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Monday, June 22, 2015

Things From The Mushroom Kingdom We Could Use Here

A few years ago, I wrote a piece about Super Mario Brothers, and I came up with the theory that things would be a lot simpler if we had 1-Up Mushrooms around whenever we wanted them.

You know what I mean, right?  Those wonderful green and white mushrooms that allow you to get another chance to complete a level?  Not so much needed in the first couple of worlds of the standard Mario game, but definitely an asset in future Mario levels.



Case in point - World 6 in Super Mario Brothers 3.  The idea to create an ice world was sadistic.  You hear me, Nintendo?  Absolutely sadistic.

Anyway, I was thinking...wouldn't the world be a much better place if we had 1-Up Mushrooms in it?  We would never have to worry about getting sick.  All we have to do is eat one and voila.  Instant recovery.  Worried that you might do something that could kill you?  Keep a 1-Up Mushroom in your pocket, and you instantly get a second chance to try again.

Of course, this is not the world of Mario, and our world has much bigger threats than Goombas, Koopa Paratroopas, Cheep Cheeps, and Bowser and his Koopalings.  In the real world, not even a 1-Up Mushroom is a guarantee for immortality.

But it did get me thinking.  If I could pick ten (and only ten) items from every Super Mario Brothers game ever created, and use them to benefit myself in this crazy wacky world, what ten would I choose?

Obviously, as mentioned above...



1.  1-UP MUSHROOMS

But can I come up with nine more Super Mario Accessories that I think we need in this world?

Well, I'll give it my best shot!



2.  YOSHI

This is probably a no-brainer here.  As much as I hate to refer to the lovable Yoshi as a possession, there really are a number of reasons why you need a Yoshi in your life.

Firstly, he's so cute looking, and can come in two sizes.  Large Yoshi and Small Yoshi.  I wouldn't recommend riding on the small one though.  You may hurt him.

Secondly, he comes in a variety of decorative colours to fit your home!  Originally in green, blue, red, and yellow, the release of Super Mario World 2 provided several more colours of Yoshi.  By now, I wouldn't be shocked to hear that there was one Yoshi to match every Crayola crayon colour.



Lastly...he can eat things that are pests.  Wasps, hornets, walking cacti...he can eat it all!  Just don't make him eat fire.  It'll give him heartburn.



3.  STARMAN

Even better than a 1-Up Mushroom as far as I'm concerned, grabbing one of these stars will grant you temporary invincibility!  Having trouble with a schoolyard bully, an annoying neighbour, or an evil feral dog in your backyard?  No problem.  You can get rid of them no problem.

The only con?  Starman powers only last a total of eight seconds.  So, you need to either act quickly or stockpile about ten thousand of them.



4.  BLUE TURTLE SHELLS

Now, blue turtle shells are probably one of the rarest colours of shells to have appeared in Super Mario games.  Their first appearance was in 1990's "Super Mario World".  But they became quite useful in the Super Mario Kart series.

You see, blue turtle shells act as homing devices.  You shoot it, and it will automatically blow up the car that happens to be in first place.  It's a great, but cheap way to win a race.

And the more I think of it, it would be a great way to take care of those motorists who hog the road and who think they own the streets.  Though I'm not a fan of eye for an eye behaviour, the blue turtle shell method is probably the only way they'd learn.



5.  P-WING

I'm not really a fan of heights, and I certainly haven't been on an airplane (I admit that despite the claims that air travel is safe, I still get nervous about the prospect of flying).  If only there were a guaranteed way to fly without having to worry about crashing or falling.

Well, the P-Wing - introduced in Super Mario 3 - allows you to fly through an entire level without worry.  The wings are enchanted and will work as long as you don't willingly crash into anything.  Given how open the skies are, I don't think that would be much of a problem.  Though I would probably have to wear sunglasses to block out the height fear.



6.  FIRE FLOWER

No longer will you have to rub two sticks together to create fire.  Just pick one of these and you can start a bonfire in seconds.  Just don't get too close to your house.  You'll burn it down.



7.  LAZY SHELL

This gigantic shell can be considered one of Super Mario RPG: The Legend of The Seven Stars' ultimate weapons.  It definitely packs a major punch if kicked correctly.

It can also take out any enemy that crosses your path.  Could make walking down the streets of dangerous neighbourhoods a lot safer.



8.  GOLD COINS

Wouldn't paying your bills be so much easier if these things were randomly scattered around the world? 



9.  WARP WHISTLE

Made popular in Super Mario 3, warp whistles can magically take Mario from one world to another.  In the game, it can help Mario defeat Bowser quicker by bypassing some of the more difficult worlds.  But in the real world, it would be an awesome way to visit places all over the world in a matter of seconds.  You could visit San Francisco, Miami, London, Sydney, and Tokyo in a 24-hour time frame with a few warp whistles!



10.  STOPWATCHES

These elusive items are only found in Super Mario 2, but they can do something that could come in handy.  Much like Evie's finger touch in "Out Of This World" and Zack Morris' "Time Out", stopwatches can stop time for everyone else around you EXCEPT YOU!  Think of the things that you can do!

So, what other items can you think of that could work in the real world?

I still want a Yoshi.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Cat's In The Cradle

Hello, everybody!  I hope that you are enjoying your wonderful Sunday.  After all, it also happens to be the first day of Summer!  If you have the day off, I hope you have the best day off ever!  And if you do not have the day off (like me), well, try to make the best of it.

But even more importantly, if you happen to be a father or have a father, I hope you enjoy your Father's Day!

And since I brought back the Sunday Jukebox feature in this blog, I suppose it would make sense for me to feature a song that happens to be all about fatherhood.

But what song do I choose?  I really have no idea.  Let's see...

Well, I can't do Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach".  I've already covered that one.  And, don't even get me started on Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses".  That song is so schmaltzy, I'd probably go into a diabetic coma with how sickly sweet it is.

No, I think that for today, a social commentary type song is just what the disc jockey ordered.

But first, I want to issue a bit of a disclaimer.  The relationship between father and son that is exhibited in this song is not like the one that I have with my own father.  There are a couple of similarities, of course, but I think most of us can agree that the song duo comes off much worse.

So, let's see what song I've chosen to spotlight this week.



ARTIST:  Harry Chapin
SONG:  Cat's In The Cradle
ALBUM:  Verities & Balderdash
DATE RELEASED:  October 1, 1974
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 1 week

Ah, yes, Harry Chapin.  The man who probably performed the most melancholic father-son song to have ever graced the radio airwaves.  A song that interestingly enough was #1 during Christmas 1974!  Now if that doesn't make you want to have holiday cheer, I don't know what would.



In fact, in an interview, Harry Chapin admitted that the song's content was partly inspired by the relationship that Chapin had with his own son, and admitted that it scared him to death just thinking about it!  Sadly, as we all know, his time with his whole family was very brief.  He died after getting into a car accident in July 1981, at the young, young age of 38.



Okay, so let's just do a little bit of song analysis here.

The song begins with the birth of a beautiful, bouncing baby boy...a birth that the father isn't even attending!  He's too busy catching planes and paying bills and doing all sorts of other things that are seemingly more important than THE BIRTH OF HIS FIRST CHILD!!!

But hey, they'll spend time together another day.

Throughout every day of the child's life, the kid tries so hard to get his father's attention, but Dad is way too busy with his work to spend any time with him at all.  Every time the kid asks for his time, the Dad goes "maybe later".

It doesn't really get any better for the child and the father when birthdays roll around.  When the kid gets a brand new baseball from his father for a birthday present, the child insists that he make time for a game of catch.  But, like always, the father doesn't have time to play and gives the kid some lame excuse, which the kid is forced to accept.

However, the child is left fairly undaunted, and he turns towards his hero and proudly exclaims that he wants to be like him one day.

Well, flash forward about twenty years into the future, and the Dad is now a Granddad.  And Gramps has decided that after years of slaving away in a business suit trying to make deals happen, he now has the time banked up to spend every moment with his son.

Here's the twist.  Remember how the song had said that he wanted to be just like his father once upon a time (or a couple of verses ago)?  Well, now he's got to take care of the kids who have the flu and how he has to work to keep the household in check and he simply doesn't have the time to spend with his father.

In short, karma came back and smacked our father directly in the face.  No, forget the smack.  This was a full on karmic bitch slap if ever there were one.

And really, the song was a great social commentary for its time.

I mean, think about it for a second.  Although I completely bypassed the 1970s, I do know from hearing stories from people who lived through them that the 1970s were a time of great change.  More and more women were entering the workforce as equality took center stage, and men were spending more time at the office than ever before.  It was really the decade which brought forth the first generation of "latchkey children", and in some cases, kids had to grow up without having a parent around to guide them in the right direction or be there during times in which they were needed the most.

Of course, even back in the 1970s, it was still a time in which the father of the household was the main breadwinner of the family, and I seem to remember a lot of my classmates never really bonding with their fathers because they were always at work.  And this would be during the 1980s and 1990s when stay-at-home dads were coming into their own.

And in some of the cases in which the fathers were not as present as they would have liked to have been, the kids ended up getting into trouble.  A lot of trouble.

Of course, this shouldn't really provoke all of you dads reading this right now to pick up the phone and quit your jobs.  That would be crazy talk.  Besides, I don't think losing your home and sleeping out on the streets would make for the ideal father-son bonding experience.  Instead, do some small things that could have a big impact down the line.  Put down the cell phone and go on a bike ride with your child.  Set a limit to how much work you bring home with you and use the remaining time to play Candy Land with your daughter. 


Or better still, just do what you can possibly do to be there for your children.  Never turn down a request from your child (unless of course the child wants you to do something dangerous), be it sitting down at a tea party, allowing them to give you a makeover (within reason), building a treehouse, or repairing a car engine.  Whatever it is, just make the time and be there for them in order to really avoid a "Cat's In The Cradle" moment.  Do it before it's too late.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

A Dozen Tattoos Filled With Regret (Or, Is It Regert?)

One thing that I have noticed in recent years is that I know a lot of people who have gotten at least one tattoo.  I even know some family members who have had permanent ink drawn on some part of their body.

And while tattoos have been around for quite a long time (some sources say that it began centuries ago), I would hazard a guess that they became really popular during the grunge music era of 1992-1995. 

Today, tattooing is a million dollar industry that continues to rake in the customers.  I've heard some people say that once they got their first tattoo, they were hooked, and now have half of their bodies covered with inspired artwork.  Television shows like "Miami Ink", "L.A. Ink", "Ink Master", and "Tattoo Nightmares" have glamourized the industry somewhat.  And so many people I know have gotten tattoos that I almost feel like I am more unique in the fact that I have no tattoos at all.  Or piercings, for that matter.

Of course, I have absolutely nothing against tattoos as a whole.  I think that some tattoo artists are extremely talented and you can really appreciate the fine detail and colour blending that can come from a beautifully designed image.  People have even gotten tattoos made from photographs that they provide the artist, which I think is absolutely brilliant.  You can get a tattoo of a departed loved one, an image of your child...heck, if you wanted to, you could get a tattoo of a Tattoo.



(Seriously, someone actually got a tattoo of Tattoo from "Fantasy Island".  Da pain!  Da pain!)

But while I appreciate the art that goes into a tattoo, I doubt I would ever get one for three reasons.

Reason #1:  I kind of like the idea of being unique by not getting one.

Reason #2:  I have not a good tolerance for pain, and doubt that I could ever sit through a full tattoo.

Reason #3:  I could end up hating the tattoo and spend a small fortune trying to get it removed.

And yes, this happens.  I'm sure many people who have gotten tattoos have loved them and are proud of them.  Some people on the other hand regret ever getting them, and spend an arm and a leg trying to get the tattoo erased from their arm or their leg.

And believe me...after seeing these twelve tattoos, you might want to do the exact same thing.  I found twelve tattoos that range from the bizarre to the stupid, and I will be talking about some of them in this space.

Special thanks to The Huffington Post, Pinterest, Instagram, ViralNova, Daily Mail, and atomica.com for the images used today.



1.  Okay, it's bad enough that this guy decided to get a tattoo of a McDonald's receipt on his arm.  Where in the bloody hell does it cost twenty-five dollars for a Coke?  Where is this McDonald's located?  Trump Tower?



2.  That is the most "AWSOME" spelling of the word "AWESOME" that I have ever seen.  If only there were enough space between the W and S to make it look halfway decent.  That'd be really awesome.



3.  I bet this person would be even more "GRATEFUL" if they had a dictionary with them before they got the tattoo.



4.  Forgive me.  I have absolutely no idea how one gaurds their heart?  Do you mean gaurd as in "GUARD", which is protecting the heart, or gaurd as in "GOURD", which is turning your heart into a jack-o-lantern?  Either way, this tattoo doesn't work.



5.  Well, except maybe this tattoo...



6.  How can I believe in something that isn't possible?  I've never heard of strenght.



7.  To Marrow?  Is this like some sort of love letter to the stuff found inside of your bones?



8.  This tattoo is pretty perfect to me...in explaining the message behind this tattoo.



9.  Babby Girl?  Actually, this could work out if somehow you could transform that first B into a lower case G.

Nah, it'd still look terrible.



10.  Okay...that's either Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, Veronica from Archie Comics or what Pinocchio would look like if he went goth.  I still don't quite know who this could be...



11.  The question is...is the fudge literal (like the fudge you find on top of ice cream sundaes) or figurative (like the fact that even God can bend the truth every once in a while).  Quite the conundrum, don't you think?



12.  I guess someone was inspired by the time that Fleetwood Mac toured with the California Raisins, huh?

Friday, June 19, 2015

Flashback Friday - Articles From A Nineteen-Year-Old

You know, sometimes when you go through some of your personal belongings, you never know what it is that you're going to find.

It's like going on some sort of treasure hunt where you go in looking for buried treasure, only to discover that what you've found is much more valuable.

Well, have a look at this treasure trove of articles that I found.  Every one of these pieces were published articles that I wrote FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!

I know, I can't believe it either.

But I did quite a bit of work for the university paper, and while my writing style has changed a lot in fifteen years (seriously, I cringe at some of these re-reading them), I'm still happy that I had some stuff published in the first place.

Oh, and the reason why these pieces have tape on them?  I had them taped to my dorm room walls back in the day.  They are now in a photo album.

Enjoy!
















Thursday, June 18, 2015

Don't Have Anything Nice To Say? Keep It Closed!



I am an unapologetic fan of "Big Brother".

Ever since the show debuted in July 2000, I have watched nearly every episode and watched every single season of both the American and Canadian versions.  It's not so much because of the voyeurism aspect of the game - truth be told, I'm not so sure that I would want 177 cameras all focused on me as I ate, slept, and went to the bathroom - but because of the gameplay.

From Head of Household competitions to Power of Veto competitions, to the newly created Battle of the Block competitions, the game is known for making players "expect the unexpected".

And those words could also be used to describe some of the houseguests that have entered the house over the last fifteen years.

Some seasons, we've had former players come in to be coaches to the other players, only to have them join in the game themselves.  Sometimes, they would bring in family members of former players to see how they would fare for mixed results.  Sometimes they would even bring in relatives of semi-famous people, as was the case with Frankie Grande (he's Ariana Grande's half-brother).

And in the upcoming season of Big Brother - which debuts on CBS on June 24, we're learning that one of the houseguests on the show is transgendered.



This is Audrey Middleton.  She's a 25-year-old digital media consultant from Georgia who was born a male.  She transitioned from Adam to Audrey a few years ago and never looked back.  She is going to be the very first transgendered person to ever play the game of Big Brother in the United States, and I have to say, with her describing herself as a superfan, I get the impression that she could potentially go far in the game.

But Audrey's inclusion in the game of Big Brother seems to be rubbing some people the wrong way.  And, sadly I've noticed on some comments sections on websites, not to mention random comments on social media sites, that people have become complete jerks.  They cry out that they will never watch the show again because of Audrey being transgendered.  Some claim that as Christian people, they feel that Audrey's transitioning from male to female is morally wrong and goes against their religious beliefs.  Some have even made the claim that the show is jumping on a bandwagon of sorts by "conveniently" casting a transgendered person shortly after Caitlyn Jenner's daring "Vanity Fair" cover was released to the public.

Okay, so let's go ahead and tear this argument apart, shall we?

First things first, I have absolutely zero tolerance for people who use religion as a weapon.  The ones who claim that their religious beliefs give them the right to judge how other people live their lives.  News flash.  They don't.

You have to look at it from the eyes of the person who is transgendered.  Imagine going through most of your life feeling that you were born the wrong gender.  It would be hard enough dealing with that fact alone.  But imagine being a part of a family that would be less than understanding, or having to deal with people in your community who are closed-minded, bigoted, or just plain mean towards anybody else who isn't like them.  That would make it even harder.



I mean, let's look at Caitlyn Jenner for a moment.  Of course many of us knew her best as Olympic hero Bruce Jenner.  Back in those days, he was one of the most celebrated athletes in modern American history and had his face printed on millions of Wheaties boxes.  But even though he had achieved Olympic fame, he went through sixty-five years of struggling with who he was. 

And in Bruce Jenner's case, he felt like he was meant to be a she. 

And as we all know, Caitlyn Jenner made her daring and bold entrance into the world on June 1, 2015.

I have to say, the cover of Vanity Fair does her justice, and I think it is a beautiful cover.  But of course many people had to make non-constructive comments about it and saying a whole bunch of thoughtless comments.  I believe one politician callously remarked that the only reason Caitlyn Jenner underwent the gender reassignment surgery was to sneak a peek at the women in the locker room.  Absolutely disgusting - and quite revealing about some of the perverse thoughts that some of the people that were elected into office by the people of the United States had.



Or, going back a little further in time, how about Chaz Bono?  Many people who grew up watching the Sonny and Cher variety show knew him as Chastity Bono, the only daughter of the pair.  But in adulthood, Chastity came out as being a lesbian, and just a few years after that, Chastity became Chaz.  And once again, she was raked over the coals for it with thoughtless people making all sorts of disgusting comments. 

The thing is that Caitlyn Jenner and Chaz Bono have basically been in the media spotlight for well over forty years.  They've gotten used to any scrutiny for their choices.  They really don't care about what people have to say about them.

And you know why?  Because both of them have a strong family support system to help them through it all.  Chaz Bono had his mother, Cher (perhaps one of the biggest icons for the LGBTQ community) on his side.  I imagine that while the transition must have been a shock for her, she still loves him no matter what. 

The same deal with Caitlyn Jenner.  I know that I tend to poke fun at the Kardashian clan, but I have to give them a ton of credit.  Although they initially struggled with the news, all of them have stood by Jenner's side and still very much consider him a part of the family.  Again, I don't make it a point to keep up with the Kardashians, but kudos on them for sticking together.

And, I have to believe that Audrey's family is supportive of her as well.  I imagine that they struggled with it at first, but in the end, the love they have for her outweighed everything else.

And I honestly think that love is the answer.  Why spend so much time hating someone when they could be loving them instead?  There's way too much hate in the world as it is.  You think that it's "morally wrong" for people to change their gender?  Well, I think it's morally wrong for people to bully someone else for being who they are to the point where they do physical harm to themselves.  But hey, I guess that's only my opinion.  Some may disagree and want to distance themselves from me.  I say...I'll pay for your bus ticket.

So, to those of you who feel the need to tear someone down for being who they really are, I have one thing to say. 

Shut up.

Seriously, just f@#$ing shut up.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Dining on Toasty Moakies and Soda Mousse on Kenchicky Avenue

This blog post was inspired by a trip to the convenience store, of all things.  So, bear with me here.  I will get to the point of this post in a minute.

Summer is fast approaching.  Just a few days away now.  And with the summer sun beaming down upon us comes the really hot and humid temperatures.

And honestly, I could do without them. 

Don't get me wrong.  I do love summer.  I just wish that summer temperatures were a little more consistent - like say, 19 degrees Celsius from now until September 20 or whenever the first day of fall happens to be.

Anyway, as a result of the hot weather that comes with summer, you have to come up with creative ways to beat the heat.  Mine just happens to involve ice cream and fruit slushies.



I happen to live near a store that sells Mr. Freeze fruit slushies (Mr. Freeze happens to be a popular brand of freezies that are sold in stores around this time of year), and there were three different colours that were sold.  Red, white, and blue.

Now, I settled on red (cherry), but I also don't mind the blue (raspberry).  I wasn't sure what the white ones tasted like, but having had eaten a thousand Mr. Freeze freezies throughout my whole life, I had an idea that the white slushies were cream soda flavoured.

Only when I was a kid, I NEVER called it cream soda. 



To me, cream soda was always known as "Soda Mousse".  I don't know when I started calling it that, but I do remember why.  Back then, the only kind of cream soda that was available was made by Crush.  It was a red soda in bright pink cans that tasted like absolute heaven on earth - well, at least a four-year-old's idea of heaven, anyway.  I still have a can once in a while.  For old times sake.

The thing is, in Canada, all of our food packaging is written in both English and French.  It has been that way since 1969, when French became Canada's second official language.  And when I was reading the label of the can of cream soda, I think the French side was facing me.

That's probably why I began calling it soda mousse.  That's what it said on the can. 

To this day I still refer to cream soda as soda mousse.  Maybe I'm weird this way, but that's how I roll.

Truth is, when I was a kid, I called a lot of things by completely different names.  And interestingly enough, most of the things happen to be related to food and beverages. 

Now, in the case of the cream soda/soda mousse thing, it was just in how the Crush can was positioned.  But sometimes I pick up the lingo from family members too.



I'm sure that most of you have had at least one piece of French Toast in your lifetimes, right?  It's a delicious piece of egg-dipped bread that is saturated with cinnamon and vanilla extract that you dip in maple syrup for a sweet treat.

Or, at least...that's what it was supposed to be.  My family was never really big on frou-frou cuisine.  We never bothered with fancy spices or culinary arts.  Our version of French Toast was egg-dipped bread without the cinnamon and spices.  Instead, we ate it plain with Heinz ketchup for dipping.



You might think that it's the wrong way to eat French Toast, but take it from an expert in working class cuisine - it makes a great filling meal (and it's economical at that).

But then, my family always did traditional breakfast staples a little less traditionally.  We didn't even call our creation French Toast.

Instead, we coined our own term for the dish.

"Toasty Moakies".

I honestly don't know if that's even how you spell it.  But, you know?  It's our family's term.  We can spell it however the heck we want to!

To this day, I honestly don't know anybody else in the world who calls French Toast "Toasty Moakies"!  I like to consider my family as the one that coined the term.  But if there happens to be anybody else who has used the term "Toasty Moakies" to describe French Toast, I'm interested in knowing!

Let's see.  What other funny names did I give foods and beverages? 

Well, I suppose that the mispronunciation of words was a common theme as well.  I think every kid has called spaghetti "pascetti".  I seem to remember Michelle from "Full House" calling ice cream "owse cream" for an entire season of the show (which really grated on my nerves by the way).  I'm only assuming that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have since learned how to say it correctly.  At least, I hope so.

But when it came down to me mispronouncing food items, I was really bad with fast food items when I was a kid.  I'm not talking about trying to order a Big Mac at Burger King either.  I'm talking about completely mixed up things.



For one, I thought Dairy Queen Blizzards were called Buzzards.  Yep, buzzards.  Of course, the Dairy Queen Blizzard came out when I was four years old, and I only learned how to talk when I was three.  I suppose that could explain it a little bit.  Though I wonder what a Dairy Queen Buzzard would look - or even taste like.



And, on a completely unrelated food note, I bungled up a lot of the properties available for sale in the board game "Monopoly".  Would you want to live on Connie-Cut Avenue or Ken-chicky Avenue?

So, let's hear it.  What did you call things when you were little?

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

June 16, 1987

Well, we're nearly halfway through 2015, and I have to say that so far, it has been one hell of a year!  I can't wait to see what the next six months (and a bit) are going to bring me, but I have to say that when it comes down to it, 34 is looking like one of the greatest years yet!  Maybe it's not exactly how I planned it or saw it, but things are going to be great!

I won't go into much more detail than that...but I will say that sometime this summer, I'll likely be going on a brief hiatus from this blog.  Don't worry though.  It'll only be for a week or two.  I have to take care of some...business.  Yeah, that's it.  I will pre-warn you when I have to embark on my little adventure, and if I can figure out how to postdate entries, I'll try to do so.  I'll also provide you with a more detailed reason why the hiatus is needed.  For now, I remain hidden underneath my cloak of secrecy.

But it will definitely be weird taking a brief hiatus from this blog.  I have been working on it for four years straight.  I don't even know if the guy who started up the "Full House Reviewed" blog wrote for that long.  He certainly didn't write in it every day like I did.  But, it will all be worth it.

For now though, I will continue ahead with this blog until that day comes around.  And look!  It's time for another Tuesday Timeline entry!

And this week, I have a sweet entry for you.  Literally and figuratively.

But before we get on with that story, let's go on with the rest of the Tuesday Timeline fun, beginning with some of the historical happenings of June 16.

1745 - British troops take possession of Cape Breton Island

1779 - The Great Siege of Gibraltal begins as Spain declares war on Great Britain

1816 - A reading by Lord Byron of "Fantasmagoriana" inspires Mary Shelley to write her novel "Frankenstein" and John Polidori to write "The Vampyre".

1858 - In Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln delivers his "House Divided" speech

1883 - At least 183 children tragically lose their lives in the Victoria Hall Theatre panic in Sunderland, England

1884 - "Switchback Railway" - the world's first purpose-built roller-coaster - opens up in New York City's Coney Island Amusement Park

1890 - Comedic actor Stan Laurel (d. 1965) is born in Ulverston, Lancashire, England

1903 - The Ford Motor Company is incorporated

1911 - Future computer company IBM is founded in Endicott, New York

1944 - George Junius Stinney Jr., aged 14, becomes the youngest person to be executed in the United States during the twentieth century

1959 - James Brian Hellwig (d. 2014) - otherwise known as "The Ultimate Warrior" - is born

1963 - Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to go into outer space

1967 - The Monterey Pop Festival begins

1971 - Rapper Tupac Shakur (d. 1996) is born in East Harlem, New York

1978 - The motion picture "Grease" starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John debuts in theatres

1981 - Canadian Ken Taylor becomes the first non-American to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for the role he played in the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-1981 (in which he rescued six American citizens)

2010 - Bhutan becomes the first nation in the world to ban tobacco products

I want to also take the time out to wish the following famous faces a very happy birthday!  Birthday greetings go out to James Bolam, Jim Dine, Joyce Carol Oates, Billy "Crash" Craddock, Joan Van Ark, Gino Vannelli, Laurie Metcalf, Ian Buchanan, Arnold Vosloo, James "The Sandman" Fullington, Danny Burstein, James Patrick Stuart, Clifton Collins Jr., Phil Mickelson, John Cho, Amanda Byram, Eddie Cibrian, Missy Peregrym, Olivia Hack, Diana DeGarmo, Keshia Chante, Nathan Parsons, John Newman, and Joe McElderry.

So, now that we have all of that taken care of, it's time to take a look at what today's date is that we'll be looking at.



Ah, June 16, 1987.

That would be right around the time that I graduated from kindergarten, and the time that my mother enrolled me in the summer playground program that my town had in place.  Back in 1987, the cost was fifteen bucks.  By 1992, it was almost seventy-five.  Like, what the hell?  No wonder the program didn't last ten years.

Fortunately, the subject of today's Tuesday Timeline lasted longer than that.  In fact, this year, this product celebrates its twenty-eighth birthday.  And for some of you celebrating a birthday today, you might enjoy some of this stuff along with your birthday cake.

And to think that this product wouldn't have existed without a merger of sorts taking place.  A merger between an American rock band...and an ice cream company?

Trust me.  It'll all make sense the more you read.



First, let's talk a little bit about the band.  How many of you have heard of the band "The Grateful Dead"?  I would imagine that for those of you born in the 1990s or later, that name might not ring a bell.  In fact, for people my age, I don't know too many people who know who they are.

But for those of you who do, you know that they were a band that formed in Palo Alto, California in the mid-1960s, releasing a plethora of songs that blended several different sounds and genres of music together.  Seriously, you could hear bluegrass, rock, folk, country, pop, jazz, and even space rock in the entire Grateful Dead discography. 

Of course while several members of the band came and went over the band's three decades that it was most active, one could say that the face of the band was that of lead singer Jerry Garcia.  His unique vocals and his talent with a guitar were definitely noticed, and although the band never did have a number one hit, they were one of the most respected groups in rock history, earning a loyal group of fans who called themselves "Deadheads" and even ranking #57 in Rolling Stone Magazine's "Greatest Artists of All Time" list. 

In fact, one could say that 1987 was a banner year for the "Grateful Dead", for it was during that year that the group scored their very first (and only) Top 10 hit on the Billboard Charts!  Go on.  Have a listen.



ARTIST:  Grateful Dead
SONG:  Touch of Grey
ALBUM:  In The Dark
DATE RELEASED:  May 1987
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #9

Could you believe that this was the very first (and as far as I am aware, only) music video the band ever made?  The song itself was first performed in 1982 as an encore song by the band, and was added onto the tracklist of "In The Dark" five years later.  Who knew that it would have such an impact on Top 40 radio?  And why not?  It was a great song!

The song also was a sort of a "comeback song" for Garcia, who almost died one year earlier.  He had been diagnosed with diabetes, and fell into a diabetic coma for several days in 1986.  But he did recover and changed his lifestyle for a time afterwards.

So, I suppose there's a little bit of irony in the fact that on June 16, 1987, Garcia gave permission for use of his name to a very popular ice cream company in regards to a certain flavour of ice cream.



Certainly everyone has had at least one pint of the deliciously expensive Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  The company (founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in May 1978) reinvented the way ice cream was presented by adding in a variety of rich ingredients that packed in the flavours (and calories and sugar).  With flavours such as "Caramel Hat Trick", "We Are Waffling", "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough", and my own personal favourite, "Half Baked", Ben and Jerry's has thrived and they continue to come up with brand new flavour combinations each year.

TRIVIA:  The reason why Ben & Jerry's ice cream is so rich?  Ben Cohen has a condition called anosmia, which prevents him from having the sense of smell and reduced taste buds.  Making the ice cream rich in flavour was the only way that Cohen could sample it.

Anyway, back in 1987, Ben & Jerry had created a brand new flavour of ice cream that was quite sweet and fruity.  It was a cherry ice cream base that had chunks of real cherries mixed in with it.  Fudge flakes were also mixed in, to make people believe that they were eating chocolate covered cherry ice cream.  Both men believed in the flavour so much and they really wanted to give it a name that stood out.

The problem was that they needed Jerry Garcia to make it happen.

In order for Ben and Jerry to have the name they wanted, Jerry Garcia had to agree to let the company use his own name.  Luckily for the ice cream entrepreneurs, Garcia agreed to the terms and formally gave Ben and Jerry the clearance to use his name in any way they saw fit - on June 16, 1987.



And three days later, "Cherry Garcia" ice cream first hit store shelves.  To this day, it remains one of Ben & Jerry's most popular flavours.  I have to admit that while I am not a fan of fruit flavoured ice cream, I don't mind this one.  Though I limit myself to only a spoonful or two.  I still prefer "Half Baked".

"Cherry Garcia" will forever immortalize the memory of Jerry Garcia, who died in August 1995 at the age of 53.