...but I must be stupid to keep spending my money based on those promises.
As I've said in earlier blog posts, my early childhood was the happiest time(s) of my life so far. And as of press time I am unable to relive any of those times. I used to be good at it; I used to watch SHORT CIRCUIT (1986) in my mother's boyfriend's apartment around 1996, and thoroughly enjoyed it repeatedly. I used to watch GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) around that same time and discovered a set of previews for other Columbia Pictures films from that time frame on the tape after the credits ended; there was this film advertised titled JUST ONE OF THE GUYS (1985) that I wanted to BUY; see, back in those days of not all that long ago, when I went to the video store, the box art for movies at the video store(s) could easily preoccupy me for at least an hour. Cover art for films such as DEADLY GAMES (starring Steve Railsback - a veteran horror/thriller B-movie actor), GOOD-BYE CRUEL WORLD (1981; a HORRIBLE film from what I've read; supposedly a dark comedy about this suicidal dude), BASKET CASE 1&2 (they pretty much had the same box art, just one was in black & white and the other was in color; that intrigued me to no end back in those days...), GRAVEYARD SHIFT (1990; another waste of celluloid; the box art sure was great though!), FRIDAY THE 13TH 1-8 (the cover art for JASON GOES TO HELL kinda sucked), HALLOWEEN 1&2 + 4 & 5 (the third one had OK cover art; the film itself shoulda brought on a lawsuit for bait and switch; but I guess HALLOWEEN fans' money is pretty much tied up in other expenses...)...the list goes on and on; I can't even think of all of 'em.
So the prospect of owning an obscure yet unabashedly of-the-80's film such as JUST ONE OF THE GUYS tantalized me endlessly back then...I could just imagine the film sitting at The Warehouse in Salinas, CA and seeing it there priced at $24.99 (VHS tapes were still kind of expensive back then; $9.99 was considered a GRRRRRRRRREAT DEAL for a VHS tape...then the introduction of DVD brought attention to the fact that despite how awesome and pristine and clean and presentable the VHS tape may have been when purchased from Suncoast video, it/they will ultimately be destroyed after multiple viewings BECAUSE of the multiple viewings...kinda stupid to get worried about though; this whole crap about DVDs lasting 100 years is b.s.; the way I watch GHOSTBUSTERS at least once a month, I really doubt it'll last that long; every other movie I have would be perfectly fine on VHS, 'cause I don't watch the same movie day in an day out like I did when I was 3 yrs old...oh, wait you say DVDs don't wear out? Well, you may be right, but they used to say the same thing about CDs and this dude I know's father and a few or more of his friends have SEEN before their eyes the result of playing a CD day in and day out over a period of a few or so years...)
But anyway; DVD is the standard format, at least for now; so I primarily buy stuff on DVD. It is an improvement over VHS; time after time I'd rent a movie on VHS and have to get a refund; they get damaged much easier and the picture quality DOES degrade over time, especially if it is/was in a video store being handled by hundreds of people...but the box art back in the days of VHS was far superior to the cookie cutter, heartless/brainless/soulless box art of today's movies. More often than not, I ignore what's on the shelf at the video store, 'cause I have no reason to examine it. I sure as heck ain't gonna pick up EVERY SINGLE DVD in the store and read the description of it. No, the box art has to provide AT LEAST a small glimpse of what the film has to offer. That happened to me with LOST HIGHWAY (1997); the box art just looked STUPID; then I started researching this manic known as David Lynch and found out he did some "GREAT"(!) film called - you guessed it - LOST HIGHWAY, and saw a pic of the artwork and thought "darn it! after all this time..."...
But as I was saying, around 1996, I used to watch SHORT CIRCUIT and was provided with many a deep high of nostalgia. But I ALSO used to watch a lot of documentaries on the all mighty gloved one - there is no other: MICHAEL JACKSON. There was at least a couple that you could buy for like $3 or so at Kmart or wherever, and Video-To-Go (located in the Monterey County of California...or at least they were; they mighta gone defunct, how would I know? It's been over a decade since I moved to Missouri) had a VHS of THE MAKING OF MICHAEL JACKSON'S THRILLER, which I also enjoyed immensely...
But it's just kinda sad how you can watch those docs and get the feeling that the world was somehow better than it is now b/c people simply didn't know/think that MJ was this evil person; people used to be HAPPY at the thought of MJ's very existence; now they have to tell their children to be careful...I don't know if MJ did all that stuff or not - ya know, with the children...it seems odd that they sleep in the same bed as him, but isn't he a bit odd anyway (i.e.: don't odd people do odd things?)? And of course if you're gonna get on his case for being odd, you can start to suspect any # of things based on a few small pieces of fact...such as all the rooms that the kids in MJs house sleep in lead to his room...but paranoia isn't just for the sick of mind; it struck the whole political structure of this country in the 1950's.
MJ's got a new album coming out, sometimes this year hopefully. I was VERY disappointed with his 2001 CD INVINCIBLE; I didn't mind DANGEROUS (1991) and HIStory; disc 2 (1995) like a lot of people did; I thought "dang, this guy must be crazy and proud of it" or whatever, but I like dark stuff. Happy music like "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Thriller" have their place in the world, but so do the songs of tormented souls. The problem with INVINCIBLE was that MJ didn't really seem like he was being himself; I guess when you're perceived as being larger than life, you can pretty much say anything and people will believe you, such as/was the case with 1987's BAD...but MJ is just a man nowadays; people no longer WORSHIP pop stars. Even the boy band crap has dwindled into obscurity. Sure, people prolly pay a bit more attn to their fav stars than they "should", but this is a world without heroes. You can't be a suspected child molester and write songs about how "in love" you are with some woman...MJ isn't married for one thing and he WAS married - very briefly and just about everyone admits seeing him kiss his (at the time) wife wasn't believable and that it was only done as a publicity stunt. Not to say that I "KNOW" MJ is a child molester, but I DO know that he doesn't relate to the world around him like most people do...he's weird. He embraced his eccentricities on HIStory disc 2, so I liked it. INVINCIBLE was just too fake.
I just hope he can conjure up something imaginative instead of going with the current R&B hip hop trends of today. I do NOT care...Ok, I guess I don't like "black" music. I guess there's nothing wrong with it, just not my thing. MJ has always incorporated R&B in his music, but he's also put a lot of "regular" pop in it as well as some rock-ish style(s).
So hey look at me! I just ambiguously declared my hatred for the black American! Ok, if you think I'm serious about what I JUST SAID you need to re-read that last paragraph at least two more times.
Sorry; I was talking to a friend on IM; I was almost done with this anyway, sorry the ending is so abrupt and heartless. I just kinda forgot what the "main" point in what I was saying is/was...
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