Corey Feldman Reacts To Corey Haim's Death

It's nearly midnight on the official day of Corey Haim's death. When I first heard the news this morning I was sad, yet not quite sure how Corey's death would affect me throughout the day. To be honest I'm still bummed about it. A part of my childhood was taken with Corey Haim today, similar to the day we lost 1980s movie maker, John Hughes.

To make matters worse, several hours after I blogged about my reaction to Corey Haim's death, I received an email alert from Corey Feldman's blog. Corey's words broke my heart and suddenly I was thrown into thinking about what it must be like to lose a friend you've known for 20+ years. 

I thought for a moment and realized something about Corey Feldman's sadness. Corey has lost three very close friends in less than one year. I thought my year sucked between my husband's furlough and my somewhat surprising layoff, which resulted in losing our mortgage a month before we planned to close on our first home. I guess I should consider myself lucky that all of my friends are still alive and well.

First Corey lost Michael Jackson in June and had to deal with a mess of annoying press about his wardrobe choices and so on... Then in early fall, statements were released that after seven years of marriage, Corey Feldman and his wife Susie were calling it quits and getting a divorce. Corey has blogged about his broken heart and his love for Zen--his beautiful little boy--the spitting image of Corey as a small child.

This is not Corey Feldman's best year. How much can a guy take?

His reaction on CNN's Larry King Live somewhat surprised me. I expected him to reflect on memories and recap the last encounters they shared. However, Corey Feldman cut the bull sh*t and opened up one awesome "Can of Whop Ass" (do people still say that?) and attacked the media. I wanted to give Feldman ten high fives! Everything he pointed out was truly right on! 

The tabloids made a mockery out of Corey Haim and Corey Feldman for years. Constantly pointing out their shortcomings or any sign of failure they could drudge up--just as they do with all celebrities.  When someone gains a few ounces they make the front cover of The Enquirer. When someone has marital trouble or a slight scuffle with paparazzi, TMZ is right there to catch it all in an attempt to make us laugh.

I was shocked to see harsh commentary on media websites from younger, angry web-surfers saying, "Who cares? Who the hell is Corey Haim?" or "Dirty druggie, he deserved to die!" Most of the negative comments were littered with typos, misspellings and poor grammar, saying a lot about the uneducated idiots thoughtlessly posting comments about someone's son, someone's friend, someone they've never even met. Could it be the media that has helped create such hateful young spawn?

Corey Haim made the landing page of every major media outlet website in the world on March 10. Where were these important press, media contacts and Tweeting celebs when Corey Haim took out that full page ad in Variety two years ago pleading for work? Corey Feldman points this out and I applaud him for that.

So other than downright angry and shocked, how is Corey Feldman really feeling? "He's not dong very well at all. This is the second life-long friend he's lost in 8 months. I spoke to him and we cried together on the phone. He's strong but he's really sad right now," reported his estranged wife, Susie Feldman to RadarOnline.com.

Susie often butted heads with Corey Haim on episodes of their A & E reality show, The Two Coreys. As a wife myself, I understood many of her outbursts regarding Haim moving into the Feldman home. I think it's not uncommon for a small amount of tension to exist between single men and their married friend's wife, not to mention sharing a house with them.

I dedicate today's blog to Corey Feldman. I am so sorry that you lost your friend. My heart goes out to you Corey Feldman. I can't even imagine what you're feeling as I have never lost a friend or family member prematurely. At 38, your friend was much too young to say goodbye. 

Click here to watch Corey Feldman talk with Larry King regarding the loss of his friend.

My Personal Letter From Corey Feldman

Today's focus is on Corey Scott Feldman, BC as in "Before Corey Haim."  Corey Haim was adorable as well, but I want to share a few things about Corey Feldman as a youngster.

This is ...

Corey Feldman before he became friends with Michael Jackson.

Corey Feldman before he had long hair and snazzy footwear.

Corey Feldman before he was a dark vampire.

Corey Feldman before he was messing around with drugs.

Sure I adored him in Gremlins and The Goonies, but my love affair with Corey began much earlier than that. So I'm taking you back ... way back...

Just like I love bands before they sell out and feature their songs in car commercials, I loved my child stars before anyone knew them. I loved them when they had only two lines on Mork & Mindy, Love Boat and Cheers. I rarely liked the lead child actor. It was always his friend who appeared in maybe 10% of the episodes, whom I needed to know more about.

I remember Corey in commercials for cereal and McDonalds and later as the tiniest Bad News Bear (the TV series).

I remember catching Corey on an episode or two of Eight is Enough and One Day at a Time.

I remember Corey as the nosey kid next-door on a bizarre show called Madame's Place.  Madame was a feisty old diva puppet (yes puppet) with a heavy smoker voice.  Here's the intro credits - wait for it!!!!!

I remember recognizing Corey's adorable deep voice as Copper the hound dog back in the 1981 Walt Disney's animated film, The Fox & The Hound.

I don't remember Corey in Friday The 13th. That was rated R and I wasn't allowed to see R-rated movies.

I followed Corey throughout the majority of his career. In a way, it's as if we grew up together but as he got older, I outgrew him--yet consider myself somewhat of an adult fan of his today.

When I wrote my book on Aaron Carter, I came up with the pen name, Corey Barnes after the Coreys and another child star, CB Barnes.

In the mid-1980s, I wrote Corey at least ten letters. Finally, the week of August 6, 1985 something magical happened. I received a personal handwritten response that I truly believe was penned by Corey himself.  Weeks later, I received black and white photos, a typed bio, resume and info on how to join his fan club. I have a blue Trapper Keeper filled with letters, cards and other responses I've received from celebrities. Here's my Corey letter. It's hard to believe it's 25 years old. Check it out. Click on it to enlarge!

Corey Feldman, Let's Just Be Friends

If you've been following me for a while, you know all about my love for Corey Scott Feldman. Hell, I've only mentioned him in about maybe six out of about 155 blog entries, so that's not too obsessive, right? 

Anyway, so here's the deal. My BFF blogger Jesse at Not Worth Mentioning tells me about this awesome video he just got his hands on featuring my childhood fave, COREY FELDMAN. 

  

The YouTube video is a Dees Guys production about, well, dees guys Nick and Michael. Nick and Michael are two young dudes doin' their TV production thing in Hollywood while mackin' on girls, chillin' with friends and whatnot. Kinda reminds me slightly of the boyish humor stylings of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Their sketch comedy web series Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Nick is hilarious and can be viewed here on YouTube. I think the Nick character is pretty freakin' skater/indie boy hawt and Michael is too, but in more of a scruffy Luke Perry way. It's easy to relate to Michael having that friend who has nothing but good luck in every sense of the word.

OK, so here's where Corey comes in. 

In this one particular Dees Guys episode (view it here) Corey Feldman is the all-knowing advice-giving guy Guru and that's when it hit me. My childhood crush has matured. I've moved on from wanting to make out with Corey Feldman to wanting to just do coffee with him or maybe check out some cool vintage clothing and record shops together downtown.

To be honest, I think this vibe may have developed prior to the Dees Guys episode of Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Nick. I think it struck me possibly while watching The Two Coreys, his reality show with the dearly departed Corey Haim (so sad). 

As a kid, I had this massive crush on Corey Feldman, not really knowing how else to feel about this cute Bad News Bear who went on to portray the adorable kid-next-door in Gremlins and funny friend in The Goonies.

In fact just the other day Erin at Blogging is for Dorks talked about this. As a married adult, you don't want to "get" with these celebs in the biblical sense, you just wanna sorta be their friend.

So here here my message to Corey Feldman:

Corey, today I'm 37 and married. Friendship is all I can now offer you and I'm sure you're beyond okay with that. Maybe even extremely relieved and breathing easier.  

One thing I will always hold dear is my personal letter from you, old pal Corey Feldman.That's one thing marriage and maturity will never take away from me.

One-Year Anniversary of Corey Haim's Death

This was the Corey I loved. 

A year ago today on March 10, 2010, we learned that a part of our 1980s childhood was now gone. Corey Ian Haim found dead at 38. Reports from TMZ saying, "Actor Corey Haim died this morning of an apparent overdose -- possibly accidental -- according to LAPD," caught the attention of '80s kids everywhere.

Last year at this time, Corey fans from all over the world vented about the tragic loss via emails, YouTube videos (vlogs), blog posts and more. My first thoughts went to Corey Feldman. My heart broke for Feldman who blogged about the loss of his dear friend.

As a big time Corey Feldman fan, Corey Haim had always been one of  "The Two Coreys." I loved Haim in his early movies such as the TV movie A Time To Live and films including: Secret Admirer, Murphy's Romance, First Born, Silver Bullet and Lucas. He seemed nice, innocent, kid-next-door who'd ride bikes with you and overlook your faults.

As he transitioned from child actor to teen idol, my crush faded. I think I felt he had become "Cool Corey." I was chubby and awkward -- I wouldn't have had a chance to date him if we were classmates. I never got into The Lost Boys and the teen comedies he did with Corey Feldman like License to Drive and Dream A Little Dream. Though the crush had faded, Corey Haim has always had a dear place in my heart.

Cool Corey was slightly intimidating.

Click here to read the blog I posted last year about Corey Haim's untimely death.

Click here to read the blog I posted about Corey Feldman's reaction to losing his good friend, Corey Haim.

I Remember Corey Haim

I knew something was up.

Things have been quiet on the Haim front for quite some time now. Corey Feldman hasn't really mentioned oldest and dearest friend Haim in his CoreyFeldman.net blog lately and rarely discusses Haim in interviews following their very public break-up on the 2007-2008 A&E reality show The Two Coreys.

Born December 21, 1971 (he was 13 months older than me) Corey Haim was 38 when TMZ reported his death today. Although I loved Corey, I truly only followed him in his earlier career. As he grew up, I moved on and began to fancy boys in bands and then there was my whole Monkees obsession of course. By the time Corey Haim filmed Lost Boys, I was no longer collecting Tiger Beat pinups on the cute Canadian.

In 1984, I loved Haim in First Born and cried when his onscreen mom's drug dealin' boyfriend beat him. Teri Garr of Mr. Mom fame portrayed his mom. I didn't care about Sarah Jessica Parker being in that film, but thought Robert Downey Jr. was cool.

I remember Corey Haim in Secret Admirer with Tommy Howell--even though his role was small. 
  
I remember in the spring and summer of 1985, reading all about his up-coming film Silver Bullet --a scary movie based upon a Steven King story. I remember hoping and praying it wouldn't be rated R. I remember thinking it was so weird seeing him in a wheelchair, but respecting him as an actor to pull it off so realistically. 

I remember that he got his start on a Canadian TV show, The Edison Twins, but never had the opportunity to view it because back in the early '80s we obviously didn't have YouTube or the Internet.

I remember loving that Corey was to star in Murphy's Romance because as a "littler" kid I loved watching reruns of Gidget and his mom was to be played by Sally Field.  

I remember Corey Haim talking about his mom and sister in interviews and how he landed the part of Lucas and what it was like working with Charlie Sheen. I remember hating how Corey was treated in the movie and promising myself I'd be nicer to nerdy kids.


I remember Corey Haim was often photographed with his mouth slightly open, there was something really cute about that and I would try to pose for pictures with friends making that same "lost" expression with my mouth open. I remembered he had a funny, yet adorable way of speaking - almost like he had marbles in his mouth and a slight lisp or speech impediment.


The Corey Haim I remember didn't do drugs. The Corey Haim I remember didn't get press because of bankruptcy issues or due to a bloated look resulting from drug abuse. He was young, sweet and fresh-faced. I have chosen to allow myself to miss the pre-Lost Boys Corey. Because that's honestly the Corey Haim I loved.


Fast forward to 1997 when I wrote my book, Aaron Carter, Backstreet Brother for Random House. I needed a pen name and fast. I went with the name Corey Barnes. Corey after Feldman and Haim. Barnes after a little known '80s actor, C.B. Barnes.



My thoughts and condolences go out to his mom Judy and family and to Corey Feldman--whom we all know is hurting today.

When I first fell in love with Corey:

The Goonies 25th Anniversary in Astoria Oregon

I Should Be At The Goonies 25th Anniversary Celebration in Astoria, Oregon - But I'm Not, Which Sucks!

• 25 years ago this weekend, I was 11 1/2 (to kids, the half is very important).
• 25 years ago this weekend, it was with much anticipation that I witnessed one of my most favorite movies, The Goonies (favorite next to E.T. of course).
• 25 years ago this weekend, I went to see a film because I had a crush on Corey Feldman and left loving Sean Astin. Sean with his mop of auburn hair, freckles, braces, decked out all in Wrangler dark denim and sucking on an asthma inhaler--boy was he yummy!
• 25 years ago this weekend, I carried a mini tape recorder into the theater with me so that I could bring The Goonies home with me.  I recorded all of the audio. To this day, I swear I can recite every bit of the script while watching the DVD.
• 25 years ago this weekend, I began pouring my allowance into Goonies movie cards, books, posters, anything I could get my hands on--much like I did with E.T.
• 25 years ago this weekend, began my summer love with The Goonies. Ask anyone I went to Hofstra University drama day camp with or my grammar school buddies. Summer of '85 I was all about those damn Goonies!
• 25 years ago this weekend, I adored Cyndi Lauper and her hit song "Goonies 'R' Good Enough". Check tomorrow's blog for the video.
• 25 years ago this weekend, I began writing dozens of letters to the stars of The Goonies. Take note, this was all I received in return:

(click to enlarge)

<-- Postcard from actor Ke Huy Quan who portrayed the adorable Richard "Data" Wang (did you know that his real-life little sister portrayed the little girl stomping her feet when Brand/Josh Brolin stole her bike?). That blank space is where Ke Huy was supposed to tell me what a great fan I was and sign. He didn't. Not sure why I saved it.

As you know, Corey did eventually send me a handwritten letter! This letter won me over and I soon forgot Sean Astin and was all about Corey Feldman again.

I wish I was at The Goonies 25th Anniversary Event in Astoria, Oregon, but alas, I'm unemployed and therefore didn't have the funds to join my lover Corey Feldman and co. and am stuck reading all about it in his Corey Feldman Wordpress blog instead.

Corey Feldman Hints of Goonies Sequel

If you've been following FourthGradeNothing.com for a while, you know how much I adore Corey Feldman and The Goonies. Yesterday, reports surfaced that yes, indeed a Goonies sequel is in the works, according to Corey Feldman.

Blogs state that The Goonies sequel can go one of several ways and here's how I feel about it.


Goonies - The Broadway Musical
WTF? No! I'm so sick of all the hype that High School Musical started several years ago. These days all we hear about is Glee and new offbeat musicals. I will just cry if they turn The Goonies into a Broadway show. I can see it now, Chunk and Sloth gettin' down with Baby Ruths in-hand rocking along doing the Truffle Shuffle. No! This is just so wrong. 


Goonies - With New Kids & New Adventures
Oh no, not another Karate Kid remake. I can't take it. I am not behind this idea at all. I don't want to see Zac Efron as Mikey's older brother "Brand" and Dakato Fanning as Steph. It just seems so unnatural to me. I can just picture Miley Cyrus covering Cyndi Lauper's "Goonies R Good Enough" song. Please make it stop!


Goonies - Reuniting The Original Cast
Now we're talking! Bring it! I would love to see the original crew back for another adventure or even in the role of parents telling the story to their kids. Anything, but the above two sequel options would make me so happy. There was a time I adored Sean Astin. I only mentioned him in my summer 1985 diaries like a billion times. Today he no longer does it for me, but in my mind he will always be the one and only Mikey Walsh, asthmatic inhaler and all.

Postcards From Jason & Justine Bateman

If you've been following my blog for a bit, you'll know it's no secret that growing up I was head-over-heels in love with Jason Bateman. Jason, Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Kirk Cameron and Ralph Macchio were my other top favorite teen stars - I had scrapbooks, posters, pin-ups, etc. I wrote them countless letters in hopes of some sort of acknowledgment.

Anyway, during the Silver Spoons/Family Ties era of 1983, my favorite actor and actress were Jason from Silver Spoons and his big sister Justine from Family Ties. I watched both shows religiously while sitting Indian style on the floor of our den, glued to the TV set.
 

I must have sent Jason at least five letters before turning to his sister to find out why I was getting the brushoff. I thought, WTF? I had to be the coolest 11-year-old fan he had. I wore preppy sweaters and liked cool music like Jason. I knew all of his favorite foods, colors and movies. I could see us hanging out at the arcade together sipping a Slurpee (well, Mom didn't allowed me to have Slurpees, too much sugar, but still).

I read so many articles in Tiger Beat and Bop about Jason. It was like I actually knew him. I loved how we were both from New York -- even though he was from Rye, a place I had never been to. The only thing I knew about Rye at age 11, was that it was home to Rye Playland, an awesome-looking amusement park often advertised on WPIX.

I knew Jason's mom was a flight attendant. I knew his middle name was Kent, after his dad. I knew his birthday was January 14. I knew his height and weight.  I knew every single TV show he had ever appeared on. Yes, I was his biggest fan. Let the loser girls have Ricky, "The Ricker" (super lame!) -- Jason was all mine!

So one fateful July summery day, I received a postcard from Justine. I had begged her to have her bro send me a note and an autographed photo. There it was, in green ink, the artsiest, coolest handwriting ever - a note written just to me! PERSONALLY! It said:

"HI ALLYSON - JASON HAS YOUR LETTER BUT HE IS GETTING NEW PHOTOS SO HE WILL ANSWER YOU NEXT WEEK. THERE IS A STORY & PICS IN 'TEEN BEAT' & NBC NEW YORK HAS A BIO AND 'PEOPLE' & 'TV GUIDE' HAVE INFO."

[click on images to view larger]

A few days later, I received a postcard in the exact same handwriting, confirming it wasn't really Jason or Justine who replied. My heart sank. Maybe it was their mom. Maybe it was their publicist. I was crushed, yet still excited to snag their autographs.

"THANKS FOR YOUR LETTER TO ME. I AM 14. JANUARY 14, 1984 I'LL BE 15. JUSTINE SAYS HI. SHE IS MY SISTER [NO SHIT DUDE!] I JUST DID A MOVIE WITH GARY COLEMAN CALLED 'DC COLLINS' [YES, I KNOW THIS ALREADY].

So that was the last I heard from the Bateman's. We weren't going to be friends. We weren't hittin' the mall any time soon. Jason and I wouldn't be playing an intense game of Pac-Man in the near future. He wasn't moving back to NY. He was probably living life in that magical place I had never been to called Woodland Hills. Home to Corey and all of the other cool kids, while I rotted in Nassau County, Long Island. Home to nobody cool at the time other than Billy Joel who was much too old for me.

I never really followed Jason into adulthood. I gave up on all of this teen idol nonsense by about 9th grade. I recently checked in on ole JB on Wiki. It turns out his parents were living off of his and Justine's paychecks. He married Paul Anka's daughter, which is pretty cool - my dad used to sing Paul Anka songs to me when I was little. Dad and I danced to his song "Time Of Your Life" at my wedding.

Jason today still working hard in movies and TV

10 Questions About This Blogger

Please forgive me for not commenting lately, I'm totally swamped -- have had a crazy, busy week jam-packed with freelance writing projects. No time to blog even which bums me out a bit. Here's a quick and easy post. Ten Questions stolen from What's That? blog. 

1. What are you most excited for RIGHT NOW?

Sadly, nothing really. A few nights out planned with friends and a huge family reunion is planned for July in Virginia where it will surely be balls-hot. I do so love hotel rooms though.

 

2. Who is your style icon? What inspires your look? 

Nobody, I have no look. I'm anti-fashion and somewhat stuck in the '90s. I wear what I can afford and what fits. I do cling to my indie, hipster ways of my youth. Never wear heels, always wear Docs and skater style sneakers, dark denim and Paul Frank purses, that's about it. My MIL will always talk about boots or Uggs or skinny jeans or say "it's what all the women are wearing now" which are typically items I'd never be caught dead in.

3. If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you invite?

Dead - I'd want all of my teen stars to hang: Corey Haim, River Phoenix, Brad Renfro, etc. but not Heath - I wasn't really a fan of his.

Alive - Jason Bateman, Jack Black and Corey Feldman

4. What did you dress up as for your first Halloween? 

I don't dress up. I slapped on some dumb black bob-style wig, gothic dress and false eyelashes. I looked like an idiot. 
UPDATE- I'm such a loser - I thought the question was LAST Halloween! My first Halloween I think I was a witch. I don't remember really.

5. What are you improving? Dieting and working out more, trying to enhance my writing and SEO skills for work purposes

6. What is the strangest compliment you’ve ever received?  I don't get compliments but once my college boyfriend's mom exclaimed, "Oh my g*d, you have a waist!" after I lost 60 lbs. She then told him he better start dieting before I dump his ass. He quickly lost 40 and dumped my ass before I could dump his :(   

7. What’s your little-known talent? 

I like to think I'm good at, um, never mind.

8. What do you obsessively search for on eBay?  It used to be these John Fluevog platform-ish shoes I once owned and LOVED back in like 1997, they made my feet look adorable. I could never find them again and gave up. I stay away from eBay for now. I used to search for Fred Perry shirts, Jadeite and other hard-to-find vintage stuff.

9. When you were a child, who did you worship & want to be like? So pathetic, but I worshiped so many male stars, I actually wished I was Jason Bateman or Kirk Cameron or one of the many teen idols I loved. I just wanted to be on a hit TV show and be famous and get lots of fan mail. I always swore I'd reply to every letter no matter how much time it took me. 

10. What was your palate band? Otherwise known as the first band you heard that made you realize the world of music was larger than whatever the Top 20 singles were!  Palate band? I have never heard that term in my life... Anyway, I guess it's New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure and The Smiths as I discovered them all on the same day from an older girl I once knew.

I Wrote a Justin Bieber Book!

Justin Bieber book written by me!

It's not exactly a secret that growing up, I was a big time fan of teen idols. I loved Jason Bateman, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Sean Astin and more. So you can imagine how excited I was to write THREE celebrity biographies for children. Check 'em out. 

Justin Bieber - is like, either you LOVE him or LOATHE him. Regardless, you cannot deny Justin Bieber is truly living the dream. To go from a regular small town kid from Canada to a HUGE star -- seriously! Unlike most celebs, Justin Bieber didn't have famous parents. He didn't come from big bucks. He's a true rags to riches story and I admire that about the kid. He's also incredibly talented (he plays several instruments) and beyond generous. He's involved in so many charities and causes, the list is endless... I won't lie, after writing this Justin Bieber book, I myself became a Belieber. I thought this was kinda cool, I once blogged about his nice-looking dad, Jeremy Bieber and his GRANDMA commented. Her name is Kate and her comment is the very last one.

Selena Gomez book written by me!

Selena Gomez - an awesome role model for young girls. Selena Gomez happened upon a Barney audition in her home state of Texas and basically the work trickled in from there. Today she's a successful singer and actress both in movies and TV. Obviously, in addition to being mega talented, she's made headlines as Justin Bieber's girlfriend. Selena has her own clothing line, is an ambassador for UNICEF and is involved in dozens of charities and causes, much like Justin Bieber.

Twilight star, Taylor Lautner book, yup by me!

Taylor Lautner - Twilight fans know him as Jacob, Taylor Lautner hails from Michigan and I have to say, he's another kid any parent would be proud of. Focused, smart and grounded, Taylor stays away from celeb parties and gossip. At press time, he wasn't tweeting, didn't have a Facebook page or even an official website. Talk about a low-key hot young star workin' it to remain under the radar. 

I Wish I Was a Baseball Fan

Yesterday, one of my favorite bloggers, Salt, talked about her love of baseball. I read with envy as she spoke about her love for catching a game in her home state of Maryland. She doesn't care who wins or loses, she's in it for the good times.

Oh dear readers, I wish I cared about baseball. I was raised in a house of crazy Mets and Yankees fans, depending on what year we're talking. My maternal grandpa was a Yankees fanatic his entire life. My paternal grandma has become an obsessed Yankees fan in her later years. My aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone loves baseball.

As a little kid in the 1980s, I had a crush on Mets player, Ron Darling. I swear I did. I'd sometimes watch the games with my mom. I never actually paid attention to the game though. Instead, I'd day dream about Corey Feldman or what snack to fix. I wasn't actually "watching" the game.

Today, I still can't escape baseball. I married the #1 Yankees fan in the entire state of New Jersey. The Connecticut/New York/New Jersey tri-state folk often love the Yankees or Mets baseball teams. Unless you get too close to New England, then you're a Connecticut resident who loves the Boston Red Socks or if you live in South Jersey, too close to Philly, you love The Phillies.

Johnny Damon Yankees makeover: Cute rocker turned clean cut.

Why can't I somehow find it in me to fall in love like my family, husband, bloggers and the other wives of baseball fans? I've tried to develop crushes on Yankee players, but I was never really all that attracted to jocks, so the crushes fade faster than someone can steal home plate (wait, does that analogy even make sense?). I tried loving Johnny Damon, then he cut his hair to play for The Yankees. Now he's not even on the team.

Yankees Nick Swisher ... Sorta douchey looking, no?

I tried loving Nick Swisher. However, Nick Swisher kinda reminds me of one of those cocky jerks I'd encounter at a Long Island night club back in the day. Gripping a 50 cent Bud Light, he'd fumble his way over to me and spit out the following classic line, "Yo, 'eh, my friend wants your number, bah hah, NOTTTT!!!' then quickly run away bumping into people and spilling his cheap beer everywhere.

I long to some day join in the Facebook banter between high school alumni, relatives and friends who update their status minute to minute with the play by play. "Come on A-Rod, you can do it!" and "Nice play, Yanks 2, Tampa Bay 1! We can do this New York!"  Oh, and then there's my brother with his nonstop, "Who's your daddy? NEW YORK IS! DAT'S RIGHT!" 

Like Salt, I've been to games. What's my only favorite part about these games? The foot-long wieners outside the stadium and the $10 pretzel washed down with a $10 Diet Coke. I have yet to visit the new Yankee stadium, but always feared those steps. I remember feeling that way at Madison Square Garden and Giants Stadium concerts. There's something about sports arena staircases that make me feel as if I'm going to suddenly fall backward and land 50 feet below. Yeah, I know that's probably not even humanly possible. Chalk it up to one of my irrational fears. Whatever.

OK, so that's my story. I'm not down with baseball. I wish I was. I've tried many times to get into it, and just can't. The lingo bugs me and I'll never really mentally grasp it. I think I've asked my husband what an RBI is 100 times since we've met. As I'm typing this I still don't remember what it means. The radio announcer always says,  "And it's a "1-0" and I'm thinking, "What the hell is a 'one oh?'"

Counting down to November, only to do it all over again like four months later.

I Saw E.T. 14 Times - IN THE THEATER!

RE-POST FROM AUGUST 21, 2009



Remember when you were a kid, if you liked a movie, you had to see it over and over again. If you didn't, you weren't a true fan. You'd memorize every single line and could easily recite the script along with your friends. What happened to those days? Why doesn't this matter to most of us anymore?

I think back to the films I saw in the theater. Often it was summer cinema when school was out and movies were like $4 and popcorn was like $2 - and we thought that was pricey back then. Our moms would get rid of us for a few hours. Back then it was safe to just get dropped off at Sunrise Cinemas on Sunrise Highway. Today, not so much.

We'd brag about how many times we saw our favorite film. In my case, this was especially true for E.T., Karate Kid, Goonies and Footloose. Ironically, I had crushes on the lead kid in every movie from Henry Thomas to Ralph (he was from LI and we shared the same b'day!) to Sean Astin (I had an inhaler like his character Mikey!) and Footloose - Kevin Bacon - wow! Thanks to Footloose, I discovered hair mousse. I had read in Seventeen magazine about this brand new hair product called "mousse," you cold manipulate your hair to appear spiky, just like Wren's in Footloose!

For Christmas of 1982, I had to have an E.T. sleeping bag, sheets and bedding, snack tray, posters, figurines, the board game, cup and plate set, and much more. I still have some of those items. I loved them all so much. I remember counting all of my E.T. things, writing them down in a notebook and admiring them all for days over the holiday break from school.

I loved The Goonies more than any of my friends to the point where I even slipped a mini tape recorder into the theater with me. I recorded the audio and listened to it repeatedly for days and days until I had every line down pat, "...This is my dream, my wish, and it didn't come true, so I'm takin' 'em back, I'm takin' 'em all back!" I remember Corey Feldman's lines like it was yesterday. Too bad I didn't have a memory like that when it came to science and history. I'd be a top scholar!

As an adult, the only film I've seen an excessive amount of times would have to be Rushmore. I know pretty much every line, own the soundtrack and DVD, and I still laugh at all of the same scenes.


By the fall, I still loved ET and my mom threw me an ET Halloween birthday party complete with her best shot at an ET shaped cake. I dressed up like Gertie did on Halloween and went as a cowgirl.

The Rubik's Cube Turned 30 in March

Between about 1980-1981, the Rubik's Cube was all the rage. I know I'm once again dating myself, but hey, I didn't ask for all of these underage readers! These days it seems as if everything I once loved is aging. My teen idols have all grown up. Kirk Cameron, Jason Bateman and Corey Feldman are all dads now.

My favorite games and dolls are all celebrating 30 years of fun. I don't want to grow up along with them. I told you about Strawberry Shortcake and Pac-man turning 30, well add Rubik's Cube to the 30 club. In case you're clueless as to what the heck a Rubik's Cube is, Rubiks.com describes the puzzle as, "... a 3x3x3 plastic cube with different colored squares revolving around a central axis to produce around 43 quintillion different combinations with only one solution!"

Due to my suddenly busy schedule, I begged my husband to write a retro post. He declined. What did I expect from someone who has read about three of my blog posts? Instead he quickly told me about a time when he gave up trying to solve the Rubik's Cube and simply removed the stickers and reapplied them giving the impression that he had completely solved the puzzle.

Five Fun Facts About Rubik's Cube

1. The Rubik's Cube was developed by a Hungarian university lecturer, designer and engineer named Erno Rubik.
2. More than 350 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold since 1980 -- one million were sold between 1980-1981.
3. Rubik's hosts World Championships that gather hundreds of entries from all over the world who try to  solve the puzzle between 10 and 30 seconds, BLINDFOLDED!
4. The current World Record Holder for solving The Cube is Dutch teenager Erik Akkersdijk. In July of 2008, he solved the cube in 7.08 seconds.
5. Rubik's offers a variety of other puzzles such as the challenging 4x4 and 5x5 version  and even have their own YouTube channel.

Parachute Pants | 80s Fashions Gone Wrong

It's no big shocker that everything old becomes new again. It's hip to wear old-school gear. I'll admit I still love me some bell bottom jeans from the 1970s. 1980s neon colored fashions, ballet slippers, gummy bracelets and accessories can easily be purchased at any mall in America today. There is, however, one '80s fashion or clothing item I truly never want to wear again. I'd even take leg warmers over these suckers!

Parachute Pants

Yes, I owned several pairs. No, I'd never be caught dead in parachute pants ever again! I don't care if the grand prize at an '80s costume party was a real-live date with Corey Feldman or Jason Bateman. Okay, well maybe in that case, I'd squeeze into a pair for those two, but seriously...

Okay, for the younger readers who have no idea what I'm talking about... Parachute pants were made of nylon material and featured crap-loads of zippers perfectly positioned along the leg and backside. Parachute pants became really popular with break dancers because the nylon material made spinning on cardboard much easier than denim.

80s Christmas Commercials | Folger's "Peter!"

Peter comes home for Folger's
Christmas commercial from 1986.

A few weeks ago, my coworker confessed that there's a particular Christmas commercial from 1986 that actually makes her shed a tear. She said whenever she saw this Folger's Coffee commercial, she always knew Christmas was near.

The commercial features a handsome son named Peter who comes home from college for the holiday break. He's greeted by his little sister who calls out the famous line, "Peeeeeter!" He quietly whisks her into the kitchen and begins to brew a delicious pot of Folger's Coffee to surprise his sleeping family. 

The home is beautifully decorated. The snow is falling, and it's just picture perfect. Peter is shown walking in with a stack of wrapped Christmas gifts for his family. They are all reunited and destined for a lovely holiday together. Folger's tried to recreate the Peter magic a few years back and modernized it, but it just wasn't as good as the original.

Although I remember the Folger's commercial, one of my very first favorite holiday commercials is for McDonald's gift certificates and features Corey Feldman as a toddler. He's so adorable, you just have to see this. It is from 1977.

Confessions of a Cougar

My husband is three years younger than me.
My college boyfriend is two years younger than me.
My high school boyfriend is one year younger than me.

I must confess, I love young boys, I mean guys. As a kid, my celebrity crushes were typically on guys my own age or a year or two older than me such as Corey Feldman, Jason Bateman and Kirk Cameron. As an adult,  I began to develop crushes on younger celebrity guys like Leonardo DiCaprio (he's kinda jerky, I know) and the one I felt most guilty about, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and my secret crush, Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys.

Now that he's in his 20s, I feel my crush is much more socially acceptable. However, as a 26-year-old editor at SuperTeen, writing about and crushing on a teenage Ten Things I Hate About You and Third Rock From The Sun star Joey Gordon-Levitt ... well, it felt wrong. Very wrong.

Hey, at least I didn't say "Angels in the Outfield Joey"...

Acceptable Joseph Gordon-Levitt adult crush.

I once dated a guy who was four years older than me, that felt very wrong as well. It was kept a secret. My family didn't really know. It didn't feel right. I didn't feel as in control, even though he wasn't exactly controlling. It was a fleeting fling and my one and only older guy affair.

What about you? Do you prefer dating younger guys/girls? Did you marry an older woman or man? Fess up!