A Very Special Christmas Message

 Hello, everyone. With Christmas upon us, allow me to take this time to thank each and every one of you for taking some of your time this year to have a looksie at this blog. It has been a topsy-turvy year with some rather low points but many spectacular high points as well. And we all got by while a pandemic was still wreaking havoc around the world.

This year, more eyes were on this blog than in the previous seven years that this blog existed. Aside from twitter, this is my way of putting myself out there, since I'm practically stuck at home...for now. So once again, thank you so, so much for your time and your patronage. I hope for even more views next year and the years to come.

Oh, and one more thing...

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals. 😂

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

CT

Live First Quarter Gaspy Bowl Blog!

 Greetings from Tampa, and the Gasparilla Bowl between UCF and Florida. The Gators are trying to quell the renegade Knights from the Kumquat Republic of Orlando. The sovereign Swamp Nation is trying to restore peace to its land, but must rely on some pirates from Tampa Bay, who have their own issues against Kumquat Republic, in their efforts.

So far it's been a stalemate early on. Wait a minute, Union Home Mortgage. They're based in Tampa?

Three possessions in, and not much offense to speak of, I wonder if the field general of Swamp Nation is up to the task...|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UCF to get their second possession, after a bunch of commercials that could have been aired during pregame. Gators defense not allowing the Knights anything. Kumquat Republic can't even line up right, this may be a long night, pun intended. What? Helmets are stuck? I didn't know I-4 Ultimate has made its way to Tampa. UCF punting again, so far as much offense as the last game in Tampa...

Gators with the ball now, and Emery Jones looks more like emory board. But HEY, UF with some offense! Into Kumquat territory. More running from the Gators, and they're in FG range. BTW, it's CHILLY in Tampa tonight. So chilly that a sure first down catch is dropped on third down. Gators go for it, but the pass is incomplete. Knights ball.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back from a bathroom break, interrupted by sis asking for a news break. Another three and out for the Knights, Kumquat Republicans are frustrated. Meanwhile, viewers are treated to various failures of Gator football in 2021. At least they're running the ball though. UCF a power school? PFFFFFT. Jones keeps it himself and is close to paydirt for Florida. Inside the 20 now, and a screen makes it first and goal! A rebel from the Kumquat Republic is hurt though, first casualty of the night. 

First and goal Gators, and some movement by them backs them up five yards. Uggghhh. Try again, and pass interference on the Knights! Ball on the two, UCF fans don't like refball much. TOUCHDOWN GATORS!! That'll shut up the Kumquats...and teachers from Orange County (not really). Florida establishes dominance and leads 7-0

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Knights ball and still no offense from UCF, but Johnny Richardson breaks off a long run! Second and medium and UCF will have the third down, as the quarter ends.

Can Florida withstand the rebellious uprising from Orlando? Tune into ESPN for more!

CT

Bowl Overload (Maybe...) Part 2

 Greetings once again. When we last left off, Covid was raging again and winter had yet to arrive, but despite it all, no college bowl games were cancelled. In the week since, my mental health took a sliight nosedive, Joe Manchin gave everyone a lump of coal in our stockings, the Bucs laid an egg against the Aints, and the world was seemingly going to hell in a handbag (which given the prior five years, shouldn't be a surprise). But, my mental health rallied a bit (the Lightning had a little something to do with it) and I am ready to write again. Today, I continue with my "preview" of all the college bowl games, picking up where I left off last week.

Camellia Bowl: Georgia State vs. Ball State. Ten years ago, this commuter school from Atlanta didn't even have a football program at the FBS level, and their entire program has only existed since 2010. Ball State's program has been around since I was in diapers. This is another bowl game to fill out ESPN programming.

Quick Lane Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Nevada. Literally have no clue why there's a bowl game in Detroit. I know years ago they had the Cherry Bowl, but it only lasted two years, and hardly anyone remembers it. The Oil Change Bowl (since Quick Lane is Ford Cars' Maintenance branch) has been around for some time, if you include its incarnation as the Little Caesar's Bowl. Come to think of it, I don't remember the Pizza, Pizza! Bowl either.

Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. Boston College. Honestly, this game should host the winner of the Commander in Chief Trophy by default, but as Daft Punk said, television rules the nation.

Birmingham Bowl: Houston vs. Auburn. The only thing I'll say about this game is that Houston head coach Dana Holgerson has the worst hair in the game in my opinion, and it isn't even close.

First Responder Bowl: Louisville vs. Air Force. This is sponsored by Servpro, but unlike their company's slogan, this game (barring COVID) will happen. I should point out that this is the first bowl game this season to feature an ACC team. That conference went 0-for-6 last bowl season, a feat only matched by lowly Conference USA; embarrassing. 

Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State. Finally, a traditional bowl game. While Texas Tech's announcers aren't griping about Big XII officiating, they're coming to grips with the fact that they're facing Mike Leach, the former coach of the Red Raiders.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holiday Bowl: NC State vs. UCLA. Another traditional bowl game. San Diego used to have TWO bowl games; this and the Poinsettia Bowl. Now the Poinsettia Bowl doesn't exist, nor does the stadium that had always hosted this game. So, until San Diego State University finishes their new stadium next door to the old Murph, Petco Park is hosting this venue. Since it's Festivus today, I thought I'd air a grievance of my own: football isn't meant to be played in a baseball park. Now you're probably thinking of the classic George Carlin comedy routine, baseball vs. football. you're welcome.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: West Virginia vs. Minnesota. While I'm at it, allow me to rant about another thing. Dontcha just hate it when you try to reach out to someone you've had correspondence with, or worse yet, someone who WANTS to talk, and they flat out blow you off? To me, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and yes...

By, the way, now that Dana Holgerson (see Birmingham Bowl above) is gone, West Virginia has become a lot more likeable, even if a certain Senator is not. 

Fenway Bowl: Virginia at SMU. A new bowl game for ESPN to fill programming with. And yes, it's being played at Fenway Paaahk. "Hey, waah don't we eat some chaddah annd beet up some rich kids. Ahhh!" Did you know in the days of the old AFL, the New England Patriots played their home games at Fenway?

Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland vs. Virginia Tech. Why did Fenway get a bowl game? Because Yankee Stadium already has one, and the pettiest of rivalries only has to get pettier, even during a baseball lockout. Speaking of petty, is there anything more petty in college football than Virginia Tech's stupid bowl streak, which I think is now at 25 years. Makes me want to root for the former ACC school to blow the doors off them.

Cheez-It Bowl: Iowa State vs. Clemson. My sisters eat Cheez-Its all the time. Which reminds me of another rant I have; is there anything worse than having a sister who thinks you're her son and thins that you're a teenage boy instead of a grown man who may or may not be spiraling into a mid-life crisis? Today for lunch, I had a bowl of chicken noodle soup that had some pieces of celery and carrots. Eldest sister didn't think it was good enough and snatched the bowl away so she could add more chicken and get this, green beans to my dish, then nuked it for a minute. My lunch was well enough as it was, there was no need to ruin it. Then she says, "You need the nourishment," and air-kisses me. Yuck.

Alamo Bowl: Oregon vs. Oklahoma. Finally, a matchup of two ranked teams. Oregon was primed for a spot in the CFP, then they went Pac-12 and folded down the stretch. Oklahoma had a roller-coaster season that saw them make comeback vs. Texas, and nearly flub up against frigging Kansas before ultimately falling to Baylor 😖 and Oklahoma State. I happen to know someone in Oklahoma who could be the subject of one my earlier rants, but I digress...

Duke's Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. South Carolina. You know this should be a yearly rivalry, and in days of yore, it was. But South Carolina left the ACC around the time I was born, and the fairer Carolina became a stalwart of the conference. Yes, I'm biased. Instead of Bank of America Stadium, why don't they play in the nearby Carowinds amusement park? Just make a gridiron with the midfield line being the actual NC/SC border? Regardless, it should be a fun atmosphere in Charlotte.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bowl Overload (Maybe...) Part 1

 Greetings once again. I wanted for this entry to talk about the upcoming college football bowl season (which actually starts in a few hours), but there is a much more pressing issue that needs attention that's affecting not only the sports world, but everything in general. Of course, I'm talking about the seemingly never-ending COVID pandemic.

The newest outbreak concerns the omicron variant of the virus, and it's spreading like wildfire. Think back to last March/April when things started closing down, everybody panic-bought toilet tissue and Clorox, and work had to be done from home. Well, thanks to this recent outbreak, we're headed back to square one.

Sports are completely being affected. In Montreal, last night's Flyers-Canadiens NHL game was played without fans. The NBA's Sacramento Kings canceled practice on Thursday because of possible COVID cases within that organization. The Rams and Browns football teams are dealing with their own COVID outbreaks, just to name a few. And that's not including the countless college programs dealing with this outbreak.

This begs to question: will we have to go to another bubble like in 2020 for both the NHL and NBA? Will March Madness be canceled...again? What will happen to soccer leagues throughout Europe? And germane to the topic of this entry, what will happen with all the bowl games? Right now (as of 2AM EST), all forty-one(!) bowl games are still on.

When I was little, I knew of the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, and the local bowl game that was played in Orlando, the Tangerine Bowl. Nowadays, the Orange Bowl still exists, but the stadium does not (it's now Marlins Park). The Cotton Bowl doesn't play in the stadium of the same name. Every bowl game has a sponsor and almost all of them were created by ESPN, some of these sponsorships as you'll see are suspect at best. Anyway, here's all forty-one of them.

Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. (Holy) Toledo. Popeye's Fried Chicken used to be the sponsor of this game, but the Bahamian government couldn't promise spinach (or chicken sandwiches), so they pulled the sponsorship. 

Cure Bowl: Coastal (COVID) Carolina vs. Northern Illinois. This is Coastal's second straight appearance in said game. In last year's game, they were ranked in the Top Ten and lost to Libbity Bibbity. This year, I'm pulling for NIU, why Dave Chapelle?

Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Appalachian State. I'm tempted to make a joke and call this the Hillbilly Bowl, but that would involve moving the game to West Virginia and in light of current events, I don't think that should be necessary. However, the sponsor of this game, Roofclaim.com, is a rather awkward coincidence if you think about it.

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. UTEP. I wonder how many fans from El Paso will make the trip to Albuquerque, and will they remember to make that right turn there? Or will they take a hot-air balloon?

Independence Bowl: UAB vs. BYU. one of the older bowl games, having been around 1976. Given the alphabet soup matchup, I guess it's fitting that this game will be broadcast by ABC.

Lending Tree Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. Liberty. Formerly the Mobile Bowl, it's been around since 1999. As for Liberty, I loathe that school, Jerry Falwell, and almost everything about it (even NASCAR driver William Byron by proxy). Too bad their opponent isn't Mars Hill College so that could be called the 700 Club Televangelist Bowl, but I digress. 

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl: Utah State vs. Oregon State. Every time I hear "Utah State," I think of the iconic early 90's rave song "Something Good" by Utah Saints. Kinda surprised this is actually being played at SoFi and not in Carson.

New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana vs. Marshall. This game used to kick off bowl season.

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Old Dominion vs. Tulsa. Add this to the list of bowl games that shouldn't exist. First, the game isn't even in Myrtle Beach; it's in Conway, some twenty miles away. Second, there should be a law that bans bowl games that are played on a discolored field (except for the Potato Bowl below); Brooks Stadium has a teal-colored field to match the colors of Coastal Carolina University.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming vs. Kent State. This used to be called the Humanitarian Bowl and was once sponsored by Crucial.com, which meant at one time this was a crucial game on the bowl schedule. Now, it's just filler content for ESPN.

Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. San Diego State. Formerly the Miami Beach Bowl, which was played in Marlins Park.

Armed Forces Bowl: Army vs. Missouri. Presenting sponsor is Lockheed Martin, very much on brand.

Frisco Football Classic: Miami, OH vs. North Texas. Wait, didn't I just talk about Frisco? Like I said, there are too many bowl games.

Gasparilla Bowl: Florida vs. UCF. Finally, a bowl game I have a slight interest in. This was the St. Pete Bowl until ESPN realized nobody likes Tropicana Field and moved it to RayJay. I like both schools, but Florida had the controversy surrounding our bum-ass governor this year, and UCF is full of themselves; no, your "natty" from 2017 doesn't count to anybody outside of Orlando, and no, RayJay isn't "Bounce House West." That said, chomp on, I guess.

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. Memphis. I guess until a new stadium is built in Honolulu, I don't honestly see how this game will survive.

That's all for now. Come next week, I'll probably go over the rest of the games including the best (Rose, Sugar,etc), the not so good, and the one that should be canceled, COVID or not.

CT

TBT: December 20, 2002

 Greetings once again, it's Thursday, and you know what that means. It's time for me to enter the time machine to a year in the past and go over the Top 40 hits on this date. For this week, we're actually staying in this century; to 2002 as a matter of fact. So, without further delay, here were the Top 40 from December 20, 2002 according to Mediabase 24/7 (as then published in Radio & Records magazine):

40. Landslide by The Dixie Chicks. According to MB24/7, this was their only chart hit, and if memory serves me correct, the sorry excuse of a pop station in Tampa wouldn't touch it with a twenty-foot pole. Probably because it was from a primarily country act. I think there were other factors involved as well...

39. Heaven (Candlelight Mix) by DJ Sammy and Yanou featuring Do. I don't understand the need to release this as a standalone single when their previous up-tempo remix of said song was immensely popular.

38. Girl Talk by TLC. This was the first single they released following the tragic death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. They had one hit after this and faded into oblivion. 

37. Pretty Baby by Vanessa Carlton. Follow up to "A Thousand Miles," but mostly forgotten in time.

36. Po' Folks by Nappy Roots. 

35. Don't Know Why by Norah Jones.

34. Dirrty by Christina Aguilera. I never liked this song; I think it was because of the unnecessary dog barking during the rap portion. Too much going on...

33. All I Have by Jennifer Lopez with LL Cool J. I'll have more on J-Lo a little later on.

32. All The Things She Said by T.A.T.U. I believe this was the first (and to this date) only musical act from Russia to crack the Top 40, and that was before we came to know Vladdy P. as a royal asshole strongman dictator who would and could do everything to be in power. As a Russian would say, "yebanirote."

31. Something by Lasgo.

30. Bump, Bump, Bump by B2K. P. Diddy created this group as the new millennium's version as Boyz II Men, but they didn't last unfortunately. I didn't know Omarion was in this group; he would have a couple of hits in the years that followed.

29. Come Into My World by Kylie Minogue. Excuse me while I drool for a few moments...

28. Through The Rain by Mariah Carey. Did you know, Mariah has a deal with McDonald's now? Yes, you can get your own Mariah menu at McDonald's now. No, the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" CD isn't included with it.

27. Gimme The Light by Sean Paul. His first chart hit.

26. Spin by Lifehouse.

25. Disease by Matchbox 20.

24. If I Could Go by Angie Martinez.

23. Picture by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow.  I never did care for Kid Rock. What he was doing with Sheryl Crow I'll never know.

22. '03 Bonnie and Clyde by Jay-Z f/Beyonce.

21. Die Another Day by Madonna. Yes, Madonna did a James Bond theme.

20. Your Body Is A Wonderland by John Mayer. Back in the day, the local sports talk radio station would use a shotgun sound effect to cut off a particular song from continuing coming out of commercial break. If I had a career in sports talk radio instead of the Postal Service at the time, this would have been one of those songs.

19. One Last Breath by Creed. Tallahassee's own, back when FSU still had Bobby as head football coach, and Jenn Sterger shot to popularity. Now, it's just known for the Glitter Bros and mediocre football.

18. Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous by Good Charlotte. Awesome song, threw much shade at Orenthal and Marion Berry.

17. These Are The Days by O-Town. As the name implies, they were yet another boy band from Orlando, created by a reality show that aired on ABC television. No, I didn't watch it.

16. Like I Love You by Justin Timberlake. Speaking of Orlando-based boy bands, this was the former *NSYNC member's maiden solo hit.

15. Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne. One of my all-time favorite songs, can I make it anymore obvious?

14. Air Force Ones by Nelly

13. Cry Me A River by Justin Timberlake. Remember that pop station I talked about earlier? Well, one particular DJ didn't like the end of this song. He would later be fired from sad station for talking about the kid of the AM drive host. Karma.

12. Hey Ma by Cam'ron. Fun fact, I didn't know that "dome" was code for...I'd rather not say on this blog...until this song was released.

11. Stole by Kelly Rowland.

10. I'm With You by Avril Lavigne.

9. The Game Of Love by Michelle Branch.

8. Don't Mess With My Man by Nivea. The skincare brand is still around, as well as the singer (whose real name is Nivea Hamilton).

7. She Hates Me by Puddle Of Mudd. Pretty much sums up my relations with schoolteachers in Orange County. 😁

6. Family Portrait by P!nk. Song kinda reminds me of my family, especially after yesterday.

5. Underneath It All by No Doubt. 

4. Work It by Missy Elliott. Iconic song by an iconic artist with an iconic video. Now isn't that iconic, Alanis?

3. Beautiful by Christina Aguilera.

2. Jenny From The Block by Jennifer Lopez. This song played a part in of the more infamous moments in the history of cable news, one I happened to catch live.

...and the number one song on December 20, 2002 was...

1. Lose Yourself by Eminem. I wish I had seen this movie. I guess I could (should) stream it sometime

And that's this week's throwback. There won't be a tbt for the Holiday, but I might have another entry later today.

More to Come

CT

A Bah Humbug Kind Of Day

 Greetings everyone. This entry was long overdue; I originally planned to write this afternoon. Unfortunately for me, it would have to wait until tonight. I spent the majority of the day helping family with Christmas prep, something that should have been done much earlier, but a couple of hospital visits kind of put those plans on hold. 

Anyway, it was supposed to be a simple enough task; move presents from my sister's bedroom to the library where our Christmas tree is going. Well, not quite. There were several other side projects besides just moving gifts from one room to another. It included taping boxes together to put old clothes in to send to Goodwill or the Salvation Army to send to the tornado victims in the mid-South. Then it included putting storage containers together. Then it included having to witness a rather angry argument between two sisters. No, I won't go into details. Then it included me losing my balance and falling; fortunately, I fell in such a way that I didn't crash through the glass table and seriously hurt me or that I didn't crush any Christmas gifts. Falling every once in great while has unfortunately been a way of life since my stroke, but at least I have gotten up every time...so far.

After about five and a half hours, the chore was finally finished. Hadn't been able to check my computer all day until the end (although I did keep up on Twitter from time to time). The end of the day was worth it, for I got to see an incredible match on AEW Dynamite. There are other things I potentially missed out on, such as $SHIB skyrocketing again. Man, to think my ship came in for about an hour and I didn't know about it. At least $SOL is going up; that's a good sign. But all in all, it was a bah humbug kind of day.

More to come, definitely tomorrow.

CT

An Eye Opening Incident

 Greetings on this late Friday night. As some of you may be aware by now, severe weather has blown through portions of the Midwest tonight. So far, one person has died in Arkansas, and there was a roof collapse outside of St. Louis, and is being described by local officials as a mass casualty incident.

Before COVID hit, I had once thought about relocating to the St. Louis area. One of the places that I had an eye on as far as employment was concerned was Amazon, probably the warehouse in Edwardsville that was damaged tonight.

I could have been in that building tonight...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An update from late last night, as of now at least 50 people are dead in Kentucky alone as a result of these storms, one such tornado slamming into the town of Mayfield, KY head-on. Bowling Green, KY was also smashed a result of this storm. According to one report, last nights' tornado may have broken the longest continuous path record, set back in 1925. 

You know, this should raise plenty of eyebrows of those who still think that global warming isn't a thing. Storms like the ones last night usually occur in spring, not two weeks before Christmas...

More to come...

CT

TBT to December 11, 1987

 Hello again, it's Thursday and you know what that means. It's time where I throw things back to a particular year between 1980 and 2010. "Wait, what are you talking about?" you may ask. Well, I decided to make this a weekly feature of this blog. This week, I rolled a set of dice that I had lying around, and long story short, it came up to the year 1987. For this particular week, I'll be using the top 40 chart from Radio & Records magazine, and as an added bonus, I'll add some of my thoughts on each song that charted. So, without further ado, here we go.

40. Say You Will by Foreigner. As I recall, the video featured two attractive women at a restaurant. I thought at the time it was two girls I used to know from Orlando that I wanted to know better but couldn't because I moved from there to Podunkville (St. Pauls), NC a few years beforehand, and this was WELL before social media or email. That meant I was SOL as far as keeping in touch...DAMMIT.

39. I Do You by The Jets. Don't have too much to say other than the Jets were a family group from Minneapolis of Tongan descent, and that they had no affiliation with the New York or Winnepeg Jets; the original ones who relocated to Arizona and may be relocated again soon.

38. Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac. This was the last chart hit off their CD, "Tango In The Night."

37. Motortown by Kane Gang. 

36. The Power Of Love by Laura Branigan. Celine Dion made this song massively popular in 1994. In fact, this was the second song performed by Branigan that would later be a bigger hit for another artist. Which song was it and who sang it? I'll reveal it at the end of this entry.

35. Tunnel Of Love by Bruce Springsteen. A rather underrated song.

34. Honestly by Stryper. The evangelical delegation makes a rare pop appearance. Wildly popular in Podunkville 🙄

33. Just Like Heaven by The Cure. As a teenager living in Podunkville, I had zero clue about emo music or how fringe popular it was. Let alone Robert Smith. My parents watched TNN or westerns, not MTV.

32. Don't Shed A Tear by Paul Carrack. The biggest solo hit from the former Squeeze and Mike + the Mechanics frontman.

31. I Live For Your Love by Natalie Cole. RIP Ms. Cole

30. True Faith by New Order. Loved this song. I didn't understand the two guys slapping the piss out of each other during the video though...

29. The One I Love by R.E.M. Didn't know it at the time, but that's Kate Pierson of the B-52s singing harmony on the chorus.

28. I Want To Be Your Man by Roger. A classic slow jam.

27. That's What Love Is All About by Michael Bolton. I thought his maiden chart hit was his remake of the Otis Redding classic, "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay," but it was this one instead.

26. Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen. This artist isn't to be confused with Eric Cartman from South Park.

25. Crazy by Icehouse. Could very well be relatable today if you listen to the song.

24. (I've Had) The Time Of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. This broke the seal on the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack. On a somewhat related note, I used to know a woman with nearly the same name.

23. Animal by Def Leppard. Debut track from one of my favorite albums, "Hysteria."

22. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man by Prince. Trust me on this, the full-length version (that wasn't played on radio) was much better than the radio edit, which was great in its own right.

21. Seasons Change by Expose´. A group I had a major crush on growing up, mainly because they were based in Miami.

20. Could've Been by Tiffany. Remember the rivalry that wasn't between her and Debbie Gibson? No?Okay then.

19. There's The Girl by Heart. As a teenage boy in evangelical NC, I really enjoyed the video for this song (which by the way, differs slightly than the album version).

18. Hazy Shade Of Winter by The Bangles. Another one of my all-time favorites. This remake of a Simon & Garfunkel hit from 1966 was featured in the movie "Less Than Zero", which included a young Robert Downey, Jr. 

17. Should've Known Better by Richard Marx. 

16. We'll Be Together by Sting. This song was featured in an MTV promo that Sting was hosting one weekend in 1987. I also thought that Sting also lent his voice for a "Salon Selectives" commercial jingle around the same time. But apparently not.

15. Candle In The Wind by Elton John. An in-concert version of his 1973 single, recorded at Sydney's famed Opera House.

14. Cherry Bomb by John Mellecamp. One of the first videos if memory serves me correct to feature an interracial couple.

13. (Dude) Looks Like A Lady by Aerosmith. This single told us that Aerosmith was indeed back.

12. Tell It To My Heart by Taylor Dayne. And thus began Shadoe Stevens' creepy fixation with Miss Dayne.

11. Need You Tonight by INXS. Debut track from their monster album "Kick." Also, the video also contained the track "Mediate," which featured members of the band holding placards like Bob Dylan years before.

10. The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson.

  9. Catch Me I'm Falling by Pretty Poison. Philadelphia is the type of town you don't associate with having a dance-pop scene, but they did and Pretty Poison was based out of there.

  8. Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle. I crushed on Belinda hard when the video came out, but when she started kissing that guy I was turned off and a little disappointed.

  7. Valerie by Steve Winwood. I have a cousin named Valerie in NC. She gave me chicken pox over my 11th birthday.

  6. Don't You Want Me By Jody Watley. Jody will always be underrated to me.

  5. Shake Your Love by Debbie Gibson. Before Taylor Swift shook it off, Debbie couldn't shake her beau's love. The 80s were a weird time, y'all.

  4. Got My Mind Set On You by George Harrison. 

  3. So Emotional by Whitney Houston.

  2. Is This Love by Whitesnake. RIP Tawny Kitaen.

  1. Faith by George Michael. 

By the way, the other song that Laura Branigan had that was a bigger hit for a different artist was none other than "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" by Michael Bolton.

More to come...

CT

Next Spring...

 Greetings again everyone...

I thought I would break the news here, but next spring, COVID (and my sisters) permitting, I am going to attempt to make another trip outside of Florida. Where I want to go hasn't been determined at this time, but as of right now, I'm thinking of California, probably Los Angeles. I've never been to California and would like to go sometime. 

So, that's my bit of breaking news for you this afternoon.

More to Come

CT

Christmas Songs I Try To Avoid

Hello again, everyone. Being that we are now knee-deep into the Holiday season, many people have taken to hearing seasonal music on whatever listening devices that one would choose; not me though. I don't listen to Christmas music. I tried to this year by turning the station on my TV to the MusicChoice Sounds of the Season channel; I immediately turned it off when Pentatonix was the artist playing. Hard pass. 

This isn't the only time I've turned off my television or radio at the sound of a particular artist/song either. One classic example would be a song from Bizarre Inc. that charted in 1993 called "I'm Gonna Get You." It just reminds me of something a house DJ at a sporting event would play when the home team is losing, and the game is out of reach. But that's another story. My focus for this blog is about Christmas music.

There is one particular song that I avoid like the plague around this time of year, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." I mean, why the heck is this even a holiday standard? Yes, I get that it's whimsical and sort of funny (I mean if dark humor is your thing), but Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" it isn't. On a personal note, I have gone 20 of the last 21 Holiday seasons without having to hear it (thank God), and II never have to hear it for the rest of my life, I would be more than OK with it. Better yet if the sing were deleted forever. 

Another song I try to avoid is of course, "All I Want for Christmas Is You." I explained in a previous post how I used to have fantasies about Mariah come Christmastime, nowadays it's everywhere and you can't avoid it unless you intentionally don't subject yourself to holiday music. 

(Phone rings) Hang on, for some reason I'm getting a phone call in the middle of me writing. (picks up phone) Hello?
All I want for Christmas is youuuuu!! (Hangs up phone) See, I told you that it can't be avoided.

Last song I try to avoid has its own term now, Whamageddon. It is of course "Last Christmas" by Wham! I actually kind of like this song, but after a while it gets rather depressing, and knowing how the holidays can be a sad time for a lot of people, I think it's one song that one could go without. Especially after a bad breakup (aren't they all bad?) or a lost relationship when all you can think...you know, let's not go there.

There ARE some Christmas songs that some people dislike that I enjoy. One of these is Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad." Another is Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas." I enjoyed it since I first heard it as a little kid, primarily for the "wo-hoo-ah-hoo-hoo!" sung in the background. There is one knockoff version of the song that was done by some morning zoo radio DJ (I suppose) that tried (badly) to sing it in the voice of Porky Pig. I don't enjoy that ver(buh-bee-duh) ver(buh-bee-duh) rendition at all.

Anyway, I don't normally listen to Christmas music to begin with...until maybe the week before.

More to come...

CT

December 2 TBT

 Hello everyone, and happy December. I woke up at four this morning thinking I would have something worthwhile to write about, then life happened. I'll give you the Reader's Digest Condensed version; eldest sister had been cooped up in the hospital for the better part of the last week until yesterday when she was finally released. Now me and the other sister, for the moment, have to wait on her hand and foot until her strength gets back to somewhat normal, but I personally have my doubts, sad to say. Anyway, what plans I may try to make the first half of 2022 will likely put on hold, and that is before what havoc this omicron variant may wreak on the general public this Holiday season and beyond.

I don't want to think about that for now. I just know I'm vaxxed and won't be due for a booster until late February. That said, why don't we turn the clock back to a simpler (?) time in life (if you were old enough to remember it). Today I thought I would go back to this date in 1989, when the southeastern US was about to be nailed with a sudden arctic blast that created snow flurries as far south as Miami(!), and left greater Fayetteville, NC a snowy mess (and me with a bad cold). Here were the Top 40 according to Radio and Records magazine for that week:

40. The Angel Song by Great White
39. I'll Be Good To You by Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, & Chaka Khan
38. Fool For Your Loving by Whitesnake
37. I Remember You by Skid Row
36. Swing The Mood by Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers
35. Listen To Your Heart by Roxette
34. Poison by Alice Cooper
33. Get On Your Feet by Gloria Estefan
32. Two To Make It Right by Seduction
31. Free Fallin' by Tom Petty

30. The Arms Of Orion by Prince f/Sheena Easton
29. Love Song by Tesla
28. Don't Shut Me Out by Kevin Paige
27. Rock And A Hard Place by The Rolling Stones
26. Downtown Train by Rod Stewart
25. I Live By The Groove by Paul Carrack
24. Don't Make Me Over by Sybil
23. Everything by Jody Watley
22. Oh Father by Madonna
21. This One's For The Children by New Kids On The Block

20. When The Night Comes by Joe Cocker
19. Don't Close Your Eyes by Kix
18. Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic f/Felly
17. The Last Worthless Evening by Don Henley
16. Love Shack by The B-52's
15. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You? by Michael Bolton
14. When I See You Smile by Bad English
13. Just Like Jesse James by Cher
12. Leave A Light On by Belinda Carlisle
11. Just Between You And Me by Lou Gramm

10. Living In Sin by Bon Jovi
  9. Angelia by Richard Marx
  8. Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson
  7. Back To Life by Soul II Soul
  6. Don't Know Much by Linda Ronstadt f/Aaron Neville
  5. With Every Beat Of My Heart by Taylor Dayne
  4. (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me by Paula Abdul
  3. Blame It On The Rain by Milli Vanilli
  2. We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel

  ...and the number one song for this week in 1989 was

  1. Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins

I kinda wish I could go back in time to that year...on second thought, as dorky as I was, maybe not.

Until next time...

CT