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Tuesday, July 01, 2014

July 1, 1867

Okay, everyone!  Welcome to a brand new month!  And to kick off July right, I have a very special edition of the Tuesday Timeline to share!  And, trust me when I tell you that this could very well be one of the oldest dates that I have featured in this space.

(Well, aside from the April Fools Day joke that I pulled three months ago.)

Before we get to our very special date, I've got some other events that took place throughout history on this date.  After all, the first of July was a very busy day!

1770 - Lexell's Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history

1782 - The Raid of Lunenburg takes place

1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg begins

1874 - The first commercially successful typewriter - The Sholes and Gidden Typewriter - goes on sale in stores

1881 - The very first international phone call is made between New Brunswick, Canada, and the state of Maine in the United States

1903 - The very first Tour de France kicks off on this date

1908 - S.O.S. is adopted as the international signal of distress

1916 - 19,000 British soldiers are killed and another 40,000 wounded during the first day of the Battle of the Somme during World War I

1931 - United Airlines begins operations (as Boeing Air Transport)

1934 - Actor and director Sydney Pollack (d. 2008) is born in Lafayette, Indiana

1961 - Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997) is born in Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk, England

1963 - The ZIP code is introduced in the United States

1972 - The first Gay Pride march in England is held

1979 - Sony introduces the Walkman

1984 - The newly created rating of PG-13 starts is first introduced

1987 - The first all-sports radio station debuts in New York City

1995 - Famous New York City born disc jockey Wolfman Jack passes away at the age of 57

1996 - Model Margaux Hemingway is found dead of a drug overdose

1997 - Actor Robert Mitchum dies at the age of 79

2000 - Actor Walter Matthau dies of a heart attack at 79

2004 - Actor Marlon Brando dies at the age of 80

2005 - Singer Luther Vandross dies at the age of 54 of a heart attack

2007 - Smoking in public places is banned throughout England

2009 - "Are You Being Served" actress Mollie Sugden dies at the age of 86 - just four months after her co-star Wendy Richard

(Is it just me or is July 1 synonymous with celebrity death?)

Fortunately, we have quite a few celebrities who are celebrating the anniversary of their births!  Happy birthday to
Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Caron, Jamie Farr, Twyla Tharp, Andrae Crouch, Debbie Harry, John Farnham, Terrence Mann, Fred Schneider, Dan Aykroyd, Lisa Scottoline, Alan Ruck, Dale Midkiff, Michelle Wright, Andre Braugher, Pamela Anderson, Melissa Peterman, Missy Elliott, Julianne Nicholson, Claire Forlani, Kellie Bright, Liv Tyler, Hilarie Burton, and Raini Rodriguez.

Actually, I'm going to single out three of those birthdays.  In the cases of Dan Aykroyd, Michelle Wright, and Pamela Anderson, their birthdays coincide with another huge birthday that is happening today.  Only in this case, the birthday isn't of a person, but a nation.  A nation that all three of those celebrities were born in.

It also happens to be the country that I call home.  And the date that it became a country?



July 1, 1867!

Interesting background no?  Well, why not?  After all, it was 147 years ago today that my country of Canada became an independent nation!  Yes, it was on this date in 1867 that the British North America Act of 1867 took effect as the Constitution of Canada.  This act created the Canadian Confederation and the federal dominion of Canada!

Now, here's some trivia for you!  Do you know who the first Prime Minister of Canada was?  I'll give you a hint...he shares the same last name as a famous fast food chain...only with an extra "A" added in.  Would you like some think music?  Here's special music for you!  And, don't scroll down any further until you know or give up.



Well, do you know the answer?  



Well, that would be Sir John A. Macdonald, whose tenure as Prime Minister lasted a combined total of nearly two decades!  He served between 1867 and 1873, and again from 1878 until his death in June 1891.  If you happen to be in the Kingston, Ontario area, you can see the house where Macdonald once lived!  Definitely check it out if you can.

(And, just because I can, I'm adding that one of the teachers at my elementary school back when I was a student there looked exactly like him, and now performs as him in historic recreations!)

Question #2.  When Canada first became an independent nation, it didn't have all of the provinces and territories included in that deal.  Much like the United States and its initial thirteen colonies, Canada only had four provinces when it became an independent nation.  Can you name those four provinces?  I'll give you some time to think it over.



Still stumped?  Okay, the provinces were Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  All four were recognized as provinces on July 1, 1867.  Just for completion, here's a list of the other six provinces and three territories as well as their dates of confederation.  Take close note of Prince Edward Island.



MANITOBA - July 15, 1870
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES - July 15, 1870
BRITISH COLUMBIA - July 20, 1871
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND - July 1, 1873
YUKON - June 13, 1898
SASKATCHEWAN - September 1, 1905
ALBERTA - September 1, 1905
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR - March 31, 1949
NUNAVUT - April 1, 1999

So, I should wish Prince Edward Island a happy birthday too!  You're looking great for 141 years old!

Next question!  I'll admit that this one stumped me!

When did the song "O Canada" officially become Canada's national anthem?  Again, I'll post the appropriate thinking music.  And, here's a small hint.  It happened on July 1.  (I know, shocker, huh?)



Believe it or not, I always thought that "O Canada" became an anthem in the 1880s.  After all, the song was first performed in 1880 for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.  But believe it or not, it took a century for it to be recognized as the official anthem.  Exact date?  July 1, 1980!  So, basically being born in 1981, I had never known Canada before "O Canada", which I expected.  But I never would have guessed that it became official the year before I was born.  The things you learn while doing research!



Okay.   Next question.  In what year did the one dollar bill become extinct in Canada?  Note, I'm not asking when the one dollar coin (which we Canadians affectionately call the "Loonie" after the bird that appears on the front of the coin) first came out.  I'm asking when the dollar bill ceased to exist.

Again with the think music.



Give up?  Well, although the loonie was introduced on the day before Canada Day in 1987, it took a couple of years for the paper currency to completely disappear.  The final Canadian dollar bill was printed on June 30, 1989.  Wow, it really doesn't seem like twenty-five years has passed since we said farewell to the dollar bill.  I still have one in my photo album!

(Oh, and just for added trivia, the two dollar bill was discontinued in February 1996 to make way for the two dollar coin known as the Toonie.  And as of February 4, 2013, pennies are now considered to be a part of Canadian history - though they still are considered legal tender.)

I'm having so much fun with this Canadian themed blog!  Would you like another trivia question that is Canadian themed?



If any of you have visited Canada, or are brand new to the country (welcome, by the way), you may have noticed that the coffee and donut chain known as "Tim Hortons" is very popular here.  In my town alone, we have five locations - which doesn't seem like a lot until you realize that my town only has a population of 22,500 (or so the signs leading into town claim).  Here's the question.  When did the first Tim Hortons location open, and what city?  Here's some more think music from an appropriate source.



Do you have the answer?

According to my sources (mostly the Tim Hortons website), the very first Tim Hortons opened up fifty years ago on
May 17, 1964.  And, the home of the very first location?  Hamilton, Ontario!

TRIVIA:  The chain is named after its founder, former hockey star Tim Horton, who played for four hockey teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Tragically, Horton was killed in a car accident on the QEW in St. Catharines, Ontario in February 1974.  His name, however, lives on.

Okay, next question!  Again, this one could be a toughie.



With the success of MTV's debut in 1981, it was decided that Canada would get into the act, and start up its own music channel.  And, this is a three-part question.

1.  What was the name of this channel?
2.  Which famous news personality was one of the first VJ's?
3.  What date did it debut?

I'll give you some more think music.



Have you gotten the answers yet?  Here they are!



1.  The station was called MUCHMUSIC.  It's now called MUCH on account that it seemed to ditch the music portion circa 2005.



2.  The news personality is CBS/CNN/FOX anchor John Roberts, who in those days went by J.D. Roberts.  Other famous MuchMusic VJ's included Erica Ehm, the late Dan Gallagher, and current ET Canada host, Rick Campanelli.  There was even a gal from my hometown, Rachel Perry, who served as a MuchMusic VJ in the late 1990s!

3.  The station debuted three years and one month after MTV, on
September 1, 1984.

And, that's all the trivia I have for you all today!  All think music was provided by Canadian born artists of various genres.

And, I just want to say that I'm going to come across as being extremely biased here, but I truly believe that I was born in and currently live in one of the best, if not THE BEST countries in the entire world!  I am definitely proud of my Canadian background, and I can't imagine living anywhere else!

Thanks Canada, for 147 fantastic years!  Here's to the next 147!

Monday, June 30, 2014

Closing the Book on Yesterday(Land)

I'm still trying to get used to the fact that MOTIVATION MONDAYS are completely different now that the chat show that I was a part of is now on hiatus.  But, I've always been the kind of person to roll with the punches, and I've faced down dozens of challenges before and come out the other side.

Well, I've decided that for this edition of MOTIVATION MONDAY, I'm going to motivate all of you to do something.  And this is based on an event that I had to deal with recently, and unfortunately is something that I still have to put up with years later.

My advice to everybody reading this blog entry for today is simple. 
Don't let hatred and grudges destroy your life.  You can choose not to like someone.  You can choose to cut toxic people out of your life, even.  But eventually most people move on from that and go on with their lives to achieve greatness.  I'll be the first one to admit that I had difficulty moving on from some of the nastiness that I had to endure when I was younger, but I'm well on my way to becoming a better person.

And do you want to know why?  Because I don't hold grudges.  I don't let hate take over my life.  And, I think I'm better for it.

That being said, I'm absolutely amazed by the number of people who continue to hold grudges and abuse people some one, five, even ten years after something happened.  And up until the last few days, I didn't have an answer as to why grown adults would choose to hold onto feuds and grudges for so long.

I now have my answer.  And, I'll share that revelation a little bit later on in this piece.  But, in the meantime, I'm sure you want to know exactly what happened that inspired this entry.  In order to set up the story, we ironically enough have to go back in time thirteen years ago to the summer of 2001.

I even remember the exact date it all began, my memory is that good.  Saturday, July 28, 2001.  



That was the day that I joined an Internet community called "Yesterdayland" under the screenname of jugheadjones12 (The screenname is my favourite comic character as well as the age I was when I dressed as him for Halloween).  It was a website that was dedicated to childhood memories and focused on toys, television, fashion trends, movies, music, and arcade games of the past.  In fact, I have to tell you that this website was a huge influence in my decision to make this particular blog pop culture themed. 

But that really wasn't the only influence that the site had on me.

I joined Yesterdayland during a very vulnerable time in my life.  The spring and summer of 2001 was a rough time.  My grandfather died of a stroke, I missed getting back into my program in university by a tenth of a percentage point, and all of the friends that I had made during that year of university had all gone their separate ways, and I had lost contact with all of them.  So, when I say that I was feeling a little bit alone and unsure of what I was going to do, I meant it.  I just needed somewhere where I could talk to people.  I needed a place where I could be myself.  I needed a distraction.




Yesterdayland was that distraction.

I joined that summer, and immediately made a lot of connections (many of which I still have some thirteen years later).  I know some people look at Internet forums as being nothing special, and many see them as being incredibly outdated with dozens of social networking options available.  But for me (and I'm sure many people from Yesterdayland can vouch for this), it was a real bonding experience.  Many of us became friends both on and offline.  There were Christmas card exchanges.  We had Secret Cupid games going on.  Some members even fell in love with each other, got married, and started families.  For many of us, we held Yesterdayland in such high regard that when the site imploded almost two years after I joined, it was a really sad experience.  The place where all of us had bonded was no more, and we were all left wondering what was next.

And, unfortunately, right around the time that Yesterdayland folded was the time in which some of us saw the true colours of some of the members on the site...and they weren't pretty.

You've likely seen the words "troll" or "flamer" posted on Internet message boards.  It's a term used for people who knowingly go onto online communities to manipulate people into turning on other users, or who post controversial links or images that are designed to cause a riot, or who plainly insult other posters in plain sight while hiding behind a keyboard.  Most of the trolls are pretty harmless and can easily be ignored...but weeks before Yesterdayland went offline, the trolls had taken over the boards, and many people decided to create "refugee" boards, so to speak, to get away from the disaster.  I and several other people found ourselves as members of a group called "Memory Lane", and for a few weeks, it was nice.  It wasn't as fancy as Yesterdayland was, but it was enough. 



At least that was the case until some people decided to confess on "Memory Lane" that they purposely decided to become trolls in an effort to show the owners of Yesterdayland exactly what they thought of them.  And that angered a lot of people, including myself.  Granted, the owners of Yesterdayland basically abandoned the site in the last few months of its life, but why would they have thought that posing as trolls to stick it to them was an appropriate solution?  I had been personally attacked by some of those troll names, so it really felt like a betrayal of sorts.  And, I'm sure that I'm not the only one who felt that way.

Long story short, those people either were kicked off of "Memory Lane", or left on their own accord, and started up a third site (complicated to follow along with, huh).  And their site was much more private, blocking everybody out who wasn't a part of their group - which was fine by me, as after their little moment of confession, I really didn't want anything to do with them anyway.  By that time, the Yesterdayland crew had gotten things together and started up a brand new site dedicated to pop culture.



Enter Retroland - a site that was founded in 2005.  I became a member in December of that year, and it was amazing just how much it was like Yesterdayland.  I thought that for one brief, shining moment that we could recreate the Yesterdayland site with Retroland and have everything go back to the way it was.

Of course, a lot of feelings had been hurt in between those two years, and some of those feelings were still raw.  And before we knew it, the people from "Memory Lane" were clashing with the people who had started up the secret third site, causing all sorts of tension and stress on the boards.  By then, I was tired of seeing people insulting each other and using passive-aggressive behaviour to try and make others feel inferior or outcast.  And, anyone who knows me knows that I can't stand passive-aggressive behaviour. 

Perhaps that's what made me decide to take on a job as moderator of Retroland, which was simultaneously the dumbest, but smartest move I ever made.  I loved the site, and I wanted to be a part of it in some manner, and when given the opportunity, I took it thinking that it would be a great experience.

And, there were definite pros to the gig.  It helped me deal with conflict resolution a lot better, and it helped me become a better judge of character (and to see exactly when people were telling me the truth, or lying to my face.  Trust me, it's a handy skill to have in life). 

However, the minute I became a moderator, the majority of people from the group that deserted "Memory Lane" seemed to make it their personal mission to make my job incredibly difficult.  They hurled insults at me, used passive-aggressive behaviour to poke fun at myself, my friends, and my family, and they did everything in their power to test my patience.  It never worked though.  As much as it killed me to not hit ignore on all of them (as a moderator, you have to watch every single comment, no matter how much they hurt), I did the job to the best of my ability.  And, I kept my cool during the whole process.  I only ever remember losing my temper with one member, and even so, it was kept off the boards, and I didn't even get that upset.  I believed in moderating behind the scenes, because the last thing I wanted was to add fuel to the flamers...so to speak.



But after a year of moderating Retroland, I resigned from the position.  But it wasn't because of the group who kept attacking me on the site.  I wouldn't give them the satisfaction - and besides, they weren't much of a threat anyway.  I resigned because once again the owners of the site abandoned ship, and didn't give me the tools necessary to do my job as a moderator.  And if you don't have the ability to delete obnoxious posts or shut down accounts of people who knowingly cause trouble, then there really was no point in sticking around.  And shortly after I left Retroland, the site was revamped, and the message board community was permanently disabled.  It was a sad thing to see, but at the same time, I understood why it was necessary.



So, here we are.  Six years after I resigned as Retroland moderator.  Since that time, I've started up a blog, done a few charity events, am working a full-time job, and I've moved on from the whole experience.  The friends that I made from Yesterdayland, "Memory Lane", and Retroland are still friends today, and believe me when I say that they know who they are, and I love them for being who they are.  You guys will always have my friendship, and I will always have your back, no matter what.  And no matter where life takes us, we will always be a true Yesterdayland family, just as my co-workers are my workplace family, and so on and so forth.

Now here's where the epilogue comes into play.  Unfortunately with the cases of some of my friends from Yesterdayland/Retroland, I can't choose who they are friends with.  Some of my friends are pals with some of the people who caused so much tension and hostility on "Yesterdayland", "Memory Lane", and "Retroland", and that's cool.  I'm sure that I'm friends with some people that some of my friends don't like.  All you do is avoid that person.  Case closed.

Well, imagine my surprise when I responded to a post that a friend posted on her own wall on Facebook, and underneath my response, someone had posted a reply that passive-aggressively attacked me and my blog.  Although she didn't mention me by name, I recognized the name as being one of the people who purposely caused trouble on the site, and was one of the group that isolated themselves from "Memory Lane" all those years ago.  There she was, attacking me...years after my moderating gig on Retroland.  And, would you like to know something?  I honestly don't even remember doing anything to her at all.  If I did, I completely forgot about it because the experience that I had on those sites were in the past and I had moved on from it.  Therefore, I found it a little bit sad that she obviously still held a grudge and didn't even have the courage to explain why.

In short, she is a coward.  In fact, that's all that her group was.  A cowardly group of grown adults who attack and put down people to make themselves feel better.

And, I decided to record a video message to these people to close the book once and for all.  Even though I've blocked most of them on social media and they won't be able to see it here...I'm convinced that they're going to find a way to see it anyway.  Because unlike them, I have no problem telling it like it is.


So, here they are.  My final thoughts.


Sunday, June 29, 2014

Foolish Beat? Hardly...

One thing that I have been amazed by is seeing young people do extraordinary things and do things that most adults wish they could do.

In the world today, it is probably tougher than ever to be a kid.  Not only do they have the struggle to find yourself in the world while dealing with peers, parents, teachers, and figures of authority, but they also have to deal with things that I never had to face when I was a child.  When I was a kid, there were no cell phones or Internet, kids stayed outside all day to play unsupervised, and we did things that would be considered extremely unsafe by today's standards.

Believe it or not, there was a time in which drinking out of a garden hose was not even considered to be a bad thing.  I did it each and every summer, and I'd like to think that I turned out just fine.

But there comes a point in which you have to make a decision.  I think it's great that people want to keep kids safe, and they certainly do deserve to have places to play and learn that are as safe as possible.  But at the same time, I don't think that we need to have helicopter parents who oversee every single thing that a child does, or that we feel the need to control the schedule of a child, or cover their entire play area in gigantic sheets of bubblewrap either. 



And you want to know why that is?  Because I feel that the more we try to wrap kids inside of a cocoon like atmosphere, the more we stifle their creativity and the less well-rounded they become.  I think that's why I get so angry whenever parents don't do enough to save arts programs from getting cut.  But I think I get even more angry with parents who outright discourage their children from pursuing careers in art, music, filmmaking, or drama because of their belief that they know what is best for their children, and that belief doesn't include expressing their creative side.  And you might think that I don't know what I'm talking about, but I've heard so many stories of kids being discouraged to express themselves through art and writing that it makes me very sad.  I don't even want to begin to imagine a world without artists, writers, actors, painters, choreographers, and calligraphers.  I'm not saying that we need to get rid of doctors, lawyers, bank tellers, accountants, judges, and dentists.  We definitely need those as well.  I'm just saying that parents should let their children express themselves the best way they know how, and let them find out what interests them.

Just take a look at some of the kids from "MasterChef Juniors".  These are kids that were between the ages of 8-14 cooking dishes that the average person never even heard of, let alone tasted.  And yet, all of these children had one thing in common.  They had parents or guardians in their lives who really supported them in their creative goals, and the end result was a group of talented young chefs who could cook circles around some of their adult counterparts.

(I know they could certainly cook circles around me.  I can't even make microwave popcorn without burning it.)

Of course, I suppose you're wondering where I'm going with this train of thought.  The point I'm trying to make is that if one has the right support system that will support and encourage them, they can achieve greatness at any age.

Such as the case of today's
Sunday Jukebox spotlight.

We're going to meet a girl who started off being a performer at an early age.  She was five years old when she began performing with her sisters and cousin at a community theatre group in Merrick, New York - a suburban community located on Long Island.  It was also right around this time that she wrote her very first song!  That's right!  She wrote her very first song at the age of five.

Well, okay...so maybe the song "Make Sure You Know Your Classroom" wouldn't crack the Billboard Hot 100.  However, she'd eventually achieve her dream of having a #1 hit single.  And when she did make that dream come true, she would become a Guinness World Record holder...a record that has remained unbroken since 1988.



This was the song that helped give Debbie Gibson her first #1 hit...a song which topped the charts twenty-six years ago this week.



ARTIST:  Debbie Gibson
SONG:  Foolish Beat
ALBUM:  Out of the Blue
DATE RELEASED:  February 11, 1988
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 1 week

These days, she goes by the name Deborah, but back in the late 1980s, she went by Debbie, the girl who made teen pop cool long before Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, or Ariana Grande even sang their first notes.  And I'm old enough to remember when Debbie Gibson was just one of several teen girls who tried their hand at singing.  I even seem to remember the constant comparisons between Debbie Gibson and "I Think We're Alone Now" singer Tiffany.

Now, not to take away from Tiffany's success, but I always seemed to prefer Debbie Gibson.  She had a pleasant voice, her songs were mostly happy songs, and at the very least she wrote and recorded almost every song she sang - unlike Tiffany whose two biggest hits were cover versions of singles from the 1960s.



Debbie's debut album was entitled "Out of the Blue", which was released on August 18, 1987 - approximately two weeks shy of Debbie's 17th birthday (Debbie's date of birth is August 31, 1970 - just in case you were wondering.)  And, it was certainly an album that did better than expected.  Of the ten tracks that were on the album, five were released as singles.  "Foolish Beat" was the only single from the album that hit #1 on the Billboard Charts, but the other four singles did quite well.  "Only In My Dreams" reached #4, as did "Shake Your Love".  The title track became a #3 hit for Gibson, while "Staying Together" stalled at #22.  But still, having four of your singles reach the Top 5 had to have been a fantastic career start.

Of course, "Foolish Beat" - the fourth single released from the album - was the biggest hit of the album.  And while it only stayed at the top of the charts for one week, the song about a relationship coming to an end and the heartbreak following afterward helped Debbie become the youngest female to write, produce, and perform a #1 single on the Billboard Charts.  When "Foolish Beat" hit #1 on June 25, 1988, Debbie was just two months shy of her 18th birthday.  It's a record that remains unbroken.



Yeah, just picture it.  A sixteen going on seventeen year old girl writing every single song that appeared on a ten-song album, and having four of those five singles hit the Top 5, of which one became a #1 hit before she was even allowed to legally vote in an election.  That's absolutely brilliant.  I couldn't even put together a science project at age sixteen, let alone a whole album.  That takes talent, passion, and dedication.



Of course, Debbie would go on to record more albums after her breakout hit.  Her 1989 album "Electric Youth" performed even better than her debut, and spawned another #1 hit with "Lost in Your Eyes", but her follow-up albums didn't quite match the success of her previous work.  Though, I admit that I do like some of Gibson's later work.  I'll post one of her songs from her 1993 album "Body, Mind, Soul" that I love, just to show you just how she matured as an artist since the early days when she was a squeaky clean pop starlet.



If anything, it'll provide mood music for the next part of this blog entry.  After all, I think that she had a lot of natural talent to put together a whole album, and I thought that her singing voice was (and still is) quite nice.  But I can't help but think that the reason why she was so creative was because she had a brilliant support system at home cheering her on throughout her entire journey.

Remember how I said that people could achieve greatness at any age if they had the right support system in their lives?  Well, luckily Debbie had the support of her entire family.  Her own mother tagged along with her while she performed at dance clubs all over the New York City area while at the same time making sure that Debbie continued her studies at high school (where she graduated with honours).  She also took on the role of Debbie's manager, making sure that Debbie got to all of her scheduled performances, and ensuring that she stayed grounded during the ride of her whole career, no matter what happened.  I think those family ties certainly helped keep Debbie on the straight and narrow, and as she transitioned from teen pop queen Debbie to the more mature and sultry Deborah Gibson, she did so seamlessly.

Oh, sure there was that time she did pose for Playboy Magazine...but it was in 2005 when Deborah was 35 years old.  By that time, I would hope that she knew what she was doing.  In fact, she did the shoot right around the time that she was promoting a single called "Naked", so I'd call that a great marketing opportunity.

The truth is that while Deborah Gibson isn't quite as well known on the charts as she used to be, she's done very well for herself.  She starred on Broadway, she appeared on a season of Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice", and she still records music today.



I guess it's true what they say.  Dreams can come true at any age.  The trick is that once the dream comes true you have to have both the maturity as well as the support system necessary to keep that dream alive without backtracking or derailing.  Fortunately, I think Deborah Gibson succeeded.  And as of right now, she still has a Guinness World Record.  A record that she achieved twenty-six years ago this week.

I really admire people who pursue their dreams and goals.  And if they can do it at an early age, awesome.  But even if they have to wait until they turn sixty-five or older, it's still considered a success story in my book.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Bend It Like Beckham



So, how many of you are watching the FIFA World Cup this year?  Anybody?

Well, okay.  I admit that I haven't been.  I can't say that I've ever gotten into the whole idea of watching soccer on television, hoping that Portugal, England, and the United States can defeat Uruguay, Venezuela, and Ireland in a fierce game of "football".  But to be fair, I am an equal opportunity sports snob as I don't keep track of baseball, basketball, football, golf, and NASCAR either.  I may watch the occasional hockey game.  That's it though.

That said, I'm amazed at how big the game of soccer really has gotten.  I knew that in the United Kingdom, people responded to the finals of a soccer tournament the same way that Americans celebrate the Super Bowl, but it's now beginning to make its way into North America with hundreds of thousands of people being bitten by the soccer bug.

I wonder if the sudden interest in soccer in America might have anything to do with this guy down below.



I'm sure most of you know this guy by heart.  This is David Beckham.  For over two decades, he played professional soccer (retiring in 2013).  He's also the husband of former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, the father of four children, and part-time underwear model.  But, I only added that last part in because the ladies who might be reading this will only remind me later on that I forgot that detail.



Anyway, I would say quite a few Americans began to develop a sudden interest in soccer when David Beckham signed on to become a player of the Los Angeles Galaxy team in July 2007.  He played on the team for just five years, but his skills, charisma, and general passion for the game of soccer certainly grabbed people's attention.

And certainly, soccer is filled with a lot of excitement - a lot more excitement than I thought initially with soccer players getting suspended for biting people on the field, and Ann Coulter making claims that soccer is destroying America.

(I would argue that Ann Coulter is doing more to destroy her own country, but that's another can of worms that for now will remain closed.)

Anyway, why am I talking about soccer in this blog?  And, why did I bring up David Beckham in this blog?  Well, today's Saturday Night at the Movies feature combines soccer, David Beckham, and a young girl who wants nothing more than to become the next big soccer star, even though she comes from a family which believes that female soccer players are about as taboo as pornography, prostitution, or illegal drugs.


But, she can't help herself.  She just wants to bend it like Beckham.



Say...that's the name of the movie that we're going to be looking at.  "Bend It Like Beckham"! 

This film is unique in that it had not one, but two premiere dates.  The movie was first released in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2002.  It makes perfect sense, given how much of a cultural phenomenon soccer is in the UK.  The United States release date came a full sixteen months later in August 2003.

The film itself could easily be considered the breakout performance of some of television's biggest stars as well.  In the lead role, you have Parminder Nagra, who has since found success on "ER" and "The Blacklist".  You also have Archie Punjabi, who has been a cast member of "The Good Wife" since it debuted five years ago. 

The movie also featured some stars who would go on to become big stars in the film industry as well.  You'd be hard pressed to find any projects that Keira Knightly filmed before "Bend It Like Beckham", but since that film, she's become a huge part of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, as well as starring in "Love Actually", "Domino", and "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World".

Jonathan Rhys Meyers has also done quite well for himself, portraying Elvis Presley in a television miniseries and appearing in "Mission Impossible III" and "The Mortal Instruments:  City of Bones".  So, you see...this film was a huge stepping stone for a bit of a mini British invasion of sorts in Hollywood. 

Now onto the main plot of the film, which I briefly talked about in some earlier paragraphs.



At age eighteen, Jesminder Bhamra (Nagra) is looking forward to life as a young woman.  Jess is obsessed with soccer, having developed a love of the sport from an early age.  All she wants to do is have the opportunity to play the game on her own terms whenever she likes.  However, there is a bit of a problem that Jess has to overcome first.

Actually, there's two problems.  Her very strict, very conservative Punjabi Sikh parents.  They have their own belief system on how they should raise their children.  And unfortunately for Jess, one of their beliefs is that women should not be allowed to play professional sports.  Especially soccer.

Who knew that soccer would be treated with such taboo that Jess is essentially forbidden to play the game at all just because she happens to have been born female? 

Of course, Jess is eighteen years old when the film begins.  And, at eighteen, people start to make some really huge life choices. 

Jess' choice at eighteen was to rebel against her parents and her upbringing, and go ahead and play soccer in secret.  Hey, at least she's engaging in a positive activity and not choosing to go down the same path as "wasted child star holding up a Kwik-E-Mart".  I say rebel away!

As it turns out, Jess has been kind of rebelling against her parents for a while now, playing soccer with a group of guys in the park that she met through a friend of the group who happens to be a closeted homosexual.

(NOTE:  This is a recurring theme in the film - people who are afraid of being true to themselves for fear of getting bullied, or disappointing loved ones.)



Anyway, while she's playing soccer in the park, she happens to catch the eye of a woman named Juliette "Jules" Paxton (Knightley).  And Jules just happens to be one of the members of an all-girl soccer team, "The Hounslow Harriers".  Jules convinces her coach Joe (Rhys Meyers) to give her an audition to see if she has the skills to join the team.  Sure enough, all those practice sessions in the park paid off and Jess immediately makes the team, becoming best friends with Jules in the process.

Of course, if the movie ended like this, it would be about as exciting as watching paint dry.  There has to be some minor conflict in the film or else it wouldn't be worth watching.  And without spoiling too much about the film, I'll reveal that you can expect to see a whole lot of misunderstandings, Jess' parents to eventually find out what their daughter has been doing behind their backs, and what being a part of an all-girl soccer team is really like.  Trust me, I wasn't a huge soccer fan before I watched "Bend It Like Beckham", but I enjoyed this movie a lot.  I think if you give it a shot, you'll like it too.

Well, how about some behind the scenes trivia, eh?

1 - This film was supposed to have some scenes in it where Jess and Jules reportedly share some scenes in which they explore their feelings for each other, but that angle was dropped because of the controversy surrounding it.



2 - David Beckham's wife, Victoria, contributes the song "I Wish" to this film's official soundtrack.

3 - This was the very first Western film to screen in North Korea.

4 - Parminder Nagra played the role of eighteen year old Jess in the film.  Her actual age at the time of filming?  Twenty-six.

5 - There is actually a ten year age difference between Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley even though they are supposed to play characters of the same age.

6 - Parminder Nagra was concerned that a scar that she had on her leg would prevent her from getting the role of Jess.  To her surprise, the scar was written into the screenplay, as well as the story of how she got it.

7 - When the film was released in the United States in 2003, David Beckham was still virtually unknown in America, and marketing executives for 20th Century Fox suggested renaming the film "Move It Like Mia" (after American soccer player Mia Hamm).  The decision to keep the film's title the same was made after director Gurinder Chadha objected to the title change.

8 - Jess wears the #7 jersey in the film - the same as her idol, David Beckham.  Jules wears #9 - the same as Mia Hamm.



9 - Former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm (a.k.a. Sporty Spice) rewrote the lyrics to her song "Independence Day" just so that the song could be used in the film.

10 - Parminder Nagra became the first female to win the FIFA International Football Personality of the Year award in 2002, beating out Ronaldo and Luis Figo.