The 80s Club

Okay, so only now as a parent of potty trainers do I realize that the title of this song sounds like something I would tell my potty-training kids before going to bed.

I asked my friend Jackie (who happens to have been my friend since the mid-80’s) what her favorite 80’s video is. Without hesitation, she says:

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go. It is the epitome of the 80’s videos. Big hair, flourescent clothing, fingerless gloves, the big white t-shirts with the big black letters, the blacklight with the neon colors, all of it. It’s awesome….so radical (that last bit was just for me, I think. ;) ).

So, consider this our entry into the 80’s video time capsule. Anything anyone would ever need to know about 80’s fashion, including the bandana headband, can be found in this video. Enjoy.

Because she was just so darn cute, right? And absolutely the epitome of 80’s fashion.

The only other thing I remember seeing Soleil Moon Frye in was Sabrina, The Teenage Witch (I don’t have cable, it was on, that’s my excuse) with Melissa Joan Hart, though wiki does list a few other things that I should have remembered. The Friends thing does ring a bell.

Did you remember that there was a Punky Brewster cartoon as well? I’d forgotten about that. It appears that Frye was the voice for Punky there, too.

That intro makes me pine for the good old days of TV dinners in the aluminum tin. What can I say? I’m weird, I liked those. Plastic from the microwave just isn’t the same. :)

I remember when the Rubik’s Cube came out and how unexcited I was to get and solve one. Seriously, it looked like absolutely no fun at all to me. My brother got one, and I think he was able to solve it, without even taking the stickers off and just replacing them. I tried it, I couldn’t get it, I didn’t care.

Now a new generation of kids, and an old generation of middle-aged people who still think they’re kids, can try to solve a new version of their favorite old game. Head on over to Hsien’s post to find out how you can try to win a yet-to-be released Rubik’s Revolution. Can you guess how anxious I am to get my hands on one of these? ;)

So, you’ve been invited to an 80’s party (wink, wink) and you’ve got no crimper to capture that awesome 80’s hair? Well, here you go. HOT TOOLS Professional Deep Waver Hair Crimper with 10 Heat Settings (Model: 1192) should be all you need to crimp yourself back a couple of decades. Unless, of course, the 80’s were your best fashion decade and you’re still sporting that same 80’s ‘do. Then you obviously don’t need my help. And, trust me, there’s nothing I can do to help you. ;)

So, you were afraid that of all of the fine 80’s fashion that IS making back to our department store shelves, the legwarmers weren’t going to be one of them, weren’t you? Well, fear no more. Just in time for the winter (I think it’s gonna look and feel like winter around here at some point), some furry legwarmers for your comfort. Yes, this is the country we live in, where shave off all of the God given warm fuzzy hair on our legs just to replace it with some mail-order hair. ;)

The heels in this photo are looking awfully 80’s-ish as well, don’t you think?

ht: Jack

Have you seen these joystick games? I was so excited when walking through Target (I think it was) and saw the cute joystick with Ms. Pac-Man’s likeness pictured on it. I pointed it out to my friend and she said, “Oh yeah. I have a couple of games like that. All you do is plug it into your TV and there are several games that you can play.” Crazy. Apparenly, a few of my friends have these and are enjoying hours of 80’s reminiscence and fun and are not inviting me over to join them. Hmph.

Anyway, this particular product includes Ms. Pac Man, Mappy, Xevious, Pole Position and Galaga.

Are any of you out there whittling away your days remembering the joys of Pac-Man with these games?

Yes, U2 (get it? you, too) looked as silly as Bono marching around the dance floor thinking U could dance. Yes, U2 looked goofy in a muscle tee. And, yes, U2 dramatically flipped your hair around trying to look cool (and no, U didn’t succeed, either).

U, however, did not become an internationally known rock star, and continue to be so 20+ years later. (Or so I’m guessing. Don’t think I have many rock stars reading here.)

Good video. Brings back lots of memories (didn’t say they were all good! Oh, the fashion embarrassments of the 80’s.).

And if you’d like to see Bono today, check him out at Project (RED) as he promotes World AIDS day. It’s worth it just to hear him say “little pills” with his accent. And, if U2 feel so inclined, support the cause.

Check out his biography page, too. Very endearing.

I mentioned earlier that I was going to be playing the Trivial Pursuit: Totally 80s game. Last weekend, I got my chance. I’ll tell you what, there’s a whole lot of useless information pertaining to the 80’s! More than I could have imagined. Yeah, I probably did better on it than I would have done playing the original Trivial Pursuit game, but still ended up feeling like an idiot when all was said and done.

I really thought I’d read somewhere that one of the game pieces was a Rubik’s Cube, but no. In fact, this was the first time I remember there only being 4 game pieces for a Trivial Pursuit game, instead of 6. There were so many other icons that would have been great to use: Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, a Cabbage Patch Kid, or even a Trivial Pursuit game piece with all its pies.

What would be your recommendations for the 80’s game pieces?

So, I started to write that title and the theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter immediately started playing in my head. I know, I know, that is technically a 70’s show, but it’s a good jumping off point for our journey back to the 80’s.

I’m Kerri, and I’ll be your new guide here through jelly bracelets, rolled-up jeans, The Brat Pack, and all else 80’s inspired. You can also find me writing at another b5media blog, Play Library, and at my personal blog.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey, share your memories, correct mine, and have a totally awesome time here.