Being the pop culture nerd that I am, I like to find any reason to watch certain movies because they’re tied to current events, they celebrate milestone anniversaries of their theater debut OR because they occasionally are to honor a hashtag holiday. This year, I’ve embraced all these reasons even more since there’s not as much to do so I’ve really risen (or fallen, to-ma-to, toe-ma-to) to new levels of Coach Potato-ism.

The recent election, that seems like a million years ago but was in reality only 2.5 weeks ago, gave me more than an unhealthy obsession with watching CNN and an unnatural tendancy to doomscroll Twitter. It bubbled up a few favorite presidential and patriotic movies I haven’t thought about in awhile. So if you’re looking for something to watch and aren’t ready for your holiday favorites just yet, give these a go. P.S. I’m counting down to January 20 when my president and vice president takes over. Couldn’t be more thrilled for Joe and Kamala. 2021 already feels like it will be better and the bar is super low. Dumpster Fire 2020 has been fan-fucking-tastic.

The American President

This gem of a movie just celebrated its 25th anniversary on November 17. AND, I ironically watched it two days before, not even realizing the upcoming milestone. The cast includes some of the best in the biz, with Michael Douglas, Annette Bening and Michael J. Fox, to name a few. Aaron Sorkin wrote it and Rob Reiner directed it, two of my favorites behind the screen too. It’s a feel good movie and always makes me cry but if you talked to my daughter, just about everything I watch these days makes me cry. What can I say – I’m easily moved OR just getting old.

The Way I See It

I don’t watch a ton of documentaries but this one I could watch over and over again and will. Former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza documented the photographic journey of both Obama and Reagan’s administrations. His eye for detail in capturing all the things you wouldn’t normally see within their lives was awesome. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time because he was. The hardest working photographer job maybe ever or at least shortlisted with a few others. His love for these two leaders and their families was immense and felt through his photography. I too went through many tissues watching this one and get weepy thinking about it as I type this. Pete’s Insta account is great too, if you’re not already following him.

All the President’s Men

Woodward and Bernstein were my journalism heros growing up. They likely had a lot to do with why I wanted to go to journalism school, along with Walter Cronkite. This movie chronicles the Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the famous duo working for The Washington Post. It still holds up since debuting in 1976 as one of the best political thrillers, winning four Oscars. I don’t recall it ever making me cry the many times I’ve watched but there’s always next time.

Primary Colors

A dramedy I’ve seen more times than I can count. John Travolta stars as a politician running for president only to have some of his scandalous skeletons in the closet make their way to the news outlets, as they always do. The rest of the cast is awesome too including Emma Thompson and Kathy Bates. There are definitely some weepy moments in this one as I recall.

Speechless

Michael Keaton and Gina Davis play speech writers working for opposing candidates on the campaign trail. It’s so much fun. I love these two in any of their films. They’re always solid actors with comedies being some of their very best work.

The Contender

I nearly forgot about the amazing Joan Allen and this flick. It’s been a bit since I’ve seen it but man, is it good. She plays a senator in line to be VP but again, some not-so-great information from her past resurfaces, causing her some major drama.

The Distinguished Gentleman

Eddie Murphy plays a conman who masquerades as a Congressman in D.C. Bet that’s never happened in real life. This movie is classic Eddie with lots of laughs and a fun cast.

Need more? Here’s a great list.

I’ve missed two things the most during Dumpster Fire 2020: Going to concerts and going to the movie theater. I’ve been known to have a pretty packed concert calendar and luckily, most of the shows that I was going to see have been postponed and not just outright cancelled. So that’s a good thing – just a little longer to wait, in some cases, clear until next year. But, they’re still coming to town so I will be there with bells on.

How they accomplish pulling off a concert when they want everyone to social distance is another story. Same goes for the movie theaters but you can easily block seats out for a movie to keep it at limited capacity, I suppose, but what do you do with concert venues? You’re packed in like sardines, typically, AND with GA tickets, it’s a free-for-all in the Pit. And, a lot of previous shows have been sold out for a long time so how will that work? Multiple days they have to perform to limit the seating? Hmmm, it’s a predicament. So yeah, not sure how that’s all going to shake out but here’s hoping they figure out what to do. I’ll show up in a mask all…day…long.

I’ve been following Dave Grohl’s stories throughout this whole shit show and loving all his writing. He posted this one the other day that made me think of writing my own version and reminiscing more about past awesome concerts I’ve attended, in particular back when I worked with the radio station. It’s ironic, and a tad creepy, too, that as I write this, I’m listening to SiriusXM 90s on 9 and The Smashing Pumpkins are playing. It’s the perfect segway to tell you about one of the most awesome experiences I’ve been lucky enough to lock away in my concert memory.

As I told you before, I slowly started gaining the respect of the Edge radio station crew and they started having me go to more shows with them, continuing to document everything with my fancy digital camera to post on the website. One show in particular was truly a treat. Like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Smashing Pumpkins were going on a back-to-their-roots tour, playing at dive bars and venues they originally performed out early in their band career. The only way you could attend any of the shows was to win tickets from local radio stations. It was limited to about 20 people total. A couple of winning fans and the radio station people. Whatever you could squeeze in to that number. The dive bar that had been on their roster for the Phoenix area was Boston’s in Tempe. A real pit of a place, near the Big Surf water park. Many famous bands had graced its stage back in the day but man, it was a hole. This would clearly be the most action this place had seen in a long time. And, I was asked to attend with the DJs, the head of promotions and the couple fans who won tickets. It was beyond cool.

They set up a small stage out back in their open patio area. It was February 10, 2000 so the weather was perfect. I was maybe 10 feet a way from the stage as Billy Corgan glided up there, neck to toe in a heavy canvas black dress, one of his signature “looks”. He honestly looked like he floated, just by the way he carried himself and the fact that the dress went all the way to ground, over his Doc Martens. His bald dome was gleaming in the sunlight. And, we could hear the insane amount of people freaking the fuck out on the other side of the fencing, just hanging out in the parking lot to listen. The fence was high, not chain link, so no one but the handful of us within the patio could see the band. But oh, you could hear them. It was fantastic. The lady bass player was awesome, as was the lead guitarist and the drummer too. But man, Billy as the lead. He was something. They came back to town that year on May 19 and the promotions girl who ended up being really, really good to me over time, gifted me tickets to take a friend of mine to see them at the Mesa Amphitheater, since she never had experienced their awesomeness. It wasn’t the same as the back patio of an old dive bar but was still grand.

I carry this memory and many, many other awesome live concert experiences with me to this day and really hope, fingers crossed, the experiences continue on. Seeing live music is good for the soul. There’s nothing like it. Sure, you can listen to their music or watch a recorded show on YouTube but live, with your friends and family, beer in hand, and thousands of others that dig them too, is a special kind of situation.  There’s really nothing like it. And I need to damage my hearing just a little more. 42 years worth hasn’t been nearly enough. Cheers to live music and getting back out there! Fuck the Rona!

I watched the first two episodes of The Last Dance, the ESPN Chicago Bulls docuseries, all about Michael Jordan’s reign as the king of the team, the championships, the works. It was a walk down memory lane, not because I’ve ever been a big fan of the team but because of the era it all came from. The era I played a lot of basketball, in junior high and high school. The era I was a die-hard NBA fan. The era I watched so much basketball that it brought me and my family to Phoenix to see the Suns play the Bulls and then to college at ASU in 1996 and I’ve been here ever since. The era my dad and I didn’t miss a game because when Sir Charles Barkley was on TV there wasn’t anything else that would pull us away. Those games were an event at our house.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I loathed the Bulls because of my devotion for the Suns. But, I appreciated Michael. I knew he was literally a game changer and arguably the greatest of all time. Sorry Kobe and LeBron fans. It’s just a simple fact. Neither of them had that signature tongue and finger roll, nor were they asked to star in one of the greatest movies of all time, Space Jam. I mean, co-starring with Bugs Bunny?!! COME ON! All kidding aside, he was awesome to watch and I can say I got to see him play live, one time, in the rafters of the then America West Arena in downtown Phoenix with my pop and ma, where we learned about one-way streets in my pop’s Ford 350. You likely aren’t surprised to know that when you’re barreling down a street, the wrong way, in the equivalent of a small bus, other cars pull over and honk. We learned really fast how to properly roll in the big city.

I think it was February 1994, around President’s Day weekend, when I had an extra day off from school. I was a sophomore in high school. We made the big trip to Phoenix, about a 10-hour drive. I hadn’t done much research on colleges yet and my pop, no joke, when we got to town, said he’d seen freeway signs as we were driving for a nearby college and did I want to check it out. Sure. We followed the signs that led us to University Drive in Tempe. The ASU campus, to a country bumpkin like me, was something I’d really never imagined. And it had been snowing back home in Bishop, California so seeing kids in roller blades and shorts sold me on the school. It was the only college I applied to. Now, the Cinderella in me would love to tell you that I got a basketball scholarship and that’s all she wrote but nope, I was no Michael Jordan or even close. Just a stocky power forward that did however learn how to throw up threes in a pinch, sort of Dan Majerle-esque, to get away from the towering Amazons that I typically played against.

After checking out Tempe and a little bit of the ASU campus (mostly Mill Ave, to be honest:)), we toured around downtown Phoenix and saw the sights like Hooters at the Arizona Center and found Marjele’s Sports Grill too. I think we ate there or maybe tried to and it had been packed – can’t remember.

Game time was everything I had hoped and then some compared to the TV broadcast we were all so familiar with. Our seats were up in the nose-bleed section with all the die-hard fans who even at that time couldn’t afford to sit downstairs because tickets were already pricey. It honestly didn’t matter. I would have sat in the janitor’s closet if there was a view of the court. We quickly bonded with fellow Suns fans around us as that yelled out things like “Sit down Sea Hag!” for Scottie Pippen. If you’re familiar with the old Popeye cartoons, you’ll remember that character, an enemy of Popeye and his crew, and Scottie does have a nose that is very similar to the sea witch. But, although there was a ton of disdain for the rest of the Bulls line-up, you didn’t hear people trash talk Jordan. It was hard to do when the guy was so fucking good. It was a love-hate relationship for most basketball fans or at least for my family. As much as we loved the Suns team, we had to respect Jordan and the increased level of play that he brought to the court, brought out in his teammates and all the teams they came up against.

The Suns played hard, as did the Bulls, and if memory serves and my research is correct, the Suns won by one point. It was a crazy ending, as I remember, and Marjele threw up many successful three-pointers, so many in fact that the commentators at the game and on the news said they’d be serving drinks on “trays” at his bar. We walked that way after the game and the bar wall-to-wall fans, spilling out onto the street. Out front, in the parking spot right on the street, was a black Mercedes with the license plate “Nine”, his number and probably one of many cars he owned. There wasn’t a chance to actually catch a glimpse of him inside because it was a mob scene but he’d surely be partying with his teammates well into the wee hours of the morning.

Seeing Sir Charles play and the rest of the team was great. And, for the Suns to press the Bulls as hard as they did was heaven. Jordan scored a ton of points, as he always did, and it was great to see them all battle it out on the court. Basketball was insanely good then to watch and be a fan. Our trip to the big city was very memorable and in August 1996, when I got to ASU for my freshman year, that was also the first year that Sir Charles went to play with the Houston Rockets. Go figure. He clearly didn’t get the memo that his number one fan was finally in town. We did get to see the Suns play one more time against the Utah Jazz before Sir Charles left and it was another crazy fun time.

I’ve been to a few games in recent years and it’s really never been the same for me. The Jock Jams music, the Suns Gorilla and the vibe in that arena is still there but the team has had big shoes to fill for a long time. The retired jerseys hanging from the ceiling, along with the Western Conference Championship banners are full of memories. I did enjoy watching Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire and Grant Hill play in later years. But, they were still a close second to Barkley and team.

I’m looking forward to the rest of The Last Dance and my continued walk down the NBA Memory Lane. I honesty didn’t know much about what was going on with the Bulls and the wild internal struggles they faced as they entered that last championship year in 1998. ESPN has done an awesome job with the series and I’ll keep soaking it up. I heard Sir Charles makes an appearance because they interview all the greats from the Jordan era. I’ll have my tissue box ready since I know I’ll be weepy. Blame it on the Rona or just my old age. Nostalgia chokes me up the older I get and when I remember awesome family memories. Cheers to basketball and the Jordan era. Thank you for entertaining us and bringing all that magic to the court. The teenager in me will never forget it.

 

The past two years have been like a Christmas miracle. One of my favorite sitcoms, Will & Grace, came back for another run. It really has been a TV gift and a love letter to the fans.

Only until recently, since I’m at home with more time on my hands then usual, has it finally sunk in that it’s coming to an end, a real end this time. Thursday, April 23, is the final episode. I plan on making quarantinis in honor of my favorite quartet and, of course, for Karen Walker. And, I won’t pour one out for my homies, since that would be wasteful. I am my father’s daughter

A week ago, a special episode aired. They performed a tribute to I Love Lucy, showcasing scenes from some of the top episodes and fan-favorites including Lucy Does a TV Commercial (Vitametavegimin), Job Switching (The Candy Factory) and Lucy’s Italian Movie (The one where she goes grape-stomping). Each actor played different roles and switched during the episode. It was fantastic and the amount of time spent researching and watching the physical movements of the original characters was crazy – it was frame-by-frame perfect with some additional Will & Grace cast ad-libbing.

Growing up, I was a huge I Love Lucy fan. It was a show that my grandma and I could watch together and laugh for hours. It was tough finding much of anything that my grandma liked. She was a tough old broad, what you would call a Grumpy Cat these days. This show helped to lighten her mood and we never missed watching all the reruns together. She bought me a VHS series of the best of the best and we watched those over and over again during her visits to my house and I’d take them with me to watch at her house too. It was our thing. Aside from occasionally fishing together, those were the best memories I had of my grandma enjoying something. There was likely no better actress than Lucille Ball who could have broken down grumpy barricades. And, since I wasn’t a fan of Lawrence Welk, my grandma’s other favorite show, I Love Lucy was our common ground.

My grandma passed away in 2010, a few months shy of her 92nd birthday. She had a really great run, as they say. The other night, while watching the Lucy tribute episode, I’m sure she was laughing along with us. There’s zero chance she missed it. I saved the episode to rewatch, it was that good. I know I’ll need more Lucy and Will & Grace laughs before too long. It’ll help balance out all the horror shows I watch and death metal I listen to.

Big thanks to the cast and crew of Will & Grace for tackling that iconic comedy. You too are in the iconic comedy category and I’m sure Lucy was impressed. Cheers to you and eleven seasons of laughter!

I’m a huge Foo Fighters fan. My bestie and I were actually supposed to be at the opening show of their 25th Anniversary Big Red Van Tour on Easter Sunday night, seeing Dave Grohl and the boys rock out with us Phoenicians. Luckily, it will now be an early Christmas present in December and they didn’t have to cancel our tour stop.

Aside from the awesome tunes that Dave writes, he started an Instagram account of Dave’s True Stories during this dumpster fire. They are so great and so funny. I’m hoping he collects them for a book or keeps writing after everything is back to the new normal. But, it’s inspired me to put some of my own stories down on this blog, how I have in the past, but in particular, a few that fall into the rock ‘n’ roll category. Yes, there actually are some of those. So here goes nothing. This one’s for Dave.

I had an internship at a dot com my last semester of college at ASU. I was graduating with a B.A. in Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in May 2000. My guidance counselor helped me get the internship at AccessArizona.com and it was paid which was really hard to come by so I was thrilled. I wouldn’t have to work an extra job – just that one. It wasn’t exactly front page, ambulance-chasing news like I wanted but lots of fun entertainment stuff that I dug. They gave me a lot of freedom to create fun new sections of the site like Downtown Amy Brown where I wrote a column reviewing the latest music venues and local bands around town. It was fun. And, after being there one month, I turned 22, so was still in my newbie legal drinking-mode. It was perfect for hitting the town on the regular.

In addition to running a few entertainment channels of the website, I was also gifted the “Webmistress” title for running the Edge’s website. Now, the Edge was all alt-rock radio station in Phoenix that sadly no longer exists. It was awesome in its hayday. We had a number of partnerships with local radio stations where in exchange for us running their websites, they’d give us free advertising for our website. Seemed like a good tradeoff, one would think. But man, those radio personalities could be a handful.

For example: I’d be driving to work to Downtown Phoenix from my condo in Mesa, so a bit of a drive. This was in 2000 so not as much traffic as we have now but still Rush Hour. I’d be listening to the morning show and they’d say things like “This will be on our website within the next 10 minutes so check it out!” Yeah, good times. I was more like their radio bitch a good chunk of the time but all-in-all, it was still a ton of fun especially at 22 years old. And, when I finally broke through the barrier of their too-cool-for-school attitudes, I became close with a number of the DJs and the promotion folks, letting me tag along to shows because they wanted to make sure they got photo slideshows of everything. So the “Webmistress” was finally part of the gang and not just some dumb college kid (who then graduated and got a full-time gig with AccessArizona, BTW).

That summer after I graduated, they had their big annual EdgeFest, a full afternoon and night of bands at what’s now Ak-Chin Pavilion. I think it was in June or July, so nice and hot. I usually avoid that music venue in the summer but I was the Webmistress and ready to rock out with my trusty digital camera. I don’t recall all of the line-up but I remember some of the highlights – Cypress Hill, Bush and Everclear.

Pistol Pete, one of the DJs, was my very favorite. I loved paling around with him – he was ton of fun and such a character. He had a ginormous crush on Gavin Rossdale, the frontman for Bush (and now ex-husband of Gwen Stefani). He told me leading up to the fest that his goal was to find him, have him sign a poster and was very hopeful for a big hug too.

That night, in between snapping photos of the other bands backstage and the sidestage where there were all the pre-show interviews, we walked by tour bus after tour bus yelling “GAVIN! WHERE ARE YOU, GAVIN??!!” like the couple of crazies we were. We weaved our way in and out of the buses, dodging bodyguards and security. We had official backstage passes so that was excuse enough for us to be super-coo-coos. Bush was the second to last band before Everclear would close out the night. And the band before them was on stage right then.

We struck out with the tour buses and decided to head inside to the green room. And sure enough, there was Gavin in the hallway, tall and hot as ever, talking to some fans. I’m pretty certain Pete nearly passed out when he saw him and he grabbed my arm and squeezed.

“Oh. My. GAWD, honey, it’s HIM!”

I got my camera at the ready and we walked as slowly as we could up to him, not being too neurotic, but picking up the pace as we saw that he was ending his coversation with the couple of fans and starting to walk away. I wasn’t going to miss out on Pete getting that autograph on his poster and most importantly, that hug. I also wanted to fangirl a bit and at least get my ticket stub signed.

I honestly don’t even remember the conversation we had – I just remember how nice and gratious he was, especially to Pete, who had turned three shades of red and did get that autograph and hug he had been dreaming of. I snapped multiple photos that I’m sure Pete printed and hung up everywhere he could. I remember one being in his office at the radio station.

They went on stage shortly after and we ran out front to watch, both of us grinning ear-to-ear. They were awesome – I hadn’t seen then perform before so it was a real treat. And, that we’d just met Gavin, made it even sweeter. They could have sung nursery rhymes. It didn’t matter – we’d achieved Pete’s goal and that was that.

We then went backstage and watched Everclear from Stage Left. It was beyond surreal to look out at the crowd when I was always used to being in the crowd. The sound of the fans and the loud music combo was overwhelming, not to mention the heat exhaustion and all the beer I’d had. It was one of the best nights of my life. I think I slept for a full 24 hours, once I got home at around 5 a.m. It’s tough partying like a rock star. The cliche is so fucking true. That was the first night of a few more memorable shows I was fortunate to be invited to. Pete was always so great to let me be his sidekick and I loved him for that.

Years later I saw Bush open for Nickelback. Yes, I’m a huge fan of Nickelcrack, as my bestie and I call them, and proud of it. And no, I don’t care that a pickle has more fans then they do. I still dig ’em.

When Bush took the stage at the Pepsi Arena in Denver, I couldn’t help but smile and remember that epic summer night. It would never fade, no matter the years or excessive drinking. It was locked away in my memory forever, as it should be, and came back in a rush as soon as they started playing Glycerine. Thanks, Gavin, for the sweet, sweet memory and Pete, for everything.

 

 

 

So there really are no words to describe what all has happened but I’ll try.

First of all: What the actual FUCK?! Did y’all think something like this could ever happen?! Did you ever think that Disneyland would close for an indefinite amount of time?!  Man, it just feels like a bad movie. Like a Lifetime bad movie. There are literally days like today where I wake up thinking, and forgetting, this dumpster fire is still happening and yep, I have to first remember what day it is, because that’s a struggle and then second yep, remind myself that this shitshow is REAL. Then, I decide if I’m going to really “get ready” or just throw on a hat. You decide what’s my typical daily routine. My “Chaos Coordinator” trucker hat has seen a lot of action.

When this all started, I decided to be lazier than usual but try something new, since ya know, got some time on my hands. I’ve been rambling on a pseudo podcast. I’ve got the writing thing down, or at least I think I do. You tell me?! BUT, I’ve wanted to try the spoken word for awhile and with a face for radio, a podcast was born. Originally, Syd had wanted to try one this past summer. I gave her the opportunity to do it now but no go – now that she’s 13, she’s too cool for school and her mom most of the time. That’s ok though – I’ve been enjoying it and it’s mostly for me because I think I’ve gotten a handful of people listening. It’s just stupid shit, things to do and watch, my comedy, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, if you’re interested, you can check it out here. I hope to get some “special guests” on there at some point but that would require me to plan a little bit and right now I’m just flying by the seat of my pants. I have a little notebook that I jot down funny things, entertainment updates, things to do and anything else I think of to collect for my daily rants and that’s about it. The notebook does say “Girl Power” on the front so there’s that. Super low budget. So we’ll see about roping some of my friends and family into the mix…if they’re willing.

Otherwise, for me, being an extreme extrovert as in I was given the title “Cruise Director” long ago because I’m the planner for my friends and family, this whole COVID-19 disaster has been super-shitastic. Concerts and events cancelled or postponed, the movie theaters shutdown, restaurants and local businesses just trying to keep afloat (but knowing most won’t be able to reopen), people suffering and dying…fuck…just the world on pause and having to take everything one day at a time, and a day at a time that feels like years. I can’t wait to go to an event again, actually sit down in one of my favorite restaurants and bars, see a movie in a theater, and most importantly, see my mom and my friends all in person.

I’ve managed to continue to be a shopaholic from the comfort of my own home and get tons of shit from my fam because of all the packages that keep arriving but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. And I’m supporting local, GOD DAMNIT! I’ve even done some baking which means pigs have officially started flying, along with a hellmouth opening up next to my pool. Betty Fucking Crocker, right here. FML.

The meme game is stronger than ever right now too – it’s amazing to see how clever people are. There are A LOT of funny peeps out there. Give ’em a quarantine and they go to town! And that Tiger King shitshow on Netflix, that brought out a whole new batch of crazies. What a show! Meme after meme and GIF after GIF. It’s crazy fun! It definitely helps to pass the time and laugh. Laughter is the best medicine after all and the ONLY medicine I want to have at this point…well, that and beer. There’s always beer.

Speaking of beer, has that not been the strangest thing you’ve witnessed at the grocery store during this mess? The TP is gone yet the booze aisle is still fully stocked. Makes zero sense and it’s still like that every week we go! That’s what I’m hoarding, just saying.

The free entertainment is at an all-time high. Bands performing from their livingrooms, late-night talk show hosts doing the same. New shows coming out left and right on streaming services and movies on VOD. It’s hard to even keep up there’s so much to check out. It’s awesome to see everyone helping people stay home. And, the gifting and donations is beyond wonderful! Everyone pitching in to help. No matter what anyone says because the White House is run by a reality show assclown, Americans still do what they need to in a time of crisis and all on their own – they just dig in where they need to. Not all heros wear capes.

Well, there’s not much more to say than stay the fuck at home, stay safe and wash your fucking hands. Three step process. That’s it and then maybe we can finally go back to normal, whatever that normal will be now. Just as long as I can start filling my calendar up again, that’s all I ask. I’ve got shit to do, people to see and places to go. Oh the places we’ll go. Thanks, Dr. Seuss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other night, when I got home from work, Adventures in Babysitting was playing on one of our movie channels. That movie is a classic for me. I’ve seen it too many times to count.

When I went to Chicago for the first time a few years back, I spotted the building that the little girl slides down in the movie, as Elisabeth Shue is attempting to babysit she and her brother, along with her brother’s best friend, who’s just along for the adventure that night. It’s a crazy ride from start to finish.

It got me thinking about all the adventures my ma and I have had over the years, 41 years to be exact, since this week is her birthday. We haven’t slid down any buildings but there’s still plenty of time to make that happen.

She’s always been a good sport with all my crazy ideas. The older I get the crazier the Cruise Director itinerary gets and she always comes along with a smile.

Early on, she was the Cruise Director and introduced me to all the things that I continue to love today: movies, tv shows, music, celebrities, travel, shopping, Disney, to name a few.

On trips back and forth from Southern California to Bishop, we listened to my Star Wars book with R2-D2 telling me to turn the page. It was always a long trip so we listened to it many, many times and spoke fluent droid. We had epic camp outs on our pullout couch, watching movies like Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman, when my pop was out of town working. We listened to the soundtrack tapes for the movies until my mom’s truck nearly ate them.

We went to the theater to see movies as much as possible, first when I was little, at a cool theater in San Bernardino, before we moved to Bishop. They played all the Disney classics. We’d sometimes go to the big theater at the mall to see movies like Star Wars and The Goonies. When we got a VCR, that was a game changer. We spent a lot of time at the video store and I would rent the same movies over and over, similar to how I would check out library books.

Once we moved to Bishop, we went to a little twin theater that *sometimes* had the movie on opening weekend, if we were lucky. It literally only played two movies each week and still does to this day. We also spent a lot of time at the video store, the big one and then we’d peruse the small selection at the convenience store near our house. Weekends that weren’t spent seeing a movie at the theater consisted of take-out pizza and a video, one that was for us, a comedy, drama or romance and one that was usually for my pop, a “shoot-em-up” as he called them. More times than not, he’d actually watch both with us.

We traveled some during school breaks and holidays. My pop worked too much so my mom and I went on many trips just the two of us or with other family and friends. Lots of shopping trips to Reno or to Southern California to see family. I’ll never forget when we saw Jurassic Park at a huge stadium-style theater by my aunt’s house in Fullerton. Dolby surround sound was very new and it literally felt like the dinos were in the room with us. It was awesome and ironically that was about 26 years ago this week, since the movie just had its anniversary. Or, the time we were in Sacramento when I was in the state History Day competition during junior high and we went to see Basic Instinct. We didn’t *really* know what we were in for with the movie and to this day we still look at ice picks in a completely different way…and Sharon Stone too.

Theme parks have always been on our agenda too. From Disneyland and Knotts to Magic Mountain and Universal Studios, we’ve made the rounds and even to Florida for Disneyworld. So much fun and so many memories.

There have been lots of concerts over the years too, along with Broadway shows. My ma loved Kenny G so we took a trip to Reno to see him perform for her birthday that year. I remember we laughed at all the crazy women swooning over him, especially when he came out into the crowd and stood up on a chair, playing his instrument. You would have thought he was as popular as the Beatles, based on the crowd’s reaction. It was hilarious. I know they were all just hoping for one of those curly locks to fall at their feet for their scrapbooks.

Many other events too like the Kentucky Derby, a bucket list birthday trip for my ma’s 70th birthday, a ton of Cirque Du Soleil shows here in Arizona and other locations and trips to Vegas to see the awesome magic of David Copperfield and Barbara Mandrell, my first real concert as a kid.

We drove to Arizona in my first car, a Mitsubishi Mirage, that had terrible AC, to tour ASU, in July. It would shake at stoplights and blow hot air most of the time. It was one of the hottest summers on record in the Phoenix area and my ma kept asking me if I was really sure I wanted to go to college in Arizona. We mapped out all the malls in town, walking around in the cool air for as long as we could, found whatever shade we could park under and we sat at Majerle’s in Downtown Phoenix for what felt like hours, and likely was, drinking as much iced tea as the waitress could pour. She ended up sitting with us, since the restaurant was dead, since it was the Suns’ off season. It was just a place we knew well, having come to town to see the Suns play a few times. (By the way, I got my car serviced and the AC worked *ok* after that. I only had to drive it a couple more years until I got my bad-ass Mustang from my pop and ma that had zero AC issues.)

We’ve even stalked celebrities, like Charlie Sheen. Our adventure list goes on and on and will continue since the Cruise Director never stops. Thank you, Ma, for not only always being my biggest fan, and now Syd’s too, but for always humoring me over the years with my crazy shenanigans. You’ve always showed me how to live and love. In the words of one of our favorite movie characters, Clairee Belcher, from one of our all-time favorite movies,”You know I love you more than my luggage.” Happy Birthday! XOXO

 

 

On May 16, 1986 Top Gun opened at theaters. I was 8. I remember seeing it on VHS when it finally was available and I think I about wore out the tape. I know for sure I nearly ruined the soundtrack cassette. It is hands-down one of my top 10 favorite movies, to date. I had to make that Facebook official recently when I was tagged in one of those pseudo-chain mail thingies. I usually never give in when I get tagged but because this one was all about the movies I love, I couldn’t resist.

Aside from watching the movie one million times over the past 33 years, I also can sing every word to every song on the soundtrack, again, bordering on ruining the tape. Current movie soundtracks just aren’t like they were in the 80s, or at least it feels like that. Again, it could be that I’m just marinating in nostalgia so forgive me if that’s the case. Sometimes you get one or maybe two catchy songs that are overplayed on the radio. But, those classic movies are jam-packed with anthems that you know for life, that when they come on the radio, you risk blowing out your speakers because you turn it up to 11 and drive like your hair’s on fire. When Kenny Loggins comes on, everyone around me on the freeway better look out.

In 8th grade, my obsession for Top Gun was blossoming, just like me. We had a mother/daughter luncheon and fashion show. We had one or two cool stores to shop at in my little home town. It was either that or K-Mart but either way, everyone looked like everyone else because there was only so many options. I lived for shopping trips to Reno, NV where I knew I would find things that *maybe* no one else would show up in at school. The interwebs did not exist so that was my ticket to coolness.

We all got our two outfits for the fashion show at Beno’s. We also got to choose the music for the runway. I honestly don’t remember one of the songs that I chose and walked to in a rare appearance of me in a dress. But, I do remember the other song. It was “Playing with the Boys” by Kenny Loggins from the Top Gun soundtrack. It plays during one of the most iconic scenes of the movies – the volleyball scene. One could argue that the whole movie is iconic scene after iconic scene but this is seriously number one or two. I played the song for my hubby recently and he didn’t even remember it. I nearly divorced him on the spot. Now, to his credit, it’s no “Danger Zone” but c’mon, the VOLLEYBALL SCENE! How could he not remember?! I’ve since gotten over this betrayal.

Now, I was a huge volleyball fan and a decent player. I actually was co-MVP with my other best friend that year. I played on a hard court with six on a team, but tried beach volleyball, only to realize how fucking hard it was to move around in the sand. Growing up in the high desert and mountains, we didn’t have a lot of sand. My best friend and I, on many summer break occasions to the beach, thought we could just roll right into it and kick-ass like we did on the court. Yeah, right. It was in the words of Charles Barkley, TUURRIBLE. We spent most of our time just admiring the hot guys and cheering them on, which was a-ok too but we always had Maverick and Goose aspirations.

My volleyball fashion show outfit, complete with an actual volleyball in-hand, was a hooded flower top with white jean shorts and white high tops. I played basketball too so just about every shoe in my closet at the time was a Nike, along with some Vans. I also wore shades, a must. And yes, the pictures you see here are from my yearbook – our little school had limited events so they needed to fill those pages. When you reached the 8th and final year, you got a lot more real estate in the book, too. My best friend rocked a volleyball too but you only get to see me in that dress…and bangs that were their own zip code.

Say what you will about ol’ Tom Cruise but he makes great movies and timeless classics that are hard to top. I know he’s a hot mess when it comes to his personal life and all the crazy Scientology crapola but man, he can entertain. I also think whatever deal he made with the Scientology Devil err Head Alien, what’s his name…David Miscavige, has worked out to make him not really age. It’s clearly worth every terrible, guilt-ridden penny. He’ll be 57 on July 3 and still looks amazeballs.  Crazy looks good on him, just sayin’.

When news broke that they were finally making a sequel to Top Gun, that day was like Christmas for me. Now, they’ve pushed back the release date some and that was like cancelling Christmas or at least postponing it a wee bit but it’s still on the calendar for June 26, 2020. I will be there with my aviators and dog tags on, maybe even a fly boy jump suit. One can never know for sure. By 2020 I clearly will be even more nostalgic and even more crazy than I am now. I mean, that’s really only a year away. Let me write that again, A YEAR AWAY. Fuck me – time is just cruisin’ (get it?!;)) faster than Maverick in his F-15! I’ll be ready to buzz the tower a couple of times over, just like Maverick. In the meantime, I’ll keep showing up to Alamo Drafthouse for their movie parties and next time, I will *try* to refrain from reciting the whole movie and singing all the songs like an asshole. Maybe one less beer next time too…nah.

 

 

Sixteen years ago today my pop passed away. He was only 58 years old. Cancer is a real motherfucker. His love for both cigarettes and vodka likely didn’t help but we all have vices. You have to enjoy life and if vices help with that, bring it.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. I have two great reminders I wear daily – his pinkie ring and wedding ring.

My mom gifted me his pinkie ring when he passed away. He bought it with his earnings from the Air Force when he was in Vietnam. He came home from the war and he asked my grandpa what he should do with all that he saved. He said to put it in diamonds. So the pinkie ring is really choice. Always loved it and it fits perfectly on my ring finger. My mom then surprised me for my 40th birthday with his wedding ring. She added my birthstone, my hubby’s and daughter’s too. My mom always outdoes herself with gifting but this was by far the most special gift I’ve ever received.

When I opened up the package, I cried at the center island in our kitchen. I knew right away what it was. My daughter was there with me and she ran in to tell my husband that I was balling in the kitchen. She’s not at the point in her life to be sentimental with her emotions. Someday *maybe* she’ll soften.

Aside from my rings, I hear or see things that remind me of my pop all the time. Whether it’s a clever joke that would be a pop-ism or my own curse words that he gifted me, he’s always with me. “Fuck” was for sure my first word, whether my mom will admit it or not. My pop held nothing back and used curse words for commas, just like me. My mom attempted to make me a lady but quickly realized I was just going to talk like a sailor. I grew up on a construction crew so it was inevitable.

My pop and mom both got me hooked on my pop culture obsession at an early age. Because of my pop, I learned to appreciate all the action stars of the eighties including Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson, along with legends like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

He ran his own construction company where he built awesome custom homes. When I was about 5 or 6, we started watching the afternoon re-runs of Dallas. We coined it our “Daily Dose of Dallas” and when he would get home from the job site, we’d watch it together and see what the latest drama J.R. Ewing and Sue Ellen were cookin’ up.

We also watched a ton of other shows together like Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, The A-Team, and Miami Vice, just to name a few.

Lots of sitcoms were on our TV watch list too like Cheers. We’d laugh together at all the Norm and Cliff-isms. Our favorite was “It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing milk bone underwear.” Now, I hear Norm recite that from time to time on 80s on 8 on Sirius and I just smile, remembering my pop.

From time to time I’d convince him to go to see a movie in the theater. He preferred watching at home but I remember two movies specifically that I got him to see with me. We were huge Bruce Willis fans so when the third Die Hard hit the theater, he went with me. Then, because he loved to golf and thought Kevin Costner could do no wrong, we saw Tin Cup.

Sometimes he’d surprise me with watching a movie that you wouldn’t think a tough S.O.B. like him would care about. Movies like Pretty In Pink, The Cutting Edge, and The Bodyguard were among some of his favorites. He’d watch them on repeat with me, most likely because he knew how much I liked them. I’ve done the same for my daughter. It’s just what parents do, especially if you get to spend some time together.

It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone for close to two decades. So much has happened that I wish he could have experienced but I know he’s watching from the big golf course in the sky, while he sips on his vodka on the rocks at the 19th hole bar.  Cheers to you, Pop. Thanks for all the memories and being my O.G. pop culture partner-in-crime.

 

 

One of my favorite things to do is see comedy stand-up shows. Love it! And, Netflix has provided a ton of comedy specials too so I don’t even have to leave my couch, and we all know how much I love my couch. But, I try not to miss seeing my faves when they come to town.

Here’s my top five recent favorites, in no particular order, that I’ve either seen live or watched on Netflix.

1. Patton Oswalt – Patton is my numero uno comedian and always will be. Not only is he a fellow nerd, he’s so damn funny. He came to town back in February and he was great as always. His Netflix special from a couple years ago is awesome so check it out. He has others too so make a night of it.
2. Nate Bargatze– I watched his Netflix episode and was hooked. So, so funny! I was fortunate to then see him live at the Tempe Improv two weeks ago. And, I can’t walk into a Starbucks without laughing. Watch his special and you’ll know why.
3. Christine P. – I just saw her over the weekend at the Tempe Improv and holy shit! So funny! She’s married to Tom Segura, another hilarious human and they’re best friends with Bert Kreischer, yet another funny man. I now feel like I’ve experience the trifecta! Next up is listening to her and Tom’s podcast, Your Mom’s House.
4. Hannibal Buress – He had been on my short list of comedians I hadn’t seen live…and I finally got to see him about a month ago.  Oh man was he worth the wait! Hilarious!
5. Ali Wong – Probably my favorite lady comedian, and I’m a fan of a bunch of the girls. Ali is in a category all her own. I saw her a couple years ago at the famous Comedy Store in L.A. I knew I wanted to see more of her after the few minutes she yelled jokes at the audience. I recently saw her in Tucson. So great. She’s got a couple specials on Netflix. You will piss your pants!
6. Anthony Jeselnik – Because I can’t follow my own rules, here’s a 6th and final for this list. Jeselnik is ridiculously funny…or not really and it was just the three bottles of wine that my bestie and I drank Friday night. One can never be sure. His new special on Netflix made us couple of white-girl wasted bitches laugh our asses off. He’s always great on the Comedy Central Roasts AND I’m super-excited to see him live in June at Clusterfest in SF! And one final, final, comedy-related item is Wine Country, with SO MANY TALENTED AND FUNNY WOMEN! Check it out on Netflix. That’s the real reason why we drank all the wine in the house…Jeselnik was just the dessert. 😉