Okay,
everyone! We're well on our way to
finishing off yet another week, and to finish off the week right, we're going
to be having a discussion worthy of FOODIE FRIDAY.
(Well,
okay. To be fair, every Friday since
the blog was "repainted" has been known as Foodie Friday.)
Anyway,
I thought about what sort of topic to write about. After all, there are so many foods out there that are really
delicious, and food is something that we all have in common. After all, we all need to eat in order to
stay alive, right?
Well,
believe it or not, I was a really picky eater as a child. I didn't really feel adventurous enough to
try a whole bunch of new foods. At that
time, I knew what I liked and what I didn't like, and no matter what people
tried to do, my stubbornness made me reject any foods that I deemed weird, or
strange. Consider it the Taurus in me.
As
I grew older, I began to get more adventurous in trying new foods. Some of the foods that I really had no
desire in eating as a kid, I love now.
Coincidentally, some of the foods that I really had no desire in eating
as a kid I STILL don't enjoy eating today.
I'll
give you a few examples of this in play.
When
I was a child, I was totally afraid to try yogurt. Everybody else in my family loved eating the stuff, but I was
afraid to try it after a couple of classmates of mine in elementary school told
me that eating yogurt was like drinking an entire carton of sour milk. And believe me, I've tasted sour milk before. That's one taste sensation that will NEVER
gain in popularity.
I
mean, looking at other people eating yogurt, I couldn't imagine why people
would eat it. It looked really
good...kind of like pudding, only in pastel colours like pink, purple, and
yellow. But still, I couldn't bring
myself to even try it because of the whole sour milk visual. I mean, these people were eating sour milk
and actually liked it! How was this
possible?
Would you believe that I was 27 years old before I mustered up the courage to
try yogurt?
Occasionally
at the store I work at, they have this pair of ladies come in to do food demos
on weekends. And wouldn't you know it,
one of the products that they were demonstrating was yogurt. I think there were two flavours that they
were demonstrating - strawberry and vanilla.
Since yogurt is mostly made with real fruit, strawberry is a no go (I'm
allergic), but I hesitantly tried the vanilla one expecting a really nasty
taste sensation.
But
to my surprise, I liked it. It really
tasted like vanilla. I couldn't taste
any sour milk at all. It was really
good! I ended up buying an entire tub
of vanilla yogurt that day!
When I look back on the time when my classmates told me that eating yogurt was
like drinking sour milk...I wonder if maybe their only experience eating yogurt
was from a package that had gone bad in the fridge. Who can say?
Now I can say that I eat at least one yogurt every day. And, now that they've come up with the
wonderful invention known as Greek yogurt, I'm more willing to eat yogurt more
than ever before!
I
should also say that vanilla is not the only flavour I like. I also enjoy cherry, blueberry, key lime,
and raspberry-pomegranate.
I
also have to admit that another food that I was nervous to try for the longest
time was the mushroom. I never trusted
anything that grew on the base of a tree.
And someone had told me (I think it was another classmate) that
mushrooms were poisonous and that if I ate one, I would die.
Now,
granted, that was true in some cases.
But something always bothered me about that. If mushrooms were really that bad, why would it be listed as a
topping choice for pizza? Why would it
be a common thing seen on vegetable and dip trays?
And why did Mario always seem to grow big and strong every time he ate a
mushroom? It just didn't make sense to
me that mushrooms were all that bad.
So I bit the bullet. At a holiday
gathering that took place when I was, oh, fifteen or so, I pilfered a mushroom
from a veggie tray and ate it. And
admittedly, I proceeded to eat a dozen more!
To this day, mushrooms are one of the favourite things to add into a
stir-fry, and you can't have a Canadian pizza without the mushrooms.
Now,
TOADSTOOLS, on the other hand. Those
things I wouldn't touch with a twenty foot pole.
Now,
on the flipside, there are some foods that I was not willing to try because I
was worried that I wouldn't like them...and I was right to do exactly
that. When I ate them, I hated them.
One classic example is cauliflower. To
me, cauliflower looked more like an overgrown flower blossom. And, having accidentally tried a dandelion
at the age of four only to find that dandelion petals tasted horrible, I knew I
wanted nothing to do with cauliflower.
I
should also note that when I was a kid, I would often sneak into the fridge
when nobody was looking and peel lettuce leaves off of the head of lettuce that
was often found in the bottom compartment of the fridge. I couldn't help it. Lettuce leaves were crispy and cool and so
irresistible. I know, I was a weird
kid.
Well, I'm sure you figured out how I ended up tasting cauliflower. When you're a kid, and cauliflower is facing
a certain way, it almost kind of resembles a head of lettuce. So, I grabbed a leaf, pulling some bits of
cauliflower off in the process, and immediately spit it out. Yeah, cauliflower remains a food that I
can't stand today.
Coincidentally, my love of lettuce also made me realize that I can't stand
cabbage either. Cabbage to me will
always be known as imitation lettuce with a gross taste to it. And unlike cauliflower, telling the
difference between cabbage and lettuce was near impossible - well, through the
eyes of a five year old it was at least.
Okay. I've shared my stories. Now, let's hear yours. What foods did you end up loving after you
tried them for the first time? Which
ones did you hate?
Hello,
everyone! Welcome to another TUBE
TALK THURSDAY,
and I'll be the first to warn you ahead of time...today's subject is all about
reality television. So if you aren't a
fan, feel free to skip this week and wait until next week's edition. However, if you are a big fan of reality
television, you are in luck because today I'll be talking about a show that
wrapped up its sixteenth season last night.
Yes,
Big Brother 16 just wrapped up another season last night, and I
just want to give my congratulations to Derrick Levasseur for winning the game and
taking home a cool half a million dollars for their efforts!
I
can't explain why I am such a fan of the show, particularly when so many people
I know (mainly my family members) see Big Brother as being more boring than
watching paint dry, but year after year I tune in to watch no less than ten and
no more than sixteen people live in a house for three months in the ultimate
struggle for power!
It's
kind of like Survivor, only with more luxury and less bugs - well, provided the
houseguests actually clean the house and don't get an ant infestation, that is.
I
started watching the show from the very first season that aired on CBS in July
2000, and have seen almost every single episode since. I even watch Big Brother Canada, and am
probably going to submit an application for the third season of Big Brother
Canada just for laughs. In all
likelihood, someone like me probably wouldn't get chosen because I don't
consider myself adventurous. However, I
do think that I could be a force to be reckoned with on endurance and memory
challenges. Physical is another story
though.
Anyway, I'm going off track here. I
want to talk about Big Brother 16, which was touted as being the "most
twisted summer ever". But was it really
that twisted? I honestly don't think
so.
I mean, sure, they brought out the new "Battle of the Block" twist in
which there were two Heads of Household, each of whom nominated two houseguests
for eviction, and the nominees competed to try and overthrow one of the HoH's
to save themselves. It was a great
twist at the beginning of the season when they had over twelve of the sixteen
houseguests playing, but the mistake that they made was that they let it go on too
long.
And
there was also that instance in which they brought in that secret golden button
which allowed houseguests to reset the Big Brother clock one whole week, thus
nullifying any houseguests that were up for eviction the week before. That added a little bit of paranoia to the
mix, and if I remember correctly, it caused a couple of houseguests to freak
out and break down. It was a cruel
twist for some, but it was necessary to keep the people left in the house on
their toes and to "expect the unexpected".
But other than that, I found that the strategy and the twists that normally are
associated with Big Brother were lacking this year. In fact, I've found that to be true for many of the recent
seasons. The Saboteur twist in Season
12 was a complete failure as the person who was the Saboteur was voted out the
first week! Mind you, Ragan did take on
the role a few weeks later and did a better job than Annie did, but still, the
whole thing was a washout.
I
also found the MVP twist of Season 15 to be a complete disaster as well. I appreciate the fact that the show wanted
to throw back to the early seasons in which America had more of a say, but when
they kept voting in Elissa week after week, it got boring real fast. Even though Elissa was one of the few
likeable contestants on Big Brother 15, I still would have liked to have seen
them switch it up a bit. I would have
liked Howard, or Candice, or Jessie to have won the MVP award at least once.
So,
for Big Brother 16, I think the twists were kind of lackluster too. Although, part of the reason why this was
the case was because it seemed like the majority of the houseguests seemed to
forget that they were playing a game and seemed to be like the little lamb in
that nursery rhyme where they followed Mary around. I'll get into that a little bit later, but you'll see why I
brought up that little reference specifically for this post.
This
year, there were sixteen houseguests (tied with seasons 9 and 15 for having the
most houseguests in a season), and one thing I will say is that they really
made better choices in casting than they did last year. Last year, I only seemed to like maybe a
quarter of all the houseguests because the vast majority of them seemed to be
self-absorbed, racist, and sexist scourges of society who basically only lived to
make other people miserable. I still
stand by that statement, and I almost gave up on Big Brother after last year's
cacophony of cruelty.
That
was not true with this season. This
season, I found the majority of the houseguests to be extremely likeable people
(with three notable exceptions), and even though some of them played more of a
sneakier game than others, I still found myself thinking that they were okay
people.
(Of
course, compared to the group they had last year, they could have cast a serial
killer in the house and they still probably might have been more charming.)
Anyway,
I thought that I'd use this next section to talk about the houseguests, what I
thought of their gameplay, what I admired about them, and what I didn't like
about them. And, I'll go in order of
when they were booted from the game.
Okay,
Joey...I know you were the first one booted, but I really did like you a
lot. And I completely understand why
America voted you in as the first member of "Team America" (an
alliance in which America told each member in the alliance what to do in order
for them to earn extra money). I think
your only mistake was trying to form an alliance with too large a group (don't
worry, you weren't the only one), and I think your desire to stick with the
ladies was your downfall. It's not that
you didn't try though. The girls
weren't really strategic this season, and that was your undoing. I loved you as "Alex" though! That was awesome. Best of luck to you!
Paola. Or, Pow
Pow as the rest of the house called you.
At first I wasn't sure what to make of you. As a physical player, well...you had no shot. You lost every single competition you were a
part of. What were you thinking with
that champagne pouring challenge? How
do you not know how to swing on a swing set?
I learned how to do that when I was three! That said though, the longer you were on, the more I began to
like you, and I was sad to see you go out so early. I don't know if you would have made it to the end, but you didn't
deserve to go out second.
Now
we get to Devin. And I had
no idea that Devin had a daughter until he told us. 835 times he told us! And
all 835 times, I think all of us kind of died a little bit on the inside
because he was basically telling us something that we already knew! Now, Devin's main mistake was similar to
Joey's. But instead of starting up one
large alliance, he started up several small alliances which sort of blew up
into one LARGE alliance known as the "Bomb Squad". Initially, the Bomb Squad consisted of
himself, Frankie, Derrick, Cody, and Zach.
And then somehow Caleb ended up in the alliance. And Devin then brought in Amber and
Christine, and from there it became one gigantic clusterf...well, you get the
idea. Honestly, I don't think Devin is
a bad guy...but he's not a great Big Brother player.
Oh,
Brittany. I really do admire the hell
out of you. I honestly am trying to
find out a real reason why they voted you out so quickly, but all I can come up
with is that you were born the wrong gender and you weren't a member of the
Bomb Squad. Of course, right around
this time, the Bomb Squad was morphing into the Detonators, but that's beside
the point. I loved you because you
showed everyone that you were strong and motivated. When you kicked 2400 goals in 24 hours, I thought you should have
gotten $5,000 just for that alone. Or,
at the very least have been cast in a commercial starring David Beckham. You're ace in my books!
Amber, I think your game was basically defined by two
things. The fact that you tried to
evict Julie Chen from Big Brother, and the fact that you seemed to be attached
at the hip to Caleb - whether you wanted it or not. Honestly, I can't say for sure that Caleb completely destroyed
your game. In truth, I think that your
regret in not forming that alliance with Joey was the real reason why you were
voted out fifth. But of all the early
boots, I think you showed great game play and proved to be a great competitor
in challenges. I would welcome you back
for another try.
I'm
going to come right out and say it. Jocasta, you just weren't cut out
for Big Brother. I know you consider yourself a fantastic Big Brother player, and I know that you seemed to be respected by everyone else in the house due to your Mama J type personality, which I can appreciate. But let's face it. You are
completely delusional about your own abilities in the game. You're at best a weak player. You aren't ranked a hundred in the
game. You aren't even a ninety. I'd say a twenty-six is generous. And, yeah...bitterness on the jury is ugly. Some of your comments towards the final two were simply uncalled for, and I was left quite disappointed.
Hayden, you were completely screwed in this game. That double eviction in the middle of the
season turned the game around in favour of the Detonators, and unfortunately,
you were the unlucky target. I really
thought that you were one awesome guy and I really found your relationship with
Nicole to be really genuine and sweet.
Best of luck to both of you, and Hayden, I think you need another shot
to play the game. You really did get a
raw deal, and I'm sorry for that.
You
may have outlasted several people, but Zach will forever be known as
America's favourite "Froot Loop Dingus". You clearly had one of the best exits ever with your Froot Loop
confetti, but honestly, as much as you wanted to come across as the villain of
the show, you really did show everyone just what a cool person you truly
are. I think that your alliance with
Frankie was a blessing and a curse. It
got you far in the game, but in the end, you left with a knife in the back and
a shredded pink hat. Sorry, man.
Okay,
Donny. Donny, you may very well be
the nicest, sweetest, most genuine player to ever play the game. Your kind heart and integrity will forever
be remembered in the season, and I want you to know that I didn't fear the
beard. I quite liked it. Unfortunately, I think your downfall was
that you were TOO nice, and TOO genuine, and it caused the other houseguests to
fear you enough to get you out.
Honestly, the only reason the others wanted you gone was because they
would NOT win if they sat next to you in the Final 2. And I fear that because you played so hard with your heart that
it got a little damaged and it showed in your jury performance. Oh, well...you've got a part on "The
Bold and the Beautiful", and you did win America's Player. Take that $25,000 and enjoy it.
Nicole, I also think that like Donny, you're forever going
to be known as the most persistent female Big Brother player this year. You wanted it so bad that you attempted to
kick butt twice. Alas, the Detonators
held all the cards, and ironically a bomb themed Veto competition sealed your
fate. But remember...you were
universally loved by many people, and Hayden will likely get your number after
the show. You got this, Nicole.
Christine, Christine, Christine. Oh, how I wanted to like you, but you so disappointed me. Do I think that you should have gotten booed
when you were voted off? Actually,
no. I don't believe you did. But you're not my favourite player. In fact, you're one of the three that I
disliked the most this season. But it's
not because of your closeness to Cody that many thought was taboo that changed my mind about you. It's
because you came across as the mean girl from junior high who tried to be
everyone's friend one moment and stabbed them in the back the next. The way you treated Donny and Nicole while
in the house was deplorable. I only
hope that you take something from this experience and that you've learned from
your mistakes, because honestly you're in for a rough go of it now that the
game is over.
Frankie. You're another houseguest in Big Brother 16 that I could not stomach. And that frustrates me because I went into
the season actually LIKING you! I
didn't care that you were the older brother of pop singer/actress Ariana
Grande. I appreciated the fact that you wanted to keep it a secret to better your game, and I thought that up until the point you revealed all, you were a good contender to win the whole game. And had you kept that secret hidden, I think
I probably still would have been cheering for you. But you proved to also be a little too sneaky and manipulative,
and I do think that when the secret was revealed, your cockiness and
over-inflated ego oozed out of you the same way that pus oozes out of a zit
when it is popped. You know I don't
really hate you, but I don't love you, ooo-ooo-ooo. Frankly, Frankie...the house had one less problem without you.
On
the flipside, I went into the season absolutely not liking Caleb at all. He was obnoxious, he stalked Amber, and
honestly, I don't even know if he could string a sentence together without
saying the words "Beast Mode Cowboy", "Judy Chop", or
"at the end of the day".
Well, Caleb, at the end of the day, you came up a little short. That said, once Amber was voted out, you
then began to play and play hard, and won a few challenges along the way. I even think you became a little more
likeable as the end approached. Still
not enough to get you the win, but you did play hard and I think you earned the
nickname you gave yourself.
Victoria. I have
nothing much to say about you because you really didn't do much of anything
except lose most competitions and sit on the block a record breaking ten
times. But, I suppose I can say that
you looked good every step of the way.
Cody, you played a rather interesting game. You stayed in the background the first part
of the game and then became a huge force to be reckoned with in the game. In the end, I do believe that your decision
to take Derrick to the final two over Victoria was your undoing, and I do think
that you may have made a $450,000 mistake...but you know what? You're honest, and I can dig that. I'm not sure what that whole Christine thing
was all about, but...that's something for both of you to figure out now that
the game is over.
Finally,
Derrick. This was your game to WIN,
and win you did in one of the most spectacular games ever played. You definitely deserve to hold yourself in
high regard as Dr. Will, Ian, Dan, and heck, I could probably even add Rachel
to that mix as well. You did what no
other houseguest has done and AVOIDED being nominated the whole time. You had most people doing what you wanted,
and you never lost control. Even in
that final HoH challenge, you knew Cody and Victoria had your back
regardless. You definitely earned your
way to the final prize. Enjoy it, man.
And so wraps another season. For those of you who watched the finale,
what are your thoughts?
I
really enjoy writing these WHO AM I WEDNESDAY entries because it allows
me to share some personal stories, moments of triumph, struggles with living,
and a cornucopia of knowledge that I've taken from my years on this planet.
But
what can I talk about today? Hmmm.
Oh,
I know. I think I have just the topic
for discussion.
September 24, 2014
How many of you are absolutely fascinated with
live television?
Let's face it. Live television can be the most exciting and yet the most
frightening experience in the world.
Mind you, I haven't really had much experience in live television (or
any television for that matter), but I can see both the pros and cons.
On one hand, it must be such a thrill to be able to watch an event unfolding on
live television and being there to broadcast and report it as it happens.
One of my earliest memories dates back to the year 1989 in which the big news
of the era was the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. Although I was only eight years old at that time, and wasn't old enough
to understand exactly what was going on, I just had this feeling that what I
was watching was a really important historical event.
Of course there were other live events that I
remember watching as well. Like when
Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon on a tightrope
and lived to tell the tale.
Or the unfortunate white Bronco chase some
twenty years ago when O.J. Simpson was apprehended and arrested for the murders
of his wife and her friend.
Or even watching the ball drop in the middle
of Times Square every New Years Eve.
All of those events certainly make live
television worth watching.
Of course, that's where you also have a double
edged sword when it comes to live television.
If all goes according to plan, live television can be the most
spectacular thing to experience. But if
even the slightest thing goes wrong, it can spell disaster. I mean, the ball over Times Square could get
stuck between 0:37 and 0:38.
Or even if you were doing the weather and the
map refuses to come up, or you get tongue-tied and screw up your monologue, or
if you're performing in a talent show and you accidentally fall off the
stage. Certainly those are all
instances in which you might curse the day that live television even existed.
Because the beauty of live television can also be the most frightening thing
about live television. You never know
what you can expect to see.
I'm sure you know where I'm going with this
here. I'm sure you've heard all about
that incident in Alaska where a person basically quit their job on live
television. And let me tell you. When you watch the below clip, you'll
definitely see that she went out with a bang.
(WARNING: Language in video is NSFW -
well, at least one word is anyway.)
All right, so the woman in this video is...well...former reporter Charlo
Greene. And the backstory behind this
video is very simple. I'm not sure
exactly how long Greene was employed at this station prior to September 21,
2014 (the date that this aired on live television), but the reason behind her
quitting her job was related to other activities that she was supporting -
activities that included her very public support of the legalization of
marijuana.
Now, I suppose she was thinking that her
choice of sides in the marijuana debate would make her lose her job regardless
(and if that was the case, I certainly don't agree with that), but whether that
was the case or not, we really don't know.
What we do know is that she dropped an F-bomb
on live television, announced that she quit, and left the poor anchorwoman who
looked almost like a deer in the headlights to stammer on and make one of the
most awkward segways ever.
Interestingly enough, the day after Greene's
outburst, the network issued a statement saying that they apologize for the
content of the news broadcast and that Greene had since been terminated from
her job. But here's the thing...if you
quit your job, you can't really be fired, can you? Either way, she probably won't find herself employed at that news
station any time soon.
For that matter, I doubt that she'll be
employed at ANY news station any time soon.
I get it, really I do. I understand that she made a choice in her
life - one that she truly believed in.
On one hand, I respect her for going all out and doing what she felt was
right.
At the same time, I can't help but wonder what the hell she was even
thinking. I mean, yes, her beliefs
could have conflicted with what the station executives believed in, but so
what? I'm sure that I have beliefs that
my bosses don't agree with. As long as
they didn't harass me or threaten to fire me for having them, I don't see a
problem with that. None of us really
know what was going on at that news station.
We don't know what Charlo Greene was going through, nor do we know why
she opted to make as public of a resignation as she possibly could. In the end, what's done is done.
At the same time though, I wonder if it was really worth it to go as far as she
did. I mean, yes, she made a choice
that might not have been the popular one.
But I don't know if I agree with her burning her bridges with the
television station the way she did.
It's like she doused the bridge with alcohol and gasoline and threw a
lit blowtorch on the whole shebang.
I don't think it's ever a good idea to leave a
workplace on a sour note the way that Greene did, unless the reason why you
left is a damned good one. If you
weren't being paid, fine. If you were
subjected to harassment at your workplace, also fine. But I didn't see any sort of indication as to whether Greene was
happy or unhappy at her job. Obviously
she didn't like her job enough to stay there, but she could have easily gotten
another job in television had she not went out the way she did.
Maybe there's a good reason why she did what she did. Maybe there's more to the story. But ironically enough, for someone who
certainly had the world talking, she's not really saying much about why she
would make the choice she did aside from her belief in continuing the fight
towards the legalization of marijuana.
I mean, I suppose if it were me in the situation, I'd have thought about it a
lot more, and really weighed the pros and cons over just how much I was
risking.
But hey, the world wouldn't be as fun if we all thought the same, right?
Hello,
everyone! Welcome to another edition of
the Tuesday Timeline. It's
September 23, and I'll be honest with you...this Tuesday Timeline entry is
going to be a little bit different because rather than focus on one pop culture
event, today will be a day that celebrates many different subjects!
In fact, I suppose you could consider it to be a whole week's worth of "A
POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE" in one whole day!
That's
your only clue behind today's special look back.
But
in the meantime, are you ready to see what happened on September 23 throughout
history? Have a look!
1642 - The first commencement exercises are held at
Harvard College
1806 - Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis following
their exploration of the Pacific Northwest United States
1845 - The Knickerbockers Baseball Club is founded in
New York City
1869 - "Typhoid Mary" (d. 1938) is born in
Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland
1889 - Fusajiro Yamauchi founds the Nintendo Koppai
playing card company which would later switch to video game manufacturing
1905 - The Karlstad Treaty is signed between Sweden and
Norway, dissolving the Union between the two countries
1909 - "The Phantom of the Opera" is first
published as a serialization in the French publication "Le Gaulois"
1913 - France's Roland Garros becomes the first person
to fly an airplane across the Mediterranean
1920 - Actor Mickey Rooney (d. 2014) is born in
Brooklyn, New York
1930 - Singer Ray Charles (d. 2004) is born in Albany,
Georgia
1962 - The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opens
in New York City
1969 - The Chicago Eight trial commences in Chicago
1974 - Actor/comedian Cliff Arquette dies at the age of
68
1983 - All 117 passengers are killed following the
bombing of Gulf Air Flight 771
1986 - Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros strikes out
the first eight batters of the game against the opposing team, setting a record
- the record was equaled by Jacob DeGrom of the New York Mets in September 2014
1988 - Jose Canseco becomes the first member of the
40-40 club
1992 - Forensic laboratories in Belfast, Ireland are
destroyed by a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
1998 - "Newhart" actress Mary Frann passes
away at the age of 55
1999 - The United States begins observing
"Celebrate Bisexuality Day"
2002 - The first version of Mozilla Firefox is released
2004 - Hurricane Jeanne strikes Haiti causing widespread
flooding that kills over one thousand people
And
celebrating a birthday on September 23 are the following people; Julio
Iglesias, Ron
Bushy, Paul
Petersen, Christian
Bordeleau, Mary
Kay Place, Bruce
Springsteen, Rosalind
Chao, Jason
Alexander, Chi
McBride, Elizabeth
Pena, Anne-Marie
Cadieux, LisaRaye
McCoy-Misick, Yvette
Fielding, Ani
DiFranco, Jermaine
Dupri, Karl
Pilkington, Matt
Hardy, Jaime
Bergman Boreanaz,
Layzie Bone, Rob James-Collier, Wlademir
Sidorenko, Keri
Lynn Pratt, Anthony
Mackie, Misti
Traya, Anneliese
van der Pol, Skylar
Astin, and Trinidad
James.
And
now for today's date.
September 23, 1989.
Now,
there's nothing really that spectacular about this date as far as Hollywood
news goes. However, this date was a big
one in my family. That was the day that
my eldest sister got married to her husband.
As of today, they've been married twenty-five years. How's that for a wonderful accomplishment?
To
me, it doesn't even seem like it has been that long since they got
married. I mean, physically speaking, I
know it has been. After all, when they
tied the knot, I was only eight years old and the shortest member of the family. Now I'm 33 years old and the tallest member
of the family - at least for now anyway.
But I do remember some bits and pieces about that day. After all, their wedding was the very first
one that I remember seeing!
I remember the colour scheme that was chosen for the wedding was white and
burgundy. Hence the reason why I chose
burgundy for the emphasis colour this week.
I
remember that it was one of the last events in which the entire family was
there. My grandmother would pass away
just two years later in October 1991.
I remember actually dancing a lot at that wedding - a fact that shocks me as I
need at least a 6-pack of Heineken to get me on a dance floor today. Ah, maybe at the age of eight I cared less
about people judging me. I wish I could
go back to that.
I also remember that I had to wear a rented tux for the event - which I
despised. And I also remember having to
wear a bowtie to go with the tuxedo.
Which I also despised. Though
the expressions on my parents faces upon learning that I accidentally smeared
chocolate mousse all over the sleeve of the tuxedo at the wedding reception was
quite priceless. I honestly thought
that they would have a coronary right there!
Anyway,
I thought that for today, as mentioned, that I would cram a whole week of the
blog in one whole day. And that's what
we're going to do.
We'll be taking a look at what was topping the charts 25 years ago. We'll look at what kind of movies were being
shown at the box office 25 years ago.
We'll see what television shows were debuting 25 years ago. We'll see what video games were coming out
during that period.
It's
basically a 25-year-retrospective to celebrate a silver anniversary. Does that sound like fun?
Okay,
so let's start off with the world of video games. Now, because September 23 was on a Saturday, there weren't any
releases that day (mainly because most video games are released on either
Tuesdays or Fridays). However, there was
a game and a game system released in September 1989.
I don't know how many of you out there owned an Atari Lynx, but it made history
as being the very first hand held electronic game console that displayed 16-bit
images in colour. Keep in mind that at
that time, it was competing against the wildly successful Nintendo Game Boy, so
the company certainly tried its best to stand out. For what it was worth, the handheld console did last on store
shelves until the mid-1990s, and for what it was worth, many of the games were
worth playing. Or, so I hear, I never
owned one.
The
other big news that came out of video gaming was the release of the Nintendo
video game DuckTales, based on the popular Disney cartoon. Released by Capcom in September 1989, it was
an incredibly fun, but challenging game.
Do you have any idea how long it took me to get through the UFO
level? Insane. And then I had to go and play the
Transylvania level TWICE to get the true ending of the game? Well, you have to leave it to Capcom...they
still make challenging games even today.
Okay,
now let's have a look at television series that debuted. And the day before my sister got married, a
TV show was just starting its insane eleven season run.
So back in September 1989, "Baywatch" wasn't exactly known for
being the show with sexy women running across the beach in slow motion. In fact, when the show debuted on NBC, the
show was nearly cancelled after its first year! The move from NBC to syndication ended up saving the show, and it
ran straight through until the year 2001.
Also
debuting on television on September 23, 1989 was a television show called
"Short Ribbs".Hosted by
Billy Barty, it aired in the Los Angeles area as a spoof of "Saturday
Night Live".The only major
difference?The cast were all
considered "dwarfs", as no cast member exceeded four feet in
height.The show was quickly cancelled
two months later, and Barty was later sued by two producers for money
owed.Barty lost both cases.
Now,
for movies - again, September 23 fell on a Saturday, so there weren't any new
releases on that date. But that
weekend, two movies debuted. Have a
look at the trailers below.
And would you like to know what the #1 movie was on that weekend? Well, it was the Al Pacino/Ellen Barkin
thriller "Sea of Love".
Again, I have the trailer below.
Other
movies that were doing very well at the box office that weekend included
"Uncle Buck", "Sex, Lies, and Videotape", "Turner
& Hooch", and "When Harry Met Sally". And, it makes me feel really old knowing
that I remember seeing Uncle Buck on television all the time as a child.
Finally,
let's take a look at the #1 song back on September 23, 1989. And, well...for a wedding song, it does NOT
work at all, as the song is all about nursing a broken heart. But hey, it did make it two weeks on the top
of the charts.
ARTIST:Milli
Vanilli SONG: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You
ALBUM: Girl You Know It's True DATE RELEASED: July 1989
PEAK
POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 2
weeks
Yes,
this was BEFORE the lip synching scandal that effectively silenced Milli
Vanilli for good. But you know, I don't
actually hate this song. I really
didn't mind a lot of Milli Vanilli's stuff.
The guys who actually sang for Rob and Fab back in the day did quite
well. Again, the song itself probably
wouldn't have been played at my sister's wedding as it's a song about dealing
with a break-up (well, that, plus I doubt anyone in my family even liked Milli
Vanilli), but I thought it was an interesting, yet, ironic choice of song to
put in this entry.
Regardless, twenty-five years of marriage is a great accomplishment. And while my sister and brother-in-law are
far from being the sentimental type, I decided to do this blog post for them to
see what life was like 25 years ago.
After all, it was a time in which Madonna's "Like a Prayer"
album dominated the album charts. A
time in which Disney began its renaissance period with "The Little
Mermaid". A time in which
"Roseanne" debuted its second season, "Full House" began
airing its third, and when "Dallas" kicked off season eleven! Their marriage even predates "The
Simpsons" by three months! Knowing
that their marriage has survived the entire run of that series is remarkable in
itself, don't you think?
This
edition of the weekly segment known as FUNNY MONDAY comes to us courtesy of the
world of electronics.
Specifically video games.
Now,
I wouldn't classify myself as being a hardcore gamer now, but back when I was a
kid, video games were my life. From the
first time I inserted a quarter into an arcade video game to the moment that I
bought my own Nintendo after months of saving, I can't imagine a moment in
which I haven't played video games in my early childhood.
Of course, my love of video games didn't come without controversy. My parents thought that I played them too
much. My teachers insisted that video
games were not educational. And some
people actually insisted that video games were destroying society because they
encouraged us to be more violent.
(Keep in mind that when I was playing video games, the most violent game on the
market was probably "Street Fighter" or "Mortal Kombat".)
However,
I take those thoughts of negativity and chuck them out the window. To me, video games were fun. They could be educational (believe it or
not), and they certainly didn't have me holding up a 7-Eleven store for cash
and candy bars.
Of
course...it could be because I had no interest in playing the really violent
games. Okay, I was a fan of "Final
Fantasy", but I consider the puzzles and problem solving that you do in
the game to be more interesting than poking monsters with pointy things.
Like,
for instance, I'm a huge fan of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series, and I
think it's just such a smart series.
You go into a courtroom to try and defend your client who has committed
a terrible crime, and just the dry wit alone makes it so much fun to play.
But
of course, in order to fully appreciate this game, you have to do a lot of
reading. Some people I know don't like
text-heavy games because they feel that reading takes away from the fun of
video games, but I beg to differ. Text
based games can be just as enjoyable as games that have a lot of action.
But
even in the best text based games, you can find spelling and grammatical
errors. Have a look at this screenshot
from "Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies" which was released last year.
Ah,
Bobby Fulbright...even under pressure witnesses can stammer and make absolutely
no sense. But I consider that to be a
minor example.
After perusing various sites such as www.tiptonium.com, www.kotaku.com, 11
Points, ArcadeSushi, Nintendo
3DS Daily, and GameFAQs, I've found sixteen
examples of video game text that whether it be by mistranslation or just plain
error that didn't quite come across the way that the programmers had intended.
So, are you ready to play "Lost In Video Game
Translation"? Let us begin.
1. ALL
YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US - Apparently, this classic lost in translation
moment comes courtesy of the video game "Zero Wing", and for a while,
it was considered to be such a blatant error that people reportedly wore
T-shirts that had this phrase stitched across the front. Of course, more were to come, but this
example kicked it all off.
2.Yes, don't forget to take good rest.And, I give you my sincere.Thanks for reading this post.
3.
"This girl are can't speak proper English. Though, to be fair, this part of the game
does take place in the Midgar slums of "Final Fantasy VII". Maybe learning English isn't a priority
there.
4.
"Lock me baby, lock me slowly.
Take it easy, don't you know..."
5.
Well...I suppose if you were taking a detour around the sun, you
physically could "fry" over a jungle.
6. You
know, I have a soft spot for "Bubble Bobble". I love the moment in which I schooled a
bunch of seventeen year olds in how to really play the game right. But what the hell is this opening trying to
say?
7. How
does one "feel" asleep? You
can feel sleepy, but once you're asleep, you can't really feel anything. And he can't even really say that he's
fallen asleep because once you have fallen asleep, you can't really tell anyone
that you have fallen asleep...unless of course you hear the secrets that they
keep when they're talking in their sleep.
And only The Romantics can do that.
(Now I've got that song stuck in your head,
don't I?)
8.
Ryu! Thank God you're safe! NOW, GO TO GRAMMAR CLASS!
9. I
don't know what's more disturbing. The
fact that they misspelled "Dimension X", or the fact that the Ninja
Turtles used their milkshake to vaporize the Foot in the yard.
(Now I've got that song stuck in your head, don't I?)
10.
Steel wall of niceness? Well,
isn't that a clever oxymoron!
11. I
think this is English...I think.
12.
The sad thing about this ending screenshot that is filled with spelling
errors is that it came from the NES version of "Ghostbusters", which
was a TERRIBLE game. It's almost like
rubbing salt in the wound.
"CONGLATURATION! YOU WASTED
YOUR TIME!"
13. I
don't care how many times I play "Final Fantasy IV", whenever I hear
Tellah scream "YOU SPOONY BARD!", I giggle like a six year old.
14.
I'm only assuming that when they mean "MESSIAH", they must
mean "HERO". Because let's
face it...messiah is one of those ugly words that can have different meanings.
15. How depressing must it be to
go through life thinking that you're so much of a failure that your parents
named you "ERROR"?
16. A WINNER IS YOU! Doesn't that just make you feel all warm and
fuzzy inside?