1980's - Best Decade Fer Sure

The years 1980 to 1989 were by far the most radical years for almost everything gnarly. The decades that followed gagged me with a spoon. The 80's were bad (meaning good) while the 90's and 2000's were just plain groody.

OK, I'll cool it on the 80's speak for now since many of you would probably just be lost if I kept it up. The language of the 80's had a life of its own and was quite colourful to say the least. Words and sayings like "Tubular", "Bodacious", "Hoser", "Like, oh my God", "That's the Ticket","Psyche" and "Totally Awesome" were being used in every day conversations. I have to admit I used them all quite often back in the day.

I consider myself quite lucky to have been a teenager during the 80's as it was truly the greatest decade I've experienced so far for so many reasons.

NEWS
The 80's had its share of news events both good and bad as well. Among the most memorable for me were:
- Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope and his passing - 1980
- Mount St. Helen's Volcano eruption - 1980
- John Lennon being killed - 1980
- Attempted Assasination of Ronald Reagan - 1981
- The death of John Belushi - 1982
- The Live Aid Concert - 1985
- Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion - 1986
- Nuclear Accident at Chernobyl - 1986
- The Berlin Wall falls - 1989
- Tanks in Tiananmen Square - 1989

There were countless other moments but these stand out to me. Here's video of the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life.


MUSIC
When it comes to music, your efforts to convince me otherwise will fail as the 80's were by far the best decade for tunes. I really don't even know where to start. Some of the best artists and groups that excelled in the 80's were around prior to then but their popularity soared during this time. Bands and artists like Pink Floyd, Queen, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Journey, AC/DC, Billy Joel, Elton John, Michael Jackson and The Police were already established but flourished with huge hits.

The bands and individuals that came along in the 80's created the soundtrack for my youth. To this day I still love U2 and they are by far my favourite band of all time. Other great hit makers that I loved included Prince & The Revolution, Madonna, Phil Collins, The Cure, The Cult, The Smiths, Howard Jones, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Motley Crue

When it came to names of bands, they didn't come any better or stranger than a-ha, Alphaville, Bananarama, Flock of Seagulls, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Kajagoogoo, Men At Work, Psychedelic Furs, Scritti Politti, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Nik Kershaw, and Wang Chung. The 80's music is still as popular today as it was back then.

Of course one big change was how we listened to music. Today's it's mp3's, CD's and digital files. Back then I spent my money on records, 45's and cassettes to hear the songs I loved.

One of my favourite videos from the 80's came from the band a-ha and the song Take On Me. Here's that video.


MOVIES
When it comes to 80's cinema, I'm going to steer clear of the "Chick Flicks" and "Artsy Fartsy" type movies. For me, a trip to the theatre in the 80's was about seeing what I liked as a teen and being entertained. In later years I learned to like many other movies from the decade but at the time my favourite movies from the 80's included:
- Some Kind of Wonderful, Sixteen Candles, E.T., The Sure Thing, The Star Wars movies (Empire and Jedi), Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Cannonball Run, Goonies, Gremlins, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Better Off Dead, The Breakfast Club, The Karate Kid, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Footloose, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Batman, Ghostbusters and Back to the Future to name a few.

There were some great movie quotes from the 80's as well. Who can forget:
- "We're gonna need some new FBI guys I guess." - Die Hard
- "Wax on, wax off." - Karate Kid
- "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." - Apocolypse Now
- "Wait til they get a load of me." - Batman
- "I spent seven years in high school, I'm no dummy." - Better Off Dead
- "Listen...you smell something?" - Ghostbusters
- "Does Barry Manilow know you stole his wardrobe?" - Breakfast Club
- "I'll be back." - Terminator
- "They're here." - Poltergeist
- "Yippe-ki-yay Mother****er." - Die Hard

Here's an original movie trailer from 1985 for The Breakfast Club.


FADS / FASHIONS & GAMES
The 80's had it's own distinct style to match the awesomeness of the decade. Is that a word?

Who can forget the leg warmers the girls wore over their jeans, Swatch Watches, Rubik's Cube, Guys with one earring (guilty as charged), Neon everything, Spandex, Mullets and Rat tails, Dungeons and Dragons, Arcades with games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, Valley Girl Talk, wearing your collar up, feathered hair, 20-Minute Workout, Boat Shoes, Break Dancing, Atari video games, Rollerskating Rinks, Sleeveless Shirts, Sony Walkmans, Pop Rocks, Ghetto Blasters, Ghost Hunting at haunted houses and Moonwalking.

TELEVISION
Finally, I spent countless hours parked in front of the T.V. working on my couch potato physique and watching some of the best and worst sitcoms and shows the networks could produce. M*A*S*H was by far my favourite in the early years. Others that I never missed included WKRP in Cincinnati, Mork & Mindy, The A-Team, The Love Boat, WWF Wrestling, BJ and the Bear, Battlestar Galactica, The Cosby Show, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Family Ties, Fame, Dukes of Hazzard, That's Incredible, Welcome Back Kotter, Wonder Years, Laverne & Shirley, Charlie's Angels and The Incredible Hulk. I'm sure there were many others but I can't list them all.

Here's the opening theme to The Love Boat. I love the guest stars.


The 80's were an awesome decade to grow up in and to experience and it was the perfect decade for me. I look back fondly on those 10 years and although I like to look ahead to the future, it's nice to have my memories to remember the past.

Hurricane Fay Hunting Florida

It hasn't been an overly active hurricane season so far but as we've seen in the past that can change in a hurry.

I never used to worry too much about them since I live way up here in Canada and only on rare occasions do we see any effect from them. It does happen though as we tend to get mostly rain events from them.

It can get nasty as well, such as Hurricane Hazel in 1954 which re-intensified unexpectedly and rapidly, pounding the Toronto region with winds that reached 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) and 285 millimetres (11.23 inches) of rain in 48 hours. Bridges and streets were washed out, homes and trailers were washed into Lake Ontario. Thousands were left homeless, and 81 people were killed—more than 30 on one street alone.

I have family living in Florida with my brother and his wife and her family calling the Sunshine State home and that keeps me a bit more vigilant.

They've been pretty lucky so far as they've never had a direct hit to my knowledge but Fay could be different. The projected path currently has it hitting right near where they live South of Tampa and that probably has me more concerned than them. My brother doesn't usually get too excited about these things.

Hopefully the path will change prior to landfall on Tuesday night.

So I'll be keeping an eye on the news and weather channels as much as I can and on my cell phone at work. I might even have to give them a call just to make sure everything is OK.

Knowing Scott he'll be upset that I woke him up while his street is flooding and the neighbourhood trees are being snapped off.

UPDATE (7:22AM Aug. 19): Good news...the storm came ashore well below my family and wasn't a hurricane when it made landfall so it looks like they'll be spared once again. Hopefully their luck will continue until the season comes to an end and for many years to come.

On Holidays

Another Campsite
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

Just a head's up to my regular readers that I am enjoying a holiday break this week and likely won't be updating my blog much until I am done relaxing, sleeping, golfing, traveling and spending time at my parents trailer by the lake.

I hope you can get by without me for a week or so. I promise I'll be back with many more opinions that you'll either agree with or hate me for very soon.

Thanks to those of you who stop by as often as you do. It's nice to know that I'm not just doing this to release my creative juices and that some people actually enjoy reading what I have to say. Since I left the radio biz, this blog has been about the only way I have to express myself and it has been very therapeutic.

See you again soon!

Bundy

Clip of the Week - August 11/08

Years and years ago in 1918 on Thanksgiving Day in my hometown, a fire raced through the British Chemical Company plant igniting explosives that blew the building apart and the fire lasted most of the night.

All of the windows in town were blown out by the explosive blast and shock wave but luckily nobody was killed.

Eva Curtis, the town's telephone operator stayed at her post throughout the night for emergency calls despite glass blowing past her. She along with seven others were rewarded the medal of the Order of the British Empire for staying in the danger zone throughout horrors of the night. Miraculously no one was killed.

What got me to thinking about this was the recent explosion on Sunday morning of a propane storage depot in Toronto. Sadly one firefighter was killed and many local residents were injured. The many explosions sent large pieces of metal — likely from tanks that exploded — flying into nearby streets. Homes were damaged, windows shattered and doors were ripped from their hinges. About 200 firefighters battled intense heat to fight spot fires that continued to burn into Sunday evening.

An evacuation of the immediate area meant up to 12-thousand people had to seek a safer distance until the all-clear was given.

It reminded me of a scene from the movie Cloverfield. Any way, here's video of one of the massive explosions caught on film by an amateur in the area.

PETA Ad Shockingly Insensitive

I always knew the people behind the organization PETA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were a little odd or extreme when it came to getting a point across. Sure I thought the throwing of animal blood or red paint on people wearing fur coats was over the top but it pales in comparison to their latest idea.

Before I begin my bashing of PETA, let me say that I actually supported their efforts in the past. I never donated money or attended any fundraisers but as an animal lover I commended their efforts to make sure animals are looked after. And if I’m being totally honest…I actually hate cats but I certainly wouldn’t want to see any killed or hurt. I’d just never own one.

Now that you know where I once stood it’s time for me to tell you why I now think the people in charge of PETA are a bunch of insensitive morons who make eating sewer rats seem more appealing than supporting their cause.

Allow me to bring you up to speed in case you hadn’t heard.

I’m sure you’re all aware of the terrible incident recently that happened on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba where an unprovoked attacker killed and decapitated a young man. This shocking story is still fresh in everyone’s minds so the dip-shits at PETA tried to capitalize on this story to further their organizations agenda by running a newspaper ad comparing the beheading to animal rights abuses. The PETA website said they would run the ad in the Portage la Prairie Daily Graphic, however the paper has no intention of running the ad. At least someone has a brain.

PETA tried to compare the use of imagery of “an innocent victim’s throat being cut in reference to the slaughter of cows, chickens and pigs on factory farms.”

The ad reads, “His struggles and cries are ignored…the man with the knife shows no emotion…the victim is slaughtered and his head cut off…his flesh is eaten”, reads the ad which is posted on their website.

“If this ad leaves a bad taste in your mouth, please give a thought to what sensitive animals think and feel when they come to the end of their frightening journey and see, hear and smell the slaughterhouse.”

“Like human victims, animals in slaughterhouses experience terror when they are attacked by a knife-wielding assailant,” said Lindsay Rajt of PETA in a news release. “We are challenging everyone who is rightly horrified by this crime to look into their hearts and consider leaving violence off their dinner plates.”

Rajt said the ad was intended to be shocking and is meant to spur people to think about the terror and pain experienced by animals who are raised and killed for food.

Well you know what Lindsay…you and the marketing dorks who concocted this brain dead idea should be fired for using a tragedy such as this for your own disgusting advantage. I don’t give a rat’s ass what your intentions were, the way you went about it is a travesty and 100% disrespectful to the victim, his family and his friends.

Did PETA come out with an ad after 9/11 comparing the loss of 3000 innocent lives to the daily loss of cattle in a slaughterhouse? Of course not because they knew they’d have their asses handed to them on a turkey platter. Why not pull out the big guns and think of a way to use the holocaust to your advantage you sick SOB’s? The fact that there was only one human life lost in this case doesn’t make your ad any less disrespectful.

I think I’ll be starting my own group to offset your lame excuse for an organization. I’ll call it PETA…People for Eating Tasty Animals. How on earth you can compare a human life to that of a cow or a pig is beyond me?

Your classless association has sunk to the level where only scum and chicken excrement can be found. You have succeeded in one thing and that is to make me go out and buy a fur coat and a raccoon hat for this upcoming winter. I think I’ll also discuss your stupidity with friends over a thick and juicy steak or big piece of prime rib. Heck, I might even offer to slaughter my friends beef cows for him and send PETA the pictures of me smiling.

If all they were looking for is publicity then they are sure going to receive that but I can’t say it will be positive. I suppose even bad publicity raises awareness to an organization and their cause no matter how sick or insensitive they are. I just hope the few smart people that they must have working for or supporting them will release an apology to the victim’s family. It’s the very least they should do.

There is no way that I could ever support or respect this organization ever again as they’ve proven they have no ethics.

You can click the image below to see the stupid ad larger.

Clip of the Week - August 4/08

The 2008 Summer Olympics begin in four days in Smogtown, China and I'm kind of looking forward to them and perhaps watching some of the events.

I'm not a huge summer Olympics fan since Canadian athletes typically don't bring home many medals from the summer games.

Sure we've had some success in the pool and in rowing and kayaking. We've even had some luck on the trampoline and on the track but we seem to do a bit better during the winter games.

Of course I'll still be cheering for my fellow Canadians and I'm sure they'll represent us very well.

Over the years I've had some favourite moments from the summer games like Donovan Bailey winning the 100 metres and also the Canadian 4X100 relay team taking gold as well.

This year in Beijing one of our local boys will be swimming for Canada as Adam Sioui will swim in the 100-metre butterfly, the 200-metre butterfly and the 4X200-metre freestyle relay. I'll be sure to support him from afar.

You might find this odd, but my favourite Summer Olympic moment was actually the most controversial in Canadian history.

In 1988 in Seoul, Ben Johnson set a new world record in the 100 metre race beating rival Carl Lewis from the U.S. Of course a couple days later Johnson would lose the gold medal after testing positive for steriods but it still ranks up there as one of the most exciting races I ever saw. I remember my dad and I sitting on the floor in the living room watching it live and cheering and yelling out loud as Ben ran the race. It was one of those moments you always remember.

Years later, I don't blame Ben for what he did. I'm sure all of the others were doing it as well, they just didn't get caught.

Here now for your viewing pleasure is the race from '88. I wish it was the Canadian call but the NBC commentators were pretty good as well.

Another Mediocre Season in Toronto?

Can you believe another hockey season is only a couple months away and training camps will be starting even sooner? It seems like only yesterday Detroit won but the summer has been flying by and I for one can’t wait for the puck to drop.

It would be quite easy for me as a Montreal Canadiens fan to make fun of Maple Leaf fans and their team that hasn’t hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup in 41 years and counting but that’s not what I plan on doing. I say that but ultimately it may seem like exactly that after I’m done.

To be honest, I can’t fault Leaf supporters as their loyalty has been tested and they continue to support their team. Once a Leaf fan always a Leaf fan and I can respect that. But at what point do the fans start demanding more from their team’s management?

You can’t blame the players that have been in Toronto as they just haven’t been that good. Oh sure, there have been some great players during this lengthy dry spell. Players like Sittler, Salming, Sundin, Gilmour, Clark and others but while super stars are nice to have, they can’t do it on their own.

Leafs management has continuously, and quite impressively, failed to build a team around these players. These Leaf teams of the last four decades haven’t underachieved; in fact many have done a lot better than I think anyone could have predicted.

Put yourself in the shoes of those in charge of the team for a moment. Why on earth should they go out and spend money on building a team or do any better scouting when their fans continue to put up with it. Oh sure they might complain a little but they still sell out every home game and Maple Leaf jersey’s, t-shirts, pendants and bobble-heads continue to roll off the shelves. The money is rolling in and they don’t even have to win. Why bother to improve?

In almost any other market except perhaps Montreal, New York, Detroit, Chicago and a few others, the Leafs would have been sold to owners that want to win long ago. They wouldn’t have survived because the paying public wouldn’t support them.

Actually, I probably should remove Montreal from that list because their fans and the media would have demanded more from the team and have over the years. The only difference is, in Montreal, they may go through a few lean years but they always bounce back.

I’m not even suggesting that Toronto has to win the Cup to be a success. That is the ultimate goal of all teams but for a team that has struggled for so long a success would be to build a contender. They need to make the playoffs every year. They need to build a team by not buying older players past their prime but instead draft well and bring in some youth for the future. Once the nucleus is in place, then you can spend some money on some big guns to add more firepower.

I’m sure I’m not telling Leaf fans anything they don’t know. Heck, they above anyone else know what the team needs to do. But if it’s so obvious, why hasn’t it happened? Why does the team continue to trade away draft picks on has-beens? Why do they continue to struggle year after year? In my opinion it’s because they don’t need to win to make money and that’s what it’s all about.

Harold Ballard may have been a crotchety old fool but he was a smart guy who sat in his bunker at Maple Leaf Gardens every game and counted the money while laughing at the poor saps in the stands who paid to watch a pitiful team. The faces may have changed but the formula still works and Leaf fans continue to say, “Maybe next year.”