Polly-O String Cheese | Pizza With Nuthin'

"Gimme a pizza with nothin'" vintage commercial
for Polly-O String Cheese.

The other day my husband was peeling apart a string cheese. We are regular consumers of low-fat string cheese sticks because they're the perfect quick snack. 

I'm a rebel when it comes to devouring a string cheese -- I nibble or bite into it.  My husband, on the other hand, slowly peels back each piece the way string cheese was meant to be eaten. Whenever I see him do this, I tease him. He's not much of a jokester, but on this particular occasion he put on his best New York accent and said, "Hey, gimme a pizza with NOTHIN'" (hold the sauce, hold the crust) and I quickly caught on and replied in a gruff old man voice, "NUTHIN?"  

I had completely forgotten about this gem of a 1980s commercial for Polly-O String Cheese. If you're about 34+ you may remember it, if not, click the YouTube video below and view the vintage Polly-O string cheese commercial. It's hard to believe we were just kids when string cheese first came out.

Two Polly-O String Cheese trivia tidbits for ya:

1. I went to school with a relative of the Polly-O String Cheese family on Long Island, blogged about her haunted house a while back here and here.

2. I learned that the kid in this video is named Vinny Caravella, founder of this video game website called GiantBomb.com.

*Photo credit from http://theactionroom.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/monday-nov-8th-2010/

Ethan Hawke & River Phoenix in Explorers

The young, late River Phoenix, Ethan Hawke
and Jason Presson star in Explorers.

In the 1980s, I was mesmerized by "boy movies" like Explorers, NeverEnding Story, Weird Science, ET and Stand By Me. Sure, it helped that the teen male actors were adorable, but the allure was deeper than that. It gave us girls a peek at the secret lives of boys. How they talked when we weren't around. How they thought. How they joked. What their bedrooms looked like ... everything!

Sure I had a brother, but he was four years younger and still played with cap guns and GI Joes when I was 12, so he didn't really count. It was the life of preteen and young teen boys that peeked my curiosity. I'm sure most guys would admit films like Explorers and Weird Science depicted the life of boys as way more sci-fi/action/adventure than reality, but still ... 

The 1985 movie, Explorers, captured the
imaginative world of cute boys.

Basically Explorers focuses around three cute young teen boys portrayed by Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix (their first feature film) and somewhat unknown actor, Jason Presson. I thought Jason was extraordinarily special. His voice was noticeably deeper than the other stars. Slightly schlubby, he was cute without trying. His wavy hair didn't fall the way Ethan's and River's did and he seemed deep, dark and secretive.

Sorry for getting slightly off-topic... Basically Ethan Hawke's character Ben has a vivid dream about traveling through space in a special space ship. He consults his friends and they get to work putting Ben's dream into action. Explorers is obviously a fantasy film most youngsters would get excited about. You know, one of those movies you wish could really happen, but can't. 

Here are some bullet points about Explorers and a video clip of the Explorers trailer featuring Ethan, River and Jason.

• Explorers was written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante.
• Explorers hit theaters on July 12, 1985 and suffered from
• The DVD version of Explorers cut two scenes from the original theatrical version, but threw in an additional scene missing from the box office release.
• Writer Eric Luke appears in the film as one of the boy's teachers. 
• Amanda Peterson also stars in the film as a pretty 12-year-old prior to her role as Cindy in Can't Buy Me Love.

View or watch the trailer for Explorers staring Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix and Jason Presson here:

Kajagoogoo Too Shy Shy Hush Hush Eye To Eye

England's Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" rocked my world in 1983.

For some odd reason I cannot get this Kajagoogoo song, "Too Shy" out of my head. Before you can say you've never heard of Kajagoogoo, you'll have to click the YouTube video below. I promise if you were alive in 1983, one listen to this British new wave band's "Too Shy" will bring you right back to the roller rink days of the mid 1980s.

Though this one-hit-wonder only reached #5 on the 1983 Top 100 Billboard chart, Kajagoogoo nailed it with this totally tubular new wave jam.  Sing it with me, "Hey girl, move a little closer ... You're too shy, shy, hush, hush eye to eye..."

Check out the 1983 video for Kajagoo's "Too Shy"