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Monday, January 07, 2013

Arthur (The Best That He Could Do)


Hello, everybody!  And, welcome to the very first Monday Matinee of 2013!

For today’s feature, I thought that we would take a look at a movie that is linked to two very important years (well, on a personal level that is).

The years that I am talking about are 1981 (the year that this blogger was born), and 2011 (the year that this blog was born).  Funny how that worked out, huh?

And, here’s the kicker.  This movie was originally released in 1981 and remade thirty years later in 2011!  How’s that for awesome?

Unfortunately, this is where the awesomeness ends.  I have seen both the 1981 and the 2011 versions of the film, and the 2011 is just a shoddy pale imitation of the original.  Not saying that Russell Brand didn’t try his hardest to make a success of it.  I may be alone in admitting this, but there are a few funny moments in the 2011 remake.

It’s just that the 1981 version has more heart and more warmth.

That’s why I’m saddened to have learned of the passing of a couple of the key players of this particular film...and both of them died in very tragic circumstances.

Today’s featured film was directed by a man named Steve Gordon.  Gordon was a figure in the entertainment industry for years prior to 1981, mostly in television.  His name has been linked to “The New Dick Van Dyke Show”, “Chico & The Man”, and “Barney Miller”, and he was the creator of the short-lived 1976 television series “The Practice”. 

And in 1981, he made his directorial debut with today’s film, which he also wrote as well.  It was destined to be the beginning of a great new direction for Gordon, and it seemed as though he was well on his way to a promising career in film directing.  Sadly, in November 1982, Gordon passed away in New York City after suffering a massive heart attack.  He was just 44 years old.

Twenty years after Gordon’s death, the film’s lead actor passed away in March 2002.

Dudley Moore was an actor who had a huge resume of work prior to this film.  Although his height of just over five feet was hardly considered average for a Hollywood leading man, he had enough personality and joie de vivre to make it an asset instead of a problem.  It certainly didn’t keep him from enjoying the company of ladies.  He was married four times during his lifetime, and he was affectionately given the nicknames of “Cuddly Dudley” or “The Sex Thimble” by the press.


Dudley started off his career in the 1965 film short “Flatland”, but over the years his film resume included such memorable films as “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland”, “Foul Play”, “10”, “Six Weeks”, and “Crazy People”.  But in the late 1990s, he began to display symptoms of the rare terminal degenerative brain disorder “progressive supranuclear palsy, and fought the disease for three years before his 2002 death.

Now, it can be argued that today’s film may not be his most famous work...but it was a movie that helped make Dudley’s star shine a little brighter.  And, since it happens to be my own personal favourite film of Dudley Moore’s, I really wanted to do a feature on this movie.


And, that movie is the 1981 film “Arthur”.


“Arthur” was released on July 17, 1981, and with its total gross of $95 million, it became the fourth highest grossing film of 1981.  The film was also nominated for four Academy Awards, winning exactly half.  John Gielgud was the winner of the Best Supporting Actor trophy, and the song below ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song.


ARTIST:  Christopher Cross
SONG:  Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)
ALBUM:  Arthur – The Album
DATE RELEASED:  August 14, 1981
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 3 weeks

The above song was a collaborative effort between Cross, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen.

The film is all about a wealthy, immature playboy named Arthur Bach who spends his days drinking alcohol and demanding to be chauffeured all around New York City.  The last thing on his mind is to become a mature adult with responsibilities. 

But then reality comes along and smacks Arthur across the face so hard his head was left spinning.

You see, Arthur grew up in a very wealthy family, and as a result has been left with a rather spoiled upbringing.  He has never had to worry about not having any money because everything has been provided for him whenever he wanted it.

In fact, part of the reason why Arthur has developed a bit of a spoiled lifestyle is because of the promise of the $750 million fortune that he is set to inherit from his father (Thomas Barbour) once he passes on.


Unfortunately for Arthur, his father’s money will only be his on one condition.  He will only earn the trust fund if he goes through with marrying a woman named Susan Johnson (Jill Eikenberry), a snooty lady whose upper crust upbringing will more than certainly cause Arthur to change his ways and become the upstanding man that his father always dreamed of having.


Now, Arthur is not exactly keen on the idea of entering an arranged marriage with Susan.  He doesn’t love her at all.  In fact, Arthur hasn’t ever really loved anybody in his life...and the only other person who understood him was his valet, Hobson (John Gielgud).

Arthur is not thrilled with marrying Susan, but since it’s the only way that he will be able to maintain his lavish lifestyle, he has no choice but to agree to it.

But then he meets a woman from Queens, who is basically the polar opposite of Susan.  Her name is Linda (Liza Minnelli), and she’s a working-class waitress who dabbles in shoplifting.  Certainly not the kind of woman that would be the ideal woman for Arthur, as far as Arthur’s family is concerned.

And yet, Arthur becomes very enchanted by her, and enjoys her company very much.  Here’s just a taste of the relationship between Linda and Arthur.


You see what I mean?  It’s a very sweet relationship.


Believe it or not, when Arthur spends time with Linda, he ends up going cold turkey on the alcoholic beverages, and begins acting like a responsible human being...something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Hobson.

But as Arthur develops feelings for Linda, he is weighed down by his commitment to Susan.  He tries to discuss the situation with his grandmother, Martha (Geraldine Fitzgerald), and explains his feelings for Linda to her...but Martha shows Arthur the grim reality of what would happen if he makes the wrong choice.  If he decides to not marry Susan, he runs the risk of being disowned by his father, thus making his inheritance null and void.  Still, this doesn’t prevent Hobson from playing matchmaker at Arthur and Susan’s engagement party, informing Linda that she should attend as a guest.  After all, Hobson did always know how to recognize a young man in love.

Sadly, it is shortly after the engagement party that Hobson develops an illness, and is confined to his bed.  Arthur dotes on Hobson, being that he has been more of a dad to him than his own biological father, and does his best to take care of him.  But unfortunately, Arthur’s care is not enough to make Hobson get better, and he passes away.  A heartbroken Arthur immediately goes on a drinking binge, mourning his loss.

Without Hobson around, Arthur is essentially left on his own to make the hardest decision that he will ever have to make in his entire life.  Does he choose Susan, the woman who he has no love for in order to ensure that he lives comfortably on a financial scale?  Or does he gamble it all away to be with Linda, the woman who has ignited his passion for not only love, but life itself?

Or, is there even a way that Arthur can have his cake and eat it too?

Well, if you expect me to tell you the answer, you must be joking.  But, Arthur is available at video stores and Netflix, and I’m sure that there are places where you can download it online.  Just make sure that you watch the 1981 version, and not the 2011 version.  The original one is the superior one.

Now, there’s one reason why I really wanted to spotlight this movie, and it’s a personal one.  It’s true that my family is not worth $750 million.  In fact, I doubt that my family even have $750 on their person at any given moment, to be perfectly honest with you.  And, no, I don’t go riding around Central Park at any given moment...mainly because Central Park is a good nine hours away from where I live currently.

But, I do identify with Arthur in one major way.

We’ve never really known what it is like to fall in love.

I mean, I’ve had crushes before, and I’ve definitely fallen for people.  But to call that love...I honestly can say that I’ve never felt that way about anyone.  And, I can relate to Arthur because the reason why we’ve never really loved anyone before is because we weren’t really very happy with ourselves initially.

In Arthur’s case, he had everything handed to him on a silver platter with silver cutlery.  He never really understood the value of a hard day’s work, and he was never expected to do anything.  He certainly never earned the respect of his own family, and I think that may have contributed to the fact that he thought so little of himself.  Believe me, I can definitely relate to Arthur with that one.

But Arthur was really lucky in that he had his beloved Hobson around to keep him on the straight and narrow.  I suppose you could say that I had that with a couple of friends of mine.  They too kept me on the straight and narrow, and kept me on a path of happiness.

So, when Arthur ended up losing Hobson, I felt his pain, as I ended up losing my two friends within a year of each other.  Needless to say, 2012 was a very difficult year for me, and I am so thrilled to bring in 2013.

But you know, there’s always hope.  Arthur ended up finding it in a person who was his complete opposite...and it ended up becoming something beautiful.  And, I have to believe that the same fate will happen for me...even if there are days when I tell myself that it will never happen.

I guess in my case, I just have to take the lyrics to heart in the theme song for “Arthur”.  Do the best that I can do.

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Oppah Gangnam Style


I've always been a bit of a nutter when it comes to statistics. For some reason, I love finding out various stats on dates, numbers, facts, figures, and records. I suppose that's a good trait to have when you have a pop culture blog up and running. The only downside is that to the general public, babbling off statistics randomly may sound like the most boring activity in the world.

Don't worry, though. These stats are going to be fun. Just have a look at some of the stats for my blog.

DATE STARTED: May 24, 2011
TOTAL POSTS: 597 (including this one)
PAGE VIEWS LAST MONTH: 10,421
PAGE VIEWS LAST YEAR: 3,536
TOTAL PAGE VIEWS: 97,610 and counting

So, as you can see, this blog is approaching a bit of a milestone. I would estimate that at some point in January 2013, I'll reach the 100,000 mark. To me, this is something that makes me very happy, as I never imagined that I would ever reach that point. Again, it's all because of you reading and supporting this venture. You all rock my world!

Heck, it makes me feel confident one day that I'll eventually reach 500,000 page views. Or maybe if I'm alive to see it, maybe 1,000,000 page views.

Or, what about a BILLION page views?

I know what you're saying. Don't shoot so high. Stay grounded. Yes, it's very likely that this blog will never reach one billion page views. And, even if it does, it most certainly won't be in my lifetime.

In fact, with the Internet being made available to the general public in the early 1990s, it seemed as though it would be an extraordinary, impossible feat for a single web page to reach one billion page views.

That is, until December 21, 2012.

On that date, a single YouTube video surpassed the one billion page view mark, the very first one in the history of the Internet to do so. The only other video to come close to that mark was Justin Bieber's music video for “Baby”, which currently is sitting at a little over 818 million views.

As of January 5, 2013, this video is currently sitting at 1,132,944,644 views and counting!

So, what is this video? I'll give you a hint. It's not this one;



I mean, how many videos with almost a billion page views does the Bieber need? And, it's not this one;



Though Carly Rae Jepsen did have one of the most recognizable songs of 2012 with “Call Me Maybe”. And, it's not this one;



Though Taylor Swift ended up having a fantastic year with the release of her latest album “Red”.

Well, I may as well post it. It's not like it needs the attention, but what the heck, right?



ARTIST: PSY
SONG: Gangnam Style
ALBUM: PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1
DATE RELEASED: July 15, 2012
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #2

By now, I am almost certain that everybody has heard of this song which quickly became a global phenomenon. The single was released in the summer of 2012 by South Korean rapper/songwriter PSY (born Park Jae-sang), and within one month, the accompanying music video went viral on YouTube. A month after that, in September 2012, the song was awarded a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most “liked” music video on YouTube, and won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards.



And on December 31, 2012 (which coincidentally also happened to be PSY's 35th birthday), he performed the song at Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve '13 with Ryan Seacrest in front of the large crowd in the middle of Times Square, moments before the big ball drop (which coincidentally also featured the three artists whose videos I posted earlier in the blog).

So, now that you know who PSY is, and how the song reached such a huge milestone, the next question that needs to be asked is this.

Just what the heck does Oppan Gangnam Style mean?



Apparently, Gangnam Style is a term that is used in Korea, which loosely translated into English stands for a lifestyle that is associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul, South Korea (PSY's birthplace). PSY has described the Gangnam District of Seoul as being the Korean version of Beverly Hills, California. In some ways, the music video that accompanied the song was ironic in nature, given that PSY was depicting an area of a city that was filled with luxuries and riches by making one of the cheapest looking music videos that could be made this day and age.

In short, it was a 2012 video that had the style of a 1982 Duran Duran video. Strangely enough though, I think that made the public want to watch it more. I'll admit that I even was curious to view the video after hearing so many people talking about it!

And, well...to my surprise, I didn't hate it. Sure, the song can get a little monotonous if one were to play it on a continuous loop for half an hour, but I'll admit that the video saves the song in my eyes.

(I'm still a bit shocked that it has a billion page views!)



Oh, and the signature dance that PSY performs within the “Gangnam Style” video? He actually came up with the choreography for the dance himself, although it wasn't exactly done in a few hours. He stated that between trying to come up with a unique dance step to accompany the video and to make his recent effort stand out, he worked on the dance for almost an entire month. He eventually settled on the “horse trot” move after testing several animal-based dance moves with his choreographer.

TRIVIA: When the video reached the one billion page view mark, YouTube added an animated picture next to the page view count which shows a little man dancing the “Gangnam Style” moves.

The single also ended up getting mostly positive reviews from a variety of entertainment websites and publications. Ian Garland of the “Daily Mail” remarked that the song was a “bizarre music sensation”, while London mayor Boris Johnson actually named “Gangnam Style” the greatest cultural masterpiece of 2012!

I don't know if I would actually go that far...but I don't doubt that the song made an imprint on the 2012 music scene.

Of course, not all critics seemed to give the same praise over the song that other people seemed to have. “Digital Spy”'s Robert Copsey criticized the monotony of the song, “The Guardian”'s Paul Lester described the song as a messy blend of “Pump Up The Jam”, “Cotton-Eye Joe”, and the “Macarena”, and Robert Myers of “The Village Voice” stated that the song was an “inspired piece of silliness”.

Critics aside, the video was voted by fans as Billboard's “Best Music Video of 2012”, and it has inspired several dance mobs of people performing the “Gangnam Style” dance. Just in case you were interested, on December 31, 2012, more than a million people gathered outside of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany to witness and attempt a live “Gangnam Style” performance.

As of right now, the song is nominated for a slew of awards for the upcoming year. It's on the nomination list for the People's Choice Awards for Favourite Music Video, and is nominated for two World Music Awards for World's Best Song, and World's Best Video.

Alas, no 2013 Grammy nominations were given. But, hey, I don't think PSY's complaining. He already has the most watched online video ever.

So, let's add Gangnam Style onto the list of fad dances of yore. It joins the ranks of the Hustle, the Disco Duck, the Electric Slide, the Safety Dance, the Conga, the Loco-Motion, and the Macarena as some of the most memorable crazes ever featured in the world of music.

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Come and Play, Muppets are A-OK!




You know, it's been a really long time since I have done a blog entry solely on Sesame Street. If I remember correctly, the last time I talked about Sesame Street on the blog was when I did that spotlight on the “loaf of bread, container of milk, stick of butter” segment.

Okay, you know what? Let's watch it again!



The truth is that Sesame Street has a history of longevity. Did you know that the show debuted on PBS on November 10, 1969? That means that the show will be celebrating its 44th anniversary in 2013! It seems hard to believe that the show was only twelve years old when I was born. I literally grew up watching that show.



The show was one that was very educational back in the day (and still is to some extent, although it has been years since I have watched an episode). I can remember learning my letters from A-Z, I learned how to count to twelve (though as of the late 1980s/early 1990s, that number has been expanded to include numbers up to 20), and we were all entertained by segments such as the one below.



For 44 years, Sesame Street has welcomed generations of children to the neighbourhood, and we all went through a number of experiences. During the time period in which I watched, a fire nearly burned down 123 Sesame Street, a hurricane blew through Sesame Street (something I found impossible until Hurricane Sandy passed through New York City in October 2012), and the beloved Mr. Hooper passed away, and everyone had to explain what death was to Big Bird.

And, one thing that I liked about Sesame Street was the ingenious way that the show educated kids. They didn't try dumbing themselves down for us to understand the difference between a J and an L...they talked to us in a way that made children feel smarter, and when we got the lesson that they were trying to teach us, we all felt good about it! I still remember being proud of the fact that I could count to ten in Spanish!

(Mind you, that's about the only Spanish that I actually ended up learning, but hey. We all have to start somewhere!)

Now, everyone remembers the Muppets that would appear on each episode of Sesame Street. You ask anyone on the street about their favourite human characters, they may tell you that they liked Maria and Luis, or Gordon and Susan, or even Mr. Hooper.



(My personal favourite was Gina, just in case you were wondering.)

But, if you were to ask people who their favourite Muppets were in Sesame Street, the answers might be a little more varied. There have been hundreds of Muppets that have appeared on Sesame Street over the years, and each one has made an impact on several people.

There's Telly, the triangle-loving red muppet who is best friends with Baby Bear. There's Forgetful Jones, the muppet who forgets everything from his shopping list to the songs that he sings with his beloved Clementine. There's Roosevelt Franklin, Prairie Dawn, Betty Lou, and Hoots the Owl...all characters that I grew up watching (and all characters that current Sesame Street watchers probably don't remember).

And, of course, there's the Yip Yip aliens!



I love those guys.

But, which Sesame Street characters are my all-time favourites? I've made up a list of some of mine, as well as information about when they debuted, a few trivia facts, and some clips of them in action.

Let's start with a character that has been entertaining children since the very beginning of the series.



BIG BIRD
First Appearance: Episode 1 (November 10, 1969)
Voiced by: Carroll Spinney (understudy: Matt Vogel)

What can you say about Big Bird? He's lived on Sesame Street for over 40 years! He's also larger than the average sized ostrich, and very easy to spot with his bright yellow feathers. He also has a wide array of talents. He can sing, he can roller-skate, he can ice skate, he can dance, and he can even ride a unicycle.

But he's also a bit naïve, and sometimes misunderstands the most basic of concepts. Like with his own interpretation of the alphabet song.



TRIVIA: Carroll Spinney wasn't the original choice for Big Bird's voice. The full-body costume was designed for Muppet creator Jim Henson to fit into, but when costume designer Kermit Love remarked that Henson wasn't moving the way that a bird was supposed to move, Henson decided to forego voicing Big Bird in favour of other characters such as Ernie, and Kermit the Frog. Frank Oz was briefly considered for the role of Big Bird, but since Oz hated working in full-body costumes, he declined. Spinney was eventually hired, but almost left the show in 1970 after reportedly having pay issues! But, in the end, Spinney still remains on the show. Good thing too, because had it not been for Spinney, our next Muppet would cease to exist.



OSCAR THE GROUCH
First Appearance: Episode 1 (November 10, 1969)
Voiced by: Carroll Spinney

It must have been a bit difficult for Spinney to perform both the roles of Oscar and Big Bird, especially in scenes in which both appear together! Fortunately, the sound department arranged for Spinney to pre-record Oscar's voice onto a tape, and from there Jim Martin took over the puppet duties for Oscar when Spinney was performing as Big Bird.

TRIVIA: Oscar may not find it easy being green like Kermit the Frog. There's a reason for that. He was originally ORANGE! Don't believe me? Have a look!



I'm not exactly sure why Oscar changed from orange to green, but one explanation that I heard was that the lighting for Sesame Street changed in season two, and this made Oscar's fur appear as a day-glo orange shade which was way too bright for the television screen. So, he was changed to green to combat that. Again, I don't know how much truth there was to that explanation, but to me, it made sense.

By the way, Oscar the Grouch could very well be Sesame Street's original hoarder. Sure, his trash can may seem incredibly tiny, but he has so much junk inside of his can that not even Dr. Robin Zasio could clear it all out in one episode of “Hoarders”. I mean, he has a pet worm named Slimey, an elephant named Fluffy, and he still manages to have space to entertain his girlfriend, Grungetta! I mean, how does he do it!



MR. SNUFFLEUPAGUS
First Appearance: Episode 276 (November 8, 1971)
Voiced by: Jerry Nelson, Michael Earl, Martin Robinson

Okay, so there was a huge running gag involving Mr. Snuffleupagus. For fourteen years, Big Bird was the only one who ever saw him. Snuffy popped up out of the blue in Big Bird's nest one autumn day, and made friends with the young bird. I actually found Snuffy's first appearance, so have a look.



Thankfully, Snuffy's eyes became a lot less scary as the show progressed.

But it was really frustrating for Big Bird because every time he would try to introduce Snuffy to his friends Gordon, Susan, and Bob, Snuffy would disappear, making Big Bird look like the biggest fool of them all.

It wasn't until 1985 that Snuffy was finally brought onto Sesame Street as more than Big Bird's big secret. With help from Elmo (who was a fairly new character at that time), Big Bird successfully introduced the group to Snuffy, and welcomed him to the neighbourhood with open arms. But the reason why may surprise you.

It was later explained that by kids seeing Big Bird trying to tell the adults of Sesame Street that Snuffy was real and the adults not believing them, it may have sent out the wrong message, citing the example of a story from the news about staff at a daycare center sexually abusing children. So, the decision was made to incorporate Snuffy into the fold so that adults would be more apt to believe children when they had something important to say.



BERT AND ERNIE
First Appearances: Episode 1 (November 10, 1969)
Voiced by: Jim Henson, Steve Whitmire (Ernie) – Frank Oz, Eric Jacobsen (Bert)

Ernie and Bert have been the subject of some unintended controversy, mainly due to their living situation. They've lived in the same apartment for 44 years and sleep in the same room (albeit in twin beds). This has seemingly been enough proof for some people to believe that Ernie and Bert are a gay couple. Believe it or not, there was even a petition online that demanded that Bert and Ernie get married on Sesame Street! The things people come up with, huh?

I mean, yes, if Ernie and Bert did get married, so be it. More power to them. But, I don't believe that they are this ambiguously gay couple at all. If anything, Ernie is the “Oscar” to Bert's “Felix”. Bert's pigeons clash with Ernie's rubber duckie, and that's what makes their segments fun to watch.



Of course, I liked Ernie slightly better than Bert...mainly because he had better songs.



GROVER
First Appearance: December 24, 1967
Voiced by: Frank Oz, Eric Jacobsen

You're not reading this incorrectly. Grover is one of two Muppet characters (the other one being Cookie Monster) that pre-date Sesame Street. He actually started on the Christmas Eve, 1967 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. The only difference was that Grover was instead named “Gleep”, and his fur was a greenish-brown instead of his signature indigo.



I just included Grover in this mix because he was my all time favourite Sesame Street Muppet growing up. I had a soft spot for Super Grover.



COUNT VON COUNT
First Appearance: November 21, 1972
Voiced by Jerry Nelson, Matt Vogel

The passing of Jerry Nelson in 2012 was a sad one, as it meant that the original voice of the Count was silenced forever. But I must admit, the Count had some very interesting ways in teaching everyone how to count. Whether it be from his bat belfry...



...or his many songs...



...or even the thunder, lightning, and infectious laugh, you could always count on the Count. And now that Matt Vogel has taken over the voice of the Count, we still are able to count on him.

TRIVIA: According to a BBC interview, the Count's favourite number of all time is reportedly 34,969.



ELMO
First Appearance: 1972
Voiced by: Carroll Spinney, Brian Muehl, Richard Hunt, Kevin Clash*

The star is beside Kevin's name because as of right now, we don't know who will take over ever since that scandal broke out a couple of months ago. I won't bother posting it here...you can just Google it.

Elmo is an interesting case. He first appeared on the show in 1972, but he was just known as “Baby Monster”, back then. He made sporadic appearances between 1972 and 1984 before being made a regular character on the same day that Snuffy was revealed to the Sesame Street humans. Since then, his popularity has exploded. He was given his own “Elmo's World” segment in 1998, and his likeness ended up on one of the biggest selling toys of 1996.



Tickle-Me-Elmo, anyone?

It's hard to say what the future will hold for Elmo. Though, I think that his popularity will still endure. Much to the frustration of Sesame Street traditionalists, Elmo will still be around...even if he may sound like he's going through puberty as a new voice artist takes the reins.

That's all that I have to say about Sesame Street's muppet population. Now, it's your turn. Who are some of your favourite Sesame Street characters? I look forward to hearing from you!

For now, let's end this blog off with a song from Cookie Monster!


Friday, January 04, 2013

Nightmares, Rescues, and Takeovers, Oh My!


Well, yesterday's blog entry was a little bit personal. It was something that I have always wanted to get off of my chest for quite some time, but wasn't exactly sure how I would do it, or how it would come across. But, once I got into the frame of mind similar to “like a Band-Aid, you have to peel it off quickly so it doesn't sting as much”, it became a lot easier to speak my mind. I ended up getting a lot off of my chest, and I feel a little bit better for it.

And, I think that I plan on making every Thursday like that, if you guys don't mind. After all, I suppose that my ramblings and addiction to pop culture would make a lot more sense if you find out who I am behind the Sunday Jukeboxes and Saturday Morning Cartoons, right?

I guess if you want to look at it a different way, my upbringing and childhood hasn't exactly been a bed of roses. But, that's the thing...hardly anybody has that upbringing...well, unless you happen to be a member of the Brady Bunch! So, I think that by sharing the good and the bad, the bond between blogger and reader can (hopefully) strengthen, and maybe people will read the blog and identify and relate to what I went through.

Or, you may just think that I'm bat guano crazy. Either way, I'll take it with a grain of salt!

Anyway, we're going to move away from the serious and get right back into the fun. And, on that note, I have a question for all of you.

How fun is your job?

Okay, so I see some of you maybe half-heartedly raising your hands, and some of you giving me a death stare. It's true that for a lot of us, a job is just that. A job. Now, as far as doing this blog goes, I don't consider this to be work. I take pride and joy in being able to express my thoughts and feelings every day for almost two years. And, though I've been doing this for well over 500 days now, I still manage to find the time to do it because I love it.

If only I could actually use my writing skills to land a similar job, that would be a life's dream come true. Ah well...as long as I'm still breathing in the oxygen and expelling the carbon dioxide, I still have time to make that a reality.

(SIDE NOTE: I'm listening to my iPod as I type this and the Beatles “Paperback Writer” just appeared on the Playlist. That's freaky.)

As far as the job that I have that actually does pay the bills go...well, I have admittedly a love/hate relationship with it. There are some days in which I am motivated and energized to do the job at hand, and then there are others in which I wish I had stayed in bed.

Again, this seems to be true with a lot of people.



But I also have the strong belief that people who are passionate about their jobs are also people who seemingly have the most happiness in their positions. And, I also believe that passion comes from a sense of caring about not only doing a job, but doing a job right.

I'll be the first to admit that as someone who wants to make a career out of writing one day, I cringe whenever I see any sort of spelling or grammatical error within any sort of publication (be it a major newspaper, or a local newsletter). And, I will also be the first to admit that the label of “Grammar Nazi” gets slapped square on my forehead at least once a day. But here's the thing. I wear it like a badge of honour. Why? Because I am absolutely passionate about writing, and I love the English language, and I hate seeing it get butchered.

(Well, okay, if English isn't your mother tongue, you get a pass. I'm not that strict.)

Luckily for me, I am not the only one who is passionate about their job (albeit in my case it's more my non-paying job than my paying job, although the paying job has its perks as well). It seems that the world of reality television is filled with dozens of reality shows that feature people who are incredibly passionate about their career choices. So passionate that they have decided to travel to other places and businesses in order to help other people reignite their spark for their career choices.

In a lot of cases, the people who learn from the experts end up getting a second wind and they find the joy that they thought was gone forever. And, in some other cases, the people ignore everything that the experts say, they give up on their business, and the whole thing folds within a matter of months.

This is the story of three of these shows, and the experts who host them.

In two of the three cases, I am a regular viewer. The third one, I spent hours watching a marathon of shows during Christmas break to prepare for this blog entry. In all three, you'll meet people who are passionate about their industry, and aren't afraid to show it...even if the audience does get a little bit frightened of them.

Why don't we start with Gordon Ramsay, shall we?



I already did a blog entry on Chef Ramsay almost two years ago, but in that entry, I only scratched the surface of what seemingly sounds like eight hundred million television programs that he has his name linked to. “Hell's Kitchen”, “MasterChef”, “The F Word”. Believe me, there's a lot.

Perhaps the one that I enjoy watching the most is the show entitled “Kitchen Nightmares”. The show originally began airing in the United Kingdom in 2004 as “Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares”, but began airing the American version known as “Kitchen Nightmares” in 2007 on FOX. The whole premise of the show is simple. Gordon travels all across the country to struggling restaurants in desperate need of help, and it is his job to find out why the restaurant is failing. After all, with over thirty restaurants to his name, and several honours to his credit (which include twelve Michelin stars), he's one person who you really want to have in your corner.

Unfortunately, he also has a really short fuse...especially when he notices the state of disarray and the chaos that he witnesses within each restaurant he tries to fix. But then again, if you saw cockroaches crawling around the kitchen and serving area, staff members throwing each other under the bus, and customers walking out of the restaurant in a huff because they haven't been served in two hours, well...I can't say I blame him for going off.



Some may choose to call it Ramsay being a complete jerk. I see it as tough love. And, sometimes, some of the owners really need a kick in the pants to see that the way that they were running their business was not the right way to go.



I'll admit that I do like the UK version slightly better than the USA version, only because the UK version seems more realistic, and doesn't focus on the drama so much. But in both versions, you see Ramsay's passion for cooking rise up to the top. Sure, he yells and he screams and he gives the censors a headache trying to bleep out every foul word he utters on any given episode...but answer me this question. Do you think he would do this if he weren't passionate about his job? I don't think he would.

EPISODES WHERE RAMSAY'S ADVICE WORKED...FOR NOW (Finn McCool's, Chiarella's, Cafe Hon)
EPISODES WHERE RAMSAY'S ADVICE FAILED (Sebastian's, Black Pearl, Burger Kitchen)

Coincidentally, Ramsay debuted a kind of spin-off show entitled “Hotel Hell” which debuted in the summer of 2012.



A similar themed show to “Kitchen Nightmares” debuted on Spike-TV in July 2011, “Bar Rescue”. The host of the program is a man by the name of Jon Taffer, a restauranteur with over three decades of experience (specifically with pubs and nightclubs). Just like Gordon Ramsay's show, Taffer goes into bars that are failing and does his best to try and find out what the problems are.

In many cases, the problems are very similar to what is found in “Kitchen Nightmares”. Cleanliness is an issue. Bartenders stealing from the owners when they give customers free drinks is an issue. Sometimes, even the name of the tavern is the issue (would you want to go to a bar named “The Chicken Bone” or “Swanky Bubbles”)?

And, don't ever...ever...let Jon Taffer see you cross-contaminate raw food with cooked food...or else this will happen.



You see, unlike “Kitchen Nightmares”, where Ramsay actually witnesses what happens in real time, Taffer often has decoys go inside with hidden cameras to test the customer service (or lack thereof) to determine the problems beforehand so that he can work out a plan to fix it.

And, yes, some may accuse Taffer of being a loudmouth, being an angry bastard, or being a scary man who yells a lot. But I've watched several episodes of “Bar Rescue”, and a lot of what he says makes a lot of sense. In fact, if I were to open up my own bar (which isn't very likely), I would be taking notes from him and the various experts that he has with him on every show to help out with the renovations and redesign of the various bars he visits. Because Taffer is very passionate about his line of work and knows it inside out.

EPISODES WHERE TAFFER'S ADVICE WORKED...SO FAR: Champs, The Black Sheep, The Olive Pit
EPISODES WHERE TAFFER'S ADVICE DIDN'T WORK: Swanky Bubbles, Kilkenny's Irish Pub, Piratz Tavern

The final spotlight I want to focus on is the show that I watched several episodes of during Christmas break. And, like “Bar Rescue”, a lot of the information gathered before the show took place through the use of hidden cameras, and the person showing the owners of the establishment everything that went on while the cameras were rolling.



Have any of you heard of famous hairstylist Tabatha Coffey? Me either until recently. Apparently she was discovered on the reality series “Shear Genius” which aired on the Bravo network (one reason why I have never heard of her is because I NEVER watch Bravo), and her personality really stood out. It stood out so much that Bravo offered her a chance to have a show where she visited struggling hair salons and took them over for a whole week. According to the opening credits, she's tough, she's talented, and she's taking over.



The show was originally called “Tabatha's Salon Takeover” when it debuted in August 2008, and by 2012 the show was renamed “Tabatha Takes Over” when she started to add frozen yogurt establishments, beauty schools, and bars into the mix.

Either way, after watching the secret footage, Tabatha meets the owners, tells them her findings, and from there, the owners hand over their keys to their business to Tabatha so she can take over. She then conducts the inspection of the salon, which basically is an excuse to show the viewer everything that is wrong with the place. This could include a staff that doesn't know what they are doing, a salon that is filled with filth and grime, and bosses who would rather let the salon run itself rather than take the responsibility for it.

And, I should also state that much like Gordon and Jon, Tabatha doesn't mince words. Take a look.



But Tabatha's also been in the hairstyling industry for a quarter of a century. If anyone knows about hair, it's her. And, while I know nothing about hairstyling, she did help some of the stylists improve their mediocre skills (well, those who were willing to listen). She does offer up a personality that some have deemed as bitchy...but that's only because she cares about her industry and only wants to see the best. You can't really fault her for that. I know I don't.

And, here's the thing. She's had more success stories than failures on her series thus far. So she must have some idea of what she's doing.

EPISODES WHERE TABATHA'S ADVICE WORKED...SO FAR: Orbit, Tantrum, Avanti
EPISODES WHERE TABATHA'S ADVICE WAS IGNORED: Images, Brownes & Co, Christopher Hill

(Most of the Kitchen Nightmares and Tabatha's Salon Takeover episodes can currently be found on YouTube as of January 4, 2013, by the way.)

As far as I'm concerned, I think that there's a big difference between being a know-it-all and being a skilled expert. An expert shares his/her secret to success and tries to help others succeed the best way they can, even if it means a dose of tough love. A know-it-all does the exact opposite.

To me, Ramsay, Taffer, and Coffey are all success stories, and I would gladly take advice from them in anything, even if it stings a bit.

Because they all have passion for what they do. And, in my book, passion is the glue that holds a career together.

Or, so I would like to think anyway.