken place on this date. And, since today we're featuring someone who is celebrating a birthday today, let's take a look at some other famous people who have a July 24 birthday. Celebrating a birthday today are John Aniston, Doug Sanders, Ruth Buzzi, Mark Goddard, Walt Bellamy, Dan Hedaya, Chris Sarandon, Robert Hays, Michael Richards, Arliss Ryan, Lynda Carter, Gus Van Sant, Pat Finn, Pam Tillis, Paul Geary, Karl Malone, Barry Bonds, Kadeem Hardison, Kristen Chenowith, Laura Leighton, Rick Fox, John Partridge, Eric Szmanda, Torrie Wilson, Rose Byrne, Summer Glau, Anna Paquin, Mara Wilson, Daveigh Chase, and Bindi Irwin.

And, here are some of the historical events that have taken place on July 24.

1148 – Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during Second Crusade

1411 – Battle of Harlaw takes place in Scotland

1487 – The townspeople of Leeuwarden, Netherlands strike against ban of foreign beer

1534 – French explorer Jacques Cartier plants a cross on Gaspe peninsula and takes possession of the land in the name of Francis I

1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicates throne, her son James VI takes over at the tender age of one year old

1823 – Slavery is abolished in Chile

1847 – Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, which leads to the founding of Salt Lake City, Utah

1901 – American writer O. Henry is released from prison after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank

1911 – Hiram Bingham III rediscovers Machu Picchu

1915 – The S.S. Eastland capsizes in the Chicago River, killing over eight hundred people

1923 – The Treaty of Lausanne is signed in Switzerland

1927 – The Menin Gate war memorial is unveiled at Ypres

1929 – The Kellogg-Briand pact goes into effect, almost a year after being signed

1935 – Temperatures reach 109 in Chicago, and 104 in Milwaukee during the dust bowl heat wave

1937 – The state of Alabama drops rape charges against the “Scottsboro Boys”

1943 – World War II's Operation Gomorrah begins; by the end of it all, 30,000 are left dead, and almost 300,000 structures are destroyed

1950 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations

1959 – U.S. Vice-President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a “Kitchen Debate” in Moscow

1967 – In Montreal, Quebec, French President Charles de Gaulle makes the statement “Vive le Quebec libre!” (which loosely translated meant “Long live free Quebec”) angers Canadian government and English-speaking Canadians after they interpreted it as a statement supporting Quebec independence

1974 – Richard Nixon is ordered to surrender subpoenaed White House tapes during the height of the Watergate scandal

1980 – Actor Peter Sellers passes away at the age of 54

1982 – Heavy rains washes out a bridge in Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299

1983 – George Brett ends up having a game-winning home run nullified as a result of the “Pine Tar Incident”

1998 – Russell Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into U.S. Capitol and kills two police officers

2002 – James Traficant is expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives in a vote of 420-1

2005 – Cyclist Lance Armstrong wins his seventh consecutive Tour de France

That's quite an eclectic list of happenings for today, wouldn't you say?

So, where are we going to go back in time today?



Well, we're going back to July 24, 1969. It was four days after man first walked on the moon, and it was the same day that Apollo 11 landed back on Earth safely. And, keeping on with the space theme (albeit loosely), a star just happened to be born on this date 43 years ago.

Some of you may know her as Jennifer, others may know her as Jenny from the block, and some may just simply call her J.Lo.


Whatever the case, today's blog subject is 43-year-old singer/actress Jennifer Lopez.

These days, you may know her for a variety of things. You might know her from the various television and movie projects she worked on (and continues to work on) for years. Some of you may know her from the music career that she has embarked on since the late 1990s. Some of you may remember her from the various public relationships that she has had over the years. And, some of you may recall that she served on the judging panel of the singing competition “American Idol” for two seasons.

Oh, and some of you might remember this dress.



Of course, there's a lot more to this lady than her entertainment connections and tabloid gossip. Her life story, as well as what she did to make it big in the world of music and film is really quite inspirational.

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born in The Bronx, New York, in the Castle Hill neighbourhood of the New York City borough. Her parents were originally from Puerto Rico, and together they had three children, Leslie, Jennifer, and Lynda.



TRIVIA: Jennifer's younger sister Lynda is now a journalist, and won an Emmy Award in 2001.

Jennifer's father, David, worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company, and later became a computer technician for the firm. Her mother, Guadalupe was a homemaker. At the time of Jennifer's birth, the Lopez family was crammed together in a tiny apartment in the Bronx, but by the time Jennifer was old enough to start school, the family was able to move into a two-story house.

Jennifer's love of performing seemed to begin at an early age. At five, Jennifer began to take lessons in both singing and dancing, something that was encouraged by both of her parents...at least at that time. Jennifer spent her entire schooling career in the Catholic school system, where she graduated from Preston High School in 1987. While she was in school, Jennifer excelled in athletics, participating in her school's softball team, gymnastics, and track and field.



Around the time of her final year of high school, Jennifer Lopez received her first taste of acting in a motion picture when she heard about an audition for a film that was looking at casting several young girls for roles. The film was 1986's “My Little Girl”, and it ended up being her first acting role, winning the part of Myra. After appearing in the film, Jennifer decided that she liked it enough to want to pursue a career as an actress. She did try to go to college, but dropped out after a semester because she really wanted to pursue her dream. When she told her parents about her dream, they weren't exactly supportive of it, and told her that no Latino ever dropped out of school and became an actress. As a result, Jennifer left the family home to pursue her dream.

After performing in various musicals all around New York City for a few years, Jennifer took on a job in Japan on the television show “Synchronicity”, where she danced, sang, and did the choreography for the dance numbers. And in 1991, Jennifer ended up landing a job as a backup dancer while on tour with the New Kids on the Block, even appearing with them on the American Music Awards when they performed their hit single “Games”. Just weeks later, Jennifer Lopez landed another high-profile gig when she was cast as a “Fly Girl” on the FOX sketch comedy show “In Living Color” after one of the original Fly Girls had left.



For Jennifer, getting that gig was a lucky break. She had entered a contest to become the newest Fly Girl, but she came in second. But after the winner was unable to accept the job, Jennifer received the role. She stayed on the show until 1993, after which she became a backup dancer for Janet Jackson. In fact, if you watch Janet's video for “That's The Way That Love Goes” (which hit the top of the charts in the spring of 1993), you can see Jennifer in the video. Have a look!



Now Jennifer was asked to go on tour with Janet Jackson on her Janet World Tour, but she declined the offer, wishing to pave her own way to stardom. She starred in a direct-to-video film (Lost in the Wild), and starred in the short-lived dramas “Second Chances”, and “Hotel Malibu”. Things started off slowly for Jennifer, but by 1996, she would end up getting her big break.



After appearing in “My Family” and “Jack”, Jennifer Lopez received the role that would change her life forever. In 1996, a movie was being made about the short life of Tejano singer Selena, who was tragically shot to death by the president of her fan club in the spring of 1995, and Lopez was given the role of Selena. Initially, with word that Lopez was cast in the role, many Mexican-Americans were highly critical of the choice, stating that they felt that casting a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents was not being true to Selena's roots, and they felt that casting a Mexican-American actress would have been better.



But when they saw the movie upon its release in 1997, the same critics were so blown away by Jennifer's performance that they immediately recanted their criticism. Although the songs that were featured in the movie were Selena's own recordings that Lopez lip-synched, critics loved Jennifer Lopez in the role, and they felt that she did a phenomenal job in the role. She was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in “Selena”, and it really kick-started her acting career.

More movies followed. “Anaconda”, “U Turn”, “Out of Sight”, and “Antz” kept Jennifer Lopez busy throughout 1997 and 1998. In addition to that, Jennifer Lopez planned a launch for a fashion line (which became a reality in 2001), which inevitably ended up giving Jennifer her most known nickname, “J.Lo”.

Now, you'd think that would be enough to keep Jennifer Lopez happy, but Jennifer wanted to do more. So when people kept asking her in interviews if she was thinking of pursuing a music career after filming “Selena”, it got her thinking about how she got started in the entertainment business. All the musicals she sang in, and all the dancing she had done had made her happy, and she figured that now that she was a household name, she may as well attempt a singing career as well.

She released a Spanish-language demo shortly after filming for “Selena” was completed, “Vevir Sin Ti”, and sent the song to Sony Music's Work Records, who immediately became interested in signing the star. Tommy Mottola, who headed the company, suggested that Lopez do an English language album, and Jennifer agreed. When Jennifer expressed interest in doing an album that blended Latin music, R&B, and pop, which seemed to scare the record executives, but Jennifer stuck to her guns, wanting to prove herself in the world of music.

Luckily, Jennifer's timing could not have been more perfect, as 1999 was the year of the Latin explosion in the world of pop music. Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Carlos Santana all had hits that year, and Jennifer's debut single in May 1999 certainly fit the bill.



ARTIST: Jennifer Lopez
SONG: If You Had My Love
ALBUM: On The 6
DATE RELEASED: May 4, 1999
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 5 weeks

TRIVIA: The name of the album, “On The 6” came from the subway line that she used to ride on when she was a girl growing up in the Bronx.



The album “On The 6” was released in June 1999, and it became a huge success. As you've seen above, the debut single managed to top the charts for five weeks, and stayed in the Top 10 until September 11, 1999. That's quite a long stay, and a great success for a debut single. Over the next few years, she would eventually release six more albums, and would have a number of hit singles including “Waiting For Tonight”, “Love Don't Cost A Thing”, “I'm Real”, “Jenny From The Block”, “Get Right”, and “On The Floor”.

Jennifer Lopez also never gave up her acting career either, as she ended up acting in a wide array of movies. Mind you, some were clunkers (I'm thinking of “Gigli” as a prime example of this), but some were good too. She made such films as “The Cell”, “The Wedding Planner”, “Enough”, “Maid In Manhattan”, “Monster-in-Law”, “The Back-Up Plan”, and recently, “What to Expect When You're Expecting”.



As well, Jennifer Lopez's love life seems to garner a lot of interest (not from me personally, as I don't really care who dates who in the world of Hollywood). But she's had some high profile romances. She's been married three times in her life. Once to Ojani Noa, once to Cris Judd, and once to “You Sang To Me” singer Marc Anthony. It is with the latter that she ended up giving birth to her two children, twins Max and Emme.



I'm sure that her naming her children after the human characters on the PBS show “Dragon Tales” was just a coincidence.

Sadly, all three of those marriages ended in divorce (of course, you probably already knew that about the first two), but she's reportedly dating a man named Casper Smart who is nearly half her age. Hey, more power to her. 



And, of course, we can't forget her relationship with Ben Affleck (affectionately dubbed Bennifer in the media). For a few years, these two were hot and heavy...well, until Ben and Jennifer called it off, and he hooked up with Jennifer Garner (Bennifer 2.0). Oh, and of course there's her relationship with Sean “Puff Daddy P. Diddy Diddy” Combs, which was a lovely affair...until a steady stream of bullets over midtown Manhattan caused the relationship to dissolve. Google Jennifer Lopez and December 27, 1999 for more information on that strange incident if you want to learn more.

Anyway, relationships aside, Jennifer Lopez has worn many hats in her 43 years. She's been a singer, a dancer, an actress, a fashion icon, a mother, a wife, a talent show judge, and an entrepreneur. She very well could be the 21st century version of a renaissance woman.



And she was born 43 years ago today, on July 24, 1969.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Beverly Hills Cop


In the world of music, it seems quite rare when a song without lyrics hits the charts. But there have been some instances in which instrumentals have done very well.

In fact, I can name quite a few instrumentals that have managed to get a lot of airplay. Below, you can find a list of them, when they charted, their peak position on the charts, as well as the artist who sang them. In chronological order, here are some of the instrumentals that charted on the Billboard Charts.

Tequila, The Champs, 1958, #1
Calcutta, Lawrence Welk, 1961, #1
Mexico, Bob Moore, 1962, #1
Wipeout, The Surfaris, 1963, #2
Love's Theme, Love Unlimited Orchestra, 1974, #1
The Hustle, Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony, 1975, #1
A Fifth of Beethoven, Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band, 1976, #1
Rise, Herb Alpert, 1979, #1
Give It All You Got, Chuck Mangione, 1980, #18
Chariots of Fire, Vangelis, 1982, #1
Rockit, Herbie Hancock, 1983, #71 (#1 on the Dance Club Play charts)
Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire, David Foster, 1985, #15
Theme From Mission Impossible, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., 1996, #7

That's quite a long list of successful instrumental songs, isn't it? And notice how many ended up topping the charts! Of the thirteen examples that I have posted, eight have been #1 singles! So, I think I've proven that there is a place for instrumentals in this world.

So, why am I bringing up the topic of instrumentals in this blog entry, especially since today happens to be a Monday Matinee? Well, as it so happens, I want to focus on an instrumental that managed to hit the Billboard Charts...an instrumental that happens to be a part of one of 1984's most successful films.

But first, let's have a listen.



ARTIST: Harold Faltermeyer
SONG: Axel F
ALBUM: Beverly Hills Cop Soundtrack
DATE RELEASED: January 21, 1985
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #3

Ah, yes, Axel F. The song that made German-born musician Harold Faltermeyer a household name for a spell. Mind you, the song Axel F was hardly his first foray into composing songs for soundtracks. Aside from composing hits for Donna Summer, Laura Branigan, and the Pet Shop Boys, he ended up contributing songs to films such as “Fletch”, “Top Gun”, “The Running Man”, and “Tango & Cash”.

But there was something about Axel F that was special. I can attest to this fact alone. Although I was barely four when it was released, I remember the song being played everywhere. You couldn't turn on the television without seeing some clip of Harold playing his multiple keyboards. For some reason, it's one image that will forever be burned into my memory, as it was one of the few from early childhood that I remember vividly.



And for those of you who remember the movie, “Beverly Hills Cop”, you know that this song features quite prominently in the film. So, I decided to pick this film for the subject of today's blog. Not just because it has a killer soundtrack (which also features songs by Glenn Frey, Patti LaBelle, and the Pointer Sisters), but because it's a great movie.

The film was released on December 5, 1984, and was the film that turned Eddie Murphy into a huge Hollywood star. Would you believe that Murphy was only 23 years old when this movie was filmed? The film was directed by Martin Brest, produced by the team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, and also starred Judge Reinhold, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, and Ronny Cox.

The film was a box office bonanza, taking in over $300 million in profits alone! It stayed at #1 on the box office ratings for fourteen consecutive weeks between late 1984 and early 1985. And just to give you an indication as to how successful the soundtrack of the film was, it ended up winning a Grammy Award in 1986! The film also spawned two sequels, one in 1987, and one in 1994.

Although the film was completed in 1984, the idea behind the film was actually born seven years earlier, in 1977. The first draft of the script that would become the screenplay for Beverly Hills Cop was written by Danilo Bach. The plot went through several changes in development. Initially, it was about a police officer from East Los Angeles who was transferred to Beverly Hills. By the time the film was ready to be filmed, it had evolved into the story of an East Coast cop who went out to Beverly Hills to avenge the death of a friend. Oh, and the main character was named Axel Elly.



TRIVIA: Would you believe that the only reason Martin Brest took on the directing role of the project was due to the luck of a coin toss? He flipped a quarter to determine whether he would accept the role or not. Reportedly, that quarter is now framed and is now hanging up on Brest's wall.



The initial casting for the main character of the movie was a lengthy process. Jerry Bruckheimer actually gave a bit of insight into the casting process behind the scenes. Initially, the project was intended for Mickey Rourke. Rourke had even signed a holding contract worth $400,000 in order to do the film. So what happened? Well, due to revisions of the script and other preparations needed for the film, Rourke's contract expired before filming could begin, and he walked. The project was then offered to Sylvester Stallone, but two weeks before filming was slated to begin, Stallone was out, and Eddie Murphy was in.

TRIVIA: Other actors in the running for the lead role reportedly included Richard Pryor, James Caan, and Al Pacino!

Oh, and here's another piece of trivia. You know the character of Billy Rosewood, played by Judge Reinhold? Back when Stallone was cast, the original script called for Rosewood to be KILLED OFF! Could you imagine? The only thing that ended up changing the producers minds about that plot point came down to casting. When John Ashton (who played the role of John Taggart was paired with Judge Reinhold, the director had a change of heart once he witnessed their chemistry with each other, and kept Rosewood alive to live through two more sequels!



The movie even boasted advanced technology, as there is a scene in the movie where Axel and Rosewood are being tracked via a GPS device, which didn't become commercially available for civilian use until the 1990s! No real reason to add this point in, I just thought it was cool!

Oh, and one final thing. The casting of Eddie Murphy in the main role meant that the whole movie had to be completely revised and some parts written entirely. The name of the main character was changed as well. Instead of Axel Elly, the name was changed to Axel Foley...or Axel F. Hmmm, where have I heard that name before? ;)

So, instead of Axel being from the East Coast, Axel now became a native of Detroit (some of the film was actually filmed in Detroit, Michigan). Axel Foley ended up becoming a police detective in Detroit, but prior to that, he was a juvenile delinquent in and out of trouble. At the beginning of the film, we see Axel try (and fail) to bust up an unauthorized cigarette smuggling operation, which earns him the wrath of his boss, Douglas Todd (Gilbert R. Hill).

Shortly after, Axel is surprised by an old childhood friend (who decides to break in rather than use the doorbell). His name is Mikey Tandino (James Russo), and he informs Axel that he now has a job as a security guard in Beverly Hills, California. Apparently, it was their mutual friend, Jenny (Eilbacher) that hooked Mikey up with the job. The two men head out for a few drinks, and all seems fine. But when they return to Axel's apartment, the two men are ambushed. Axel is knocked unconscious and Mikey is killed after he was questioned about some missing German bearer bonds.

Axel is devastated by the loss of his friend, and he demands to be a part of the investigation into his murder. But because Mikey was his friend, the police department in Detroit deem it a conflict of interest, and Axel is left out.

But does this stop Axel? No. He takes all of his unused vacation time and boards a flight to Beverly Hills, determined to launch his own investigation into the events that lead up to Mikey's demise.

He happens to run into his old friend Jenny at an art gallery that she happens to be working at, and after he fills her in on what happened to their friend, she offers Axel some insight behind what was happening. She tells him that before Mikey flew up to Detroit, he was hired by her boss, art dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), as a favour to Jenny. With a lead to go on, Axel attempts to find out more information by paying Maitland a visit...and then this happens.



I suppose that's one way out.

So, despite the fact that Axel is a member of the police force in Detroit, he is arrested and taken to the closest police station where he first meets Taggart and Rosewood. Initially, Taggart and Rosewood are assigned to follow Axel around to keep a close eye on him, and certainly the path is not an easy one. After all, with tricks like the one below, it's a wonder that Taggart and Rosewood even still have their badges.



But ultimately, the trio manage to form a mutual respect of each other, especially after foiling a robbery at a strip tease bar.

This is all fine and good, but there's a mystery to solve. What connection does Maitland have to Mikey's murder? Why is he so keen on keeping Axel from sneaking around? And, just what other criminal activities is Maitland involved in?

Well, I can't tell you. You know I never reveal movie endings. In this case, I'm especially being vague because I find the movie so interesting and entertaining, you have to really see it for yourselves.

After all, it made a star out of Eddie Murphy, it was one of 1984's most successful films, and it gave Harold Faltermeyer a Top 5 hit.

Which Crazy Frog proceeded to destroy twenty years later...


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Happy Birthday, Don Henley!


When selecting the topic for today’s blog entry, I had no idea that the timing would be so perfect.  It’s almost as if I’m doing a Tuesday Timeline entry on a Sunday!  I really had no idea that the artist that I am featuring in this blog entry is celebrating his 65th birthday today!  Talk about perfect timing!


Yes, today is July 22, 2012.  But back on July 22, 1947, Don Henley was born in Gilmer, Texas. 

And yes, we’re going to be featuring a song of Don Henley’s in this particular blog.  But before we do that, why don’t we talk about Mr. Henley a bit?  His life is quite interesting.

Although he was born in Gilmer, Henley grew up in the nearby town of Linden, and attended a couple of colleges in the late 1960s.  Henley ended up leaving school to spend time with his father, who was losing his life to heart disease.  But one thing that Henley had going for him was his love of music, and little did he know that his love of music would end up impacting his future career.

In 1970, Don made the decision to form a band named Shiloh.  That same year, he moved to Los Angeles with his band to record an album.  And here’s a bit of trivia for you.  Do you know who produced that album?  It was none other than future country music superstar Kenny Rogers!


Shortly after the album was recorded, Don happened to befriend someone else who was also looking to make a name in the music world.  That friend’s name was Glenn Frey.


Now Don and Glenn ended up getting another break together, as both of them ended up being recruited for Linda Ronstadt’s back-up band.  They joined the band in the spring of 1971.  A few months later, when Ronstadt was embarking on her summer tour, two more people were added to her back-up band; Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon.  Leadon and Meisner soon developed a bond with Frey and Henley, but here’s the wild part about it all.  They only managed to play together as a unit ONCE during Linda Ronstadt’s summer tour (the gig was held at Disneyland in July 1971.  But all four managed to see their names added to the liner notes for Linda Ronstadt’s self-titled album.


When Linda’s tour ended, the four men decided to seek out their own fortunes and made the decision to form a band of their own...a move that was largely supported by Linda herself.  Signing a contract with Asylum Records (a brand new label that was founded by David Geffen), the band began recording under a new name...”Eagles”.


The Eagles’ self-titled album was released on June 26, 1972, and spawned three Top 40 hits.  And that was just the first album!  Over the course of the next eight years, the band would end up recording six #1 albums, and in the band’s lifetime, they won five American Music Awards, and six Grammy Awards!  And with such classics as “Desperado”, “Take It to the Limit”, “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Hotel California” on their set-lists, is it any wonder that the Eagles ended up being one of the most successful bands of the 1970s?

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  In the summer of 1980, the band broke up.  I would go into the story about how the split occurred, but this blog entry isn’t really about the Eagles.  Please remind me to bring it up whenever I feature an Eagles blog entry, okay?

What was interesting about the breakup of the Eagles was the fact that almost all of the band members embarked on solo careers throughout the 1980s.  Joe Walsh (who replaced Leadon after he left the band in the mid-1970s), released a successful album in 1981, and ended up becoming a session musician for other artists including Richard Marx, Steve Winwood, and Dan Fogelberg, amongst others.  And Glenn Frey ended up having a few successes in the soundtrack industry, having hits with “You Belong to the City” for the Miami Vice soundtrack, and “The Heat Is On” for the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.

And then there was Don Henley, who easily had the best solo career of them all.


Don Henley’s first project as a solo artist was actually a part of a duet.  At the time, he was seeing Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks, who herself was in the process of releasing solo projects.  The two of them worked together on the 1981 duet “Leather and Lace” (which reached the Top 10), and shortly after that, Henley released his first solo album, “I Can’t Stand Still”.  The album is known for Henley’s first solo hit “Dirty Laundry”, which was released in 1982.  The song became a big hit, and soon Don was back at work recording his follow-up album “Building the Perfect Beast”.

And as an album, “Building the Perfect Beast” was almost perfection!  (I say almost because nothing is ever really perfect.)


Seriously, the album managed to have a lot of success.  The album, which was released in November 1984, reached #13 on the Billboard 200 and sold three million copies.  The album spawned four singles, all of which reached the Top 40, and the album featured a huge cross-section of talent.  Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) played guitar on the album, Randy Newman (“I Love L.A.” played synthesizer, and both Belinda Carlisle and Patty Smyth performed harmony vocals (Henley would later have a hit song with Smyth on their 1992 duet "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough").

Even in 2012, the singles from “Building the Perfect Beast” are still heard all over the radio.  With songs such as “Sunset Grill”, “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”, and “Not Enough Love In The World”, it’s easy to see why so many people love them.  They’re catchy, have a great beat, and great lyrics.

But the song I want to focus on is the one single that I haven’t listed yet.  The single that could very well be considered one of Don Henley’s signature hits.  For whatever reason, I can’t post the actual video on the blog itself, but if you click HERE you can watch it. Go ahead, I’ll wait.


ARTIST:  Don Henley
SONG:  The Boys of Summer
ALBUM:  Building the Perfect Beast
DATE RELEASED:  October 29, 1984
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #5

(Seriously?  This song wasn’t a #1 hit?  I call shenanigans.  Oh well.)

Ah, but wait!  Although the song didn’t quite top the Billboard charts, it did reach the pole position on the Top Rock Tracks chart for over a month!  The music video was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, and its simple, yet post-modern concept ended up winning the award for Best Video at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards (which Henley found amusing given that in his own words he “won by riding around in the back of a pick-up!”


Maybe that was the case for the music video...but the song itself was a wonderful song about growing older, and questioning past choices.  I suppose if one were to look at the song through a shallower context, one might also see the song as a song about growing from youth to middle age.  Certainly, the video succeeds in presenting that message, as three different actors (from child to young adult) were cast as the younger version of Don Henley.

What do I think the song is about?  Well, back in 1984, I was three, and I really couldn’t say that I was analyzing pop songs while I was trying to stuff Froot Loops up my nose.  Of course, now that I am older, the song is quite bittersweet because it evokes such feelings of nostalgia.  It sort of reminds me of those carefree days when I was a child, and life seemed so simple.  And at the same time, I know that I can never have those days back.  It’s a very surreal feeling, and I think that Don Henley expressed that sentiment beautifully.

But then again, if the Eagles could reunite with each other again just fourteen years after they split up, perhaps there are some ways in which we all can get back those magical times that we once shared in some of the best parts of our lives.

Happy birthday, Don Henley.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

WHY?!?


On any given Saturday, I would be talking about some of my favourite cartoons, educational programs, and other things that made Saturday mornings magical.  This Saturday is NOT one of those Saturdays.

The truth is...I’m not really in the right frame of mind to talk about cartoons today.  I’m angry.  I am very angry at the state of things these days.

I am sure that everybody has heard about the terrible tragedy that took place shortly after midnight last night in Aurora, Colorado.  At approximately 12:38 am during the sold-out premiere of the film “The Dark Knight Rises”, a gunman went on a shooting rampage at the Century 16 movie theatre.  At least seventy people were hit by gunfire that night.  Of those victims, twelve ended up losing their lives.  It is unknown at this time if the number of casualties will continue to climb, but it has already set a record that nobody wanted to see broken.  The July 20, 2012 shooting is now considered to be the worst mass shooting in American history.

I’m not even going to identify the name of the person who has been arrested in connection with the shootings.  There is no way that I want to give that person any more notoriety by publishing his name for all to see.  The only thing that I will say about this case is that I am happy that the police have apprehended the suspect, and if there is any justice in this world, he will never see the light of freedom ever again.

Of course, this shooting makes me wonder if there really is any hope for the world.

This shooting is just the latest in a long line of senseless tragedies that have taken place in both the United States and Canada in recent weeks.  Earlier this week in Scarborough, Ontario, a shooting rampage at a neighbourhood party killed a 23-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl.  Just weeks prior, Toronto, Ontario was rocked by a shooting spree at the Eaton Centre, in which five people were shot (two later died of their injuries).

(In a sad twist of fate, one of the survivors of the Eaton Centre shooting, Jessica Ghawi, was one of the casualties of the Aurora, Colorado shootings.

Last year, there was a shooting at an Arizona grocery store, in which several people were killed and congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was seriously wounded.

Then there was the case in Montreal, Quebec, in which a Chinese international student, Jun Lin, was brutally murdered, and his limbs were mailed to various locations all across Canada by his murderer.  I know...it sounds like an episode of “Criminal Minds”, doesn’t it?  Sadly (and disturbingly), it really happened.

I am so furious that these senseless tragedies keep happening.  It almost seems as though these heinous and cowardly acts are happening at an exponential rate. 

Have we learned nothing from our past?

I’m sure that most of us remember where we were when we first heard the words “Columbine Shootings”.  The date was April 20, 1999, and I was in twelfth grade at the time.  When the news came out that two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado (which eerily enough isn’t far from Aurora) had masterminded a deadly school shooting which killed a teacher and twelve students lost their lives.  It was completely shocking to me, and it made me very sad.  A lot of the victims of the shootings were people my age that had their whole lives ahead of them.  They had gone to school that day to work on science labs and history projects...not to end up dead.

The people who were inside that Aurora, Colorado movie theatre certainly didn’t believe that a midnight movie screening would end up being the place where they would lose their lives.  All that they wanted to do was to see a movie that they had been looking forward to seeing.  That’s all that they wanted.

I think that’s why I am so angry about these latest shootings.  Each one took place at a location that almost everyone believed was safe.  People don’t go out to watch a movie, or attend a neighbourhood block party, or go shopping at the mall expecting to get shot.  So when something so senseless and cruel like this happens, it makes all of us feel like no place in this world is truly safe.

And, so help me, I’m mad about that!

I think we ALL should be angry about this.  We all have to speak out about these acts of violence because we all have a right to feel safe in our communities, our schools, our businesses, and our streets. 

I’m certainly not suggesting that we all go out and purchase guns, knives, and canisters of pepper spray to protect ourselves.  In fact, I highly oppose such actions.  Yes, I know that the right to bear arms is a Constitutional right in the United States, but fighting against violence by arming ourselves with weapons is just counter-productive, and just adds to the problem even further.

No, in order to make a stand, we have to do it through non-violent means.  Incidents such as the one in Aurora, Colorado last night are just more proof that communities have to band together in order to keep our streets safe.  We need to let the world know that we are not going to allow anybody else to die from violent crimes against society.  We need to take back our rights.

So, how do we do this?

We do this by continuing to live our day-to-day lives, and we do this by not showing fear.  The shooting caused several cities to postpone or cancel their premieres for the new Batman movie, and has made some people afraid to leave their homes.  But I think that we shouldn’t be afraid to go to a movie theatre or any other public place for that matter.  By staying away and letting our fear overtake us, we let the shooter win.

Just going back to the Columbine shootings, the damage caused to the school was extensive, and many of the students who survived that awful day were naturally traumatised.  But a few months later, when the new school year began, the student body of Columbine stuck together, wore the same T-shirt, and sent a message to the world that their lives, as well as Columbine High School, would go on.   It was a beautiful scene to watch because it showed an entire school banding together in the face of tragedy, and it sent the message that they were survivors, and that they owed it to themselves to continue living their lives the way they had done before that shooting.

I guess the point that I am trying to make is that, yes, the world can be a confusing and scary place to navigate, and yes, there has been a lot of bad news coming out of the media these days.  And it does make me very angry that a lot of innocent people were killed in these tragedies.  But I also believe that we all have a right to feel safe wherever we go, and I believe that we all have the power to speak out against senseless violence without using violence ourselves.

Such as what I am doing with my blog for today.

At this point, I really don’t know what else can be done to stop people from pulling weapons on each other...but I know one thing...I know that I’m not going to let those people have any control over me.

I’m standing up in the fight to help build a safer world.  How about you?

In closing, I want to post this statement that I believe says it all.  It's from one of the victims of the Aurora shootings, Jessica Ghawi, written shortly after the Eaton Centre shootings.  Although her life has now ended, her poignant words should serve as a reminder to us all.

"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday (the day of the Eaton Centre shootings).  I saw the terror on bystanders' faces.  I saw the victims of a senseless crime.  I saw lives change.  I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end.  When or where will we will breathe our last breath.

I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing.  So often I have found myself taking it for granted.  Every hug from a family member.  Every laugh we share with friends  Even the time of solitude are all blessings.  Every second of every day is a gift.  After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given."
                                                           - Jessica Ghawi, June 5, 2012

Friday, July 20, 2012

Jumpin' The Shark


Anybody who has ever watched television will have a list of television programs that they would put in their favourites section. I know that I have a list of television shows that I enjoy. Some of them are current. Some of them are 40 years old. And my favourite television shows include comedies, dramas, game shows, and even a couple of reality shows.

Of course, not every television show can last forever (well, unless your favourite show happens to be “Meet The Press” or “60 Minutes”), and at some point, we're forced to say goodbye to our all-time favourite television shows.

There are a select few television shows that end their runs at or near the top of the Neilsen ratings. “Friends”, “The Cosby Show”, “Cheers”, and “All in the Family” all ended their runs while they were in the Top 20. But some television shows may enjoy great success early on in their run, and then something happens within the show that causes the ratings to plummet beyond repair. And in some cases when the show is put out of its misery, people usually only remember the very moment in which the show received the suckerpunch that would choke the life out of it slowly and painfully.



I'm sure that many of you have heard the phrase “jumping the shark”. Well, that's what the subject of today's blog topic is.

In this blog entry, we're going to talk about how the phrase “jumping the shark” was coined. We'll talk about who came up with the phrase, what show they were watching when they came up with the phrase, and of course, we'll give some examples of shows that many people feel jumped the shark. I think as a bonus, we'll also talk about some of the sure-fire signs and warnings that pop up which might indicate that your favourite show has indeed jumped the shark.



The phrase “jump the shark” was coined by a man named Jon Hein. Hein, a radio personality who works on The Howard Stern Show, and current host of the show “Fast Food Mania”, was in a discussion with a group of friends at the University of Michigan about when popular television shows began to decline. At the time, Hein was a student on the campus, and his roommate, Sean J. Connelly, was part of the discussion.

In fact, it was Connelly who ended up giving Hein the idea behind the phrase “jumping the shark” with one of his suggestions.

During the discussion, Connelly brought up the television program “Happy Days”, which ran from 1974-1984 on ABC. He cited the first episode of season five, “Hollywood”, which aired over a two week period on September 13 and September 20, 1977. Aside from it being the episode which introduced the character of Chachi (played by Scott Baio), it was the episode that many people cite as the one that caused the quality of “Happy Days” to decline.

(And no, Chachi was not the cause.)



No, it was the scene in which Fonzie decides to accept a challenge to water-ski over a shark in a confined tank. He succeeded in the dare, and looked rather ridiculous wearing his leather jacket and swim trunks while he was jumping that shark in the process!

The end result of this episode elevated Fonzie from a supporting character to a lead character, which was perfectly fine for Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie at the time. And the show lasted for a few more seasons. However, it was widely believed that the episode marked the beginning of the decline of the show. People believed that the creative streak of the writers of the program had dried up, and that the show had lost its original focus as a result of Fonzie jumping over that shark.

Who knew that just twenty years later, Jon Hein would take that episode, coin the phrase “jumping the shark”, and write an entire list of 200 television shows that he believed had jumped the shark, and explained the reasons why he felt this way. He published the list on the Internet, and within months, the site exploded with popularity. Hein maintained the site jumptheshark.com for several years before selling it to Gemstar (the owners of TV Guide) for a nice hefty profit.

It's been fifteen years since “jumping the shark” entered the vocabularies of millions of people, and with hundreds of television shows that have aired before and after 1997 being examined under the microscope, I think that we can have a great discussion over why shows jump the shark, as well as providing some examples of this in action.

Are we ready? Good.

In most cases, the birth of a baby can be a very happy experience, and brings much joy and ecstasy to the proud parents and extended family. But let's get real, in the world of television, there have been many examples of how the addition of a child spells nothing but doom for a television series.

One of the best examples that I can think of to illustrate this is the sitcom “Step By Step”. If you've ever watched the show, you know that the show features a blended family where the children of one half of the family struggle to get along with the children of the other half of the family. The formula was a bit contrived, but it had a successful run for three seasons.

But at some point during the 1994/1995 season, the decision was made by writers to have Suzanne Somers' character get pregnant. And when Lily Foster-Lambert was born at the conclusion of the fourth season, Lily was the person who permanently bonded the family together as one.



It's just a shame that the episodes following Lily's birth weren't all that memorable. It was bad enough that the show managed to age Lily five years in the time frame of one season (of which a similar fate happened with Chrissy Seaver from “Growing Pains” who we'll discuss later in this entry), but they ended up sacrificing Brendan from the show just so the baby could get more storylines. The quality of the show diminished, and by 1997, the show was too far gone to fully recover.

Of course, “Step by Step” was hardly the first show to jump the shark because of a new baby in the house. Was it really necessary to add another set of twins to the already “Full House” after Becky gave birth to Nicky and Alex? Wouldn't one have been enough? And how about on “Roseanne” when Roseanne gave birth to fourth child (named after Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead)? It seemed like nothing more than a plot device intended to extend the life of a sitcom that was beginning to stagnate. And, don't even get me started on the birth of baby Mabel on “Mad About You”. The name was bad enough.



You know, speaking of the addition of a new baby, another sign that a show has (or is about to jump the shark) is the addition of a character to the show that proves majorly unpopular with the viewers. One of the most famous examples of this in the past was on the Brady Bunch, in which Robbie Rist joined the cast as Cousin Oliver. I have been on many pop culture themed websites in my lifetime, and I can't begin to tell you just how many people have gone on the record to state just how much they hated Cousin Oliver.

For other examples of this in action, just check out;

Billy from “Who's The Boss?”
Beverly Ann and Pippa from “The Facts of Life”
Sam from “Diffrent Strokes”

Oh, and let's talk about the recasting of certain roles in a television series. I know that bringing up the television show “Ghostwriter”, which aired on PBS is a weak example of this, but sometimes, a character recast can break a show...and when the character of Gaby Fernandez was taken over by Melissa Gonzales from Mayteana Morales, the show just didn't feel the same.

Granted, there are some examples where recasting can work (“Bewitched” managed to survive when the role of Darrin was recast midway through the series). But other examples were just strange. The strangest occuring on the series “Roseanne”, and the revolving door of Becky Connor's.



You know the character of Becky Connor, right? When Roseanne debuted in 1988, the role was played by Alicia “Lecy” Gorensen. A few years passed and Lecy left the series. She was then replaced by Sarah Chalke. She didn't quite look like Lecy, but I didn't mind the new Becky because she was a good actress. But then Lecy decided that she wanted to come back to the show, and Sarah Chalke left. And then Lecy left again, and Sarah Chalke returned. It got to the point that we weren't sure which Becky we would see during Roseanne in the later years, and it was incredibly jarring for the viewers to keep track of it.

Since we're name dropping here, do you know what actor's name seems to be synonymous with jumping the shark?



That's Ted McGinley. And, McGinley's name has been linked to several shark jumping instances throughout the years. In a lot of cases, McGinley played roles of characters that were added to the show when their ratings were declining. In a bit of irony, one of McGinley's first roles was on the very show where the phrase “jumping the shark”, when he appeared on “Happy Days” as Cunningham nephew Roger Phillips (1980-1984). Ted McGinley's luck and timing weren't much better, as he landed roles on “The Love Boat” and “Dynasty” as their shows were free-falling in the ratings as well. Of course, there were some instances in which Ted McGinley ended up doing well. His role as Jefferson d'Arcy on “Married With Children” was received well, and he did have a starring role in the Faith Ford/Kelly Ripa show “Hope & Faith”. Nevertheless, his name seems to forever be associated with jumping the shark. But Ted seems to take it in stride, and he likes to poke fun at himself. He's a good sport about it all.



Besides, Ted McGinley isn't the only one to have the “shark jumping” label attached to him. I can think of someone else who does as well. Remember how I brought up Chrissy Seaver from “Growing Pains” earlier in the blog entry? Well, she was played by Ashley Johnson, and well...I found that she's like the female version of Ted McGinley? Ashley Johnson managed to land roles in the sitcoms “Phenom” and “All American Girl” after “Growing Pains” wrapped up, but neither show ended up being a success. Johnson did find some success playing the role of Gretchen in the Disney series “Recess” though, so I suppose that she had the last laugh after all.

And there you have it. You know what jumping the shark is, as well as some of the signs to look out for.

Can you think of any others?