One of my favourite television shows as a youth was “V”–a show that began as a miniseries and then spun-off into a television series. The show starred Jane Badler, Faye Grant, Mark Singer, Bonnie Bartlett, Michael Ironside, and Robert Englund (of Freddie Krueger fame). Readers of IMDB provide the following three plot synopses of the show’s premise here:
Aliens pretending to be friendly come to Earth and are received openly. The aliens have masqueraded themselves to look just like humans. When it is discovered that the aliens’ planet is dying and that they have come to rape the Earth of its natural resources, the war for Earth begins. An important key to the humans’ success is distinguishing the their own from the aliens.
A seemingly benevolent alien race forces Earth into fascist rule. In Los Angeles, a brilliant medical student unintentionally becomes the leader of one of the world’s most effective resistance movements against the invaders. With the help of an intrepid journalist and a motley group of people from different walks of life united in the cause, they help to reveal the secret of the Visitors–who turn out to be a reptilian race–and aid in the global effort to save Earth for future generations.
The main cities of Earth are surprisingly visited by 51 huge alien spacecraft, and their leader introduces themselves as a friendly people looking for cooperation with Earthlings. Soon, they blame scientists of sabotage and uprising against the Visitors. Journalist Mike Donovan and medical student Julie Parrish disclose the real intentions and the reptile appearance of the aliens, while groups of people organize resistance against the hostile invaders.
The concept was horrifying. What if aliens finally came to earth and lo and behold, they looked just like us and seemed like they had arrived to help us by sharing technological and scientific knowledge? What if we found out that they were only pretending to be like us to harvest humans for food and to steal the Earth’s water supply?
I can still recall when it was first revealed that the identity of the aliens was a sham. There’s a dramatic scene where the alien’s skin peeled away to reveal a reptilian creature. Creepy. The miniseries was great but the actual weekly series got to be a bit ridiculous because there was a “mating” between a human and an alien which lead to alien twins: one that looked like a normal girl but she had alien powers (and if I remember correctly a lizard like tongue) and an lizard child that died shortly after being born. Totally creepy!
I used to play a shooting game with my cousin, S. We would pretend to either be aliens or part of the Resistance from the show and we would shoot lazer guns each other. If we were the aliens, we would take my cats’ mice toys and pretend to eat them. Hours of fun!
It’s just been announced that ABC will be reviving the Sci-Fi classic in their upcoming season. Will it be better or live up to the first? Time will only tell. Here is the teaser trailer for the new show released by ABC. I’m looking forward to it.
I have always loved dancing. It is absolutely one of my favourite things to do and if I had my druthers, I still go dancing every weekend like I used to when I was in my twenties (or three nights a week like when I first turned nineteen). There is something liberating about the act of dancing. It is primal. It is exhilarating. It is uninhibited. When I dance, I completely lose myself in the music and forget everything else around me.
Unlike most people I see in dance clubs today, I prefer to dance by myself. No dancing in a circle, looking at my friends whilst we shuffle our feet back and forth because to do more would break the circle. I can’t stand when people do this, although, I understand why they do–there’s a certain safety in numbers I suppose or a sentiment of “I won’t look stupid if I’m with my pals.” No, this is not for me and I hate it when I have to conform to this dancing approach, such as at weddings or parties and events of that nature but in a way, I feel like I have to. At a club though, I love nothing more than to saunter on the floor on my own and just let loose. Now that’s what I call freedom!
The first dance I ever attended as a tween was at a local Jellystone Park campground. They would have a dance every Friday in the pavilion. Yogi, Cindy, and Booboo were all there. It started off as kid-stuff but as the night wore on, it was a teen dream. I had great fun dancing with my cousins. Then in high school, I attended every single dance my school ever put on–I seriously don’t think I can remember missing a single one. Even when it was no longer “cool” to go to the dances as a senior, I still went with my friends. We would request songs like The Clash “Should I stay of should I go,” New Order “Blue Monday,” The Smiths “How Soon is Now,” and of course The B52’s “Rock Lobster.” With “Rock Lobster,” I can remember how when it got to the part when Fred Schneider was belting out “down, down, down…,” we would all drop slowly to the floor and anyone who was a “rookie” to the dance experience would be looking around like “What the heck is going on around here?” It was far too fun!
With a spring birthday, I was one of the first among my peers to be legally of age for the bar scene. I remember going to a dance club with one of my older cousins, J9, and sneaking in her sister (who was the same age as me only her birthday was in the summer) around my birthday. This is when I found my niche and expanded my musical horizons. Enter the Goth scene. Here I found a bunch of other people who liked to dance like me….by themselves and with complete and utter abandon. It was great. I would enjoy many years on the scene and I can say that I had some of the best times of my life on the dance floor.
The May long weekend always gets two responses out of me. One is a feeling of absolute contentment as I putter around the yard, plant some flowers and trees, eat some BBQ with friends, and just do as Frankie says….RELAX. All this puts me in the mood for summer and makes me long for more vacation. The other feeling is one of absolute panic. The school year is almost done and as a teacher that means boatloads of marking, preparation of exams, and final report cards must be accomplished before I am truly free to enjoy the summer (even though I spend most of my summer planning for September…but I digress). Thus the long weekend sets me in a panic mode in which my brain says, “Get to work! There’s much to do” whilst my heart says “Bring on summer!”
Today as I was riding my bike home from work, I spotted something small and white crouched on the front lawn along my route. At first, I wondered if this might be a small cat or kitten but alas it was something far more intriguing: an albino squirrel!
I steered my bike to the side of the road to get a better look and then I thought, I’ve GOT to get a picture of this and proceeded to pull out my cellphone camera to try to snap a shot. The little bugger scurried up a nearby tree, far out of range for my inferior phone lens. Drat!
I just know that I’ll be on the lookout for it from now on in the hopes that I might capture it on film for posterity. In one brief moment, he has become my Moby Dick but unlike Captain Ahab, I just want a picture of the little guy not vengeful annihilation.
I cut out this picture of Duran Duran from The Windsor Star and had it posted in my locker in 1986.
I believe that whatever age you first discovered music becomes the yardstick by which you rate all other music and most of time, it is impossible to measure up. Somehow, even if current music IS better musically or lyrically, you just can’t help but hearken back to the songs of your youth perhaps because they are an indelible reminder of youthful innocence or glory days.
Personally, I came into musical maturity around the sixth grade in 1986. The most influential music of my life comes spans the years starting with this musical coming of age and my high school years ending with 1993. Was this the best musical period? I would say technically, no, but do I derive a certain level of enjoyment from it? You bet your “Frankie says Relax” t-shirt I do!
There is something absolutely catchy about eighties pop music, both lyrically and musically. The emphasis on synthesizers and drum machines created a very synthetic sound but nonetheless, the end result was some of the most hum-worthy songs ever written.
Here are some classic eighties songs and videos from the period.
Photo Credit: US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
It had to be done. I’ve completely obliterated all my old blog posts and I’m starting with a blank slate and a new concept. This site, in its original format, just wasn’t working for me.
At first, I wanted to use my site as a means of sharing my love of books. Reading is such an integral part of my life but writing about it was boring me to tears. I would finish reading a book, put it by my computer to remind me to post a review on the blog, and then watch as the pile of books got to Babel high proportions. I kept delaying my posts. I went through all the Kubler-Ross stages except bargaining: denial (I have no time for this), anger (no one is reading this crap anyways), depression (no one is reading this **sniff** anyways), and acceptance (I just don’t want to write about this).
Inspired by Essence of Wild Ginger(a blog I follow), an old friend’s WORD LAB, and and my students and their personal blogs, I decided to just simplify my concept and just post any assorted thoughts, media, and whatnot I had on any given topic on any given day.
So for what it’s worth, I’ll be giving my $1.25 worth of Chip Van Wisdom as often as I can muster.
One of my favourite television shows as a youth was “V”–a show that began as a miniseries and then spun-off into a television series. The show starred Jane Badler, Faye Grant, Mark Singer, Bonnie Bartlett, Michael Ironside, and Robert Englund (of Freddie Krueger fame). Readers of IMDB provide the following three plot synopses of the show’s premise here:
The May long weekend always gets two responses out of me. One is a feeling of absolute contentment as I putter around the yard, plant some flowers and trees, eat some BBQ with friends, and just do as Frankie says….RELAX. All this puts me in the mood for summer and makes me long for more vacation. The other feeling is one of absolute panic. The school year is almost done and as a teacher that means boatloads of marking, preparation of exams, and final report cards must be accomplished before I am truly free to enjoy the summer (even though I spend most of my summer planning for September…but I digress). Thus the long weekend sets me in a panic mode in which my brain says, “Get to work! There’s much to do” whilst my heart says “Bring on summer!”
Other People's 2 Cents Worth