What's on T.V. :COPS

So, last night the fam was gathered around the television at our customary 7pm to watch our favorite Saturday night show. Yes. We watch COPS. As a family. Don't judge - I know you all are guilty of sitting in front of the television at some point in you life watching this show.
COPS came around in 1989. And America was hooked. There was some thing about watching these police men and women driving around with lights and cameras shining in the back seat - probably these huge over the shoulder things, chasing around crackheads and car thieves. High paced and entertaining, COPS was the ultimate reality - and perhaps leader of such television that come dime a dozen these days. It is interesting - COPS (followed by America's Most Wanted (for another day, another blog entry) still hold their original time slot and are still ran on their own original channel - FOX. Never strayed far and perhaps that is why it has become so iconic and a fixture in 80s/90s pop culture. COPS is always there.

We watch new and old episodes - they are a few cable channels other than the FOX network - and sometimes it is funny to see how law enforcement behave/react/follow through on situations they come across now and 30 years ago. An older episode is not short of brute force and aggressive tactics when dealing with criminals or potential criminals. I can remember a few instances where a foot chase ends with a camera man collaring the guy, camera in hand. Good stuff. That doesn't happen so much anymore. I am sure there are things that have happened behind the scenes that have caused the need to restrict the t.v. crew to being JUST a t.v. crew. But it is still great to see. And I am not going to lie. I have my favorites, like the naked man in the barbershop who has been shot multiple times and is so high on something it takes 5 or 6 policemen to pin him down because he is covered in blood (YIKES). Or the man pulled over by a cop wearing a D.A.R.E. shirt and gets busted for having drugs in his truck (bwahahahaha...). Oh then there is time my family and I were watching COPS and my dad says, "Oh my God, I know him." Yeah, reality bites. And is entertaining as heck...

Let's Dance.

OK. If you know me AT ALL, you know I am absolutely a music junkie. Yes, junkie. I am not going to sugar coat it. Music - it moves me. More than almost anything. I am not real sure when I realized it was something that had to have all the time. My parents were (and still are) very musically knowledgeable. Not just music of their time, but incredibly resourceful when trying to remember an artist or year a song came out or lyrics to a song. Music was always on - new, old, classic. Sunday mornings were for marathon music - usually played from a 45 or LP. Played full blast and the sound is unlike anything - even the HD stuff going around now. Fabulousness.

But I suppose it was Junior High, when I began to really embrace it. You know - listening to lyrics, knowing them word for word, crying over a boyfriend, hating your parents (I mean, I never HATED my parents really. You know what I mean...). What a way to express yourself. I was a "Band Geek" and played an instrument, but not completely dedicated to it. It kept me out of trouble and gave me an appreciation for classic stuff - Broadway mostly. And marches. Gotta love marches.

ANYWHO - I am pretty much across the board with what I like from the time I was a young person. But there are some staples. New Kids on the Block. Still love them. They go by NKOTB now - sooooooo mature, right? Ha. bobby Brown, Boys II Men, Bel Biv Devoe, and Color Me Badd (*groan*). En Vogue, TLC, SWV. R & B had some good stuff in the 90s. Almost all I listened to.


Gangster rap was good too - at the time, the videos and language were a turn off, I suppose I rather not hear all that. But I have great respect and appreciation for it now. For the innovation and creativity those men had to make that music. It is not uncommon to hear me blasting "Nothin'g but a G Thing" in my car with large amounts of bass. Fantastic. For rizzle.

You have your first look at grunge - the Seattle music scene. Full of angst and energy, Nirvana and Pearl Jam top the most notable list. I will be honest, I didn't care for a lot of it. Not my deal. But a lot of people did.


I guess something else I really dug was the soundtracks. Robin Hood, The Bodyguard, The Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters - crazy, but I really identify with movies and their association with particular songs. Stand by Me and The Lost Boys - good examples of how old, classic songs can be brought to the present day - to a new generation.

I want to point out that during this time - many very famous, successful musicians made some really great music in 80s and 90s. Madonna, Janet and Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Metallica...I can go on forever.

The 80s and 90s were special because of the mere VARIETY of music. And I still really dig it all. I am really excited that my children have that bug too. Thomas likes to listen to Metallica and Aerosmith and April is forever taking my iPod to search through my collection of old New Kids on the Block or Wings music. It really warms my heart. Someday, the music I loved growing up will be classics my kids will love and enjoy and hum in the car....

...oh, wait.

In the News: Northridge Quake of '94

"I feel the earth move under my feet,
I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down..."

Well, not exactly. I mean I remember where I was when I heard about the earthquake. I was hundreds of miles away - in Vegas. It was the MLK holiday, a long weekend and I was woken up by my best friend, Silvia. I had taken the trip with her family and we had stayed with them at their house. I was 4 weeks shy of my 18th birthday.

What they showed on the television was absolutely terrifying. Buildings crumbled, freeways collapsed, people trapped. It was awful. In a time where cell phones were almost non-existent, I was unable to contact my family for hours. I mean HOURS. Because of everything going on with the earthquake, a trip that should have taken us 6 hours, ended up being 12. The traffic was horrendous. I just remember seeing everything and as we got closer to the Valley and prayed, prayed, prayed that my family was safe.

Thankfully, everyone was. My mom had told me about it - how it happened in the morning while it was still dark. How it felt like someone picking up a box and shaking violently, and about how everything in the kitchen jumped out of the cupboards and broke. She also left my room how it was, so I could see the damage done. Good thing I wasn't in bed, I would have drown. My goldfish that were in the aquarium across from bed - I found them laying in it when I got home.



I suppose the aftermath was the worst of it. The aftershocks, the sleeping in the camper in our front yard, the fires, and the countless families left homeless. School was canceled for a while - could have been a couple of weeks or so...I don't remember. But I do remember the tents. Schools and parks became temporary campsites - and Birmingham High was no exception. They were on the baseball field, the football field, and in our courtyard. I would pass them everyday going to class. That must have lasted a month. I do not remember exactly.



I find it interesting that one of the most significant things that happened in L.A. - I was not in town. Weird. I always think about how different things might have been if that Monday was not a holiday - the countless live that would have been lost in businesses, schools, on the freeways. CRAZY. Anyways, we left L.A. for Colorado soon after that - my mom was seriously and traumatically affected by the earthquake and jumped at the chance to move away. Changed our lives forever.

My kids, born and raised in Colorado, have never experienced. We recently visited the Science and Technology Museum in L.A. (its FREE!) where they have a exhibit where you can experience a rather large earthquake. We took our kids on the exhibit hoping they could gain an appreciation for what it is like to be in one. After we finished the "ride", my son turned to me and said, "Is that it? That was lame."

If he only knew....