Day 13 – Favorite childhood show

This entry will be video heavy.  There is no show from my childhood that I love more than The Cosby Show.  Simply hearing the theme song(s) takes me right back to the living room, with our old TV and the red carpet and the comfy sofa.  Family time with us was also family time with the Huxtables.  I loved how their family seemed just like ours (only funnier), despite the obvious differences between us (the biggest being that they lived in that fancy, beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn!).

Below are just a few of my favorite bits, starting with my favorite bit.

Phylicia Rashad is basically the HBIC.

(I've thought of this moment so, so, SO many times over my lifetime.  Regular people.)

The best part?  Almost every single one of these scenes takes place in the SAME ROOM.  Man, I sure did love that living room.

(And with this, I'm all caught up!!)

[Fantastic Five Friday] Five Favorite TV Shows From Childhood

If you thought I was a mixed bag of random crazy before, you're definitely in for a treat today.  Thanks to The Weekly Enthusiast for this awesome meme of Fantastic Five Friday so I could take this trip down Memory Lane.  I feel this list will be very revealing into what it's like Growing Up Nerdy.

Starting with the most obvious:
1. My Little Pony/Strawberry Shortcake
Why did I combine 2 into 1?  For purposes of including more than 5 shows (technicalities FTW!) and also because I don't remember watching the TV series for these shows, only their standalone TV specials.  As a child, I referred to them as "movies" anyway.  According to legend, I would line up my Ponies on the sofa and watch their "movie" with them.  Reasons why I love the Internet?  The entire MLP episode is ON YOUTUBE.


As for Ms. Shortcake, here's a clip from "The Baby Without A Name," which I provide for its inclusion of The Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak.


2. Rainbow Brite
Now, there was a movie for Rainbow Brite that I loved, but this one did have a TV series!  And I loved it too!  I always thought that, as a wee Jeskuh, I looked like an IRL version of Rainbow Brite.  Sans yarn hair, of course.  For your enjoyment, here's a kind of awesome video of Rainbow Brite set to "We Are All Made of Stars" by Moby.  (Did I mention already that I love the Internet?)


3. Misfits of Science
AND now begins the random.  Have you heard of this show??  I'm guessing no.  It's cheesy 80s awesome, and it's a must-see for anyone who loves super hero shows.  My dad loved it, and he was apparently one of the only ones, because it never made it past Season 1.  However, he recorded them all (on VHS, natch), so I pretty much wore the tapes out watching them over and over and over.  I wanted to be Gloria when I was a kid.  If I ever get a chance to meet Courteney Cox, I should tell her that.  It'll blow her mind.


4. Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
I think this show might be the reason I love Spider-Man.  He was sort of a celebrity in our house since he taught my brother to read.  If you thought Misfits of Science was cheesy... man, you don't even know what awaits you in the clip below.  The Hubs can't abide this show because Ice Man and Firestar constantly and consistently cancel each other out.  He thinks Spider-Man is better than that.  Bonus: Stan Lee narrates many of the episodes, and he has the BEST voice!


AND FINALLY
5. Family Feud (but only with Ray Combs)
Every summer of elementary school, I would wake up to The Feud.  My brother and I would watch the two episodes, then immediately get our pool stuff ready to spend the rest of the afternoon swimming and playing basketball and swinging during Adult Swim (not to be confused with Adult Swim).  We had a FF game on our PC too, and each team had a Father, Mother, Brother, Sister... and Boy.  If you were the visiting family and you got a Strike, the Father put his finger up his nose.  Oh, the 80s.

Johnny Cash & Michael Jackson, we apologize.

When I heard the news that Johnny Cash died on September 12, 2003 (via a call from my cousin telling me that John Ritter died randomly and also "some guy named Johnny Cash?"), I immediately called my brother, who got me into Cash.  My bro said quietly, "I think I killed him."  After my response of "huuum-na?" he explained to me that the previous day (Sept. 11), he wore a black suit, black shirt, and black tie to work, and one of his students called him The Man In Black.  He admitted he'd never been called that before, which according to him, caused Johnny Cash to die.  It wasn't, you know, the diabetes and years of hard livin' or anything.

Fast forward to June 25, 2009.  I was at work at the Worst Law Firm Ever, and my GBF (who I miss more than life!) peeked over the cube wall and say, "Dude, Farrah Fawcett died!"  We had a moment of sadness, and we pressed on through the day.  After work, he and I were on the way back to my place (to get dinner and drop him off in DC), and we started talking about that Celebrities Die in Threes urban myth.  My theory is that each celebrity that passes has to be more famous than the one that died before, and the third one is the biggest star of them all.  Since Ed McMahon had also died earlier that week, we knew a third was coming, and we knew it had to be bigger than Farrah Fawcett.  Very nonchalantly, I threw into the ether, "It's gonna have to be like Michael Jackson or something!"

Unbeknownst to me, Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital about an hour before.

We walked in the door, and Hubs asked if we heard the news.  Confused as to why Hubs has suddenly taken an interest in Farrah Fawcett, I replied that we had.  Then, we glanced at the TV to find that, officially, MJ had been pronounced dead.  I slapped my forehead and yelled, "Oh crap!  I killed Michael Jackson!"

Maybe the craziness runs in the family.  Maybe we just don't have the proper brain filter during these trying times.  Maybe this is the most ridiculous story I have.  All I know is that, in times of celebrity death crisis, my brother and I still think we have to take the blame.

Yay weekend/Greatest name ever.

I am so excited for this weekend, which starts for me in about 4.5 hours.  I'll be getting homemade delicious dinner tonight from my uncle, hanging with the Cuz and her new little bit, and then heading back to my parents' house.  Tomorrow, Mom wants to go outlet shopping in Williamsburg, and she just SO twisted my arm to tag along!  THEN, we'll have an evening at the theater in Ghent... or rather, it's my faux-niece & nephew's end of the year play, so it will be more unpredictable than a night at the theater.  After that, the rest of my weekend is officially plan-free, but I PLAN on relaxing with the fam.  I haven't gotten to see any of them in a while, and the aforementioned fauxs are always always a good time.  They are just about as silly as can be, and usually one or both of them will say something completely off the wall that makes me love them more.

And on that cheery note, as well as in keeping with the theme from yesterday, I'm posting the video for the newest internet sensation, Greyson Chance.  First, I want to point out that Greyson Chance is an amazing name.  It sounds like a comic book character or something.  Either way, props to Mom and Pop Chance for that one.  Secondly, this kid did a piano cover version of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi.  It's not one of my favorite Gaga's, even with Eric Northman being in the video.  However, I could pretty much listen to this version all day.  It's soulful and sweet, and holy crap, can this kid sing!  (His Bieber haircut not withstanding)  In fact, this video is super popular right now, so much so that Ellen had him on the show today.  Thirdly, despite all the gushing I just did about this kid's awesome talent, my favorite part of this video is not him.  It's the girls behind him in the last row.  When he is starting, they look so bored.  When he sings... well, seriously, just watch them.  I have seen that happen in real time before, and it's so friggin' funny all over again.

My Grandpa

Looking over my last entry makes me smile, because I was so hopeful. My quite beloved grandpa died 3 days after I wrote that. I was able to see him on the 30th (though he slept the entire day), and I kissed his fuzzy little head and giggled at his stubble (Grandpa not clean shaven was something I had never seen) and I told him I loved him and that I wouldn't be angry if he left. So, the next morning, he did. It was peaceful and painless, and it's pretty much all we can all hope for in this world: to go quietly in your sleep surrounded by loved ones holding your hands and stroking your face.

Then, I had the most surreal birthday imaginable, where I was awakened by my parents and brother singing Happy Birthday at 8:04 am (my exact birthday), doughnuts and Dunkies, watching Sunday Morning in the sun room (G-ma and G-pa's Sunday tradition), staving off all birthday wishes if possible, and looking through album after album after ALBUM of pictures for ones to use at the viewing and funeral. I looked through all the pictures Grandpa deemed worthy of albums from 1982 until 2002, when he started keeping them online. Tony went through the computer, looking through slides from the 50's until... well, 1982, I guess, and then the others kept online.

Those who know the Borashes are well aware that we are some picture and video taking people. My mom documented every Prom, every band trip, every play with her Pentax 35mm camera, making us pose and taking beautiful pictures that some people liked more than their official Prom photo. My dad, however, is much worse. My life is literally on video. Every play, every concert from school and church, every milestone, every everything is on tape. Some friends have stated that they didn't know what my dad's full face looked like until after high school, when the camera was small enough to be handheld. In case you were wondering, we got that from Grandpa. Holy crap, did we ever.

We spent the next few days in a family bubble. When we went out into the real world, it was jarring and strange. I preferred to stay at Grandma's or our hotel. Being outside didn't feel right. I wanted the comfort of Jack and my family, and we all needed to be together. It was actually kind of nice. Usually, when we're all packed in one place like that, it gets really tense. There were moments, but we managed. Now, we have to look toward the future. None of us knows what is to come, but we know now that we can face it together.

Also, I've been watching so much Buffy lately, it's kind of insane. However, it kept my mind from reeling, and that was just what I needed.