The 80s Club

We loved Forest Whitaker as the giggling Pfc. Garlick in Good Morning, Vietnam, and were moved by him as Cuffey in the epic drama, North and South. And now, two decades later, Forest Whitaker is honored with the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Last King of Scotland.

Congratulations, Forest! We are so proud and excited for you!

By the way, did you see all the 80’s looking dresses on the red carpet? From the big bows, to the metallic brightly colored dresses, to the short in front/long in back gowns, the 80’s seemed alive and well tonight.

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 don’t often watch The Today Show anymore, my mornings these days are filled with cartoons on PBS or homeschooling. The other morning, though, I was able to catch a few minutes of the show and caught John Mellencamp performing songs from his recent album, Freedom’s Road. You can watch the YouTube video below to see and hear Mellencamp chatting with Today Show host, Matt Lauer.

I think the bit that stole the hour, though, was the cameraman’s capture of Richard Simmons working out while watching Mellencamp perform. You’ve gotta watch it just to check out the glittery tank and the striped shorts, so very 80’s. I can’t say too much, though, the man does have better legs than me. Simmons was there to promote his upcoming hearing to try to get more mandatory Phys.Ed. in the schools as an attachment to the No Child Left Behind Act. The fact that he adjusted himself while they were taping kinda stole the show, but I think it’s no more scandalous than what you’d experience sitting around with guys watching the big game, ya know?

You can check out that video below…

If you just can’t get enough of John Mellencamp, click on over to his site and you can listen to AM (all Mellencamp) streaming radio. Enjoy.

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. ;)