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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Dairies To Daisies - A Change Will Do Me Good


The theme of this week's Thursday Diary entry is change. I'm about to experience a change in my own personal career path (not a huge one, mind you, but still a change), and along with that change in career comes a change in how I look at the world, and the people in it. Don't worry though...I've been “declawed”, and I'll be nice...mostly.

April 11, 2013

I've decided to be a little bit different when it comes to today's Thursday Diary. Normally, I would be typing this entry in blue font to try and mimic the printing style that I normally use when I write in a notebook or a journal with a pen and paper.

Today, I'm using green.



And yes, there is a reason behind my choosing green as the colour for today. I figure that since I'm going to be spending the next three months or so in an area where I'll be helping people exercise their green thumbs, I thought green would be an appropriate choice.

By now, most of my closest friends and co-workers know this news already, but for the rest of you out there, I thought I would share with you my news.

For the last seven years, I've been working at a retail store in the grocery department. While I've worked at least one shift in every area of the grocery side (excluding deli and bakery), my specialty is dairy and frozen foods. I can help you tell the difference between lactose-free and sugar-free ice cream. I can help you tell the difference between homogenized and skim milk. I can provide you with coffee creamer in eight different flavours including Vanilla Toffee Caramel, Irish Crème, and Mint Chocolate Truffle.



Heck, I'll even help you find chocolate milk, marble cheese, and containers of “I Can't Believe It's Not Butter”...three items that always drive me closer to insanity the moment they go on sale.

Well, beginning next Saturday, I'll be saying goodbye to the milk, cheese, butter, eggs, yogurt, and orange juice, and trading in my cooler jacket for a pair of shorts, because I'm heading outside.



I'm movin' on out...to the West Side...to the deluxe soil compound nearby,
Oh yeah, I'm movin' on out...to the West Side. To the Garden Centre post outside!



(Well, okay, it's not quite as good as the iconic Jefferson's theme song, but it works for the time being.  And, no, that is NOT a picture of my store...but it is a reasonable facsimile for the real thing.)

I'm going to be honest with all of you though. Going out to the seasonal department after spending seven years stocking groceries is going to be an initial shock to me at first.

My original area of the store was always climate-controlled and I got so used to being in that area that I could walk into the walk-in cooler (which hovers around the 0 C/32 F mark) in just my short-sleeved T-shirt...



...and pants...I always wear pants at work! Get your minds out of the gutter, people.



My new area will be one that is almost entirely outdoors, which means that I will likely face the following; extreme heat and coldness, sunshine, rain, fog, sleet, strong winds, thunder and lightning, and considering how weird April has been lately, we might even get frost, snow, and ice rain on top of that!

And, you know what I say? Bring it on!

You know, I'm going to confess something to all of you. Some of you may already know this about me, but others will not. When I first started at my current workplace, I didn't always work in the food department. I started off in a position that was called “store standards”. The official description of the job was to make sure that the store ran efficiently and that we kept up the standards of customer service, as well as the appearance of the store itself.

What the job description REALLY was, was essentially grunt work.

This is only a prediction here, but I'm sure most people out there would NOT enjoy a job where they have to brave the elements to collect shopping carts from outside, or clean up any spill that might occur in the store (which unfortunately involves bodily fluids on the rare occasion), or make sure that the bathrooms were always sparkling and shiny, or cramming giant television sets into a Mitsubishi, Volvo, or even a SmartCar.

Yet for the first year I worked at the store, that's exactly what I did. And, what a thankless job it could be at times. You basically had to run around the store doing grueling, back-breaking work, where the only reward was that you got to do more grueling, back-breaking work outside in the parking lot. If you were lucky, you might get a thank you from a gracious customer instead of a complaint because their car was too tiny for me to shove a giant barbecue inside the back seat.

Still, no matter what I did, I gave it my all, even though there were some days in which I wanted to either walk off the job entirely, or pass out from dehydration/exhaustion/frustration/any adjective ending in -tion. And, that hard work paid off because I was moved to the food department after a year on the job...where I've remained ever since.

Well, at least until April 20th when I begin the next chapter in life.



Even though it's only a temporary move, I'm looking at the seasonal area as a new challenge for me. In many ways, working out in the Garden Centre area has some similarities to store standards in that I'm going to be outside most of the time. In all honestly, I've a feeling that I'll be doing a lot of slugging and lugging out there loading up bags of black earth, cedar trees and patio sets into people's vehicles...but I'm okay with that. A lot has happened over the last eight years, and the Garden Centre job will allow me to work my muscles while getting a tan in the process.



Hey, if anything, it might give me the opportunity to lose those 35 pounds I gained after my 2011 surgery. No, seriously! One of the pitfalls to working the dairy/frozen department was doing price changes on items that would tempt me like fattening ice cream and high-calorie sugary snacks. Going out to the Garden Centre will eliminate those temptations for me! Out of sight, out of mind, right? Because let's face it...the last time I ate dirt, I was two and a half...and even then I didn't develop an insatiable appetite for it.

I'm also fairly optimistic about venturing to the Garden Centre this year because I happen to know most of the people who will be working outside with me there, and as far as I'm concerned, they're a good group of folks. The main thing that I'm all about is teamwork. There's no way that I'm going to be able to lift up a 300 pound patio set all by myself. I'm going to need people to help me! Fortunately, I don't see that as much of a problem, as many of the people that I know are team players.



Of course, there are going to be some challenges that I'll have to face while I am out there. I know absolutely nothing about gardening, and I'm positive that any house plant that I've ever owned, I brutally murdered. I don't know the difference between a geranium and a chrysanthemum, I have no idea how often one is supposed to water a plant, and I really couldn't tell you which fertilizer would work the best when planting azaleas.

(Though, I suppose knowing how to spell azalea and chrysanthemum is half the battle, right?)

And, I should admit this before I continue on with this blog entry. I've filled in for Garden Centre shifts for a one-off, and the last time I was out there, I accidentally chopped off a garden nymph's head while I was pricing them. So, if the department managers of the Garden Centre are reading this right now, you may want to keep me away from the statues for the first week.



And, of course, there's always the possibility of having to get cash training so I can serve customers out in the Garden Centre area. I've been petrified to learn how to use a cash register since I started at my job, and I've managed to avoid the registers for eight and a half years...and I'm kind of secretly hoping I can keep avoiding them for the time being because I know that I would be awful on them. But, if the opportunity presents itself, I'll bite the bullet.

After all, when I first started on the food side, I never thought that I would feel comfortable using our electronic pricing guns (also known as a Telxon or Gemini), but now I can do price changes and count requests like a pro. I thought I would have a nervous breakdown the day that I began doing orders for the department, and now I can do them without any worry (though admittedly, ordering organic milk is always a crapshoot for me).

So, if I learned those new skills by swapping departments, there's no reason why I can't learn other skills in other areas of the store. It'll help me update my resume with more information, and make me a more well-rounded person in the process. And, while I will admit that I will probably need a couple of weeks to get familiar with a new area, I think that if people are patient enough with me and will work with me, it'll be easy peasy.



And, that's the most important thing of all. I need people to work with me to help me understand how things work and who are willing to show me. And, most of all, I want people to have a positive attitude with me. A lot of the frustration that I experienced in my job in the past has been related to the “Nucleus of Negativity” I spoke about two weeks ago in this very space. When people are generally in a good mood, and are optimistic about how things are going, it rubs off on others, and if others are happy, there's a good chance that I'll be happy too.

On the flipside, if I'm in an area where everyone is in a bad mood, and where everyone is super-stressed, and where everyone around me does more complaining than anything else, then that too will rub off on me.

What can I say? When it comes to feelings and emotions, I'm like a sponge.

Of course, I'm not saying that anything like this has happened in any of the departments I worked in. I still have warm fuzzies for my dairy and frozen peeps, and I have love for the people who I have worked with in some of the other food departments I worked in as a substitute.

Even on store standards I had people who...well...actually, come to think of it, most of the people on that job kind of screwed me over, which lead to my wanting out of store standards in the first place. Okay, bad example!



The point is that I'm really looking forward to the change. I think that while I will be out of my comfort zone for the first few days, I'm sure that nobody will leave me completely stranded either. It'll take time, but I have full confidence that I will embrace my new role in my new department in a matter of days.

And, if not, I have other options on the backburner! But, those will have to remain hidden for another time.

Hey, a diary's gotta have a FEW secrets, right?

I start over there April 20...I'll let you all know how it's going in the April 25 entry, all right?

TO BE CONTINUED...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Annette Funicello & Beach Blanket Memories


Before I continue on with today’s blog topic, there’s something that I want to address within this blog.  As it so happens, the topic that I chose for this subject kind of loosely ties into the subject that I had initially chosen for today.  So, I suppose in some ways, this could be a double blog entry.  In one perspective, we’re going to be talking about some wonderful outdoor activities that I’m sure that most of us partook in during our childhoods.  And, in another, we’ll be paying tribute to a woman who charmed audiences everywhere for several decades, while showing the world how strong she was following a life-changing medical diagnosis which eventually lead to her death two days ago at the age of 70.


For the first part of this entry, we pay tribute to actress/singer/Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.

I’ll admit that when I was younger, I wasn’t exactly sure who Annette Funicello was at first.  I had heard the name before, but I never really knew just how famous she was. 

It actually wasn’t until I saw her appearing on a television sitcom that I began to understand why so many people loved her.


The sitcom was ABC’s “Full House”.  And, don’t make fun...I was barely ten years old at the time, and I thought it was funny back then.  Now I can’t get through an episode without getting a toothache based on how sugary sweet the show really was, but back then I thought it was delightful. 

On March 29, 1991, the fourth season episode of the series aired, entitled “Joey Goes Hollywood”.  The basic plot of the episode had Joey and the Tanner family heading down to Hollywood so that Joey could audition for a part in a new sitcom. 

(The B-plot involved Stephanie wanting to change her name to Dawn, but nobody really cared about that.)

Anyway, if Joey had gotten the part, he would have starred in the sitcom “Surf’s Up”, which had Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello as the main stars.  And, of course, the cuteness of Full House was into major overload with Michelle calling Annette “Annette Funny Jello”, and Danny confessing that he wrote a fan letter to Annette when he was a child, soaking it in Lemon Scented Pledge in the process. 

The episode ended on a somewhat disappointing note, as the sitcom wasn’t picked up...but apparently the show was retooled as an animated series, and Joey, Frankie, and Annette would end up providing the voices for the cartoon characters...a dream that Joey had for years.  Another happy ending on “Full House”!  What a surprise.

But, it was through watching that episode of “Full House” that helped me understand why Annette Funicello was so loved.  The stage presence that she had in that one episode was absolutely mesmerizing, and she was absolutely charming throughout the whole episode.  I may have only been barely ten, but I thought she was beautiful...even though she was old enough to be my mother!  And, throughout the episode, I ended up getting some clues as to how she grew to be such an icon in show business.


Through Annette’s dialogue with Bob Saget (who played Danny), we learned that she was a former Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club...and one of the most popular.  Just have a look at a clip of her in action from early 1958...when Annette was just fifteen years old.


We also learned from the scenes that involved John Stamos and Lori Loughlin (who played Jesse and Becky on “Full House”), that Becky had a bit of a crush on Frankie Avalon after seeing him and Annette in the various beach party movies that they starred in throughout the 1960s. 


Come to think of it, I suppose the fact that the sitcom within the sitcom was set at a beach was somewhat of a cliché...but I don’t think Frankie and Annette minded too much, as both of them must have had such fond memories of the beach.

At any rate, one thing that I noticed about that “Full House” episode was how full of life Annette Funicello was through the whole show.  She was singing and dancing as if she was a woman half her age, and her smile lit up a room.  Therefore, it’s almost mindboggling to realize that just one year after filming that episode, she sat down with Mary Hart on “Entertainment Tonight” to reveal a devastating secret that she had kept for five years.


Annette Funicello was battling multiple sclerosis.  She had been diagnosed with the disease back in 1987 while she was filming the movie “Back to the Beach” with Avalon.  By 1992, she had been walking with a cane, and just six years later, she was having difficulty speaking.  During this time, a television movie was made entitled “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, which featured CSI: Miami star Eva LaRue as Annette.  Annette Funicello made a cameo in the movie as herself, and as it happened, it would be the last acting role she would take on.

Annette fought the disease valiantly, and she had millions of fans and supporters who gave her the motivation to keep going.  But her condition worsened over time, and on April 8, 2013, she passed away from complications associated with multiple sclerosis.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t alive at the time that Annette’s star was shining its brightest, because I have a feeling that had I been born 40 years earlier, I would have liked her.  If seeing her on an episode of “Full House” brought me happiness, I’m almost certain that watching her on the Mickey Mouse Club would have been a fantastic and rewarding experience.

And, I’m also sorry that I wasn’t around at the time that she filmed all those beach movies with Frankie Avalon either.  I know that all of the films are readily available on VHS or DVD by now, but it’s not quite the same as actually going to the movies and watching them.

I would imagine that Frankie and Annette would have had a lot on fun on that beach.  Aside from the kisses and romance that their characters shared on the big-screen, the beach was always a place that seemed to have a lot to do.  You could go swimming, surfing, and play with several beach toys.


And, that’s how we’re going to transition into the second (and original) part of this blog entry.  We’re going to be talking beach memories here!

Now, I know that it’s only April, and in a lot of places, the beach is still too cold to hang out at (particularly since in my part of the world, we seem to be experiencing the winter that will not die), but what can I say?  I’m optimistic.  Warm weather will come soon enough, and that’s something that I keep telling myself as I make a bit of a career transition in the next few days (I’ll talk more about that tomorrow).

When I was a kid, I used to love going to the beach.  At the time, we had a couple of beaches that were accessible to the general public.  One was Brown’s Bay, which was a great picnic area, and at the time I was a kid, was quite affordable.  The only downside was that the swimming area was a little too deep for my liking, so I couldn’t go wading in the water.

CONFESSION:  Because of a swimming pool accident in which I almost drowned, I did not learn how to swim until I was 22...and even now, I wouldn’t consider what I do to be “swimming”.


The other beach that I preferred was St. Lawrence Park, aptly named after the river that flowed beside it.  At the time, St. Lawrence Park was the place to take a dip, get some rays, and grab a snack from the canteen located near the playground equipment.  It was the place where I spent the first thirteen or fourteen summers of my life.  My parents would take me swimming there, as unlike Brown’s Bay I actually could stay in the shallow end.  I also remember that there was a family picnic held at St. Lawrence Park every August (coinciding with the Civic Holiday), and for some reason I remember one vivid memory at one of these picnics where I played BINGO – and winning five dollars in cash for winning two games in a row!


I also remember going to St. Lawrence Park every Thursday to swim while I was enrolled in a parks and recreation playground program.  So many memories of chewing sour gumballs while splashing other kids (and getting splashed myself) in the water.  Although, I admit that I may have been splashing a little too vigorously at times, as I have distinct memories of being yanked out of the water by the lifeguard!  Ah well...

But, swimming wasn’t the only memory that I have of the beach.  I recall the many attempts at building sand castles that I partook in - only to have every single one of them fall apart.  I think my biggest problem was not enough water.  The beach, as cool as it was at St. Lawrence Park, was also very tiny...and all of the prime spots where the wet packed sand was were always monopolized by other kids. 

It wasn’t until years later in which I assisted everyone in building a sand sculpture at Mooney’s Bay Park in Ottawa during Frosh Week that I learned how to perfect my sand castle building skills.  If memory serves me, our sculpture actually did quite well in judging.

I also played on the playground equipment that was located around the snack stand.  There was a play structure that everyone played on, and I remember sliding down that slide dozens of times...although I also have a rather bad memory of the slide.

There was one mishap in which I ended up sliding down the slide and I landed the wrong way...ended up bashing my head against the bottom of the slide which lead to a huge gash in my head.  And, yes, it was a very bloody mess.  Surprisingly enough, I didn’t develop a fear of slides.


I’ve even gone swimming in one of the Great Lakes.  I live not too far away from Lake Ontario, and a few summers ago, I went on a mini-vacation to Kingston, where there was a theme park called “Lake Ontario Park”.  It was a great place with lots of carnival rides, including the Tilt-A-Whirl, Bumper Cars, The Scrambler, and a merry-go-round.  And, of course, there was Lake Ontario, which was a nice lake to look at.  I just wish someone had warned me that on the rocky shore of Lake Ontario the water make the rocks extremely slippery.  I lost count of how many times I slipped and fell...I think it was at least thirty-seven times though.  J

But, those are just some of my most favourite beach memories.  What are yours?

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

April 9, 1926


For some reason, April 9 was a rather tough day to find a subject for in the Tuesday Timeline.  None of the sites that I usually visit to get ideas for Tuesday Timeline subjects really had anything of interest to talk about.  So, for this week, I had to get rather creative, and search the depths of the Internet for a subject that would even remotely get people talking.

I think I’ve managed to do it though.

Welcome to the April 9 edition of the Tuesday Timeline...and like always, we’re going to take a look at other events that took place on this date in history before getting into the real meat of the matter.  So, here’s a refresher course for all of you on April 9 history beginning with...

1413 – Henry V is crowned King of England

1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is crowned King of Denmark

1860 – Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice with a phonautograph machine

1865 – Robert E. Lee surrenders Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, putting an end to the American Civil War.

1867 – The U.S. Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska by a difference of one vote

1917 – Canadian Corps execute a massive assault on Vimy Ridge in the early stages of the Battle of Arras

1945 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission is founded

1957 – Egypt’s Suez Canal is cleared and opened to shipping

1965 – The Houston Astrodome opens its doors for the first time, and the first indoor baseball game is played there

1967 – The very first Boeing 737 makes its premiere flight

1991 – Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union

1992 – Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is found guilty of drug and racketeering charges and is sentenced to thirty years in prison

2003 – Baghdad, Iraq falls during the Invasion of Iraq, culminating in the statue of Saddam Hussein being knocked to the ground by Iraqi citizens

2005 – Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall

We also have some celebrity birthdays to mention in this space, so allow me to wish Kay Adams, Hannah Gordon, Dennis Quaid, Kate Heyhoe, Marc Jacobs, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Mark Pellegrino, Paulina Porizkova, Jeff Zucker, Cynthia Nixon, Tricia Penrose, Austin Peck, Jacques Villeneuve, Spencer Rice, Jenna Jameson, Rachel Stevens, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Yoanna House, Jay Baruchel, Ryan Clark, Jesse McCartney, Kristen Stewart, and Elle Fanning a happy birthday today!

Oh, and there’s one more birthday that I have to mention in this blog entry.  Now, depending on who you are, you may decide to wish him a happy birthday, or you may want to condemn him for being a dirty old man!  My own personal thought is that I’m gonna wish the dude a happy birthday.  I have no beef with him, and I’m sure that most men will likely have the same opinion.


The age this man is turning?  Well, he’s turning 87 today, making his date of birth April 9, 1926.

This man ended up creating one of the biggest selling magazines all over the world, and he has celebrated his success with a huge, lavish mansion that he shares with a whole bunch of beautiful bunnies.

But, I’m not exactly talking about the bunnies that you might find at a pet store or out in the wilderness.  I’m kind of referring more along the lines of these bunnies.


Playboy bunnies.

Yes, today’s blog topic is all about Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, who turns 87 years old today.

Now, I’m just going to come out with it right now.  The picture of the Playboy bunnies is probably the extent of how “adult” this blog will be for today.  I don’t mind talking about adult subjects, but I also want to keep this blog somewhat PG rated so that a wider audience can view it.  Therefore, if you’re expecting to see pictures of half-naked people in this blog, well, you won’t find them here.

But what you WILL find is a biography on our birthday boy, because regardless of what your feelings are towards him, his lifestyle, and his magazine, you cannot deny the fact that he has had one hell of a life and one hell of a story.


Hugh Hefner was the first of two children born to Glenn and Grace Hefner in Chicago, Illinois.  His family life was described as conservative, Midwest, and Methodist, according to Hugh himself.  After graduating from Steinmetz High School in 1944, he spent the next two years writing for a military newspaper before graduating from the University of Illinois in 1949 with a B.A. in psychology, and a double minor in art and creative writing. 

Interestingly enough, all three subjects could have been put to great use in what would inevitably become his future career...but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.

He got a job at Esquire Magazine as a copywriter shortly after his graduation from the University of Illinois, but when he was denied a raise of five dollars, he left Esquire in 1952.  Hefner decided that if he couldn’t make it big as a copywriter for an established magazine, he would create his own!

So the following year, after getting a loan from the bank, selling and mortgaging some possessions, and getting a group of investors to fund his venture, he launched the magazine that would not only change his life, but the lives of millions of teenage boys who snuck the magazines into their bedrooms...

...not that I would know anything about that, mind you.  

Initially, the magazine was originally meant to be called “Stag Party”...but somehow that didn’t have such a nice ring to it, so the name of “Playboy” was given to Hefner’s creation instead. 

The first issue was published in December 1953 (although the publication was undated when it first came out), and the star of the issue was Marilyn Monroe.  The magazine contained photos from the 1949 calendar she posed for – and some of the shots were in the nude.  Hefner put the issue together in his own kitchen, and opted not to date the magazine as he had his doubts that there would be a second edition of the magazine.  But when the Marilyn Monroe issue sold over fifty thousand copies, Hefner knew that he had a hit on his hands.



TRIVIA:  The cover price for Playboy Magazine in 1953 was a mere fifty cents.  In 2002, near mint copies of the magazine were selling at auction for FIVE THOUSAND BUCKS!  That’s quite the increase in value!


I also have some information on how the iconic logo for Playboy Magazine (the bunny) was created.  It was designed by artist Art Paul for the second issue of the magazine.  Oddly enough, the bunny design was originally to be used in the magazine as an endnote, but soon became the official mascot of the magazine.  Hefner himself chose the bunny as a mascot because he felt that bunnies were frisky and playful...certainly adjectives that could be used to describe some of the models who posed inside the magazine.

But, you know...believe it or not, Playboy magazine was more than just Playmates of the Month and nude photos.  There were also some interesting articles and sketches included within each issue as well that got notoriety.  Mind you, nobody I knew actually remembers reading the articles, but they were there.

Just to give you an indication as to the people who contributed to the magazine’s text section, have you heard of an author named Ray Bradbury?  His novel, Fahrenheit 451 was serialized over three issues of Playboy Magazine between March and May 1954!  Shel Silverstein (of “Where The Sidewalk Ends” fame) routinely provided illustrations and cartoons that were included within the pages of Playboy Magazine.

And, can we talk about The Playboy Interview for a second?  You would be stunned to find out the huge names that Playboy Magazine have secured for an official interview over its near sixty years of publication!  Alex Haley (of Roots fame) interviewed both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.!  Former United States president Jimmy Carter was interviewed by Playboy Magazine in 1976, where he candidly confessed to committing “adultery in his heart many times”.  And, an interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared in the January 1981 issue of Playboy Magazine...which ended up being one of the last interviews that Lennon would give prior to his December 1980 death.

Here are just a few more facts about Playboy Magazine in general...


The best selling issue of Playboy Magazine to date?  November 1972, with Pam Rawlings on the cover.

Believe it or not, Playboy was the very first gentlemen’s magazine to be published in Braille!  The first issue of Braille Playboy was published in 1970.

Playboy Magazine was banned from the Republic of Ireland for thirty-six years, until 1995!

Nancy Sinatra, Samantha Fox, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and Belinda Carlisle all posed for Playboy at one time.  So have Kim Basinger, Drew Barrymore, Denise Richards, Shannen Doherty, and the late Farrah Fawcett.

Believe it or not, an urban legend circulated around for many years surrounding the iconic Playboy logo.  For a twenty-three year period, the “P” in Playboy had a number of stars included within it or around the letter.  It was widely believed that the stars were some form of ranking system that Hefner used to rank the Playmate of the Month!  In actuality, the stars represented the advertising region for the printing of each magazine! 


But, come on here...we all know that Hugh Hefner was (and continues to be) a ladies man.  But he wasn't always such a...well...a playboy!  His first marriage was to a woman named Mildred Williams, and the two got married in 1949.  The marriage spawned two children, Christie (who would later take over the company in the 1980s, staying in the position until 2009), and David.  The marriage lasted for ten years before breaking up in 1959, but what was interesting about it was that Mildred confessed to Hugh that she had an affair with another man before they tied the knot, which devastated Hugh completely.  In fact, Mildred reportedly felt so guilty about betraying his trust that she actually gave Hugh permission to sleep with other women while they were married!!!  




Maybe that was the catalyst that caused Hugh to morph into his bathrobe wearing, pipe smoking, bunny-chasing persona for good?  At any rate, with the divorce finalized by the time the Swinging Sixties kicked off, Hugh began dating a plethora of women.  He allegedly slept with many women over the years, and some of his most famous partners were Barbi Benton, Brande Roderick, Tina Marie Jordan, and Holly Madison.  He also would get married twice more.  He was married to Kimberley Conrad for twenty-one years, fathering two more children in the process.  But, although the marriage lasted between 1989 and 2010, the couple had been separated since the late 1990s.  He is currently married to Crystal Harris.




Crystal was 26 when she married Hefner.  Hugh himself was 86.  That would mean that Crystal is feasibly old enough to be his granddaughter!!!  Not that either one seem to care either way.

So, therefore, it may seem like it would be too easy to label Hugh Hefner with the label of 'dirty old man'.  And, in my opinion, that would be the easy way out.  Because Hugh Hefner has also done a lot of good as well, as far as I'm concerned.  Some of you might be looking at me in complete shock, but consider this.

Hugh Hefner is incredibly supportive of all marriages and unions, including gay marriages.  Some of you might not agree with his stance, but I applaud his taking a stand, as I too believe in equal rights for all.

He actually held fundraising events to preserve historic landmarks in the Hollywood area, including the revitalization of the famous Hollywood sign.  He raised $27,000 alone for the project, and even purchased the letter "Y" at an auction to ensure that the sign be preserved.  

(He was also given a Star on the Walk of Fame in 2009.)

And, Hugh Hefner is also a huge advocate in freedom of speech, and has donated millions of dollars in his fight to preserve that freedom.

All in all, not a bad track record.  With his contributions to preserving history and his support for equality, you can almost overlook the fact that he married someone sixty years younger than he is...almost.

But, he ended up building a huge empire with a simple magazine idea.  Controversy aside, he's living the American dream...in more ways than one.

Happy birthday, Hugh Hefner.

Monday, April 08, 2013

The Towering Inferno


This might seem like a bit of a strange question to open a blog entry, but how many of you have a plan of escape if a fire were to break out at your home or your workplace?

If a fire were to break out, and you found yourself trapped inside a burning building, would you know what to do in order to get out alive?

By all accounts, every household should have at least one smoke detector somewhere inside (preferably closest to the sleeping areas of the home), and every household should have at least two exit plans. Whether you leave out the front door, the back door, or busting through a window and climbing out, if the building is on fire, get out!

The same thing applies to your workplace as well. I can only speak for my own workplace, but we have a definite plan in place to get all of the customers and employees out of the building safely. There's at least two dozen emergency exits located within the store that I work at, and my store regularly does safety checks on the dozens of fire extinguishers that are located throughout each area. I've even been at the store when the fire alarm accidentally got pulled, and we were forced to evacuate the store. Everybody in the store left in a quick fashion, and we all met up at our designated spot. Needless to say, if a fire ever did break out in the store, I would probably have a very good chance of surviving.

Of course, this is also a store that is built in a fairly open area and is only one story.

Picture this scenario. Imagine being trapped inside of an office in a high-rise building, or a suite in a 40-story hotel. If a fire were to break out somewhere in that building, would you know what to do in order to get out of there alive?

It would not be much of a problem if you happened to be on a floor that was below the source of the blaze. All you would have to do is head towards the closest stairwell and run as fast as you can down to the nearest exit below. Being above the fire poses a whole new set of problems, as you're more or less trapped.
In a lot of cases, it would be easiest to run up the stairs to the roof and just stay up there until the fire is put out. But if that's not an option, the most important thing that you should probably do is stay calm, and try to keep a straight head about it all. Mind you, if you're actually in a situation where the building that you're in is ablaze...well, let's face it...you'll instantly go into panic mode regardless.

Of course, there are some things that you must never do if you expect to survive being trapped in a burning building. Stand near a water source and keep dousing yourself with water. This might buy you some time until firefighters can reach you. And, do NOT use any elevators to get out of the building. Otherwise, you might end up like these toasty warm people...



If that image seems a bit familiar, it's because it's a screenshot of today's Monday Matinee subject...and it's connected to my opening spiel about what to do if you're trapped in a high-rise building while it is burning down.



Today's topic? The 1974 disaster film, “The Towering Inferno”, directed by Irwin Allen.

The movie was released on December 14, 1974 and was a co-production between Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox. It was also a movie that took much of its inspiration from two novels - “The Tower” by Richard Martin Stern (which I have not read), and “The Glass Inferno” by Thomas M. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson (which I HAVE read, and highly recommend).



The film is set in San Francisco, California, where the dedication ceremony for The Glass Tower is set to take place. The high-rise is a massive office building, complete with a restaurant/dance hall on the 135th floor, and measuring at 1,800 feet in height is the tallest building in the world.



(Or at least it was at the time that the film was shot...the CN Tower would be fifteen feet taller when it opened to the general public in 1976.)

Now, the building was supposed to be at the height of quality and luxury, and as the partygoers arrived in full force to celebrate the grand opening of the building, none of them were aware that in order to complete the building, a lot of corners were cut...particularly with the electrical system.



So, when the exterior lights of The Glass Tower were switched on as part of the opening ceremonies, the action overloads the circuits, which causes a fire to break out on the eighty-first floor of the building. Thanks to the highly flammable materials located throughout the building (as well as people lacking common sense, as the people in that elevator in the image above showed), the fire quickly spreads between floors, and put the lives of thousands of people above the fire at risk.

In order to make the film as believable as possible, the film boasted a star-studded cast, some of them being real Hollywood legends. Among the cast were...

Steve McQueen (San Francisco Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorhan)
Paul Newman (Architect Doug Roberts)
William Holden (Builder James Duncan)
Faye Dunaway (Susan Franklin, engaged to Roberts)
Fred Astaire (Harlee Claiborne)
Jennifer Jones (Lisolette Mueller)
Richard Chamberlain (Electrical Engineer Roger Simmons)
Susan Blakely (Patty Duncan Simmons, daughter of Duncan)
Robert Wagner (Public Relations Chief Dan Bigelow)
O.J. Simpson (Chief Security Officer Harry Jernigan)

(Kind of weird how O.J. Simpson played a security officer given everything that happened two decades after this film was shot, huh?)

I will say that for 1974 standards, this film had some fantastic special effects. Watching the film almost 40 years after it was made, it still looks incredibly crisp and clean. And, the film ended up winning three Academy Awards – Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Song.



(In the case of Best Original Song, the song was “We May Never Love Like This Again”, which was performed by Maureen McGovern. It wasn't the first disaster film she provided music for either...two years earlier, she sang the theme for “The Poseidon Adventure”.)

I've actually got loads more trivia for this film as well...but if you expect me to reveal the ending for this film...well, I'm unfortunately unable to because I never reveal endings. All that I will say is that not all of the main characters of the film make it out alive. I'll show you a couple of examples, but not all of them. I really want you all to watch this movie for yourselves because it really is fantastic.

Here's what I can tell you...

01 – Apparently this was one film in which William Holden, Steve McQueen, and Paul Newman all wanted top billing! William Holden was eventually refused top billing, and settled for being the third name listed in the credits, but with there being a stalemate between the other two, the decision was made to have both names at the top of the movie poster going diagonally, so that depending on the direction in which you looked at the poster, both men would get top billing. Kind of a petty argument if you ask me, but whatever.



02 – The movie was actually the inspiration behind the 1976 song “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps.



03 – If the woman jumping out of the window after she catches on fire looks familiar, she is actress Susan Flannery, who went on to star as Stephanie Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful” from 1987-2012.



04 – This was Jennifer Jones' last appearance in a motion picture. Her character was paired up with Fred Astaire's character, and they danced together in the scenes that took place at the Promenade Room. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

05 – The principal photography of the movie was completed on September 11, 1974. This is a rather eerie fact, given that twenty-seven years later, many people who were in the World Trade Center in New York City were faced with the same frightening situation that the people in the film experienced.

06 – Steve McQueen refused to give any interviews while he was on the set. In contrast, Paul Newman simply requested not to be “surprised”.

07 – Director Irwin Allen employed some rather unconventional methods when it came to nailing the perfect shot. He actually fired a gun into the ceiling in order to get the reaction shot of several people screaming in shock!

08 – Both Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were paid the same exact salary - $1.5 million plus 7.5% of all box office profits (which must have made both men very, very rich, given that it made $140 million total!)

09 – Speaking of sharing, did you know that Steve McQueen insisted that he and Paul Newman had the same amount of lines of dialogue in the script? Wow...McQueen kind of came across as a male diva here!

10 – Several actors who appeared in “The Poseidon Adventure” also made cameo roles in “The Towering Inferno”. From water to fire in just two years! Kind of makes you wonder what gluttons for punishment these actors were!

11 – Jennifer Jones was not the only actress considered for the role of Lisolette. Olivia de Haviland was offered the part first, but she declined. But de Haviland would later appear in the box office bomb, “The Swarm”.

12 – Believe it or not, a real fire broke out during the filming, and Paul Newman found himself assisting the real firefighters in putting the blaze out!

13 – Paul Newman also did the majority of his own stuntwork, as did Steve McQueen.

14 – There were 57 sets used during the course of the film. By the time filming ended in late 1974, only eight remained intact. The rest were destroyed by fire or water damage.

15 – The scenic elevator that is seen in the film? It's actually one of two that could be found at San Francisco's Hyatt Regency hotel.



16 – When the film was released in 1974, the First Interstate Tower in Los Angeles, California was completed. Fourteen years later, a fire would destroy five of the middle floors at the building. The Los Angeles Herald actually did a feature on the fire, comparing the real fire to the fictional Glass House building in “The Towering Inferno”. Fortunately, only one person was killed in the Los Angeles fire, as compared to dozens in “The Towering Inferno”.

17 – Paul Newman's son, Scott, had a role in the film as a firefighter.

18 – Recognize the young boy that Lisolette tries to help during the film? That would be then-fourteen year old Mike Lookinland...otherwise known as Bobby from “The Brady Bunch”.

19 – Faye Dunaway's role was originally offered to both Katharine Ross and Natalie Wood.



20 – Here's another interesting fact about Faye Dunaway, as told from the perspective of stuntman Ernie Orsatti. Apparently, Faye Dunaway was not exactly the most reliable of actresses, often showing up late for filming, or even skipping days of filming altogether. It wasn't until William Holden reportedly threatened Faye to shape up her act that she began to make her scheduled call times.

21 – A fire broke out in a Manteca, California movie theatre while the film was showing! One of the few things that survived the blaze was the movie poster!

22 – John Williams composed the entire score for the movie.