On my Facebook page on the day after Halloween last year; I posted an old horror movie intro from a local TV Station. Back in my day, and pretty much most Americans born before 1980, we had very few choices-- but if we wanted something we had it. When I was a young lad growing up in Long Island, on Saturday evenings we had what was called "Chiller Theater" on WPIX Channel 11 (New York). Notice I didn't say "CW11" or "WB11", it was just "Channel 11" or "WPIX" (and yes, we used the letter "W" in its' call letters). "Chiller Theater" or as we used to call it "CHILLERRRR!!!!! Blb, blb, blb, blb...." had a fantastic Claymation intro of a six fingered hand emerging from a pool of blood before the movie itself actually began. They usually had the black and white classics like the Frankenstein movies with Boris Karloff. I was more into another TV Station that also showed some horror movies and that was WOR Channel 9's"Fright Night". "Fright Night" which had a smoking skull for its' intro, showed more independent movies like the original "The Crazies (1973)". and Italian horror movies such as "The Night Evelyn Came Out Of Her Grave (1970?)" and Hammer Horror flicks with Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Here are some examples...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATUJG3DSziw (Chiller Theater);http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlOqrh8rHM8 (Fright Night); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY5s1ve5AdM ("The Night Evelyn..." Trailer.)
When I posted the "Chiller" and "Fright Night" intros on Facebook on Halloween, I had big time positive feedback. I had a high school classmate remind me on how good we had it back in the day, even without today's "modern amenities". By "we", I mean the people that were born before 1980. Not knocking the later generations, BUT it knocks me dead when you post-1980 kids complain about that "there's nothing good on TV" and you're bummed that the director's cut of "Iron Man 4:Tony Stark Is Anemic And Needs More Iron!" is not out on Blu-Ray yet. When I was growing up we didn't have MySpace or Facebook. In fact, computers were those big bulky reel-to-reel devices with blinky lights that we seen on Star Trek or some low budget Sci-Fi movie. We didn't have cell phones, nor we had I-pods or MP4's. We had a transistor radio amongst ourselves and when it was time for dinner, our moms yelled out the window...and we never complained!
When I was in my pre-pubescent years growing up in Central Islip and later Lindenhurst, Long Island in the late 70's, it was all good! My mom and I had no cable until I was 15 and that was the case with most of us kids born between 1965-1972. Cable was considered a LUXURY when I was a kid! We were happy with our 6 VHF stations and we might have picked up a couple of UHF stations if our antennas work that day depending on the weather. But we ONLY had SIX channels to watch: Chs. 2,4,5,7,9,&11, and no VCR (another "luxury")...and we never complained!
And if we found nothing to watch on TV we did one of three things 1)Do our homework, 2)Do our chores, or 3)GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY! And if we dare say to our parents; "...but it's too cold outside!", our mothers would tell us to wear a sweater or hand us a pair of gloves and a scarf. And guess what? We went outside anyway ...and we never complained!
And when we DID go outside, it was for a least an hour and a half on a school day! And when it was summer time, we didn't go home until it got dark, and that was at 9PM in some cases! And this was when I was 9 to 10! And if had nothing to do, we found something to do. If there were no balls, bats, hoops or any sports equipment around we invented stuff. I remember playing "Star Trek" when I was a kid. Basically, we acted out the roles of a certain episode of the ORIGINAL Star Trek (Notice I didn't throw out initials out like TOS, TNG, and DS9- because THERE WAS ONLY ONE STAR TREK!). In some cases, we made our own episodes, however, we had to kill off some characters because there wasn't enough people to go around. Now if we had some newbies or bratty little brothers or sisters they would automatically be redshirts. I, being the "different kid", started out as the lowly redshirt (and got "killed" right away), but when the kids realized that I have an IQ over 100, I became Mr.Spock! So we did improvisation before we knew what improvisation was! We were pretty much forced outside to perform in an ensemble group with no audience and no pay...and we never complained!
And if we God forbid, ever DID complain, our parents went into THEIR stories of growing up in the Fifties and compared their shortcomings to our shortcomings. And they started off with "When I was YOUR age..." then they went into "...And you don't know how lucky YOU are..." and the concluded with "...and I never complained!" Take my mother for instance, she went to A CATHOLIC BOARDING SCHOOL when she was a kid, plus she grew up in the 50's into the early 60's. She told me about her listening to the radio all the time because TV WAS CONSIDERED A LUXURY ITEM when she was a child! But in the scant times my mother reflects on her childhood, she seemed like she had a good time at some points...and she never complained!
All this talk about reminiscing on "how good I had it" reminds me of Bill Cosby's routine about his "thankful" father during his "Bill Cosby: Himself" movie from the Early 80's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt33zqib2qk. Even though I don't have kids, I feel like I'm becoming a parent when I see or hear a 20something complain about the new Harry Potter movie coming out in two parts and the price on the new Windows Phone 7. I am proud to say that our generation (those who are born between 1965 to 1980), are the DIY generation. We did it ourselves, and we are still doing things ourselves. Therefore, WE HAVE NO TIME TO COMPLAIN! And I'm sure there are some of you out there who are born past 1980 who got their act together and are doing the DIY thing, especially those who have kids. I'm not trying to sound like an old man, but for crying out loud, everything changed really quick even though it had been a course of 30 years. And here I am on a PC as I charge my cell phone talking about the days back when there we no PC's and cellphones. Cable is now a necessity since we can't get TV reception without it! The days of "luxury" flew out the window. Yet if there was a virus that effected all the PC's, MP3 players, and cell phones-- we know what to do like using a payphone or dialing in a radio station or putting in a CD in our stereos. No E-Mails? Hell, I can go to a post office and buy some stamps and mail my Mom a letter! So to the younger generations out there who complain about nothing on TV or texting to someone standing 5 feet away, because you have nothing better to do (like ohmygod! talking to the person standing 5 feet away from you), GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND DO SOMETHING! Go outside. Play "Star Trek" (even "Voyager"!). In other words, QUIT YOUR BITCHING! Please do so or we'll get our parents after you and lecture you on why they were not allowed to listen to Elvis and/or The Beatles! THANK YOU!
When I posted the "Chiller" and "Fright Night" intros on Facebook on Halloween, I had big time positive feedback. I had a high school classmate remind me on how good we had it back in the day, even without today's "modern amenities". By "we", I mean the people that were born before 1980. Not knocking the later generations, BUT it knocks me dead when you post-1980 kids complain about that "there's nothing good on TV" and you're bummed that the director's cut of "Iron Man 4:Tony Stark Is Anemic And Needs More Iron!" is not out on Blu-Ray yet. When I was growing up we didn't have MySpace or Facebook. In fact, computers were those big bulky reel-to-reel devices with blinky lights that we seen on Star Trek or some low budget Sci-Fi movie. We didn't have cell phones, nor we had I-pods or MP4's. We had a transistor radio amongst ourselves and when it was time for dinner, our moms yelled out the window...and we never complained!
When I was in my pre-pubescent years growing up in Central Islip and later Lindenhurst, Long Island in the late 70's, it was all good! My mom and I had no cable until I was 15 and that was the case with most of us kids born between 1965-1972. Cable was considered a LUXURY when I was a kid! We were happy with our 6 VHF stations and we might have picked up a couple of UHF stations if our antennas work that day depending on the weather. But we ONLY had SIX channels to watch: Chs. 2,4,5,7,9,&11, and no VCR (another "luxury")...and we never complained!
And if we found nothing to watch on TV we did one of three things 1)Do our homework, 2)Do our chores, or 3)GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY! And if we dare say to our parents; "...but it's too cold outside!", our mothers would tell us to wear a sweater or hand us a pair of gloves and a scarf. And guess what? We went outside anyway ...and we never complained!
And when we DID go outside, it was for a least an hour and a half on a school day! And when it was summer time, we didn't go home until it got dark, and that was at 9PM in some cases! And this was when I was 9 to 10! And if had nothing to do, we found something to do. If there were no balls, bats, hoops or any sports equipment around we invented stuff. I remember playing "Star Trek" when I was a kid. Basically, we acted out the roles of a certain episode of the ORIGINAL Star Trek (Notice I didn't throw out initials out like TOS, TNG, and DS9- because THERE WAS ONLY ONE STAR TREK!). In some cases, we made our own episodes, however, we had to kill off some characters because there wasn't enough people to go around. Now if we had some newbies or bratty little brothers or sisters they would automatically be redshirts. I, being the "different kid", started out as the lowly redshirt (and got "killed" right away), but when the kids realized that I have an IQ over 100, I became Mr.Spock! So we did improvisation before we knew what improvisation was! We were pretty much forced outside to perform in an ensemble group with no audience and no pay...and we never complained!
And if we God forbid, ever DID complain, our parents went into THEIR stories of growing up in the Fifties and compared their shortcomings to our shortcomings. And they started off with "When I was YOUR age..." then they went into "...And you don't know how lucky YOU are..." and the concluded with "...and I never complained!" Take my mother for instance, she went to A CATHOLIC BOARDING SCHOOL when she was a kid, plus she grew up in the 50's into the early 60's. She told me about her listening to the radio all the time because TV WAS CONSIDERED A LUXURY ITEM when she was a child! But in the scant times my mother reflects on her childhood, she seemed like she had a good time at some points...and she never complained!
All this talk about reminiscing on "how good I had it" reminds me of Bill Cosby's routine about his "thankful" father during his "Bill Cosby: Himself" movie from the Early 80's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt33zqib2qk. Even though I don't have kids, I feel like I'm becoming a parent when I see or hear a 20something complain about the new Harry Potter movie coming out in two parts and the price on the new Windows Phone 7. I am proud to say that our generation (those who are born between 1965 to 1980), are the DIY generation. We did it ourselves, and we are still doing things ourselves. Therefore, WE HAVE NO TIME TO COMPLAIN! And I'm sure there are some of you out there who are born past 1980 who got their act together and are doing the DIY thing, especially those who have kids. I'm not trying to sound like an old man, but for crying out loud, everything changed really quick even though it had been a course of 30 years. And here I am on a PC as I charge my cell phone talking about the days back when there we no PC's and cellphones. Cable is now a necessity since we can't get TV reception without it! The days of "luxury" flew out the window. Yet if there was a virus that effected all the PC's, MP3 players, and cell phones-- we know what to do like using a payphone or dialing in a radio station or putting in a CD in our stereos. No E-Mails? Hell, I can go to a post office and buy some stamps and mail my Mom a letter! So to the younger generations out there who complain about nothing on TV or texting to someone standing 5 feet away, because you have nothing better to do (like ohmygod! talking to the person standing 5 feet away from you), GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND DO SOMETHING! Go outside. Play "Star Trek" (even "Voyager"!). In other words, QUIT YOUR BITCHING! Please do so or we'll get our parents after you and lecture you on why they were not allowed to listen to Elvis and/or The Beatles! THANK YOU!
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