Poll results + GenX gems!
A whole slew 80s and 90s news for your Friday
So, on Sunday, when I sent out a poll, I told you I’d post the results at noon on Wednesday. hahaha did you actually believe me omg hahaha.
But two days late and dollars short, here are the results, nonetheless!
General interest: 79 percent of respondents said that yes, they might be interested in some type of get-together(s)!
“But Alison, 79 percent of how many?” you ask, you annoying know-it all. Well, in full transparency, that would be 79 percent of, um, all [cough cough mumble mumble] 29 respondents. (According to my stats, I have over a little over 400 subscribers….) But thank you to those of you who did respond, and for any of you who read my posts, ever! (In an era when even the gas pump you pull up to is asking you to follow its podcast, I KNOW about the attention economy!)
Of the three types of gathering ideas I mentioned, the majority of voters seemed to prefer a book or movie discussion.
Meetups with conversation prompts on specific topics came in second—
I was a little surprised by this!— while a writing night came in third.
So stay tuned about the possibility of some upcoming gatherings!
Btw, I was at least partially inspired to post the poll after I had the uplifting experience of last Saturday’s book discussion at the Atlas Collective, an event which came together thanks to a dedicated reader and thoughtful person reading my interviewed the author of Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir.
Attendees ended up including two death doulas, a long-time healthcare professional who has worked for Hospice—and a librarian who championed graphic memoirs as a whole, as well as this one! A few people shared the difficult situations currently going on in their own families, or ones they fear may be on the horizon. And perhaps most importantly, we “met” the author, Denise Dorrance, live from London via Zoom.
I left on a high, feeling the magic of art and literature and human connection— one influencing/ sparking the other, and all that.
And now …some pop culture content especially for my 80s and 90s grads!
Strop the press! Breakfast Club members to reunite soon in Chicago
It’s true! After 40 years, it looks like there’s going to be an actual reunion* of The Breakfast Club cast members, with the actual whole cast together** for the first time.
I have to point out, however, that it’s taking place at a “con”—a slangy industry word for “convention” that makes me shudder every time I hear it, because hey have I ever told you about the time my ex-husband more or less left our marriage to run away with a cosplay circus? (Ah…a story for another time?)
Here’s more (not on that, but on the reunion).
‘A reunion 40 years in the making:’ Main cast of ‘The Breakfast Club’ to reunite at C2E2’
Fans of the 1985 coming-of-age film ‘The Breakfast Club’ will have an opportunity to hear from the full main cast of the film when they return to Chicago “for the first and only time ever” at April’s Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.
Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estèvez, Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald are all listed as guests* of the convention to be held April 11–13.
According to the schedule, Estèvez, Hall and Nelson will appear [each of the days of] the convention. Ringwald and Sheedy will appear Saturday and Sunday only.**
Who among you loves the John Hughes 80’s’ films— or particularly this one— enough to buy tickets for the [shudder] con??
What would you say?
Which cast member would you get most starstruck over? (I wrote about our girl Molly here, and had questions about the Brat Pack here.)
(Half)Century-Club, take a shot:
For those of us about to turn 50, or who have already passed that mark—or for literally anyone besides me who struggles to accept that they are (at least mathematically) a certain age: I am sorry to tell you that…
Mario Lopez is repping for AARP.
The juicy hunk of man meat and his lethal dimples is, in fact, suggesting to us that hey, AARP is actually cool!
And no I am not describing an SNL skit—it’s the real Mario holding a pair of “cheaters” and saying
“...I’m seeing the doctor more these days…, so a buddy suggested, ‘Hey Man, why don’t you check out AARP?’ “
A “buddy” hmm,? Was one one who, perchance, turned 50 right around this time last year? And did he call you to suggest AARP from his big-as-a-brick phone?
“At first, I laughed,” Mario says in the vid, “but I gotta tell you, the perks are pretty solid!”
Are they? And what are the perks? I won’t know, because I refuse to play the rest of the video. Not joking about that, either! But if you want to subject yourself to it, you can, here.
Sheryl Crow + Corn dogs:
A feast made in (hog) heaven?
In other news from the 90s, my best friend from college messaged me last month asking if I’d heard the news: Sheryl Crow had been announced as a headliner at the Illinois State Fair.
We texted each other some quippy responses for a few minutes—should we show up in cut-offs, with cigarettes hanging out of our mouths?—but then after a few exchanges, it was like, hey, wait a minute, why don’t we seriously actually go?
Within a few minutes, we were ticketholders.
I know we will for sure make more jokes about our environs between now and then (and during), but mind you, my respect for Crow as a songwriter, righteous babe, and Midwesterner (read: person-who-made-it-out-of-Missouri) is sincere!
While it’s true that her ubiquity, and some of the ultra pop-y-ness and glitziness especially of her 90s hits and image, were not, well… grunge-y enough for me—I was far more devoted a worshipper at the altars of goddesses like PH Harvey, Donita Sparks and Courtney Love—her hits soundtracked my high school and college years, and I have always seen her as a woman with substance. (Even more so as of late!!!!!)
And by the way, it may not have been one of her biggest hits, buy my favorite songwriting moment from Crow is one that has aged absolutely zero since it came out, by which I mean, is a classic, and should be heralded as such!: “My Favorite Mistake.”
(What’s yours? Leave me a comment below. And yes I’ll still be your friend even if it’s “Strong Enough.”)
And finally: Minnie Driver is in a new movie!
Remember her? Adorable, loveable Minnie Driver? I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen her in anything, so imagine my delight when I saw this story in the New York Times, which I’m giving you “gift access” to here. (Also mentioned in the story: ED BURNS! I had almost completely forgotten about him, not to mention that I used to have an enormous crush on him. But let’s give the spotlight back to the lady.)
Maybe Minnie has been solidly working since the 90s and I just haven’t noticed, and/or haven’t watched the stuff she’s been in. But I’m not going to take the time to IMDB her and find out. I’m just going with my own truth (isn’t that what everyone does these days? ‘Covid is spread through 5G’?) and say, omg! Minnie Driver is BACK!
Thanks for reading!
Alison
And P.S…
even though I said I would post Fool for the Cities every Friday… hahaahah you believed me about that too?
Hey, buy me a coffee? Or leave me a tip via PalPal or Stripe.
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Unlike Sheryl, I DID listen to Snoop in college. But now … not so much. But my son said he wanted to go, so looks like I’ll be at that, too!
See you in Springfield! (Probably. I haven’t actually bought the ticket yet, but I plan to). I didn’t listen to her when I was younger, either. But I always liked her when I heard her and “Favorite Mistake” was the song that hooked me. My wife and I saw her a couple years ago in Indianapolis and it was a good show.