Saturday in the Park

OK, so it was actually Sunday. And we weren't in a park, as much as an outdoor concert venue; but you'll see where I'm going here...
We just got back from seeing a great concert: Chicago with Earth, Wind & Fire at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. It was a show I'd been wanting to see since these groups starting touring together two summers ago.

I first saw Chicago play Poughkeepsie's Mid-Hudson Civic Center in early 1992 (I believe it was '92) and I still tell people it's the best concert I've ever seen that wasn't one of my top three musical acts: those being, in order, New Kids On The Block, Barry Manilow and Britney Spears.

This CD, which chronicles the band's best songs from the '80s, has long been a staple of my musical collection; even before the CD, I owned the cassette tape (remember them?). It's got some real gems, both while after lead singer Peter Cetera was with the band. From "Hard Habit to Break" and "You're the Inspiration," to "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "If She Would Have Been Faithful," this CD has got them all. It's great listening!

With almost two decades of great memories from both that first — they played for more than two hours during that '92 concert — and amazing music, I'd tried in vain to attend Chicago's local concerts each of the past two summers.This year, however, I was able to snag a few tix to see the show and both bands were well worth the wait. For almost three full hours, we were treated to one set of EWF, one set of Chicago, and still another the two groups finished the show playing together. It was almost like three concerts in one! (And in these hard economic times, can you beat that?!)

Perhaps it's the wordsmith in me, but I've long been a fan of Chicago's lyrics. How can you not enjoy songs with lines like It's a paradox, full of contradiction (from "If She Would Have Been Faithful"), or ...another illusion I chose to create (from"Hard Habit to Break")? So I knew what to expect Chicago and they didn't disappoint — simply amazing from the first song to the last.

As was EWF, who got us dancing from the opening song. Having traveled to Sullivan County solely for Chicago, I viewed EWF as a bonus: Whatever they played, I'd have been happy with. But between "September" and "Sing A Song" and "After the Love Has Gone," among others, I was singing their songs as much as Chicago's on the drive home. Now, I'd known a few of their songs, but my GF and I were amazed how many times during their portion of the show we turned to each other and said, "Oh, I know this song!"

Not as familiar with Chicago as I was, not to mention EWF, she was amazed how many of the songs she heard last night she recognized. Each group played almost all of their hits, making it a fun night for both of us.

I don't see color

No, I'm not color-blind; I'm hooked on a bunch of black-and-white TV shows from the '50s that are now on cable.
It's kind of ironic that they day all TV broadcasts in America switch from analog to digital, I'm here writing about a few shows from the 1950s, but here goes...

Weekday mornings, cable network Ion Television (you might remember them as PAX TV) airs several old (and I mean ooooold) TV shows that have piqued my interest in recent weeks: "My Little Margie," "I Married Joan" and "The Adventures of "Ozzie and Harriet."

The first two ran both ran from 1952 to 1955, and are more or less "I Love Lucy"-type programs: Each stars a female lead (a widower's 20-something daughter in "My Little Margie" and a judge's wife in "I Married Joan") who somehow gets in a wacky predicament and must find her way out of it by the end of the half-hour, often with the help of an equally zany friend or neighbor. Having watched "I Love Lucy" since I was a kid — and seen every episode a gazillion times — these two shows seem both familiar yet new to me.

"Ozzie and Harriet" stars "America's favorite family," and chronicles the Nelson family's everyday happenings — nothing too special there, but it's a nice change of pace.

Being more than a half-century old, some of these episodes might be grainy in spots, but they're still a better alternative than some of their competition on the other channels (I can only watch so many paternity tests on "Maury" before I get tired of them).

The Zack Attack came back!

Let me put this simply: This is the greatest TV segment in the history of recorded time!

Not only did Mark-Paul Gosselaar appear on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" last night, as promised, he came out as Zack Morris from "Saved By The Bell," and conducted the entire interview (and more!) as Zack. It was absolutely amazing!

Zack talked on "the brick" cell phone. He talked to the camera, and called "Timeout!" a few times. He even reunited The Zack Attack and performed "Friends Forever."

And, as if Zack signing on for Jimmy's "SBTB" reunion wasn't enough, he even got his neighbor to do the same, leaving Dustin Diamond and that cutie Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (though she's since dropped the "-Amber" part) as the only ones who haven't agreed to the "class reunion." Let's guess, who's going to be the next one to sign on: Samuel "Screech" Power or Kelly Kapowski? Place your bets...

It was amazing watching worlds collide, as I've been a "SBTB" fan since the show started on NBC 20 years ago, and I've also been a Jimmy Fallon fan since he started on "Saturday Night Live." (You know we met Jimmy, right?)

Last night's segment has inspired me so that I've donned my official Bayside Tigers T-shirt; I'll wear it all day! I don't even mind sharing that I've got every season of the original "SBTB" series on DVD (but not that horrible "The New Class" stuff that followed when Zack & the gang graduated from Bayside), even the entire series of "Saved By The Bell: The College Years," which was an odd title, considering it only lasted one year. You might have read I met Dustin Diamond a few years back, and I even got a direct message from Dennis Haskins (yes, Mr. Belding himself) on Twitter over the weekend!

Needless to say, my head is about to explode with all this "SBTB" excitement to start my day. Hopefully I'll be able to make it into work on time. But if not, it's alright 'cause I'm "Saved By The Bell!"

Mark-Paul comes back as "Zack"

Just got this from Jimmy Fallon's Twitter page, and I had to share it before tonight's show:Yes, that is actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar dressed as the character that made him famous two decades ago, Zack Morris on "Saved By The Bell," talking on the 1989 cell phone affectionately referred to on the "SBTB" set as "the brick."

Mark-Paul is a guest on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" tonight, where he's sure to talk about the upcoming second season of his TNT Network legal drama, "Raising the Bar," which premieres in about 90 minutes. Zack ... er Mark-Paul also gets on the guitar and plays with The Roots. But, looks like he's also helping Jimmy's pet project.

Since taking over the reins of "Late Night" (you know I was on an episode of "Late Night," right?!), Jimmy has been trying to reunite the gang from "SBTB" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the show as we know it (not that early "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" stuff). So far, Dennis Haskins (aka Mr. Belding), Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle) and Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater) have signed on. You can even sign Jimmy's online petition to get the bunch from Bayside back together. I did!

I kinda get the feeling Mark-Paul will be the next to agree to the reunion; we'll have to wait til 12:35 a.m. EST tonight to see. If he is, it's your move, Elizabeth Berkley, Dustin Diamond and my darling, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen!

"Plus 8" was 2 sad 4 words

One word came to mind when watching last night's season premiere of TLC's hit show, "Jon & Kate Plus 8" ... heart-breaking.

Our usual Monday night treat (watching those cute lil' Gosselin kids) was turned into just a sad spectacle for just more than 60 minutes last night. Weeks of anticipation, including TLC's "marathon of memories" all weekend, built up to a Season 5 opener that was just painful to watch, mostly because we've all become so attached to the eight little kids caught in the middle of parents who seem headed down different paths — call it Team Jon vs. Team Kate. While reading tabloid headlines about Jon and Kate (seen here in this TLC publicity shot) over the past few months has become seemingly routine, last night we all took a step back and saw the two people behind the allegations ... not to mention their adorable kids who have no idea about the dirty details being published about their folks.

Jon put it perfectly last night: "Someday, my kids are going to Google me." (For the record, and for what it's worth: I believe Jon when he says he didn't cheat. He seems like too upstanding of a guy to do that.)

It would be easy to use this "Space" to blame one or the other parent, but that doesn't help anyone. Sure, I've got my own personal feelings on who's to blame, I'll leave the airing of opinions to other people. (If you want to read others' opinions on the Jon-Kate struggle, click here.) Honestly, if you watch just one or two previous episodes, it's pretty easy to form your own opinion about each parent and take a side.

In the end, though, there's just one side I'm concerned about: the kids' side.

I've licked the habit

So after lamenting in an earlier post about giving up soda, I've found a couple easy solutions to curb my cravings.
These Dr Pepper freezer pops are amazing! Less than 40 calories each, they're non-carbonated and they've got the soda flavor in 'em. One of these pops first thing in the morning quells my urge for the real thing for most of the day.

And of all the places in the world, I found these pops at the dollar store! (Who knew?!) When these aren't enough, though, I call in the reinforcements...

Having lived in rural Vermont for 15 months, there were three things I really missed: Denny's, malls and Slurpees. Well, all our local Denny's have closed; malls close at 9:30 at night ... but you can get a Slurpee 24/7. (Thank you, 7-Eleven!) And an even bigger thanks for their Coke-flavored Slurpee. I re-discovered this frozen delicacy three days ago, and I've had one a day since. But that's it ... for a while, at least.

Sure, it's been hard at times to rid my life of soda, but if I made it through 14 hours at Disneyland without it back in March, I'm pretty sure I can do it!

David Cook's "Permanent" tribute

Season 7's "American Idol" has added something else to his great music: a great cause.

After an emotional performance of his song "Permanent" on last night's "Idol" finale, David has released that live performance on iTunes to help raise funds for cancer research. Two weeks ago, David's older brother Adam, lost a 10-year battle with brain cancer. Monies raised from the iTunes purchases of "Permanent" will be donated to Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, which is looking to eradicate brain cancer.

On the radio this afternoon, David told Ryan Seacrest he wasn't sure if he could hold himself together during last night's performance. That emotion translates into an amazing live recording.

Having just downloaded "Permanent" and listened to it, I can tell that while three Kris Allen songs and another by Adam Lambert might populate iTunes' top 10 "top songs" right now, I think David's tribute (and the cause it supports) is a more worthwhile way to spend your 99 cents!