Search This Blog

Monday, May 04, 2015

Four Firsts For Four Years Old

Hello, everyone!

Today we're going to reach back in time thirty years to the time in which I had celebrated my fourth birthday, and I have to say, I'm really glad that I reached this point of the anniversary celebration.  I'd say that some of my earliest memories came from the time that I was four years old, and from here on, my stories will now become my own.  Trust me, my memory is that good.



And as we talk about YEAR FOUR in the anniversary feature that will take us to early June, I'll be using this piece to talk about several firsts in my life. 

You know how the old saying goes that life begins at 40?  Well, I guess I could say that life for me began at four, because I had so many things happen to me at the age of four!  That's why I can't just settle on one major topic.  I have so much to share with you about being four.  Four was a great year!

Sigh...if only I were still four instead of turning 34 in a couple of weeks.  Then again, if I were still four, I'd be writing this in crayon and it would be barely legible.

Anyway, like the other entries before this one, I'll share with you a snapshot of life at four.



Yep.  Just a picture of me with a weird mouth expression with balloons hanging from the ceiling.  I don't know if I was at a party or whether we just had balloons decorating our ceiling randomly, but one thing I do notice is that I'm wearing the same shirt that I wore a year ago.  I guess that must have been my favourite shirt back in the day.  I can see why.  It's a nice shirt.

And for pop culture references?  Well, let's see what was big during the week of my fourth birthday, shall we?



#1 SONG THE WEEK OF 5/18/1985
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" - SIMPLE MINDS

Ah, yes...the epic theme song for the movie "The Breakfast Club".  A great movie deserves a great song.  Truth be told, I love most all of Simple Minds' music catalog.  Great band!  So, I wonder if this means that "The Breakfast Club" was the top movie at the box office that week as well...



#1 AT THE BOX OFFICE THE WEEK OF 5/18/1985
"Code of Silence"

Nope.  Just some movie starring Chuck Norris.  And no, I have not seen this one.  Something tells me that May wasn't a great month for blockbusters.



#1 SHOW FOR THE 1985-1986 TV SEASON
"The Cosby Show"

Get used to this being a recurring theme for a while.  You'll see why as we progress.

And, now...the real bread and butter of the blog entry for today.  The many firsts that I celebrated during my fourth year of life.  And believe me, there were a lot of them.  Have a look at my list.  See if you can relate with any of the stuff on this list.  Did you do them at four or before?  Or maybe after? 



At four years old, I got my first library card.

One thing I can say about my early childhood was that I always loved books and reading.  I learned how to read before I could talk, and according to members of my family, I was reading the newspaper by the time I reached my fourth birthday.



I suppose this picture definitely proves this.  If you look closely, you will see that the magazine I'm reading is "Family Circle", a domestic living magazine.  Not sure why I was reading it at the age of four, but back in those days, if it had words and pictures, I was reading it.

I'm sure my mom noticed this right away, which was the catalyst in going to the library and getting my very first library card.  And every Thursday (keep in mind that this was just before I was enrolled at school) we would walk to the public library (which was at that time just down the street from my house), and I would check out at least ten library books each visit.  At that time, ten books was the limit that I could check out per week - otherwise, we'd need a truck to carry all the books.

And what books did I check out?  Well, it depended on my mood.  Sometimes I would check out books that were by Dr. Seuss.  Other times, I looked for any book that had astronauts and planets.  One time, I checked out every single book the library had on clocks.  A rather weird subject, but I learned a lot about clocks and how they worked, so it was worth it! 

I still look fondly on that time spent at the library...and I think that was the time that made me realize just how much I loved reading.



At four years old, I saw my very first space shuttle launch on television...

Sadly, that space shuttle launch was the Challenger, which as most of us know exploded seconds after launching on January 28, 1986, killing everyone aboard.  I remember watching that explosion on television and I guess it affected me a lot, given that I wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks after the fact.  Keep in mind that this was at a time before I really understood what death was, so I didn't really understand the seriousness of the tragedy until much later in life.

Fortunately, the next space shuttle launch in September 1988 went more smoothly, and I remember watching that one as well - albeit from a hospital bed.  But that's a story to tell when we reach year seven in the countdown.



At four years old, I used my very first computer.

And no, I'm not talking about the TOMY Tutor Play Computer toy.  But I did own one, and I absolutely loved it!

No, years ago - well, 30 years ago - I went to some sort of open house or workshop, or whatever it was called back then.  I was a very young four years old, but all kids between the ages of four and twelve were welcome to check out how a computer worked, and what we could do on them.  And I have to say that I really was glued to the screen.

I honestly don't know what kind of computer it was that I used.  Given that this took place in 1985, it probably had Windows 1.0 or whatever the operation system was at the time.  There was no Internet readily accessible yet, and computer screens could only display two colours at a time.  Yet I managed to make a banner with my name on it, and I played a couple of simple computer games including Tic-Tac-Toe and some art game where you could draw shapes on the screen.  It was extremely simple, but so much fun.  And after the workshop ended, I wanted my parents to buy me a computer - which given that they were a couple grand at the time was not going to happen.

In fact, I didn't get my first computer of my own until 1997.  Oh well, the twelve year wait was worth it.

At four years old, I made my first friends.

Unfortunately, I have lost contact with them and haven't seen them in years, but my very first friends were a brother and sister who at the time lived two doors down from us.  The boy was a few years older than I was, but the girl was the same age as me.  At the time, we were the only three kids in the neighbourhood, and we got along very well.  We had water balloon wars in our backyards, we blew bubbles down the street, and we just had a grand old time.  And I think we might have even got the chance to see a couple of plays at the nearby town arts centre as it was situated right across the street from our houses. 

Something happened that separated us (spoiler alert - you'll read more about that in an entry a couple of days from now) - but when I was in fourth grade, the girl and I ended up in the same class and we resumed our friendship.  It was nice.

I don't think I've seen either of them since high school, but Brandon and Brandi...thanks for the friendship!  Hope you're doing well.

So, yeah.  Four years old.  Four firsts.  How's that for nice?

Okay, so we're going to take a break for the Tuesday Timeline entry, but on Wednesday, we'll take a look at year number five - which saw a very traumatic event take place that completely uprooted everything I knew about life.  And why sometimes "progress" is a fancy word people use to destroy things that really didn't need to be destroyed.

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Year Three: Might As Well Jump - OUT THE WINDOW!!!

It has been a really long time since I have done a Sunday Jukebox style entry, and as it so happens, today's featured tale from my years gone by surrounds a particular song.

A song that terrified me beyond words.



This is the story of Year Three.  And, let's just say that the third year of my life was a rather eventful one.  It was really difficult to select just one memory from that time period.  It's also probably the time in which I remember some of my earliest memories.  Everything prior to 1984 is a little bit fuzzy.

My third year of life involved a couple of near-death experiences, believe it or not.  I fell down the basement stairs at my grandparents and got all bruised and bloodied up.  I also nearly drowned in a swimming pool because I thought that for some reason I could walk on top of a swimming pool cover.  And I also tumbled off the top of a slide and split my head open on the bottom.

I suppose you could say that 1984 was not a very good year for me.  I think my parents got the majority of their gray hairs that year alone worrying about me!  What can I say?  I was a klutz.

But that's not to say that everything about my third year of life was that bad.  I did get obsessed with the board game "Bed Bugs", I discovered my love for "Inspector Gadget", and I learned how to talk that year.  Mind you, I was one of those rare kids that learned how to read before I learned how to talk, but once I said my first word, I never quite shut up since!

But before we get into today's personal story from the Pop Culture Archives, let's see what was big in pop culture during the year that Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympics.

First things first, do I have a picture that was taken in 1984?



Oh, yeah.  There I am.  Not sure why I have such a sober look on my face.  Maybe I'm just dazed from all of the falls that I took as a child.  Who can say?  Oh, and apparently there's a gigantic blue crayon just randomly floating above my head.  It was the 1980s.  Some things that decade could not be explained.

Now onto the music, movies, and television.



#1 SONG OF THE WEEK OF 5/18/84
"Hello" - LIONEL RICHIE

The song itself is wonderfully cheesy, and I liked the video...up until the end where we see the incredibly frightening bust of Lionel.  I keep telling myself that the girl who made the bust is blind.  She's BLIND!!!



#1 AT THE BOX OFFICE THE WEEK OF 5/18/84
"The Natural"

I've never seen this movie, but judging by the trailer, I think it might look interesting.



#1 SHOW FOR THE 1984/1985 SEASON
"Dynasty"

I suppose that there was something hypnotic about Joan Collins and Linda Evans getting into one catfight after another...

Now, on with today's story.  A story which actually starts a few months before I turned three.  But by the time that I was three years old, a particular song was playing on the radio at every possible opportunity, and every time I heard the song playing, I had a full blown panic attack.



Like, picture this.  Here I am on top of my beloved rocking horse wearing my sunglasses at night like Corey Hart and wearing a sweater that would make Cliff Huxtable proud.  And I was as happy as a clam.

Well, that is until my siblings would turn on PAC-93 and a particular song would come on.  Then I would leap off of my horse quicker than the Lone Ranger would jump off of Silver, run to the stereo as if I were an Olympic sprinter, and shut that thing off so that I couldn't listen to that horrible song ever again.

So, what song sent terror into my heart?

It was this one.



ARTIST:  Van Halen
SONG:  Jump
ALBUM:  1984
DATE RELEASED:  December 21, 1983
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 5 weeks

You want to know what I think caused my fear of the song?  I blame MuchMusic.

Well, not really.  I don't blame the station that used to play music videos.  You see, MuchMusic (which was Canada's version of MTV) debuted in September 1984, and some of the videos that were most played when the station first came on were the top hits of 1983-1984.  And back in those days, MuchMusic was a rarity.  Until my family got access to cable television in 1988, we could only get MuchMusic on special preview weeks.

As it so happened, one of those preview weeks just happened to be at a time in which they played Van Halen's "Jump" constantly.

And watching the video, I think I know why I was so scared of the song.

The video is admittedly laughably cheesy today.  But at age three, seeing David Lee Roth and the other members of Van Halen in close up shots with them swinging their instruments around and making scary faces...that was enough to sour me on the song forever.

I think that's what caused so much terror in me.  I thought that they were going to jump through the television screen and either beat me to death with an electric guitar or strangle me with a leopard print scarf.

Hell, there was a time in which I thought David Lee Roth was going to eat me.

And to make matters worse?  The song was tied with Prince's "When Doves Cry" as one of the longest charting #1 singles that year.  That meant that the radio played the song a LOT.

My fear of Van Halen kind of became a recurring joke among my family.  They poked fun at my misery - which I suppose I couldn't blame them.  Who in the world could be afraid of a song?  I think my fear of "Jump" got so bad that when it started randomly playing at Woolco one day, my mom actually had to take me out of the store and leave me with Dad so she could finish shopping there, I got THAT freaked out.

(You know...given that I work for the store that bought Woolco out, I wonder if any of the people working there in '84 remember my freakout?  Nah.)

Of course, over time, the fear faded, and at some point, I could sit through "Jump" without feeling the urge to change the station or throw a brick through the television screen.  By 2005, I was perfectly cured.

Well, okay.  It was a lot earlier than 2005.  But, to be honest, "Jump" will never be one of my favourite songs.  Might be an unpopular opinion, but I kind of liked Van Halen during the Sammy Hagar years.

Hmmm...maybe it was just David Lee Roth that I was afraid of.

So, that closes the chapter on the third volume of the blog.  Oh, but do stay tuned for volume four.  It's a significant chapter in my life that was filled with many firsts. 

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Year Two - Don't Call Me Buckshot!!!

Hello, everybody!  And welcome to the continuation of the anniversary special!

Wow...four years I've nearly been doing this blog now.  Where does the time go? 

So, the official anniversary date isn't until May 24th, but I decided to celebrate the whole month of May (and part of June) by sharing one personal story about me from every single year of my life.

And in today's edition, we take a look at the period that lasted from May 1983 to May 1984...otherwise known as "The Terrible Twos".



Actually, I don't know really if I really was that terrible at the age of two.  I don't really remember much about that time period at all aside from random memories involving M&M's, apple slices, and cheese in a can.

(I really hope that I didn't eat all of those things together.)

In all seriousness, there is one major memory that I have of that particular time period, and it sort of explains why I have had a lot of camera shy moments such as this one below.



Yeah, my late grandparents are in this photo, but I never looked at the camera.  I was probably watching our incredibly tiny and incredibly blurry television set while bouncing on my rocking horse.  I loved that horsey.

And the reason why I never looked at the camera?  Well, we'll get to that.

In the meantime, let's see what was big in pop culture during my second year of life.



#1 SONG OF THE WEEK of 5/18/83
"Beat It" - MICHAEL JACKSON

I gotta say...this is pretty awesome!  The whole Thriller album was the most popular album of 1983 and I heard this album a lot when I was really young.  My favourite song from "Thriller" is "Billie Jean", but that song topped the charts before this one.  Still a kick butt song though, no matter how you look at it.



#1 MOVIE AT THE BOX OFFICE THE WEEK OF 5/18/83
"Blue Thunder"

I don't think I remember seeing this one.  Good thing there's a trailer for the movie!



#1 TV SHOW FOR THE 1983-1984 SEASON
"Dallas"

After being overthrown by 60 Minutes for a year, Dallas makes its way back to being the #1 show watched.  It would end up being the last time that the show reached #1, but if I recall, this was a couple of years before the infamous "dream season", so it makes sense.

Okay, so now I get to tell you the story behind why I have a bit of a tendency to hide whenever cameras are present.

I blame the Sears Portrait Studio for my fear of cameras.  I also blame my parents for forcing me to sit down in front of a person that I didn't know to take a picture.  And I really blame the person who chose the...shall I say...unfortunate outfit that I was forced to wear for the photo.



Yep.  That's me.  And, to this day, I honestly can't remember what it was about the day I went to the Sears Portrait Studio that caused me to lose my cool.  I still say that it was the ridiculous outfit that I was forced to wear.  I mean, it was bad enough that I looked like a train conductor from the 1940s (which probably warmed my father's heart as he used to work for a major railroad).  But why in the world would they feel the need to put the words BUCKSHOT on the front of the overalls?  I mean, really?  BUCKSHOT?  In big bright red italicized lettering?  What were they thinking?!?  I think that day was the last day that I ever wore overalls again. 

Don't even get me started on the really lame background image behind my crying face.  It looks like my parents went with some sort of autumn leaves theme.  I'm really hoping that this picture was taken in October, or else this theme would make no sense whatsoever.  And, can you say ugly?  Heck, even those ugly laser beams that some schools used as photo backdrops on class picture day would have been better than trees that were about to hibernate for the winter.

And let's get real here.  NOBODY liked those laser beam backgrounds.

And while you can't see it in the photo up above, the outfit that I was wearing came with a matching hat.  That photo does exist, but I've decided to keep that one hidden.  The overalls are bad enough.

Whatever the reason, I hear that I pitched quite a fit when it came down to sitting down for a photo.  The camera wasn't exactly like the one that my family used.  It wasn't like one of those tiny cameras that had the small flash, or one of those Polaroid cameras that allowed you to get your photo instantly.  It was a super huge gigantic camera that as far as the two year old in me could see was a gigantic gun that was capable of vaporizing me.

I have to wonder how much patience the poor photographer had with me.  When you consider that the shot above was one of only two poses that were usable, that must have been frustrating.  Had I been a contestant on America's Next Top Model, I'm sure Tyra Banks would have ousted me for my "performance".

But, I suppose that every parent dreams of having a professional photograph done of all their children.  My sisters both had them done, and theirs turned out beautifully. 

Not mine though.  Mine turned out terribly.  But again, I don't know what set me off that day, so I don't know whether it was my fault or someone else's.

Needless to say, it was a while before I could sit in front of a camera again. 


And in tomorrow's blog post, I talk about why a particular heavy metal song had me running towards the door!  Yeah, I was a weird kid that got scared a lot.  Maybe I was the inspiration for Chuckie Finster in "Rugrats"?

Friday, May 01, 2015

A Pox On You! - The First Year Blues

So, I hope that you enjoyed the first installment of the special anniversary month feature, which I have decided will feature thirty-four different stories, with each one representing a year of my life so far.  If anything, it will provide posterity if my memory ever does decide to fail.  This way, I'll always know what happened to me.

(Whether the memory is pleasant or not.)

So yesterday I talked about the first twelve months of my life, and how I actually started my first year about eighteen days later than I should have.  I still don't know how my poor mother managed to carry me for nearly ten months! 

Note to self:  Get Mom something extra special for Mother's Day this year.

So, now we're going to take a look at a memory that I had while I was a year old.  Or, we're going to take a look at something that happened to me during my first year of life that I really don't remember, but I know happened because there is photographic evidence of it happening or because my parents have insisted that it really happened.

And trust me.  Parents never lie about these things.



So, let's have a look at what happened between 1982-1983 - otherwise known as Year One.

Of course, I have a snapshot ready to go for you.



And you want to know how I know it was from when I was a year old?  The T-shirt I'm wearing has the year written on it!  By the way, enjoy these snapshots while you can.  There will be some years in which they become less and less frequent.  I will explain why as we go on.



#1 SONG THE WEEK OF 5/18/82
Ebony & Ivory - PAUL MCCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER

Aw.  A song about the keys of a piano, but also about racial harmony.  And Paul McCartney AND Stevie Wonder singing it?  This is pure awesomeness right here.  I'm loving 1982 so far, and I barely even remember it!



#1 MOVIE THE WEEK OF 5/18/82
Conan The Barbarian

Well, at least one thing I can say about this film opposed to the one that was top of the box office the year before...I have actually seen this one.  Not a bad film either.



#1 TELEVISION SHOW FOR THE 1982-1983 SEASON
60 Minutes

60 Minutes?!?  How utterly boring.

And the memory that I have of my first year?  Well, it was the year in which one of my sisters gave me my very first present ever.  I mean, this gift was truly a gift that kept on giving.  It was really a present that a person usually only gets once in their lifetime.  It's really that special.

It was a gift that was pink...no, peach coloured with red polka dots all over it.  I suppose if one really wanted to, you could use a Sharpie and play connect the dots with the red polka dots - well, hypothetically speaking anyway.  I don't even know if Sharpies existed in 1982.  Can anyone confirm this?

The only con with this gift was that it was itchy.  Very itchy.  And it wasn't like a mosquito bite itchy where you could scratch it and you'd feel better.  No way.  If you scratched, it hurt.  Badly.  With potential risk of permanent scarring!

Wait a minute.  That gift my sister gave me wasn't fun at all.  In fact, I do believe that she may have given me...



THE CHICKEN POX!!!

Sadly, this is true.  When I was a year old, my sister really did give me the chicken pox.  It was the very first thing she gave me.  Thanks, sis!

(That was sarcasm, by the way.)

That being said...I suppose that there were some positives to be had when it comes to getting chicken pox so early in life.  For one, I barely remember even having them so I really don't know just how terrible they are.

Well, that, plus there's the fact that the older you are when you get the chicken pox, the more dangerous they become.  I don't know of anybody who has died from having chicken pox, but that's not to say that it can't happen.  I imagine it probably has in some cases.

Believe it or not, I've heard of parents planning "chicken pox parties", where if they discover that a child in the neighbourhood has contracted chicken pox, they gather all the neighbourhood children to that child's house for a playdate in hopes that their children will get the pox.  I know what you're saying.  At first glance, it seems like incredibly cruel and inhuman punishment, but given the fact that chicken pox can be dangerous when contracted as an adult, it's probably better that people get it during their formative years. 

Of course, there is one concern that I have now that I have had chicken pox.  There's a potential chance that at some point in my life, I'll develop something called shingles, which is an adult's worst nightmare.  I'm sure you've seen the commercials about the shingles vaccine.  And I know family members who have had shingles.  It's not a pleasant experience, and let's just say that the commercials are a fairly accurate representation of what shingles can do.

Certainly makes me think about it.


Anyway, that's the main event that happened during year number one.  In tomorrow's post...you'll learn how a Sears Portrait Studio made me camera shy.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Today Should Have Been My Birthday

Okay, so I decided to start the four year anniversary celebrations one day early.  And I did so for a very specific reason.

Before I get into that though, I just thought I would get into detail over what you all can expect over the next month...no, wait.  Scratch that.  I'll show you what you can expect until the first part of June, because that's how long this anniversary celebration is going to last.

So, you had your say, and you decided that you wanted to hear a month of personal stories.  And, well, I am actually happy that most of you picked that option, as that was the route that I really wanted to go anyway. 

But the more I thought about it...the more I thought...well, what if I tell you thirty-four personal stories - one for every year that I've been alive?  I would start from birth and tell you one personal story from each year of my life.  I'd of course, pepper each entry with a little bit of pop culture. 

You see, each entry will start with the top movie at the box office the week I was born, the top rated television show that year, and the #1 song the week I was born.  I don't really have to do this, but I find it fun to see what was popular around each of my birthdays.

Now, I'll be doing this six of the seven days of the week.  The Tuesday Timeline entries will probably go ahead as normal, but I will say that each Tuesday Timeline spotlight during the month of May will take place between 1981 and 2014.  After all, that's the only time period that I've been around for.  Hence the need for the anniversary celebration to expand into June.

But take it from me.  You'll probably learn a lot more about me than you wanted to know.



So, let's start at the very beginning, shall we?  A personal story from year...I guess you could say zero.

And, I know what you're thinking.  You're probably thinking, how the hell can you remember any sort of detail from the first year of your life?  Truth is...I can't.  In fact, the first three or four years are going to be stories told to me by my family members.  And, well...I guess I sort of have to trust them, right? 

So, here goes.  We'll start with the prerequisite baby picture.



Can't believe I was ever that tiny!

YEAR ZERO STATS - 5/18/81 - 5/17/82



#1 SONG THE WEEK OF 5/18/81
Bette Davis Eyes/KIM CARNES



#1 MOVIE AT THE BOX OFFICE WEEK OF 5/18/81
"Happy Birthday To Me"

(How appropriate!)



#1 SHOW OF THE 1981-1982 SEASON
"Dallas"

And the title of this blog entry might confuse you.  The title being "Today Should Have Been My Birthday" might seem like a bit of a weird title to give this piece, but the thing is...it's absolutely the truth.

You see...my actual date of birth was supposed to have been April 30, 1981.  I was born nearly three weeks later.  Can you say overdue?

Can you say "extremely patient mother"? 

Here's the story behind that.  I won't bore you with the details of how I came into this world because by now, I'm sure most of you probably know how it happened.  And if you don't...lord help you.  All you need to know is that my conception happened sometime during the summer of 1980.

And given that my mom's original due date was supposed to have been April 30, counting back nine months meant that I was supposedly conceived sometime between July 26 and August 2, 1980.

But for some reason, April came and went, and most of May passed by before my mom was brought into the hospital to give birth to me.  And it was my actual birthdate in which the doctor who delivered me exclaimed that I was way overdue!

Not premature.  Not on time.  Overdue.  By eighteen days!

So much for conception at the end of July.  More like the beginning of the month!

Not that it mattered all that much.  I was born on a Monday morning at 7:35am.  Even though I was an overdue baby, my birth weight was just under six pounds.  But hey, I guess you could say that I was kind of an oddity from the very beginning.  After all, I basically stayed in the womb a full eighteen days past what I was supposed to.  It's a wonder my poor mother didn't serve me an eviction notice.

Of course these days, women are induced into labour long before that ever happens, so I don't think you'll see too many cases where babies were born nearly three weeks past their due date.  I guess I could call myself a rarity.

But you know, looking back on it, I'm glad I decided to wait before coming out in a way.  My original birthday was supposed to have been April 30.  April 30 is the deadline to file your taxes in Canada.  Do I really want to share my birthday with the day that stresses most Canadians out the most?  Probably not.  I also would have been born on the anniversary of the day that Adolf Hitler killed himself.  Nice.

And, having an April 30 birthday meant going to school each day my birthday fell on a weekday.  Which would have been five of the seven days.  Which completely would have sucked.

Now, a May 18 birthday on the other hand?  Well, May 18 is later in the year and closer to summer, so chances are that it was going to be a warm day.  Unfortunately, it meant more of a chance of rain (I'll talk about that in a future blog entry).  And if May 18 falls on a Monday, it's a statutory holiday in Canada.  And as it so happens, this year, my birthday falls on Victoria Day!  What a great year this is going to be.  Funny, I was born on Victoria Day as well.  I suppose this could be considered a full circle kind of year!

No matter what, I was born thirty-four years ago this upcoming month.  And while I was supposed to be an April baby, I think May suits me better.

So stay tuned for some more personal stories from the memory banks of this pop culture addict.  We've only just begun.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Kids

Well, I have quite a bit on my mind today.  So, first things first, I'll get the most important stuff out of the way.

http://www.worldvision.ca/give-a-gift/Pages/nepal-earthquake-relief.aspx?gclid=CN3n2MnBmsUCFQGNaQodEDEA4w

The site above will take you to a link where you can donate money to the people of Nepal.  Mind you, this is a Canadian site, so I have no idea if donations from outside of Canada can be accepted.  But Nepal and its surrounding nations are enduring some major hardships lately on account of that massive earthquake a few days ago, and the people there could use all the help they can get.  So, take some time and donate some money to them if you can spare it.

(NOTE:  You will need a major credit card to make a donation.)

Secondly, my thoughts go out to the people of Baltimore right now with all of the riots going on.  While I sympathize with the reason why people are protesting, I don't have any tolerance for people who destroy property and cause mischief out of anger for a decision that was made, and if you are one of those that feels the need to do this, please stop.  There are ways to protest wrongdoings without resorting to violent acts.

Baltimore, stay safe.

Anyway, onto the real point of this blog - which really doesn't have anything to do with the above postings at all - but still something that I've written about after doing a lot of thinking about where I am right now.



I want to thank those of you who cast a vote in the poll.  Your votes helped me decide what topics to talk about for the blog's anniversary month.  There's still a little bit of time to vote yet, but it appears as though the personal stories choice won.  So, for at least the next thirty-one days (and actually, my plan is to make it go a little bit longer than that), I'll be posting some personal stories about my life and what I've learned.  And, of course, I'll be throwing in a little bit of a pop culture twist.

Think of the blog entries for May as a nice refreshing glass of iced tea, and think of the lemon wedge in the glass as the pop culture twist. 



Now I want iced tea.  Be right back.

Ah.  That's better.  Now where was I?  Oh, yeah.  Personal stories.  Anyway, as I was saying, I have a really cool idea as to how to present each of my personal stories...and I'll get into more detail about that tomorrow.

For now, I have a personal confession here.  And I'd like you all to hear me out.

You know, in addition to the blog turning four years old in May, my birthday also happens to be in May.  I started this blog six days after my thirtieth birthday, and now that I am a couple of weeks away from turning thirty-four, part of me is amazed that I have kept this blogging project going for so long. 

But realizing that I will be thirty-four has sort of made me think about a lot of things right now.

Going on social media sites, and connecting with people who are my age or a couple of years older or younger, I've noticed that most of them have settled down and have gotten married and had a child or two.  Believe me, I've seen your pictures, and read your status updates!  But that's cool with me.  Truth is, I like hearing all about those kinds of stories.  In a world that is constantly peppered with bad news and doomsday prophecies, it's wonderful to hear stories of people who have done well and found success in their lives. 

Mind you, I imagine most of you sometimes want to rip your hair out with the stress that comes from raising a family, but I suppose it's a necessary part of becoming a parent.  It's one of the hardest jobs that one can do, but I can see how it can be one of the most rewarding.

Of course, I can only imagine this to be the case.  I have no experience with having a family or raising children because at nearly thirty-four years old, I am still childless.  Of course, I'm nobody's husband either, so that sort of explains why I am childless.

And believe it or not, there was once a time in which that really bothered me. 

I guess in some manner of speaking, many people seem to equate success in the amount of children one has.  And certainly for a lot of people, I can see why they would want to have children.  They would want to continue the legacy that the family began.  And most people probably do want to become parents at some point in their lives.  And seeing the vast majority of people who I went to school with having children and settling down, it did sort of make me feel left out knowing that I didn't have any of my own to share.
 
But that was then. 

To be completely honest, I've already made peace with the fact that in my lifetime, I'm probably not going to be a parent.  At least, not right at this moment.

And I'm fine with that.

Let's face it.  I don't exactly have an easy time taking care of myself a lot of the time.  I mean, sure, I do have financial responsibility and I probably could handle the day-to-day aspects of taking care of a child.  I did after all become an uncle at fifteen years old and did a lot of child sitting when I was in my teens and early 20s.

But emotionally speaking?  Yeah, I'm definitely not ready.

I'm nowhere near where I want to be professionally, and I still have a long way to go before I even can consider myself even in the right frame of mind to enter a relationship, let alone father a child with somebody. 

I suppose it comes down to the whole pronoun that goes something like this.  If you can't love yourself, you can't love anyone else.  And, as most of you know by now, I am still trying to figure myself out. 

The way I see it, children deserve to have parents who have got mostly everything together.  I'm not afraid to admit that I am nowhere near that yet.  Truth is, I'm just not ready to become a parent or a husband yet.

And that's perfectly okay.

I know - or I guess I should say have known - some rather rude people who seem to believe that success is measured in how perfect your children are, and that if people don't have children, they are selfish.  I actually think that it is more selfish to bring a child into the world for the purpose of keeping a marriage together, or to solely get benefits from the government, but I suppose that's just my feeling on the matter. 

And keep in mind that some people are unable to have children biologically.  Think about that before you call someone selfish for not having children.

I suppose that this has ended up being a whole lot of rambling, but the bottom line is this.  I'm single.  I'm childless.  And, I'm perfectly okay with that.  Maybe in a few years time, I'll think differently.  Maybe ten years from now, I'll be trying to write this blog while simultaneously trying to get two little ones into bed.  And maybe I go the rest of my life not having known fatherhood.

Whatever life brings me...I'll try to be ready for it.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

April 28, 1979

Welcome to another edition of the Tuesday Timeline

I certainly hope that most of you like music, because today's featured entry is all about music.  In fact, I suppose you could call it a signature hit of sorts for a particular New Wave band.  Not bad, given that the song had a disco flavour to it.

That's your one and only clue for now.  In the meantime, have a look at some of the other events that took place on April 28 throughout history.  There's certainly quite a lot that has happened.

1788 - Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States

1792 - The French Revolutionary War begins with the invasion of Austrian Netherlands by France

1881 - Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County Jail in New Mexico

1910 - Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester Air Race

1916 - Ferruccio Lamborghini (d. 1993) - the founder of Automobil Lamborghini - is born in Italy

1920 - Azerbaijan becomes a part of the Soviet Union

1930 - In Independence, Kansas, the first night baseball game is played

1932 - A medical breakthrough is discovered when a vaccine for yellow fever is announced for use on humans

1945 - Benito Mussolini and his mistress are executed by firing squad

1948 - Igor Stravinsky conducted the premiere of his American ballet, "Orpheus", in New York City

1949 - Tragedy strikes the Philippines as the former First Lady - Aurora Quezon - is assassinated along with her daughter and ten others en route to a hospital dedication in honour of her late husband

1969 - Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France

1970 - President Richard Nixon authorizes American combat troops to fight communist sanctuaries in Cambodia

1986 - The nuclear accident in Chernobyl that took place two days earlier is publicly announced following the discovery of high radiation in some parts of Sweden

1987 - American engineer Ben Linder is killed in an ambush by American funded Contras in Nicaragua

1988 - Passengers aboard Aloha Airlines Flight 243 have a scary experience when the fuselage of the plane breaks open mid-flight, killing flight attendant C.B. Lansing

1996 - A gunman opens fire at a cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing thirty-five people

2001 - Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist

And, let's have a look at the number of famous faces celebrating a birthday today.  Birthday wishes go out to Harper Lee, Lois Duncan, Ann-Margret, Alice Waters, Ginette Reno, Paul Guilfoyle, Jay Leno, Chuck Leavell, Mary McDonnell, Kim Gordon, Jimmy Barnes, Nancy Lee Grahn, Steven Blum, Lloyd Eisler, Kari Wuhrer, Jorge Garcia, Elisabeth Rohm, Penelope Cruz, Vernon Kay, Lauren Laverne, Jessica Alba, and Nikki Grahame.

Now we get to the real meat of the matter.  Today's Tuesday Timeline date.

And, well...I hope you all like the 1970s, because we're visiting the tail end of that decade.



It was April 28, 1979, and disco was three months away from being murdered.  As most of us know, July 12, 1979 was the official day that disco officially "died", which saw the detonation of disco records in the middle of a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox.  The event caused thousands of fans to rush onto the field and the game was forfeited by Chicago because of the damage caused.

So, what does this have to do with the Tuesday Timeline date?  Well, you have to understand that disco music dominated the charts in 1979.  Almost every single number one hit of 1979 was disco themed from Donna Summer and the Bee Gees to Michael Jackson and even Rod Stewart!

And given that by 1979, many people were getting tired of the disco scene, they saw any artist who released a disco single as a sell-out or someone who lacked creativity.

And that included a rock band out of New York City.  A band that formed in 1974 with the goal of making music that didn't sound like anything else at the time. 

A band that scored their very first number one single with this hit thirty-six years ago today.



ARTIST:  Blondie
SONG:  Heart of Glass
ALBUM:  Parallel Lines
DATE RELEASED:  January 3, 1979
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 1 week



Yes, the New Wave group "Blondie", made up of Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, Jimmy Destri, and Clem Burke, had a #1 hit with "Heart of Glass" between April 28 and May 4, 1979, and yes, it was a disco hit.

Well, actually, it started off as a song called "Once I Had A Love", which was penned by both Stein and Harry in 1974 - right when the band had first gotten together.  Recorded as a demo in 1975, the song had a very different sound than the version most of us got to hear.  It was a lot slower, and had a more basic disco beat.  And, reportedly, the band experimented with several genres of music to try and make the song work before settling on pop disco.

At one point, the song was almost released as a reggae hit, similar to the group's 1981 smash "The Tide Is High"!

Now, it's really unclear as to who came up with the idea to make "Heart of Glass" a disco single.  Some sources say that record producer Mike Chapman convinced Harry and Stein to make the record a disco one, while other sources claim that Harry was the one who insisted that disco was the way to go.

And to be fair, Harry supported the disco scene.  In an interview she gave with NME Magazine in 1978, she stated that while disco was commercial, but was also good.  She cited famous disco producer Giorgio Moroder as an example of this.

And prior to Blondie releasing "Heart of Glass", the group had performed at the Blitz Benefit at the famous rock club CBGB in May 1978 where to everyone's shock, they performed an impromptu cover version of "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer.  Certainly Blondie seemed to break down barriers and maintained their neutrality stance.  They knew that rock was cool, but they wanted to show that they liked disco music too.  Sure enough, that moment in 1978 was one of the first times that a rock band had performed a disco hit live.

I only wish that I could have found the original music video to show you guys, but alas, it is not available on YouTube.  But I do have a link to the video HERE.  I can also tell you a few things about it.

Obviously, the video was filmed in New York City, as we see shots of the Empire State Building and the former World Trade Center intertwined between shots of the band performing in what appears to be a discotheque.

TRIVIA:  Contrary to what some may think, and despite the appearance of an exterior shot of the club appearing in the video, the video itself is NOT filmed at Studio 54.  It was actually filmed in a different club in New York City.



Oh, and Debbie's interesting dress?  You'll never guess where the inspiration for it came from.

Believe it or not, the pattern came from television scan lines.  The asymmetrical dress - designed by Stephen Sprouse was inspired by the scan line pattern which was photo printed onto a piece of fabric, which was then draped over a layer of cotton fabric and chiffon on top.  It was quite a fantastic piece.  I should also note that Debbie Harry herself had a designing credit.  She designed all the T-shirts that the male band members wore in the video.

Of course, while the single did become Blondie's first #1 hit, it also caused fans to cause a backlash against them for selling out.  And certainly some of the members of Blondie felt the same way.  Drummer Clem Burke would refuse to play the song live until it became a huge hit and he was forced to.  Other members like Stein and Harry defended the single and were proud of its success.

Oh, and in some British radio stations, the line "once I had a love, and it was a gas, soon turned out it was a pain in the ass" was banned from airplay.  Or at the very least, the BBC would mute the lyric completely from radio play.  Yeah, it's not even that offensive, people!  To solve the problem, a second version was recorded where the "pain in the ass" lyric was changed to "had a heart of glass".  Because repetition is so much better than having a naughty word.

Anyway, whether you liked disco or not, "Heart of Glass" was the #1 song 36 years ago today.  Where does the time go?