June 25th marks the one year anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson.  So this blog post is dedicated to the memory of the legend, and to the man behind the legend. Because legends never really die, as long as we remember.

Thanks for Thriller, the first album I ever owned that I actually wore out and had to replace. (And yes, it was an actual album…I am that old.)

Thank you for wearing highwaters and white socks, which looked silly on anyone else, but made absolute sense when you wore them (to enable us to focus on your feet when you danced).

Thanks for the Moonwalk, which I could never, ever do, though I repeatedly tried to learn, despite looking like nothing more than a dorky chick walking backwards. And nice touch, borrowing your mom’s sparkly jacket the night you Moonwalked into history wearing it.

Thank you for the trademark Fedora. You rocked it. And if I could own one thing in the world that you had ever owned, it would be one of your fedoras.

Thanks for the Jam video you made with Michael Jordan. After showing it to my six-year-old grandson, Dylan, I became cool for a day…and Dylan wanted to learn to Moonwalk!

Thanks for the Blood on the Dance Floor video too. Three words sum it up for me quite nicely: Red. Leather. Pants.

Thanks for the curls. Seriously. No one does curls like you did.

Thank you for that Smile. You know…
the one that only lit up the whole world?!

Thanks for making glitter accessories cool (even to those–who shall remain nameless–who still deny that they Bedazzled a white glove and wore it to school every day for a week in high school back in the 80′s).

Um, thanks for stealing Elvis’s signature move–the up on the toes pose. Yeah, Elvis did indeed do it first…but YOU did it best. And with sparkles!

Thanks for having a sense of humor about yourself. It’s just too bad that much of the world never got to see it.

Thank you for This is It. We’ll never forget all that you sacrificed trying to bring it to us.

To the man and the legend, thank you for the music, the magic, and the memories that I will cherish forever.

Michael Jacskon
1958 – 2009

This is the story of Michael Jackson’s Gold Pants. If you’re a Michael Jackson fan, the Gold Pants need no explanation, but for those of you that are necessarily a “fan,” here’s the scoop on an essential part of Michael Jackson’s lasting legacy.

During MJ’s History era, one of his standard costumes while on stage included a gold outfit, which included a helmet, a gold shirt, and some quite spectacular shiny Gold Pants. He’d appear on stage covered head to toe in gold–almost like a living statue, and it was quite the visual extravaganza.

As the music started, MJ would remove his helmet–revealing his requisite curls (who doesn’t love MJ with curls?!), and then he’d get down to his  magical, musical business, singing, dancing, and making girls faint right and left, as only Michael could.

But Michael wasn’t the only star of his shows. No, no. He shared the spotlight with those fabulously shiny Gold Pants. Now let it be said that I am not, in general, a fan of shiny gold pants. Truth be told, the average Joe could really never get away with wearing shiny gold pants. On anyone else, frankly, they’d just look silly.  Case in point:

Clearly, that photo needs no explanation. It is what it is. (A guy trying–but failing miserably– to look cool in shiny gold pants).  See what I mean?  It just doesn’t work.

But Michael and his shiny Gold Pants are an all together different story. That man could wear shiny Gold Pants. No, scratch that. He ROCKED the shiny Gold Pants. And he is the standard by which all shiny Gold Pants-wearers should be measured.

And what has been the impact of MJ and his shiny Gold Pants? There are fans all over the world obsessed with Michael in his Gold Pants. There are online communities devoted to them. Do a Google image search for “Michael Jackson Gold Pants” and you will get over 760,000 results. Seriously.

As I said, if you’re a fan, you know. You understand. And you appreciate the magic, the mystery,  and the wonder that is the Gold Pants.

And if you’re not a fan, at least now you’ll know why the shiny Gold Pants are a indeed a part of Michael’s legacy. And when hear “Gold Pants” in the future, or see some reference to them online, you’ll get it.

Can I get a Hee-Hee…and an Owwww! (MJ style, of course).

As someone who grew up when the Rubik’s Cube craze was at its peak, I can appreciate the humor in this week’s Wordless Wednesday photo. Admit it, you giggled, just a little. But if you didn’t, then perhaps this classic web wonder might do the trick…

Are you laughing now?

Enjoy your Hump Day!

You know, there are a lot of big name celebrities today who got their start (or at least got their best initial exposure) on 80′s TV shows.  In many cases, the roles these stars had were small, but they sure launched some Titanic-sized careers. Here are my Flashback Friday picks for 5 of the best breakout stars of 80′s TV.

Tom Hanks on Bosom Buddies

Seriously, who can forget the TV show that brought us the two guys who had to dress like women to live in an all female apartment building to have an affordable place to live. Yes, really!

Kip Wilson and his alter ego Buffy Wilson were played by Tom Hanks. His friend Henry Desmond and his alter ego Hildegarde were played by Peter Scolari.  Buffy and Hildegarde were supposed to be Kip and Henry’s sisters.  Quite the striking resemblance to their siblings, to be sure. The show only lasted a few seasons, but it sparked a really BIG career for Tom Hanks.

George Clooney on Facts of Life

I used to love the Facts of Life, the show about the all girls boarding school. Who can forget miss perfect snooty, Blair;  the tomboy, Jo, who loved to give Blair a hard time; cutie Miss Tooty, who spent a lot of time on roller skates in the first season or two; and the funny girl we all loved, Natalie. I was a teenager, and they were teenagers, so of course I loved them.

I also loved the first time I saw the handyman character, George  Burnett (who didn’t appear until a later season), who was played by none other than future Oscar winner, George Clooney. His role was fairly minimal, only making occasional appearances. But hey, he got noticed (and I don’t mean by just me). He later appeared on Roseanne and that little medical drama, what was it called? Oh yeah, ER. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Leonardo DiCaprio on Growing Pains

Growing Pains is known for launching the career, and teen heartthrob status, of its teen star, Kirk Cameron (brother of Candace Cameron, one of the stars of the 80′s show, Full House). But it also gave a helping hand to a then up-and-comer with a very long name: Leonardo DiCaprio.

Leo’s character, Luke Brower, didn’t appear until the show’s 7th season. He was a complete unknown at the time. The show had sank in the ratings by this time, and Leo’s character was an attempt to give it a jump start. It didn’t work for the show, but hey, it worked for Leo. He went on to star in (need I say it?) Titanic, and while that ship sank too, the movie sure didn’t. And Leo’s film career has been sailing on ever since.

Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street

I think I have to be one of the few people who didn’t watch 21 Jump Street. Not sure why I didn’t watch it, but I definitely knew of the show, and of one of its stars in particular, Johnny Depp. You kind of had to be living under a rock not to know about that show and its stars. Their faces were all over the place.

The show was a police drama, about young looking police officers, who went undercover to investigate crimes in high schools and other teen hangouts. There wasn’t much undercover about Depp’s career though, which this show helped to catapult. He also became a teen idol, which he apparently detested being, so he left  after the 4th season. Depp has appeared in a lot of movies since then, but he didn’t win my heart until he became Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Come on, who doesn’t love a pirate? Savvy?

Bruce Willis on Moonlighting

Before he was kicking ass on Die Hard, before he was saving the world in Armageddon, before he was Unbreakable, Bruce Willis was my favorite PI in the 80′s show,  Moonlighting.

Bruce played David Addison, who partners up with Maddie Hayes, played by Cybill Shepherd; she is a former model and owner of the agency. She was swindled by her investment adviser, who took off with all her money and left her with only the detective agency. I think the show was good because of the chemistry between David and Maddie, which is kind of funny, considering that at the time, rumor had it the two of them couldn’t really stand each other in real life. But you know what they say, there’s a fine line between love and hate, and the show worked great until the two characters finally consummated their relationship. Not long after, the show pretty much dissolved into TV nothingness. But hey, Bruce’s moonlighting days are long over. I’d say he’s made a pretty good name for himself. And rumor has it that Die Hard 5 is coming to a theater near you in 2012. Yippee-ki-yay, mother f****r!

I’m just sitting here thinking about Christmas, and how different it is now from when I was a kid. I mean, the things kids get today is a far cry from what it was in my increasingly distant youth. Today’s gift lists include things like iPods, Xboxes, cellphones, and flat screen TV’s.  Hmmm…back in the day…you know, the dinosaur age, we were asking for things like record players, Ataris, walkie talkies, and um, there was only one TV in the whole house and cable did not exist, so there’d be no point in asking for a TV!

At any rate, I thought I’d share with you some of my memories of favorite Christmas gifts from Christmas Past.

Barbie’s  Country Camper

Now really, isn’t this the only way for Barbie to travel…in her own RV?  It had a popout on the side, and a fold-out table; not to mention sleeping bags, a  tilt-up windshield, and a rooftop luggage rack (no sense in letting all their luggage get in the way of their indoor RV fun!)  There was enough room for friends to come along too. Sometimes Malibu Barbie would come, and sometimes even GI Joe.  You just had to be careful with him though; Joe was a little on the stiff side and did not get along with Ken. And if the two of them had a few beers too many, well, all hell would break loose in that camper!

The Six Million Dollar Man Doll

Based on the popular TV show, who wouldn’t want Steve Austin,  The Six Million Dollar Man doll? Not only did he have a hole in the back of his head so you could see through is bionic eye, but he had roll up skin on his bionic arm and legs, so you could see (and remove) his bionic parts! How creepy cool is that?! Besides, he came in handy when Ken and GI Joe were not getting along, because he could totally kick their ass! And even though he did have his very own bionic girlfriend, we all know he was secretly in love with Barbie, so he enjoyed tagging along with her. No wonder she needed an RV.

Electronic Detective

Now this was a game I got in the early 80′s. You got to be a detective to solve murder mysteries.  Who Done It? It was your job to find out. There were over 130,000 mysteries to solve, and it included all sorts of sound effects too: gun shots, sirens, even the funeral dirge, and more. My best friend and I both wanted to be private detectives when we grew up…so this game was good training, to be sure.  Talk about your hi-tech toys! This was the height of advanced computer logic…OK well, based on computer logic of 1979, when the game was created anyway.

Mork from Ork Egg Ship

Mork from Ork made his first TV appearance on the hit TV show Happy Days in the late 70′s. Played by the legendary comic, Robin Williams (who was an unknown at the time), his character became such a hit that he got his own TV show: Mork & Mindy. I loved Mork! I couldn’t wait to watch that show each week. It was truly one of my all time faves. One year for Christmas, my grandma and grandpa got all of us these Mork from Ork Egg Ships–because, well, Mork’s mode of travel was indeed an egg ship, what else?! The plastic ship came in two parts, with a 4″ Mork figure inside.  And Shazbot! I loved that thing!

Portable Cassette Tape Player

Not as old as an 8-track player, but long before CD players (and iPods), there was the cassette player. And if you were really lucky, you also had a portable cassette player, like this red one that I got one year. I was able to not only take this with me to friends’ houses, but I could also record stuff. Talk about old school! Remember those days? If you liked a song on the radio you’d just push your tape recorder up to the radio speaker…really close…and push record, and then you had to remember not to talk or make any other noise while recording or it would be on the tape too and you’d ruin the whole thing! You also had to be sure you had enough space on the tape for all the songs you were recording; but inevitably, at some point, you’d run out of tape…usually just as your favorite song was recording. Ah, the good ole days.

Before I leave, I wanted to share with you the one Christmas present I really, really wanted as a child, but never got.  It’s one of those things you can’t really explain, but you just really want it. So what was it?

That’s right: Star Trek Communicators. Yes folks, as a child I was indeed a Trekkie. Space travel. Exploring new worlds. Pointy-eared Vulcans. Hot space ship captains. Yeah, I hear you snickering, but that’s because you thought James T. Kirk (aka William Shatner) was hot too.  Don’t pretend like you didn’t. The Communicators were actually walkie-talkies, and I thought they were the coolest things. The top flipped open and you could talk into it.  I never got them as a child. But oh yeah, the Hubs and I have some now. We call them…cellphones.

Beam me up, Scotty. And Happy Holidays.

Remembering Michael

Don’t Judge
by Tina Grimes

Don’t judge a book by its cover
When its binding is worse for wear
The riches are in its pages
Its magic lingers there.

It’s much the same with people
Whose stories we don’t really know
Looking only at the outside
When the cover masks the story below.

We don’t know the truth of a life
Because it’s lived in the public eye
We don’t know what’s fact or folly
We don’t know what’s truth or lie.

Don’t judge the icon and legend
Whose image became worse for wear
The riches are in his melodies
His magic lingers there.

After watching a truly moving memorial tribute to Michael Jackson, I felt compelled to compose this poem in his memory. I’m thankful to have had his music as the soundtrack to many memories in my life. Thanks for the magic, Michael.