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Thursday, December 06, 2012

Waiting on the Universe - A Holiday Wish


The Pop Culture Addict's Advent Calendar” continues with Day #6. This is another edition of the brand new feature known as the Thursday Diaries, and I'm going to keep these series of personal reflections somewhat holiday themed for the next few weeks.

In today's edition, I talk about something that I really want out of life...as well as the realization that as of right now, I am nowhere near ready for it. Confused? Read on.

December 6, 2012



It's hard to believe that Christmas is less than twenty days away now. You know that's one downside to growing older. It seems as though the older you get, the faster time flows.

I remember being a kid and thinking that it would be forever before Christmas came around. The anticipation of waiting for Christmas was almost maddening. And now as a thirty-one year old, it seems as though Christmases come at me with the speed of a bullet firing out of a gun! Of course, that could partly be related to the fact that stores often set up their holiday displays on the first of November.



Now, I get that some people seem to believe that I am a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to the holidays. And yes, I do tend to take popular Christmas songs and redo them in the style known as the “Bastardization of Christmas Past”. But, hey, if you were forced to listen to holiday music for eight and a half hours in a row at your workplace, it would drive you crazy too.

The truth is that I love the holidays and everything about them. Holidays are a time in which you enjoy people's company, and you do nice things for people just because you feel like it (although to be fair, one should be doing these sorts of things all year round).



There's just something about the month of December that makes me smile for whatever reason. Even if a person were to get in my face and yell at me, I'd still smile happily like a goon because its the season to do so.

(Besides, the more I show a smile to a disgruntled person, the more disgruntled the person gets. Merry Christmas!)

Still, there's one thing that I feel that is missing when it comes to the holidays. And that's what I want to talk about here.

You know, I do a lot of social networking to try and promote myself as a writer so that I can get people to read my work, enjoy what I have to say, offer me a job...

...okay, so that last one hasn't happened yet. At least I'm hopeful.

Anyway, part of the appeal to promoting my work on social networking sites is being able to share my thoughts with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people who might not have been able to before. And, while I'm having fun posting my work, I'm also enjoying reading other people's posts, and seeing what people I haven't seen in years are up to.

I must admit that it is a bit surprising to see how many of my classmates from elementary school have settled down with a spouse and children of their own. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very happy for my friends, and I'm sure that every one of them are happily putting up the Christmas tree and taking their little ones to see Santa at the mall.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want that too.

Yes, the holidays are all about spending time with loved ones, and don't get me wrong, I'll be spending this holiday season with my family members. And, yes, I do get a lot of joy wrapping up gifts for my niece and three nephews.



You know, I'll come clean right now. At Christmastime, I spoil them rotten. And I make no apologies for it.

You see, quite often around the holidays, I often get lectured by other family members about going a little bit overboard in terms of holiday shopping. Last year, I actually remember feeling quite terrible after certain members of my family sort of responded less than favourably over the idea that I did give a lot of gifts out to my nephews and niece. Whether it was because they felt that I had upstaged them in some manner, or whether they were concerned that I had spent so much money (which I really didn't because I know how to shop on a budget), I don't really know. I might never know.

To be honest, they didn't understand why I would be so generous to my nephews and niece. But for me, the answer is crystal clear. Since I don't have kids of my own, I suppose I spoil my nephews and niece to fill some sort of void in my life.



I guess I'm one of those people who feels that the holidays would be made even more special if there were kids around. I suppose that I could have the same feeling if I was the photographer at a “Take Your Picture With Santa” display, or if I was volunteering at a hospital for sick children. But I don't know...I guess I just always had the image of having my own family by now, and really immersing myself in the holiday spirit helping my kids trim the tree, bake cookies, and singing Christmas carols around a fire (or at the very least, the DVD of six hours of continuous Yule log burning).

However, with that dream comes the harsh reality of my situation. As much as I want a wife and children, I know that I am in no position to have them at this stage in my life.

Let's talk reality here. My living situation is such that I can't afford a decent place to live. It's cramped, tiny, and my neighbours are not exactly the most friendliest crowd in the bunch. I don't like where I am at right now, but it's all that I can afford. Certainly not the kind of place where I would ideally want to raise a family.

And while we're on the subject, in order to have a child...I kind of need to have someone to have a child with. And I'm nowhere near at the stage of my life or have the emotional maturity to so much as get involved in a serious relationship with anyone. I've made a lot of progress in trying to figure out who I am, but I still have a long ways to go. I would ideally need to feel as comfortable as I can about myself before attempting to bring someone else into my life to share it with me. To some of you reading this, you may be scratching your heads at that one, but others of you will get this right away.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do want to have a family of my own...but at the same time, I know that it can't happen right now because I'm not ready. I always told myself that if I ever got married and had a family of my own, I would make it work. And maybe one day it will happen, and I will make it work just fine. But the responsibility of having a family is a really big one...and at the age of thirty-one, I don't know if I can handle it.

And who knows? Maybe being a husband and father just isn't in the cards for me at all...and if it ends up that I leave this Earth without that, so be it. But, as of right now, I still would like that dream to come true, so I have no choice but to hold on to it unless I have that realization.

Even if I have to wait until I am fifty to make it happen.



I guess for now, I'll just have to be content spoiling my nephews and niece. Who knows? Maybe 2013 will completely change my whole perspective.

Until then, happy holidays to you and yours!



Coming up on Day #7, we're going to be taking a look at a BBC dramatic series that knows how to ring in a holiday season...only their Christmases are filled with affairs, scandals, and murder!

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

How A Whiz-Kid Made Me A Wise Kid


I thought that I would begin Day #5 of “The Pop Culture Addict’s Advent Calendar” by explaining what I will be doing on this, and the next three Wednesdays. 

As many of you know, I have been devoting Wednesday blog entries to a feature known as the Wednesday Gift Shop.  And it basically focuses on items that can be found in a gift shop.  You know, toys, games, magazines, books...things like that.

Because we’re getting into the holiday season (and because a lot of kids out there are likely asking for toys in their stockings and presents under the tree – or near the Hanukkah menorah if you please), I thought that I would talk about toys and games that I received as Christmas gifts, as well as a loving story about family and tradition in the process.

So why don’t I begin with the story, and work my way up to the topic of discussion?



I’m sure many of us remember grabbing a piece of paper and our best red or green crayons and making out our lists for Santa Claus.  We would list a few items that we really wanted for Christmas morning so that Santa could have an idea of what to bring us.  As children, I bet many of us made lists that were quite lofty, filled with dozens of big ticket items.  I know that I certainly asked Santa for the impossible a few times when I was a kid.

But that was part of the surprise.  A lot of times I would make a Christmas list filled with some of the most expensive items that I could think of, and to my surprise, Santa ended up bringing at least a couple of them.



Of course, some of the items that I put on my Christmas list in the past were quite silly, and I knew that I wouldn’t get them no matter how good a boy I was.  I suppose it was kind of unrealistic to expect my own boat, to star in an Archie comic, and to own the entire state of Hawaii.  At least nobody could fault me for having a vivid imagination as a child.  J

Anyway, I suppose you’re wondering where this story is leading.  Well, it dates back to the second grade.  Our teacher handed everybody in the class a sheet of paper, and we all had to record at least three things that we wanted for Christmas 1988.  Now, 1988 was a rather bad year for me.  Not only did I start the year off by finishing up first grade with a teacher I openly despised, but in September of that year, I was hospitalized for a week due to a severe asthma attack.  Somewhere in my childlike mind, I believed that because I had gone through so much that year, I could really go crazy with my Christmas list that year.

It didn’t matter that my parents tried to explain to me that the North Pole was experiencing a recession and that Santa was shopping on a strict budget that year.  I had it in my mind that Santa Claus was going to find a way to make a miracle happen that year.

When it came down to making my list that year, I settled on what I believed was three items that were reasonable for Santa to bring.  I think this was my list.

1.      Every board game in the world

2.     A life-sized playhouse for me to play in

3.     My very own computer



Keep in mind that all three of these items in 1988 would probably have cost upwards of at least a couple of thousand dollars (well, okay, maybe the board games wouldn’t have cost that much, but then again, do you know how many board games there are on this planet?).

Oh, and did I mention that my teacher decided to take all of our letters to the local newspaper and that the local newspaper printed all of our letters in the newspaper’s “Letters to Santa” section? 

Let’s just say this.  Most of the kids asked for Hot Wheels Cars, skipping ropes, G.I. Joe action figures and Barbie dolls.  And there was my list which looked as if one of Donald Trump’s children had written it!  I suppose that looking back on that time of my life, it did seem sort of greedy on my part...but I was seven years old, and I didn’t know any better.  At the time though, I was still convinced that I would get at least one of the things on my list.  I kept hope alive.


So, December 25, 1988 came around, and I was half expecting to see the room overflowing with perfectly wrapped board games, a computer sitting in the corner of the living room, and a life-size playhouse in the middle of my backyard.

What I ended up getting wasn’t exactly what I had wanted though.

Instead of every board game in the world, I ended up only getting two (“Don’t Break The Ice” and “Don’t Spill The Beans”, in case you were wondering).  Instead of a life-size playhouse, I ended up getting a miniature one that was manufactured by Fisher-Price. 

And this is what I ended up getting for a computer.


You are looking at the classic children’s toy known as the Whiz-Kid computer.  It was quite popular in the 1980s, and I think that many kids ended up owning one.  But I remember the seven-year-old me being very disappointed in the gift.  I didn’t want a computer like a Whiz-Kid.  I wanted the same exact computer that was set up in the classroom, where we could play games like “Pick-a-Dilly Pair” and “Number Munchers”.

In fact, when I first looked at the Whiz-Kid, I didn’t even know how to turn it on.  And to be completely honest, my parents didn’t know either.  It actually took a couple of days before anyone figured it out.  Luckily my eldest sister showed all of us how to turn it on and get it working. 

And I will be the first to admit that aside from getting the plush version of Simon from “Alvin & The Chipmunks” that year, the Whiz-Kid computer was my favourite gift from Christmas 1988.

Released in the mid-1980s by V-Tech Electronics, the Whiz-Kid was designed almost like a desktop computer, complete with a disk drive (albeit a non-working one), and keyboard.  The screen was a brilliantly coloured one with a picture of an owl dressed as a professor, and had bright, cheerful music playing each time you answered a question right or wrong.

An interesting looking machine, don’t you think?

So, here’s how the machine worked.  You see that stack of cards that are displayed right next to the Whiz-Kid computer?  Each card was a link to a various activity.  As you can see in the diagram, card #A-1 appears to be a card about learning how to play music. 

And if I could find a way to blow up the image of the keyboard, you’ll see that some of the letter keys have writing underneath them that have the words “do – re – mi – fa – so- la – ti”.  If you had the music card inside of the little card holder, the keys would play music.  If you had a different card that featured the subject of spelling, then the keys would be the corresponding letter.

You see (and here’s the genius of the Whiz-Kid computer), each card must have had some sort of hidden barcode within them that caused the card reader to determine the kind of activity that the card was, and programmed the keys accordingly.  It was a neat piece of machinery.  I suppose one could say that the toy was ahead of its time.


The Whiz-Kid computer also came with a generic cartridge that one could plug into the side of the computer (kind of similar to the same technology that Nintendo used to plug their video games into a Game Boy).  By the late 1980s, there were several cartridges available, along with individual packages of cards that were specifically designed to target a particular subject.  There were packages that dealt with word games, packages that dealt with mathematics, and packages that dealt with just making music.  There were also packages that catered to different age groups making the level of difficulty vary as well. 

(Note to one self...I made the mistake of buying the blue cards which focused on junior high school level geometry...which as an eight year old boy, I knew nothing about.  But hey, by the time I did enter seventh grade, I always ended up acing geometry.  I guess it was the power of the Whiz-Kid computer!)

Oh, and if you happened to lose one or all of your cards?  No problem!  The Whiz-Kid computer also came with an instruction booklet which not only showed you how to use the computer, but also came with a list of codes.  Each code corresponded with a card.  All you would have to do is enter the code at the title screen, and voila...the program would start up without the card.  The instruction booklet also came with a selection of tunes that one could learn to play using the music card.  You could learn how to play “Ode to Joy”, “Happy Birthday”, and even a Christmas carol!


And in the late 1980s, V-Tech even released a Talking Whiz-Kid machine, which worked almost the same way as the original Whiz-Kid, only the machine talked back to you!  I never ended up seeing the Talking Whiz-Kid, but I hear that it was a neat little toy.

So, that’s my story regarding the Whiz-Kid computer.  It might not have been exactly the computer that I requested for that Christmas, but it ended up providing a lot of wonderful memories and good times regardless.  I suppose if you look at it from that perspective, Santa brought me everything that I wanted that year.  I suppose that getting the Whiz-Kid computer also taught the seven-year-old me a big lesson...not to ask for the impossible, and to be happy with what I ended up getting.

I think that’s a lesson that we could all stand to learn.


So, that’s Day #5 out of the way.  The fun continues tomorrow with the sixth day of the Advent Calendar.  It’s the first Thursday diary entry of December, and I talk about a dream that I have always wanted to come true...but unfortunately it’s also a dream that I am nowhere near ready for.

Confused?  Don’t worry.  It will become clear on Day #6.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

December 4, 1957


It’s Day #4 of “The Pop Culture Addict’s Advent Calendar”, and it also happens to be a Tuesday Timeline entry.

In keeping with the holiday tradition, I thought that I would take the opportunity to try and find a subject that has something to do with Christmas.  It wasn’t easy to find a decent topic to talk about (of the Tuesday Timelines for this month, December 4 was a particularly hard date to find a Christmas topic on).  Luckily, after consulting several websites (including the “Today in Oldies Music History” site), I believe that I found the perfect topic.

A topic that you now know involves some sort of oldies music.

Before we launch into that though, we have some unfinished business to attend to first, such as celebrity birthdays for December 4, as well as other events that took place throughout history on this date.

I think we’ll start with the famous faces chowing down on birthday cake today.  Celebrating a December 4 birthday are Deanna Durbin, Dena Deitrich, Ronnie Corbett, Jim Hall, Alex Delvecchio, Wink Martindale, Max Baer Jr, Yvonne Minton, Freddy Cannon, Gemma Jones, Chris Hillman, Anna McGarrigle, Roberta Bondar, Terry Woods, Southside Johnny, Jeff Bridges, Gary Rossington, Patricia Wettig, Rick Middleton, Tony Todd, Dave Taylor, Cassandra Wilson, David Green, Frank Reich, Jonathan Goldstein, Chelsea Noble, Marisa Tomei, Fred Armisen, Masta Ace, Jay-Z, Kevin Sussman, John L. Adams, Tyra Banks, Keith Caputo, Kristina Groves, Lauren London, Joe Thomas, and Orlando Brown.

And here are some of the major happenings that occurred on the fourth day of December...

1259 – King Louis the IX of France and King Henry III of England agree to the “Treaty of Paris”

1563 – The final session of the Council of Trent is held

1619 – 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (in what many believe to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas)

1674 – Father Jacques Marquette founds mission on the shore of Lake Michigan to minister the Illiniwek (which would eventually become the settlement known as Chicago, Illinois

1783 – George Washington bids his officers farewell at New York City’s Fraunces Tavern

1791 – The world’s first edition of the Sunday newspaper, The Observer is published

1864 – Sherman’s March to the Sea takes place during the American Civil War

1867 – Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of the Husbandry (or the Grange)

1872 – The crewless ship known as the Mary Celeste is discovered by British brig Dei Gratia

1875 – Boss Tweed, an infamous politician from New York City escapes from prison and flees to Spain via Cuba

1881 – The first issue of the Los Angeles Times is printed

1909 – The inaugural Grey Cup game is played between the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, with the Varsity Blues winning

1921 – The first Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle ends in a hung jury

1937 – The Dandy Comic, one of the first comic strips to incorporate speech balloons is first printed

1939HMS Nelson is struck by a mine off the Scottish coast laid by U-31

1943 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt closes down the Works Progress Administration during World War II because of high levels of wartime unemployment within the United States

1945 – The U.S. Senate approves the motion for the United States to join the UN by a vote of 65 to 7

1954 – The first Burger King restaurant opens up in Miami, Florida

1956 – The “Million Dollar Quartet” of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley get together at Sun Studios for the first and last time

1967 – Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz dies in New York City at the age of 72

1969 – Two members of the Black Panther Party are shot and killed during a raid by fourteen Chicago police officers

1971 – Switzerland’s Montreux Casino is set ablaze following someone carelessly using a flare gun during a Frank Zappa concert – the event would later be referenced in the Deep Purple song “Smoke on the Water”

1975 – Suriname joins the United Nations

1978 – Following the murder of San Francisco mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes the city’s first female mayor

1980 – Led Zeppelin breaks up following the September 25 death of John Bonham

1991 – Pan Am airlines ceases operations following its bankruptcy

1993 – Frank Zappa dies in Los Angeles at the age of 52

1998 – The second unit of the International Space Station, the Unity Module, is launched

2005 – Thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the government to allow equal and universal suffrage

2006 – Six black youths are assault a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana, which causes the subsequent court case to become a cause celebre.

Now, for today’s blog entry, we’re going to be going back in time fifty-five years to the following date.



December 4, 1957.

But, before we go ahead with what happened on THAT date, we should really talk about the events that led up to December 4, 1957.

1957 was a year in which several artists made it big in the world of music.  Paul Anka, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Patsy Cline, and Harry Belafonte all released albums in 1957, amidst several others.  1957 was widely considered a year in which rock and roll began to overtake other genres of music in popularity.  Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” was the #4 song of 1957 alone, while Danny & The Juniors’ hit “At The Hop” was #5.


Of course, nobody was bigger in 1957 than Elvis Presley himself.  All the girls wanted to date him, and all the boys wanted to be him.  And of the Top 5 songs of 1957, Elvis Presley had two of them...”Jailhouse Rock” and “All Shook Up”, which landed on the #1 and #3 positions respectively.  From his quivering lips to his gyrating hips, his very presence on the stage was enough to cause huge outbursts of emotions from his many fans.

Forget the Beatles and Justin Bieber.  Elvis Presley was the main heartthrob back in those days.

And in 1957, what better way to cement your status as one of the biggest names in music than by recording a Christmas album?

As is the case with most holiday themed albums, most of the songs were recorded during the summer months...in the case of Elvis’ Christmas album the majority of the songs were recorded between September 5 and September 7, 1957.  I would imagine that it would be kind of difficult to be singing about how one is dreaming of a White Christmas and how they were waiting for Santa Claus to come when the outside temperatures were scorching hot.  But, I suppose it couldn’t be helped.  After all, Christmas albums are usually released in late October/early November.


In the case of Elvis’ Christmas album, it saw an original release date of October 1957.  The album was entitled...wait for it...”Elvis’ Christmas Album”. 

The album contained eight Christmas songs, as well as four gospel songs that were previously included in his 1957 release “Peace in the Valley”.  The way the album was arranged, the first side of the record contained secular Christmas songs, while the second contained the gospel and more traditional songs.  On one side, you could hear songs like this one.


And, on the other side, you could hear songs like this one.


I think on a personal level it was a genius move for Elvis to do this.  The young people could jam along with the secular songs, while the parents could appreciate the more traditional and gospel tunes. 

And certainly the album was a successful effort.  The album has been re-released several times since its original pressing in 1957, and it ranked #1 for four weeks on the Billboard Top Pop Albums Chart.  It is estimated that “Elvis’ Christmas Album” has shipped out thirteen million copies of the album within the United States alone, and was the first of Elvis’ albums to reach Diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  In fact, “Elvis’ Christmas Album” is widely considered to be the biggest selling Christmas album of all time in the United States.

An amazing feat, given the controversy that surrounded the album upon its release.

I guess I should explain.  Of the eight songs that were Christmas themed, this was the one that caused Elvis the most trouble.


I know what you’re thinking.  How could a Christmas classic such as “White Christmas” cause so much drama?  After all, Bing Crosby helped cement its status as a legendary Christmas carol in the 1940s.



Well, according to the songwriter who wrote “White Christmas”, Irving Berlin, he was none too impressed by Elvis covering his creation.  As you can hear from Elvis’ version, he put his own spin on the song which sounded incredibly different to Bing Crosby’s original version.  And when Irving Berlin first heard Elvis Presley’s version, he described it as “a profane parody of his cherished yuletide standard”.

Ouch.

And that wasn’t all either.  Apparently, Irving Berlin was so offended by Elvis’ version that he actively launched a campaign to get radio stations in North America to stop playing Elvis’ version of the song, and actively sought to ban the entire album from being played on air!

Can you say, overkill?


The irony of the whole controversy was that three years prior to Elvis’ version being released, a similar sounding version of the classic hit was released by The Drifters, which hit the Top 10 on the R & B charts in both 1954 and 1955.  Apparently, Irving Berlin had no problem with the Drifters’ version, but heaven forbid Elvis Presley release his own version of the song! 

Now, when Irving Berlin launched his campaign of banning the album from radio, he reportedly called several radio stations all across the country, demanding they stop playing the song.  Quite a few American stations ignored Berlin’s request, although there were reports that some radio DJ’s were terminated from their contracts after playing the album.  What I found shocking was that while his campaign in the United States was hit or miss, Berlin did succeed in getting almost every Canadian radio station to ignore Elvis’ Christmas Album.

That is until December 4, 1957, when one Kingston, Ontario based radio station decided to take a stand and do what they thought was right.


The radio station known as CKWS was well aware of the controversy surrounding Elvis’ Christmas album.  The staff knew all about the bizarre plot by Irving Berlin to have the entire album banned from airplay, simply because of the fact that he did not appreciate Elvis Presley making a mockery of his song.

And yet on December 4, 1957, the staff of CKWS radio decided to rebel, and played Elvis’ Christmas Album in its entirety.  It was a rather daring move for the small radio station, given that most Canadian stations seemed afraid to play it.  But the staff of CKWS felt that the best way for the public to decide for themselves if the album was worth playing was to...well, play it.  The DJ’s even opened up the telephone lines for people to call into the station to voice their opinions.

And what did the public decide?  The majority of them seemed to approve of the album.  Many even wondered why the album was considered to be taboo.

And looking back on it, I myself wonder that.  I mean, yes, Irving Berlin was not happy with Elvis covering “White Christmas”, but not even he could stop Elvis’ Christmas Album from topping the charts.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the controversy generated by “White Christmas” was a key factor in the album’s rise to the top! 

As for CKWS, I have to applaud them for not being followers, but leaders.  Admittedly, they took a big chance in playing the whole album, but in the end, it seemed to pay off.  It not only introduced Canadian audiences to Elvis’ holiday favourites, but it also showcased a perfect example of standing up for what you believe in.  I’m actually quite proud of CKWS for making that call fifty-five years earlier, especially since it took place just a few miles away from where I grew up!

And that’s what happened on December 4, 1957.



The Advent Calendar continues tomorrow with DAY #5.  On that day, I talk about the Christmas that I ended up receiving my first actual working computer...though it’s not what you think...

Monday, December 03, 2012

Home Alone 2 - Lost in New York


I hope you're all enjoying The Pop Culture Addict's Advent Calendar for this month! Coming up with topics for this month has been a lot of fun, and I still have twenty-two more days to go!

We're heading into Day 3 of the near month long event, and this is our first look at a Monday Matinee. So, why not feature a movie that brings us all into the Christmas spirit?

Before I get into today's blog entry, I thought that I would talk about a subject that many people seem to get annoyed at, but I think that in some instances, it's okay.

I'm talking about product placement.

Product placement in film and television has been a regular sight to be seen since the days of the 1950s when some sitcoms acted out built-in commercials for products right in the show. You see it all the time in movies, such as subtle references to company logos, people name-dropping various brand names within the dialogue, and setting key scenes inside of a well-known restaurant chain.

I imagine that a lot of people hate the idea of product placement in movies, and for the most part, I tend to agree. People go to the movies to watch a couple fall in love, or to watch someone save the world, or to see a group of people get turned into hors d'oeuvres by a group of hungry zombies. They don't like being bombarded by impromptu commercials for items that they have no interest in purchasing. I know I certainly don't like watching ads within movies, especially now that I am an adult.

When I was a child though, I admit that I did like seeing toys and games played in various movies and television shows. After all, I will readily admit that a lot of my early Christmas lists were inspired by things I had seen in movies and television shows. For example, the 1988 film “The Wizard” was largely forgettable, but it was also the film which showed exclusive previews of the Nintendo game “Super Mario Brothers 3”, which was a game I received one Christmas morning. I also remember watching the 1982 film “ET: The Extra Terrestrial” and suddenly getting a craving for Reese's Pieces. It's funny how product placement really worked on my young mind, looking back on it.

I have one more story to tell you about product placement, and it takes place almost 20 years ago to the day.

In 1992, I was eleven years old, and I remember that Christmas being a particularly memorable one. My big gift that year was my Super Nintendo, and I also remember it being the first year that my mom's extended family had a get together on Christmas Eve, where we exchanged gifts. Christmas '92 was the second Christmas without my grandmother and right around that time, family togetherness was very important and we wanted to make a tradition to spend more time together.

(Ironically enough, the tradition only lasted a few years, as some family members kind of got along the same way that water got along with a frayed electrical cord...but hey, at least it was nice for the remainder of the 1990s.)

In addition to my Super Nintendo that year, I had also gotten some cash that year, and I decided to spend it at the movie theater. Back then there was a movie that I had wanted to see since it was released a month earlier, but never had the money to afford it. I ended up seeing the movie on the last day of 1992, and I thought it was a great way to ring in 1993.

The movie was actually a sequel to a popular 1990 film, and I remember wanting to see it because I had loved the first film. And for what it was worth, although the second film was very similar to the first, I did like it a lot. It helped that almost the same cast returned to the sequel to reprise their roles...but there was also something in the film that was featured a lot.

Something in the film that I really wanted.

You see, the main character in the film used a particular device throughout the film that helped him out a lot. He used it to manipulate his voice, recorded movie scenes that he played at certain times to escape danger, and used it to cause mischief around the house.



It was a device known as the Talkboy tape recorder. And I wanted one so badly. The problem was that at the time the movie was released, the Talkboy was not available in stores. I come to find out that the Talkboy tape recorder was made especially for the film itself. But I still wanted one, and apparently so did millions of children all over the world. The demand from children got so high that in 1993, Tiger Electronics began manufacturing the Talkboy tape recorder for sale in retail outlets, and it soon became one of the best-selling toys of 1993. I ended up getting my own version of the Talkboy for Christmas 1994, I believe, and I admit that it was neat toy the amount of time I owned it...though the sound quality wasn't that great.



But that Talkboy tape recorder sure did help Kevin McCallister out in a bind. With it, he checked into a hotel and kept the bad guys at bay. Not bad, considering that at the age of ten, he ended up lost on the streets of New York City.



And that's the basic plot of the film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”, a film directed by Chris Columbus and which starred Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Brenda Fricker, Tim Curry, and Eddie Bracken.



The film was released on November 20, 1992 – a little over two years after the original “Home Alone” debuted, and the plot for the sequel was almost exactly the same as the first movie, only with a twist. Instead of Kevin McCallister (Culkin) being left home alone in his comfortable Oak Park, Illinois home, he somehow boards the wrong airplane and ends up in New York City while the rest of his family goes to Miami, Florida.

As if things aren't bad enough, Kevin is unaware of the fact that the Wet Bandits that he helped put away in the first movie have escaped police custody and are on the loose...in New York City.

The parallels between the original Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are eerily similar. Within the first half hour of the film, both movies begin almost exactly the same way.



(Home Alone) Kevin is forced to sleep in the attic after he pushes Buzz away and spills milk over the family's plane tickets to Paris.
(Home Alone 2) Kevin is forced to sleep in the attic after he pushes Buzz at a Christmas concert for making his ears glow during his big solo.

(Home Alone) Kevin wishes his family would just disappear.
(Home Alone 2) Kevin wishes he could go on his own vacation without his family.

(Home Alone) Kevin oversleeps and his family leaves without waking him up.
(Home Alone 2) Kevin ends up following another man wearing the same jacket as his father (Heard) and boards the wrong plane.

(Home Alone) Kate (O'Hara) realizes Kevin is missing on the airplane to Paris.
(Home Alone 2) Kate realizes that Kevin is missing at the Miami International Airport and faints.



(Home Alone) Kevin watches the movie “Angels With Filthy Souls” and gets scared.
(Home Alone 2) Kevin watches the movie “Angels With Filthier Souls” and gets scared.



(Home Alone) Harry (Pesci) and Marv (Stern) call themselves the Wet Bandits and they break into people's homes and steal things.
(Home Alone 2) Harry and Marv call themselves the Sticky Bandits, and they scheme to rob Duncan's Toy Chest.

(Home Alone) The McCallisters have a miserable time in Paris.
(Home Alone 2) The McCallisters have a miserable time in Miami.



(Home Alone) Kevin is initially afraid of Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom) but later becomes his friend.
(Home Alone 2) Kevin is initially afraid of the Central Park Pigeon Lady (Fricker), but later becomes her friend.

Okay, so I see what you're saying here. The films are more or less the same movie with a different setting. But one reason why I loved the sequel of Home Alone was for the storyline.

You see, Home Alone was a great film as far as having an eight year old boy crafting up a blueprint of schemes and booby traps to stop Harry and Marv in their tracks. We learned that ice on a staircase is dangerous, crazy glue and feathers make an interesting costume, and that a blowtorch can be used as a hair removing device. And yet, the whole idea of the film was kind of self-serving. When you stop and think about it, yes, Kevin did learn a lot about what it was like to fend for himself, but ultimately he was only preventing Harry and Marv from taking his family's stuff. Electronic devices, jewelry, expensive clothing, and antiques. Things that could have been replaced with decent insurance coverage.

Not so in the second version.



You see, one of the many things that Kevin does on his sudden vacation to New York City (after using his Talkboy and his father's Visa card to check into a luxury suite at the Plaza Hotel) is head down to Duncan's Toy Chest, a toy store that is supposed to be almost similar to FAO Schwarz. And aside from purchasing such objects as bubble bath that looked like green slime (which served to aid Kevin later on in the movie), his attention was drawn to a Christmas tree that was on display on the counter of the toy store where Kevin first meets Mr. Duncan (Bracken). Mr. Duncan explains to Kevin that the tree contains ornaments of things that were featured in the classic Christmas carol “The 12 Days of Christmas”. He even allows Kevin to take home the two turtle dove ornaments, telling him that the doves are a symbol of friendship between two people.

Mr. Duncan also shows Kevin a chest filled with money, which Mr. Duncan explains is for a nearby children's hospital. The money not only funds the expenses needed for the hospital to run, but the money also helps the staff purchase gifts for the patients who are unable to go home for Christmas.



Right around this time, Harry and Marv discover that Kevin is in New York City, and try on multiple occasions to catch him and get rid of him. 



Of course, taking on Kevin McCallister is no easy task...and when Kevin overhears Harry and Marv talking about robbing Duncan's Toy Chest, Kevin discovers that he can't let them take Christmas away from sick kids, and he decides to take revenge on them. Luckily for Kevin, his uncle's townhouse is undergoing renovations, and he ends up using it as a home base to cause all sorts of pain to Harry and Marv. Now with 25% more paint, pipes, fire, and heavy objects!

Meanwhile, the McCallisters are trying to find Kevin and when they discover that he used Peter's credit card at the Plaza Hotel, the entire family travel there to find him, which leads to a rather humourous confrontation between Kate and the concierge of the Plaza Hotel (Curry).



The climax of the film takes place in Central Park, and it appears as though Kevin's luck has run out. Or has it?

I won't reveal what happens...but at the very end of the movie, Kevin has an unexpected ally come to his aid, and the turtle doves that Mr. Duncan gave him feature prominently within the last five minutes of the film.



So there you have it...the sequel to Home Alone 2. Not quite as good as the original, but still a movie worth watching for the holidays.

It certainly beats the lame third attempt and the even lamer fourth attempt following Home Alone 2 anyway.



Coming up tomorrow is Day #4 of the PCA Advent Calendar, and it also happens to be a Tuesday Timeline entry. We're going back to the 1950s to examine a Christmas album by a popular artist that many radio stations refused to play...until one Canadian station decided to take a stand.