I Think I Found Me A Cheerleader...But Not That One

 Hello everyone. Football season is here, and while the regular season is just a few days away, we already have controversy in the pro ranks. Does it involve any rule changes? No. Does it involve more teams in the CFB playoff? No. Does it involve Taylor Swift? Lol, no. You know what it does involve? Cheerleaders.

You read that right. Cheerleaders. But more so who's being added to cheerleading squads of certain teams more than anything. You see this week, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they were adding males to the cheerleading squad. I'm not going to hyperlink the story; you can google it if you want. Let's just say there was plenty of outrage to go around.

When I was little, I thought that cheerleaders could only be female. But then I was told at same early age that males could be cheerleaders to by some girl who was slightly older than I am. And as it turned out, as I was watching college football for the very first time, they were right. The males would shout into their megaphones and hoist the females high into the air using incredible strength and coordination. Coed cheerleading is a rather athletic sport at the college level. 

Then you go to the pro ranks, and the cheerleaders are nothing more than a glorified dance squad used primarily as eye candy to the majority of spectators in attendance. But then someone in Australia (as I was watching a cricket tournament) a few years ago went, "you know, why don't we add males into our dance squads to make things more inclusive." That's how Pandora's Box was opened.

The LA Rams and the Bucs were the first to incorporate male dancers into their squads, and now the Vikings are one of THIRTEEN teams to have male cheerleaders. Except they aren't cheerleaders. Instead of hoisting females into the air or shouting into megaphones, they are sashaying and shontae-ing around like a bunch of Solid Gold Dancer rejects. Folks, I usually don't agree with the right on a lot of things, but as a football fan, the outrage here is warranted somewhat. Guys do not wave pompoms. Period. 

This could lead to a dangerous slope in my opinion as far as telecasts of games and advertising is concerned. Soon, you could watch NFL Doubleheaders on the Logo cable network, followed by a marathon of "Rupaul's Drag Race." Steve Bartelstein could host the pregame show with analysis from Stephon from SNL, Johnny Weir, and the one dude from "Modern Family." 

Seriously, this is nothing more than left-wing propaganda to appease that sector of society. I know the NFL isn't what it used to be but quit trying to turn the NFL into Campbell's Stars on Ice. I'm already jaded enough with professional sports as it is.

Now THIS is a cheerleading squad.

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This Is CBS...Or Is This BS?

Hello again, everyone. Remember back in the day when the Columbia Broadcasting System, better known to you and me as CBS, was considered the Tiffany of networks? Yeah, good times. Well, the past couple of weeks have demonstrated how far that corporation, as well as most of "legacy media," has fallen. 

The stars of CBS in happier times...

As many of you are well aware by now, CBS pulled the plug on a 32-year-old franchise recently when they decided to cancel the wildly popular "Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. All of this stemming from President Trump being majorly butt hurt over a technique done many times by networks over the years, an edit to an interview. This one just happened to be one of Kamala Harris, the former VP who Trump "beat" in November's presidential election. Trump sued claiming CBS was trying to influence the election, and CBS and Paramount, hoping to acquire Skydance, capitulated. As a result, or "financial decision," Colbert and the Late Show was canned. 

Fast forward to the very next week. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of "South Park," signed a $1.5 billion deal to have 50 episodes over five years on their streaming service (Paramount+), and immediately mocked the Paramount's settlement with Trump in the most "South Park" way possible. 

Now I don't watch Colbert (I did watch Letterman), nor have I seen South Park in years (since their movie came out years ago), but I've seen bits and pieces of both shows over the years. Colbert is pretty much an answer to the talk radio format (mostly conservative), and very left-leaning politically. I guess Gutfieldless on Fox "News" Channel would be considered their polar opposite. The bits I saw from South Park's premiere last week were something I can't describe without being graphically vulgar (which begs the question, how can South Park keep getting away with this?). Trump gets absolutely skewered in this episode, which was all satirical (which answers my previously parenthesized question). 

But in my opinion, the loss of Colbert sets a disturbing precedent. If he can go, who's to say that other late-night talk shows aren't safe from the corporate axe, and could this mean the death of late-night television as we've known it for generations? I mean, we've been in a 24/7 news cycle for about a decade now, and morning shows are starting at 4am. Back when I was a kid, some TV stations didn't air programming until 6am. But the 1980s and 90s were a different time. All I can say is instead of hearing "this is...CBS" which I would hear as a kid between network programs, it will be only a matter of time before we're all saying to ourselves, this is BS.

 

Oh, we're still waiting for the Epstein files...

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Mixed Emotions...

 "You're not the only one, with mixed emotions..."--The Rolling Stones, 1989.

Good morning, everyone. This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions for most everyone between the ages of 45-60, or the GenX generation. I mean life in and of itself is a rollercoaster, but this week, man. 

For me personally, I've experienced the highest of highs on a personal level; when the youngest child of your love interest (who you've never met before) runs up and gives you a hug, you know that you are a hero in someone's life. That made me week, especially since my own daughter when she was younger didn't give me a hug when I left Virginia to go back to Florida. So, I felt rather special.

And I've felt the lowest of lows along with everyone else, and man was it low. Three legends we grew up with gone in one week. As Ginger the GenX DJ (go give her a follow on TikTok) so duly pointed out in her latest post on Facebook, we (GenX) are not okay, but we will be. She also mentioned in said post that these (deaths) come in threes. However, there were more than three, because in addition to Malcolm Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, and Hulk Hogan, who are the focus of this blog entry, we also lost Chuck Mangione, Connie Francis, Anne Burrel, and one of the founding members of the band Golden Earring ("Radar Love", "Twilight Zone"). 

This gives me flashbacks to 2016, when it seemed like everybody that we grew up admiring back then died as well. Prince, David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, just to name a few. But this week really hit home, especially as a fan of rock music and pro wrestling.

First, we start off with Malcolm Jamal Warner, who many of us remember from his role as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show." Warner tragically drowned in Costa Rica early this week at the age of 54. I didn't regularly watch Cosby, but I remember two scenes that stick out. One being the argument that Theo had with Cliff Huxtable in which Cliff told Theo, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!" and the one scene where Cliff gets pelted with snowballs as he's about the enter his house much to the delight of Theo and his friend (I don't remember his name).

Then there's Ozzy. We all know he was on his last legs to begin with, but it doesn't make the pain of his loss any less. His actual goodbye to us was his charity concert in his hometown of Birmingham, England at the stadium of his favorite soccer club (Aston Villa) and was that ever emotional. I've had "Mama, I'm Coming Home" playing in my head all week. Growing up in the predominantly Christian south (at the time), I originally thought as a kid that Ozzy's music was for the devil, and I avoided it at all costs, but as I grew older and much less naive, I started to appreciate his music more and more. His TV show "The Osbournes" showed his as a family man and launched him into the mainstream in my mind. There isn't enough that can be said about Ozzy, because words alone would not do him any justice. His death is about as hard-hitting to the music industry as those of Elvis, Michael Jackson, and John Lennon, and it leaves a gaping hole in pop culture.

Speaking of leaving a gaping hole in pop culture, let me tell ya something brother! Hulk Hogan suddenly passed yesterday in Clearwater at the age of 71. It was he more than anything that helped put Tampa Bay on the map being that he called this area home for most of his life. Much like Ozzy, words cannot merely express how important he was in his particular field of work. Ozzy helped shape heavy metal, Hulk helped shape professional wrestling. He helped launch wrestling into the mainstream of American society. From WWE to his role as Thunderlips in Rocky III to his reality show "Hogan Knows Best," Hogan was a consummate professional. Plus, he was a huge fan of the Bucs, Rays, and Lightning. The last decade of his life however was shrouded in controversy and a fall from grace of sorts. However, he turned his life around in the past 12 months and, polarizing as he may have been recently, will leave an indelible mark in the realm of sports entertainment.

Two other things happened this week that sort of tie in together, and that's Paramount's sudden cancellation of Stephen Colbert and the premier of South Park. I'm going to have to write a separate post concerning those two, but oh is the right going cuckoo for cocoa puffs about it. In short, make it make sense, CBS.

But that's for my next entry. I may also do a flashback entry as well sometime over the weekend since I'm not going anywhere. Until then, take care.

Bonyscribe

A Very Special Playlist...

 Good morning, everyone. Especially to the folks at the Wall Street Journal. Why, you ask? Because last night, they blew the cover off this whole Jeffrey Epstein saga that's been infiltrating the news cycle for the past week. First, came the news that there was no client list. Then came the furious backlash from the right. Now comes this bombshell. Oh, did I mention that the guy that runs WSJ also runs Fox "News" Channel?

Yesterday, I wanted to play MIA's "Double Bubble Trouble" over a CEO of some tech company being busted of having an affair by a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert. But it appears that ol' Mr. Byron and his sidepiece took a backseat, because uh-ohhhhhhh, Trump's in trouble.

Come to think of it, there are plenty of songs that I could play on Spotify (or whatever music service you use) that could perfectly encapsulate this scandal. Let's go over a few of these songs:

"Moi Lolita" by Alizee

"You're Sixteen" by either Johnny Burnette or Ringo Starr

"Sweet Sixteen" by Billy Idol

"Seventeen" by Winger

"Into the Night" by Benny Mardones

of course, "Double Bubble Trouble" by M.I.A.

and especially, "Breaking The Law" by Judas Priest.

Oh, Trump says he doesn't do drawings. If that's the case, explain this one that's been floating around on social media within the last 24 hours?

I said back in January that I didn't think Trump would survive this term. That prediction may actually come to fruition sooner than a lot of folks thought.

Get your popcorn ready, friends and neighbors.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER

BonyScribe

It's That Time Of Year Again...

 Good early early morning as of me writing this. I saw something on Facebook yesterday that I guess would send horror and fear amongst some of you: a picture of a frozen Mariah Carey beginning to thaw out because we are beyond the halfway point to Christmas. Hide the women and children y'all. 

That being said, now is high time to start looking for Christmas gifts, and I already have a couple in mind, and I've noticed some stores and sites on social media that I will certainly be checking out over the next several weeks.

Of course, this will have implications on how I decide to go out...WHEN I decide to go out and get out of my house. It will disappoint some (while some will be muttering to themselves "thank goodness"), but I think that in the long run, it will definitely be worth it.

Come to think of it, why can't Christmas season be from Halloween to New Year's? Oh, wait. Some institutions already do that. This means another month of putting up with HER. Oh well. Like she says though, "it's TIIIIIiiiiime!!!"

Please don't curse us with Mariahgeddon (or Whamageddon) this season.

Bonyscribe.

It's 7/11...Oh Thank Heaven...(Flashback)

 Hello again everyone, except for TEMU Fred Durst and the management at Crazy Squirrel Bar. You may shut me out from patronizing your establishment, but you aren't shutting me down. And with that, it's 7/11 day, which will score you a free small Slurpee at 7-Eleven, if they still have that offer. Hell, with the way things are going in the world, I doubt that even they would be free. Thanks, Trump.  

Anyway today, I thought I would publish my second flashback this week, and third this year. Usually, I would have several more flashbacks under my belt this year, but this hasn't been your usual year by any stretch of the imagination. My mental and emotional health have been on a roller coaster to say the least, first sky high, then down in dumps. I'm trying to get back to the way things were in February and March. Kind of like my mental state in the summer of 1994, which is what this flashback is going to cover today. Here are the Top 40 songs according to Radio & Records Magazine of the week of July 11, 1994.

40. All I Want Is You by U2. Not my dream woman's genre of music per se, but a song I would definitely send to her. I think you know who it is...

39. Longview by Green Day. Incredibly, "Basketcase" was not the first top 40 hit from Green Day, this was.

38. It's Over Now by Cause & Effect

37. I Need Your Love by Boston. Kind of random since their heyday was about two decades earlier.

36. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. As I remember, Z104 in Norfolk, VA was all over this (as was MTV) that summer, too bad within two years, the station would go away from playing rock music that crossed over to pop altogether.

35. Selling The Drama by Live. Much like Green Day, one of their signature songs ("Lightning Crashes") didn't debut first. On a side note, as a younger man at the time and quite possibly naive, I thought that the voiceover dude from WDCG G-105 in Raleigh, which I would listen to on liberty from the Navy Base at the time, was actually the lead singer of Live because they had similar voices. Looking back, I could have done a lot of things differently back then...

34. When Can I See You Again? by Babyface. I liked this song at the time because I had met someone from Puerto Rico that spring while on port call, and this kind of applies now to the woman of my dreams; I haven't seen her since Mother's Day weekend...

33. You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast by The Spin Doctors. Well, maybe I did. I always do that.

32. I'll Be Loving You by Collage. The last gasp of the freestyle dance format, which was wildly popular amongst radio stations in Florida during the early 1990s but quickly fell out of favor. Could it be because it was popular in Florida???

31. Hard Luck Woman by Garth Brooks. Yes, you read that right. Garth Brooks hit the pop radio Top 40 thanks to a cover of a song first released by Kiss.

30. Backwater by The Meat Puppets

29. Fall Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket. Speaking of falling down, I'm feeling a bit down all of a sudden. I have an inkling as to why, but I'd rather not talk about it on here for now...

28. Sleeping In My Car by Roxette. This was the final top 40 hit for the Swedish duo. Reminds me of one of their iconic songs. It must have been love, but it's over now. Rest in peace, Marie Fredrikssen.

27. Misled by Celine Dion. With the exception of "That's The Way It Is" in 2000, I think every other song she released after this was a ballad.

26. The Way She Loves Me by Richard Marx

25. Round Here by Counting Crows. Round here lately, here being social media, I've seen posts about profiles being "stalked." I have a few thoughts on that.

24. I'll Take You There by General Public. One, isn't one the purposes of social media is to put yourself out there? Hell, I WANT my social media pages to be stalked to an extent, as long as I control what I put out there so that everyone can see...

23. Ain't Got Nothing If You Ain't Got Love by Michael Bolton. Two, if you're so paranoid about your social media being "stalked," there's always the "block" button. Just saying.

22. The Sign by Ace of Base. Now that I have that rant out of the way, this song was ubiquitous in 1994. Hell, Ace of Base was ubiquitous. You couldn't get away from them.

21. Return To Innocence by Enigma. I remember that the video was kinda like time going in reverse, with a white horse with a unicorn horn poorly attached to its forehead.

20. Back & Forth by Alliyah

19. Come To My Window by Melissa Etheridge

18. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World by Prince. I wonder who that might be??? 

17. Prayer For The Dying by Seal

16. Wild Night by John Mellencamp f/Meshell Ndegeocello. This was an amazing song that somehow didn't reach number one. It peaked at #3 on both R/R and Billboard.

15. Until I Fall Away by The Gin Blossoms

14. Baby I Love Your Way by Big Mountain. Loved this one as well.

13. Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. Gonna be big stars...

12. Always by Erasure

11. Shine by Collective Soul. Debut hit for a group that would help define mid-90s rock.

10. Can You Feel The Love Tonight? by Elton John. No, I actually can't. Not since March to be honest.

  9. Anytime, Anyplace by Janet Jackson

  8. Crazy by Aerosmith. Alicia Silverstone was so hot back in 1994. Why did she throw it all away and support RFK, Jr.???

  7. Anytime You Need A Friend by Mariah Carey. It's just a DM away.

  6. You Mean The World To Me by Toni Braxton. If only I meant the same to her...

  5. If You Go by Jon Secada

  4. I'll Remember by Madonna

  3. Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

  2. I Swear by All-4-One. Without going into too much detail, I hated this group because at the time I thought they flat out stole it from John Michael Montgomery. Turns out there were two versions of the same song by two artists release concurrently, one for pop radio and one for country radio. I thought the country one was better.

...and the number one hit this week 31 years ago was...

  

1. Don't Turn Around by Ace of Base. See, I TOLD you that you couldn't get away from them in 1994.

Well, that puts a wrap on this week's second flashback. Long before there was such a thing as social media, or Jet2 Holidays, or TikTok. I'm going to spend part of Saturday meeting new friends and running other errands before possibly watching wresting tomorrow night. I might have another entry in me for later this weekend, that is if I'm feeling up to it. Until then, take care.

Bonyscribe. 

A Jet2 Holiday Flashback

 Greetings once again. If any of you have gone onto the TikTok app in the course of the last month or so, you have more likely than not ran across content of video of an epic failure or some other blooper, that's accompanied by the audio from a British commercial from Jet2 Holidays. If you don't know what it is I'm talking about, here's the actual ad:

Of course, the meme has become viral over the course of the past couple of months, and the song that's used in the advertisement, "Hold My Hand" by Jess Glynne, is the subject of today's flashback.

It wasn't until the meme became popular that I realized that the song in question reached the US Top 40 late in 2015, so with that in mind, here were the Top 40 hits roughly based off Mediabase 24/7 for October 11, 2015, which was the date that this particular song peaked on the chart:

40. That's How You Know by Nico & Vinz f/Bebe Rexha

39. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE

38. Break A Sweat by Becky G

37. Something Better by Audien f/Lady A(ntebellum)

36. 679 by Fetty Wap f/Remy Boyz

35. Marvin Gaye by Charlie Puth f/Meghan Trainor

34. El Pedron (Forgiveness) by Nicky Jam f/Enrique Iglesias

33. Lay It All On Me by Rudimental f/Ed Sheerhan

32. Confident by Demi Lovato

31. Feelings by Maroon 5

30. Fight Song by Rachel Platton

29. Hold Me Up by Conrad Sewell

28. Hold Each Other by A Great Big World f/Futuristic

27. HOLD MY HAND by Jess Glynne. Nothing beats a Jet2 Holiday!

26. Hide Away by Daya

25. Like I'm Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor f/John Legend

24. Powerful by Major Lazer f/Ellie Goulding

23. Same Old Love by Selena Gomez

22. Here by Alessia Cara

21. Hotline Bling by Drake

20. Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy

19. Ex's & Oh's by Elle King

18. Cheerleader by OMI

17. How Deep Is Your Love by Calvin Harris + Disciples

16. Levels by Nick Jonas

15. On My Mind by Ellie Goulding

14. Love Myself by Halie Steinfeld

13. Renegades by X Ambassadors

12. Cool For The Summer by Demi Lovato

11. Downtown by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

10. Drag Me Down by One Direction

  9. Lean On by Major Lazer

  8. Photograph by Ed Sheeran

  7. Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd

  6. Good For You by Selena Gomez f/ASAP Rocky

  5. Stitches by Sean Mendes

  4. Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

  3. What Do You Mean? by Justin Bieber

  2. The Hills by The Weeknd

and the number one song on October 11, 2015 was...

  1. Locked Away by R. City f/Adam Levine

To be honest, I kinda stopped listening to pop radio for the most part in 2015, because in my opinion it had turned into a crap payola scheme pushed onto us by ClearChannel (iHeart Media), of which the majority of pop stations across the USA were part of. Oh, and who controls Mediabase 24/7? iHeartMedia, the same nitwits that have enabled blatant right-wing misinformation across their various stations (Rush, Glenn Beck, Hanniturd) for decades. But I digress.

I recognize some song on this list, but not all of them, including "Hold My Hand." Still though, nothing beats a Jet2 Holiday!

Until later this week...

Bonyscribe

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