I just read that Al B. Sure! has signed a deal with Hidden Beach Recordings for the release of his new studio album, Honey I'm Home, on June 23^rd. The first single from the set will be "I Love It (Papi Aye, Aye, Aye)" which is already available at iTunes. The album will also include covers of Sting's "Fragile," Michael Jackson's "Lady In My Life" and a new interlude version of his own 1988 hit "Nite And Day."

Al B. Sure!'s debut album from 1988, In Effect Mode, sold more than two million copies, topping the Billboard R&B chart for seven straight weeks. The album included his memorable single "Nite and Day", which hit #1 on the R&B singles chart and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since he has a new album coming out in June, this week's Flashback Video is "Nite and Day" by Al B. Sure!...

Most recently, Al B. Sure! was a DJ on Los Angeles radio station HOT 92.3 (KHHT) and played old school and R&B, on weekdays 10am - 1pm. Unfortunately, he was one of 590 Clear Channel employees let go on April 28, 2009. That might have been the motivation he needed to release his first studio album since 1992.

That wraps up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Field of Dreams

This is the movie starring Kevin Costner which is based on the novel Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. Costner's character builds a beautiful baseball field in the middle of his corn field and while most people consider him crazy, it becomes a very cathartic experience which makes many extraordinary dreams come true. It is a magical story and it has always held a special place in my heart for this reason as well as its connection to baseball. Here is the original trailer for Field of Dreams...

Field of Dreams has been included on my Best Baseball Movies list as well as my very popular Best Inspirational Speeches from 80s Movies list. Be sure to check out both of those if you have not before. They both include a link to watch my favorite scene from the movie when James Earl Jones delivers an outstanding monologue. When I visited the film site, I stood in the exact place that Jones made that speech and it gave me goosebumps just thinking about it.

The Field of Dreams movie site is located in Dyersville, Iowa. When Costner's character says in the film when asked by Shoeless Joe Jackson, "Is this heaven?" he responds, "No, it's Iowa." Click on that link to go to the website for the location which does not look much different than it did back in 1988 when filming took place. I personally enjoyed my stop there very much. I have included a couple pictures from my visit here. One is of the house and the bleachers that you should immediately recognize if you have seen the movie. The second is of me and a friend "having a catch" right there on the field. Since my visit was in late May, the corn is only ankle high so it does have quite the same effect it did in the movie. I think I will go back again in late July when the corn is taller to get the full effect.

I definitely recommend watching the movie again if you haven't seen it in a little while or never at all. I also highly recommend any fans of the movie to make the trip to Dyersville, Iowa to visit the place where so many of the scenes were filmed.

That's all I have for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: This is kind of amusing. Grab a calculator and follow the directions below. This quick procedure will calculate your age by how many times you think about Kickin' it Old School. It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read. Be sure you don't scroll to the bottom until you've worked it out!

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you think of Kickin' it Old School (keep it less than 10, though I am sure many of you would like to choose a number over 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759, if you haven't, add 1758.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should now have a three digit number (unless you chose zero, then just put a 0 in front of the two digit number you get).

The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times
you think about Kickin' it Old School each week.)

The next two numbers are...

YOUR AGE! ------ (Oh YES, it is!)

This is the only year (2009) it will ever work,

So try it out on others while you still can this year.

Quote of the day: "If you believe the impossible, the incredible can come true." -tagline from Field of Dreams (1989)

It was written and directed by the 80s movie genius John Hughes. It stars Matthew Broderick as the title character in what was truly his breakout role, though not his first. I already featured Broderick's first film WarGames in an earlier issue of "Preview Review." The film follows "Ferris," a high school senior, who skips school to spend a day having fun with his best friend "Cameron" (played by Alan Ruck) and his girlfriend "Sloane" (played by Mia Sara). The film also stars Jennifer Grey as his sister and Jeffrey Jones with a perfect performance as "Principal Ed Rooney."

I consider it one of the best movies of the 80s decade and I still enjoy watching it very much today. Here is the original trailer for Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

The real reason I chose to feature Ferris Bueller's Day Off this week is a thread that I read on MetaTalk which brought up an interesting alternate take on the movie. Here is what was posted there by someone called "Cool Papa Bell":

My favorite thought-piece about Ferris Bueller is the "Fight Club" theory, in which Ferris Bueller, the person, is just a figment of Cameron's imagination, like Tyler Durden, and Sloane is the girl Cameron secretly loves.

One day while he's lying sick in bed, Cameron lets "Ferris" steal his father's car and take the day off, and as Cameron wanders around the city, all of his interactions with Ferris and Sloane, and all the impossible hijinks, are all just played out in his head. This is part of the reason why the "three" characters can see so much of Chicago in less than one day -- Cameron is alone, just imagining it all.

It isn't until he destroys the front of the car in a fugue state does he finally get a grip and decide to confront his father, after which he imagines a final, impossible escape for Ferris and a storybook happy ending for Sloane ("He's gonna marry me!"), the girl that Cameron knows he can never have.

Those of you who have not seen Fight Club might not get the perspective, but those who have might find this intriguing. If you read the rest of the thread at the link above, you will find some interesting comments and debate. This really started me thinking and, though I ultimately came to the conclusion that it was highly unlikely the intention of John Hughes, it was quite the fascinating point of view. I thought I would share this with all of you in the hopes you would enjoy the possibility yourself.

That'll do it for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: There are two 80s icons who star in a direct-to-DVD movie release. Debbie (now going by Deborah) Gibson was the late 80s pop star with such hits as "Only In My Dreams," "Foolish Beat" and "Lost In Your Eyes." Lorenzo Lamas was the popular hunk actor who starred on Falcon Crest. They both star in this movie called Mega-Shark vs. Giant Octopus (coming May 26th) that looks so awful and campy, that I might just want to see it. What do you think?

Quote of the day: Here is a quote within a quote from this issue's movie - "A person should not believe in an '-ism,' he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, 'I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me.'" - "Ferris Bueller" played by Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Today (May 12, 2009) is the 61^st birthday of singer Steve Winwood. He was the lead singer in such bands as Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith, but had a marvelous run as a solo artist during the 80s. His 1982 song "Valerie" (which was re-mixed and re-released in 1987) ranks on my Best 80s Songs With One-Word Titles list. Winwood had back-to-back multi-platinum albums in 1986 with Back in the High Life and 1988 with Roll With It.

Back in the High Life is one of my favorite albums of the 80s decade, so I picked two songs from that 1986 album to feature this week. In celebration of his birthday, this week's first Flashback Video is "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood...

And this week's second Flashback Video is "Back in the High Life Again" by Steve Winwood...

That will do it for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Dr Pepper artifact may reveal soft drink's origin
By JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press Writer - Mon May 4

DALLAS - Poking through antiques stores while traveling through the Texas Panhandle, Bill Waters stumbled across a tattered old ledger book filled with formulas.

He bought it for $200, suspecting he could resell it for five times that. Turns out, his inkling about the book's value was more spot on than he knew. The Tulsa, Okla., man eventually discovered the book came from the Waco, Texas, drugstore where Dr Pepper was invented and includes a recipe titled "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters."

"I began feeling like I had a national treasure," said Waters, 59.

Dr Pepper's manufacturer says the recipe is not the secret formula for the modern day soft drink, but the 8 1/2-by-15 1/2 inch book is expected to sell between $50,000 to $75,000 when it goes up for auction at Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries on May 13.

"It probably has specks of the original concoction on its pages," Waters said.

Waters discovered the book, its yellowed pages stained brown on the edges, underneath a wooden medicine bottle crate in a Shamrock antiques store last summer. A couple months after buying it, he took a closer look as he prepared to sell it on eBay.

He noticed there were several sheets with letterheads hinting at its past, like a page from a prescription pad from a Waco store titled "W.B. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store." An Internet search revealed Dr Pepper, first served in 1885, was invented at the Old Corner Drug Store in Waco by a pharmacist named Charles Alderton. Wade Morrison was a store owner.
Faded letters on the book's fraying brown cover say "Castles Formulas." John Castles was a partner of Morrison's for a time and was a druggist at that location as early as 1880, said Mary Beth Webster, collections manager at the Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute in Waco.

As he gathered more information, Waters took a slower turn through the book's more than 360 pages, which are filled with formulas for everything from piano polish to a hair restorer to a cough syrup. He eventually spotted the "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters" formula.

"It took three or four days before I actually realized what I had there," Waters said.

The recipe written in cursive in the ledger book is hard to make out, but ingredients seem to include mandrake root, sweet flag root and syrup.

It isn't a recipe for a soft drink, says Greg Artkop, a spokesman for the Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group. He said it's likely instead a recipe for a bitter digestive that bears the Dr Pepper name.

He said the recipe certainly bears no resemblance to any Dr Pepper recipes the company knows of. The drink's 23-flavor blend is a closely guarded secret, only known by three Dr Pepper employees, he said.

Michael Riley, chief cataloger and historian for Heritage Auction Galleries, said they think it's an early recipe for Dr Pepper.

"We just feel like it's the earliest version of it," he said.

He hasn't, however, tested that theory by trying to mix up a batch. Neither has Waters; he's thought about it but would need to find someone to decipher all the handwriting.

Jack McKinney, executive director of the Waco museum, surmised that Alderton might have been giving customers something for their stomachs and added some Dr Pepper syrup to make it taste better.

"I don't guess there's any definitive answer. It's got to be the only one of its kind," Riley said.
McKinney said the ledger book was bound to be popular with Dr Pepper collectors because it's from the time the drink was invented.

Riley said the book was probably started around 1880 and used through the 1890s. It's not known who wrote the Dr Pepper recipe in the book, but they don't think it was the handwriting of Alderton or Morrison. Some of the formulas have Alderton's name after them.

At first, Alderton's drink inspired by the smells in the drugstore was called "a Waco." "People would come in and say, 'Shoot me a Waco,'" Riley said.

Soon renamed Dr Pepper, the drink caught on and other stores in town began selling it. Eventually, Alderton got out of the Dr Pepper business and Morrison and a man named Robert Lazenby started a bottling company in 1891.

Flipping through the pages of the ledger book takes one back to a time when drugstores were neighborhood hubs, selling everything from health remedies to beauty products mixed up by the stores' chemists. And among the formulas being mixed up in drugstores were treats for the soda fountain. A two-page spread in Waters' book has recipes for "Soda Water Syrups," including pineapple, lemon and strawberry.

"There were very few national brands," Riley said. "Their lifeblood was all their formulas."

This story immediately reminded me of the old Dr. Pepper commercials with the "Be a Pepper" slogan. This campaign began in the late 70s, but continued into the 80s all the way until 1985. Anybody that was old enough during those years has to remember the jingle which went "I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, she's a Pepper, we're a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?"

What you might not know is that song was originally sung by none other than Barry Manilow before he conducted Bette Midler's orchestra and before his own huge pop career when he was a renown commercial jingle writer. Manilow also sung the McDonald's "You Deserve a Break Today" jingle and actually wrote "Like a Good Neighbor" for State Farm and "I'm Stuck on Band-Aids." Another bit of trivia and connection to 80s pop culture is that in the 1986 film Short Circuit, the robot #5's first line is, "Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?"

Here is one of the "Be a Pepper" commercials that includes the memorable song and slogan. This particular commercial stars David Naughton who would later go on to star in the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London.

They just don't make commercials or market products like that anymore.

Dr. Pepper was in the news at the end of last year when, in a unique marketing strategy, Dr. Pepper when they had to pay up on a dare of sorts between themselves and Guns n' Roses front man Axl Rose. They stated that if Axl Rose managed to release his new album, Chinese Democracy, in 2008, they would give everyone in America a free Dr. Pepper. Chinese Democracy, which was in the works for fourteen years, was finally released on November 23, 2008 and everyone in America had the opportunity to "be a pepper" thanks to Guns n' Roses.

That'll do it for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I am by no means a Trekkie, but the new Star Trek movie directed by JJ Abrams opens in theaters and I have to say it looks pretty darn good. In honor of the new movie opening, I thought I would share this little clip of "old school" Star Trek which features an 80s connection with the 1988 song "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown. This series on the G4 channel is funny along the lines of Robot Chicken (which is one of my favorites).

Quote of the day: "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something." -Plato

Then I received an interesting little story about the word "up" that I thought I would share with you here. Lovers of the English language might enjoy this:

There is a two-letter word in English that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as being used as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v]. (look it "up" and see for yourself.)

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing:
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it does not rain for a while, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now ... my time is UP, so time to shut UP!

I had not really thought of it that way before. So I started thinking about songs with the word "up" in the title and decided it deserved a list. Of course, I decided to narrow this list down to just 80s songs and it will not include songs with "up" as part of a longer word like Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" or anything like that. I will include video links for each song on the list in case you need/want reminding. So here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 SONGS FROM THE 80s WITH THE WORD "UP" IN THE TITLE:

Honorable Mention. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (1987) by Rick Astley - I have done two issues so far on Rickrolling and here is a link to the first one and a link to the second one if you have not read them before. This phenomenon is quite odd yet interesting and worth checking out both of those issues.

10.(tie) "Straight Up" (1989) by Paula Abdul [link to video] and "Dress You Up" (1985) by Madonna [link to video]

9. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (1984) by Wham! [link to video]

8. "Turn Up The Radio" (1984) by Autograph [link to video]

7. "Stir It Up" (1984) by Patti LaBelle [link to video] - From the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop

6. "Give It Up" (1983) by KC & the Sunshine Band [link to video]

5. "Up Where We Belong" (1982) by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes [link to video of live performance] - From the soundtrack to An Officer and a Gentleman and included on both my Top Songs from 80s Movies list and my Top 80s Duets list

4. "Wrap It Up" (1986) by The Fabulous Thunderbirds [link to video]

3. "Word Up" (1986) by Cameo [link to video] - It is so bad that it's good

2. "Caught Up In You" (1982) by .38 Special [link to video]

1. "Shake It Up" (1981) by The Cars [link to video of live performance]

There's my list. Let me know if there are any of your favorites from the 80s that might have been missed. These song titles just go to show some of the variety of uses for the word "up." Hope you found this look at "UP" as interesting as I did.

Well, I think I have used UP all I have on this topic, so I will wrap UP this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks so much for reading. If you are interested in reading more of my 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you are interested in reading more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here are some pictures that literally represent the titles of the some 80s Songs. See how many you can guess! Some are more obvious than others, but hope you enjoy it. I will include the answers at the bottom.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Answers - 1) "When Doves Cry" by Prince, 2) "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors, 3) "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins, 4) "St. Elmo's Fire" by John Parr, 5) "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo, 6) "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler, 7) "Maneater" by Hall & Oates

Quote of the day: "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson (NOTE: in keeping with this issue's topic, the quote includes the word "up")

Michael Douglas to Star in Wall Street 2
Apr 29, 2009 by Gina DiNunno

Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone are gearing up to make the Wall Street sequel - and with Wall Street riding a little lower these days, the timing couldn't be any better.

Douglas, who won an Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko in the original, revealed the project was initially titled Money Never Sleeps until Stone, who directed Wall Street in 1987, came on board and changed it to Wall Street 2.

"It starts up a couple years ago. Gordon Gekko has just got out of jail and we kind of deal with all the issues that are going on now," said Douglas during his appearance on Ellen on Wednesday. "It's an excellent script. I'm really excited about it. There's going to be some exciting casting news coming up in the next couple of weeks, which I can't say yet."
Shia LaBeouf is in negotiations to join Douglas, according to Variety.

The original is one of my favorite movies from the 80s and this sequel seems like it might have potential especially with Douglas (now 64 years old) reprising his "Gordon Gekko" role and Oliver Stone back to direct. With this exciting news about the sequel, I am going to make the 1987 orginal the sixth issue of my 80s Movie Trailer of the Week feature I call "Preview Review."

The original also starred Charlie Sheen with an outstanding performance as "Bud Fox." Sheen had also turned in an outstanding performance as "Pvt. Chris Taylor" in Stone's 1986 film Platoon. As of right now, Sheen does not look like he will be appearing in the sequel.

Here is the original trailer for Wall Street...

As a bonus, here is the trailer for the 20^th Anniversary DVD which was released back in 2007...

Wall Street appeared at the top of my popular list of Most Inspirational Speeches from 80s Movies list. That issue is definitely worth checking out if you have not already done so. The key line from that speech, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." was voted as the #57 all-time movie quote by the American Film Institute (AFI) and as #70 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007. I would rank it much higher personally, but the fact that it appears in the top 100 of all time is pretty impressive. It is reported that the speech was inspired by a similar speech given by Ivan Boesky at the University of California's commencement ceremony in 1986. Boesky was a Wall Street arbitrageur who paid a $100 million penalty to the SEC to settle insider trading charges later that same year. In his speech, Boesky said "Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to know that. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself."

I have complained often about all of the recent plans to remake classic 80s movies, but making sequels is a different story especially if it is warranted and done with respect and care. In this case, Wall Street 2 seems to be going at it the right way and thus I am actually anxious to see how it turns out.

That'll do it for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Somebody sent me this nature video about the Wood Spider and I was quite shocked to find out some things about this species that I hadn't known before (warning, might be a tad offensive to some folks)...

Quote of the day: There are two quotes that I love from Wall Street and both are said by character "Lou Mannheim" played by Hal Holbrook...
"The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don't want to do."
and
"A man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss."