Wrigley Gum Commercials

When I was growing up, Wrigley gum commercials had these fantastic jingles.

There was Double Mint:



and Big Red



Even thought this one didn't really make that much sense it was awesome. I mean, cinnamon isn't exactly any appealing taste when you're kissing someone.  And of course, there was Juicy Fruit!



All of these commercials associated gum with enjoying life, while being active and outside.  Now Wrigley's commercials for their new gum are well . . .



I'm not even sure what the flavor of this gum is and who really wants to skydive into a bunch of blow-dryers.  Wouldn't that be hot and really uncomfortable?  These new flavors don't make any sense to me, but hey it's not like they've abandoned their old gum.



REALLY?!? Chris Brown!?!?  I don't get it.  Is our collective memory that bad?  Have we already forgotten the pictures and descriptions of Brown physically abusing Rhianna?  Bad call Wrigley.  Let's get back to gum commercials that make sense that features twins riding bikes. 

Is that too much to ask? 

Madea Goes To Jail

Sorry, reverend, doctor, bishop, preacher lady, whatever your name is. I don't agree with all of this. I hear what you say about forgiveness. You're supposed to forgive. This child is telling what her daddy did. Your dad is somewhere living his life and you're on lockdown. You're in jail because of what you did. Learn how to take some responsibility for yourself. For your own stuff. I can't stand folks wanna be the victim. "This person did this so I'm this way." Everybody got a story.

Your mama and daddy gave you life. That's all they do. No matter how good, how bad the life was...it's up to you to make something of it. Suck it up and shut up.

Everybody got a life. What you do with that life is up to you. Stop being the victim. That's all I say.

                                     -Madea
                                             
I’ve always found the character of Madea entertaining whenever she’s featured on a trailer for one of Tyler Perry’s film. I have no idea why but the weird mispronunciations of words like “Hallelu-er” and her swagger seem like a lot of fun. So when I sat down to watch Madea Goes To Jail, I expected to see Madea go through some comic shenanigans but I got a whole lot more.




Madea Goes To Jail tells two stories. One of Madea getting in trouble with the law and ending up in jail and the other of a district attorney who is engaged with another attorney dealing with a childhood friend who is a prostitute. While these stories interweave together they stand in contrast throughout the film that makes an important statement not just about African-Americans but about all of us.

Tyler Perry both embraces stereotypes with the character of Madea but also presents African-Americans like the character of the district attorney as college educated, well-dressed and well-spoken professionals. And I understand why some people may not like Tyler Perry’s over-the-top portrayal of Madea, but it’s a caricature, almost like a cartoon. It’s so obliviously not suppose to be a real reflection of anyone. The other characters buck the trend of the way that many images in our culture portray African-Americans as rappers, gansta’s or professional sports players.

This film reveals the multiplicity within the African-American culture, which is often forgotten. The district attorney’s fiancée doesn’t understand his sympathy towards the prostitute because she feels like they’ve been given the same opportunities but the district attorney reminds her that she didn’t grow up in a poor neighborhood.  As the story unfolds the interconnections and the way that people deal with the choices in their lives are revealed in an unexpected and powerful way.

The plot-line with the district attorney is intense and only with the comic interjections of Madea’s plot line is the viewer able to process the more emotional plot-line. While the film is does not represent great technique in film making it reflects a deep desire to make a positive statement about what it means to take responsibility for your life.

There are no quick fixes in this film. It realistically portrays the struggles and the consequences the characters deal with.  You don’t seen many films really addressing the issues that Madea Goes To Jail touches upon in a way that both entertains and challenges the viewer.

I’m an Asian-American and probably like many people who are not African-American, I didn’t feel that Tyler Perry’s films were for me. And I’m sure that I’m missing things in the film and I don’t really understand everything that is going on.  However,  I really enjoyed watching the film and if you haven’t checked out one of Perry’s films, I highly recommend that you do.

Rob Humanick put it best in his review of another of Perry's film I Can Do Bad All By Myself:

"It isn't great art, but it's popular art worth believing in."

Buffy, A Little Fuzz-Ball Of Home

 There are many things that make a place a home, like the inanimate objects that fill the space and the familiar smells and sound. However all of these things are made meaningful by the people who inhabit a home and in this way home lies not with objects or a building but rather with the people.

During the first tow weeks of August I took a class at Boston University. This was a nice opportunity to enrich my teaching as well as spend some time in another great city. Diana decided to come along and we also brought Buffy.

We had taken Buffy to stay with us with my mom in Seattle but this was a different situation. Diana and I subletted an apartment in Brookline, a suburb of Boston. While this one bedroom apartment was a great deal and more than functional, it lacked the many of the comforts of home that my condo and my parents house possessed.

For example, there wasn’t an in-unit laundry machine and the kitchen had much older appliances. While these things aren’t that big a deal, after 7 hours of class these little things begin to wear on you a little bit. There’s also the added stress of living in a new city and figuring out the mass-transportation, which while exciting is draining.

Buffy in general did really well staying in a new place, but she did act a little differently. At home when I leave in the morning Buffy barely seems to notice but when I left from the apartment she would whine to Diana concerned about where I had gone. There were a couple nights when Buffy had trouble settling down and we would have to bring Buffy up to the bed and cuddle with her to help her fall asleep.

While Buffy needed us to feel comfortable her presence and her spirit really helped us get through our day. When Diana was doing work in the apartment Buffy kept a watchful eye on her and Buffy greeted me more eagerly than usual whenever I came back to the apartment after class.

When Diana and I got married we became a family outside of our previous immediate family. The thing is that it wasn’t until we got Buffy that we really felt like a family.  In the same way it wasn't until Buffy came into our lives our condo felt like a home. This may be hard for people to understand who have never had a dog, but it’s like, well, it’s not like anything else and I guess that’s what makes it so special.

Buffy needed us to feel safe and comfortable in that environment and we really needed Buffy to well, do the exactly same thing for us. In this way by bringing Buffy with us to Boston we brought our home.

Taylor Swift + Justin Bieber = OMG X 15,000

"You think you've heard LOUD screaming in your life. Then @justinbieber comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal," Tweeted Taylor after this performance. 

This is some kind of awesome.  Even if you don't like Taylor or Justin, I don't understand how you can hate on something that inspires this level positivity and enthusiasm. 

Watching this video, I can't help can't but smile.

 

Don’t Leave Me This Way by Thelma Houston

The Disco genre of the 1970s is unfortunately one of the most unpopular historical music eras in pop music. I understand that the popularity of the Disco music got out of control and that people yearned for something different, but the backlash and anti-Disco events like Disco Demolition Night were ridiculous in retrospect.

Whenever something becomes popular, it’s usually based in the core of something that is of a high quality and then it’s the knock-offs and the imitators that breed annoyance. You can’t let the mediocrity in the genre overshadow the great stuff. It’s like saying the Harry Potter books are garbage because you read some slapped together children’s novel about a wizard. “Disco Duck” was a pretty atrocious song but you can’t let it get in the way of Thelma Houston’s masterpiece “Don’t Leave Me This Way.



Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes originally recorded this song with Teddy Pendergrass singing lead.



This group is best known for one of the most heart-breaking soul hits of the 1970s.



Teddy’s vocals are incredible. It’s impossible to really compare what he brings to this song with Houston’s performance. They are both incredible. What gets to me more about Thelma Houston’s version is that there is a sense of both desperation and strength. Coming from a woman’s perspective there’s something tragic yet beautifully liberating about this song.

"Don't Leave Me This Way" starts as being heartbreaking. She is singing about how she “can’t survive, can’t stay alive” without his love. The chorus changes tone to a joyful celebration of how great his love has made her feel. Here is a woman laying it out on the line how much she needs her man. In a way, it’s a statement of dependency but there’s something else going on here.

At the same time this is a song that is a celebration of love and the fact that it is in this feeling that you can freedom. Like the way music can help you become free in the joy of dance, his love brings her that feeling. Instead of dwelling on the pain that he brings her she focuses on the feeling of ecstasy. Maybe it’s not about begging a man who is treating her poorly to stay but elevated a man and making his realize how great a person he is and how the power of his love.

There is something haunting and unforgettable about this song. The opening humming and the beautiful orchestration capture the best of Disco and really the best of music.  For me this song is a plea to people moving on from Disco music to not leave in anger.  While people at the time expressed annoyances towards this genre it's nice to see that people years later revel in the joy disco brought to their lives and I'm so glad that this song is around to remind people of that feeling. 

Buffy Gets Attacked Part 6 - Love & Admiration

Below is part six of a six part series about a recent incident when Buffy was attacked by another dog. Buffy fortunately got through this experience without any permanent physical or mental damage. Click here for part 1, part , part 3, part 4 and part 5.

The wounds from an act of physical violence can go much deeper than the flesh. While Buffy’s bites were scary, they were something that we could fix and watch heal. There was medicine for this. The psychological trauma was a different story.

One of Diana’s friends has a dog that changed after being attacked. The dog became much more timid and less outgoing. While Diana’s friend has done lots of great work with her dog, it’s never quite been the same after the attack.

So how has Buffy been? Thankfully pretty much the same. Check this video out of Buffy the evening after the attack.



How did Buffy go through that trauma and pretty much come out psychologically unscathed? There’s probably a couple factors. First off, Buffy has a lot of positivity built up inside of her. From the first day we had Buffy we ensured that the vast majority of her interactions with other people and dogs and even herself were positive.



So, maybe because we raised such a happy and secure puppy she could roll through this situation.

I’m not sure about that theory but what I like to think is that the reason Buffy came through the attack the way she did was because Buffy is a strong and resilient dog.  I think of myself going through something like Buffy did and I can’t imagine having the strength to pull myself back together so quickly.

My mom always told me that you want surround yourself with people you admire. If there’s nothing that you look up into in a friend then they aren’t helping you grow. And this whole situation has shown me how much I admire Buffy.

That sounds really weird, I know, but it’s true. I wish I could find joy in the simple things the way that she does. I am amazed at her ability to make people happy and I love how she looks at every situation and every unknown with excitement.

It was the fear of loosing Buffy that reminded me how much I love her. But it has been her spirit throughout all of this that reminded me how proud I am of my Buffy and how thankful I am to have her in my life.

Hello by Lionel Richie

Let's make a list of the things that are wrong with this video (we're going to go in order of appearance):



1.  Lionel, maybe if you want to get to work, why don't you just take off the jacket as opposed to rolling up the sleeves.

2.  Someone went a little overboard with the decorative indoor scarf.

3.  Really, you are going to start fantasizing about your student while she is doing a scene.  SIGH, it begins.

4. OK, now he is singing about her passing by his door, but instead he is peeking into her band rehearsal, not cool, she may be blind, but she's not stupid or is she?  

5.  What Lionel doing in the locker bay?  I can understand a teacher walking by a classroom, but what kind of teacher hangs out by the lockers.

6.  Speaking of lockers, where are they?  Is this set in a college or a high school?  I haven't been to a college with lockers like that, maybe it's a 1980s thing, but I'm really hoping that this is set in a college. 

7.  Now she starts working on a bust of what is clearly going to be Lionel, and everyone around her is seeing her work.  Doesn't anyone else find this creepy?

8.  She maybe be talented, but how does she know what he looks like.  SHE'S BLIND!  You can't get an image of someone's face from hearing their voice.

9.  Lionel tries to approach her when she is eating lunch and her friends interject.  You'd think one of them would notice a teacher walking up to a student or acknowledge the teacher as they walk in front of him.  

10.  Now he is in dance class.  Man, the only way he is getting away with this stalking is the fact that she's blind.  Maybe Lionel had bad experiences with stalking before.

11.  The phone call, um . . . did he say hello?  I mean he puts the phone down but she is listening and smiling as she hangs up.

12.  Then the big reveal of the bust . . . yeah, it's not wonderful.  Let's just be honest here.  Though her source material isn't great.

Dude, I kind of love this song, but I'm kind of, really disturbed by this video.  Lionel really should have stuck with singing songs comparing woman to buildings. 



There is NOTHING wrong with video. Everything is pure gold.