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Friday, February 19, 2016

Remembering Mrs. Moore



I have to say that when it comes to my memories of school, I have what you call a love-hate relationship with it.  I loved learning.  I loved art class.  I loved field trips.  I hated being treated like garbage by some of my peers, and a couple of teachers.  Mostly it was fine.

And when it comes down to teachers, there are some that were more memorable than others.

One of those teachers would have to be my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Moore.  Let me tell you all about her.

The year was 1990.  Kindergarten Cop, Ghost, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge hits at the box office.  Madonna taught us all how to vogue.  Milli Vanilli was about to have their fall from grace courtesy of the lip-synching scandal.  And we all secretly wondered how many squirrels we could shove inside MC Hammer's gigantic pants.

(Well, okay.  I was wondering that.  I was a strange 9-year-old and make no apologies for it either.)

Anyway, at my elementary school, fourth grade was a big deal.  It was the first time I ever had a classroom on the second floor of the school (the classrooms in the lower levels were K-3), and I must say that it was the first time I really felt sort of grown up.  Who knew that a flight of stairs could make a huge difference in how mature you thought you were!

I admit that I was very excited about fourth grade, but I was also very nervous.  Fourth grade was great because it was the first year that we were allowed to have computer time by ourselves (prior to grade four, we always had to be paired up with a partner).  It was also the year that we were allowed to sign up for lunchtime activities such as playing sports in the gym.  Fourth grade offered a lot of freedom that we just didn't have in third grade.  After all, fourth grade was the gateway year for sex education class.  At least, it was in my school, anyway.

But I was also a huge fan of the then new show "The Simpsons", and I remember thinking that Bart's teacher, Mrs. Krabappel was one mean teacher.  It didn't dawn on me until years later why she was that way, and she inevitably became one of my favourite Simpsons characters, but back in fourth grade, I was terrified that I would have a teacher just like her.

Fortunately, from the moment I met Mrs. Moore, I was instantly relieved.  She was definitely one of my favourite teachers.

And here's why.

She was never really afraid of taking things too seriously.  Sure, she could be a strict disciplinarian when she had to be - I remember we had a couple of out of control kids in my classroom that year that tested her patience (as well as everyone else in the class) - but she always knew how to have a laugh.

I still remember when we had our class Halloween party and she dressed up in what I think was a farmer costume, and she told us ghost stories and she was really fantastic at story telling too!  I think a couple of kids in the class even got a little scared!

But she was also a fantastic teacher who unlike a lot of the other teachers at my school really focused on playing to our strengths.  She would have listening activities, reading activities, and kinesthetic activities available so that we could all have a chance to improve on skills and to help us focus on the best way we absorb information.

Me?  I'm a kinesthetic learner.  I have to learn things by doing them.

Another thing I will say about Mrs. Moore was that she was probably the one teacher that I remember who really seemed to notice just what level everyone was at in the class, and assigned them work that corresponded with that level.  I still remember that for the first few months of the school year, we were assigned reading kits, and each of us were given a different colour to start off at.  That colour represented a level of reading skill.

I remember the colour that I started with was violet.  And people who were in the violet group were assumed to read at a Grade 8 level.  I think it was myself and one other person in the class who began at that level.  Of course, the tradeoff was that the violet kids didn't have as much teacher-student interaction as say, the tan level, who was Grade 5, or the lime level, which was Grade 3.  It would have been nice to have had more input from the teacher to know if I was handling the workload well.  But I guess I must have done okay with it, if she wasn't concerned.

Really, I remember fourth grade being a year in which I did well in every subject except for two - math and physical education.  But since they were my two worst subjects, I didn't really care that much. 

I think I also have some random moments from fourth grade that I'd like to share below.

- Mrs. Moore reading a postcard that a friend of mine wrote to the class after his family relocated up north.  It was good to hear that he was doing well, though I often wondered what happened to Jeff.  It's been 25 years since he moved away, and I hope he's doing well, even if he doesn't remember who the hell I am! 

- I also remember Mrs. Moore showing us "The Little Mermaid" during our Valentine's Day party, and I even remember liking it at the time.  I think 1991 was also the year I last liked Valentine's Day, come to think of it!

- For some reason, I remember art class being one of those classes where I think she could have shown a little more originality.  Whereas other classes would have epic projects, ours were basically drawing pictures all period long.  Fortunately, I had an endless supply of Laurentian pencil crayons to last me the whole school year.

- My town also had a small earthquake during my fourth grade year, and I remember that we spent part of class talking about it.  I wish I could have had a lot more to say about it, but I slept through the whole thing!

I'm sure there are other memories that I have of fourth grade, but I'm not really remembering them at the moment.  But one thing I do remember was that Mrs. Moore was definitely one of the better teachers that I had, and you could tell that she loved her job very much.

Well, I just found out that a couple of days ago, Mrs. Moore passed away at the age of 69, and I remember feeling very sad when I heard the news.  She was an excellent teacher - one of the few that I always held in high regard, and part of the reason why this was the case was because she really took the time to know her students.  She had a keen eye on which students got the material and which students did not, and she wasn't above giving students extra help who needed it, or providing more challenging options for people who required it.

She was a teacher that I wish more would strive to be like.

Thanks for being a great teacher.  Thank you for being MY teacher, Mrs. Moore.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

February 16, 1968

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a very snowy Tuesday here at A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE!

Yes, we may be having a winter storm right now, but we're going to go ahead with the TUESDAY TIMELINE anyway because that's how I roll.

I will be the first to admit that I had a difficult time finding something to write about because February 16 hasn't exactly been one of the most memorable dates as far as historical significance goes.  However, I thought about it, and came up with a solution.  And I didn't have to call anyone for help either!

And after leaving you with that vague reference, I think I'll go ahead and post some of the items that didn't make the cut.  Here's what happened in history on the sixteenth of February.

1742 - The Earl of Wilmington - Spencer Compton - becomes the Prime Minister of Britain

1804 - Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the USS Philadelphia during the First Barbary War

1852 - Studebaker Brothers Wagon Company is established

1862 - General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee during the American Civil War

1874 - The silver dollar becomes legal tender in the United States

1881 - The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa

1923 - Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

1935 - Singer/politician Sonny Bono (d. 1998) is born in Detroit, Michigan

1937 - Wallace H. Carothers is granted a patent for a new material - nylon

1940 - 299 British prisoners are freed from the German tanker Altmark by a group of British sailors during World War II

1954 - Model/actress Margaux Hemingway (d. 1996) is born in Portland, Oregon

1957 - The "Toddlers' Truce" is abolished in the United Kingdom

1959 - Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba

1961 - The DuSable Museum of African American History is chartered

1978 - The first computer bulletin board system is created in Chicago

1990 - New York City based artist Keith Haring dies of AIDS, aged 31

1998 - In Taiwan, 196 passengers aboard China Airlines Flight 676 die when the plane crashes into a residential area - seven more die on the ground

2005 - Due to lingering effects from the players going on strike, the 2004/2005 hockey season and playoffs are canceled by the National Hockey League

2006 - The final MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is decommissioned by the United States Army

2015 - Singer Lesley Gore passes away at the age of 68

And celebrating a birthday today are the following people; Marlene Hagge, Paul Bailey, Barry Primus, Andy Van Hellemond, Bob Didler, William Katt, James Ingram, LeVar Burton, Ice-T, Herb Williams, John McEnroe, Pete Willis, Andy Taylor, Christopher Eccleston, Dave Lombardo, Keith Gretzky, Tammy Macintosh, Amanda Holden, Jerome Bettis, Sarah Clarke, Maureen Johnson, Luis Figueroa, John Tartaglia, John Magaro, Elizabeth Olsen, and The Weeknd.

All right.  So, let's hop in our time machines and see where we're going back in time to today.



February 16, 1968.  I wonder what was so significant about that date?  Let me think.  Urgh...where's William Shatner when I need him?

No, this post is not Star Trek themed.  But William Shatner did host a television show that aired when I was in my preteen years.  It was a show that focused on people who got themselves in scary situations, be it trapped in a house fire, or getting in a car accident, or even something silly like getting your tongue stuck on a low-hanging icicle in the freezer and having your little brother try to call for help.

(Yes, believe it or not, there was an episode of "Rescue 911" that had that very subject.)



But anyway, "Rescue 911" was a show that I really loved watching.  It was a show that celebrated just how hard working and professional 911 dispatchers were and balanced some of the most chilling stories with the lighthearted.  But one thing that was in common with all of these stories were the dispatchers who more often than not were very special people who had the patience of a saint and the heart of a hero, determined to get help for whoever needed it as quickly as they could while staying calm.  The part I liked best about the show was that sometimes the people who called 911 would be reunited with the 911 dispatcher that more often than not saved their lives.  That was always nice to see.  I guess you could call Rescue 911 one of the earliest instances of reality television.

Of course, it got me thinking.  911 has always been available in the United States as long as I've been alive, and was implemented in my area sometime in the mid-1990s (though some urban areas in Canada received the service as early as 1972).  But when exactly did 911 service get implemented into North America in the first place?



Well, it was exactly 48 years ago today, on February 16, 1968 in the community of Haleyville, Alabama.  The first call was placed by Rankin Fite, who was then the Speaker of the House for the state of Alabama, as a test of the system, and while it took some time for the number to catch on, by 1990, most of the lower 48 states were connected to the 911 service grid.

Today, 911 is considered by many to be an instant lifeline for many people who need medical assistance or who are trapped in perilous positions, and it is estimated that the number receives more than twelve million calls a year.

It certainly became a more efficient way to ask for help, given how primitive the service was prior to 1968.  Back in the days of the rotary phone, people would have to rely on an operator switchboard assistant to provide someone in distress some help.

And, lord help you if you ended up with someone like her at the switchboard!

All kidding aside though, while operators would often do their best to try and get a fire truck or ambulance to the person calling for help, it was a slow procedure - one that definitely needed improving.

It's interesting to note that before 911 came into existence, another number - 999 was used by the United Kingdom.  The country started the service in the late 1930s, and as of 2016 is still used as the main emergency number in that area.  But it took the United States another thirty years to catch up, with the American government finally passing the bill that would create the 911 system as we know it in 1967.

And it's amazing to know that in the 48 years since the first 911 call was made that it is a service now available to 98% of people who live in Canada and the United States...and that millions of lives have been saved because of those three little numbers.

Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Conversation Hearts For Single People!

Okay, everyone!  Today is Valentine's Day, and if you are coupled, it can be a great day.

But for those of us who aren't, such as myself, it's just another date on the calendar.  Another cold, miserable day.


(And lest you think I'm being overdramatic here, it's currently -31C where I am right now.  Believe me.  Valentine's Day 2016 really IS cold and miserable.)

I think that while it's nice that there are a lot of Valentine's Day merchandise available for people who have someone to love, I think there should also be merchandise for singles to enjoy.

And, I'm not talking about royal blue sweaters that cost eighty bucks that can get run over with a lawnmower either.  Right, D.J. Tanner?


I mean, look at those conversation hearts in pastel colours that tell you to "BE MINE" or "KISS ME".  Why don't they have any for single people?  Or people who don't want love?  Or people who hate Valentine's Day?

Well, thanks to the Candy Heart Generator, I thought that I'd make my own.  Have a look at a few examples!



Conversation heart for the woman scorned...


And, let's face it...men can be scorned too.



For those who would rather fall in love with their careers than an actual person.


It pays to advertise sometimes...


Even conversation hearts have a right to Rickroll...


For all I know, this heart could very well exist...it is 2016, after all.


Well, this is direct...


Nobody will EVER break my heart ever again...well, unless you eat this one.  And, I really wouldn't recommend it.


There IS truth in advertising.


Perfect to send to an ex...though, maybe the message should be less direct and more subtle.


If they had these for today, I'd buy out the store.


Well, this is a sweet way to give out your number...by the way, the last 4 digits of this fictional number spell the word LOVE...


For those who don't like conversation...


The contestants on the Bachelor should really have some of these on hand.


Some of us hate being single...


Some of us are a little more optimistic...


And some of us have made peace with it...

But the most important thing about today, whether you are single or not is this...



And if you can master that...that's half the battle.



Friday, February 12, 2016

Be My Pop Culture Valentine!

So Valentine's Day is set to arrive in just a couple of days from now, and honestly I don't care if it comes or not.  I've made no secret about Valentine's Day being my least favourite holiday.  If there's anything to look forward to around this time of year, it's stocking up on cheap heart shaped chocolate on the 15th of February.

But, when I was a child, I thought very differently about Valentine's Day.

Back in the days in which I was in school, I used to love going to school on Valentine's Day because it was one of the holidays that was celebrated in style.  We would have Valentine's Day parties where we would gorge on red, pink, and white coloured sweets.  We'd often watch a couple of movies centered around the themes of love, sharing, and togetherness - which aside from that one day we had to watch Strawberry Shortcake videos wasn't a bad thing.

But perhaps the best part about Valentine's Day at school was getting a lot of Valentine's Day cards from your peers.

(And yes, everyone got a card.  The teachers made sure of that.)

I used to love getting Valentine's Day cards from my classmates.  I didn't particularly like making the Valentine's Day boxes in art class for storing our Valentines (that Simpsons clip with Ms. Hoover making Lisa and Ralph Wiggum make the same boxes really did happen at my school!), but I loved to see all the different card designs out there.

And of course, part of the fun of Valentine's Day was going to the store to choose what cards I would give out.

So, for this edition of the blog, I went through my memory banks, and found a handful of Valentine's cards that I remember giving out to people, cards that I remember getting, and just for fun, cards that didn't exist back then but I would have loved to have given out if they were available when I was a kid.

I think this is going to be a fun topic!  I'll start with cards that I gave out first.



These DuckTales cards are the earliest cards I remember handing out.  It was in the second grade, when DuckTales was extremely popular.  I do remember saving all of the Webby cards (the little girl duck in the cartoon) for the girls in my class.  I gave Huey, Dewey, and Louie to my best friends.  I saved Launchpad for the teacher.  And to the rich kids who teased me, they got Scrooge McDuck!  It was easy!



The following year, I handed out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cards.  I can't remember if I handed them out to the girls too or if I just gave them to the guys in my class.  I don't quite remember.  Either way, these cards were totally radical, and I think it was the only time I ever saw the word "COWABUNGA" on a Valentine card.



I also remember giving out Super Mario Valentines, but can't remember if it was in the 4th or 5th grade.  I also remember having a very hard time finding them, as it seemed that they were selling out as fast as they could get them in stock.  I got very lucky that I got these when I did!



And, the very last year I gave out Valentine's Day cards, I think I was in the sixth grade.  By then I had pretty much discovered that I wasn't as much of a fan of the holiday as I thought I was.  So to celebrate my cynicism of Valentine's Day, I figured Garfield was a great mascot.  It would've been even more ironic if Valentine's Day had fallen on a Monday that year.  Sadly in 1993, it fell on a Sunday instead.  Close, but no cigar.

Okay, so those are some of the ones I remember sending.  What ones did I actually get?  Have a look.



I don't even know who I got these Valentine's from, but I loved them!  Whoever came up with the idea to release Beetlejuice cartoon Valentine's cards was an absolute genius.  In fact, the bottom one posted here was a card I actually remember getting!  I still wish I had it so I could remember who sent it to me, but that was easily one of the better ones I've gotten!



You can tell I attended school during the 1980s, right?  How else can you explain the fact that ALF Valentine's cards existed?  This was another card that I totally remember getting.  And at the time, I totally loved it!  But much like the television show, ALF has not aged well.  Neither has this card.



Also in the 1980s, I recall Michael Jordan's image being everywhere.  You saw him on basketball posters.  You saw him eating Ballpark franks.  You even saw him in his underpants on those Hanes commercials.  And in this case, you saw him on Valentine's Day cards.  At least I can say I got the generic "You're cool" card.  Interesting fact - I remember who did send me this one.  Ironically enough, it was from someone I hated!  Oh well...I guess I can be thankful I got one from them at all.



I admit it.  I loved watching Tiny Toon Adventures when I was younger.  And I seem to remember that a lot of other kids in my 5th grade class loved watching it too.  So much so that a quarter of my Valentine's that year were Tiny Toon themed.  Here's one example for you.



And, of course, Valentine's Day wouldn't be complete without a quintessential Peanuts card.  At least I can say that I scored more Valentines than Charlie Brown ever did.

And now for the fun part.  I found a lot of examples of fan-made Valentine's Day cards out on the Internet (mostly on Pinterest), and I think it is a crying shame that these cards were not produced back in the days in which I was handing cards out.



Like, how about these "Full House" Valentines?  With "Fuller House" coming out soon, this would be a great time to bring them out.  I posted this one of Stephanie here, but there's one of each cast member available.  The Danny Tanner one of "I'd fold your laundry" is especially creepy.



Or, how about a set of "Golden Girls" Valentines?  This one features Bea Arthur, but I'm sure the whole cast will have their own card.  Admit it.  You've thought of it before, haven't you?



I'm actually shocked they didn't come up with "Saved By The Bell" Valentines.  Why, think of the possibilities.  You could have Kelly doing a cheer proclaiming her love.  You could have Jessie shouting about how she's SO EXCITED to be yours!  And in the case of this example, you could just transcribe the text that Zack Morris spoke in that episode where he taped subliminal advertisements over those Beau Revere tapes so that Kelly would ask him to the dance.



"Family Matters" Valentines would have been all right...except that most of them would have probably featured Steve Urkel.  This was one of the only ones I could find that had a different character.



And finally, with the arrival of "Girl Meets World", why not release "Boy Meets World" Valentines?  By the time I reached seventh grade, everyone I knew watched it.  Make it happen, people!

Tuesday, February 09, 2016

February 9, 1964

Welcome to another edition of the Tuesday Timeline, and a very happy Mardi Gras to all of you out there!  Have fun and collect all sorts of beads - and hopefully you won't regret how you got them either!

For today's topic, I think you'll agree that there really was no other subject that was worthy of a discussion.  Today is just one of those days where I knew what topic I wanted to talk about from the moment it arrived.

It's not often I have this happen.  Most times, I struggle to come up with a topic!

Anyway, let's see what happened in the history books on February 9.

1555 - Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake

1775 - The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion during the American Revolutionary War

1825 - John Quincy Adams is elected as President of the United States by the House of Representatives following the 1824 elections in which no candidate received the majority of electoral votes

1861 - Jefferson Davis is elected Provisional President of the Confederate States of America

1870 - The United States Weather Bureau is established

1895 - The sport of volleyball is created by William G. Morgan - originally called "Mintonette"

1900 - The Davis Cup competition is established

1909 - Brazilian singer/dancer/film star Carmen Miranda (d. 1955) is born

1914 - Country singer Ernest Tubb (d. 1984) is born in Crisp, Texas

1934 - The Balkan Entente is formed

1936 - Folk singer Stompin' Tom Connors (d. 2013) is born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

1942 - Year-round Daylight Savings Time is re-established in the United States as a way to conserve energy resources during World War II

1950 - Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State as being filled with communists during the Second Red Scare

1951 - The Geochang Massacre takes place during the Korean War

1969 - The first test flight of the Boeing 747 takes place

1971 - An earthquake strikes the San Fernando Valley, killing 64 people - that same day, Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame

1981 - Singer Bill Haley of Bill Haley & His Comets dies at the age of 55

1986 - Halley's Comet last appears in the inner Solar System - the next time this will occur will be in the year 2061

1996 - The Provisional Irish Republic Army declare an end to their 18-month long ceasefire by blowing up a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf

2009 - The first winter ascent of Makalu occurs by Simone Moro and Denis Urubko

And celebrating a birthday on February 9 are the following famous faces; Roger Mudd, Clive Swift, Barbara Young, Barry Mann, Carole King, Barbara Lewis, Joe Pesci, Alice Walker, Mia Farrow, Joe Ely, Judith Light, Charles Shaughnessy, Mookie Wilson, Holly Johnson, Anik Bissonnette, Travis Tritt, Darren Dalton, Stephin Merritt, Alejandra Guzman, Tom Scharpling, Sharon Case, Matt Gogel, Crispin Freeman, Jason Winston George, Colin Egglesfield, Amber Valletta, Charlie Day, A.J. Buckley, Irina Slutskaya, Zhang Ziyi, Tom Hiddleston, David Gallagher, Sam Coulson, Michael B. Jordan, and Jimmy Bennett.

So, what day are we revisiting this week?  Well, as mentioned before, it's a day that I knew right away what the subject was going to be all about.



That day is February 9, 1964.

Now, before I get into the discussion about the Tuesday Timeline subject, I want to tell you all about a gift that I got for Christmas that loosely ties into today's topic.

I received a desk calendar (you know, one of those calendars that you peel the dates off one by one) that is a "Blast From The Past" edition.  Every page features a trivia fact about one of three decades - the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s.  Obviously, I only have memories of the 1980s, but it's a very cool calendar to have.  And, I've been posting photos of each page on my Facebook page in hopes of inspiring discussion.

Check out the page that has today's date on it.



Why, thank you "Blast From The Past" calendar for announcing the topic of today's Tuesday Timeline!



Yes, it was on this date fifty-two years ago that the group that kicked off the British Invasion first arrived on American television.  It was the date that The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first of three nights!

It seems almost unbelievable to realize this, but it took the band nearly two years before they made it to North America.  I seem to recall that when the Spice Girls broke out onto the music scene back in 1996 that it didn't take nearly as long for them to spread their "Girl Power" to North America.

So, how did the deal go through to bring Beatlemania to the United States?

Well, as mentioned, The Beatles were already huge successes in their native UK.  The group released their first single in the fall of 1962 (a little ditty entitled "Love Me Do"), and released their first LP "Please Please Me" in March 1963.  By the end of 1963, the Beatles had already scored three #1 hits ("From Me To You", "She Loves You", and "I Want To Hold Your Hand").  Also by the end of 1963, the group was starting to break into the American market, with the latter two songs peaking at #1.

So, naturally, the group wanted to find a way to meet their American fans.

And that opportunity came one day at Heathrow Airport.

By chance, Ed Sullivan and his entourage happened to be at the airport around the same time that The Beatles were due to arrive back from Sweden.  He was blown away by just how huge the reception was for their homecoming and Sullivan compared it to the days in which Elvis Presley had gotten the same treatment.

(Mind you, this was only six or seven years after the fact, but still...The Beatles were that big!)

He approached Brian Epstein - manager of The Beatles - and made him an offer to have the group perform on his show for what was initially supposed to be one night only.  But Epstein, who knew a promotion idea when he saw it - upped the ante.  Instead of one night, he wanted the group to appear on three shows.  And while the band would work for bottom dollar, they would receive top billing in the show and be allowed to open and close each show they appeared on.

Sullivan - who also knew a good thing when he saw it - agreed.

And so, on February 9, 1964 - in front of hundreds of screaming teenage girls in the audience - The Beatles made their American debut. 

And to close this Tuesday Timeline off, let's watch part of that performance now!


Monday, February 08, 2016

Confidence



This is a post about confidence.

We all know what confidence is.  It's the belief in your abilities and strengths that allow you to perform well.  I'll even go one up and say that confidence and courage come hand in hand with each other, and that you can't have one without the other.



I mean, just pulling up an example from pop culture past, I remember long ago watching an episode of "Good Times".  You know, the show about a family surviving in the Chicago projects that aired between 1974 and 1979 and introduced us to the acting abilities of Janet Jackson?  There was an episode in which Florida Evans (yep, she was named after a state) was given a chance to star in a television commercial for a new product called Vitabrite, but she was nervous about doing a commercial that would air in millions of households. 

Luckily, her family helped her through it all, and by the time it came time for her to read the script, she was more than ready to knock it out of the park.

Unfortunately, the product was a health serum that contained no less that eighteen per cent alcohol content, and when Florida's youngest child, Michael, guzzled the stuff down...well...let's just say that it involved a lot of dancing and a lot of singing Tony Orlando and Dawn lyrics off-key.

Oh, how I wish I had a video clip of this to show you, but if you want the gist of it, the episode is called "The TV Commercial", and it can be found on the first season DVD set of "Good Times". 

Anyway, once Florida discovered that she was essentially being a spokesperson for booze, and how she was essentially forced to lie to the camera, she turned the commercial down.  Sure, the commercial could have helped her family out financially, but she felt so strongly in her ethics that she showed enough courage and confidence to walk away.  That's understandable.

Now, the fact of the matter is that most of us probably won't find ourselves in a situation where we win a role on a television commercial.  But we all have our moments in which we have to show confidence.  And sometimes we can have a difficult time in figuring out just how much confidence to show.

Let's talk about people who have overconfidence issues.  People who are so confident in their abilities that they feel that everyone else is unable to match them.  People like, oh, Kanye West or Donald Trump for example.  They are people who are very confident in their abilities and for what it's worth, I understand how both examples have a right to exude confidence in themselves.  But they exude so much confidence that it can be mistaken for arrogance. 

I'm not a fan of arrogance at all.  I don't feel it's right for people to use their confidence to demean or belittle other people.  It's completely unnecessary, and I don't understand how people can allow themselves to become so cocky.

And it's usually because I fall in line with the other extreme of confidence.

Having low self-confidence is just as bad as having too much self-confidence.  People who have low self-confidence often find themselves agreeing with people just to avoid confrontation.  They are afraid to put forth their best efforts because of fear of being judged, or feeling like they will fail, or feeling as though nobody understands them.

And I know this because I've had a lot of issues with confidence.  There have been times in which I have openly remarked that I am not good enough in a variety of different situations, and it almost felt like my self-doubt has become a prison that I was trapped it.  It was like I had given myself a life sentence of solitary confinement and I didn't really understand what crime I committed to justify the punishment.

It took me a long time to realize that there was no justifying it because there was no reason that I would willingly do that to myself.  If people were rude and crude towards me, that was their problem.  And if people didn't want to hang out with me, that was their loss.  And if people manipulated me into giving them something they wanted, only to have them throw me under the bus the next minute - well, that's more of a social commentary on them.

Even now, I struggle with the issue of confidence.  I've been at my newest job for a month, and I know I've been doing very well, but I still find myself wanting to know if I really am doing that well in the first place.  There always seems to be that nagging doubt in my head that prevents me from believing that what I am doing is the right thing, and as much as I want to beat that nagging doubt out of my head, I fear I'd end up with a concussion or brain damage if I tried.

But you know...I feel that by admitting my lack of self-confidence in public, I'm showing courage about it, and therefore, I'm improving my confidence by speaking out about it. 

So.  Maybe there's hope after all.

Friday, February 05, 2016

The Best Of Pop Culture Friends

Did you know that yesterday was Friends Day?

(Well, at least it was on Facebook, anyway.)

Beginning yesterday, people who logged onto Facebook could get a Friends video made of themselves based on the content that you have posted onto your wall, and content that your friends have posted to your content.  It's a really cool idea, and I have to admit that it was a really nice idea.  Some of the memories it picked I remember very fondly, and it's nice to know that I do have a support system in my life.  I never always felt that way, you know.

So, in celebration of Friends Day, I thought that I would dedicate this post to some of the famous friends that have graced our film, television, and video game screens over the years. 

It's not necessarily a Top 10 list or anything like that.  Instead, think of it as a template for what we all wish our friendships could be like.

Ready?  Here we go.  Let's start off with a pair of friends who are about to make a comeback on Netflix.



D.J. TANNER and KIMMY GIBBLER

These two have been friends since Kimmy's family moved next door to the Tanner household.  And from the moment they met, they've been inseparable.  I imagine that Kimmy was there for D.J. when her mother passed away, and over the eight seasons of "Full House" that aired, D.J. and Kimmy grew up having each other's back.  As we get prepared for "Fuller House" and Kimmy moving in with D.J. to help raise her children, I'm sure we'll see more of that friendship in action.



THE FRIENDS of "FRIENDS"

Chandler.  Rachel.  Ross.  Phoebe.  Joey.  Monica.  Six people all in their twenties living the good life in the heart of New York City.  And you know what?  I don't think that their experiences wouldn't have been nearly as much fun had they not experienced them together.  From spying on the ugly naked guy to testing the waters romantically, no matter what situation they faced or whoever cancelled their wedding, they would remain friends forever.  Really, I wish I had five people in my life like that during my twenties.



THE SAVED BY THE BELL CREW

Under normal circumstances, these six people probably would never hang out together.  You had the brainiac, the girl next door, the fashionista, the jock, the geek, and the schemer.  And somehow Jessie, Kelly, Lisa, Slater, Screech, and Zack found a way to stay...you know it's coming...FRIENDS FOREVER!!!  



Seriously, these six teens basically defined friendship for a generation of people, and I only wish my own experiences in high school were like this.  Alas, Bayside High is only a fictional place...and my high school principal wasn't nearly as cool as Mr. Belding was.  Take that statement as you like.



TEMPERANCE BRENNAN and ANGELA MONTENEGRO

There are quite a few friendships that have developed on the television series "Bones", but the one between Brennan and Angela definitely is the longest - even longer than Brennan and Angela's relationships with their husbands.  Sure, at first glance, they couldn't be any more different.  Temperance relies on logic and science, while Angela is a free spirit.  But sometimes when it comes to opposites, they tend to attract and I don't mean romantically either.  I have friends who are a complete 180 from who I am, and I have to say that they are the ones who I think would be there for me the most.



THE ARCHIES

You know, sometimes it felt as though you had several separate groups of friends in this fivesome.  Archie and Jughead were best friends.  Betty and Veronica were best frenemies.  Reggie was just Reggie.  But these five made beautiful music together as the Archies, and over time, these five did everything together.  Sure, they may not always get along (see Archie and Reggie for example), but there's definitely a connection there.



HARRY POTTER, RON WEASELY, and HERMIONE GRANGER

You thought that I'd leave these three students of Hogwarts out of this post?  Think again.  There is absolutely nothing that these three won't do for each other.  The first time they met aboard the Hogwarts Express, we knew that these three would become friends for life.  And certainly in between that first meeting and slaying Voldemort once and for all, they bonded over spell casting, Quidditch matches, and the Wizard's Cup tournament! 

I'm also certain that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson feel that way about each other in the real world as well as the characters they played in the film series.



SPYRO and SPARX

Remember the Spyro the Dragon series of games before Spyro sold out and became a Skylander?  Remember how much fun they were?  Well, part of the reason why is because of the wonderful friendship that Spyro shared with dragonfly Sparx.  Seriously, everywhere that Spyro went, Sparx was there to protect him.  If Spyro got harmed, Sparx would take the hit for him.  That is one tough dragonfly!  And Spyro would reward Sparx for his hard work by feeding him butterflies to keep his golden aura shining brightly!



THE BIG HERO 6

Losing a loved one is never easy - in the case of Hiro, losing his brother Tadashi was a devastating blow.  He isolated himself from everybody in his life and wanted to be alone.  But a big inflatable robot named Baymax wouldn't let that happen, and you could say that he was the catalyst in reuniting Hiro with his friends Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred.  Together, they formed the greatest superhero alliance that San Fransokyo has ever seen - and one of the strongest friendships ever shown in a Disney film.



There you have it.  Some of my picks for strongest friends ever.  Have any more to add to the list?