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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

July 26, 1951

It's time for another edition of the Tuesday Timeline.  And all I have to say about this week's version is that it's filled with magic, wonder, imagination, and whimsy. 

Seriously, it is!

Before I get started, join me in wishing my dad a very happy 70th birthday today!  I really tried to find an event that took place in 1946 to commemorate the event, but nothing really happened in 1946 - aside from one minor thing which you'll see on my list of significant happenings that took place on this date...

1745 - The first women's cricket match reportedly takes place in England

1788 - New York officially becomes the eleventh state to join the United States of America

1803 - The Surrey Iron Railway opens in south London, United Kingdom

1861 - After being defeated at the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War, George B. McClellan assumes control of the Army of the Potomac

1875 - The founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung (d. 1961) is born in Switzerland

1895 - Singer/actress Gracie Allen (d. 1964) is born in San Francisco, California (though birth years of 1896, 1902, and 1906 have also been given as possible birth years)

1922 - Director Blake Edwards (d. 2010) is born in Tulsa, Oklahoma; also born on this date was actor Jason Robards (d. 2000)

1928 - Director Stanley Kubrick (d. 1999) is born in Manhattan, New York

1940 - Singer-songwriter Dobie Gray (d. 2011) is born in Simonton, Texas

1941 - Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States following the Japanese occupation of French Indochina

1945 - Winston Churchill is voted out of office following the victory of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom

1946 - Aloha Airlines begins chartering flights out of Honolulu, Hawaii

1948 - Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981

1953 - The 26th of July Movement takes place which leads to the beginning of the Cuban Revolution

1958 - Explorer 4 is launched

1963 - The world's first geosynchronous satellite - Syncom 2 - is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida

1971 - Nicolette Milnes-Walker becomes the first woman to sail non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly

1977 - The National Assembly of Quebec officially makes French the official language of the provincial government

1989 - Robert T. Morris Jr. becomes the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for releasing the Morris worm

1992 - Singer Mary Wells dies of cancer at the age of 49

2005 - Over five thousand people die in Mumbai, India after almost 100 cm of rain falls in a 24 hour period causing massive flooding

2008 - The Ahmedabab bombing takes place in India, killing 56 and wounding 200

2015 - True crime novelist Ann Rule dies at the age of 83

And celebrating a birthday right alongside my dad are the following famous faces; Joe Jackson, Barbara Jefford, Bobby Rousseau, Darlene Love, Mick Jagger, Linda Harrison, Helen Mirren, Roger Taylor, Susan George, Dorothy Hamill, Hart Hanson, Tom McGowan, Kevin Spacey, Gary Cherone, Andy Connell, Sandra Bullock, Danny Woodburn, Jeremy Piven, Jason Statham, Olivia Williams, Kate Beckinsale, Mageina Tovah, Dave Baksh, Abe Forsythe, Chez Starbuck, Audrey De Montigny, Matt Riddlehoover, Monica Raymund, Elizabeth Gillies, and Taylor Momsen.

So, as I mentioned before, today's Tuesday Timeline entry is filled with whimsy and magic and all that good stuff.



And that date is July 26, 1951.

Okay, so the year 1951 was a great year in motion picture releases.  You had dozens of options to choose from and you had all sorts of different genres to pick from ranging from B-movie horror flicks to epic romances.  Among some of the top films at the box office that year were "A Streetcar Named Desire", "The Day The Earth Stood Still", "The African Queen", "An American in Paris", and "Quo Vadis". 

It was on this date in London sixty-five years ago that Walt Disney debuted his thirteenth animated motion picture...and that movie would go on to be the second highest grossing film of 1951.

Not a bad draw for a movie whose supporting cast included a white rabbit, a crazy guy wearing a hat, a queen who wanted to chop off everyone's heads, and a cat that could go invisible on a whim.



Yes, it was 65 years ago today that the film "Alice in Wonderland" debuted in London.  Though it would see its worldwide release on July 28, 1951.  The Disney motion picture was based on the literary works of Lewis Carroll, and is just one of many adaptations of the classic piece.  Though, I have to say that the original Disney version remains a favourite of mine all these years later.

I think part of the reason why I loved this film a lot is because of the imagination behind it.  I know when I was a child, I had an extremely vivid imagination, and I really depended on it a lot when I was playing by myself.  I grew up in a neighbourhood that was mostly made up of senior citizens, and didn't have a whole lot of friends that were my age, so certainly having that vivid imagination saved me from being totally lonely.  I don't consider that to be an admission of insanity...more like, I sympathized with Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.

Of course, I never had crazy tea parties where I shrank or grew every time I ate a pastry.  I never crawled down any bunny rabbit holes.  And I certainly never imagined myself being attacked by an entire deck of playing card soldiers.  I tell you, Alice's imagination was much more intense than anything that I could have ever dreamed up!

But "Alice in Wonderland" remains a sort of cult classic among Disney enthusiasts, and while the film did not get rave reviews when it was first released in the movie theatres, it would later be described as one of the best adaptations of "Alice in Wonderland". 

Though some also liked the 2010 live-action adaptation which starred Johnny Depp better.  Personally speaking, both were quite good.

Anyway, in celebration of the 65th anniversary of the film's release, I thought I would offer up a list of behind the scenes facts about the making of this film.  I don't have 65 facts, but the ones I did find are quite fascinating!



1 - The only surviving cast member from the film is Kathryn Beaumont, who played Alice.  Until a couple of days ago, there were two, but Marni Nixon who voiced the Singing Flowers passed away on July 24, 2016.

2 - Kathryn Beaumont also went on to voice the role of Wendy Darling in the 1953 film "Peter Pan".



3 - The Queen of Hearts was voiced by Verna Felton - who also had a recurring role on "The Flintstones" playing Wilma's mother.

4 - Believe it or not, "Alice in Wonderland" was originally pitched as a live-action film instead.

5 - This movie would be the last role for actor Dink Trout (who played the role of the King of Hearts).  He passed away sixteen months before the film's debut.

6 - The film adaptation had a doorknob as a character - this was added in by Disney.  The doorknob was not a part of any of Lewis Carroll's works.



7 - Although the movie does hold true to much of Lewis Carroll's book, "Alice in Wonderland", there are elements of the book's sequel "Alice Through the Looking Glass" present as well.  The best example of this would be the inclusion of the characters of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who never appeared until "Alice Through the Looking Glass".



8 - The Mad Hatter was purposely drawn and designed to look like the actor who voiced him, Ed Wynn.

9 - This movie was one of the longest Disney productions to come to fruition.  Many of the voices were recorded two or three years prior to the film's release, and the overall film took over five years to finish!

10 - Kathryn Beaumont was just ten years old when she recorded the voice of Alice.

11 - This was the first Disney film to be shown on television - in 1954.

12 - Kathryn Beaumont voiced Alice for later Disney projects including Disneyland rides, direct-to-video Disney movies, and the Kingdom Hearts video game series.  She played the role from 1951 until 2005 when she retired, making her one of the longest serving actresses to voice a Disney character.

13 - Kathryn Beaumont was so into reading for the role of Alice that she even started to dress like her for her recording sessions!

14 - Ginger Rogers was Walt Disney's first choice for the role of Alice.

15 - Although they weren't all used, the music composers wrote at least thirty different songs for the movie.

So, there you have it.  That's our Tuesday Timeline for this week...and I certainly hope you learned a little bit more about "Alice in Wonderland"!

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Whatever Happened to Alannah Myles?

Last week in the Sunday Jukebox, I talked about what happened to Canadian rocker Corey Hart.  This time around, I'm still going to be talking about a Canadian artist, but a female one.

In today's case, most people who live outside of Canada may believe her to be a one-hit wonder.  As a matter of fact, I remember watching VH1's countdown of the 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s and her biggest hit landed on the list at #79.

To which I call shenanigans!

First of all...if you're going to put her song on a list, make it chart a little bit higher than #79!  At the very least, it should have at least made the Top 50!  And secondly, this artist was NOT A ONE-HIT WONDER!!!

Well, at least not in Canada, anyway.

She released her debut album here in early 1989, and four of those singles became Top 40 hits - with one even reaching the top spot on the adult contemporary charts - and it's not even the song that was featured on the VH1 special!

But, I suppose that you probably want to know what I am talking about, what this song is, and who sang it. 

Here we go.  Enjoy.





ARTIST:  Alannah Myles
SONG:  Black Velvet
ALBUM:  Alannah Myles
DATE RELEASED:  July 26, 1989
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 1 week

That was the song that gave Alannah Myles instant success all over the world, and that song was her one and only #1 hit in the United States.  The song won a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Female Vocal Rock Performance.  And she became the only Canadian artist to have their debut album reach Diamond status in the country, largely because of the success of "Black Velvet".  It seems surprising to find out that "Black Velvet" only peaked at #10 on the Canadian RPM Charts!  



But what a song it was!  The song itself pays homage to singer Elvis Presley, who died twelve years before this song was released.  It was a collaboration by rock music producer/songwriter David Tyson and Christopher Ward, a former Muchmusic VJ, and Myles' boyfriend at the time who had been inspired after observing the 10th anniversary vigil for Presley in Tennessee in 1987.  With its bluesy sound, simple music video, and Alannah's powerful vocals, it's no wonder that "Black Velvet" became instantly powerful.

But it was also a song that was recorded by another artist within months of Alannah recording the single herself!  Although "Black Velvet" had gotten Alannah signed to a three album record deal, it was also offered to a country singer named Robin Lee, who recorded a country version that was released in February 1990 - not long after Alannah's version debuted in the United States!



Though, Robin's version only peaked at #12 on the American Country Charts.



Now, while "Black Velvet" became Alannah's only hit in America, up here in Canada, she was just getting started.  Other hits from her self-titled disc included "Love Is", a powerful rock single with a tinge of Southern rock swing.  "Still Got This Thing" was a lesser known hit here in Canada, but still had enough power to get everyone rocking on the dance floor.



And "Lover of Mine" was a single that reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts and #2 on the Canadian pop charts, making this single more successful than "Black Velvet"!  And if you thought that she had only recorded the one album, you would be sorely mistaken.



In 1992, Alannah's second album, "Rockinghorse" was released.  And yes, I'm fairly certain that Alannah Myles is pretending to be Lady Godiva on the album cover, which I'm sure sparked a little bit of controversy.  But, I'm only guessing, as I was only 11 at the time and I listened to mostly R&B and New Jack Swing music.

But even though "Rockinghorse" didn't achieve the same success as her debut album had in Canada (where it sold less copies), and in the United States (where it was all but ignored), the album did generate a #1 single for Myles which could easily be described as breathtaking, honest, and spine-tingling...but in a good way, not the "I just watched a Saw marathon" way.



"Song Instead of a Kiss" is easily my favourite Alannah Myles song, and even Myles has admitted that it is one of the best songs that she has ever recorded.  The string orchestra paired with the lyrics that Alannah sings is pure perfection, and it seemed as though while her career stalled in the United States that she would be poised to continue her success in Canada.

But after releasing her third album, "A-lan-nah" in 1995, she seemingly disappeared off the radio charts, and her star quickly faded into near obscurity. 

So, whatever happened to Alannah Myles?



Well, she still records music to this day, though most of it was done independently.  She left Atlantic Records following the release of "A-lan-nah", and in 1997 signed up with Ark 21 Records to release the album "A Rival".  A pair of greatest hits records came out in 1999 and 2001 respectively, after which she departed Ark 21. 

Over the next ten years, she toured across Canada and Europe at small shows, and more or less kept out of the public spotlight.  Though she didn't stop recording music.  In 2004, she recorded a duet with Saga frontman Michael Sadler - a cover version of "Don't Give Up", originally recorded by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush in 1986.  And a year later, she recorded another cover.  This time, she recorded the Tina Turner classic "I Can't Stand The Rain" for a Tina Turner tribute album.  And if you listen to the guitar playing in the background of that song, you can hear the contribution of another Canadian artist, Jeff Healey.



In 2008 - seven years after recording her last greatest hits album, and eleven years after her last studio album, Alannah Myles released the album "Black Velvet", which included a re-recorded version of the song that first put her in the music spotlight.  



One of the songs on the album, "Trouble" earned Myles an honourable mention award in the blues category of the 2009 International Songwriting Contest.  She would later go on to win the 15th Annual USA Songwriting Competition for Best Rock/Alternative Song for the single "Give Me Love", a collaboration she wrote with Nancy Simmonds.

So, there you have it.  Alannah Myles is still making music, albeit for a much smaller audience these days.  And I don't think she'd do anything differently.

Oh, and one final footnote that I think is kind of interesting.  Before Alannah Myles made it big as a singer, she also dabbled in a little bit of acting.  And one of her first roles was in the show "The Kids of Degrassi Street"!  Watch her appear in
Part 1, Part 2, and PART 3 if you're interested! 

Friday, July 22, 2016

Jem Reviewed: Episode 18 - Hot Time in Hawaii

Previously on Jem Reviewed, the Holograms had their album stolen by the Misfits - and Jem and crew sort of behaved like Misfits trying to get it back.  I'm a little concerned that the last batch of episodes of the first season are going to continue this downward spiral...but let's see how this goes.



We're at Episode 18:  Hot Time in Hawaii.



But we're not going to Hawaii just yet.  Instead we're treated to Aja leading the Starlight Girls and Holograms in an intense cardio workout.  I'm guessing that the Jane Fonda workout tapes were already rented out at Blockbuster.  The Starlight Girls seem appreciative of the class, but Kimber, Shana, and Jerrica are complaining non-stop.  Of course, Aja doesn't care if any of them drop dead, for she is the queen of being fit!  She is the Joanna McLeod of the Starlight House for Foster Girls!



(Joanna McLeod being one-half of the "Body Break" duo.)



When the class ends, Jerrica receives a letter in the mail which provides great news for Jem and the Holograms.  They have been cordially invited to be contestants in the Battle of the Music Stars.  I'm assuming that it's like Battle of the Network Stars only with no Howard Cosell or Valerie Bertinelli in a swimsuit.  Oh, and did I mention that the competition is taking place in Honolulu, Hawaii?  And that the grand prize is a golden trophy and the opportunity to play at the Governor's Mansion?  That's enough for the girls to scream for joy...and then scream in agony as Aja prepares to put them through another workout in preparation!  If I didn't know better, I'd say Aja was enjoying this!



Of course, you can't have a battle without an opponent.  And naturally, the Misfits have also been invited to compete.  But instead of exercising, they celebrate by going to an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Because apparently stuffing all you can in your face for the low price of $4.99 is great preparation for an athletic competition.  Stormer is really the only one who seems to take the competition seriously - another sign that underneath that Misfit exterior is a nice girl begging to come out.  But Pizzazz states that with them hiring Zipper as their coach, they will definitely win.  Or, given Zipper's track record, they'll get crushed by a gigantic palm tree.  I guess we'll see.

Before long, Jem and the Holograms are on a flight to Hawaii, and I'm guessing that they must be in the first class section because there's a bar on board that serves...pineapple juice.  I guess they can't show an underage girl drinking alcohol.

But Kimber doesn't get much of a chance to enjoy her drink because she bumps into another person and spills it all over him! 



Yes, this is Kimber's Love Connection #5!  This time, the guy in question is named Steve.  He loves pineapple juice, fiery redheads, and being a coach for any athletic competition.  Why, as it so happens, Jem and the Holograms are looking for a coach to help them get an edge in the competition!  I tell you...it's fate!  Or maybe it's Kimber's libido.  Either way, Steve commits himself to appear as Kimber's boyfriend for at least the next 18 minutes.



As soon as they land, Steve immediately gets to work, making Jem and the Holograms do some exercises on the beach.  I imagine it's a lot of work, but all the girls seem happy to put forth the effort.



On the other side of the beach, Pizzazz, Roxy, and Stormer are baking on the beach in deck chairs, with Roxy stuffing herself with Hawaiian food.  You know, with all the food they've eaten, it's a wonder Roxy doesn't gain any weight.  She must have the Jughead Jones gene.



Stormer notices Jem working out and starts to feel like maybe she should do some exercising as well...but she is stopped by a familiar face in ugly swim trunks.  Zipper is here and has he brought some gadgets for them!  Wait, are Zipper and Techrat in cahoots with each other or what?  I'd ask Eric, but he doesn't appear in this episode.



Zipper's first invention is an ordinary looking 10-speed bicycle, which Roxy immediately dismisses as boring and ugly.  But Roxy's new bike has a couple of secrets built into it.  It has a secret spinning wire cutter built into it which can destroy the tires of other bikes who pass by.  As well, it has a speed booster built into it which she can press to zoom ahead of the competition. 



Roxy also discovers that the bike can squirt oil slicks behind her...which causes Zipper to slide and fall on the ground.  Adding insult to injury is the fact that Stormer and Pizzazz laugh at Zipper's misfortune.



Zipper's next invention is for Pizzazz.  It happens to be a pole vault that has a couple of springs built into it for extra height.  Problem is, it works too well, and Pizzazz ends up bouncing right into the top of a palm tree!  It's quite a hilarious scene, especially after Pizzazz asks Zipper if he wants her to build a nest up there!



Stormer's shoes don't seem to work well either.  Like Pizzazz's pole, Stormer's shoes have built in springs that will help her gain more agility.  But Stormer quickly loses control and ends up bouncing halfway across the beach!  To the Misfits...you still think trusting Zipper is a good idea?

Okay, so Zipper is proving to be a terrible coach.  Steve, on the other hand, seems to be doing a great job, and at the moment, he's helping Kimber with her swimming skills so that she can overtake any competition.



But can she overtake a gigantic killer shark that is bearing down on her ready to make her its next meal?



Oh, wait...turns out it's not a shark at all.  Thanks to Steve harpooning it on a jet-ski in an effort to rescue Kimber, the shark explodes.  It's nothing more than a robot.  Whatever it was, it doesn't matter, as Steve makes Kimber swoon all over him just as she had when Jeff Wright saved her from being blown to bits on a movie set.  Kimber has selective memory.

Or, maybe she's just a floozy.  I don't know.



Zipper is not impressed by the scene, as it was he who came up with the robot shark.  Seriously, has Zipper been consulting with Techrat because there is no way a stupid, bumbling dolt like Zipper could come up with something that elaborate.  And once again, the Misfits are eating.  Like, seriously...where do they put it all?  Of course, they lose their appetite when Zipper informs them that they are eating shark stew, but really, a shark is gigantic seafood.  I can't see it being that disgusting.  Then again, I've never eaten shark, and probably never will.

It's now time to join the Misfits and the Holograms at the Battle of the Music Stars, hosted by Don Ho!



Oh, wait.  Make that Don Lo.  Don Ho's evil twin or something.  I wonder if he'll sing a song entitled "Little Balloons"?



Right off the bat, we see a montage of the Misfits cheating and the Holograms getting incredibly suspicious.  Roxy uses her bike of many secrets to knock Shana out of the race by destroying her back tire.  Pizzazz somehow sets a world record in the high jump thanks to her super springy pole.  And Stormer's shoes are no match for Jem and the Holograms in the hurdles event as Stormer easily clears every single one in record time.  The more the Misfits cheat, the more it angers the Holograms.  But to be honest with you, I would call it an even draw, since they technically cheated during the Cassini fashion contest in Italy by using Synergy to bail them out. 

At the end of the first day's events, it's an even tie between the Misfits and the Holograms - which tells me that somehow the Holograms managed to find events that the Misfits could NOT cheat at.  The final events will be held the following day.  But for now, it's time to eat and rejoice at the Hawaiian luau celebration!



That night, it's party time as hula girls take the stage, a huge Hawaiian buffet has been set out, and the stars are shining brightly in the sky. 

Kimber is feeling quite nervous because A) her swimming event is tomorrow, and B) she's falling for her coach.  Of course, Steve takes Kimber aside and tells her not to worry, and how he cares for her, and blah blah blah.  Seriously, Kimber's romances don't interest me.  



Of course, Pizzazz just happens to be in the vicinity, and what we know about Pizzazz is that whenever Kimber's away, she turns into just as much of a floozy as Kimber by throwing herself at every single one of Kimber's love interests.  To Steve's credit, he rebuffs Pizzazz, and sets off to try and find Kimber.  But Pizzazz isn't about to take it.  She locates Zipper and whines to him about how Steve was mean to her and how it was all Kimber's fault, essentially telling him that he needs to do something to put Kimber out of commission.  Oh, why not?  Zipper's already tried to kill her once this episode...what's one more time?

And with that, the Misfits take to the stage to perform.  And, it's about time too...we've gone nearly fourteen minutes without any music whatsoever!



I just wish I had some positive things to say about "We're The Misfits In Hawaii"...but this song is just awful.  First off, with the group singing about contracting tropical diseases, getting attacked by mosquitoes, and having their bodies turn into walking skin cancer displays, it's safe to say that the Misfits won't be filming any travel commercials for the Hawaiian Islands.  And secondly, this video is just shot so...badly.  The animation department must have contracted one of the very diseases the Misfits sang about!  Normally I love Misfits music, but this is easily one of their worst.



And I suppose this sets the stage for Zipper's worst stunt yet.



Of course, before we see that happen, we see two little girls armed with notebooks.  Turns out that both of them are autograph seekers, and after hearing that Jem and the Holograms were at the luau, they thought they could get them to sign their books.  One of the girls, Gisele, spots Kimber walking along the beach and thinks that it's a great chance to get her to sign her book.



But before Gisele can get to Kimber, Zipper gets to her first and physically kidnaps her.  Gisele is hiding out of sight so that Zipper doesn't see her, but she summons up the courage to follow him so that she can get help.



As luck would have it, one of the volcanoes on the island is starting to erupt, and Zipper thinks that leaving Kimber inside of the volcano is the best way to keep her out of the competition, as swimming in molten lava would have a rather negative effect.  I must say, it is a rather unique way to put someone in danger, even though if Kimber becomes a grilled cheese sandwich, Zipper will spend the rest of his life behind bars. 



Gisele, memorizing the location of the volcano, runs back to the party as the guests watch the volcano erupt, and Jem, Shana, Aja, and Steve quickly realize that Kimber has gone missing.  Gisele approaches the group holding her book, and tries to get their attention.  At first, Jem tells her to go away because she doesn't have time to sign her book.  Wow, Jem.  Just wow.  But once Gisele reveals that she knows where Kimber is, the rest of the Holograms follow her to the volcano.

Apparently, they also take Gisele into the erupting volcano with them.  I guess their attitude is, as long as her name isn't Ashley, Ba Nee, or Krissie, they can put her life in danger without any guilt.  How sweet.



The good news is that the group manage to find and rescue Kimber.  The bad news is that the shaking of the ground caused by the lava overflow causes a cave in that blocks their way out.  Surprisingly enough, Jem stays very calm through the whole thing and she calmly takes everyone else out the other side of the mountain without anybody suffering from third degree burns, smoke inhalation, or bad hair days.  Shana and Aja even do a little dance once they leave the volcano.  I know whenever I survive a life-threatening experience, the first thing I want to do is shake my groove thing.



And as Jem sees the sun come up - which means that it took them seven hours to escape the erupting volcano - she is more horrified at the fact that they will miss the second day of the Battle of the Music Stars, and they hurry towards the stadium to beat the Misfits once and for all.  I'm actually kind of wondering where Gisele's parents are and why they aren't concerned that their daughter never came home the night before!

It's just too bad they arrive too late for the swimming event.  Pizzazz takes the gold medal by default.  And, right there this episode annoys me even more.  They spend all this time showing Kimber swimming in this episode, and then in the end she misses the whole event?  It's like, what was the point?  At least on "Degrassi Junior High" they had Melanie win the swimming race even though she suffered a lack of confidence over the fact that she was getting boobs. 



Whatever...it's time for the tug-of-war.  The final event of the contest.  Since Jem and the Holograms have an extra member, they decide to sit out Aja.  Um, Aja is the one who has the most strength out of all of you.  And yet you sit her out?  I give up trying to explain the logic here.



As the Misfits and the Holograms yank on the rope, Zipper is cheering from the sidelines, and his voice is so loud that it causes Kimber to do a double take.  When Zipper shouts again, she immediately recognizes Zipper as the man who kidnapped her and tried to burn her alive in the volcano.  Jem and Shana are immediately angered and they take out their anger on the Misfits, sending all three of them into the mud pit below.



Steve also overhears Kimber's accusation and he grabs Zipper and punches him in the nose with such force that he too falls into the mud. 

Jem's performance in the tug-of-war ties things up, but since the contest can only have one winner, it's impossible to make a decision.

At least that is until Zipper is finally put in handcuffs and he sings like a canary about how the Misfits cheated in every single event.  Nice to see Zipper acting like a putz in his final appearance.



Yep, that's right.  In this edition of Jem Trivia, I inform you that this is the last time you'll ever see Zipper on this show.  When Christy Marx was informed that Zipper seemed too much of a one-note villain and was getting some complaints from parents about him being too evil, she decided to axe him and replace him with the creepy Techrat for good.  Which is more evidence that Season 1's episodes aired out of order.  But don't worry about any voice actor losing their job.  Both Zipper and Techrat were voiced by Charlie Adler - the same voice actor behind Eric Raymond.

As Zipper is taken away, Pizzazz scoffs at Zipper's claims that they cheated and asks someone to prove it.

Here comes Gisele carrying a tote bag belonging to the Misfits that contains the spring shoes that Stormer was wearing, along with the other devices that the group used to cheat.



That's all the evidence needed for our Don Ho impersonator to rule that the Misfits have been disqualified for cheating and that the true winners of the Battle of the Music Stars are Jem and the Holograms!  And for once, they didn't resort to cheating to win!  I don't even think Jem even used Synergy once this episode!



To celebrate, the band wins the concert at the Governor's Mansion where their first song is all about winning the right way.



Though, I don't know...I like the concept of "How You Play The Game", and it does have a great message - one that the Holograms can sing with pride and not sound like hypocrites this time around.  But as far as song arrangement goes, I think it could have been a lot better.  It's no fault of Britta Phillips though...it's just the song's musical score sounds off.  But still, it's a good concept.



And Jem and the Holograms have a special surprise for their new friend Gisele.  Because she risked her life to save Kimber's, and because she exposed the cheating scheme of the Misfits, they all made the decision to give her the trophy that they earned!  Kimber even gives Gisele a huge hug!  Now that's better than any autograph!



As Steve and Kimber prepare to say goodbye to each other, Rio surprises Jem on the beach and asks her what happened while he was away.  Oh, the stories that Jem could tell him.

Okay, so after a couple of terrible episodes, Episode 18 sort of takes us back to a more positive spin.  The episode wasn't as well done as previous episodes, but it still provided a great plotline and the ending was quite sweet.  I also appreciated the fact that Eric and Rio took a backseat in this one, as it proved that the Holograms and the Misfits could carry a show on their own.  There were some parts that didn't work - such as the Steve/Kimber fling.  And the music choices for this show were a complete mess.  However, it seems like the show is starting to go back on the upswing.  I can't wait to see what happens on episode 19...let's see...

...Kimber meets a princess who looks like her.  Oh no.  Oh, Sweet Jesus, NO!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

July 19, 1980

Welcome to another edition of the Tuesday Timeline.  And I will readily admit that I had a hard time picking a topic for today.  July 19 was a relatively tame day from an historical perspective, so I really had to look outside the box in order to come up with a subject.

It took me some time, but I found something to discuss.  Interestingly enough, the subject is sports related - a subject I know little to nothing about.  So, I really had to do my research with this one. 

By the way, here's what else happened on this date in history.

1544 - The First Siege of Boulogne begins

1545 - Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth

1553 - After just serving nine days on the throne, Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England

1845 - 345 buildings are destroyed during the Great Fire of New York City

1848 - Seneca Falls, New York becomes home of the first Women's Rights Convention

1900 - The first line of the Paris Metro opens for operation

1903 - The first Tour de France is concluded; Maurice Garin is declared the winner

1923 - Sports broadcaster Lon Simmons (d. 2015) is born in Vancouver, Washington

1924 - Animation director Arthur Rankin Jr. (d. 2014) is born in New York City

1943 - Rome, Italy is heavily bombed by over 500 Allied aircraft during World War II

1947 - Lyuh Woon-hyung, a Korean politician, is assassinated

1981 - Francois Mitterand, the Prime Minister of France, confirms the existence of the Farewell Dossier to President Ronald Reagan - confirming that the Soviet Union had stolen American technological research

1985 - 268 people lose their lives following the collapse of the Val di Stava Dam

1986 - "Invisible Touch" by Genesis reaches the top of the Billboard charts

1989 - United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 111 on board

1997 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end a 25-year long campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland

2009 - "Angela's Ashes" author Frank McCourt dies at the age of 78

And for celebrity birthdays, we have the following famous faces turning one year older; Elizabeth Spencer, Sue Thompson, Helen Gallagher, Vikki Carr, George Dzundza, Bernie Leadon, Brian May, Beverly Archer, Ivar Kantz, Freddy Moore, Atom Egoyan, Lisa Lampanelli, Campbell Scott, Anthony Edwards, Garth Nix, Nancy Carell, Catriona Rowntree, Benedict Cumberbatch, Angela Griffin, Vinessa Shaw, Michelle Heaton, Nikki Osborne, Jared Padalecki, Helen Skelton, Kaitlin Doubleday, and Shane Dawson.

Yeah, as I said before, July 19 was kind of a hard date to choose a topic for.



But I settled on picking July 19, 1980 as today's Tuesday Timeline date.  I don't remember this date.  Truth be told, I was probably more than likely conceived right around this date.  But there is a story that needs to be told about this date...and while it might seem a little insignificant at the beginning, the whole event had some major repercussions that directly affected the following event.



One of the largest sporting events that is held globally is the Olympic Games.  And beginning August 5, 2016, thousands of athletes will be congregating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for their own chance at winning a gold medal in a series of events.  And while the threat of the Zika Virus still remains a danger in Brazil, for most of the athletes going, I am sure that they have taken the necessary precautions before competing.

The year 1980 was also an Olympic year - twofold.  Prior to 1994, the Winter and Summer Olympics were held the same year.  The Winter Olympics were held not far from my hometown in Lake Placid, New York, and those games came and went without much controversy.

It was the Summer Games that caused a kerfuffle.

The 1980 Summer Olympics held its opening ceremonies on July 19, 1980.  And this time around, the Summer Olympics of 1980 were associated with a lot of firsts.



It was the first - and so far ONLY Summer Games to be held in Eastern Europe.  They were also the first Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist country, as the host city of Moscow was then a part of the Soviet Union.  It was the first Olympic games for six nations; Angola, Botswana, Jordan, Laos, Mozambique, and the Seychelles.



And it was the first time that the United States boycotted the Olympic games.

Although, it wasn't just the United States that declined to participate in the games.  Although the exact number wasn't known, it is estimated that a grand total of sixty-five nations sat out during the 1980 Summer Olympics.  Some of these nations included Canada, China, Argentina, Israel, Japan, Thailand, and West Germany.  Other nations, such as Great Britain, Australia, and France decided to participate, but sent over a much smaller group of athletes to represent them in comparison to other years.

But why did so many nations decide not to take part in the games?  Well, in the case of some of the nations, they simply didn't have the money to send an entire team of Olympians to compete.

But some countries boycotted the Summer Olympics of 1980 to make a statement.  And it was the United States that started the whole thing off.



To understand the motivation behind the boycott, we have to take our Tuesday Timeline back a little bit to 1979 - which was a very tumultuous time in history.  That was when the Soviet Union sent in an army to invade Afghanistan which kicked off the Soviet-Afghan War - a conflict that lasted almost an entire decade.  It was no secret that during that time, the United States and the Soviet Union had a rather tense relationship.  Many people worried that with both countries working on nuclear weapons that it would lead to an all out Cold War.   Add the fact that before the invasion of Afghanistan first commenced that American Ambassador to Afghanistan Adolph "Spike" Dubs was killed in a rescue attempt after being kidnapped, and well, you had a powder keg waiting to go off.  

The tension that was happening at that time was being watched closely by then President of the United States Jimmy Carter, and in January 1980 - six months before the start of the Summer Olympics in Moscow - he issued an ultimatum.  If the Soviet Union did not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, then he would have no choice but to have the American Olympic Team boycott the Summer Games.  Carter gave the USSR one month to withdraw troops, but by the time the deadline arrived, Soviet troops were still stationed within the Afghan borders, so Carter pulled the team.

As did 64 other nations.  By the time the opening ceremonies had begun, only eighty countries were represented at the Olympic games - one of the lowest turnouts ever recorded.  And while boycotts were nothing new to the Olympics - there was also one for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada - this boycott completely changed the way the Olympic Opening Ceremonies were broadcast.



Normally how it works is that you have every team being introduced, and all the athletes representing that country come out waving the flags of their respective nations, having a grand old time.  This time around, many nations - fifteen to be exact - marched with the Olympic flag instead of their country flags.  Because while the teams who did go to the Olympic games wanted to participate, they still held onto the belief that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was wrong.  A few nations refused to take part in the opening ceremonies at all.  It certainly was one of the strangest ceremonies to be held.

And the impact that the boycott had on the actual Olympic Games themselves varied depending on what events athletes competed in.  Some events, such as swimming and weightlifting saw an increase in participants since the 1976 Olympics, while other events such as field hockey and horse jumping had so few contestants that it was a real possibility that the events would be cancelled. 

However, there were some bright spots to note when it came down to the 1980 Summer Olympics.  For one, the Olympics saw the highest number of female athletes competing for Olympic gold - 21% of all athletes in the 1980 Summer Games were women.  It was also the Olympics in which more representatives from "Third World Nations" took home Olympic gold, which essentially proved that anybody could become an Olympic hero no matter what country you were representing.  

Still, it was one of the boldest statements that was made by an entire group of nations in protest of the host country's invasion of Afghanistan.  And it was a statement that continued well into the following Olympic ceremonies.  



You see, the host of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games was Los Angeles, California (the city had competed against Moscow for the 1980 Games), and at the 1980 Summer Olympic Closing Ceremonies, instead of an American flag being raised, a flag representing Los Angeles was used - the first time that the nation of a host city had refused to let their flag fly.  And in response to Los Angeles being the home of the 1984 Summer Olympics, The Soviet Union decided to boycott the games themselves, leading to thirteen other countries following suit. 

The question is...was the right decision made to boycott the Olympic Games?  I honestly can't make that call, as I was not around during that time.  I barely remember the 1984 Olympics, to be completely honest.  But to me, the Olympics represent what is so great about the world.  Nations coming together and setting aside their differences for just a few days to play some sports.  The competition was friendly, but fierce.  The joy the athletes felt when they took home a medal was inspiring.  And yet, the boycott of the 1980 Olympics - which lead to the boycott of the 1984 Olympics - sort of left a sour taste in people's mouths.  It was the Olympics went on, but without the heart, the passion, and the joy.  




Here's hoping that the 2016 Summer Olympics can bring back some of that global love...believe me, with the way the world is now, we need all the love we can spare.