Search This Blog

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

November 8, 2016

This week's Tuesday Timeline entry is going to play out a little differently than it has in previous months.  You'll see why as I progress through it.  It's part history in the making, and part opinion piece.  But don't worry...I promise in this piece, I won't be attacking anybody.  Just making a few observations.

Let's go ahead with what events took place on the 8th of November throughout history.

1837 - The Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (which would later become Mount Holyoke College) is founded by Mary Lyon

1861 - The "Trent Affair" occurs during the American Civil War which causes a crisis of diplomacy between America and the United Kingdom

1887 - John Henry "Doc" Holliday dies at the age of 36

1889 - Montana becomes the forty-first state to join the United States of America

1892 - The New Orleans General Strike begins

1895 - Wilhelm Rontgen discovers X-ray technology

1920 - Actress Esther Rolle (d. 1998) is born in Pompano Beach, Florida

1923 - Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful effort to overthrow the German government in an event known as the Beer Hall Putsch

1927 - Singer Patti Page (d. 2013) is born in Claremore, Oklahoma

1931 - Journalist Morley Safer (d. 2016) is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1933 - The Civil Works Administration is unveiled by President Roosevelt during the Great Depression

1947 - Singer Minnie Riperton (d. 1979) is born in Chicago, Illinois

1957 - Pan Am Flight 7 disappears en route between San Francisco and Honolulu; bodies and pieces of the plane are discovered a week later

1960 - John F. Kennedy wins the American Presidential Election, making him the 35th elected President of the United States

1965 - The death penalty is abolished in the United Kingdom

1966 - The National Football League merges with the American Football League as a direct result of an antitrust exemption signed by President Johnson

1972 - HBO makes its network debut

1973 - The severed ear of John Paul Getty III is delivered to the offices of a newspaper, complete with a ransom note demanding almost three million dollars cash in exchange for John Paul's life

2011 - Asteroid 2005 YU55 passes by Earth within a distance of just 201,700 miles - the closest that an asteroid has ever gotten to the Earth's surface; also on this date, cartoonist Bil Keane and rapper Heavy D pass away

And celebrating a birthday today are the following celebrities; Richard Stoker, Nerys Hughes, Bonnie Bramlett, Bonnie Raitt, Mary Hart, Christie Hefner, Alfre Woodard, Rickie Lee Jones, Patricia Barber, Richard Curtis, Gordon Ramsay, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Parker Posey, Diana King, Gretchen Mol, Tara Reid, Colin Strause, Jully Black, Bucky Covington, Dania Ramirez, Laura Jane Grace, Holly Walsh, Ted DiBiase Jr., Steven Webb, Magda Apanowicz, Jessica Lowndes, and Lauren Alaina.

Okay...now it's time to look at the date we'll be going back in time to.  Hope you're ready because this time we're going all the way back to...



...wait a minute.  November 8, 2016?  That's TODAY'S date!  Have I made a mistake?

Actually, no.  I haven't.  I've decided that today is a great day to stop the Tuesday Timeline express because we are on the cusp of what could be considered one of the most important elections that the United States of America has ever seen.  An election that has not just Americans talking, but the entire world.  As someone who lives just a few kilometres away from the New York state border, I sort of have a bird's eye view of the circus that this election has spawned.

And believe you and me...it is a circus of epic proportions.  Maybe not quite as scandalous as Britney Spears' song of the same name, but close to it.  It almost makes me glad that in my own nation of Canada, our elections were nowhere near as crazy!



So, today is election day for over 300 million Americans.  And one by one at polling stations from Spokane, Washington to Baltimore, Maryland will be busy with men and women, Republicans and Democrats, and people of all backgrounds will be casting a vote to determine who the next President will be.  By the end of today, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be packing up their belongings and moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for at least the next four years. 

Well, okay...I suppose Jill Stein and Gary Johnson are running too, but unless something happens that cancels out every vote in the lower 48 states, I doubt either one of those two will win.

Regardless of who ends up winning, I encourage any and all Americans out there to make their voices heard.  I've seen a few people who have made the claim that their vote doesn't matter, but I don't believe that to be true for a second.  Every single person in the United States has their right to throw their support towards a candidate, and every person who is registered to vote has the chance to make history by casting a vote for the next President of the United States, just as we Canadians made history by voting in the Canadian elections last October.

So, I guess the message I'm sending is - vote, vote, vote!  And make sure you are as informed as you can possibly be about each candidate before you pull the lever or put a check mark in that box or shoot a blue or red paintball at a target or however you Americans cast a vote these days.  And what I mean by informed voting is making sure you know everything that a candidate promises and making a decision based on fact and not fiction.

And, yeah...don't trust any opinions on CNN, MSNBC, FOX or any other news source.  When it comes to politics, no media source is 100% fair and balanced, no matter how much they may proclaim that they are.  We are often our own best judges of our character and our choices, so go with what you feel is the right choice.  I certainly won't judge you on who you vote for.

For that matter, I don't think ANYONE should judge anyone based on who they vote for.  Well, unless you're one of Donald Trump's kids and you vote for Hillary.  But that's not likely to happen.

I've seen so many cases of people verbally abusing others based on their support for a candidate that they don't like.  I've seen photos and videos of people vandalizing other people's homes because they have a Trump or Clinton sign on their front lawn.  I've seen people who have been friends for twenty or more years fall out because of the election.  It's just getting extremely ugly, and honestly I am really looking forward to today being over as a result of it.  There's no need for anger and hatred.  As far as I'm concerned, no matter who wins the election, all of you Americans are in this together.

Well, unless you all start another Civil War - which I DO NOT RECOMMEND YOU DO.



What I'm saying is that this election is probably one of the most important ones that many of you in America will see for a while.  It's also one of the most controversial, as many of you believe that you deserve better choices than the ones you got.  Frankly, I agree with that statement - but I also remind you that you all CHOSE these nominees through the various state primary elections.  You could have had the chance to change things back then, but many of you sat it out - all the more reason for everyone to exercise their right to vote.

After all, prior to the 1920s, only half the population of the country was eligible to vote as women didn't win the right to vote until 1919. 

We're in the home stretch now.  By the end of today, America will have a new President.  Hopefully Americans will make the choice that is best for them - but more importantly, I hope they make the choice that will ultimately be best for their country.  After all, the person you choose will have four years to build a case and prove themselves.  

Friday, November 04, 2016

Jem Reviewed: Episode 33 - Father's Day

Last week on Jem Reviewed, the Misfits performed their cruelest act towards the Holograms yet, and poor Jem nearly ended up institutionalized.  But Jem recovered and the show goes on.



This is Episode 33: Father's Day.  And yes, I am aware that it's November.  It's just how it worked out.



We're at a film studio where Video Montgomery is filming the newest video for Jem and the Holograms.  The weird thing is that the song the video is for is "When It's Only Me and the Music" - a song we heard all the way back in Episode 13!  Talk about falling behind schedule.



Whatever the case, the Holograms are thrilled that Video has made yet another masterpiece and Jem asks if there is anything that they can do to repay her for her hard work - well, aside from paying her lots of cash that is.  Video does mention something about wanting to get her father something for Father's Day, and mentions that her hometown of Mulberry is holding an annual Father's Day banquet.  I pause to wonder if Video just wants to bring Jem along to have her Mary Tyler Moore moment where she throws her hat up in the middle of the street proclaiming that she's made it after all.  She doesn't exactly mention anything about inviting them, but Jem comes up with the idea of filming a video for Video's father, which Video is receptive to.



This prompts all of the other Holograms to talk about their own dads.  We know Raya's is still alive, but the other four lost theirs.  Nevertheless, Jem, Aja, Shana, and Raya talk about how they have old photos and home movies of their dads and think about possibly watching some of them to get inspired.  But far in the distance, Kimber is not having any of it.  In fact, she looks like she wants to tear off all of their faces!



Later on their way back to Starlight Mansion, Jerrica and Kimber are having  a talk and Kimber flat out tells Jerrica that she thinks the idea to perform at the Father's Day banquet is a silly one and she's against it.  Jerrica, who we know has a habit of disregarding Kimber's feelings tells her to get over it and write the song they plan to sing.  Wow...sisterly love.  You gotta love it.



It's not until we get to the attic of Starlight Mansion that Kimber finds a box of her father's old things - which feasibly should have burned up when their old house burned down in the first episode, but we're going to pretend to ignore that plot contrivance.  As Kimber looks through the stuff, she starts to get very emotional, and we hear a song playing in the distance.



See, now THIS is how "Something is Missing in My Life" should have been used!  Not like in Episode 10 where Jerrica is singing about earrings!  No, Kimber losing her father is MUCH more poignant.  It also explains why Kimber is so reluctant to help with Video's Father's Day gift.  She was extremely close to her father and she worries that it will bring up bad memories.  Oh, and here's some Jem Trivia for you.  The person who storyboarded this video concept is Vicky Jenson.  She would later go on to work on the 2001 animated feature, "Shrek". 



Kimber locates the old movies, but tells everyone that she's not staying - which prompts the other Holograms to dismiss her thoughts as being yet another Kimber tantrum.  But we see Kimber crying in the doorway as the others watch the movies of Emmett Benton and I'm beginning to understand why she is the way she is.



It seems as though Kimber's not the only one dreading the idea of Father's Day.  Spoiled little rich girl Pizzazz is trying to get her father's attention, but her father is completely ignoring her again.  In fact, Pizzazz is so frustrated by him that she leaves in a huff.  In this case, I can't say I blame her - though the relationship between Pizzazz and Harvey Gabor was never considered to be close.



Pizzazz joins her bandmates and Clash in the next room and vents about everything that just happened.  Clash has a wonderful idea though.  She wants the Misfits to go with her to Mulberry for the Father's Day banquet!  Uh-oh, I knew this was coming!  Pizzazz scoffs at the idea, saying that all fathers are the same, but Clash counters with the fact that her dad adores her!  The other Misfits think it might be a good idea, so Pizzazz relents.



Mulberry is your typical small town with a big heart.  It's the kind of town you might see in television sitcoms.  And the big purple house is the home of Clash's family!



And as Clash runs into the arms of her doting father, Buzz, Pizzazz is completely in shock at the scene - not because of the fact that they are in small town suburbia, but because Clash's father really does love her!  And just like that, a little crack in Pizzazz's hard exterior begins to form!



As luck would have it, Video's family lives not just on the same street as Clash's father, but they live just next door!  And compared to Clash's outspoken father, Video's parents are as sweet and boring as their daughter!  Now, because the two families live so close together, it's only natural that they greet each other.  And Clash's father greets everyone by inviting himself, Clash, and the Misfits to his brother's house for dinner!  I'm getting the feeling that I know why Clash is the way she is now.  Video's mother is worried that she doesn't have enough food to feed everyone, but relents and lets them all in to Video's annoyance.



Sure enough, the Misfits eat the Montogomery family out of house and home, and Clash's dad shows no remorse about it.  But that's all done and good because Video's father has some home movies to show!  Okay, does EVERY family in this show have old school movie projectors in their houses?  My family never even had a video camera until the mid-1990s!  It's just so bizarre!

I don't have clips of the actual home movie portion - mainly because it's kind of boring - but the clips basically show that Video and Clash's rivalry began at birth.  Highlights include Video getting her first video camera at age 10, Clash getting her first set of cymbals at the same age, and Clash's natural hair colour as being dark purple despite being introduced with bright pink hair in the series.  And when is dark purple a NATURAL hair colour on anyone that isn't a Furby?



No, the more interesting part is that the Misfits uncouth behaviour at the screening, which include throwing popcorn on her and sending her chair flying backwards!  Video's father angrily throws them all out, and Video is upset that the Misfits and Clash have ruined their dinner.  She wonders if there is any way to get back at Clash.



Back at Starlight Mansion, Kimber is still sulking about not wanting to write the song, and Jerrica thinks that she has an idea to get Kimber's wheels of inspiration going.  Um, Jerrica, unless you can bring your father back from the dead without turning him into a zombie, I think you're out of luck.  But regardless, Kimber agrees to go with them, thinking that the day can't get any worse.



And in Mulberry, the Misfits are incredibly shocked at how boring the town of Mulberry is and they decide to sing a song about it.



To be honest, the lyrics of the song "Let's Blow This Town" can be exactly the same way I feel about my hometown.  It's small and sleepy like my own community, but unlike Mulberry, it's very easy in my town to feel like an outsider even though you were born and raised there.  But that's another topic for another day.  This song's a good one.  Not their best, but it's a good one.



The Misfits pull up in front of Clash and Video's homes where Video is hanging around with a group of kids.  I believe Video is teaching them how to operate a video camera or something like that.  Maybe it has to do with the Father's Day gift she's working on with Jem.  Unfortunately, Clash has major insecurity issues and she makes the claim that she has brought her friends, the Misfits, to the Father's Day celebrations, and the Misfits proudly announce that they will be happy to sign any autographs for the townspeople.  Humble, thy name is NOT Phyllis "Pizzazz" Gabor.



Though, true to their word, they honour their commitments and sign pretty much anything the townspeople have - including their own skin!  And naturally, Video is seething that Clash has one-upped her once again.



But when Clash makes insinuations that Video doesn't really know Jem and the Holograms as well as she claims, this sets Video off and she angrily declares that Jem and the Holograms will be performing a new song at the Father's Day banquet!  How nice of Video to make that claim without letting them know!  Sure, she did it out of anger, but if Jem doesn't show up, she'll look like a fool.  But hey, Jem and the Holograms will be in Mulberry anyway to deliver a special video gift, so Video will have the last laugh, right?

Tell me I'm right.



For now, it looks as if Jem and the Holograms are going to go horseback riding at a place called Christy's Stables.  Ah, nice reference to showrunner Christy Marx there!  It appears as though Jerrica and Kimber used to go riding there all the time when they were children and Kimber's beloved horse "Lucky" is still there waiting to give Kimber a ride.



To everyone's surprise, the horseback riding excursion goes very well at first, and Kimber's mood seems to be improving.  Well, at least that is until Aja opens her big mouth and asks Kimber if she's inspired to write a new song yet. 



This causes Kimber to go into complete meltdown mode where she burst into tears and steers Lucky away from the group so she can be alone.  But Kimber loses control of Lucky and Lucky accidentally throws Kimber to the ground where she breaks her neck, loses consciousness, and dies.

Okay, just kidding.  Kimber doesn't die.  But she is seriously hurt and none of the Holograms seem to know how to do first aid.



As fate would have it, Harvey Gabor just happens to be in the area on his own horse, and he instantly springs into action.  He sits by Kimber's side and orders a couple of the Holograms to get the doctor who lives nearby to take a look at Kimber.  Wow, who knew Pizzazz's dad could have it in him to be nice?  Of course, with the medical drama surrounding Kimber, it's going to be hard to get a hold of them.  Sure enough, Video's trying to get a hold of Jem to let them know that she sort of promised that they would perform at the Father's Day banquet, but since they are unavailable at the moment due to a horse nearly killing one of them, Video's quickly realizing that she may have to go to her non-existant Plan B.  I hate to say it, but it sort of serves Video right stooping to Clash's level in a way. 



Kimber recovers from her injuries enough to recognize the fact that Pizzazz's dad saved her life.  The rest of the Holograms are grateful as well and Harvey is happy he could help.  It seems as though Harvey is also aware of the fact that his daughter has been a pain in the neck to their band - after all, last episode, she tried to drive Jem nuts!  But Harvey does the honourable thing and apologizes for his daughter's actions. 



Here's where things get really interesting though.  It turns out that Kimber and Harvey have a bit of a heart-to-heart talk about fathers, and it ends with Kimber breaking down in Harvey's arms over how much she misses her father.  Now, this is a pivotal scene for two reasons.  Firstly, it's telling that Harvey seems to be absolutely perfect comfort for complete strangers, but has a very difficult time connecting with Pizzazz.  We also learn that Pizzazz's mother ditched the family a long time ago, so he overcompensated for that loss by buying Pizzazz anything she wanted.  So, right there is why Pizzazz is the way she is.  She just wanted attention from her father, but her father mistakenly believed that providing monetary items would fill the void.  It's quite a sad situation, and for the first time I find myself feeling pity for the lime-haired Misfit.

But I also think it's important to note that Harvey seems to show more compassion towards Kimber than HER OWN SISTER!  Seriously, Jerrica/Jem comes across as a real jerk in this episode.



Kimber does feel better after a bit though, and Harvey's words of wisdom have actually given Kimber the courage and inspiration to write a very powerful song.  But a problem arises when the Holograms realize that they won't make it to Mulberry in time for the banquet due to Kimber's accident, and Harvey excuses himself to make a phone call.  The other Holograms believe that Harvey is putting business before everything else, but Harvey's actually making plans to get all of them to Mulberry using a private jet.  Wow...you know, aside from the fact that Harvey's a lousy dad, there does seem to be a little bit of good in him.  A very complex character, he is.



It's the night of the Father's Day banquet and everyone who's anyone in Mulberry has shown up to celebrate with food, drinks, and thanks to Video, a live performance from Jem and the Holograms! 



It's just too bad that Jem and the Holograms haven't arrived yet.  And while Video's parents try to offer her some moral support, it's not nearly enough for the angry mob of people who have seemingly only come to see Jem.  It's like, who cares about Dad!  We wanna see Jem!



Clash's father pipes up his opinion by stating that Clash's band can perform instead.  Wait...Clash has a band?  That's news to me!  And apparently, it's news to Pizzazz who questions what Clash is talking about.

Oh, I think I understand.  It appears as though Clash has fudged the truth to her loved ones back home by making them believe that she was a Misfit too!  To be honest, I'm surprised she isn't one.  Sure she's tone deaf and I doubt she plays any instruments, but she's the ultimate Misfit groupie!  You'd have thought they would have made her a Misfit through osmosis or something.



No, instead the Misfits proclaim that Clash is NOT a Misfit, and they actually make fun of her for even suggesting such a thing!  Clash even begs them to make her a Misfit for the day, but Pizzazz tells Clash that won't happen as her explanation is...you're either born a Misfit or you're not.  It is a bit cold towards Clash, but at the same time Clash is far from being a Misfit.  Truth be told, she has a loving father and seems to get along well with the people back home whereas the Misfits grew up rough.  I suppose Stormer would be the exception, but even she's had some tough moments.

By this point, the Mulberry residents have seemingly had enough of Video, Clash, and the Misfits and they almost decide to leave the banquet - but they are stopped in their tracks by the sound of a gigantic plane approaching.



I'm guessing that must be the jet that Harvey commissioned for himself and the Holograms because Jem walks out of the plane as soon as it lands and greets the crowd!  I can't wait to see the reaction of Pizzazz when she finds out her own father helped bring the Holograms to Mulberry!



Yeah!  That's the look!  Kind of like that!



Needless to say, Pizzazz is absolutely FURIOUS with her father - especially after he leaves the plane arm in arm with Kimber.  Kimber, to her credit, does try to get Harvey to listen to Pizzazz and encourages him to reach out to her so they can make up.  But when Pizzazz tries to physically kill Kimber on the ground, I'm guessing that plan doesn't quite work out so well.




Basically, it ends with Pizzazz screaming at Harvey about spending Father's Day with Kimber instead of his own daughter, and Harvey complaining that Pizzazz doesn't understand him and that he gives up on her.  Jem can just shrug her shoulders and look at Pizzazz as if she's crazy.  But the thing is that I am completely on Pizzazz's side here.  And, I'll explain why at the end of this post.



For now, it's time to listen to the song that Kimber wrote.  Video and Clash listen to the song with their fathers as Kimber touches a photo of her own father that she taped to her keyboard.



The song "Always There in My Heart" does everything it was meant to.  It packs an emotional punch, it's got a great meaning, and it even intersperses Kimber's feelings for her father with Pizzazz's conflicted one.  It's a bittersweet song, but one of the Holograms best.  



Okay, so "Father's Day" is simultaneously one of the best and frustrating episodes so far.  What did I like about it?  Well, it finally showed us the reason why Pizzazz is the way she is, and how much Harvey failed her even though he truly believed he was doing right by her.  It's such a sad situation all around.  And while Pizzazz blamed Kimber for this latest fiasco, I actually don't blame Kimber at all.  I mean, yes, Kimber and Harvey did sort of bond during this episode, but at no point did Kimber look at Harvey as a substitution for her own loss.  Kimber actually showed a lot of maturity by encouraging Harvey to make amends with Pizzazz.  I think this episode not only helped me understand Pizzazz more, but it made an effort to make Kimber more likeable - in which this time around, they succeeded.

I also feel that I want to take Pizzazz's side because even though Kimber had no desire to come between Pizzazz and Harvey, there was no effort made on Harvey's part to clear up the misunderstanding.  Granted, there was no effort made by Kimber either, but when Pizzazz wanted to kill her, Kimber obviously had other things on her mind, so I'm giving her a pass.  To be honest, Pizzazz deserved a lot better from Harvey back then - and I think had Pizzazz's mother stuck around, she might very well have turned out differently.  
But while Kimber's personality improved, the rest of the Holograms sort of dipped a bit.  They seemed more concerned about Video's feelings than Kimber's.  And while Aja, Shana, and Raya's reasons could be explained, there's no reason why Jerrica should have disregarded her own sister's feelings.  She should have at least talked things out.  Instead, Jerrica became an unlikable, irresponsible, self-centered jerk!



So, next episode, we get to go on a treasure hunt with the Starlight Girls!  How exciting!  See you then!

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

November 1, 1959

Happy first of November, everybody!  And, welcome to the very first Tuesday Timeline of the month!  Today's subject is one that is guaranteed to make your head hurt...or maybe not. 

Confused?  Don't be.  It's actually a clue for today's topic.  For now though, let's see what events did not make the cut.

1503 - Pope Julius II is elected

1512 - The painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo is displayed to the public for the first time

1520 - The Strait of Magellan is first discovered

1604 - Shakespeare's "Othello" is performed for the first time in London

1611 - Seven years after "Othello" debuts, Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is also performed for the first time in London

1755 - Lisbon, Portugal is destroyed by an earthquake which kills at least 60,000 people

1765 - The Stamp Act is enacted on the Thirteen Colonies by British parliament

1800 - John Adams becomes the first President to live in the White House

1848 - Boston becomes the home of the very first medical school for women

1870 - The first weather forecast is made by the Weather Bureau in the United States

1896 - A photo of a woman with exposed breasts appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time

1918 - In Brooklyn, New York, a rapid transit accident takes place at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Malbone Street, killing 102

1940 - Military veteran/singer-songwriter Barry Sadler (d. 1989) is born in Carlsbad, New Mexico

1942 - Actress Marcia Wallace (d. 2013) is born in Creston, Iowa

1956 - The Springhill mining disaster occurs in Springhill, Nova Scotia; although 88 miners are eventually rescued, 39 lose their lives

1960 - John F. Kennedy announces an idea to create the Peace Corps during his Presidential campaign

1968 - The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system is introduced with the ratings of G, M, R, and X.  PG, PG-13, and NC-17 would come later

1982 - Honda becomes the first Asian car company to produce cars within the United States

1984 - Anti-Sikh riots occur in India following the Halloween assassination of Indira Gandhi at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards

1985 - Comedian Phil Silvers dies at the age of 74

2006 - Actress/director Adrienne Shelly is found dead in her studio apartment having been murdered; Shelly was just 40 years old

2013 - Gunfire erupts at Los Angeles International Airport, where the gunman ends up killing one and wounding seven

And celebrating a birthday on November 1 are the following people; George S. Irving, John Clark, Gillian Knight, Bill Anderson, Larry Flynt, Kinky Friedman, Yuko Shimizu, David Foster, Belita Moreno, Lyle Lovett, Joe DeRenzo, Susanna Clarke, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Anthony Kiedis, Rick Allen, Big Kenny, Sophie B. Hawkins, Tina Arena, Tie Domi, Toni Collette, Bo Bice, and Penn Badgley.

So, we know the date is November 1.  What year will we be looking at this time around?



How about November 1, 1959

And to begin with this edition of the Tuesday Timeline, let us look at the world of professional hockey.

Having watched games at both local and national levels, I can tell you that hockey is definitely not a sport for the faint of heart.  It can be quite dangerous.  Why, you could sustain a broken bone or two.  You could lose a tooth or two.  Heck, in one case, you could accidentally take a skate to the throat and end up nearly bleeding to death on the rink!  Fortunately for Clint Malarchuk - the hockey player who did have his neck cut - he survived.

As did the subject of today's Tuesday Timeline subject - Jacques Plante.  In 1959, he sustained a serious injury on the ice while playing a game for his team, the Montreal Canadiens.  And that injury would quite literally change the face of how hockey is played all over the world.

Jacques Plante was a goalie for the team, and when you think of goalies you have a particular image in your head of how they are supposed to look.  They are easily the most recognizable player on the team because they are wearing so much protective equipment and padding that you sometimes wonder how they can even move around at all!  Perhaps the most common piece of equipment one might expect a goalie to wear is the protective face mask that softens the blow of any hockey puck that might sail their way.  Because let's face it - would you want a flying hockey puck to bean you square in the face?  I don't think that would be an experience that I would want.

These days, it's required that all goaltenders wear a protective mask.  Prior to 1959, however, they weren't.  In fact, the very day that Plante got injured - November 1, 1959 - he was NOT wearing any sort of protective mask.  The end result was that Plante took a puck to the nose which broke it and he was forced to get stitches as a result of it.



Interestingly enough, Plante had created his very own protective mask at least three years prior to his injury.  At the time, he had suffered from a condition known as sinusitis - which is something I know all too well as I also was inflicted with it a lot as a child.  I missed quite a few days of school because of it, and Plante missed thirteen games because of sinusitis.  Plante created a mask made out of fibreglass to wear during practice sessions as an aid in countering the sinusitis, which was allowed by then head coach of the team Toe Blake.  But Blake refused to allow Plante to wear the mask on the ice during actual games. 

But that all changed once Plante took a puck to the nose, and he came back to the ice - wearing the mask.  At first, Blake was livid and told Plante that he needed to get rid of the mask, but Plante stood his ground and said that if he wasn't allowed to wear the mask, he wasn't going back out on the ice.

And considering that there were no alternate goalies on that day, Blake relented and told Plante that he could wear the mask until his stitches were taken out.  The end result of the game was that the Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers 3-1.

But as time passed and his cut healed, Plante made the decision to continue to wear the mask anyway, not only labelling it a good luck charm, but a piece of equipment that could prevent him and any other goalie from sustaining serious injury.  Case in point, the Canadiens would win the next consecutive EIGHTEEN games with Plante wearing his mask.  The one game he was forced to remove it, the team lost.  At that point, Blake realized that his argument was null and void, and he allowed Plante to wear the mask for the rest of the season.  That year, the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup!

Now, I'm not saying that the mask truly was a good luck charm.  To be honest, I think the idea of Plante feeling he was safe from harm while wearing it worked in his favour as he could focus more on winning the game and less on worrying about injuries.  And although health problems would cause the 1959/1960 season to be Plante's last as a player, he would go on to patent a model of face mask for other goalies - and he would forever be known as the man who made the goalie mask a mandatory piece of equipment in the game of hockey!

Not a bad achievement.

Monday, October 31, 2016

Help Me Pick a Halloween Costume For Next Year!



Happy Halloween!!!

This is going to be a very short message as I have a lot of preparing to do for tonight.  Let's see...I've got lollipops and Reese's peanut butter pumpkins to give out to the trick-or-treaters, I've got the pumpkin carved and put in the front porch window to let people know my home is open for Halloween goodies.

And, I've also got some window cleaner available in case someone decides to egg my house.  I don't know anyone I've pissed off enough to warrant that, but we shall see what happens.  I'm prepared for worst case scenarios here.

All in all, I just want everybody to have a safe and happy Halloween.  Dress in costumes that reflect light.  Carry some glowsticks in your hands or incorporate them into your costumes so that people can see you.  Don't eat anything from your loot bags that might have been tampered with.  And definitely don't eat Popeye candy sticks.  Not because they're dangerous, but because they are tasteless.

You know, Halloween hasn't always had the greatest memories associated with it for me.  It was around 25 years ago this time that I had to say goodbye to my grandmother who passed away two days before Halloween.  Believe it or not, her wake was held ON Halloween.  That might seem creepy to you, but under the circumstances, there really was no other choice.

But that's not to say that I don't like Halloween.  On the contrary, I enjoy it a lot.  Though in recent years, I haven't bothered with costumes.  Heck, this is only the second year that I've had trick-or-treaters since I moved into this house last summer.  But, I could be coerced to change that...especially for next year.

So, I'm going to ask all of you...what should I be for Halloween next year?  Give me some suggestions, and I may choose one of them for Halloween 2017. 

I almost considered dressing up as the scariest thing ever this year...but I couldn't find a Hydro One Meter Reader costume.  And dressing up as Kathleen Wynne is out because I don't think I'd be able to do her justice.  Not that she has any to begin with but still...

Yeah, my ideas suck.  Help me out next year!

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Days of our Lives - Marlena Gets Possessed

Happy Halloween Eve!

I hope you've all gotten your costumes, bought all your candy, and stocked up on window cleaner - trust me, you might need it if you find yourself the victim of egg throwing maniacs.

This is the final Sunday in October, which means that we're going to have one final SOAP SUDS SUNDAY to talk about this month.  And believe me when I say that I've saved the creepiest, scariest - and campiest storyline for last.



And, unlike many of the shows that I have talked about in this space (with the exception of "General Hospital"), this is a show that is still on the air.  It has been for over fifty years!



It's also the only daytime drama currently airing on NBC.

Yes, the show we're going to look back at is "Days of our Lives".  At one point, the show was aired in a daytime drama block which once included shows like "The Doctors", "Santa Barbara", "Another World", "Sunset Beach", and "Passions", but as of 2016 it is the last one standing.  But I can see why that is.  It can be argued that the fan base for "Days of our Lives" is huge.  Many of the fans of the series are extremely loyal to it and each weekday they tune in to see what escapades the residents of Salem will face.

Over the last few years though, "Days of our Lives" has been one of the shows that forces its viewers to believe the unbelievable.  And certainly the storylines that have screened on the soap are anything but believable.  How can the victims of a serial killer storyline be alive and well and trapped on an island?  How many times can Stefano DiMera come back from the dead?  How the hell many characters can Eileen Davidson play on that series at the same time (and how did she not drop dead of a coronary during that time)?

I think the most controversial and most talked about storyline that took place on that show was the one that I'll be talking about today - one that is most definitely appropriate for Halloween.

Here's the kicker.  I didn't watch this show when this storyline aired, so I'm going to be using a lot of visual props for this one.  Truth be told, they could probably tell the story better than I ever could.

Back in the mid-1990s, the decision was made by then head writer James E. Reilly (the man behind "Passions") to create a story in which a main character was possessed by the devil, and did some very strange and evil things to everybody around them.  The show would borrow heavily from films like "The Exorcist", "The Omen", and other horror classics in order to tell the story.

Now, if a devil possession story seems bizarre - keep in mind that the man in charge of this storyline also created the show that featured a talking doll, a witch, and an orangutan as main characters.  Suddenly doesn't seem all that strange, does it?



The unlucky victim was Dr. Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist in Salem played by Deidre Hall off and on since 1976.  And the storyline began playing out in late 1994 when Marlena went to Louisiana to find John Black - a man whom she had been having a romantic relationship with and who was the father of her youngest child, Belle.  Unfortunately for Marlena, she also discovered trouble in the form of Stefano DiMera, who more or less was the personification of evil.  Think of him as the Victor Newman or Alan Spaulding of "Days of our Lives" if you will.

The plot had Marlena and John finding their way back to each other and leaving Salem together, but at the cost of Marlena's marriage to Roman Brady.  But what John and Marlena didn't realize was that Stefano had also arrived in Salem and he wasn't ready to leave them alone just yet.

He managed to slip Marlena some very powerful drugs that caused her mind to snap.  As the days went on, Marlena became more and more distant from everyone she was close to and she started to become more evil.

This was right around the time in which Marlena had become possessed by the devil.  In the clip below, you can see the exact moment when the possession takes place. 


And during the course of the storyline, nobody was safe - especially not Kristen DiMera, a popular target of Marlena's devilish side.  Marlena also caused a lot of damage while possessed by the devil, even going so far as torching an entire church!


It wasn't until Easter of 1995 that the possession storyline finally ended, and it would be John Black that would ultimately banish the devil from Marlena once and for all.  At the time of the storyline, John was a priest (it would be later proven that he in fact was not a priest, but back in 1995, everyone believed that he was), and John believed that he could perform an exorcism on Marlena to get the devil out of her so that Marlena could return to her life as she knew it. 

There was a risk though.  Marlena was weakened by the devil's influence on her, and the threat of Marlena losing her life was very much real.  But as you can see in this clip, John managed to do the exorcism successfully and Marlena was saved.


It was most definitely one of the weirdest and controversial storylines that a daytime drama ever featured.  And executive producer of the show, Ken Corday actually looks back on that period with some remorse, stating that he regretted greenlighting the devil possession storyline in the first place.  However, ratings for the show went up, Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn certainly did their best with an unbelievable storyline, and it remains one of the most memorable daytime storylines to screen on television.