Coasters

Last weekend was "girls weekend", spent at the cottage of my friend "Tori's" in-laws. It was so generous of them to let us relax there for the weekend and we had a great time. While we gathered around the table for meals and games, Tori kept kindly reminding us to use a coaster under our cool beverages. Apparently, mother in law is not too keen on water rings on her table and is very quick to notice when new ones appear. I can't blame her, I have been known to be anal about lesser things. It kind of became a game of who could catch someone else not using a coaster and bust them. I was loving it, because I knew I could finally write about one of my all time favorite Danny Tanner moments. 


One of the best Full House episodes ever is Jesse and Rebecca's wedding. Growing up we had this two-parter on VHS (taped off of TV) and watched it all the time. Who can resist when Jesse sings "Forever" to Rebecca, the montage of them growing up, and the choir joining in? I could cry just thinking about it! Then Rebecca joins in at the end...ahhh it's just so magical.  Also, can Rebecca's veil be any bigger?





The reception is held in the Tanner living room. Danny stands up on the staircase to make his toast. In classic Danny style, he says,


"You know, as I look at all you happy, smiling people with your glasses raised, I can't help but think there are so many of you and so few coasters to go around...."


Oh Danny! So hilarious. So know you see how excited I was to hear about Tori's MIL loving the coaster usage. I hope she's reading this! :)


Friends Forever,
AC Slater

My credentials

I was digging through some old boxes in my basement this weekend. I came across the paper plate award I received from the field hockey team in High School (circa 1999?). I guess this is kind of like my resume for the blog.

"Sweeper" was my position (the last line of defense between before the goalie). That basically means that I was too slow/lazy to play anything else, so I would just hang out by the goal kicking up dirt and dreaming about Zack. Also notice the drawing on the plate. That's a bell, in case you couldn't tell.

Receiving this award was one of my prouder moments. Never mind awards like Most Valuable Player or Most Improved Player, the "Most likely to know every last detail about Saved by the Bell" award is the highest honor.

Friends Forever,

AC Slater

Just Like Old Times

I was channel surfing tonight and paused on Dancing with the Stars just as they were introducing the musical guest. Much to my delight, the guest performer was The Beach Boys featuring their longtime friend, John Stamos, aka Uncle Jesse! Holla!

If you don't remember, The Beach Boys made a few cameos in Full House, due to their close, personal relationship with Mr. Stamos.

The Beach Boys pay a visit to the Tanners.

It felt just like old times seeing them perform together again. It's just heart-warming really.

So, thank you, DWTS. I still won't watch the show, but at least I know you have good taste in musical guests.

Friends Forever,

AC Slater

The American Teenager

It's been a long time since I have posted something. I realize this. It does not mean that I don't think of Buddy Bands/Life connections daily, if not hourly. I have just been too lazy to write about them, or maybe too selfish to share them. Either way, here we go again.

Have you ever noticed the wide breadth of activities that the Saved by the Bell gang participated in (and also happened to excel)? I saw the "Zack Attack" episode the other day (the episode that taught me that when you are in a recording studio, it is necessary to put your hand over one ear when you sing) and started making a mental list of their combined extracurricular categories.

Singing:

• The Five Aces - This was a 50s style a Capella group, complete with poodle skirts (Tori era)
• Zack Attack - Garage band turned famous (in Zack's dream). Jessie is mysteriously missing in this episode.
• Zack and Kelly's breakup - Jessie and Slater sing a face to face version of "How am I Supposed to Live Without You" by the ever talented Michael Bolton while Kelly and Zack break up outside. Tear.
• Glee Club: Three words: Violet, bum, bum.
• Hot Sundae: The girl group of Kelly, Jessie and Kelly that puts together the hottest music video ever (see below). Side note: in elementary school three girls did a reenactment of this video for the school talent show. I was so jealous I didn't think of doing it.

Dancing:

• Hot Sundae: See "singing"
• Swan Pond: The gang's ballet that they guys join so that Zack can get enough credit to graduate. Quiz: Pete let Zack have his spot because he had extra credits from another class. What class was that?
• Dance off at The Max: "The Sprain" anyone? And how about those Spandex Twins?

Athletics:

• Slater: Football, Wrestling, Track
• Zack: Basketball, Track
• The girls: Swim team, modeling (same episode), cheerleading
• Kelly: Volleyball
• Screech: Chess

Acting:

• Snow White and the Seven Dorks: aka the episode where Zack and Jessie have feelings for each other...scandalous!
• A Christmas Carol: Palisades Mall production sponsored by Moody's Store for Men
  

Other Misc. Activities:

• Yearbook
• Student Council
• Fashion Club - the Fashion Club produced the Buddy Bands!
• Radio Station DJ's
• Teen Counseling - "Teen Line, this is Nitro"
• Beauty Pageants - Miss Bayside and Miss Liberty
• Academic Quiz Bowl - this episode game in handy when at a recent party someone referenced the inventor of basketball, and I was able to nonchalantly add, "Oh, you mean James Naysmith?"
  

What have I forgotten??

As you can see, these were no ordinary teenagers. Their talents and achievements go far beyond what the average high schooler is capable of. And that is why, my friends, I revere them so highly. They are the American Dream.

Friends Forever,

AC Slater

I wish I had thought of this...

The picture below combines two things I really like to do: make graphs/spreadsheets and talking about Saved by the Bell. Can anyone think of a career that combines the two?

Graph Source

Friends Forever,

AC Slater

Still Alice

I just completed an excellent book for my book club. The book is called Still Alice by Lisa Genova and follows the journey of a woman who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. This book is incredibly moving and I would highly recommend reading it.

How does this relate to the Buddy Bands blog? Easy. Remember the Full House episode when DJ volunteers at the retirement home? The episode is aptly named "The Volunteer". DJ befriends a kind old man named Eddie, who has Alzheimer's disease. She invites him back to Chez Tanner where he gets confused and calls DJ "Gloria", which is his daughter's name. (Side note: I once had a roommate named Gloria and had to bite my tongue every time I saw her because all I wanted to do was bust out singing songs with her name in them. Especially this one:

I don't think she was the type of person who would appreciate that, so I refrained.) Anyway, Eddie's actions confuse and sadden DJ leading to a "music moment" when Danny explains Eddie's situation to DJ and encourages her to continue to be his friend. Another life lesson courtesy of Danny Tanner. When I have kids, my parenting method will be to sit the rug rats in front of the TV and continually play Full House seasons one through eight. Good idea??

You can watch a clip of the conclusion of this episode below. Listen for Eddie's Harry Carey-like voice...Hey! If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?

Stephanie also boasts a hot to trot outfit in this episode:

Please note that in no way am I making light of this serious disease. Especially after reading Still Alice, I can't image what it would be like to have a loved one go through this, let alone go through it yourself. To learn more about Alzheimer's Disease, visit the website for the Alzheimer's Association.

Friends Forever,

AC Slater

Anyone Can Find Love

I will admit that I get pretty into the NBC show Biggest Loser. Who doesn't love a good makeover story? We are also doing a "Biggest Loser" competition at my work, so weight is on my mind a lot these days. This, in turn, reminds me of a Saved by the Bell episode called The Date Auction.

Saved by the Bell was always so good at addressing teen stereotypes, wasn't it? In this episode, there is a date auction where guys and girls are auctioned off like cattle for a date to the dance. Wendy, an overweight classmate (probably the only overweight student I have ever seen at Bayside, and never to appear again), bids a whopping $100 for a good time with Zack Morris. I can't blame her for this. $100 is a small price to pay for that heartthrob.

Side note - I find it ironic that the date auction is held to raise money for the skimpy new cheer leading uniforms, which might be quite unflattering on someone like Wendy (see picture)

Zack is bummed because Wendy isn't exactly his type. He makes excuses to try to get out of going to the dance with her, but ole Wendy figures him out. She ditches him at the dance, claiming she would rather "hang out by the finger foods". In the end, Zack sees what a jerk he has been, apologizes and asks Wendy to dance. And then we never see Wendy again, I guess it didn't work out between them? I am not surprised, I mean, we all know that Zack and Kelly are two people destined for each other anyway, right?

The moral of the story is, don't judge a book by its cover. Which I guess doesn't exactly apply because Wendy didn't really show us that she was cool or funny or really anything at all, except for a portly adolescent with 100 extra dollars to spend.

This theme appears again in this episode when Lisa acts like a brainiac to impress a guy (who looks like he is straight from Boyz II Men) named Brian. It is in this episode where Lisa utters that famous brainteaser, "What is art? Are we art? Is art, art?" The world will never know.

So, I guess what we have learned here is this: be yourself. Another life lesson brought to you by Buddy Bands.

Friends Forever,

AC Slater