Soul Thumping

Mah Na Mah Na: The Generation X Theme Song - Captain Kangaroo and the Muppets

Hurray, the song is my head and even an exorcism won't make it leave.  When the new Muppet movie came out a few weeks ago, Poseidon and I and our pals went to see it and we had amazing fun!  Nearly every member of the audience was a Gen Xer, and very few children (except for the woman who thought is was appropriate to bring an infant into a movie theater).  We laughed and sang as we spent an hour and some change with our old furry friends, the Muppets.  My favorite part?  The obligatory singing of the Mah Na Mah Na song of course!

I ransacked my brain (and didn't clean up afterwards) to remember where I first heard the Mah Na Mah Na song, and I don't think it was the Muppet Show on television, I believe, though I could be wrong, I heard in on Captain Kangaroo TV show.  I vaguely remember some round balls that "danced" or flung themselves around to the beat of the Mah Na Mah Na song.  It seems as though it was a semi-regular skit on Captain Kangaroo.

I tried to find a clip of the Captain Kangaroo version on Youtube, but no success.  If anyone finds a clip of the Mah Na Mah Na à la the Captain, please let me know, will ya?

Now I'm swimming in a great warm wave of nostalgia thinking about the Captain Kangaroo show.  He brought us so many memorable characters (Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Green Jeans).  The Captain also brought us Simon in the land of chalk drawings (I'm humming those lyrics now in my head...not out loud), Grandfather clock, ping pong balls!  I'm so excited I can only do this:

 

 

And this:

 

 

--Fortuitous Observer

Generation X - Our Favorite TV Christmas Specials

I think I've posted this every year for the past few years.  It's a link to an article I wrote for Associated Content (now Yahoo Voices).  A great list of TV Christmas specials we (Generation X) enjoyed as kids and still do today (Ok, at least I do)!

Take a Stroll Through the Winter Wonderland of TV Specials from Christmases Past!

 

--Fortuitous Observer

What Generation X Watched Monday Night on TV in 1984

Today some of my coworkers were discussing current television shows running on the major networks and cable and for a minute I was so overwhelmed with the show titles folks were spewing that my head began to throb.  Egads.

How is it possible to keep up with every show on all networks, and cable?  I haven't seen a TV guide in years (do they still print those things?), and the only show I know is House on Monday night and sometimes I can't even remember if it is on at 8pm or 9pm.  Seriously.  Am I the only Xer who doesn't keep up with TV because I'm, well, too tired to keep it straight (and underwhelmed by the offerings)?  I can't be!

Now, imagine if you will, Generation X, the year is 1984 (just a random year I've selected, no real significance).  ABC, CBS, and NBC.  That was it, until FOX was added to the mix in 1986.  I knew what was on the idiot box (television for those youngsters out there) every morning/afternoon/evening and the times.  I was a walking TV Guide.

Now there are so many cable channels in the fray, and I believe I've simply thrown in the towel.  I don't want to know what is on because my short-term memory isn't what is used to be and I have too many important things to remember, like eating, sleeping, walking, breathing, etc.  There is no room in my head for such trivial data at this point.

So, welcome to a cold, grey Monday evening.  What is on TV tonight you ask?  I have no idea (except House is on at some point tonight, I think), but I can tell you what was on Monday night in the fall of 1984 (thanks to Al Gore's invention of the Internet).  Here it is Generation X...what we watching on Monday night in 1984.  I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl. 

MONDAY NIGHT LINEUP - 1984

ABC - 8pm Call to Glory; 8:30pm ABC NFL Monday Night Football

CBS - 8pm Scarecrow and Mrs. King; 9pm Kate & Allie; 9:30pm Newhart; 10pm Cagney & Lacey

NBC - 8pm TVs Bloopers & Practical Jokes; 9pm NBC Monday Night at the Movies

 

--Fortuitous Observer

Generation X Halloween Specials

Summer has passed (or on her last leg anyway), so this sun bunny has to switch gears and cozy up to autumn now.  It's ok, I can do it.  At 42, I don't trick-or-treat anymore (no one wants to see that), but I still love halloween in all its macabre glory, and nothing says feel-good frights like curling up with some popcorn and watching those great animated TV halloween specials!

Two or three years ago, I wrote an online article about the halloween TV specials that our generation grew up with in the 70s and 80s.  Rather than re-write the article, I will just point you to the link...here it is:  Top Halloween Specials for Nostalgic Generation Xers!  Enjoy, Gen Xers (and everyone else)!

P.S.  I think my favorite is still Witch's Night Out.

 

--Fortuitous "Spooky" Observer

Thursday Night Theories

My ramblings tonight may not make much sense to most people, but I had to commit them to paper (or screen, if you will):

 

• I think most of CocoRosie's songs are written while they are doing a heavy volume of valium (I'm not dissing, I love CocoRosie...simply an observation).

• Kwinn (my Siamese) is vomiting again because he truly wants to piss me off.  He's not the most brilliant quadruped on the planet--due to the inbreeding--but he knows how to push my buttons.

• A car nearly backed into me tonight while the driver had one hand on a Wendy's fast food bag, and another on the wheel while a cell phone was glued to the driver's ear...guess the gender...yup, a stupid broad.  Most women (and I'm allowed to type it because I am a chick) should NOT be allowed to have a license.  Period.

• Insomnia is someones cruel, cruel idea of a joke (going on 4 nights with no sleep now, so excuse my lack of giving a shit).  Last night through around 4am this morning, I watched reruns of "Three's Company" for longer than I'm willing to admit and the theme song will not leave my head, and if I owned a gun, I would probably consider putting it to my temple just to make it stop.

 

--Fortuitous Observer

Could the Waltons Exist in the 21st Century?

I had a dream the night before last that I was watching some sort of new crime drama on tv (and we know there are not nearly enough of those), and all of the characters, both good and bad, were from The Waltons.  Please don't ask me why.  It would take my therapist and I a year at least to figure that one out.  I haven't seen the show in some time, though I know it is still shown in syndication on at least one cable channel, so it was quite strange that those characters appeared in my subconscious.

Growing up a Gen-Xer, my parents were still in control of the television and what was actually allowed to air in our home, so when it came to good ol' family television shows like The Waltons, we were allowed to watch, even if it was passed our bedtime.

Anyway, the next day, Poseidon and I drove to a small town near Raleigh, one that has a quaint resurrected downtown area, and on the way there, I saw a house that looked exactly the house in The Waltons.  It made me remember my dream.  This house looks like it is straight from the tv show, but it is only a couple of miles from this up-and-coming downtown area, and it made me think:  could a family like the Waltons exist today?

At first of course I thought, "No way in hell."  Then I put my opinion on hold because the Amish community popped into my head.  They truly do live like the Walton family.  They don't even have automobiles, which proves they can live pre-Walton style.  This lifestyle is a choice and they dig their heels in and refuse to step into the 21st century, yet they thrive as a community and a people.

I'm not saying I want to throw away my make-up and hair dryer (or my laptop for God's sake), put a hat and petticoat on and join that world, but when I think about past episodes of The Walton's, and as a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s and an adult in 2011, I find myself longing for something easier than now; something slightly more innocent and a great deal quieter and less hectic.

Good night Mama.  Good night John Boy.  Good night Mary Ellen.  Good night Waltons, wherever you are.

 

--Fortuitous Observer

The Obligatory Thanks for Thanksgiving 2010...I'm Thankful for Judge Mathis

My thanks this year is probably a bit more unconventional than years past, but here goes:  I am thankful for Judge Mathis.  I've been a fan of Mr. Mathis' over the years, catching a show here and there, and when I was laid off for a little while, he was my best friend and I spent everyday with him (on the tele of course).  Judge Mathis is awesome, but why am I thankful for him?

I'm thankful for Judge Mathis because of his litigants.  They make me feel so much better about my life.  I'm serious.  Tonight, crackhead mom is suing her daughter.  I haven't exactly ascertained why, but the daughter should probably be suing the crackhead mom (ok, former crackhead mom, she says she has been sober since 2005).  Either way, because it really doesn't matter, they are both sad human beings who made the wrong choices in life and now have to settle for a low, miserable existence, only because they don't have the confidence or intellect to get themselves back on track.  It doesn't take money to get yourself out of a hole, it takes gumption and intelligence.  I grew up poor in West Virginia, but fortunately was born with a great internal drive and the intellect to be awesome, despite my earlier circumstances, and that is exactly what I did.

I'm not making fun of the plaintive or defendant.  I feel sorry for them.  I'm rather lucky to have made the right choices in life, even when it would have been easier at times to make the wrong choices.  I'm thankful for Judge Mathis for helping me to see just how lucky I am!

 

--Fortuitous Observer

Well You Know My Name is Simon...Remember this Gen Xers?

Calling all Gen Xers out there!  Remember this little jewel as seen on Captain Kangaroo?  I LOVED this segment on Captain Kangaroo.  I wanted to be Simon, and draw my own world (seriously, I did, though I haven't brought that up with my therapist yet...should I?)  I remember eating my bowl of Sugar Corn Pops, in my pajamas, parked in front the television, humming along..."Well you know my name is Simon..."  I posted the lyrics below:

SIMON IN THE LAND OF CHALK DRAWINGS
Theme song from the segment on Captain Kangaroo Show (that Generation X Saturday morning staple)

Well you know my name is Simon,
and the things I draw come true,
Oh the pictures take me, take me over,
Climb the ladder with you.

Well you know my name is Simon,
and the things I draw come true,
Oh the pictures take me, take me over,
Climb the ladder with you.

Enjoy Generation X.  Go draw yourselves a wonderful day!

--Fortuitous Observer

Super Bowl XLIV Chick-style

I am a chick who enjoys football.  I like watching the games; I cringe when players take a hard hit to the head; I comment on who has the best looking butt and who has the dumbest looking mouth guard, and yes, being a woman, I also judge a team on the color of their uniforms (except Detroit, it doesn't matter what color they wear, they suck, and Cleveland does take the trophy for having the ugliest uniform colors, and they suck also).

I'm not an expert on all of the statistics of teams and players and l don't want to be because, well, I have a life and other interests and I'll leave that to every man in the country who has a football blog.  Having gotten that statement out of the way, here are my thoughts about game day this year (by the way, I'm running a 5K race Sunday afternoon, before the Super Bowl, in temperatures that are going to be less than 40 degrees, so depending on if I trip and scrape most of my face off on cold pavement or a toe freezes and falls off, I may not give a shit about Super Bowl XLIV):

1.  I'm not hiding the fact that I'm pulling for Indianapolis.  Why?  No special reason.  I don't dislike the Saints.  I love the city of New Orleans and no one on the team irritates me much.  Their uniform colors are ok, but I would like to see un update to the fleur di lis.  Maybe some funky shadowing or some ivy growing around it, I don't know, something to give it some pizazz.

2.  Drew Brees needs a hairstyle.  I think he has good hair, it just doesn't do anything to flatter him so he might want to visit a new hair salon.  Just my opinion.

3.  Petyon Manning needs a hairstyle.

4.  Peyton Manning has a great butt.  He is so boy-next-door cute that I just want to pinch his cheeks (face cheeks, let's keep it clean) or give him a noogie or something.  I can't help it.  Oh, and I think he is a great player, even though there was so much chatter on the internet about him choking and failing under pressure.  Whatever.

Now, there are rumors going around about he and his wife are divorcing, and I don't know if it's true or isn't true, but if he loses on Sunday, it could be due to those personal pressures he is under, so I hope all those Monday morning quarterbacks will keep that in mind.

5.  I'm interested in seeing the commercials because they haven't been funny in at least 3 years.  Oh, oh, wait, except for the one a couple of years ago where the guy used his girlfriend's white cat to clean up pasta sauce and she walked in and thought he was stabbing her cat because he had the cat dripping with sauce in one had and big butcher knife in the other hand?  That was hilarious.  Actually, I'm curious to see if CBS runs the so-called "pro-life" ad.  All I'm going to say about that one folks is this:  let's keep politics out of football.  It's bad enough we have politics in politics.

Life will go on after Super Bowl XLIV.  I barely remember who won last year (I know, I know it was Pittsburgh), and I'll forget by next year who even played this year, that is how important the whole thing is to me in the grand scheme of things, but everyone else is making their predictions, so I'm compelled to jump on the bandwagon:

Colts - 17; Saints - 13

--Fortuitous Observer 

I Miss My "Friends"

I don't watch weekly television shows now with any regularity (I try to watch House because I wish I could be as honest as he is...ok, maybe not that honest), but I was thinking today that I really miss Friends.

Friends was my favorite show back in the day.  I felt like the characters truly were my friends and when I came home after a rough useless day from work on Thursdays, I couldn't wait to unwind with a glass of wine and hang out with Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Ross, Phoebe, and Joey.  I tuned into my Friendsand tuned out the rest of the world.  I took solace in their plights, zinger lines, and recurring neuroticism.  I liked it there, in that funky small apartment in Manhattan.  It was a little like my own tiny apartment at the time, only I was living in downtown Raleigh, not Manhattan (I know, huge difference).

I think what attracted me to this series was the fact that I didn't have many friends of my own (and I still don't), and I envied their connection and closeness, yet was overjoyed with it at the same time.  I didn't have many friends because it was always difficult for me to find and make connections with people that go beyond superficial (and I still have this issue).  Not because most people are superficial, but because Idon't know how to connect.  This time, I'm not blaming other people...yeah!!!  I'm putting the blame solely on me.  Write that down folks because my next post will be back to blaming or bitching about someone else.

The older I get ('gulp', and I am getting older), the more I realize how important these deep connections with people are, and if you have them, count yourself lucky and don't screw them up.  As for me, more years of therapy to understand why I don't want to make friends, and fortunately, cable so I can catch my Friends almost any day of the week if I want to, just in case I do feel like playing.

--Fortuitous Observer