nostalgia

I feel bad about my blog

~ angeliquetr ~ Leave a comment

I feel bad about my blog. No really, I do.  A couple of years ago I wanted to learn about blogging to understand how it fits in with marketing.  So I decided to launch my own blog and share all the stuff I’ve kept since I was a kid in the 80’s.  My blog was born!  Under the Lids held so much excitement, and such promise – I’ll post once per week!     Ok, this is more time consuming than I thought so – I’ll post once per month!    Well look at that, it’s been a year since my last post.

Circa 1980.

I shouldn’t be surprised.  My childhood diary also had such promise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know what’s sadder N.H.  or C. R.

That’s Nothing  Happened and Can’t Remember.  Please, I was 11.  What on earth was going to happen every day?  Oh I know  – a new crush.  (My boy-crush levels were epic.)  Some of my diary entries were actually kind of cute.  I’m hoping I can convince my kid to let me record him reading my words from when I was his age.

Kristen Laco of Mum Revised summed up blogging best in a recent post – The 8-Stage Life-Cycle of a Blogger.  Most blogs only last about 2 years, but many continue in a more random schedule of posts and shares.  This makes sense when you consider a lot of blogs, including mine,  are a side thing. For me there’s not a lot of time left over between work, family, and fun. Maybe there’s a 9th stage – the lazy blogger.  It’s easier to post a picture and short story on Instagram than spend a couple of hours working on a blog post.

So this isn’t goodbye, but more like see you around when the stars align for me with an idea, pictures, and time.   Until then, follow me on Instagram and see what else is under the lids.

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Holy crud! The Bad News Bears is 40!

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Do you think of opera when you hear Bizet’s Carmen or do you think of baseball?

The Bad News Bears theatrical release poster. c/o wikipedia
The Bad News Bears theatrical release poster. c/o wikipedia

This week marks the 40th anniversary of The Bad News Bears, one of my all-time favourite movies and what I think is arguably, one of the best sports movies ever.   I don’t have anything under the lids for this movie other than the memories.

In 1976 I was 7 years old and we lived in a small town.  A family friend owned the local movie theatre which meant we saw a lot of movies for free. That year was no exception with releases like Rocky and King Kong.   When The Bad News Bears came out, my brother and I saw it a bunch of times. There was something about this movie that I loved right off the bat.   I wasn’t into sports and didn’t play Little League.  It was kind of like a modern day Little Rascals but with a lot more swear words, although I think everyone said crud.  Perhaps it was early on-set puberty kicking in and this movie was filled with boys.

c/o Paramount Pictures
c/o Paramount Pictures

I had no idea what a bail bond was but yellow and white uniforms still make me think of Chico’s Bail Bonds.

 

 

 

 

bad news bears dvd
c/o Paramount Pictures

Over the years I would watch it every time it was on TV.  It became one of those weekend time-suck movies.  It seemed like it was always on, so I never bothered to buy it on VHS or DVD.  (40th Anniversary re-issue where are you??)

 

 

 

Of course, along the way there were sequels:

bad news2
c/o Paramount Pictures

Bad News Bears In Breaking Training – Starred William “Let them play! Let them play!” Devane

Bad News Bears Go to Japan – A movie about them going to Japan

Plus there was a TV spin off which I vaguely remember watching.   But I definitely didn’t see the 2005 remake even though Richard Linklater directed it.

Although technically not sequels, these movies are definitely off-spring of the original:  Bad Santa, Bad Teacher, Bad Grandpa.

When my hubs and I got married, we named the reception tables after ten of our favourite movies instead of using numbers 1-10. We sat at The Godfather,  while guests sat at The Bad News Bears.

Recently, I re-watched the movie promo and I cringed – were those racist slurs in a trailer?  How was it rated PG?   It’s hard to reconcile a beloved movie from my childhood with what would be considered so un-PC now.   Our 10 year old wants to see Bad News Bears but I think the viewer discretion disclaimer would have to go something like this:  Warning: This movie contains scenes that will be offensive to just about everybody even if you first saw it in 1976.  Yes things were a lot different then but that doesn’t mean you can say those kinds of things now.  Viewers may laugh at kids having a beer but this does not mean you condone underage drinking.  Scenes of children smoking and flirting may have seemed innocent then and but is definitely wrong now. Viewer discretion is advised.

Say what you want about Bad News Bears – I still love this movie.  Cue the orchestra.

P.S. Check out Dan Epstein’s excellent article on Rolling Stone about The Bad News Bears.

 

Bachelorette

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Bjork concert at The Warehouse circa 1998
Bjork concert at The Warehouse circa 1998

On Sunday January 25, the Kool Haus had their last line up for the women’s washrooms.   Off the top of my head, seeing Bjork in concert for the first time was one of my Warehouse/Kool Haus standout shows.  It was 1998 and she was touring Homogenic.   Bjork’s voice was unlike anything I’d heard before, and the concert included strings – be still my viola-playing heart.   She was equally impressive a few years later at the unforgettable outdoor show at Olympic Island.   When she was scheduled to play Echo Beach in 2013, tickets were $80, I was unemployed and decided I shouldn’t go.  All the reviews RAVED and I quickly realized this would be one of my biggest concert regrets ever.

Bjork Toronto Star Review circa 1998, Jane Stevenson's 5 Sun review
Bjork Toronto Star Review circa 1998, Jane Stevenson’s 5 Sun review

But back in 1998 my then boyfriend/now hubs Ian and I were dating and going to movies and concerts was what we did.  I really should do a retrospective on 1998 – so many concert stubs!   A memory from the Bjork concert wasn’t about Bjork, but Jared Leto.  This was just after the My So Called Life era.   We are at the concert mesmerized by Bjork’s performance when all of a sudden, Jordan Catalano was walking in my direction in s l o w   m o t i o n.  Then he was in front of me.  I froze. What to say to him without a)sounding like a 29 year old school girl and b) interrupting the amazing Bjork?  As he walked by I reached out and touched his arm.  It wasn’t a grab or tap or even a squeeze, just a light touch proving he was real and in front of me.   Did he stop and turn around?  Did he feel the electricity between us?  I’m not sure. The spell was quickly broken with Ian exclaiming “What was that?  Did you just touch him?”   .

 

Is Bjork returning to Toronto in support of Vulnicura,?   I for one, can’t wait. Until then have a listen to Bachelorette.

 

 

 

Hello World!

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Yearbox 1980-1984

Welcome to Under the Lids – a lighthearted look at life from my yearboxes.

I started to keep stuff around 1980. 

There was no rhyme or reason as to what I kept other than at the time, it was very important to me: concert tickets, movie stubs, rocks, a feather, clippings, notes passed in class…the list goes on.  Each year I started a new yearbox for no purpose other than to keep my stuff, and go back whenever I wanted.  About 20  years ago I organized the boxes, labelled them and put them in storage.

Who did 11 year old me have a crush on? (more like who didn’t she have a crush on).  What movies did 17 year old me go see?  What concerts did 28 year old me see with my then boyfriend/now husband?  What did 44 year old me do yesterday?

Take a trip down memory lane with me as I go under the lids for a nostalgic look back at music, movies, fashion, pop culture, and always a little bit of Bowie.

Angelique