John Hughes (1950 - 2009) R.I.P

On August 6, 2009, the world lost John Hughes, the director of "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Weird Science", "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" and "Planes, Trains & Automobiles".

John's movies were the road map of my adolescence. They were entertaining lessons for my young impressionable mind. I dare you to tell me, you didn't instantly try to classify yourself as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal after seeing "The Breakfast Club" for the first time. BTW, I saw it 3 times that faithful opening weekend back in February 1985. I remember being haunted by the fact that I would never know what happened to the BC come Monday morning. I have John to thank for that.

So long John, thanks for making my turbulent teenage years bearable and fun. Thanks for introducing me to Samantha, Farmer Ted, Jake, Long Duck Dong, John, Claire, Andrew, Allison, Brian, Gary, Wyatt, Lisa, Chet, Ferris, Sloane, Cameron and Ed Rooney . You will be missed.

P.S. Thanks for even writing "Career Opportunities". The image of a young Jennifer Connelly in a tank top riding an electrical horsey has forever been burned into my retina. Bless you John. You will be missed.

Kiss circa 2009 (aka the Gene and Paul Show)

I am a KISS fan. Doesn't matter if I outgrew them, or haven't listened to them in a while. It's like being an alcoholic. You will always be one. The difference is there is no 12 step program for getting over KISS. Although, the way Gene and Paul have been presenting the band lately, they are royally testing my allegiance to the KISS Army.

How's that Vlado?

Well allow me to explain...

The KISS of 2009 is a farce as far as I am concerned. It's Gene and Paul in the make up along with two other people pretty much impersonating Ace and Peter. This has now been going on for the better part of the decade.

At least in their makeup heyday, when somebody left the band they replaced them with a new character. When Peter left in 1980, Eric Carr (RIP) replaced him as the Fox. When Ace left in 1982, Vinnie Vincent replaced him as the Egyptian Ankh (ridiculous). Kiss even acknowledged this fact and ended removing the makeup the following year.

It resulted in a rejuvenation of the band that lasted until the triumphant return of the original lineup in makeup in 1996.

Granted, the non makeup KISS was never as successful as the original one. That is most likely why they boys are back in the makeup now.

My problem is the band reunited put on the makeup, rocked the world then decided to go on a Farewell Tour in 2000. Ride off into the sunset right? Not if Chiam and Stanley have anything to say about it. They reneged on the whole retirement thing and decided to soldier on with the make up and haven't looked back since.

Eric Singer replaced Peter on one of the subsequent tours. Then Ace was replaced by Tommy Thayer for another tour while Peter returned. After that, Pete was out and Eric came back for good.

In the beginning of these tours with the Kiss scrubs it was hardly advertised that Ace and Peter weren't in the band. False advertising, anyone?

To top it all off, there was no new music from the band. Just a rehash of all the old material. Note - Stanley and Simmons both put out solo albums; Kiss put out more greatest hits and live albums; the first new Kiss album in 11 years drops this fall.

I refuse to give any more money to Gene and Paul. They are milking a dead cow. Everything from '73 - '79 is gospel. Even some of the non makeup releases are really good. I'll actually go on record as saying the "Revenge" era KISS with Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick was the best from a musician standpoint. Heresy yes, buy true.

I saw KISS for the first time 20 years ago on the Dynasty tour at Madison Square Garden. My dad got the tickets, but my mom took me. It was my first concert and I still remember it to this day. It was the musical equivalent of seeing "Star Wars". Simply life altering.

I saw them several times after that with and without the makeup. The last time on the "Psycho Circus" tour in 1998. As great as it was, you could tell the act was getting old. I would have had more respect for them if they hung it up after the Farewell Tour in 2000. At least they would have kept their legacy intact.

Last week, while watching the American Idol finale, Kiss surprised the audience by showing up and singing with Adam Lambert. In the context of AE, they kicked major ass (even with Adam). In the real world (at least for me), it's the same old, same old.


-- Post From My iPhone

Related Blog

I have created a new blog dedicated to my favorite show "Chuck" It's called "Oh, Chuck Me", located at www.ohchuckme.blogspot.com.
Come on by see what I have to say. If you're already a fan, great. If not, who knows maybe I can help you see the light.

Can you be awesome?

Hello from my iPhone

It has been quite a while since I posted anything. In fact, the last thing I wrote about on this blog was that I was moving to a different one. We all see how that turned out.

Well now I have something to write about (I hope)...


-- Post From My iPhone

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

I hope Santa and his "elves" brought everyone wonderful presents.

Seriously folks, have a merry and safe holiday season. The greatest gift we can all have (other than good health) is our family and friends. Cherish them, however near or far. Christine, Sophia and Butch, I love you very much. To my friends and family who are far away(you know who you are) you are in my heart and I miss you terribly. To my mom, I love you very much. Thank you for raising me to be the best man I could possibly be.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!

Facebook...let the madness begin

Okay, I bit and now I am hooked. I can safely say that I have become quietly addicted to this online crack. I have gotten in contact with people I have seen or spoken to in nearly twenty years. It is actually quite fun. Wonder how long it will last?

Sad Day

Today is indeed a sad day. My oldest and dearest friend, Aris' mom Pat passed away earlier today. She was taken way too early. There aren't enough words to express what I am feeling right now. I know what my dear friend must be feeling and I wish I was there to comfort him.

Even though I hadn't seen Pat for a number of years she was never far from my heart. Growing up with Aris, she was my second mom.

Some of my most cherished memories of her are from 1984.

Pat's love affair with Bruce Springsteen. I remember she never stopped listening to "Born in the USA" that summer. She had pictures of Bruce all over the house. I don't know how many times she saw Bruce in concert that summer.

I remember Pat driving us out to Greenport one summer night to our friend Nicky's summer house. I remember sitting in the back of the car driving down a country road looking up at the moon listening to Judas Priest's "Victim of Changes" thinking it doesn't get much better than this.

I remember Pat and my mom throwing Aris and me a joint birthday costume party at our school later that year. Two mothers' love for their only sons on full display.

You see at that time we didn't have a care in the world, our whole life was ahead of us. Still, Aris and I would sit and talk seriously about the mysteries of life, love, adventure and what IT was all about. Not realizing we didn't have a clue about life.

I now look back at that time of innocence and smile. We were dreamers that were encouraged to dream by our parents. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't be the men or fathers we are today.

One thing I do know Pat, is that your son is a good man. You taught him well. You taught him how to be a good father. You taught him how to be a good friend. But most of all you taught him how to love.

Pat, I know you're at peace. When you see Igor send him my love.

With much love, your other son.