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Friday, March 07, 2014

The Joys of Daytime Television When You're Sick

Heddo, eberybody!  I'm sobby for typing like dis, but my dose is all stuffed up because of dis stupid head code.  I tell you, I hade being sick.  Nodding good ever comes from being sick.  I feel like I have a duck stubbed up my dose, and my head is so heaby, and I'm habing a hard dime breathing oud of my dose, and I cadnt keeb my eyes oben.



(Wait a minute.  It's my voice that only sounds like that.  Why the hell am I typing the way I talk?  Damn cough meds.)

Ahem.

Okay, so as you might have guessed just by the attempt at an opening paragraph that I am still trying to get over a cold.  Believe it or not, I'm not the kind of person who whines about being sick. 

Much.

Okay, okay, so we all have had our moments when it comes to getting over illnesses.  And, in my case, I can be a little bit of a "Moaning Myrtle" so to speak (pardon the Harry Potter reference there).  I think part of the reason why I don't have the best personality when I am feeling sick is because I'm the kind of person who very rarely gets sick.  I managed to avoid getting colds and flu bugs for the most part, and for what it was worth, I didn't really take that many sick days when I was in school.

(Mainly because I actually skipped several classes in my school years because of bullying issues.  I don't recommend that for anyone though...my case was unique.)





But whenever I was feeling poorly, I was definitely not a person who took it well.  I've gotten better at handling colds and flu bugs as the years pass by, but it's still not a great experience to go through.  When I was younger, I was whiny, I was sore, I was cranky, and I was bored.  Seriously, there's only so much television that you can watch when you're lying on the living room couch with a box of Kleenex and a bowl of chicken noodle soup within reach.

Oh, and I still remember that when I first watched the miniseries based on Stephen King's "The Stand", I actually was getting over the flu.  And considering that the book is about a superflu bug that kills 99.4% of the world's population, it wasn't exactly one of the best things to watch. 

But, you want to know what was fun?  At least, what was fun to watch when I was a kid?  Daytime television.

You know something?  Daytime television in the early 1990s was a lot of fun to watch, because back in those days, it seemed as though there were a lot more choices available to watch even though at that time, we only had a grand total of about 42 channels on television.

(And, prior to the 1990s, we only had twelve channels - my parents didn't get cable television until 1988.)

And, well...since I'm feeling under the weather today, I thought that I'd go back in time to when I was in grade school and I used to be able to watch daytime television when I was supposed to be in school.  After all, back in those days, daytime television was a real treat. 




Like, for instance, why was it that some cable stations decided to air game shows meant for a younger audience DURING SCHOOL HOURS?  I mean, hello?  Would it not have made more sense to air these types of shows after school?  I still have lots of fond memories watching game shows like "Fun House", "Double Dare", and "Just Like Mom" on television during the hours in which I was supposed to be in school.  Watching kids performing gross stunts for the chance to enter the fun house?  Awesome.  Watching kids crawl through messy obstacle courses to win toys, games, and cash?  Awesome.  Watching kids try to poison their parents by making them dine on ketchup and sauerkraut cookies that they baked themselves?  Well, actually, I admit that I probably liked that a little TOO much!




Of course, that's not to say that I didn't like watching the game shows for adults as well.  For some reason whenever I was sick, there was one channel that used to air an hour of game shows during their afternoon block.  It featured a game show adaptation of "Scrabble", hosted by Chuck Woolery, and the game "Classic Concentration", hosted by Alex Trebek.  For some reason, I always remember liking it when the contestants always tried to go for the car as the grand prize.  

By the way, in case you haven't heard of Classic Concentration before, click HERE.  It was an episode that aired in July 1987.  Just promise me that you'll never use a "TAKE" card against me - in either green or red.

I also remember watching "Wheel of Fortune" - which at that time aired a daytime version in addition to the primetime version we all know and love.  The only difference was that Bob Goen was the host, as Pat Sajak was trying to host a talk show at that time (which only lasted one season).  And, of course, there was classic "Price Is Right", which had Bob Barker as host, and Janice, Dian, and Holly as Barker's Beauties.  




Mind you, this was BEFORE all the sexual harassment lawsuits and models getting fired because they allegedly gained weight.



Daytime television was also the perfect time to watch shows that were considered quite scandalous for kids who were elementary school aged.  But I still managed to sneak a peek at all of those trashy daytime talk shows that everybody seemed to be watching at the time.  I was really too young to remember watching "Geraldo" and "The Morton Downey Jr. Show", but when I was in sixth/seventh/eighth grades, I used to watch random talk shows such as "Montel Williams", "Jenny Jones", "Maury Povich" (before his show transformed into the 'who's your daddy' show), "Ricki Lake", and yes, I remember even being addicted to "The Jerry Springer Show" back when I was a teenager.




Now, of course, I don't watch any of those shows (except for maybe "Ellen"), but back in those days, it was kind of cool to watch the programs that were targeted towards an adult audience.  I don't think I could ever recall an instance in which people actually picked up chairs and threw them at people on stage.  It was disturbing to see, but somehow it was strangely comforting as I knew that my family members and friends would NEVER behave in such a manner.  And, granted, as bad as those talk shows were back then, compared to how talk shows are now, they almost seem like an episode of "Polka Dot Door" in comparison.

Oh, yeah...when I was really young, I used to watch "TVOntario" a lot too, where they aired shows like "Polka Dot Door", "Readalong", "Harriett's Magic Hats", "Report Canada", "Cucumber", "The Science Alliance", and yes, even that stupid television show which featured a pineapple that only spoke in French.  What the heck was that show called again?





Oh, yes...Telefrancais.  How could I forget that?




Of course, there were times in which I had to give up the television when I was sick.  You see, my mother was a huge fan of the television soap opera "As The World Turns", and my sister watched "Guiding Light" for years.  So, between the hours of 2pm and 4pm, I had no choice but to watch all of the adventures that Lily and Holden, and Reva and Josh, and all the other people who happened to cause all sorts of backstabbing, adultery, and other storylines that put characters in grave danger, and which taught all of us that just because you die doesn't mean that you stay dead.

But, hey...I suppose it was part and parcel of being sick.  Mom always used to take time out of her busy day to look after me and my siblings whenever we were feeling very sick - even when she wasn't feeling well herself.  Her being able to catch up on her stories was a definite reward for her.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Challenge Accepted?

As a result of my being sick with a really bad head cold now (I tell you, March is really kicking my behind here), I'm going to focus less on the writing aspect and more on the video portion of the Thursday Video Blog.  To compensate for the loss of written content, I've expanded the size of the font to eighteen point.

And, you know what they say about men with big fonts, right?



(Yep...those are the cold meds talking here.)

Anyway, I was talking yesterday about the challenge that I was issued a few days ago, and in this blog entry, I come close to making a decision.  Enjoy this abbreviated blog posting for today, and hopefully I'll be back at 100% tomorrow.  But hey, at least it's a perfect excuse to practice what I preach in the video!




And, in case you were wondering, I plan to start this challenge after I recover.  Damn end of winter colds!

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Challenge From A Co-Worker

Okay, so I know that this is the time that I am supposed to do the "Whatever Wednesday" thing where I grab my bag of Clue character cards and just select a topic at random.  But for two reasons alone, I'm flipping the script, and I won't be picking a Clue character card at all today.

Firstly, it's because there's something important that I want to talk about in regards to some recent events that have taken place in life that has made me rethink how I do things, and have got me thinking about doing something that I have always wanted to do, but have always put on the backburner for various reasons.

And, secondly, I can't seem to remember where I put my Clue game, so I can't actually do the drawing this week even if I wanted to.  So, maybe you could consider this the "Mr. Boddy" week, where I make stuff up on the fly!

Okay, so as you might have guessed by the title of the blog entry this week, this blog is all about challenges.  In fact, I'm going to talk about a challenge that someone issued me recently, and it's a challenge that I really want to do.  I've sort of already begun this challenge as a matter of fact, but I don't know if I can actually meet the timeline that I was given.

And, I'm guessing that by now you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about!

Okay, so part of the reason why I began this blog nearly three years ago was so I could always have something in my life that was truly mine, and that I could manage by myself.  I don't have a whole lot of opportunities to do that in my every day life, so at least by writing this blog, I'd have something positive in my life to reflect on.




But another reason why I began "A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life" was because I wanted to find a way to improve my writing skills enough so that if the opportunity came along that I could make writing a full-time job, I could transition easily from one career to another.

(At least, that's what I told myself three years ago, anyway.)

I have a confession for all of you reading this.  I never intended for writing to be my ultimate career goal.  Like most other kids growing up, the job that I wanted the most as a child completely changed from year to year.  At some point, I wanted to be a doctor, a fireman, a scientist, Prime Minister of Canada, and an ice cream salesman.  And, well...the closest that I ever got to achieving any of those jobs was the six months I worked in the frozen foods department.



Hey, I sold ice cream...I just didn't have the annoying chimes or kiddie noisemakers to attract the customers!

And, I want to tell all of you that entertaining the possibility of writing as a career goal was put on the backburner for quite a lot of years!  I mean, growing up, I had always managed to have a keen grasp of the English language.  I was the kid who would rather have played with lined notebook paper and a box of crayons instead of the hottest toys of the 1980s.  I had classmates surrounding my desk in class asking them to help spell words in their journals (and I still regret not charging them each a dime per letter).  I aced spelling tests and English assignments.  And, as long as math class used word problems, I did okay.  But, I suppose that once you got to high school, there were only so many word problems that you could use to find out the angles in an isosceles triangle.

But did I actually consider making it a career back then?  No.  The thought never even crossed my mind.  After all, I was still a kid back then.  I had all the time in the world to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

But you know, as the years passed, and I left school, I realized that out of all of the things that I tried to do, writing was the only constant.  It was the one thing that I knew how to do and do well.  It started off as a hobby to kill time in between classes, and expanded into something that I felt as though I had to do on a daily basis.  I guess in some manner, writing my thoughts out helped me get through some of the worst times of my life.  It helped me get through understanding why I always put myself down, it helped me realize that writing about my dreams was the first step towards making them come true...

...and as time passed by, it made me realize that writing is really one of the only things that I feel comfortable with doing for the rest of my life.

But, I always had excuses over why I couldn't pursue it as a career.  There were no opportunities in my town to write (which sadly is one hundred per cent true), I didn't have the time (which was bollocks, but I'll explain that later), I didn't think I would be good enough to land a book deal (the jury's still out on that one), etc, etc, etc.

But then a co-worker friend of mine issued me a little bit of a challenge while we were working a weekend shift together, and the more I think of it...the more I wonder...can I do this?

Somehow, the conversation that we were having in between serving customers transitioned to the subject of writing, and I think I brought up the fact that there was an actual novel writing competition entitled "NaNoWriMo".  He wondered what it was, and I explained that it was a competition that was held every November, in which competitors had just thirty days to write a manuscript for a whole novel.  You see, NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month".  It's been a tradition since 1999, and the ultimate goal is to come up with a manuscript that has a bare minimum of 50,000 words.  No prizes are given, but the project was designed so that anybody could say that they wrote a novel.  Of course, it would be up to the author to decide whether it is good enough to publish.



Well, I was telling my co-worker that I had thought about taking part in NaNoWriMo at some point, but that I didn't think I could write a novel in one month.

So, my co-worker challenged me to write a manuscript in two months instead.

Now, I've attempted to start manuscripts before.  I think I have like six unfinished projects that I began but never finished because I always managed to get writer's block.  But I've never started and finished a project that would be suitable for publication before because I always gave up on it.  I didn't think it was good enough.  And, I certainly didn't think that I had the time to write a 50,000 word book.

Of course, this was before I began writing "A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life", and I realized that I have probably typed a total of five MILLION words over the last three years.  I mean, writing one blog entry a day for the last 1,000+ days...that takes a lot of dedication.  And, given that the average blog entry has about 1,500 words in it, if I devoted that time that I write the blog to writing an actual book with a beginning, middle, and end...well, I suppose there really is no excuse.

In fact, my co-worker figured out that all I would have to do was write 834 words each day and I would easily have a 50,000 word manuscript in the time frame of two months.

So, that is my challenge.  The question is...do I accept it?

Well...I'm going to think about it for a bit (I have started it by coming up with character sketches).  Can I actually make this a possibility.  And, what will this mean for the future of this blog, given that I already work a full-time job.  Is it really worth the risk?

I'll have my answer in tomorrow's video blog.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

March 4, 1974

Welcome to this week's edition of the Tuesday Timeline.  It's the first one for March 2014, and I think that we're going to have a really good time today.  I've got a topic that I hope that all of you will love, and it certainly will be a topic that has a lot of pictures associated with it.  But first, I think that we have some other business to attend to.

We've got celebrity birthdays coming up in just a moment, but first...a look back at all of the historic happenings that took place on March 4.  And, I hope that you're reading this as you're sitting down in front of a nice stack of hot pancakes, as today happens to be Shrove Tuesday! 

Mmmm...pancakes...drools over self.

Ahem...where was I?  Oh, yes.  March 4 events.  Okay, let's start with...

51 - Future Roman Emperor Nero is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth)

1628 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter

1665 - King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands, kicking off the Second Anglo-Dutch War

1776 - The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon leading British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary War

1789 - The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress, and the United States Constitution is put into effect

1791 - Vermont becomes the fourteenth American state

1837 - The city of Chicago, Illinois is incorporated

1882 - In East London, Britain's first electric trains begin running

1895 - Three Stooges star Shemp Howard (d. 1955) is born in New York City

1917 - Jeannette Rankin becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives

1918 - The first cases of Spanish flu are diagnosed, which quickly spreads to pandemic level worldwide

1933 - Frances Perkins becomes the first female member of the United States Cabinet following her appointment as United States Secretary of Labor

1943 - The Battle of The Bismarck Sea comes to an end during World War II

1945 - Finland declares war on Nazi Germany

1960 - One hundred people lose their lives following the explosion of the French freighter La Coubre

1983 - Bertha Wilson is appointed as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada

1985 - The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection

1996 - Country music legend Minnie Pearl passes away at the age of 83

2001 - A car bomb detonates outside of the BBC Television Centre in London, killing one person

Wow...who knew that March 4 was such a great day for Women's History?  That's really interesting to discover.

Also equally interesting are the number of celebrities who are celebrating a birthday today!  Birthday wishes go out to
Dick Savitt, Don Perkins, Paula Prentiss, John Aprea, Gloria Gaither, Bobby Womack, Lindy Chamberlain, Brian Cummings, Chris Rea, Ronn Moss, Emilio Estefan, Kay Lenz, Catherine O'Hara, Mykelti Williamson, Patricia Heaton, Ray Mancini, Jason Newsted, Daniel Roebuck, Stacy Edwards, Chaz Bono, Matt Tilley, Andrea Bendewald, Shavar Ross, Nick Stabile, Brittney Powell, Jeremiah Green, Dan Wells, Jessica Heap, Scott Michael Foster, Whitney Port, Tamzin Merchant, and Cody Longo.

Okay, that's a lot of people.  And, I suppose it's appropriate that we're going to be talking about people in this blog because people are a very big part of today's Tuesday Timeline...



...which takes us back forty years to March 4, 1974

You see...40 years ago today, a particular magazine debuted its first issue.  And 40 years later, the magazine can still be found on newsstands, supermarket checkout counters - and these days, can be access through computers, tablets, and smartphones.  But even though the world has changed over the last four decades, this magazine certainly has not.  It's devoted itself to covering all things pop culture including exclusive interviews with famous and infamous people, picks and pans of movies, television shows, music, and books, and other celebrity gossip. 

And, this was the magazine's very first cover subject.



Now, the cover story is all about Mia Farrow and her involvement in the film project "Gatsby".  And, as you can tell, other stories include articles on William Peter Blatty, Gloria Vanderbilt, Jim Croce, and Richard Petty...all the famous people of the 1970s and more!

Yes, it was on this date 40 years ago that People Magazine first came off the printing presses.  And, here's a more recent cover from earlier this year.



In this case, the cover story is on recent Oscar hostess Ellen DeGeneres, and features articles on Bruce Jenner's changing look, a reality show couple's baby, and a feature on rescuing Sochi's abandoned doggies.  But whether you got hooked on People Magazine the day it was released, or are new to the party, it's no argument that People Magazine remains one of the best selling entertainment magazines of all-time, and shows no sign of slowing down.

Now, I always say that a picture is worth a thousand words...so I thought that rather than type a whole history of the magazine, I would post iconic covers from the magazine's 40 year history.  After all, if something huge happened in the world, People Magazine would cover it.

I already showed you the very first cover...let's stick with the 1970s as we continue this look through People's past...through magazine covers.



Remember when Elvis Presley turned 40?  I don't.  That momentous occasion was six years before I was born.  But certainly in People's early years, Elvis Presley was certainly a star that the magazine loved to learn more about.  Hard to believe that just two and a half years after this magazine was released, Elvis would breathe his last breath.



It was never easy when a favourite celebrity passed away.  In the case of John Lennon, who was tragically gunned down on December 8, 1980, People Magazine devoted its entire cover to John and Yoko Ono along with the caption "John Lennon 1940-1980".  A solemn, but memorable cover.



Sometimes People Magazine would cover controversial topics by interviewing celebrities about their experiences, as well as getting different points of view from pro and anti camps.  Long before talk shows like "The View" and "The Talk", People Magazine tackled such issues, such as in this 1985 issue where Ali McGraw and others talk about abortion - a hot topic in the mid-1980s, and even today.



Remember that day in 1986 when Mark Harmon was the Sexiest Man Alive?  Well, admittedly, I don't.  But People's Sexiest Man Alive issue has been a tradition for the magazine since 1985, and past winners include Mel Gibson, John F. Kennedy Jr., Patrick Swayze, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, and Channing Tatum.



Another popular magazine feature is the "Best and Worst Dressed" issue that is published annually.  This happens to be the issue from 1992.  And, thank goodness fashion trends are constantly changing, as I am having a really hard time telling apart the best from the worst based on this cover!



And, did you know that People Magazine began a second version of the magazine that was solely marketed for teenagers entitled "Teen People"?  Here's an issue of the magazine from early 2000, back when Britney Spears was still a rising star.  I don't even know if "Teen People" is even still in print anymore, but it certainly was good while it lasted...well, provided you were a teen.



Of course, not every issue of People Magazine was always light-hearted.  Whenever a tragic news story occurred that seemed to make the world stop and pause, People Magazine was there, as this 1994 issue which focused on the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.



Or, this special commemorative cover in 1997 which was released just a few days after the death of Princess Diana in a Parisian tunnel following a high speed car crash.



Or, this cover, which really needs no explanation.

But over the last few years, People Magazine has featured loads of good news stories as well as the bad.




People Magazine covered bad news stories that had happy endings, such as the kidnapping and rescue of Elizabeth Smart.




People Magazine featured light hearted reunions of former sitcom cast members and reunited people who acted together in one iconic movie.  Check out this cover from 2009 which had five of the seven principal cast members of "Saved By The Bell" coming together for a photo shoot.  My guess is that Screech and Mr. Belding were attempting to open up a fish taco stand at the mall set of "Saved By The Bell: The New Class" when this photo was shot.  




And, at the end of the year, People Magazine would always have a retrospective issue, which detailed the biggest news stories of the year, the celebrities we lost during the year, and the fads, new lingo, and fashions trends that the year brought us.  This is the one that wrapped up 2011.

So, as you can see, People Magazine has managed to not only survive, but thrive.  And in a world where magazines are folding up at an alarming rate, this is definitely something to celebrate.

Happy 40th birthday, People Magazine!

Monday, March 03, 2014

Three Amigos

For some reason, bad things seem to always come in threes for me.

Or, in this case, bad things this year seem to be coming on the third of the month!

Let's see here...January 3rd, I end up stubbing my toe so hard that I end up tearing off a whole toenail (which really hurt, by the way).  February 3rd, I was stuck in bed with a really nasty stomach flu.  And, now as we approach March 3rd, I am stuck with fifty per cent hearing, as my right ear is completely blocked with something.  I'll be going to the doctor at some point today to see if I can find out why I am deaf in one ear.  Knowing my track record with ears, it could range from a wax build-up to an ear infection.  After all, I've had a grand total of at least eight different ear infections since I was born, and have had to go to the doctor to get wax blasted out of my ear at least once every ten years.

But, you're not here to read all about earwax, right?  At least...I certainly hope not, anyway.  Instead, you're probably here to read all about today's Monday Matinee selection.  Am I right, or am I right?

And, well...since we're already in agreement that the number three seems to be a number that has been somewhat unlucky for me this year, why don't we stick with that number as the theme of the day?  This means that I'm either going to be showcasing a movie that has the number three in its title, or that I'll be showing the third sequel of a popular movie franchise.

Or possibly both.

So, I first have to decide what I'm going to do...will I do a movie that has the number three in the title, or will I do a movie that's the third in a series?

You know, I think just based on that, I'm going to choose the former choice.  It would be kind of silly to do a blog on "Lethal Weapon 3", "The Hangover III", or "Madagascar 3" when I haven't even done blogs on any of the other movies in the series.  Choosing a film with the word three in the title is much easier...or is it?

Let's see.  I've already done "Three Men and a Baby".  "3 Ninjas" would have been okay, but I already did a kids movie last week.  And, don't even get me started on that horrible "Three Stooges" movie that was released a couple of years ago.  I just couldn't even be objective with that film. 

But I have to come up with something that has the number three within its title.  It doesn't even have to be an Academy Award winning film.  It could even be a multiple Golden Raspberry Award winning film!  Sigh...maybe I'll have some success if I search the Internet Movie Database and look up movies that have the word "three" in the title.



Wait a minute!  That's it!  That's the movie that stands out!  Maybe it's because it's a comedy film from the 1980s.  Maybe it's because it has Steve Martin as one of its stars.  Or maybe...just maybe...it's because it's the only film that has a title starting with an upside down exclamation point!



Yeah...I think "Three Amigos" would be a cool movie to review for the third day of the third month.  And maybe talking about the film might get my mind off the fact that I cannot hear anything out of my right ear.

(Okay, I'll stop complaining.  For now.)

And, unlike my previous bad experiences with the number three...I did like this movie a lot!

Anyway, I won't spoil the plot too much - it's become kind of a tradition for the Monday Matinee that I never reveal movie endings.  To be perfectly honest, the plot is kind of outlandish and so comedic that there were times in which I didn't even really know what the plot even was!  But, believe me, I was laughing so much at the movie that I didn't really care if there was a plot.   After all, the film combines the comedic genius of Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short in the roles of Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms, and Ned Nederlander respectively.

The film is set in 1916 Mexico, and it is at a time in which a notorious thug by the name of El Guapo (Alfonso Arau) is intimidating the citizens of Santo Poco by organizing a gang of thugs to collect protection money from the people.  And, believe me when I tell you that the villagers have had enough.

So much so that a young woman by the name of Carmen (Patrice Martinez) decides that she needs to help her village.  She has reason to be concerned.  After all, she is the daughter of the village leader. 



As luck would have it, Carmen finds herself at a church where a screening of a silent film is playing.  The film features the group known as the Three Amigos, and after seeing the trio in action, Carmen believes that the three men are real heroes who are capable of forcing the evil out of Santo Poco for good.  Of course, she has no idea that the men are actually Hollywood actors and have never had any training in confronting bandits, but nevertheless, Carmen feels that she needs to send them a telegram to help the village stop El Guapo.  Problem is that Carmen lacks enough money to send the full message, so the telegram sender edits the telegram just enough that the message kind of gets lost in translation.

So lost, that by the time that Lucky, Dusty, and Ned get the message, they misinterpret it as an invitation to appear on stage alongside El Guapo!  But by this point in time, the Hollywood studio that employed them terminated their contract, so with nothing else in Hollywood, the trio accept the gig...not realizing that they were actually brought in to save the town from El Guapo and his gang of thugs.

And, well...it leads to scenes like this.



And, this...



And, well...you know what, why not click HERE?  It's a link to the whole movie.  But, take caution.  Full length movies don't last long on video sharing sites, so watch it while you can. 

One thing I did notice when watching this film was that you could tell that this was almost like an extended Saturday Night Live sketch.  After all, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels co-wrote the screenplay with Steve Martin and Randy Newman.  And, of course, we all know that Chevy Chase was one of the Saturday Night Live originals.  In fact, the film also featured two more Saturday Night Live alumni - Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman - in brief roles.

And, well...here's some other trivia for you all.

1 - You know the opening song that the Three Amigos sing at the beginning of the film?  They had to hold that high note for exactly fourteen consecutive seconds!  I couldn't even DO a high note, let alone hold one for nearly a quarter of a minute!

2 - Steve Martin was always committed to be one of the Three Amigos.  But the other two were supposed to be played by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, and the film was supposed to be released in the early 1980s under the title "The Three Caballeros".  Unfortunately, Belushi's death in 1982 forced the cast line-up to change.

3 - All three actors who played the Three Amigos had to wear lead-based make-up for the silent film scenes.

4 - The film was directed by John Landis, but Steven Spielberg almost signed on to direct the project.

5 - The lasso tricks came easy to Steve Martin.  He learned how to do the rope tricks while working at a magic shop prior to making it big as an actor.

6 - Loosely translated to English, El Guapo stands for "The Handsome One".

7 - The bats that Ned hunts throughout the film were actually made of bacon!  Look closely!

8 - Everyone knows that Martin Short made it big as a member of SCTV...but believe it or not, this was his very first major appearance in a motion picture!

9 - The cantina featured in the film is named "Cantina el Borracho".  In English, it can be translated to "Bar of the Drunk".

10 - "The Nanny" star Fran Drescher filmed some scenes for this movie...and all her scenes were left on the cutting room floor.

11 - Another actor who had his scenes cut?  Sam Kinison.  He would have played the part of a Mexican bandit.

12 - If Martin Short had turned down the role of Ned, John Landis would have cast Rick Moranis instead.

13 - The village name of Santa Poco is grammatically incorrect in Spanish.

14 - This was actually the second film that Alfonso Arau appeared in with the name "Three Amigos".  He also starred in a 1970 film entitled "Tres amigos". 

15 - Ironically enough, Lucky Day is the only Amigo to get shot in the film!

16 - This was one of two films that Steve Martin filmed in 1986.  The other one was "Little Shop of Horrors".  Amusingly enough, both films featured singing plants!



17 - Randy Newman performed the singing vocals of the Singing Bush.  Makes sense, as he had hits with "Short People" and "I Love L.A.".

18 - The singing turtle was John Landis' idea!

Sunday, March 02, 2014

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

So, are you enjoying the month of March so far even though we are just a whopping two days into it?  I certainly hope most of you are.  March for me has gotten off to a rough start, but just because it came in like a lion means that feasibly, it should go out like a lamb.

That's what the old wives tale states.  And, I have to say...sometimes old wives get it right!

Okay, so a lot is going on today.  If you're into all things film, tonight just happens to be the biggest celebration of all things movies, as the Oscars are going to be airing with Ellen DeGeneres as hostess this year.  I might tune in to watch a little bit of the ceremony, but admittedly I have not seen any of the movies that are nominated for "Best Picture" this year, so really, who would I root for? 

Or, if you're into the idea of watching eleven teams of two...or, rather ten teams of two by now...racing around the whole world for the chance to win a million dollars in cash, then you might want to watch "The Amazing Race".  A show where "twinnies" doesn't get you anywhere, where guys happily call themselves "Afghan-imals", and where Rachel and Brendon from "Big Brother" continue to squeeze out the last little droplets of their already overfilled fifteen minutes of fame. 

Or, if you really want to have some fun, why don't you take a few minutes to read all about today's Sunday Jukebox entry?  I can't guarantee you that this song ever won an Academy Award, but I do know for a fact that it has been used in the soundtracks of a few films.

And it's a song that is perfect for those people who have felt scorned by their lovers, spouses, and even one-night stands!  Believe me, it's that perfect.

Now, I'll just preface this blog entry by stating that all this year, I will be featuring songs that were once #1 hits.  And, this song was the #1 hit forty-eight years ago this week.  But then again, I suppose that our featured singer grew up surrounded by music.  After all, her father was considered to be one of the most respected crooners of his generation.

So, shall we find out who today's spotlight artist is?  Let's check it out!



ARTIST:  Nancy Sinatra
SONG:  These Boots Are Made For Walkin'
ALBUM:  Boots
DATE RELEASED:  February 22, 1966
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 1 week



That's right.  We're going to be taking a look back at Nancy Sinatra's biggest hit, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", a #1 hit for the singer in 1966, and a song that has been played by scorned lovers everywhere for nearly five decades.

I mean, just think about it.  This is the anthem of empowerment for anybody who has ever been treated badly by someone who is supposed to care about them.  This is the song for those who are tired of being kicked around, and for those who want to do the kicking themselves. 

"One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you".  Sends tingles down your spine, huh?  Well, there's that, plus the fact that all the women in the music video are so busy dancing around the stage that none of them realized that they forgot to put on pants.

(Apparently, the sweaters - known as maxi-sweaters - were all the rage in '66.  And, according to a couple of sources, the girls were wearing mini-skirts.)

Anyway, you all know the story of Nancy Sinatra.  She is the oldest of three children born to legendary singer/actor Frank Sinatra - himself, one of the most respected and talented artists to be a member of the "Rat Pack" in the 1950s.  But did you know that when Nancy was first thinking about following in her father's footsteps into the world of Hollywood that she didn't intend to become a singer?  Instead, she wanted to pursue an acting career.  While she did appear in a couple of films during the 1960s, including the Elvis Presley film "Speedway", her acting and singing aspirations certainly didn't garner her much success - at least in North America anyway.

You see, Nancy Sinatra initially fell into the same curse that Alyssa Milano and Jennifer Love Hewitt experienced when both actresses tried their hand at singing careers.  Insanely popular in Japan, but fell flat in their native America.  But, Nancy refused to give up on herself.  After all, her father had released dozens of hit singles over the years.  There was no way that she was going to rest until she had at least one success story.

So, when Nancy Sinatra was given the opportunity to record a song written by Lee Hazelwood entitled "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", she jumped on the chance without any hesitation.

At the time that Nancy recorded the song, she was twenty-five years old, but when she was recording the single, she was given some rather...unusual direction from Hazelwood himself when it came down to how he thought the song should sound.

Hazelwood believed that Sinatra should sing the song as if she were a "sixteen-year-old girl who f@#$s truck drivers".  Interesting description.  I'm not exactly sure what a teenager who prostitutes herself to big rig drivers sounds like, but I'm guessing that Nancy must have come pretty close to what Hazelwood was looking for as the single was released in early 1966.  The song became a near-instant success story, with the song hitting #1 not long after its initial release date in the United States and several other countries as well.



And, the song was also a favourite of critics as well, with critic Tom Breihan described it as "maybe the finest bitchy kiss-off in pop history".

Surprisingly enough, the song was also used as a sort of unofficial anthem of the Vietnam War.  The song was often played in the background of news clips of United States infantry men on the news.  Nancy Sinatra herself actually flew down to Vietnam to perform this song for the troops stationed there, and many soldiers adopted the song as their anthem.

And, a little over twenty years after the song was released, Nancy Sinatra guest starred on the television series "China Beach" (a series that was set during the height of the Vietnam War) to re-enact one of the many performances of the song she did while performing for the troops all those years ago!

And, I should also mention that this single has been covered by many other artists over the years from Megadeth to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, proving that the song definitely had staying power long after the original release.  However, not everyone's cover version of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin' was received positively.



For instance, when Jessica Simpson re-recorded the single for the 2005 film "The Dukes of Hazzard", the video was subjected to a lot of controversy.  Directed by Brett Ratner, many critics complained that the video was too sexual with Jessica actively posing and gyrating in a suggestive manner while wearing skimpy Daisy Duke shorts (which I suppose made sense, as Jessica Simpson was cast as Daisy Duke).  Unfortunately, the film was a complete joke, and as much as I can tolerate some Jessica Simpson songs, this video only served to prove that Simpson was no Catherine Bach.  I'm not usually a fan of cover songs to begin with, but this version was almost a train-wreck.  The only other cover versions that I hated more were Madonna's "American Pie" and Tiffany's horrific interpretation of The Beatles' hit "I Saw Her Standing There".



I guess it's true what they say.  You can change the formula of something all you want...but nothing beats the original.

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Room For Seconds?

March 1, 2014

Happy first of March everybody.  And, yes, I know that it seems incredibly odd for me to be doing a diary entry on a Saturday of all days.  But then again, this isn't your typical diary entry either.

You see, I have something that I want to say.  Don't worry.  It's nothing bad like shutting this blog down or anything serious.  I plan on keeping this blog going for as long as all of you are interested in reading my words.  But this is a piece that talks about the subject of disappointments and how one copes with it as best as he or she can.  And, hey, I think that I can throw in a pop culture related item here and there...you know...gotta keep this relevant.

Okay, so here's the story straight from the horse's mouth...although I should state that I am not a horse, nor do I know how to speak horse.

Quite recently, a potential opportunity came my way that I absolutely wanted to take.  It was an opportunity through my workplace that had I been selected to participate in would have been an excellent opportunity.  You see, my workplace has a particular event that is held each summer that allows people from all over the world to meet up at what could best be described as part convention/part business meeting/part rock concert and all fun.  Seriously, it is absolutely a once in a lifetime experience.

(I mean it too...it's an event that is so exclusive that you can go once and only once!)

It's an event that I've tried to go to for the last three years now...and unfortunately, for the last three years, I came so close, but so far.  But that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.  Sometimes the stars align in such a way that first place isn't always the end result and sometimes you just have to swallow your pride and accept the second place ribbon.  In this case, I have done that, and I'm sure that the people who are lucky enough to attend the event will have a good time.

But here's where that great big "BUT" comes in.  And, I'm not talking about Kim Kardashian's ba-donka-donk.

(Did I just really use the word ba-donka-donk in a sentence?  Have I even spelled ba-donka-donk correctly? I must really be losing it today.)




Yes, I have accepted the fact that the future for me at this moment involves a fancy velvet sash that says "FIRST RUNNER-UP".  And, there's certainly no shame in that at all.  I mean, Clay Aiken certainly used his second place status on "American Idol" to become a hitmaker...well, at least he did for a three-year-period anyway.  I definitely don't think that Tessa Virtue and David Moir consider themselves any less of themselves because they ended up winning a silver medal for ice dancing instead of the gold during the Winter Olympics in Sochi.  And, just because a team loses the Super Bowl one year doesn't mean that they won't have another chance to try again and win the year after. 

But, admittedly there is a part of me that openly admits that coming in second place is simultaneously not a good feeling.  I mean let's face it...most people can probably remember the name of the man who won the first season of "Survivor" - Richard Hatch.  But ask them who was the runner-up, and they probably couldn't tell you.




(It was Kelly Wiglesworth, by the way.)

And, I suppose that in a way, I kind of feel like one of those people that is always getting the runner-up title, but never comes out on top.  I mean, things happen for a reason, and I have come to terms with that...but still, who ever goes to a sporting match with those foam fingers shouting "WE'RE #2!  WE'RE #2!"? 

So, I guess that I'm trying to think of instances in which coming in second isn't such a bad thing.  But, admittedly it's hard to do when society seems to focus only on winners.

And, well...the only example of second place finishes becoming an asset comes from a fictional story that I found in an Archie comic.  But it's a very good example.

The story set-up is like this.  There's some sort of track meet going on where all the schools in the district are competing for the championship.  The way the meet is scored, they offer a series of points for each first place, second place, and third place finish, and at the end of the day, the school with the most points wins the meet.

Well, naturally, Riverdale High's star athletes in Reggie and Moose did get a couple of first place finishes, but everyone else was not up to par, and didn't even place at all.




And, poor Archie Andrews was the kind of person who could never get first.  In fact, in every single event he participated in, he always came in second.  It grew to be his own personal motto.  Always second place, never the winner.  And, certainly Archie's team didn't offer him any sort of support or sympathy.  Reggie, Moose, even Coach Kleats seemed to get constantly annoyed with Archie's runner-up status, and poor Archie was getting frustrated and upset with himself.

That is, until Dilton Doiley pointed out something ingenious.  You see, Dilton is quite the genius, and one of his many talents is statistical analysis.  And, Dilton discovered that most of the schools in the district had a couple of first place finishes, plus several thirds and fourths.  But Archie always managed to get second place in every event. 

And, Archie's second place finishes boosted Riverdale High's overall points total...and by the end of the meet, all those second place finishes helped Riverdale win the whole meet!

Yes, Archie became a hero that day...and on that day, being the runner-up was the best thing that happened to him.



And, well...I guess I have to tell myself that coming in second can be a good thing.  And, I guess if there's anything to learn from all of this, it's that sometimes second-best can be fantastic.

And, I guess this song kind of reminds me of that fact.