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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

March 22, 1989

Well, it's good to be back after taking a little bit of a break.  This here is the Tuesday Timeline for March 22, and I have to say that this was a date in which I certainly had a lot of possible topics to choose from.  I'll admit that narrowing down the field was not an easy task.  That being said, I think the topic I chose is one that best demonstrates how life can drastically change in the blink of an eye.

Before we go on with that though, let's have a look at some of the other events that took place on this date.

1622 - Algonquin Indians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia

1765 - British Parliament passes the Stamp Act

1829 - The United Kingdom, France, and Russia establish the borders of Greece in The London Protocol

1871 - William Woods Holden becomes the first American governor to be impeached

1887 - Actor/singer Chico Marx (d. 1961) is born in New York City

1894 - The first playoff game for the Stanley Cup is held

1923 - French born mime Marcel Marceau (d. 2007) is born in Strasbourg

1943 - In one of the most shocking events of World War II, the entire population of Khatyn, Belarus is burnt alive by German occupation forces

1945 - The Arab League is founded in Cairo, Egypt

1960 - The first patent for the laser is granted to Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes

1963 - The Beatles release their first album in the United Kingdom - "Please Please Me"

1972 - The United States Supreme Court rules that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives

1975 - Residents of Decatur, Alabama are temporarily shaken when a fire at a nearby nuclear power plant causes a reduction in cooling water levels

1978 - Karl Wallenda falls to his death during an attempt to cross a tightrope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico - he was 73

1982 - Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from Kennedy Space Center on Mission STS-3

1993 - Intel ships its first Pentium chips

1994 - Singer Dan Hartman passes away of AIDS related complications, aged 40 - on the same day that animator Walter Lantz dies at the age of 94

1997 - Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest to win the Woman's World Figure Skating Championship, just two months shy of turning fifteen

1999 - Actor David Strickland takes his own life at just 29 years of age

2001 - Animator William Hanna dies at the age of 90

2009 - Reality show personality Jade Goody passes away of cervical cancer, aged 27

2014 - A boat capsizes in Lake Albert, killing 251 passengers

And, sadly...I have one more event to add, along with condolences towards the people of Brussels...

2016 - A series of bomb attacks kill at least 31 people in the city of Brussels, Belgium

And celebrating a birthday on March 22 are the following famous faces; Gilles Pelletier, Mort Drucker, Pat Robertson, Stephen Sondheim, William Shatner, May Britt, M. Emmet Walsh, Roger Whittaker, Jeremy Clyde, Bruno Ganz, George Benson, Eric Roth, Wolf Blitzer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bob Costas, James House, Lena Olin, Stephanie Mills, Matthew Modine, Keegan-Michael Key, Elvis Stojko, Beverley Knight, Anne Dudek, Cole Hauser, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Reese Witherspoon, John Otto, Shannon Bex, Michael Janyk, and Nick Robinson.

Now let's see what year we're going to go back in time to this week.



Ah, March 22, 1989.  That would be exactly 27 years ago today.

And I'm sure that if you are a fan of hockey, you probably remember this day very well, as it was probably one of the most horrifying days that could have ever happened on a hockey rink - and the incident changed one NFL player's life forever.

Now, everybody knows that when it comes to the world of sports, there is not a single sport that doesn't come without its risks.  In baseball, for example, there's always a chance that a player could break a leg sliding into third base, or get clonked on the head by a foul ball or bat.  In football, there's the threat of bodily harm, heat exhaustion, and concussions.  Even in synchronized swimming, there's always a slim chance that while you're performing your routine, you drown.  Mind you, I can't recall a time when that has happened, but there's always that chance.

And in the game of hockey, there are a lot of hazards that have to be considered.  The slick surface of the ice have caused dozens of hockey players to get battered and bruised when they slip.  There's risks of concussions - have you seen some of the players get smashed into the sides of the rink?  That's not pleasant!  And might I remind you that one of the reasons why a hockey mask became mandatory for goalies was because one nearly died taking a puck to the face?  There's even one of those retro Heritage Canada commercials that depicts this moment!

But in 1989, a new hazard was added to that list.  Having a sharpened skate blade pierce your neck and nearly bleeding to death as a result.



That event actually happened 27 years ago today.  And for the player that it happened to - Clint Malarchuk - it certainly was the point that changed his life forever.

Let's go back to that date.  That was the day that Malarchuk's team - the Buffalo Sabres - took on the St. Louis Blues.  And as far as Malarchuk's record went, he was a solid player.  Having played previously for several other teams including the Quebec Nordiques and the Washington Capitals, his overall career record included 141 wins, 130 losses, 45 ties, 12 shutouts, and a save percentage of .885. 

But it was during the first half of that game that something happened that caught everyone off guard, especially Malarchuk.

At some point during the game, Uwe Krupp of the Sabres and Steve Tuttle of the Blues were approaching the Sabres goal that Malarchuk was tending, and as they approached the net, they crashed into each other and slammed into the goal crease.  As a result of a freak accident, Tuttle's skate brushed up against the side of Malarchuk's neck and sliced it open.  To make matters worse, the skate blade severed Malarchuk's carotid artery which caused blood to rapidly pour out of Malarchuk's neck all over the ice surface.



Needless to say, the game was halted right at that moment, and cameras and spectators saw the whole thing happen live - both at the rink, and on live television.

Fortunately, Malarchuk had a lot of angels looking down on him that day.  One of which was the Sabres' athletic trainer at the time, Jim Pizzutelli, who prior to joining the Sabres worked as a - get this - a medic for the United States army who served during the Vietnam War.  It was Pizzutelli's quick thinking that got Malarchuk off the ice, and he managed to keep compression on the wound and pinched off the blood vessel to keep Malarchuk from bleeding to death.  He was still conscious when he was rushed to the hospital, and the game resumed when word broke that he was in stable condition.  Unfortunately for the Sabres, they ended up losing to the Blues with a score of 2-1.

But what a horrifying event to take place at a hockey game.  I was only seven years old when this event took place, so I do not remember seeing it...but I do remember a lot of my classmates talking about it in school.  The gruesome event had a lot of effect at the rink as well.  Eleven spectators passed out from the sight of the blood, and at least two more spectators suffered heart attacks.  Three players were so sickened by the sight of all the blood that they threw up on the ice.  Even the announcers of the game were visibly shaken, which you could notice immediately after the severity of the injury was revealed.

It was certainly one of hockey's darkest moments for sure.

After the injury healed, Malarchuk returned to the game (after it took nearly 300 stitches to close up the wound), but he didn't seem to do as well as he had before March 22, 1989, and by 1996, he had retired from the sport as a player, but continued as a coach.  However, the incident left him physically scarred, as well as emotionally.  His obsessive-compulsive disorder had gotten much worse, he became dependent on alcohol, and he also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a direct result of the accident.

And nearly two decades after his own accident, a second player - Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik - sustained nearly the same exact injury during a game in February 2008 which triggered the attacks of post-traumatic stress - which ultimately lead to a suicide attempt just a few months afterwards.

Fortunately, as of this writing, it seems as though Malarchuk has begun the recovery process.  And while I would like to explain it, I think this interview that he did with CBC news anchor Wendy Mesley in 2014 will do a much better job.


Friday, March 18, 2016

The Next Show To Be "Reviewed" Is.....

Hello, everybody!  Have you recovered from your St. Patrick's Day hangovers yet?  I hope you have, because I've got an announcement to make.

Remember how for part of 2015 and the first part of 2016, I did something every Friday where I reviewed a cartoon series episode by episode and we had a lot of conversation surrounding it?  The show I reviewed was the forgotten 1980's show "The New Archies", and for twenty-six weeks, I reviewed every 11-minute segment that spanned over thirteen episodes.  Some episodes were harder to write about than others, but I will say that it was a lot of fun to do.

So much fun that I've decided to do it again.



But which one?

Now, the first time around was a bit of a warm-up.  After all, the show lasted only one season.  The show that I'll be choosing this time around lasted THREE seasons and spanned 65 episodes.

So, doing the math...if I start this feature next Friday (March 25), and do one episode a week, I'll be doing this from now until June 16, 2017!  That's a whole year plus three months, everyone!

And, to further challenge myself, I'll be writing about a show that I'm semi-familiar with, but was not part of the target audience of the show by far.  So, you'll definitely be entertained as I prepare to watch all 65 episodes of this show - of which I've heard that the first half are wonderful and the last half are horrible.  So, the longer I do this, the more likely I'll go insane.

And as we all know, an insane blogger is an entertaining blogger.  Or, so I've heard.

Interestingly enough, when I did my first review, this was one of the choices that I had listed, and I remember a few people voted for it, but not enough for me to choose it.  But with this show currently available on Netflix Canada and on a couple of other sources, I should have little difficulty finding screencaps.  The music videos might be harder to locate, but I'll at least have the screencaps.

Okay, no keeping you in suspense any longer.  Let's get on with it.  And...I'm about to embarrass myself by revealing this choice the same way that our main character would before going on stage.

SHOWTIME, SYNERGY!



Yes, I've decided to torture myself by writing a review on all 65 episodes of the 1980s cartoon classic "Jem".  Would you believe that it's been over thirty years since this cartoon debuted on television?  I believe that it started in October 1985 and lasted until May 1988...or at least that's what Wikipedia tells me anyway.  I have reason to believe those dates are correct though.  I don't remember seeing too much of Jem during the 1990s.



So, why did I choose this truly, truly, truly outrageous show?  Well, there's a few reasons.  One, I like torturing myself.

Okay, okay.  In all actuality, I had no idea the show ran as long as it did.  I remember seeing a few episodes of the show's first season which aired on YTV back in the day, but I don't remember seeing many of the second or third seasons except for the very last episode where...ah, you'll have to wait until June for that one.  This way, I can watch the whole series and recap it...as good or as bad as it was.

Secondly, I figure that by watching this as a non-target audience member (seriously, this series is more or less a three season commercial for Hasbro dolls), I can gain a little perspective and hopefully find an appreciation for it (while being snarky in the process).

And lastly, I've looked around and there's not really a full recap guide of this show anywhere.  Sure, people have reviewed SOME of the shows, but I want to have a full guide.  Call it a challenge to myself, I suppose.

So, what can you expect me to talk about over the next 65 Fridays? 

- I'll point out all of the ways this show seems like a commercial - one thing I have found is that the show slips little references to the actual toy line inside the cartoon similar to the way that "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" did circa 1989.



- I'll point out all the ways in which Jem/Jerrica Benton is crazy.  Trust me, there's no shortage on that.



- I'll keep an active tally of the number of times Kimber almost kills herself.  I don't know why, but she seems to be an idiot in some of these episodes just based on prescreening.
- I'll talk about the Starlight Girls and how sometimes they might have been better off living on the streets.  Let's just say that Jem and the Holograms sometimes don't act like the best influences.



- I'll talk about some of the serious issues that this show focuses on.  You may think this is a cartoon for kids, but when you have a show that has special episodes on running away from home, illiteracy, peer pressure, and even drug abuse - well, let's just say that this cartoon was a bit ahead of its time.



- And, yes...if possible, I'll post links to all the music videos this show produced - of which I'm told there are 187 of them.  Which isn't too bad, as some of the songs aren't bad.  Though I do like one group better than the three that are featured in this cartoon, and it may not be the one you'd suspect.



The fun begins Friday, March 25 with Episode 1:  The Beginning.  It's an episode that features a funeral, a supercomputer, a pair of earrings, three Misfits, and a big fire.  But I've said too much...

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Don't Like Green Beer? Try These St. Patrick's Day Beverages Instead!



Hello, everybody!  And, a very happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you today!  As you can see, I've made this place a little bit Irish to celebrate the occasion, and this post will be written in green font to make this post really pop.

I figure it's the best that I can do, given that I have not a drop of Irish blood in me.  When you have a first name with Hebrew origins and a last name that is French-Canadian, that pretty much guarantees that the luck of the Irish is NOT on my side. 



But hey, I ate Lucky Charms and watched Harrigan as a kid, so I guess that counts for something, right?

Now, I imagine that later on tonight, many of you will be doing a lot of pub crawling.  Or, in the case of my small town, going to like one of the three or four bars that happen to be in town and seeing which one is the busiest.  And why would you do that?

Well, I would imagine that it may have a little to do with this.



Green beer.

Let's face it.  For most of us who are Irish or who want to be Irish, green beer is the best way to blend in with the crowd.  It's only available once a year, and it's the same colour as lemon lime Kool-Aid a lot of the time.  It's like going back to childhood in a way...only with a lot different taste and a lot less equilibrium the more you indulge.

But what about those of us who don't like green beer?  Or beer of any kind?  Where does that leave us?

I guess I should explain.  While I have nothing against drinking beer - I've been known to enjoy a Heineken once in a blue...ahem...green moon - I'm not much of a drinker.  I'm the kind of person who would prefer to drink water over alcoholic beverages at a party.  There are reasons behind it, but I won't go into them too much here.  For the most part, I practice teetotalism, and I'm fine with that.

Of course, it leads to a dilemma.  If I don't want green beer, and if Irish creme based alcoholic cocktails are also out of the question...what else is there for us to drink?

Fortunately, there are other options out there for having a good time the non-alcoholic way.  Allow me to share some with you.



1 - SHAMROCK SHAKES

Remember when you were a kid, and you went to McDonald's every March 17th?  Remember how they had a special edition milkshake that was only available on that day that you just had to have? 

Yes, I'm talking about Shamrock Shakes.  And, no...they weren't made with real shamrocks either.  We're at McDonald's...not Whole Foods.

No, a Shamrock shake is a basic vanilla milkshake mixed with peppermint flavouring and green food colouring.  When I was a kid, I loved them.  By my teen years, I lost interest in them.  And now as an adult, I've grown to like them again.  But if you don't want to go out to McDonald's to get one of these yourself, you can make one using mint chocolate chip ice cream, milk, and a blender.  Honestly, homemade ones are much better anyway.  But still, it's nice of McDonald's to keep making them every year.



2 - 7UP/SPRITE

Many of us have had the debate as to which one is better.  I've always preferred Sprite myself - though I loved Cherry 7UP when it was available in Canada.  But these sodas - while not green in colour - are made with lemon and lime flavouring.  And at least with Sprite and 7UP being clear in colour, it makes it easy to dye green!  It looks like green beer, but has no alcohol, so you can drink as much as you like!

Other green-ish sodas that you could indulge in are Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Mello Yello (which I believe still exists in some parts of the U.S.A.) and Canada Dry Ginger Ale.



3 - IRISH COFFEE

Now, I know, I know.  You think Irish Coffee is made with alcohol - which if you use Bailey's Irish Creme, yes it is.  But if you want the taste of Irish Creme without the alcohol, grab some coffee flavouring that is made with cream.  It tastes just as delicious and you won't get buzzed!



4 - GREEN KOOL-AID

Okay, so this is more of a kid beverage, but still...if you want a non-alcoholic St. Patrick's Day beverage, this works!

Regardless of your choice of beverage, just remember not to overdo it.  Call a cab or Uber it if you feel like you've had too much.  Stay at a pal's house overnight to sleep it off.  Do NOT drink and drive.

Have yourselves a safe and enjoyable St. Patrick's Day.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

A History Of Friendship - FINALE



The next day, Archie and Jughead were moving quickly through the halls of Riverdale High.  They were late for Miss Grundy's history class after spending their study hall period putting the finishing touches on their projects for class.
   “I can't believe that we lost track of time!”  Archie exclaimed.  “Why did my watch battery die?”
   “I don't know, but in all honesty, the class is really the last thing on my mind.”  Jughead said.
   Archie stopped.  “You're thinking about Wembley.”
   “He hasn't been in school all day long.”  Jughead said.  “I can't help but worry about him.  I mean, Clay and Johnny have both been suspended from Riverdale High for what they did to Wembley, and Mr. Weatherbee has said that if they go near Wembley again, they'll face expulsion.  I would have thought that would have been enough.”
   “Jughead, you did everything you could.”  Archie said.  “You can't fault yourself for that.”
   Jughead frowned.  “I just wish that...”
   But, then Jughead stopped mid-sentence and began to smile as someone approached.
   “Wembley!!!”  Jughead exclaimed.
   “And, here I was thinking that I was the only one late for class.”  Wembley said.
   “How are you doing?”  Archie asked.
   “I'm hanging in there.”  Wembley said.  “When I left Pop's yesterday, I had a really long talk with my aunt and uncle.  They aren't mad at me for letting the jewelry box get broken.  In fact, talking with them about what had happened really helped.”
   “I had a feeling.”  Jughead said, smiling.  “Judging by your aunt's reaction, I take it they didn't know what was going on.”
   “No.”  Wembley said.  “At first, I felt scared to talk to anyone.  But, since I found talking about it with you two so easy, I figured that telling them would be too.  Just talking about it helped.”
   “Good.”  Jughead said.
   “And, besides...with Clay and Johnny suspended from school, it'll at least make the next couple of weeks easy to get through.”  Wembley said.
   “So...”  Archie began.  “...does this mean you're sticking around?”
   Wembley nodded.  “It's like you guys said.  Maybe I need to trust that you are right...and maybe I need to give you guys another chance too...I'm going to see how it goes.  One day at a time, right?”
   Jughead smiled.  “It's good to see that you're staying.”
   “Me too.”  Wembley said.  “Although, I'm a little nervous about going to Miss Grundy's class without a project.”
   Archie and Jughead's eyes widened.  “CLASS!!!”
   “Come on!”  Jughead exclaimed.  “We're late!”

   Meanwhile, in Miss Grundy's classroom, Veronica was just finishing her oral presentation.
   “...so, in conclusion to my project, I really hope that I inspired all of you to put your best foot forward.  It wasn't easy for me to slip into the subject, but once I got to talking about it, it felt as comfortable as an old pair of slippers.  And, thanks to the wonderful invention of modern shoes, everyone in the twentieth century could get to wherever they wanted to go, and look good doing it!  Thank you!”
   The class all clapped as Veronica took her seat.
   “Thank you, Veronica.”  Miss Grundy.  “I must certainly say that when you brought in fifty pairs of shoes from your own closet, I was initially worried that you'd make this project into nothing more than a fashion show, but you really demonstrated how our footwear has evolved over the past one hundred years.  Very well thought out project.”  
   “I knew you'd appreciate it.”  Veronica said.
   :Have to admit.”  Betty said.  “That was very informative.  I really misjudged you.”
   “Thank you, Betty.”  Veronica said.  “Your project was great too.”
   Just then, Archie, Jughead, and Wembley ran into the classroom.
   Miss Grundy did not look impressed.  “Would you care to tell me why you're twenty minutes late for class?”
   “We lost track of time.”  Archie said.
   “We got lost.”  Jughead said.
   Miss Grundy sighed.  “Boys, just take your seats.”
   Archie and Jughead sheepishly sat down.  As Wembley walked in, Miss Grundy smiled.  “Wembley...nice to see you back!”
   “Thank you.”  Wembley said.
   As Wembley walked to his desk, Betty smiled at him.  “Nice to see you, Wembley!”
   “Good afternoon!”  Veronica said.
   “Oh...”  Wembley said, smiling.  “...Hi, Betty...Veronica...”
   As Wembley sat down, Miss Grundy began to speak.  “Okay, so we've heard from Betty, Midge, Chuck, and now Veronica.  The next person on my randomly drawn list of names is Reggie Mantle, but he doesn't seem to be here right now, so we'll go on to the next name on my list, which is...Wembley...”
   Wembley sighed sadly.
   Miss Grundy looked sad.  “Wembley, I know that your project was ruined yesterday, and if you want, I can skip your name and go on to the next student.”
   “He doesn't have to.”  said a voice from behind her.
   Miss Grundy turned around and saw Reggie standing behind her, holding something in his hands.
   “Reggie Mantle, you are late for class!”  Miss Grundy said, her voice rising.
   “I know...I know.”  Reggie said.  “Believe me, I have a good reason.  And, it looks like I got back just in time for Wembley's project.”
   “Reggie, what are you talking about?”  Archie asked.
   “What's going on?”  Jughead questioned.
   “You'll see.”  Reggie said.  “Wembley, can you come up here, please?”
   Wembley looked shocked.  “Um...what?”
   “Go ahead.”  Betty motioned.
   “Yeah.”  Veronica said.
   Wembley nervously approached the front of the classroom where Miss Grundy and Reggie stood.  Jughead and Archie followed.
   “What's this about?”  Archie asked Jughead.
   “Your guess is as good as mine.”  Jughead admitted.
   Wembley turned towards Reggie.  “Reggie, I'm not doing my project...I can't.  I mean, I memorized my oral report, but I have nothing to show.”
   “That's not true.”  Reggie said.
   It was then that Reggie placed what he had in his hands on Miss Grundy's desk, and removed the cloth over top of it.  And, once he did, everyone in the room gasped in shock while Wembley's eyes bugged out of his head.
   There in plain view on Miss Grundy's desk was a blue jewelry box.  The same jewelry box that had gotten broken the day before.  Fully repaired.
   Wembley was blown away as the rest of the class beamed with excitement.  “What?  I...how?  You?”
   Reggie just stood there as Archie whispered to Jughead.  “I don't believe it!”
   Jughead just smiled.  “Maybe Mantle has a soft side after all.”
   “How in the world?”  Wembley exclaimed.  “This was smashed into pieces!  And, yet it's all here...the blue lid...the blue flowers, the inscription on the bottom!  How did you fix it?”
   “It took a lot of work.”  Reggie exclaimed.  “But, I was up for the challenge.  In shop class, I was doing really well in the woodworking part, and figured that if I could carve wood, I could do just as good a job gluing it back together.  I had some help from Mr. Krosskutt in putting this box back together again.  It's not perfect, and there's some cracks in it that I don't think will ever be completely fixed, but I wouldn't stop until I managed to get this box back to as close to the way it was as it could be.”
   Wembley was shocked.  “You...you did this all yourself?”
   “Well, I did have help from the teacher, who by the way signed a note excusing my lateness.”  Reggie said, handing Miss Grundy the note from Mr. Krosskutt.  “But, I stayed up late trying to get this box back together, and ended up being late for class to fix up one little detail.”
   “Which was?”  Jughead asked.
   “Well, I noticed that when the box was broken, that the part that played the music was broken too...”  Reggie said.
   “Oh, that was broken for years.”  Wembley said, as he went to open the box up.  “It hasn't played any music...”
   But before Wembley could finish, he heard a faint melody coming from below.  When Wembley opened up the box, the song that was inside began to play.  And, once he heard the first few notes, Wembley's eyes began to water.
   “Oh my...the music.”  Wembley said.  “The music works!”
   “Did I mention that Mr. Krosskutt can fix broken music boxes?”  Reggie said.  “He managed to get the music playing again in no time!”
   “But, why would you go to so much trouble?”  Wembley asked Reggie.  “You didn't really know me?”
   Reggie sighed a deep sigh.  “No...but I'd like to.  I had no idea that this box had so much meaning for you, and when those guys broke it, I really felt bad.  I wanted to fix it back up for you because I knew that It would be something that I could do to apologize to you.  I am so sorry that I couldn't stop Clay and Johnny from bullying you, and I am really sorry that I couldn't stop them from breaking this box.  I hope that by repairing this box for you that I have shown you that we really do care at Riverdale High, and that I hope that you can forgive me for not being able to help you before.”
   The entire class was a bit misty-eyed at this point.  Even Miss Grundy looked like she was moved by the whole thing.
   Wembley stared at Reggie and smiled.  “This is...one of the nicest things that anybody has ever done for me.  Thank you so much, Reggie.”
   Reggie shook Wembley's hand, trying to keep his composure.  “You're welcome, Wembley.  And, after school, I hope that you'll come down to Pop's and join the rest of the football team.  We all want to apologize to you and let you know that not all of us are like Johnny and Clay.”
   Jughead headed over towards Wembley.  “You see now?”  
   Wembley nodded.  “You know something...I think I'm really going to like it here.”
   Wembley then gave Jughead a hug.  “Thank you.”
   Jughead smiled.  “Welcome to Riverdale High, Wembley.”
   “Okay.”  Miss Grundy said, dabbing a tissue to her face.  “We still have presentations to do.  This whole week has been really an...interesting one here.”
   “You can say that again!”  Archie said.
   “Wembley...”  Miss Grundy said.  “...would you like to do your presentation?”
   “Yes...”  Wembley said.  “I'm ready now.”
   “Good.”  Miss Grundy said.  “Class, take your seats, please.”
   Jughead, Archie, and Reggie sat back down in their seats as Wembley began to speak.
   “For my class project, I brought in one of the last things that I have from my parents.  It's this jewelry box that my father had given to my mother when they were dating.  Initially, I was going to talk about why this jewelry box meant so much to me, because of my parents...but seeing all of these cracks in the top...well, it has so much more meaning to me now.  This box has a rich history of love, memories, laughter, and joy...and, thanks to some really, really good friends that I have made here, it now has another form of history to it...the history of friendship.”
   As Wembley continued with his presentation, Jughead leaned back and winked at Wembley.  “You're gonna be all right, kid.  I know it.”

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

March 15, 1962

Welcome to another edition of the Tuesday Timeline.  It's the fifteenth of March, and I have to say that I was definitely bombarded with a lot of choice for subjects to discuss!  Let's just say that March 15 was a busy day in pop culture history!

I did settle on a topic that could answer the question "where are they now?" for one entertainer - and no, I'm not talking about Richard Simmons either.  But, it could also answer the question "who are they now?"

Confused?  You won't be as you read on.  First of all, let's see what took place in history on this date, starting with a rather significant event...

44 B.C. - Julius Caesar is stabbed to death on the Ides of March

1493 - After his first visit to the Americas, Christopher Columbus returns to Spain

1672 - Charles II issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence in Britain

1783 - George Washington makes an impassioned plea to his officers to not support the Newburgh Conspiracy - the plea works, and a planned coup d'etat does not take place

1820 - Maine is admitted as the twenty-third state to join the United States

1875 - Archbishop of New York John McCloskey becomes the first cardinal in the United States

1877 - The first official cricket test match is played in Melbourne, Australia

1906 - Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated

1913 - Soap actor Macdonald Carey (d. 1994) is born in Sioux City, Iowa

1919 - Actor Lawrence Tierney (d. 2002) is born in Brooklyn, New York

1935 - Percy Shaw founds Reflecting Roadstuds Limited - a company specializing in the manufacturing of cat's eyes

1956 - The Broadway musical "My Fair Lady" debuts at the Mark Hellinger Theatre

1975 - Businessman Aristotle Onassis dies at the age of 69

1985 - The first Internet domain name is registered - symbolics.com

1986 - Thirty-three people perish following the collapse of Singapore's Hotel New World

1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev is elected President of the Soviet Union

1998 - Pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock dies at the age of 94

2011 - The Syrian Civil War commences

2015 - Toto bass player Mike Porcaro dies at the age of 59

Wow...hard to believe that the conflicts in Syria began five years ago today and they're still nowhere near resolving it.  Certainly makes one think.

Celebrating a birthday this March 15 are the following famous faces; Jeanne Mockford, D.J. Fontana, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judd Hirsch, Jimmy Swaggart, Margo Howard, Mike Love, David Cronenberg, Sly Stone, Howard E. Scott, Heather Graham Pozzessere, Dee Snider, Park Overall, David Silverman, Harold Baines, Terry Cummings, Craig Ludwig, Bret Michaels, Rockwell, Chris Bruno, Mark McGrath, Kim Raver, Penny Lancaster, Mark Hoppus, will.i.am, Eva Longoria, Katherine Brooks, Joe Hahn, Young Buck, Jordan Hastings, Emily Tyndall, Sean Biggerstaff, Tom Chilton, Kellan Lutz, Jai Courtney, Adrianne Leon, Alexander Sims, Siobhan Magnus, and Ellie Leach.  Happy birthday to you all!

And now comes the year that we're flashing back in time to...



Yes, today we're looking back on March 15, 1962.  And, as it so happens, this also happens to be a celebrity birthdate.  But, just who is turning 54 years old today?

Seriously, who?  After all, this guy has actually changed his name, and has released music under both names.

Now, I'm guessing that the name Sananda Francesco Maitreya probably will have you wondering who I'm talking about.  For all you know, I've either described a South American delicacy, a race car driver from Europe, or Kimmy Gibbler's ex-husband on "Fuller House" (whose name is actually Fernando). 

That just happens to be the name that our mystery subject has gone by since he legally changed it fifteen years ago.  But prior to that, he went by a totally different name.  A name that many who were born after 1987 probably won't recognize.  You see, that was the year that he released his debut album and scored his one and only #1 hit on the Billboard charts.  Here.  Let me play it for you now.  It's quite catchy in a late 1980s Roland synthesizer and Linn drum machine kind of way.



ARTIST:  Terence Trent D'Arby
SONG:  Wishing Well
ALBUM:  Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
DATE RELEASED:  October 1987*
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 1 week

(The * denotes that this was the UK release date.  In reality, this song didn't reach the top of the charts until May 1988 - almost one year after the release of this album.)



If you haven't guessed by now, the subject of today's blog is R&B singer Terence Trent D'Arby, who burst onto the scene in the late 1980s with a brand new style and sound that had everyone dancing all over the place.  And certainly, "Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby" was a successful album - it even netted D'Arby a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. 

So how did he go from Grammy Award winning artist Terence Trent D'Arby to Sananda Maitreya?  Well, let's start at the beginning.

He was born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan, New York, and changed his name to Darby when his mother remarried.  He added the apostrophe himself to give the name a little extra flavour (so, I guess if you want to get technical, he changed his name three times).  Interestingly enough, he didn't start out wanting to be a singer.  In his early years, he trained as a boxer.  When he was eighteen years old, he won the Florida Golden Gloves lightweight championship and was given the opportunity to attend boxing school in the United States Army.

(And, you truly learn something new every day because I had no idea that boxing school even existed!)

At any rate, D'Arby turned down the offer to attend college.  Though that college life only lasted a year before he decided to join the United States Army after all.  His tenure though was short.  He was dishonorably discharged in 1983 for absence without leave.  By then, D'Arby had decided that he wanted to pursue a career in music.  After all, his mother was a gospel singer, and the musical talent did run in the family.  In 1984, he released an album with a band known as Touch, and by 1986, he was playing in a band known as The Bojangles.  But it wouldn't be until July 1987 that he would branch out as a solo artist and release his debut album.

Certainly his first album was a hit in North America.  "Wishing Well", as I revealed earlier became a #1 hit.  But it was even more successful in the UK, where D'Arby had several hits from the album chart which included "Dance Little Sister", "If You Let Me Stay", and this song - which I have to admit is one of my all-time favourite songs from the 1980s.



Yep...you could play "Sign Your Name" on a continuous loop, and I'd still be happy with it.



But while D'Arby was promoting the album, something happened along the way.  He started to develop self-confidence to the point where he was starting to sound as if he were up himself.  Would you believe that he even said that his debut album was the most important album ever released since The Beatles released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"? 

Whoa, now.  I don't deny that Terence Trent D'Arby had talent, but to seriously say that his album was the best album ever released in a 20 year time period?!?  That's a little more than ballsy.

In fact, D'Arby's statement is kind of reminiscent to some of the ridiculousness posted by a certain person who has lost his ever yeezy mind as of late.  The only difference is that I think we've become so desensitized to his attention seeking ways that in the case of the latter we just laugh it off.

Not so for the pre-Twitter world of Terence Trent D'Arby.  His comments were more or less vilified by the music press at that time, and when it came time for D'Arby to release his second album in 1989 - fans were no longer interested in what he had to say.  The album bombed, and some may say that it was the moment in which D'Arby decided he didn't want to be Terence Trent D'Arby any longer.

During the 1990s, he released two more lacklustre albums - 1993's "Symphony or Damn" and 1995's "Vibrator", and in the late 1990s he temporarily became the lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS following Michael Hutchence's suicide in November 1997.  He also appeared as Jackie Wilson in the 1999 CBS miniseries "Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story".

But by the time the 1990s ended, Terence Trent D'Arby had decided that he was done being Terence Trent D'Arby.  Following a dream that he had back in 1995, he had declared that Terence Trent D'Arby was dead, and that he would be reborn as Sananda Francesco Maitreya.  And in October 2001, he had his name legally changed to Sananda Maitreya.



Now, of course, he continued to record music under his new name - since 2001 he has released seven albums.  Of course, none of them quite matched the success that he had when he was Terence Trent D'Arby.  However, I think that he's quite all right with that.  No longer does he feel pressured to compete with other people.  Instead he can record at his leisure for himself.



Regardless of what name he goes by these days, you can't deny that he made a mark on the music industry - and you don't need a coin to toss in a wishing well to cement that.

Monday, March 14, 2016

A History Of Friendship - PART EIGHT

THE CONCLUSION OF THIS STORY WILL BE POSTED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16...



“Jughead!”  Archie exclaimed.  “Wait up!”
   Jughead was practically running down Pickins Road, with Archie running right behind him.
   “Jughead!  Slow down!”  Archie yelled.
   “You're gonna have to keep up with me!”  Jughead said.
   “Jughead, considering the fact that you're known for taking naps that last eleven hours at a time, the very fact that you're running so fast that I can't keep up with you speaks volumes!”  Archie said.
   “I can't help it, Arch.”  Jughead said.  “When I think of how Clay and Johnny bullied poor Wembley, and how his most prized possession bit the dust because of those two insensitive jerks...”
   “I know.”  Archie said.  “I know...how you're feeling.”
   “Archie, I appreciate the thought, but I'm not sure you know exactly what's going through my head right now.”  Jughead said.  “Right now, Wembley's out there somewhere completely devastated and alone, and he feels as though he has been let down.”
   “But, that isn't your fault!”  Archie said.  “You had nothing to do with this!  You've been nothing but a friend to Wembley.”
   “And, yet, I'm the one who practically convinced him to use that jewelry box for his project!”  Jughead moaned.  “Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?”
   “Jughead, look at me.”  Archie said.  “Be honest.  Could you have possibly foreseen this happening?  Honestly.”
   Jughead sighed.  “No.”
   “Then stop beating yourself up about this.”  Archie said.  “We just have to find Wembley.  And, seeing as how we're just a couple of blocks away from Pickins Park, you must think that he's nearby.”
   “It's just a hunch.”  Jughead said.  “But, it's all I have.  Come on.”
   Archie followed Jughead down Pickins Road where Jughead motioned Archie to turn the corner onto Walnut Street.  From there, Jughead pointed towards the direction of Pop's Chocklit Shop.
   “Jughead.”  Archie said.  “I hardly think that this is the time for you to satisfy your hunger with one of Pop's cheeseburger specials.”
   “No, just hear me out.”  Jughead said.  “Remember where we first met Wembley?”
   “Well, you first met Wembley outside of the gym...” Archie said.
   “No...I mean, where did we have our first conversation?”  Jughead asked.
   Archie nodded.  “Pop's.”
   Jughead headed towards the front door of Pop's.  “Ah, but do you know specifically?”
   Archie looked confused.  “It was a booth, right?”
   Jughead started to open the door.  “I may have only known Wembley for a week, but one thing I've always noticed about him is that he likes familiar places.  His bedroom at home.  The fact that he sits in the same spot every day in the cafeteria...”
   And, as Jughead and Archie entered Pop's, Jughead glanced over towards the booth right next to the gumball machine and breathed a sigh of relief.
   “...and apparently he loves that booth too.”
   Sure enough, sitting in the booth next to the gumball machine was Wembley Morris, whose face was buried in his hands.
   “Jughead...how...?”  Archie stammered.
   “I told you...it was a hunch.”  Jughead said.  “Archie, why don't you go over to the counter and order us three lime fizzes?”
   Archie nodded.  “If you need me...”
   “I'll let you know.”  Jughead said.
   “Good luck, buddy.”  Archie said.
   Archie walked towards the soda fountain counter in Pop's, while Jughead approached the booth where Wembley was.
   “You know, you should try the lime fizz.”  Jughead said to Wembley.  “It's very...fizzy.”
   Wembley looked up at Jughead, his eyes still wet from crying and his cheeks red and blotchy.  “I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work.  I'm still leaving Riverdale High, and you aren't changing my mind.”
   Jughead sat down beside Wembley.  “Well, at least you're still talking to me.”
   Wembley sat there silently.
   “Or, maybe not.”  Jughead said. 
   Wembley frowned.  “Look, Jughead, I don't blame you for what happened today, but no matter what, it doesn't change things.  My mother's jewelry box is gone, and there's nothing you can do about it.”
   “Maybe not about the box.”  Jughead said.  “But, would you like to know what happened after you left the school?”
   “What?”  Wembley asked.  “Did everyone else laugh at me too about what happened?”
   “NO!”  Jughead gasped.  “Quite the opposite actually.  They were all very upset over it.”
   “I bet Clay and Johnny laughed it up though.”  Wembley sighed. 
   “Yes, until they got in trouble for it by Mr. Weatherbee.”  Jughead said.  “Turns out that Reggie was so angry over what Clay and Johnny did to your mom's jewelry box that he squealed on them.”  
   “Oh, great!”  Wembley moaned.  “Now Clay and Johnny are going to really make things miserable for me!”
   “Actually, if I know Mr. Weatherbee quite well, I guarantee you that Clay and Johnny will never hurt you or any other student at Riverdale High again.”  Jughead said.
   “That's what you promised me the last time!”  Wembley cried.  “You lied to me!”
   “No!”  Jughead yelled.  “I had no idea that Clay and Johnny could be so cruel!  Nobody did!”
   “I did...”  Wembley said.  “...and now I don't have my mom's jewelry box.”
   “What happened was horrible.”  Jughead said.  “But, you have to trust me when I say that Mr. Weatherbee and all of us at Riverdale High won't ever let this happen again.”
   “You don't know that!”  Jughead said.
   “Jughead, just leave me alone!”  Wembley snapped.  “You don't know what it's like to be teased on a day to day basis!  You don't!”
   “Oh, I bet I could relate to you more than you realize.”  Jughead said.
   “I need to go.”  Wembley said, getting up.
   “Wembley, wait!”  Jughead said.
   “Just leave it, Jughead!”  Wembley screamed.  “How would you know how I feel?”
   As Wembley started to head towards the front door, Jughead stood up and shouted “BECAUSE THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME!”
   Wembley froze and slowly turned around and stared at Jughead.  
   And, Archie who was still at the counter stared at Jughead.  “What?”
   Jughead sighed.  “Wembley, you are not the only one who was bullied.”
   Wembley looked confused.   “You...you were bullied too?  When?”
   Jughead sighed.  “It happened when I was younger.  When I was six years old.  I had just moved to Riverdale, and I had left all of my old friends behind.  I wasn't very happy because I was starting over in a new town.”
   Archie listened intently as Wembley sat back down at the booth where Jughead was.  “Sounds kind of like me when I first moved to Riverdale.”
   Jughead continued.  “Anyways.  I was in a rather bad mood my first couple of weeks in town.  I didn't know anyone, so I didn't really talk with anyone.  I just kept thinking about my old friends, and how I would never make new friends.  My first week at Riverdale Elementary School was really rough.  All the bigger kids used to push me down.  They called me names like 'Platypus Beak' or 'Pencil Nose'.  When they found out that my real name was Forsythe, this gave them more of an excuse to make fun of me.  This happened to me for days.  I didn't know what to do.  I went home crying every day.”
   “Sounds awful.”  Wembley said.
   “It was.”  Jughead said.  “I mean, it was bad enough not having any friends in Riverdale when I was a kid.  To have kids in the place you moved to bully you and tease you because you were the new kid made me even more homesick.”
   “But, you're like one of the more popular guys in Riverdale High now.”  Wembley said.  “How did you get over it?”
   Jughead sighed.  “Well, when we first moved in, we couldn't take all of our stuff right away, so it took a couple of weeks for it all to arrive at our new house.  Once it arrived, we were moving in all of our stuff, and I noticed this kid walking up the street.  He introduced himself to my parents and he saw me and asked me how I was.  My parents insisted that I go with this kid while he showed me around town, and while I wasn't up to it at first, things got better.”
   Archie listened intently, as Wembley asked.  “What happened?”
   “Well, this kid insisted on trying to cheer me up, and he kept calling me Forsythe, because that's how my parents introduced me to him.  And, I insisted – quite rudely too – that the only way he would ever be my friend is if he called me by my nickname back in my old town.”
   Wembley cracked a tiny smile.  “Jughead...”
   “We had so much fun that day.”  Jughead said.  “We caught frogs around Pickins Park.  We swam in the old pond.  We went fishing along Carson's Creek...unfortunately that perilous pike remained elusive, but we had fun trying to catch him.  Oh, what else...oh, we met little Betty Cooper who baked me a pie, and in the end, my family invited him over for dinner.  It was truly the best day of my whole life, and it was the first page to a wonderful friendship.”
   “So, who was this kid?”  Wembley asked.  “Is he still in town?”
   Jughead then turned towards Archie, who was smiling broadly as he collected three lime fizzes from Pop Tate.  “Well, of course he is.  In fact, I can introduce him to you right now.  Archie, introduce yourself.”
   Archie smiled.  “Hi!”
   Wembley looked stunned.  “You and Archie have been friends that long?  I don't even know if I've had a friendship last ten months, let alone ten years!”
   “Eleven years.”  Jughead corrected.  “But, ever since Archie and I became friends, I found that the bullying I went through didn't hurt me as much.  Instead of wasting time being upset and sad, I focused my feelings on my friendship with Archie.  Eventually, I started to make more friends, and by third grade, I felt like I could finally call Riverdale my home.”
   “Well, that is a very inspiring story, but the damage is still done.”  Wembley said.  “Truth is, I don't know if I can get over this.”
   “You can.”  Jughead said.
   “But, Jughead, don't you get it?”  Wembley said.  “Clay and Johnny took everything away!  They destroyed my mom's jewelry box, and they made me afraid to go to school!”
   “But, don't you see?”  Jughead said.  “They didn't take everything away!”
   Wembley began to shed a tear.  “What do you mean?”
   Jughead took a deep breath.  “Wembley, you still have friends.  Archie.  Betty.  Veronica.  Even Reggie stood up for you.”
   “He's right.”  Archie said.
   “And, most importantly, you have me.”  Jughead said.  “You want to know something?  Part of the reason why I started to feel better about this town and myself was because someone cared enough about me to want to be my friend.  Archie showed me that he wanted to be my friend, and that helped me a lot in dealing with things.  Wembley, you are smart, you're caring, you're...cool.  And, you're my friend.”
   Wembley smiled.  “I am?”
   “Of course.”  Jughead said.  “Now, I can't promise you that everything will be one hundred per cent better if...no, wait...WHEN you go back to Riverdale High.  What I can promise you is that you will have friends who you can go to whenever you want.  What I can promise you is that your friends will never let anyone else hurt you again.  What I can promise you is that the teachers of Riverdale High won't let anyone else bully you again.  And, I promise you that you can trust everything I say to be the truth.  The choice is yours whether you want to stay at Riverdale High or not, but if you decide to stay, we'll all do our best to make sure that you're welcomed the right way the second time around.  Just please give all of us a second chance to make this up to you.”
   Wembley looked touched by Jughead's words.  “Thank you...Jughead...Archie...”
   At that moment, a middle-aged woman entered Pop's.  “Wembley!!!”
   Wembley immediately recognized the woman.  “Aunt Glynis!”
   Wembley ran towards the woman and hugged her tightly.  “What in the world happened?”
   “How did you know where I was?”  Wembley asked.
   “You can thank these two boys over there.”  Glynis said, looking at Jughead and Archie. “You certainly have made some wonderful friends.”
   Jughead and Archie smiled at each other as Wembley began to cry.  “Mom's jewelry box...it's gone!  Some kids broke it...I'm...I'm so sorry!”
   “Shhhhh.”  Glynis said, comforting Wembley.  “It's all okay.  It's going to be okay.  Mr. Weatherbee called me up earlier.  I'll fill you in on what happened when we get home.”
   “So, you aren't mad that I left school early?”  Wembley asked.
   “Of course not.”  Glynis said.  “I understand.  Why don't we talk about this at home?”
   “Okay.”  Wembley said.
   Glynis looked up at Archie and Jughead.  “Thank you boys...for everything.”
   As Glynis and Wembley left Pop's, Jughead sat down, visibly exhausted.  “I sure hope that I got through to him.”
   “Well, whether or not you did is yet to be seen.”  Archie said.  “But, what you said really got to me.  I had no idea you were bullied when you first moved to town.  I mean, I know we had our scuffles as kids with the Southside Serpents, and Fangs Fogarty...but we faced them together.  I had no idea you had to go through that alone.”
   “Now you see why Wembley really struck a chord with me.”  Jughead said.  “I really had to help him.  I wanted to make him see that while it may take time, as long as he has someone to confide in, it would make him feel better about himself.  After all...you did the same for me all those years ago.  You're my best friend, Arch.”
   Archie shook Jughead's hand.  “Right back at you, Archie.”
   “So...”  Jughead said.  “...should we drink these lime fizzes?”
   Archie laughed.  “Why don't I buy you a burger?”
   “Even better!”  Jughead said, laughing.
   “I'll be right back.”  Archie said, as he headed back to the counter.
   Jughead leaned back in the booth, and sighed.  “Wembley, I have a feeling that things are going to be better for you...you just have to let us in...”