Showing posts with label Gen X. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gen X. Show all posts
Saturday, January 14, 2012
WHAT HAPPENED TO POKING FUN AT SQUARES?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
THE SECRET THAT WIKILEAKS DIDN'T TELL, BUT I WILL
I just found this out. Remember the Man from Glad, the dashing white clad and white-haired, jet pack-traveling hero of 60's and 70's homemakers with too many leftovers?
How about perky Josephine the Plumber, who told 60's and 70's homemakers to clean there sinks with Comet?
What people don't know is these two TV commercial icons were secretly married in the late 60's/early 70's. From this union a child was born. The baby was a girl.
Like her mother, she is terminally perky, overly enthusiastic and wears too much red lipstick. Like her father, she wears white and has a thing for different modes of transportation.
Yes, you guest it. FLO FROM THE PROGRESSIVE COMMERCIALS IS THE DAUGHTER OF THE MAN FROM GLAD AND JOSEPHINE THE PLUMBER!!!
Remember that you didn't hear that from WikiLeaks, you heard that from Desdinova the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Friday, October 15, 2010
I CAN'T BELIEVE I USED TO LIKE THAT SONG
Did you ever stop liking something that you thought was "cool" when you were younger? Recently, I discovered that I no longer liked a song from my youth called "88 Lines About 44 Women." The song was by a group called the Nails. It kept coming up in my Ipod and Itunes. I had transferred it from a CD of 80's hits, so it wasn't like I had paid to download it.
You see when I was in junior high this song would occasionally be heard on the radio. If it was heard it was after 10 p.m at night. The reason was it had "dirty words" in it. I don't think I ever heard a "censored" version of this song. Somebody in Hammons Hall had it on a tape or record, because you could hear it playing down the hall. I didn't hear it again until I bought this 80's hits CD.
As it began playing on my Ipod and Itunes in shuffle mode, I noticed something. "88 Lines About 44 Women" is a really lame song. It is only about five minutes long, but it seems to go on for an eternity. The singer reads the lyrics like an NPR radio host, while the music sounds like it was played on a children's keyboard. The lyrics are simple yet so random. I could write new lyrics to this song and nobody would know the difference. All I need was to do would be come up with (1) two women's names - one exotic and one common, (2) an action that is very normal or sweet and tender (3) an action that is both disturbing and repulsive about either religion, drugs, sex or bodily functions and (4) throw in a four letter word. It would go something like this:
"Vanda was a fat girl, but she knew how to dance. Melinda was a sexy blond with a bad habit of $#!++ing her pants. Hhhuuummmm-hum-hum-hum-hum-HUM-hum-hum"
At the end of each verse, the lead vocalist/narrator would hum (Yes, I said hum) along with the music. To make things worse, there was another song about that time that sounded like it was being played on a child's keyboard that consisted mainly of the words "Da da da" repeated over and over.
If you MUST hear this song, you can find a homemade video of the song on You Tube. It probably isn't safe for work because it is not PC, not family friendly and down right annoying.
You see when I was in junior high this song would occasionally be heard on the radio. If it was heard it was after 10 p.m at night. The reason was it had "dirty words" in it. I don't think I ever heard a "censored" version of this song. Somebody in Hammons Hall had it on a tape or record, because you could hear it playing down the hall. I didn't hear it again until I bought this 80's hits CD.
As it began playing on my Ipod and Itunes in shuffle mode, I noticed something. "88 Lines About 44 Women" is a really lame song. It is only about five minutes long, but it seems to go on for an eternity. The singer reads the lyrics like an NPR radio host, while the music sounds like it was played on a children's keyboard. The lyrics are simple yet so random. I could write new lyrics to this song and nobody would know the difference. All I need was to do would be come up with (1) two women's names - one exotic and one common, (2) an action that is very normal or sweet and tender (3) an action that is both disturbing and repulsive about either religion, drugs, sex or bodily functions and (4) throw in a four letter word. It would go something like this:
"Vanda was a fat girl, but she knew how to dance. Melinda was a sexy blond with a bad habit of $#!++ing her pants. Hhhuuummmm-hum-hum-hum-hum-HUM-hum-hum"
At the end of each verse, the lead vocalist/narrator would hum (Yes, I said hum) along with the music. To make things worse, there was another song about that time that sounded like it was being played on a child's keyboard that consisted mainly of the words "Da da da" repeated over and over.
If you MUST hear this song, you can find a homemade video of the song on You Tube. It probably isn't safe for work because it is not PC, not family friendly and down right annoying.
Friday, August 27, 2010
THE MOD SQUAD WAS COOLER THAN 21 JUMP STREET (Sorry Johnny Depp)
I realize many people of my generation will hate this post. There will even be some Baby Boomers that will hate this post.
In TV history, there were two cops shows that featured young people going undercover to investigate crimes involving other youth. These shows were the Mod Squad, which ran from 1968 to 1973. The other was 21 Jump Street, which ran from 1987 to 1991.
I remember watching an episode of 21 Jump Street when it first air on the then-new Fox Network and thinking, "This show sucks. I hope they come up with a better show than this or this network with go the way of Dumont and Overmyer Networks." The show not only ran longer than I expected, but Fox has survived, thanks to several great shows like the Simpsons, Family Guy and In Living Color.
It was about this time that a purchased a book called The Best of Crime and Detective TV: The Critics Choice by John Javna and Max Allan Collins. In this book, they list the TV show, Mod Squad, as one of the worst cop shows ever. They practically trash the show (They also slam Charlie's Angels, which makes me wonder about these guys).
I had only seen the Mod Squad reunion movie from the late 70's, but I still thought it probably had to be better than 21 Jump Street for the simple reason it was made in the late 60s/early 70s. As many of you readers know I have always had a special place for the psychedelic era.
I bought a VHS tape a few years ago that featured two episodes of the Mod Squad. I liked it quite a bit and wanted to buy another, but they were taken off the market for some reason. A year ago, I bought a DVD of the first season of the Mod Squad. It featured a longer version of the pilot episode which was on the VHS tape I had earlier. I have enjoyed it very much and plan to buy another DVD set of the show.
A few nights ago, I found the entire first season of 21 Jump Street on DVD at Wal-Mart for $5. I wondered if my opinion of 21 Jump Street would have changed after seeing more than one episode of the Mod Squad. Maybe I would be blown away by the show which gave us Johnny Depp. It turns out, I was right the first time I saw the show. It still sucks.
While people often malign the Mod Squad for being dated, 21 Jump Street is a product of it's time too. It comes with the things of the 80s that I hated. Bad part is some of those attitudes are still with us, thanks to the Fox News Network. As a matter of fact, I suspect that Bill O'Reilly wrote a few of these scripts under an alias. I bet Sarah Palin was a Jump Street fan.
The Mod Squad was from the age of peace, love and "Do Your Own Thing," while 21 Jump Street was from the age of "Just Say No," "Positive Peer Pressure," "overachieving" and "Vigilante Justice." Also, the characters on 21 Jump Street wear the clothes of that era that my mom forced me to wear. When I moved out and went to SMSU, I started dressing more like the Mod Squad.
First off, let's discuss the theme song and opening credits. The theme song of the Mod Squad was composed by Earl Hagen. Hagen created a tough and fast pasted cops show theme, augmented by a psychedelic/garage band organ. The visual was the main characters running through a dark warehouse.
The 21 Jump Street open featured a theme song sung by the cast that sounded like a bad Debbie Gibson song ("You're gonna learn something when we meet you after school" GAG!). The visuals were goofy clips of the cast from episodes. This gives you the impression you are watching a bad sitcom.
The overall plot of the shows are different in that Peter, Linc and Julie ("One White, One Black and One Blonde") were juvenile delinquents paying their debt to society by becoming undercover detectives. They did carry guns or badges. They often questioned the ethics of what they were doing. Yes, they do use quite a bit of the slang of that era. Pete seems to use the word "heavy" a lot, Julie says "groovy" quite a bit and Linc made the phrase, "Solid, Brother" a part of TV history.
On 21 Jump Street, Hanson, Penhall, Hoffs and Loki are cops who look young enough to infiltrate high schools. They carry guns and badges. When the Jump Street cops aren't whining about lawyers and judges "letting off" the people they bust, they insult each other.
The villains on Mod Squad are never the kids, but old, white guys trying to make a money by selling drugs or killing young people. One villain, played by Dabney Colman (Who else?) tells his sister, "Your hippie friends are driving down the value of my real estate." One villain is a Bill O'Reilly-ish talk show who tries to rape Julie. Yes, the message of the Mod Squad could be "No such thing as a bad kid" and "Don't trust anyone over 30."
On the other hand, 21 Jump Street embedded with the 80's idea of "young-people-are-evil." The criminal is always young. Everything from gun toting gang members taking a school hostage to a group of cocaine pushing, preppy-boys who gang-rape/murder a girl to sexually-repressed, pyromaniac Catholic school girls (No, I didn't make this last one up).
Jump Street episodes usually end with a PSA/lecture from the cast about under-age drinking, drug abuse or abstenence. Mod Squad ended with a crane shot of the characters and somber jazz music as the characters contemplate what just happened. Truth is the Mod Squad has a more expensive look to it than Jump Street.
Yes, this has probably been a useless rant, but I had to get this out of my system. I'm sorry Johnny Depp couldn't have been like Clint Eastwood, John Travolta or Bruce Lee and gotten his start on a good show. As a matter of fact, he has said he hated the show.
Just remember, the Maharishi says never drink campaign from a paper cup. Solid, Brother!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
THE WASHINGTON SQUARES - FOURTH DAY of JULY
One of the great bands I listened to in college and played on the Midnite Snack on KSMU, that you no longer hear on the radio any more. Sad ain't it!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
WASN'T MY GENERATION SUPPOSED TO CHANGE RADIO FOR THE BETTER?
Once again, I've decided to travel back into time to my SMSU days. I've been reflective lately on all the hope and promise of those days that has been largely stomped on the repressive Ozarks culture.
Let's look at one facet of my media career, which is radio. As a media major, I studied newspaper, radio and television. I had a particular interest in radio. Part of this came from the simple fact that i was always interested in improving the local radio scene. I used to do some DXing late at night as a kid and I felt that many of the local radio station needed to be more like the major market stations. It was my destiny to try to change things around here, especially KWLT FM 92 and KJEL in Lebanon.
Another thing that energized my interest in radio, was an article in Rolling Stone about college radio was becoming a big influence in the music world. Rolling Stone and Billboard both had college rock charts. According to Rolling Stone, the young people in college radio were going to revitalize radio with their creativity and free-form programming.
The only radio stations in Springfield offering internships were KTTS, KTXR and KSMU. Rumor has it one of the rock stations in town stopped offering internships because they didn't want any college kids telling people about rampant cocaine use by the staff. I took an internship at KSMU, because they allowed students to program their own music on the Midnight Snack show. I used to listen to the Midnight Snack in Lebanon. It was there that I first fell in love with the Sex Pistols, Ramones and the various paisley underground bands.
College radio eventually beat mainstream radio to probably the greatest band of the 90's, Nirvana. Springfield even had a radio station playing college rock, Z105 the Planet. Yes, it looked liked my generation (now dubbed Generation X by the press). SO WHAT HAPPENED???
Several factors played into our lack of power in 2010. The major explanation goes back to the Telecom Act of 1996, which opened the door for the large radio corporations like Clear Channel, Cumulus, Journal and Citadel. Here is hoping the FCC reverses all this consolidation soon. With consolidation, most creative program directors lost their power in favor on PD for the whole country. Sadly, most of these companies adapted the attitude that "only country and talk are profitable in the post 9-11 society" and many alternative station were changed to something else. So then, why has radio lost so much money and listeners in the past few years? Could it be you are driving away listeners with that talk and country garbage?
A major problem that isn't talked about is the animosity and resistance faced us Generation X-college-radio-trained-talent from an element of white-conservative-Baby Boomers, who were in management, not just in radio but other media. These balding, fat middle aged guys wanted to keep us out of the industry. They also did like the changes we wanted to make. A Rolling Stone article once gave a name to a name to a notorious alternative rock radio destroyer, Randy Michaels of Jacor. I should also point out that Jacor (later engulfed by Clear Channel) owned the Premier Radio, which produces such garbage as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and Delilah. Do you see a pattern here?
However, there is a nostalgia for the college radio era and it's music. A friend of mine works at a book and music store. He has noticed people in their 40s buying the "college rock" of the 80s and 90s. Two blogs, Spinning Indie and Slicing Eyeballs, discuss both old and new college rock.
There is hope that there could be a turn around in the radio industry and us Generation X college radio slackers will save the industry from the suit wearing, Rush lovers in the big corporations. We are radio's only hope.
Of course, opinions like these are why I'm considered Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Let's look at one facet of my media career, which is radio. As a media major, I studied newspaper, radio and television. I had a particular interest in radio. Part of this came from the simple fact that i was always interested in improving the local radio scene. I used to do some DXing late at night as a kid and I felt that many of the local radio station needed to be more like the major market stations. It was my destiny to try to change things around here, especially KWLT FM 92 and KJEL in Lebanon.
Another thing that energized my interest in radio, was an article in Rolling Stone about college radio was becoming a big influence in the music world. Rolling Stone and Billboard both had college rock charts. According to Rolling Stone, the young people in college radio were going to revitalize radio with their creativity and free-form programming.
The only radio stations in Springfield offering internships were KTTS, KTXR and KSMU. Rumor has it one of the rock stations in town stopped offering internships because they didn't want any college kids telling people about rampant cocaine use by the staff. I took an internship at KSMU, because they allowed students to program their own music on the Midnight Snack show. I used to listen to the Midnight Snack in Lebanon. It was there that I first fell in love with the Sex Pistols, Ramones and the various paisley underground bands.
College radio eventually beat mainstream radio to probably the greatest band of the 90's, Nirvana. Springfield even had a radio station playing college rock, Z105 the Planet. Yes, it looked liked my generation (now dubbed Generation X by the press). SO WHAT HAPPENED???
Several factors played into our lack of power in 2010. The major explanation goes back to the Telecom Act of 1996, which opened the door for the large radio corporations like Clear Channel, Cumulus, Journal and Citadel. Here is hoping the FCC reverses all this consolidation soon. With consolidation, most creative program directors lost their power in favor on PD for the whole country. Sadly, most of these companies adapted the attitude that "only country and talk are profitable in the post 9-11 society" and many alternative station were changed to something else. So then, why has radio lost so much money and listeners in the past few years? Could it be you are driving away listeners with that talk and country garbage?
A major problem that isn't talked about is the animosity and resistance faced us Generation X-college-radio-trained-talent from an element of white-conservative-Baby Boomers, who were in management, not just in radio but other media. These balding, fat middle aged guys wanted to keep us out of the industry. They also did like the changes we wanted to make. A Rolling Stone article once gave a name to a name to a notorious alternative rock radio destroyer, Randy Michaels of Jacor. I should also point out that Jacor (later engulfed by Clear Channel) owned the Premier Radio, which produces such garbage as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and Delilah. Do you see a pattern here?
However, there is a nostalgia for the college radio era and it's music. A friend of mine works at a book and music store. He has noticed people in their 40s buying the "college rock" of the 80s and 90s. Two blogs, Spinning Indie and Slicing Eyeballs, discuss both old and new college rock.
There is hope that there could be a turn around in the radio industry and us Generation X college radio slackers will save the industry from the suit wearing, Rush lovers in the big corporations. We are radio's only hope.
Of course, opinions like these are why I'm considered Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
I MISS THE CRAIG HALL CROWD & I STILL HATE THE PREPPIES
Permit me to wax nostalgic for a bit, but this post has been coming for awhile and it is something I have to get out of my system. I've been thinking about my college years, when I was obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Media. I was just out of high school, away from home and I didn't have a job, so I was able to enjoy myself and have fun.
I found it was easier to make friends with people at SMSU (now known as MSU) than it was in the Lebanon R-3. For one thing, the need to conform to what everyone else was doing disappears in college. Also, I seem to have more in common with the city kids. We tended to like the same music, movies and other activities. We were the "Craig Hall Crowd," because that was where the communications, media and drama classes were held.
The people I tend to hang with in college tended to wear tie dye shirts with peace signs on them or shirts that said "EAT THE RICH" on them. Some even had pink t-shirts with a photo of Howard McNear, the barber from the Andy Griffith Show on the front and the words "PINK FLOYD" on the back. Get it! Yeah, it was funnier in 1987. We tended to drive older model small cars with bumper stickers reading "He who dies with the most toys, STILL DIES" or "Wouldn't be nice if the schools had plenty of money and the Pentagon had to have a bake sale?"
Our dorm room walls were covered in posters of Jim Morrison, Ozzy Osbourne and James Dean, as well as numerous assorted scantly clad women. The only names I can think of for these women were Marilyn (The Seven Year Itch subway grate pose), Farah (These were usually kind of ragged because they had been around for several years), Brooke and Elvira (Yes, THAT Elvira - usually these were Budweiser promotional posters, so you wonder if these guys were more attracted to beer than the big breasted Goth chick). Oh, I cannot forget the Tennis Girl poster (above).
I should point out that there was a boom in psychedelic music and fashion. Part of this may have been because Rolling Stone was celebrating its 20th anniversary and running a lot of retrospective article on the Summer of Love and the 60s. However, as I look back, we may have been rebelling against the "Just Say No" crap that had been forced down our throats in junior high and high school.
There were some people that we didn't like. These people were what we called Preppies. These people were like the villains in a lot the comedy films of the time. While we were wanting to Bluto from Animal House, these people wanted to be Greg Marmalard and Douglas C. Neidemeyer from Animal House. These people took things way too seriously. They were like the people we didn't like in junior high and high school. They were all involved in Young Republicans and came to class wearing ties. They were always business majors of some sort, only interested in money and kissing butt. They were overachievers, who felt Bart Simpson was a bad role model for children. Bad part I see many young college kids now who are exactly like the Preppie kids. Kind of sad when you think about it.
Someone at the Standard gave one of these boneheads a column. I can remember his last name was Seitz, because I thought he was full of baloney. He spread hate toward anyone who didn't think like him and his tie wearing Preppie friends. He probably is either a talk radio host or a weenie blogger. They went to little meetings on Monday night where they listened to speeches by Mel Hancock and Jean Dixon. Needless to say these people were not out having fun like the rest of us.
I guess what has brought this on is the fact I keep running into or seeing the Preppies around Springfield, but the people I liked are nowhere to be seen. Maybe they went back to St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. At least one person, went to Hollywood. I see her on TV from time to time. I guess the Preppies were from here in Springfield. I hope my friends are still they way they were when we were in school. After all the Preppies are all still the obnoxious little twerps they were when we were in school.
Of course, opinions like this are why I'm the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
I found it was easier to make friends with people at SMSU (now known as MSU) than it was in the Lebanon R-3. For one thing, the need to conform to what everyone else was doing disappears in college. Also, I seem to have more in common with the city kids. We tended to like the same music, movies and other activities. We were the "Craig Hall Crowd," because that was where the communications, media and drama classes were held.
The people I tend to hang with in college tended to wear tie dye shirts with peace signs on them or shirts that said "EAT THE RICH" on them. Some even had pink t-shirts with a photo of Howard McNear, the barber from the Andy Griffith Show on the front and the words "PINK FLOYD" on the back. Get it! Yeah, it was funnier in 1987. We tended to drive older model small cars with bumper stickers reading "He who dies with the most toys, STILL DIES" or "Wouldn't be nice if the schools had plenty of money and the Pentagon had to have a bake sale?"
Our dorm room walls were covered in posters of Jim Morrison, Ozzy Osbourne and James Dean, as well as numerous assorted scantly clad women. The only names I can think of for these women were Marilyn (The Seven Year Itch subway grate pose), Farah (These were usually kind of ragged because they had been around for several years), Brooke and Elvira (Yes, THAT Elvira - usually these were Budweiser promotional posters, so you wonder if these guys were more attracted to beer than the big breasted Goth chick). Oh, I cannot forget the Tennis Girl poster (above).
I should point out that there was a boom in psychedelic music and fashion. Part of this may have been because Rolling Stone was celebrating its 20th anniversary and running a lot of retrospective article on the Summer of Love and the 60s. However, as I look back, we may have been rebelling against the "Just Say No" crap that had been forced down our throats in junior high and high school.
There were some people that we didn't like. These people were what we called Preppies. These people were like the villains in a lot the comedy films of the time. While we were wanting to Bluto from Animal House, these people wanted to be Greg Marmalard and Douglas C. Neidemeyer from Animal House. These people took things way too seriously. They were like the people we didn't like in junior high and high school. They were all involved in Young Republicans and came to class wearing ties. They were always business majors of some sort, only interested in money and kissing butt. They were overachievers, who felt Bart Simpson was a bad role model for children. Bad part I see many young college kids now who are exactly like the Preppie kids. Kind of sad when you think about it.
Someone at the Standard gave one of these boneheads a column. I can remember his last name was Seitz, because I thought he was full of baloney. He spread hate toward anyone who didn't think like him and his tie wearing Preppie friends. He probably is either a talk radio host or a weenie blogger. They went to little meetings on Monday night where they listened to speeches by Mel Hancock and Jean Dixon. Needless to say these people were not out having fun like the rest of us.
I guess what has brought this on is the fact I keep running into or seeing the Preppies around Springfield, but the people I liked are nowhere to be seen. Maybe they went back to St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. At least one person, went to Hollywood. I see her on TV from time to time. I guess the Preppies were from here in Springfield. I hope my friends are still they way they were when we were in school. After all the Preppies are all still the obnoxious little twerps they were when we were in school.
Of course, opinions like this are why I'm the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
LONG LIVE ROCK & ROLL- RONNIE JAMES DIO DEAD 67
Here is the obit from CNN on the Rainbow, Black Sabbath and solo heavy metal vocalist. Dio also host several syndicated radio shows during the heavy metal boom of the 80s. My favorite Rainbow song is "Long Live Rock & Roll." Long Live Ronnie James Dio.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
SEX PISTOLS MANAGER MALCOLM McLAREN DEAD AT 64
It was one of my goals when I got into the radio industry was to get more of the Sex Pistols music on local radio. With the boom in alternative stations in the 90's, there was at least some recognition by the industry of this groundbreaking group. Sadly, the radio industry felt country music and right-wing talk radio would make more money. WRONG!!! That is one of the reasons radio is in the financial pickle it is today.
The man who guided the Sex Pistols flash fire career, along with Bow Wow Wow and the New York Dolls, Malcolm McLaren has died of cancer in Switzerland at age 64. Here is the BBC story.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
FESS PARKER DIES AT 85
Actor Fess Parker died today at age 85. Here is the AP/Yahoo! story. Most stories are focusing on his role as Davy Crockett. I'm a Generation Xer, so my memory of Fess Parker was from the reruns of Daniel Boone that KOLR ran in the afternoon when I was very small. I remember getting a coonskin cap on vacation because Daniel Boone had one. By playing both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, Parker caused the same sort of pop culture confusion that Buster Crabbe did when he played Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
There are ways to tell the characters apart (The above photo was labeled as "Davy Crockett" but it is a "Daniel Boone" photo).
Davy Crockett's coonskin had was all grey fur, while Daniel Boone's hat was a mix of colors and had an raccoon head still attached.
Davy Crockett wore all buck skin, while Daniel Boone wore a leather vest over a red shirt.
Davy Crockett sometimes had stubble, while Daniel Boone was clean-shaven.
Davy Crockett was a widower, while Daniel Boone had a wife Rebekah and two kids, Israel and Jamima.
Davy Crockett's sidekick was played by Buddy Ebsen, Daniel Boone's sidekicks were Ed Ames, Dallas McKennon, Rosey Greer, Jimmy Dean and Albert Salmi.
I hope this was some help.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Equalizer star Edward Woodward dies at 79
'Equalizer' star Edward Woodward dies at 79 -- latimes.com
A little video from You Tube:
Posted using ShareThis
A little video from You Tube:
Posted using ShareThis
Friday, August 7, 2009
YOU'RE A GENIUS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T MAKE A LAMP: JOHN HUGHES DIES
If you grew up in the 80's, the films of John Hughes were required watching. The writer, producer and director with a flair for capturing teen-age life, was an important influence on our young lives, much like the late great Michael Jackson. Hughes died Thursday at age 59. Here is CNN's obit.
Hughes addressed many problems that young people face. In the Breakfast Club, it was how adults view young people and how it influences young people to view each other. Hughes ending sums up theme.
"Saturday, March 24,1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning. We were brainwashed."
My favorite John Hughes film is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I identify with the character of Ferris Bueller because, like me, he is smarter than the adults around him. He also had the same philosphy I have, "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Hughes addressed many problems that young people face. In the Breakfast Club, it was how adults view young people and how it influences young people to view each other. Hughes ending sums up theme.
"Saturday, March 24,1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning. We were brainwashed."
My favorite John Hughes film is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I identify with the character of Ferris Bueller because, like me, he is smarter than the adults around him. He also had the same philosphy I have, "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 65th Birthday, Smokey Bear!
Ad Age has the story. I found a great Smokey Bear PSA from the 70's on You Tube.
Even Desdinova listens to Smokey Bear!
Even Desdinova listens to Smokey Bear!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
FARAH FAWCETT DIES AFTER A BATTLE WITH CANCER
My one weakness is blond women. From my junior high crush on a girl named Eunice Moneymaker to my obsession with Paris Hilton, I love well-dressed, blond girls with a lot of long hair. It probably started with Farah Fawcett. She died today at 62 after a brave battle with cancer. Here is the CNN obit.
One of my favorite moments involving Farah is from Cannonball Run. She plays a reporter/environmental activist ("I just LOVE trees!") investigating the cross-country Cannonball Race. She winds up in the ambulance driven by Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise. She puts up a fuss so they have their doctor, played by Jack Elam, to give her laughing gas to calm her down. They wind up stopped by a car driven Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior, who are disguised as priest. Dean Martin realizes that Burt Reynolds is using the ambulance as a disguise as well. Reynolds tells him they have to get their "patient" to a hospital. Martin insist on looking in the back of the ambulance saying he has to "bless the patient." Reynolds opens the door where Farah lays zonked out and giggling on laughing gas. Dean Martin exclaims "OH, I'VE GOT TO BLESS HER!"
God bless you, Farah.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
HE SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR WRITING THAT SONG
There is one horrible plague that my generation had to deal with - a called "You Light Up My Life." The song came from a movie that nobody I know saw. The Debbie Boone version of the song (Oh yes, everyone tried to sing this one) was on the radio every hour of the day and on every radio station between 1977 - 78. She was on TV singing it. They forced us to sing it in elementary school. I once saw on the news where a school forced little deaf children to perform the song in sign language, as opposed to having them sign a good song from the era like "Calling Dr. Love" or "Do You Think I'm Sexy." Yes, while British kids were getting into the Sex Pistols, we were being tortured by Debbie Boone and "You Light Up My Life." This may have been the start of radio's problems.
Even into my high school days in the late 80's, someone would sing "You Light Up My Life" in an assembly or at a school event. So I am glad to report (with help from CNN) that the guy who wrote "You Light Up My Life" is going to be punished for sex charges. I WANT HIM PUNISHED FOR WRITING THAT SONG, BUT OPINIONS LIKE THIS IS WHY I AM THE SUPER VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Ed McMahon Dies at Age 86
Long-time Tonight Show announcer and Star Search host Ed McMahon has died at age 86. CNN has the story along with memories from Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen and frequent substitute Tonight Show host Joan Rivers and David Letterman (I still say he should have replaced Johnny Carson as host of the Tonight Show).
I met Mr. McMahon a few years back in Branson, MO. Ed was emcee of a ill-fated attempt at a show similar to Star Search. It was a free veterans appreciation show (and free to media too).
Ed came out after the show and talked to me and a co-worker as if we were old friends. He found out we were from Lebanon and he told us how his limo got lost leaving the Springfield/Branson Airport. They took him to Lebanon.
The British satirical puppet show Spitting Image once portrayed McMahon as the head of a secret society of celebrities who were actually running the United States. Of course, that was in the mid-80's when it seemed like Ed McMahon was everywhere. His Budweiser ads earned him a mention on Mystery Science Theater 3000 at the end of a boring promotional film for ice cream freezers made by Anheuser Busch in the 60's. When the Budweiser logo appears on screen, Tom Servo (mimicking McMahon's voice) says "Moms - Be sure a get the kids some of Ed McMahon's Budweiser Flavored Ice Cream. HHHHIIIII-YYYYYYOOOOO!"
Friday, May 29, 2009
IF THIS IS "NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN," HOW COME I TURNED OUT NORMAL
I bought this DVD a few days ago. It is a box set that samples cartoons that ran on Saturday mornings in the 1970's. I watched all of these shows. I was looking the box and noticed a warning label: "THIS IS INTENDED FOR ADULT COLLECTORS. THIS IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN."
They also have this same label on the Sesame Street Old School collection, which is the original shows from the 70's which I grew up on.
I feel insulted. I grew up watching this stuff. I'm not in prison. I turned out fairly normal. I don't see the harm in letting kids see this. If I had kids I'd let them watch it. I'd rather my kids watch this stuff than read that Bill O'Reilly book for kids, but that is what makes me Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
PUNCH UP YOUR RESUME WITH 70s PORN CHIC
An out-of-work copywriter named Lawson Clarke came up with a great way to attract attention to potential employers. Ad Age's Bob Garfield reports that Clarke created a 70's porn themed website showcasing some of his best work and his half naked body. The site, malecopywriter.com, looks like a Playgirl centerfold with Clarke posing on a bearskin rug with his "best work" displayed on a neo-Panasonic portable TV. When you first arrive on the site the TV is playing, what appears to be, an old "Sign-Off" tape. Maybe that is what this blog needs to attract readers - a picture of me naked.
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