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Saturday Night Retro

Volume 2 / Number 47 / Edition 96

On this 96TH weekly edition of my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ it’s time to continue my month-long-plus celebration that is ‘The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’. After this edition I’ll have two more on the 28TH of August and the 04TH of September. I also begin the 3RD year of the ‘Retro’ here on this blog on that 1ST Saturday of September. Who would have thought back in 2008 when this blog was peaking that ‘Saturday Night Retro’ would outlive all of the other weekly blog series at that time. I mean – besides me ?

ON to this week’s ‘Retro’ and back during the Spring of 1989 Time, Inc. and Warner Communications merged to become Time Warner. It was the beginning of the end for Eastern Air Lines, as it went bankrupt after over 60 years in the air. The Exxon Valdez ran aground off the south coast of Alaska, and it created an environmental disaster at sea. My favourite theme park at Walt Disney World – The Disney-MGM Studios – opened its doors for the very first time. Gas prices were right around $1 per gallon as I drove all around South Florida in my sparkling new 1989 Geo Spectrum.

On the radio the U.K.’s Fine Young Cannibals scored BIG with back-to-back International pop and dance smash hits. Here’s one of my favourite songs of all time. It’s “She Drives Me Crazy”. It’s RETRO !

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History Life Music News Television

Saturday Night Retro

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STARS

TODAY – the 07TH of August of 2010 – is the 29TH anniversary of the end of my very first job. On this date back in 1981 one of the two major daily newspapers in our nation’s capital – ‘The Washington Star’ – published its final edition after over 128 years. It went bankrupt, and most of its equipment was bought out by its longtime rival ‘The Washington Post’. I was a newspaper carrier for The Star (and The Post). As a rare afternoon big city newspaper I delivered The Star to the homes around my McLean Virginia  neighbourhood every day after Junior High School. That final edition of The Star was a collector’s item, and many of those newspapers that were delivered on that final afternoon by carriers just like me all around the Washington D.C. area were stolen. It was also sold out at all of the stores. An institution had ended.

Back in the Summer of 1981 a Dutch studio ensemble group was very popular in stringing along a medley of previously-popular TOP 40 tracks of the 1960s and 1970s. Known as ‘Stars On 45’ – their biggest “Medley” was their very first one that shot straight to the top of the American pop charts. Check out this 2008 television reimagining of the 1981 ‘Stars On 45’ “Medley”. Now THAT’S what I call a ‘Saturday Night Retro’ !

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God History Life Music News

My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics

On this 66TH anniversary of ‘D-Day’ we look back at the allied forces family that landed on the beaches of Normandy France to attack the enemy. Today we are a free nation because of them.

66 years later we still have enemies lurking in the darkness. They are always trying to attack. They are always looking for weaknesses and vulnerabilities. But there’s strength in numbers – on both sides.

That’s why we as church families meet under steeples, in schools, in theatres, at parks, on beaches, in restaurants, and in each other’s homes on Sundays. That’s why we hang out with each other during the week. That’s why we actively participate in small groups in each other’s homes. That’s why we disciple to the world around us about how great God is. That’s why we bring the church inside, outside, and everywhere we go. That’s why we must always stay strong together with our faith in our Lord Almighty. That’s why we must never stop learning about Him. That’s why we must never stop growing on this fantastic journey.

If you wanna live Life loud – throw your hands up
If you wanna scream and shout – let me hear you
Taking all the fakers out – if you’re with me
Everybody work it – just keep living

It’s in the lyrics:

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Blogging Career God History Life News People Philosophy Politics

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

June is here, and it’s the start of this blog’s 4TH year in cyberspace. Let’s roll:

My Fellow 43-Year-Olds – Celebrating their 43RD birthday this week (alongside myself) are Phil Keoghan (May 31ST), Roger Sanchez (June 01ST), Anderson Cooper (June 03RD), Ron Livingston (June 05TH), Paul Giamatti (June 06TH), and Max Casella (June 06TH). Phil Keoghan is of course the host of 17 seasons of “The Amazing Race“. Incidentally that 17TH season is currently filming somewhere in the world right now. You can check it out come September. Roger Sanchez is one of the most popular house music deejays in the world. He secured a worldwide pop and dance smash in 2001 with “Another Chance”. Anderson Cooper is one of the most recognizable faces of CNN. Remember when he hosted two seasons of “The Mole” back in 2001 and 2002 ?  Ron Livingston – born the same exact day as me – is a television and movie star. He was Peter Gibbons in the cult classic “Office Space”. Paul Giamatti is also a movie star. You may remember him from “Sideways”. Max Casella portrayed the unforgettable Vinnie Delpino – Dr. Doogie Howser’s troublemaking best friend on the classic TV show. He still acts on TV shows and movies today. Aging gracefully. That’s us. The 43-year-olds. Happy Birthday to us !

My Fortune Cookie Messages – Once upon a time there lived a popular blog series on here entitled ‘The Fortune Cookie Message Of The Week Club’. It was a smash hit during its time. Due to the last round of intense budget cuts here at the blog that longtime series was unfortunately one of the casualties. It could return at a later date. Probably not. In the meantime here’s a collection of 8 fortune cookie messages that I’ve been stockpiling since the series was cancelled. Enjoy:
1. Any idea seriously entertained tends to bring about the realization of itself.
2. Do what is right, not what you should.
3. Whatever you do, do with all your heart.
4. Great things are accomplished only by the perfection of minor details.
5. Stay close to your inner-self.
6. Two people shorten a road.
7. This is the month that ingenuity stands high on the list.
8. The cost of something is what you give up to get it.

My Quick Takes On Everything Else – Hurricane Katrina was to President Bush as the Gulf Oil Spill is to President Obama. If you blamed Bush for Katrina then it only makes sense to blame Obama for BP. I can only take about 20 minutes of news on TV at a time. It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there. The same bad news keeps occurring, and only the names and the faces change. The world is full of arrogance, ignorance, stupidity, and hatred. If you had asked me 30 years ago what I’d be doing as a 43-year-old then I would have probably exclaimed ‘TOP 40 radio deejay’. As a teenager I thought for sure that’s where I’d be headed a few years later into my adult life. That didn’t happen. The USAF had other exciting plans for me. If I had to do it all over again then I’d do it all over again. If I had to give up either blogging or tweeting then which would it be ?  It would be blogging. That may shock some of you. I don’t see myself giving up blogging anytime soon. That would be the easy way out. This blog is an integral part of my new Life. If I ever get to the point where I can only blog one post per week then that last remaining weekly blog series still standing would certainly be Sunday’s ‘My Fantastic Journey’. My attitude about Life and death has changed drastically over the past 45 months since I’ve been a follower of Christ. I believe that abortion is murder – no exceptions whatsoever. I believe that guns kill – and that people use guns to kill. I believe that it’s nobody’s right to end the life of a human being other than God. In my perfect world abortions, guns, and the death penalty would all be outlawed. We live far from that perfect world of mine. One more thing before I’m done here. Alcohol kills. Drinking serves no relevant purpose. It does no good to anyone or anything. It does plenty of bad. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of money. It would not exist in my perfect world. For about three years now it has not been part of my Life.