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Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Silly Putty


How many of you read the newspaper as a kid?

I know this seems like a random question to ask, especially since I reckon that almost all of us glanced at a newspaper at some point in our lives.  For some people, they read the whole paper from front to back.  Some people like reading the horoscopes.  Some flip through the sports section to get the latest scores.  Some people even look at the obituaries to see who they have outlived!

(That last one isn’t a joke.  I know.  My parents do this often.)

And, then there are some people like me who have to flip to the entertainment and comics section.  Given the fact that I have a pop culture themed blog, this really shouldn’t surprise anyone.

And after I did the Word Jumble, I read the various comic strips in the newspaper each day.  It was a lot of fun, and I remember having a ball reading all those funny jokes.

Of course, the funny pages ended up being a little bit more fun with the addition of a special accessory that I got as a gift when I was a six year old boy.

It wasn’t a magnifying glass...it wasn’t a set of crayons...it wasn’t even a glue stick and a scrapbook to cut out my favourites to keep on display (though when I was a kid I did do this).

Nope.  It was this stuff.


And, I bet almost everyone knows what Silly Putty is, right?  This ball of rubbery goo was sort of a mixture between Play-Doh and rubber, and it had an interesting property that not a lot of substances had.  If one were to roll the Silly Putty into a ball, flatten it out on a piece of newsprint, and peel it off of the paper, the ink would transpose itself onto the Silly Putty, like this.

Then comes the fun part.  If one were to stretch the putty out, the images on the Putty would warp right with it.  I used to use Silly Putty all the time on newspapers and comic books all the time.  Snoopy’s head would become narrow, Veronica Lodge from Archie comics would become rounder, and you don’t even want to know what sorts of things I did with Blondie Bumstead.

With the putty!  THE PUTTY!  Sheesh, get your minds out of the gutter, people!



So, I guess it’s no secret that the subject of today’s blog is Silly Putty.  In this edition of the blog, we’ll learn about how Silly Putty was created, when it started appearing on store shelves, and some of the substances in which Silly Putty will NOT mix well with.  Contrary to the beliefs of some, Silly Putty isn’t as indestructible as people think.

The history of Silly Putty begins right around World War II.  At the height of the war, Japan had invaded several rubber-producing nations and eradicated their supply to be able to produce rafts, tires, gas masks, and boots.  Because of this, the rubber supplies in the United States were rationed, with American citizens strongly urged to conserve their rubber products so that they would last longer.  So while Americans donated spare tires and rubber coats to be recycled, the American government looked into alternate synthetic compounds as a rubber substitute in order to get through the rubber shortage.

Sometime during these brainstorming sessions, the patent for Silly Putty was born.  The problem is...the true identity of the person who came up with the patent is still being debated years after it was created.  At some point, the patent for Silly Putty has been credited to Earl Warrick and his partner Rob Roy McGregor of Dow Corning, Scottish inventor James Wright of General Electric, and Harvey Chin.

Throughout his lifetime, Warrick insisted that he and McGregor came up with the patent before Wright did, yet Crayola (who purchased the rights to manufacture Silly Putty in 1977), insists that Wright had invented the product in 1943.  I was unable to find any information on Harvey Chin though, so I’m not exactly sure how he factors into this, but one thing is for certain, we will likely never know who really came up with the patent.

One thing that we do know is that both Warrick and Wright came up with the basic formula behind the creation of  Silly Putty, which involves the process of combining boric acid with silicone oil.  The end product was a substance that was gooey, and that could bounce like a rubber ball.  In fact, the substance had some unique qualities.  It had a very high melting temperature, could bounce when dropped, and could stretch even further than standard rubber. 

The only problem with the invention was that while it was a decent enough product by itself, it unfortunately didn’t have all the properties needed to replace rubber completely, so the substance was never actually used.  Despite Wright’s efforts to send the substance out to scientists all over the world in hopes of finding an alternate use for the substance, but all attempts came up empty...

...until 1949, that is.

That was the year that toy store owner Ruth Fallgatter acquired a sample of the substance and was very intrigued by it.  She contacted a man by the name of Peter Hodgson, who worked as a marketing consultant.  The pair decided to market the substance as a toy by encasing it in a clear container.  The substance ended up selling very well at Fallgatter’s toy store, but after a while, she decided that she did not want to pursue any further business opportunities involving the product, and walked away.  This set the stage for Hodgson to take the putty and make it a gold mine.

Hodgson was already in debt, so in order for him to begin selling the product, he had to take out a loan of $147 to finance his business plan.

(Keep in mind that $147 was worth a lot of money in the 1940s.)


But that was all he needed to package the substance in one ounce plastic eggs that retailed for $1 each.  Hodgson was also the one who came up with the “Silly Putty” name.  Within three days, Hodgson ended up eliminating his debt by selling over a quarter of a million units of Silly Putty!

Now, in 1951, Hodgson was almost put out of business when a ration on silicone was implemented as a direct result of the Korean War, but that restriction was lifted a year later.  And, by 1957 (the same year that the first television advertisement for Silly Putty aired during the Howdy Doody Show), thousands of children aged 6-12 were playing with Silly Putty.  The substance was even launched into lunar orbit by the astronauts of Apollo 8 in 1968...seven years after it began to be sold worldwide.  Silly Putty ended up making Hodgson a very rich man.  And, by 1987 (eleven years after Hodgson’s death), it was estimated that an average of two million eggs of Silly Putty a year!


These days, Silly Putty is still a top-selling toy.  It’s estimated that twenty thousand units of Silly Putty are sold daily, and the substance (which was originally sold in its natural coral colour) is now available in several different styles and colours, including glow-in-the-dark and metallic shades.  The toy was even inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2001!

But, that’s not to say that Silly Putty is the absolutely perfect toy.  There are lots of perks to the substance, this is true.  Stretching comics and images out was just part of the fun.  Silly Putty can also be used as a method of removing dirt, pet hair, and lint from a variety of surfaces (I’ve even used it to clean in between the keys on my computer keyboard!), and some physical therapists even use it for rehabilitative therapy of hand injuries!  People who build scale models have used it as a masking medium while spray painting their models.  And astronauts have used Silly Putty to secure their tools in zero-gravity conditions because of its strong adhesive characteristics.

Of course, these adhesive characteristics can prove to be the downfall for Silly Putty.  If one were to get Silly Putty wet, and then stick it on an upholstered surface, a book’s inside pages, or one’s own hair, the substance would take on the consistency of sticky chewing gum.

In short, it would get stuck...just like chewing gum.

There are ways to get it off of upholstery and hair though.  Crayola recommends that you use WD-40, but an alcohol-based hand sanitizer should work just fine.

After all...alcohol happens to be the kryptonite to the substance known as Silly Putty.  You submerge Silly Putty in a glass filled with alcohol it will immediately begin to dissolve.  And while the Silly Putty will ultimately return to its original viscosity after being doused with water, in alcohol, it will lose its original properties forever.

So, let this be a lesson to you all.  If you want to preserve your Silly Putty, do not pour your alcohol over top of it as a party trick.  It will never be the same again...

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

January 1, 2013


Okay. First things first...

HAPPY 2013!!!

Okay, you can take out the cotton balls out of your ears now! I'm done screaming!

So, this is the first day of 2013! How is it for you all? I imagine that some of us might be a smidgen hung over today after partaking in your New Years Eve celebrations (which I hope were done responsibly, might I add). Some of us have likely already broken our New Years Resolutions (I know I've been guilty of breaking my resolutions twelve hours after making them, which is largely why I never make them). And, some of us are looking forward to having a brand new year of opportunities. It's a clean slate for all of us, and I'm sure that we're all looking forward to having a fresh start.

Now, for this particular year, the changes to the blog are going to be very little in comparison to last year. Last year, I changed the look, the font (several times), and a few of the theme days. This upcoming year will see hardly any changes. The blog looks more professional than it did the year before (though I still love my little hand-drawn logo of 2011), I finally found a font that looks great (Palatino Linotype, in case you were wondering), and I think that I'm very content with the theme days that I have going on right now. I may temporarily change them as the year progresses, but for the most part, I'm happy with the way this blog looks now.

And, I am also happy to report that between January 2012 and January 2013, this blog's page views have doubled! Again, thank you, thank you, thank you! I keep saying that this blog would not be possible without your love and support! Here's hoping that 2013 is the best year yet!

So, today is January 1, and since the new year kicks off on a Tuesday this year, it's the perfect day to have a Tuesday Timeline entry. But as you may have seen from the title, this Tuesday Timeline has a twist to it.

Before we get into that, let's do the things we usually do on a Tuesday Timeline, beginning with celebrity birthdays! I would imagine that for some of these famous faces, they were the first babies born in a brand new year! Celebrating a New Years Day birthday are Charlie Munger, Pat Heywood, Vernon L. Smith, Ty Hardin, Joseph Koo, Norman Yemm, Frank Langella, Al Hunt, Country Joe McDonald, Larry Clark, Jimmy Hart, Max Azria, Stephanie Faracy, Sheila McCarthy, Grandmaster Flash, Dave Silk, Michael Seibert, Dedee Pfeiffer, Gorsha Sur, Spencer Tunick, Nicolle Dickson, Melissa DiMarco, Verne Troyer, Kimberly Page, Chris Potter, Becky Kellar-Duke, Eden Riegel, Calum Davenport, Jeff Carter, and Chris Collins.

And, here are some of the interesting events that took place on January 1 in the past.

45 B.C. - The Julian Calendar takes into effect for the first time

42 B.C. - The Roman Senate posthumously defies Julius Caesar

404 – Christian monk Telemachus is torn to pieces by an angry Roman mob for his efforts in trying to stop a gladiator fight in the public arena in Rome

1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II

1502 – The Portuguese explore the area that would later be called Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1752 – Betsy Ross, the seamstress that created the American flag, is born

1772 – The first traveler's cheques go on sale in London, England, and were able to be used in 90 cities all across Europe

1773 – John Newton leads a sermon that first uses the hymn “1 Chronicles 17:16-17” - later retitled “Amazing Grace”

1776 – The city of Norfolk, Virginia is burned to the ground during the American Revolutionary War

1800 – The Dutch East India Company is dissolved

1801 – The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi

1804 – French rule ends in the country of Haiti, which becomes the second independent nation within North America (after the United States in 1776)

1808 – The importation of slaves into the United States is banned

1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands

1845 – The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn, New York is completed

1847 – The world's first “Mercy” hospital is founded by the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1860 – The first Polish postage stamp is issued

1863 – The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory

1885 – Twenty-five different nations adopt Sir Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time

1890 – The first Tournament of Roses Parade is held in Pasadena, California

1892 – Ellis Island opens to begin processing immigrants into the United States

1898 – New York City annexes The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens into the Greater City of New York (Staten Island would join four weeks later)

1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba

1902 – The first ever Rose Bowl is held in Pasadena, California

1908 – The first ball-dropping ceremony in Times Square takes place

1912 – The Republic of China is established

1932 – The United States Post Office issues a set of a dozen stamps commemorating the 200th birthday of George Washington

1934 – Alcatraz Island officially becomes a federal prison in the United States

1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by 26 nations

1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act of 1946 takes into effect, converting all British citizens into Canadian citizens, including William Lyon Mackenzie King

1954 – NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC broadcast

1962 – The United States Navy SEALs is established

1966 – A mass transit strike in New York City begins, lasting almost two weeks

1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned from American television

1978 – Air India Flight 855 crashes into the sea off the shores of Bombay, India, killing 213

1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community

1983 – The Internet is created following the ARPANET changing to using the Internet Protocol

1984 – AT&T is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a direct result of the settlement of the 1974 U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against the company

1985 – VH1 debuts on the same day that Ernie Wise makes the first British mobile phone call

1986 – Portugal and Spain are admitted into the European Community

1992 – Russia is officially formed

1994 – Actor Cesar Romero passes away the same day that the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect

1997 – Zaire joins the World Trade Organization

1999 – The Euro is introduced in 11 countries

2001 – Actor Ray Walston passes away at the age of 86

2002 – Taiwan joins the World Trade Organization

2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board

2012 – Kim Jong-un is declared the new official Supreme leader of North Korea

(Holy heck, January 1 was a huge day in history!)

So you see my dilemma. With so much going on in the world on the first day of the Gregorian calendar, how could I narrow it down to just ONE feature?

That's why for today's Tuesday Timeline, the date we're going to be featuring is...



TODAY!

Yes, you're reading this correctly. The Tuesday Timeline date is January 1, 2013!

You see...I thought it would be kind of silly to celebrate the birth of a new year by flashing back in time to a past event. A new year is supposed to have high hopes for the future...a brand new start in creating a brand new you.

So, for today, I thought that I would talk about my experiences as we enter the first day of a brand new year, and how I'm feeling about it.



Admittedly, I was never one who looked forward to a new year. For the last few years, I've basically been relegated to watching the ball drop on Times Square (a regular event since 1908, remember) on television munching on rippled chips and dip, and lamenting the fact that Dick Clark and his guests were the only people I would be spending the night with.



This year I can't even make the claim that I'm hanging out with Dick Clark, as he's been gone for eight months. Instead I get the perky host of American Idol, a Black-Eyed Pea, and Jenny McCarthy.

Be still my beating heart.

Unlike other years though, I'm suddenly okay with that.



Let's face it, New Years Eve parties are completely overrated. You end up spending more money than you wanted to for the experience of ringing in the new year with a group of strangers. I mean, if you really wanted the balloon drop and the champagne, you could easily buy ginger ale and a ¼ pound of balloons at the dollar store and still have the same experience. And, who wants to spend all of January 1st with a hangover the size of Texas and long-lasting nausea that an entire container of Rolaids won't fix?

(Well, okay, for some of you out there, that may be your idea of fun. I'm just being honest in that it's not exactly mine. But, hey, it's cool if you think otherwise. I'm not judging.)

I'm fine with a nice quiet evening at home. Maybe I chalk it up to getting older, but I don't need to have the experience of getting as drunk as possible to enjoy the beginning of a new year. Instead, I choose to use the experience to write in my blog about my thoughts and feelings about the future.



Oh, as I said before, I wasn't always this okay with staying home on New Years Eve. There was a time in which I was actually jealous that other people were out having fun while I was unable to. In fact, I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but ringing in the year 2009, I was in a really bad mood. Four years ago, I was in a little bit of a funk over how horrible things were, and I spent most of the day in absolute depression. I'm actually ashamed of myself to admit it, but I had a full emotional breakdown on the first day of 2009. I don't even remember why this was the case now, but back then, I was on the verge of believing that the year 2009 was going to be one of the worst years yet.

And, yet, 2009 ended up being one of my best years ever. So, I guess in retrospect, you never know what a year will hold until you actually live it.

So, as I look forward to 2013, I think to myself that I have no idea what it will have in store, so I may as well enjoy it while it lasts. And, I suppose one lesson that I have learned is that things have their peaks and valleys, and I believe that it was a good thing that I did have that breakdown four years ago. It helped me realize a lot of things about myself that I didn't like very much, and it allowed me to make some positive changes towards acceptance of myself.



I guess the only thing I regret about January 1, 2013 is that I don't have anyone special enough in my life to spend it with (well, aside from family members, that is). I still remember when Dick Clark was alive, he would kiss his wife at the end of the ball drop, and I just thought that was so fantastic. I guess a part of me kind of wishes that I had someone who would do the same with me on New Years Eve.



Ah well...just ignore me. Waxing poetic, I suppose.

And, who knows? Maybe 2013 will be the year that it all starts to make sense. I know I said the same thing in 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, etc...

...but that's the thing with a new year. You never know what it will bring.



Have a happy and safe 2013, everyone. Let's make January 1, 2013 a day to remember, as well as all the other 364 days that follow it.  

Monday, December 31, 2012

Dog Day Afternoon With Charles Durning


Here we are at the end of 2012, and what a year it’s been.  On a personal note, the year began quite nicely, got a little bit depressing around the spring months, was great during the summer, lost a really dear friend in the fall, and as of December 31, I kind of have a mediocre opinion of 2012.  Not the best year, but far from being the worst.

I know people are looking at 2012 as being a rather bipolar year, and to be completely honest, I agree with you.  Some of the terrible moments of 2012 included several shootings in public places, a hurricane bearing down on several major U.S. cities, and countless talk about the American economy plummeting over the edge of the fiscal cliff.  But, there were also a lot of good things that happened in 2012 as well.  We saw the celebrations associated with the 2012 London Olympics.  We witnessed Felix Baumgartner break the sound barrier unassisted by machinery...and we survived yet another apocalypse!

So, really, 2012 has been kind of a mixed bag of sorts.

2012 has also been a rather good year for this blog.  When the year began, the blog had, on average, five thousand page views a month.  As the year ends, that number has doubled!  And, really, it’s all thanks to all of you for showing interest in this project.  I’m excited about 2013, and celebrating the second anniversary of this blog in May!  I hope all of you will stick around for the ride!

Now, as we close off the year that Barack Obama got re-elected, the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, the Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Italy almost a hundred years to the date of the Titanic disaster, and Kate Middleton and Prince William announced her pregnancy to the world, we welcome a brand new year with brand new promise.

For today’s blog entry...the last one of 2012, we’re going to be looking at a movie that garnered a lot of critical acclaim, and is widely considered to be one of the best movies of the 1970s.


And, there’s a particular reason why I have decided to choose this particular film.  It’s because one of the stars of the film was the late Charles Durning.

As I mentioned in Friday’s entry, Charles Durning passed away last Monday...the same day that television/film star Jack Klugman died.  On Friday’s entry, I promised that I would do a feature on Durning as well, so I thought, why not today?

Charles Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York on February 28, 1923, the fourth of ten children!  Sadly, of the ten children born to James and Louise Durning, their five boys (including Charles) lived to adulthood.  The five girls all passed away in their infancy due to smallpox.

Durning ended up getting his first taste of what it was like to be an actor in a rather unorthodox place...he was working as an usher in a burlesque house when he was asked to fill in for a comedian who had a little too much to drink.  So, Durning filled in on the spot, and when he received much laughter from the audience for his impromptu act, Durning knew that this was what he wanted to do for a living.

It did take some time before Durning ended up getting his wish.  After all, he did sign up for military duty right around the same time that World War II was in full swing.  Did you know that Durning was one of the participants in the event known as D-Day in Normandy on June 6, 1944?  It was such an historical event that we learned about in our history classes.  Who knew that a future Hollywood star ended up playing a huge role in that battle? 

Durning ended up being wounded by an S-Mine just nine days after D-Day, but recovered quickly and was back on the battlefield that December...only to be wounded again.  He was eventually discharged on January 30, 1946 with the honourable rank of Private First Class.


For his services to the United States Armed Forces, Durning earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the World War II Victory Medal, as well as receiving the National Order of the Legion of Honor in April 2008.

Charles Durning, I salute you!

Anyway, it was after his discharge from the army that prompted Durning to go into a career in acting.  He started off small, participating in various stage productions around the New York City area, but by 1973, Durning had landed his first major role in the 1973 motion picture “The Sting”.  He played the part of Lt. Snyder, a corrupt police officer who hustles con artists and criminals.  The role proved that Durning had the acting chops to take on a supporting role in the movies, but one could argue that while this role helped Durning get into the movie scene, it would be his next role that would keep him there.

And, that movie was the 1975 film, “Dog Day Afternoon”...the final topic for 2012.


That movie was released on September 21, 1975, and in addition to Durning, also starred Al Pacino, Chris Sarandon, John Cazale, and James Broderick.  The movie was made on a budget of almost two million dollars.  By the end of the screen run, it had made a profit of $48 million! 

Oh, and one more added note on its popularity?  It holds a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  I’ve been on Rotten Tomatoes before, and for a film to score a 97, you know that it must be fantastic!

It seemed to garner a lot of buzz in the awards circuit as well.  Did you know that “Dog Day Afternoon” was nominated for a grand total of seven Golden Globes (winning zero), and six Academy Awards (winning the one for Writing – Original Screenplay)?

Charles Durning himself won an NBR Award for his participation in the film!

Oh, and it also won the honour of having the eighty-sixth most memorable film quote in the AFI special “100 Years...100 Movie Quotes”.  Have a look (but keep in mind that the scene is rated PG for strong language).


ATTICA!  ATTICA!  ATTICA!  ATTICA!

(Oh...um...sorry.  Got a wee bit caught up in the moment.)

Now let’s talk a little bit about the plot (and by little bit, I do mean little bit, as I don’t want to give away spoilers to movies here in this blog).  Did you know that as bizarre of a plot that “Dog Day Afternoon” seems to have, the plot was based off of a real-life event?


Going back in time a bit to the summer of 1972, the film was based on a bank robbery that took place on August 22 of that year.  Masterminded by John Wojtowicz and his partners Sal Naturille and Robert Westenberg held up a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank in Brooklyn, New York.

(You might have guessed from the above clip of Al Pacino standing in front of a bank cursing and shouting like a madman armed with a gun that robbery may very well have been the motive.)

What makes the story interesting is the motivation behind the standoff at the bank. 

I suppose that it’s okay to talk about it without spoiling the plot too much, because according to Wojtowicz, the film is only 30% accurate. 

Wojtowicz needed the money to pay for a surgery for his romantic partner, Ernest Aron.  That surgery was to be a gender reassignment surgery so that Ernest Aron could become Elizabeth Debbie Eden.  As if the surgery itself wasn’t controversial enough given the time period, but in addition, the surgery was worth a lot of money to perform...more than Wojtowicz had.

Hence the planning of the Chase Manhattan bank heist, which set the stage for the main plot of “Dog Day Afternoon”, which only ended up getting made after Wojtowicz sold the rights to the story for $7,500, plus 1% of all the film’s profits, ensuring that he could have the money needed to give Aron his gender reassignment surgery.

Obviously, most of the names were changed in “Dog Day Afternoon”, but here’s how the movie story went.  Sonny (Pacino, who was supposed to represent Wojtowicz), his friend Sal (John Cazale), and a second accomplice approach the fictional “First Brooklyn Savings Bank” to put the robbery plan into motion, but almost immediately the plan hits a snag when the accomplice flees the scene before the robbery takes place after being spooked by a police car (the same thing happened with Westenberg, who fled the scene as well in the real-life version).

Once inside the bank, things go from bad to worse, and the movie makes it appear as though Sonny is the most inept criminal in the world.  It’s bad enough that the very day they plan their robbery was after the cash pick-up was already done for the day.  When Sonny attempts to steal traveler’s cheques and attempts to burn the bank’s registers to prevent the cheques from being traced, the smoke that billows out of the building causes the standoff to take place, drawing attention from the entire neighbourhood!


Initially, Sgt. Eugene Moretti (Durning) tries to diffuse the situation before anyone gets hurt or killed, and succeeds in getting Sonny to release a hostage, but it quickly gets out of control when Sonny starts his “Attica” protest chant, and the crowd that has gathered to watch the scene starts cheering for Sonny!

As the movie progresses, we end up learning more about Sonny’s motivation behind the crime, and we also learn that he may have been committing a criminal act, but inside he does have a heart, as he arranges to feed the hostages inside the bank during the standoff (which according to real-life accounts of the incident lasted fourteen hours).

And, yes.  That’s all that I’m going to say about the movie because I think it’s one that you have to see for yourself.  But, here’s a little bit of an epilogue for you all as to what happened to the real life players of the story.

Wojtowicz ended up being convicted of the charges brought against him, and was sentenced to a 20-year prison sentence.  He was eventually released after serving only six years, and lived a relatively quiet life until his death from cancer in early 2006.


Ernest Aron ended up having his gender reassignment surgery shortly after the release of “Dog Day Afternoon”, and as Elizabeth Debbie Eden, spent her remaining days in New York State.  She passed away from AIDS related complications in September 1987.


As for Sal...the eighteen year old who served as Wojtowicz’s accomplice in the plan...well, the decision that he made to join him meant that he had to pay the harshest sentence of all.  But, as I said before, I won’t spoil everything.

TRIVIA:  In the movie, Sal was meant to be in his late teens.  The actor who played him was almost 40!

But, you know, the reason why I chose this movie was partly due to the talent and the wonderful story that was told in the film...and it was also to honour the memory of Charles Durning, who really made an impact with his supporting role in this film.

Of course, other film roles followed after “Dog Day Afternoon” for Durning, and also appeared in “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom”, “Captains and the Kings”, “The Choirboys”, “North Dallas Forty”, “Attica” (appropriately enough!), “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas”, “Tootsie”, “The Man With One Red Shoe”, “Dick Tracy”, and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”.  He also had several guest appearances on “Everybody Loves Raymond”, and had a regular role on “Evening Shade”. 

One of his final roles was in the television series “Rescue Me”, which starred Denis Leary, and it was in that role that he earned his eighth Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

So, in addition to being a decorated war hero, he was also an accomplished actor who earned every single accolade he received.  No wonder he was so well loved.

He’ll definitely be missed.


Charles Durning
1923-2012

And, that wraps up 2012! 

Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve.  Don’t drink too much, and don’t be afraid to rely on designated drivers or calling a cab home.  Remember, the best kind of parties are ones in which you arrive alive.  So, play it safe tonight, okay?


I will see you in the New Year!  J

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Simply Red With A Splash Of Star Power


I’ve decided to make this entire blog entry red for a reason.

No, the reason is not because red is my favourite colour (though I do admit that I like it), and no, it’s not because I wish that it was Christmas all over again because let’s face it...some of us are thrilled that it only comes around once a year.

It’s because the group that I am featuring in today’s topic is...well...Simply Red!

And for today’s blog entry, I’m doing another one of my album spotlights!  Sometimes the songs on a particular album are so good that I can’t help but spotlight the whole album.  And, in the case of Simply Red, I came to this decision after getting one of their songs stuck inside my head about a month ago.  I was watching television on a Sunday afternoon, and the song was playing in the background of a scene.  And, the song was stuck in my head about a week after I heard it. 

I had actually thought about doing the spotlight on the song the following Sunday...but it was right around the time that I was doing the “Pop Culture Addict’s Advent Calendar” posts, so I knew that I would have to wait until after the holidays were over before I could feature it.

But then I got to listening to the whole album that the song was featured on, and I thought that the songs were all really fantastic.  So, why not feature all of them?

Here’s the album cover for today’s featured album spotlight.



The album is called “Stars”, and it was released on September 30, 1991.  It was Simply Red’s fourth studio album, and ultimately, it was one of their most successful albums.

But before we talk about the album “Stars”, why don’t we talk a little bit about Simply Red, and their musical journey up to and including the recording and release of “Stars”.



It all began in 1976 in, of all places, a Sex Pistols concert in Manchester, England.  Mick Hucknall, then a sixteen-year-old art student, was at the concert along with several other musicians, and after the concert, Hucknall formed a band named “The Frantic Elevators”.  The band stayed together for nearly eight years before disbanding in 1984, just after they released a single together that despite its critical acclaim didn’t garner much attention.

That would soon change with Hucknall’s next project.

In 1985, Hucknall met his new manager, Elliot Rashman, and together they spent the first part of 1985 assembling local musicians to form a new band, and Rashman shopped the new band around record companies, hoping that one would sign them. 


Here’s some interesting trivia for you.  Initially when the band was forming, it was Hucknall’s idea to just call the band, “Red”.  The name stemmed from a childhood nickname that Hucknall had as a result of him having bright red hair.  The manager of a local club that had booked the band was a bit confused about the name, and didn’t believe that a band would name themselves after a colour.  But at Mick’s insistence, he told the manager that the band’s name was “Red, simply red”.  Somehow, when the manager was printing posters for the upcoming venue, he misunderstood Mick, and instead of just “Red”, the band name became “Simply Red”.  Luckily, Hucknall and the rest of the band liked it, and the name stuck!



The band’s original line-up in 1985, by the way, was as follows...

MICK HUCKNALL – Vocals
TONY BOWERS – Bass
DAVID FRYMAN – Guitar
CHRIS JOYCE – Percussion
TIM KELLETT – Brass/Background Vocals
FRITZ MCINTYRE – Keyboard/Vocals

It did take a few months for Simply Red to catch on.  The band’s first two singles didn’t exactly chart very well in the United Kingdom, and were virtually ignored in North America.  But then came the spring of 1986, which was the year that the band released their third single...which also happened to be the last single that Hucknall had released with his previous band two years earlier. 

The song was “Holding Back The Years”, and it proved to be a huge hit on the charts.  The song peaked at #3 in the Netherlands, #2 in the United Kingdom, and peaked at #1 in the United States the week of July 12, 1986!  It was also the song that helped cement Simply Red’s status on the charts.

Two more albums soon followed, and by 1991, Simply Red was easily considered one of Britain’s best bands.  But, here’s something incredibly shocking.  When Simply Red first started out, their early singles seemed to do better overseas than they had been doing in their native country.  “Holding Back The Years” was the first of two #1 hits for Simply Red in the United States (the other one was a cover version of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes single “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” in 1989), but in the United Kingdom, the band couldn’t get a number one single no matter how hard they tried.

There was also a bit of controversy surrounding the strength of the band, as many people believed (including Mick Hucknall himself) that the band was more or less a solo effort by Hucknall, rather than as a group effort.  And, by 1991, Simply Red had gone through two guitarists, and lost Joyce and Bowers (who were replaced by Hector Pereira, Shaun Ward, and Gota Yashiki. 

But if there was some controversy over how well the band worked together, you never would have known it when the band released their fourth album, “Stars”. 

(Well, okay, almost all the promotional music videos made for the album solely focus on Hucknall...but despite that, you never would have known it!)

Sadly, the curse of not having a number one hit in their own country continued to plague the band with this album...their highest ranking single failed make it past the #8 position on the charts.  But the album’s success in sales more than made up for it.  Did you know that the “Stars” album was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom for both 1991 AND 1992?  And, did you know that the album went twelve times platinum, tying for sixth place on the list of the top-selling albums of all-time in the United Kingdom?  That is such an amazing feat!

And, part of that success came from the beautiful, passionate songs that were released from “Stars”.  So, let’s have a listen, beginning with the album’s first single release.


SOMETHING GOT ME STARTED – September 21, 1991
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #23
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD A/C CHARTS:  #21
PEAK POSITION ON THE UK CHARTS: #11

Okay, so this first single release was a bit of a departure for the band.  You know how the band had #1 singles in the USA?  Well, both of those songs were soulful ballads.  This one sounded more like a club hit that you’d groove to on a dance floor with flashing lights and disco balls.  Yet, this arrangement seemed to work very well with the band’s new direction and sound.  There were also several versions released of this single...a 7-inch, a 12-inch, and a CD version!  While the song wasn’t quite as successful in the mainstream charts as other Simply Red releases, it was a massive hit in the club scene in late 1991.  It just went to show that sometimes a band may be associated with one style of music, but that didn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t capable of doing other styles.  In this case, dance music seemed to work very well for the band.  And, who knew Mick Hucknall had some swagger like Mick Jagger?

(Okay, I just made up that corny last bit...I apologize.  J )



“Something Got Me Started” also has a rather unique claim to fame, as it is the only single by Simply Red to be released twice.  In January 2006, an acoustic version was released as part of the band’s album “Simplified”.  Though it didn’t chart as high as the original version, it’s still a neat fact to share.



STARS – November 30, 1991
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #44
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD A/C CHARTS:  #8
PEAK POSITION ON THE UK CHARTS:  #8

This song is probably the most successful of the songs from “Stars”.  The title track peaked at #8 on both the UK charts as well as the American Adult Contemporary charts.

(It’s also the song that I ended up getting stuck in my head a month ago, and it is the song that prompted me to do a blog entry on Simply Red in the first place.)

But, what a song it was!  I had forgotten how good it was.  In fact, I think “Stars” may very well be my favourite Simply Red song (though “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” comes very close too).  The music video is very simplistic, yet ethereal, as we see Mick walking through a desert littered with fallen stars as he thinks about the love he lost.  And, that’s basically the concept behind “Stars”...it’s a song about still having unresolved feelings for someone in a relationship that ended with a broken heart.  Who can’t identify with that scenario?  I particularly love the wonderful lyrics that were written for the single.  “Too many hearts are broken/A lover’s promise never came with a maybe/So many words are left unspoken/The silent voices are driving me crazy.”

Now that’s profound.  Then again, I always did have a love for clever, thought-provoking lyrics.  And with Hucknall writing this, and the other songs on the album, there are plenty of these deep thoughts and feelings to experience.  In fact, the next single takes us into a little into Hucknall’s own personal life at the time.



(Oh, yeah...that red spot on his tooth?  That’s actually a ruby that Hucknall had permanently placed into his tooth right around the time Simply Red made it big.  He has since changed it into a diamond.)



FOR YOUR BABIES – January 25, 1992
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD A/C CHARTS: #24
PEAK POSITION ON THE UK CHARTS:  #9

Okay, okay...I know what you’re thinking...this video is a couple of Halloween costumes away from being a promotional video for Anne Geddes.  It was also the original concept for Amy Grant’s video for “Baby Baby”, which if Amy had gotten her way would have included a bunch of kids crawling over top of Amy wearing a mermaid costume!

Okay, that’s a scary image.  Let’s move on, shall we?

The thing is...this video works.  After all, when you have a single entitled “For Your Babies”, you kind of have to include some children, right?  Scary thing is, all these kids are likely in their mid-to-late 20’s right now!  Yikes!

Anyway, the song’s all about how life changes once you become a parent.  Any of my friends who have children will likely listen to these lyrics, and instantly go “awwwwwww”.  But there’s also a hidden truth behind this song.  It was written by Hucknall at a time in which all of his friends were settling down and having children of their own, and it seemed to him like he was the only one of his peers who didn’t have that.

Here’s an interesting comparison here.  At the time this video was released, Hucknall was thirty-one and yet to have a child.  And, this blogger also happens to be thirty-one and childless.  So, yes...I can most definitely relate to how Hucknall was feeling because I’m currently living it!

But, in Hucknall’s case, patience was worth the wait.  After a period of self-admitted failure to commit (you might want to read all about all the partners he had during the early days of Simply Red...it may just shock you), Hucknall finally settled down and  became the father of a little girl named Romy True in June 2007, when he was 47 years of age.



THRILL ME – May 2, 1992
PEAK POSITION ON THE UK CHARTS: #33

I unfortunately don’t have a whole lot to say about this particular single other than the fact that it was the lowest charting single of the album, and that this was the only song that Hucknall did not write solely by himself (he collaborated with Fritz McIntyre).  But, that’s fine.  Sometimes you don’t need to say a lot about a song.  Just listen to it instead.  It’s quite good, despite the low chart position.



YOUR MIRROR – July 25, 1992
PEAK POSITION ON THE UK CHARTS:  #17

The final track of “Stars” to chart, this song is probably part social commentary, part self-esteem building...depending on how you want to look at it.  On one hand, the song talks about standing up for oneself against as society that seems incredibly corrupt and screwed up due to the leadership of a cold figure (keep in mind that this song was written around the time that Margaret Thatcher - who some British people may call a polarizing figure - was leaving office).  But if one were to look at the song through the perspective of rose-coloured goggles sprinkled with Valentine’s Day dust, you could also stretch the claim that the song could talk about standing up for yourself after leaving a terrible relationship and staring in the mirror, realizing that life does go on, the birds do continue singing their songs, and that you are beautiful.

Okay, I may be stretching with that last one, but I’m a bit young to remember Thatcherism, so I came up with an alternate theory. 

So, that’s our look back on “Stars”, widely considered to be Simply Red’s greatest success story.  In the years that followed, Simply Red ended up scoring at least one #1 song in Britain (with 1995’s “Fairground”), and the band remained together until their breakup in 2010.  As of 2012, Mick Hucknall continues to record music, and his latest album “American Soul” was just released two months ago and is available to purchase on iTunes, and record stores.


But, I don’t think Mick Hucknall can ever truly break away from the Simply Red label...not that he minds in the slightest, of course.