Love is in the Air

Springtime has long been the traditional time for romance, a time when a young man's fancy turns to love. It's no different for me, except in lieu of an actual man, I bought this heavily discounted Valentine's Day toy from a local drug store chain. Sigh! I love his accent ;) Enjoy the warmer weather today, New Yorkers. It is so on for Spring!

What the...what the heck is that?!

Is that what I think it is?

Oh, yeah! It's the Pepe doll I bought on sale at the drug store. Weird...it's staring right at me. Yeesh. That's kind of jarring, first thing in the morning.

http://www.nonstick.com/sounds/Pepe_Le_Pew/ltlp_001.mp3

My Mega Foes

The Evil Borg Kitty "Mecha-Anchovy", my first real foe.

Enemies are hardly new to humankind. It pretty much happens whenever there are more than three people in a room, and because of a basic principle called "factioning", the producers of the day stage morality plays in the guise of "reality" t.v. shows, catering to the interests of the drunk and/or mentally ill among us. Me, I prefer the classics in those old school renditions by Shakespeare, but as a publisher, I respect all revisions, updates, and new editions of this ever appealing and exciting classic tale of Good vs. Evil. Who will win?!

Harbinger of Gloom, the evil "Doom Shroom"!

It's all so falsely cliffhanging that students since time immemorial have created drinking games about spot societal clichés to pass the time; time that would be excruciating without a serious crutch to numb and dull the senses, which puts us on pretty much the same level as the morality tales' participants. And just like my college days, I still prefer cartoon enemies over the real, dull, and repetitive kind. After all, new foes are so fun to create, aren't they? Witness my ascent on the game Bejeweled Blitz, as I climb the ladder up, up, and away! The evil Tiki Gods get angrier and more powerful as I rise, and also, strangely, boringly, achingly repetitive. Thanks for watching with me.

I had a post-Apocalytpic dream about an Alien Yeti invasion=I won!

Faith: Horray!

 

When I was a kid, I thought this cartoon was about Catholicism, because I thought the people in yellow hooded robes were friars in habit. It seems funny to me now, but that's how I absorbed one of the most important early lessons we have; to be a fan of nature, to enjoy our natural resources as part of the miracle of creation, and to welcome dramatic events and happenings as part of the mystery of our faith. It made me happy to see brothers cheering the falls, happy to be witnesses to such a great spectacle. Yellow was also my favorite color. I was allowed to pick a paint color for my room as a kid, when it needed repainting, and this was close to the color I chose. When my mom asked me why I picked such a bright color, I said, "Because yellow is cheerful. It's bright and sunny. Like the sun."

It's certainly reflects how I feel about nature: a devoted fan of flora and fauna, and the beauty that's all around us. I don't remember the first time I went to Niagara Falls, and the second time I went (in winter), I was so sick that I forced myself through the experience, which seemed dramatically commercialized. The malls and the shopping centers surrounding Niagara seemed to almost overwhelm what was happening outside. I did buy an incredible pair of leather gloves from Canada, and that satisfied the Acadian part of me; seeing two sides of myself reconciled above one of nature's greatest forces, spanning across two countries. And that's how I now see this link between my childish perception and the reality of our practices - the perfect forging of two perspectives into one harmonious whole, which is exactly how it's supposed to be. Happy Monday to you!

http://www.ccr.org.uk/archive/gn0807/g11.htm.

http://www.pinterest.com/mariedoucette/faith/

Snack Time

Remember those After-School Special commercials about healthy eating? So do I. "I hanker for a hunk of cheese!" Let's revisit, shall we?

As adults, Family Guy gives us the natural conclusion to those inspired ads of yore: crack! Do you remember thinking that the people who made cartoons were on drugs? You were right. When in doubt, just check out any episode of Gumby. Stay tuned for more Springtime retro t.v. posts. They're a comin'! 

Greatest Hits

My introduction to music came early. After all, it surrounded me throughout my childhood, playing constantly as an accompaniment to family life. Me and my brothers were allowed to select our very first album to buy in a store. My oldest brother wisely chose The Jackson Five's "ABC", which was a favorite cartoon of ours. It was also one of our first important decisions together as a group. 

Our exposure to classical music was also through cartoons, like the opera "Barber of Seville", in a version for kids that starred Bugs and Elmer Fudd. Besides the t.v., we had one of those big furniture consoles that had a radio, cassette player, and turntable, in the dining room adjacent to the living room, which was almost always in rotation. I had a little plastic 45 player of my own in my bedroom. I remember quite clearly playing The Knacks 45 "My Sherona" over and over, downstairs in the t.v. room.

I inherited my first stereo from an older cousin when he outgrew it, which played 8-track tapes. He also tossed in some tapes he didn't want anymore, like Cheap Tricks' "Live at Budokhan." When the Walkman came out, I was entranced. I was, and still am, an early morning riser.

While I waited for the rest of the household to wake up, I would spend hours in bed with my headphones on, listening to favorite cassette tapes and scanning the dial of the radio. I used to hide in my closet to listen to Dr. Ruth give out sex advice. Though I barely understood most of the talk, I realized it was above my current stage of development, which made it all the more fascinating for its glimpse into adult life.

My 1st dance recital, to the Star Wars soundtrack!

Music was folded in my daily life in other ways, too. Growing up, I was a dancer-in-training. I was taken to jazz classes around 3 years old, and then I continued with classical ballet until 13. I learned that choreography is the art of matching movement to music. The two art forms accompany and complement each other in perfect harmony. Or, if you do modern dance, discord.

Dancing was a large part of the entire household. My parents were part of the disco craze of the 70s, dressing up in glamorous evening outfits to hit the town. My aunties taught us all the old standards in our living room, like The Mashed Potato, The Jerk, and The Twist, while records played in the background. Me and my best friend in elementary school loved to rollerskate in the garage to "Blondie", skate rinks also being a huge craze back in the day. 

Waiting in the auditorium hallway, before hitting the stage.

Later on, one of my brothers picked up the guitar, teaching himself by ear off of his most coveted albums. More unfortunate was his near-constant and daily repetition of Led Zeppelin tracks to learn certain riffs. It has taken me years to fold some of their songs back into my listening repertoire. We became experts at dropping the needle to the record at certain key points in a song.

I was also exposed to a lot of what I call "boy's music": hard metal from the likes of AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, and Judas Priest. My siblings and I bonded over a shared love of the Stones, which continues unabated to this day. Later on in high school, I made day trips to New York City to get prized possessions like the first U2 vinyl imported to the US, for their "Gloria" single. I had heard them on a Long Island radio station, WLIR, which was famous for playing punk and new wave.

http://wlir.fm/

I could write about this topic all day long, but for now, I'll leave you with those two favorite cartoon themes as a primer. Part II coming soon to a blog post near you!  

Wishing you many musical moments on this Wednesday.