Did I mention I am forty years old now? Oh yes, I think I did. Back in the day, my day meaning the 80’s, it was all about big hair and of course ballads. The 80’s had a lot going on when it came to music mixed with pop culture. Some flaunted Madonna lace and gloves; others were rocking the Newro style. Prince and the Revolution followers wore purple, layered coats and ruffles while the long haired rockers smoked in the boy’s room.

It was an eclectic mix of musically inspired fashion but today I’m focusing on the Big Hair Ballads. The love songs millions could raise their cigarette lighters to with pride. This was a staple to the 80’s like Aqua Net and eyeliner. Here they are:

Still Loving You—Scorpions

Back when I was dating Mr. HIH, way back when this song was a big hit, he loved dedicating “Still Loving You” to me. Isn’t that retro romantic?

Nobody’s Fool—Cinderella

This is a ballad and power anthem all in one. It’s the perfect song to sing just before breaking up with your significant other.

Bringing on the Heartbreak—Def Leppard

Turn this one full blast and cry your eyes out!

Close My Eyes Forever—Lita Ford & Ozzy Osbourne

It wasn’t just the boys with big hair back in the day. Lita Ford adds a feminine quality to this duet with Ozzy.

The Price—Twisted Sister

Sometimes ballads are about loving life itself and because this video intro is priceless, here’s Twisted Sister performing The Price.

“The 80’s are about f’&*%$# partying! That’s what makes it so much fun!”
WARNING: bad words

As always it’s tough to pick just five but I named it The 5 on Friday so here we are. What are your favorite big hair love songs from the decade of decadence?

You might be wondering, why 40’s? On Sunday May 16, I’m going to be 40 years old. According to the Collins Dictionary age 40 is the start of middle age. I’ll go with the Oxford English Dictionary instead, “… the period between youth and old age, about 45 to 60″.

I got to thinking about the number 40 in pop culture. Some say 40 is a magical number. If anything it occurs frequently in literature. Take the idiom forty winks, or “forty days and forty nights”.  How about all those thieves and Ali Baba, there were 40 of them remember?

There’s the spray lubricant WD-40 and the food dye Red 40. Here’s Five more 40’s in Pop Culture I found interesting.

American Top 40

When I was a kiddo I faithfully tuned in to hear the American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. His weekly countdown show was right up there with Solid Gold on my coolness meter.
“Now, on with the countdown!”—Casey Kasem

American Top 40 was born the same year I was in 1970. The show is still around today as At 40 with Ryan Seacrest. Visit http://www.at40.com for more info.

Casey Kasem is one smooth talker. He used his voice over talents for commercials and TV shows, including being the voice of Robin from Super Friends and Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Hey look at this via YouTube! It’s a faux Shaggy voicing Casey Kasem’s famous rant:
Warning-bad words!

U.S. Route 40

Historical roads have a way of making their way through pop culture.  Listen to Brak from Space Ghost fame & Freddie Prinze Jr.’s duet with “Highway 40” and Ricky Skaggs sing “Highway 40 Blues”.

Visit http://route40.net for history, info and even more songs about Highway 40.

The 40 Year Old Virgin

This “screwball comedy” was a big hit back in 2005. It also had a major impact on men getting their chests waxed. Ouch!
Click here if you’re not too squeamish.

Purchase The 40 Year Old Virgin on DVD via Amazon.

40 by U2

A song by U2 from 1983, enough said on this one.

UB40

UB40 had some big hits during my favorite decade, The 80’s. One of them was “Red Red Wine”. I remember hearing it for the first time over the intercom in 7th grade home room. It was a strange scene, all the 13 year olds bopping their heads to a song about wine consumption. I’ve never been a wine person myself, unless I can eat a whole pound of brie while sipping.
Click here for video.

Visit http://www.ub40.co.uk/ for upcoming tour dates and album information.

Chris Rock had a show loosely based on his real life family and the character named Rochelle is his mother in Everybody Hates Chris. You can watch the show via Nick at Nite, click here for more info.

It’s a Valentine’s weekend and love is in the air. What better way to get in the mood then with 5 songs from Air Supply? Don’t answer that!

Air Supply has every phase of love covered. If you’re Lost in Love, experiencing Young Love, asking The One That You Love for another day or even All Out of Love. For those of you with a love for 70’s and 80’s love songs Air Supply will be here Now and Forever.The 5 on Friday is back this week inspired by love and full of hot Air Supply:

Lost in Love

Young Love

The One That You Love

All Out of Love

Now and Forever

Become an AIRHEAD, find tour info, and much more at the Official Air Supply site: http://www.airsupplymusic.com

Happy Valentine’s weekend!

So I wasn’t going to post about this today because I’ve already posted more than a few times about the beloved street called Sesame. Jim Henson and his team of creative people have given us so much over four decades I just had to put together a quick post. One thing I’ve loved about Sesame Street is the fun edutainment clips that are usually animated in some way that teach us something. A number, a letter, a virtue, a feeling.

Take a stroll down Sesame Street with these 5 favorite clips:

Now don’t forget… a loaf of bread, a container of milk and a stick of butter.

Don’t hate her because she’s beautiful. She’s a Martian Beauty:

Roller Disco in Central Park:

They need to add a 0 on to this 4! Get FUNky!

V is for Vaccuum! Please don’t remind me:

Halloween is almost here and I’m still searching for a costume. This year I’m contemplating the idea of being myself. What will you be for Halloween? Maybe these videos will give us some ideas.

How about something retro in plastic and polyester?

There’s always the outer space theme?

Maybe 80′s Flashback Fashion? Let’s listen to Mr. T’s advice on this one.

For all you Star Trek fans out there Klingon never goes out of Halloween style, especially if you add a little hip hop.

Alright, how about something scary? A werewolf or a vampire?

Any other ideas?

I went to the hair salon last weekend wanting a drastic change. I’m a natural blond that needs artificial help going from Dishwater to Dazzling Blond. Every few years I get the urge to do something different. I’ve had long hair, short hair, brown hair, and during my Tori Amos phase in the mid 90’s I tried out being a redhead.

With my drastic change attitude the stylist suggested adding black to my blond color for a two-toned fun effect.
Why not?

After seeing my hair a few friends mentioned others that share similar Two-Toned Do’s. Let’s look at 5 in pop culture.

Deborah Harry

Deborah Harry, the lead singer of the pop rock group Blondie expressed her unique style with two-toned locks more than a few times.

Check out the cover of Parallel Lines from Blondie. You can purchase this CD via Amazon, click here.

http://www.deborahharry.com

Cruella de Vil

Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil, if she doesn’t scare you no evil thing will. This villain has a nasty obsession with the spots of 101 Dalmatians. She also has radical black and white hair.

Terri Nunn

http://www.terrinunn.com/

It would be easy to spot the lead singer from Berlin while “Riding on a Metro”. She’d be the one with the cute hat and Two-Toned do.

Artwork by Krayel Art Studio http://krayel.com/

Click here for the video of “You Don’t Know” by Berlin.

Rogue

Comic book fans and X-Men enthusiasts will know this character. Rogue is a young woman that can’t touch another without sucking out their life force. Speaking of sucking, the actress that played Rogue in the movie X-Men has a cute boyfriend that’s been sucking blood for decades. Anna Paquin played Rogue and now she plays Sookie Stackhouse in one of my favorite TV shows True Blood. Sookie’s hair is one nice shade of blond.

Speaking of True Blood how about a video by Depeche Mode:

Drew Barrymore

This month, Drew Barrymore made her feature directorial debut with the film Whip It at the Toronto International Film Festival. The debut of her Two-Toned hairstyle on the red carpet had the internet a buzz with Hate it or Love it polls.

Check out this footage from Red Carpet Diary:

Opening October 2nd, this film will be a must see. Based on the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Whip It stars Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Andrew Wilson and Ellen Page, sounds good doesn’t it?

Click here for the official Whip It site.

http://housewifeinhollywood.com/5-pop-culture-cups-of-joe/

Now on to new horizons, or at least a different perspective while watching the sunrise.

Teeccino

This caffeine-free herbal coffee has an interesting flavor and an aroma reminiscent of my dad’s old pipe tobacco. It can be brewed just like a Cup of Joe so you can still have that percolating habit in the morning. Every time I try to quit caffeine the first thing I miss is the coffee aroma and sounds of the coffee pot. Could be one too many Folgers Waking Up commercials but I love the routine of waking up to a hot, just-brewed beverage.

Teeccino has lots of great health benefits including potassium, and soluble fiber. It also helps restore alkaline balance and because it’s rich in inulin it can help improve digestion and absorb calcium and minerals.

Teecino comes in a variety of flavors. I think I’ll try Hazelnut next.

Postum

Postum was created in 1895. Yes, 1895!

If only I could find a retro commercial with the Postum invisible cartoon ghost named, “Mister Coffee Nerves”. I read he would appear in the ads to people suffering from coffee’s negative effects. Of course the people in these commercials always gave the instant beverage Postum a try and they’d say goodbye to irritability, insomnia, and of course “lack of athletic prowess”. This would send Mister Coffee Nerves running.

Click here to see a printed ad of Mister Coffee Nerves in action.

You can’t get Postum these days, it was discontinued in 2007, but we can look back at the history of coffee alternatives with a smile.

Roastaroma

This full bodied tea by Celestial Seasonings  is the ultimate tea trickster. It has a bold taste and dark thick color that can fool even the most caffeinated of coffee drinkers to sit and relax with a nice cup of herbal tea.

“This full-bodied, caffeine-free alternative to coffee has been a trusted favorite for more than 30 years. With the robust flavors of roasted chicory and barley, a hint of chocolate from roasted carob and just a touch of cinnamon and allspice, Roastaroma is hearty enough to give you a lift in the morning and delicious enough to enjoy all day long.” — Charlie Baden, Celestial Seasonings Blendmaster Since 1975

Soyfee

For those of you that find joy in soy you might want to try this coffee alternative. I think the name is fun and the taste isn’t bad. There are many benefits to soy and Soyfee can be brewed just like traditional coffee. It comes in many flavors too so try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

Smoothies

So after trying a few coffee substitutes I think I’ll mix it, or blend it up, a bit and go with a smoothie every other morning instead of my regular hot cup of something.

Here’s a Raw Food Rap from Dan the Man with the Master Plan

When I think of talk shows I think Merv Griffin, Arsenio Hall, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Tavis Smiley. When I think of radio talk shows I think about Petey Green, Howard Stern and my favorites on NPR.

With the popularity of podcasts these days we can find talk shows with niches that interest us and we can listen online. I’ve listed some of my favorite online talk shows all with their own unique style. Try them on and see if any fit.

5 Online Talk Shows:

1. PYDK Podcast

Eugene Ahn hosts the online interview show, the People You Don’t Know Podcast. Eugene talks to people who are doing interesting things in their lives. At the end of each interview they recommend someone they think would be great for an upcoming episode.

I was lucky enough to be a featured guest on Episode #16 Culture Shock. Click here to listen.

http://pydkpodcast.com

2. The Jeff Clark Spot

Jeff Clark doesn’t hold back when he hosts The Super Sonic Robot Talk Show. His latest is a Back to School Special starring Mary Birdsong and heavy metal stylist Tricia Hobby. Like I said Jeff doesn’t hold any laugh material back, the show has a parental advisory for explicit lyrics. While listening, you might also get a taste for grits, greens and sweet tea.

http://thejeffclarkspot.com

3. Geekland Podscast

“The Graceland for Geeks” and “Your one stop geek shop, for all things geek.”

These guys keep every geek satisfied with their comic book talk. If you think you know comic books then you need to listen in while Willie Gillis, Chris Eaton, Ben Songer & Justin Vactor break it down.

http://www.geeklandpodcast.com/

4. Random Talk Radio with Inga

You never know what you’ll hear when Inga talks with people in the entertainment industry on her Random Talk Radio show. It’s also the official radio for G Tom Mac. Remember “Cry Little Sister”?

This Friday’s episode she talks with actress and international model Jennifer Gimenez. Jennifer was on Inga’s show once before talking about Sober House. This time she’ll dish out details about her new show Model Latina: Miami and the upcoming Sober House Season 2.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/randomtalkradio

5. You Tell Me

That’s right I couldn’t come up with a number 5. So I’m asking you the HIH viewers to tell me an online talk show you enjoy.

Leave me the name and URL of your favorite podcast in the comments below.

I heard about the news of John Hughes death yesterday via twitter. I quickly put this up:

RIP John Hughes. It’s hard to count the chapters he contributed to the Big Pop Culture Book of our lives. http://bit.ly/15Iwqf   — @suzannehih

In honor of John Hughes here are 5 of my favorite films that made being a teen in the 80’s so cool.

1. The Breakfast Club

This Hughes film probably packs the biggest pop cultural impact punch. While searching for a homage or parody video of the movie The Breakfast Club  I came across a dance club named after the film. Inspired by retro coolness this party place in New Jersey is called The Breakfast Club. Sounds like a blast to me.

Check it out if you’re in the area and let me know how it is. Click here to visit their fun website.

2. Weird Science

Oingo Boingo was a favorite band of mine back in the 80’s. When my friends and I found out they did the theme song to the movie Weird Science we were even more excited to rush into the theater.

3. Sixteen Candles

“The Brat Pack gets bunnied. The 1984 coming of age film, Sixteen Candles, starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling John Cusack, and Anthony Michael Hall, gets the bunny treatment. Three words: Long Duk Dong.”
— Minisode Network

4. Ferris Beuller’s Day Off

Just like most of the films above, this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. I don’t think I go a week without seeing a reference or quote from this film on some form of social media. How many times have you seen a Facebook update ending with “Bueller? …Bueller? …Bueller?” or “Anyone? Anyone?”

The Ferris Beuller’s Day Off soundtrack had a great mix of music. One song, Oh Yeah, by the Swiss electronica duo Yello was also used in commercials, TV shows and other films. They’re coming out with a new album in October 2009.

Visit Yello’s official site by clicking here. Oh Yeah!

5. Pretty in Pink

John Hughes had a way of taking the worst part of our teenage drama and making it interesting on screen. Pretty in Pink is considered another “Brat Pack” movie. This one was less about getting into teenage trouble and more about teenage love.

He’s crazy about her, she’s crazy about him, and he’s just crazy . —tagline from Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink was written by John Hughes but directed by Howard Deutch.

The Psychedelic Furs did the theme song. Here they are in a more recent performance of Pretty in Pink.

What were your favorite John Hughes films?

Click here to get the High School Reunion Collection from Universal Studios.

Comic Con is going on this week in San Diego and much of the hype there is about The Twilight Saga’s New Moon movie. All this Twilight talk got me thinking about another pop culture favorite, the Twinkie. Get it Twilight, Twinkie?

Alright so it might be a bit of a stretch to that “Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling”. Since Twinkie’s creation in 1930 it has been packed in lunchboxes, referenced in movies and television, and part of urban legend.

Rumor has it that the Twinkie has a shelf life that could rival a vampire. According to Snopes, Twinkies are not immortal. Click here for more info.

Here are 5 YouTube Videos with one thing in common, Twinkie’s.

Twinkie the Kid

Because every American snack should have a cute mascot:

Clone your own Twinkie

Do try this at home and let me know how it goes.

Twinkie Weiner Sandwich

Remember Weird Al’s UHF movie? Well I don’t, but this guy was moved so much by the film he decided to recreate this unique recipe made in the movie. Watch and wonder.

Deep Friend Twinkie

Hey it is summer fair time and I’m sure many of you are guilty of this decadent treat. I haven’t had one yet and after watching this informative video not sure that I will.

The Twinkie Movie

If you eat too many Twinkie’s at a time you might have a nightmare like this. Watch as two Twinkie’s, sporting cowboy hats, escape from the factory and hook up with a tribe of Twinkie’s for a sponge cake hoedown.

Still haven’t had enough, click here for Twinkie cuisine with the Official Twinkies Cookbook.

With the San Diego Comic Con coming up next week I’ve been thinking about favorite comic books again. Since I posted about this before I’d like to take a step over to cartoons. I’m not talking about full length animated features like Snow White or The Last Unicorn. I’m talking about cartoons, the kind I watched on a Saturday morning back in the day. You know, best watched with a bowl full of Frosted Flakes?

Much of my cartoon watching in the 70’s consisted of shows created decades before like Bugs Bunny (1940), Tom & Jerry (1940), The Jetsons (1962) and The Flintstones (1960). The 70’s wasn’t a great time for animation. There was a lot of skimping going on with productions but some of the characters and ideas were a lot of fun.

This 5 on Friday list contains cartoons created in the 70’s. Even though Rocky & Bullwinkle, George of the Jungle and early Tom & Jerry episodes were uber cool I won’t be listing them here. Only cartoons created in the 1970’s. It’s tougher than you think.

So here they are… 5 Favorite 70′s Toons:

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972)

Hey Hey Hey! Check this out thanks to the Minisode Network, “You may learn something before it’s done”:

Schoolhouse Rock (1973)

This series of mini edutainment episodes made learning fun. All that stuff in my textbooks seemed to make more sense after singing along with Schoolhouse Rock.

“Conjunction Junction what’s your function… Interjection!!” I love singing along to these fun learning songs. To view “I’m Just a Bill”, click here. Click here to watch “3 is a Magic Number”.

Cover of 30th Anniversary Edition DVD

Disney presents Schoolhouse Rock these days. I purchased the 30th Anniversary Edition via Amazon a couple years ago.

The Great Grape Ape Show (1975)

“Grape Ape, Grape Ape”

Not sure why I liked this show so much. I know lots of other 70’s kids that felt the same way. Might have been the bright purple color that kept us zoned in, or maybe the idea of a 40 foot tall gorilla was all we needed.

Titlecard for The Great Grape Ape Show, featuring Beegle Beagle and Grape Ape

For video clips of Grape Ape & his pal Beegle Beagle visit Retro Junk by clicking here.

Hong Kong Phooey (1974)

It seemed like everyone was into martial arts back in the 70’s. Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Black Belt Theater… this dog janitor turned Kung Fu hero was just what Saturday morning needed.

Sublime takes on the Hong Kong Phooey theme song. What do you think?

Own Hong Kong Phooey on DVD August 15th!

Super Friends (1973)

So here we are talking about comics again. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman, Batman, The Wonder Twins, just a handful of the characters from Super Friends. This animated series was produced by Hanna-Barbera and based on the Justice League of America characters published by DC Comics.

Check out this Super Friends site for a grown up look at a Saturday Morning classic.

I know what you’re saying.

 “Housewife in Hollywood what’s wrong with you? Hula Hoops are circles and circles don’t have sides!”

I say, “Let’s try to think out of the hoop just a bit.”

Plastic Hula Hoops have been around since the late 50′s and in that time people have found many ways to express different sides of the hula hoop.

A twitter friend of mine specializes in fitness. She turned me on to the fit side of the hula hoop telling me that hula hooping is one of the best fitness toys you can buy. I decided to look up this favorite pastime and found out that hooping has many sides. Watch all 5 and tell me which one is your favorite.

5 Sides of the Hula Hoop:

1. Vintage

2. Retro

3. Sexy

4. Serious

5. Goofy

Stop by World Hoop Play  a charity dedicated to bringing toy and dance hoops to underprivileged children living in extreme poverty and underdeveloped neighborhoods of our world.

Today’s The 5 on Friday is all about the year 1970 because my birthday is tomorrow May 16th. I was born in 1970. Yes that means I’m in the last year of my thirties. Do you remember the show Thirty Something?

I’m almost out of my thirty somethings so I’m celebrating this 5 on Friday with 5 Cool Happenings in 1970.

1. Isle of Wight Festival 1970

This musical event in 1970 was the largest of early music festivals. At the time, it was said to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world, surpassing the attendance at Woodstock. With a list of over 50 performers including The Doors, The Moody Blues, The Who, Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix.

Leonard Cohen performed his song “Suzanne”, how convenient was that?

For information about this year’s Isle of Wight Festival click here.

2. M*A*S*H

The movie MASH premiered in 1970. My father was in Vietnam just a few years before. For reasons he’s never fully explained, he didn’t like the movie or the television show. I’ve always been intrigued by the movie because it seemed a bit taboo at our house. Are you a MASH fan?

3. The First Earth Day

“. . . on April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most
remarkable happenings in the history of democracy. . . ” -American Heritage Magazine, October 1993

Visit earthday.wilderness.org for more info about Earth Day

4. PBS Begins Broadcasting

I’ve been happily watching PBS since I was a kiddo. With unique programming made possible by viewers like me, such as Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Cyberchase, Arthur, Masterpiece Theater, Nature, Independent Lens, and Tavis Smiley.

In my opinion Tavis Smiley has one of the best interview shows on TV.

5. Big Bird on Time

Speaking of Sesame Street, one of my favorite characters, Big Bird, was on the cover of Time Magazine in October of 1970. Here’s a bit about Big Bird from the man who knows him best Caroll Spinney.

Maypole Dancing

The May Day holiday is celebrated on May 1st. A traditional way to be festive is to dance around the Maypole in honor of the Summer Equinox.

Put some flowers in your hair and gather around the Maypole today. All together now:

This of course should not be confused with Basic Pole Dancing exercises. Click here if you’re interested anyway.

Emergency Code Word

Mayday is an emergency code word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications.

I tested this out once when I was a little kid riding along in my dad’s dump truck. The construction convoy stopped on the side of the road for some snacks at the Circle K. I decided it was a great time to have some CB radio fun.

I yelled into the transmitter, “Breaker Breaker Mayday Mayday!”

It worked sending more than a few truck drivers over in dismay. My dad was not so thrilled.

Genevieve the Dump Truck & Suzanne age 6

Mayday the Band

There are quite a few bands called Mayday. An indy rock band, a hip hop band and the one that I like the best is a Taiwanese Band. I’d like to find out why the biggest band in Taiwan is named Mayday. Anyone?

I dig the intro on their site, check it out by clicking here:

International Workers Day

May Day is also known as International Workers Day. Some may be dancing around Maypoles and making flower baskets while others are celebrating the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. Organized street demonstrations and marches by millions of working people are held throughout many countries of the world.

Find out more about the origins of May Day and the 8-hour day by clicking here.

Wolverine

So what does the X-Men character Wolverine have to do with May Day? Many comic book enthusiasts will be celebrating this May Day by watching the movie Wolverine on opening day May 1st.

What will you be doing this May Day weekend?

This week has been full of tweets about tea parties, Ashton Kutcher  vs. CNN in a follower race, and Oprah’s anticipated debut on twitter. All this twittering in the news made me think about the cool finds I’ve found on twitter in the form of talented people with notable websites and impressive ideas.

Here are my 5 Cool Twitter Finds:

The Wrecking Ball Radio Show

During my twitter travels I came across a musician and radio show host named Jayson who can be found as @mystic23  on twitter.

Every Wednesday night 9-11 EST he hosts The Wrecking Ball Radio Show via WCOM in downtown Carrboro, NC Thanks to the powers of cyberspace we can listen online at www.communityradio.coop

His radio show has an eclectic mix of tunes. Some nights themes are present which add to the intrigue of his unique playlists. Click here for The Wrecking Ball Radio Show blog that includes information, previous playlists and posts by Jayson.

Jayson can also he heard through his own music called Subliminal Erotica, a mix of Alternative, Ambient, and Experimental music. Take a listen to Subliminal Erotica on ReverbNation.

Fused Film

Fused Film was the first site to be listed in My Neighborhood blog roll. Their weekly trailers, DVD & movie reviews, latest news, and even podcasts are edutainment for anyone that loves finding out what’s happening and what’s coming soon.

With an informed and passionate staff Fused Film is worthy of a bookmark and RSS feed subscription.

Follow them @fusedfilm  as they continue “Blogging Film News and Fanboy Commentary One Post at a Time!”

Forces of Geek

I took notice of Forces of Geek because the name is so much fun. I followed them on twitter and since cyberspace can be a small world I was delighted to find out my friend Audrey M. Brown writes a column for them entitled (Lady) Geeks Have All the Fun.

Forces of Geek’s slogan is Obsession Is Not a Choice and you have no choice not to check out their contests, interviews, reviews and columns written by the forces of skillful writers. If you’re obsessed with pop culture or anything remotely geeky you need to follow @ForcesOfGeek

The Daily Blonde

The Daily Blonde, a.k.a. Cheryl Phillips is a single mom of five with a snarky view all her own, speaking her mind since 1963. I found her while eavesdropping on her tweets to @jeanettejoy  a friend of mine in the offline world and also quite the twitter celeb herself.

I was intrigued right away by Cheryl’s witty conversations on twitter so I decided to take a look at her blog, The Daily Blonde. Not only does she have a huge following of avid blog readers she’s also a small business supporter recently swapping out big biz to small biz ads on her site.

Her posts go viral all the time being dug by viewers on Digg, and retweeted on twitter. Cheryl’s upbeat attitude mixed with her “tell it like it is” commentary on life make The Daily Blonde  a great place to visit when you want a thought to ponder, a good laugh, or a tasty recipe.

Follow Cheryl @TheDailyBlonde

Rizzo Tees

Many of you know my love for Graphic T-shirts. Normally I wear Cry Baby, Pippi Longstocking or Partridge Family Tees with pride. Rizzo Tees sells funny shirts  with hip graphics and text such as “Easy Like Sunday Morning”, “Do it for the Halibut” and “Barack That Ass Up”.

It was easy to find Chris from Rizzo Tees on twitter because he has oodles of followers, maybe not as many as Ashton Kutcher but he’s on his way. His tweets are funny and informative and never SPAM’y, you know this housewife never touches that nasty stuff.

The cool thing about Chris, besides his fun shirts, is he’s a true entrepreneur working out of his basement, also known as “Rizzo World HQ” or “ManLand”. He has a full-time job, so he works on Rizzo Tees at night and he prints, picks, packs, and ships the orders himself.

Check out rizzotees.com  and follow @rizzotees for fun tweets & even some promotional sales info.

I love a tweet convo over a Cup of Joe in the morning, look for me @suzannehih

Because my brother is 9 years younger than I am, the Easter Bunny left me treats even when I was a teenager. It was great fun helping him search under the sofa, behind the combo record player/television set, in the backyard and all over the dining room.

Easter morning was a bit like Christmas morning for us. We never did a traditional egg hunt but we didn’t think we were missing anything. For whatever reason, the Easter Bunny didn’t like hiding plastic eggs at our house. He preferred to hide toys, books, art supplies, and of course candy. By the time I was in my teens he was leaving me pop band pins, makeup and even music tapes. This didn’t include The Basket of special goodies either.

The Easter Bunny spoiled us lovingly. Many might think such lavishness would create kids as rotten as left over Easter eggs but those moments teaching my little brother the ways of the Easter Bunny are memories I’ll cherish forever. No matter how silly or full of sugar your holiday traditions may be they can also be rich with the love of family.

I’m going to hop down my own personal Easter lane for this 5 on Friday.

Here are my 5 Favorite Easter Treats:

Macadamia Nuts

The Easter Bunny always left us Mauna Loa  Macadamia Nuts. I’m not sure why he had a fondness for these decadent Hawaiian treats but I’m glad he did.

Speaking of Macadamia and nuts, how about a little dance with Dot from the Animaniacs, click here.

Almond Roca

The name Almond Roca, the intense flavor of the chocolate toffee fusion, and the candy’s golden wrapper made me think the Easter Bunny was a high class dude.

Let’s watch this video of Rosco T. Raccoon at the Brown & Haley Almond Roca Factory and see how this classy candy is made:

Cadbury Eggs

This is one of my brother’s favorite Easter treats. I like them too but a little goes a long way with that sugary yolk confection.

How serious are you about your love for Cadbury Eggs?

Marshmallow Peeps

These bright and colorful treats are more for decoration than eating in my point of view but without your peeps it’s not very festive. Do you like the taste of Marshmallow Peeps or do you just like looking at them?

Let’s watch as this Microwave Specialist performs this Peeps experiment:

Music by Prince

So I mentioned that when I was a teenager, the Easter Bunny was still hippity hopping to my house with a basket of goodies for my younger brother. Not only is the Easter Bunny a jet setter with high class Almond Roca taste he’s also a music lover. One of my favorite memories was finding the tape by Prince called Sign o’ the Times during my Easter hunt for treats in 1987.

I’ve been a Prince and The Revolution fan since seeing Prince climb out of the tub in his When Doves Cry video. I was a bit sad about the departure of Prince from The Revolution but I rolled with the changes once I heard the album Sign o’ the Times.

Wikipedia says “Time magazine listed Sign o’ the Times as the greatest album of the 1980s, and 29th greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 93 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

For a great review and sample tracks click here.

I hope this weekend brings you lots of family fun and sweet treats! Happy Easter!

Call it a Cup of Joe, java, or plain ol’ coffee there are many ways to ask for a cuppa caffeinated bliss. I fell in love with the taste of coffee when I was just a kid. I believe it started at the Thrifty ice cream counter. My favorite flavor was Java and I’d always get a scoop of Bubble Gum with it. The saying, you are what you eat, is true. Bubble gum and coffee is a combo that describes my personality deliciously.

When other kids wanted hot cocoa after dinner I wanted coffee with milk and sugar. I’ve tried many substitutes from chicory root to Soyfee but they never quite measure up.

So I did some research about coffee in pop culture. Two things I just can’t get enough of.

1. Coffee in Commercials

Just this morning I made the coffee a bit too strong again. Strong is great when you have a primo brand of coffee to start with but if you try to make diner style coffee strong you get “bad taste”. Here’s a retro commercial of a housewife dealing with this very same scenario. Let’s see how she solved her morning coffee catastrophe.

2. Coffee in Music

Emmett Miller’s “You’re the Cream in My Coffee”, The Ink Spots “Java Jive”, Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee”, Wendy & Lisa’s  ”Waiting for Coffee”, and The Squeeze’s “Black Coffee in Bed”. We’d need a few pots of coffee to keep us going with the long list of java in music. Let’s take a coffee break. Click here and have a listen to Frank Sinatra sing The Coffee Song.

3. Coffee in Television

Friends gathered at the Central Perk. Alice filled coffee cups at Mel’s Diner. Dr. Frasier Crane met with Daphne and Niles for a caffeinated beverage at Café Nervosa. Even soap operas like the Young & the Restless used a coffee shop to set the scene.

Caffeine in excess is proven to increase irritability. Watch what happens after these guys had too many mochas at the Y&R coffee shop.

4. Coffee in Film

Just like television, movies have used coffee shops as backdrops, coffee cups as props, and even coffee as a central theme. Have you seen Coffee and Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch? This film is a series of vignettes starring Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, and Bill Murray just to name a few. You can see a few clips in this creative Cinema & Coffee videoart on YouTube:

In 1961 a short film called This is Coffee was made. It’s full to the brim with coffee information.

5. Coffee Table Books

This housewife isn’t fond of dusting her coffee table but she sure loves coffee table books. I have two favorites on display. One is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the other is Studio 54. A little Depp and a little disco is all I need to make dusting more fun.

On my quest to quench my coffee thirst, I found this great site devoted to coffee table books. Click here to do some book browsing. I think I need a few more coffee tables.

Any other pop culture Cups of Joe out there you’d like to share?

1. Winner of Most Memorable goes to this classic Coke commercial:

2. Michael J. Fox shows how far he’d go for a Diet Pepsi in this retro ad:

3. SoBe Life Water  featured Naomi Campbell and Michael Jackson’s Thriller in this ad from 2008:

4. Another from last year shows Richard Simmons, Alice Cooper and a deer almost getting hit by this distracted driver. Thank goodness they had Bridgestone Tires:

5. Here’s a banned ad from godaddy.com. You be the judge, did it really need to go into the banned vault?

You can vote for your favorite Superbowl commercial by visiting http://www.youtube.com/adblitz

Alright so I might be dating myself AGAIN, but it’s true, I was a teen in the decade of decadence. Here we are in 2009 and I’ve seen more than a few actors from the 80′s in the media this week.

From Molly Ringwald on ABC’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and Marisa Tomei promoting her new film The Wrestler, I find myself humming the theme song to It’s a Different World and singing Don’t You Forget about Me by Simple Minds.

So here they are:

My 5 Fave 80’s Flicks

1. Ferris Beuller’s Day Off (1986)

The ultimate ditch day! Who knew Ferris would grow up and marry the girl on Square Pegs?

If you still find yourself chanting SAVE FERRIS, you might want to buy a t-shirt here.

2. The Highlander (1986)

There can be only one!

This statement is not only the key idea to the storyline but it’s also true. While the first movie is a classic with unique cinematography, amazing performances by Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, it also boasts a killer soundtrack by Queen.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think the Highlander films that came out after the 1986 version were as legendary. I did enjoy The Highlander television series but it can’t be compared to the distinctiveness of the first film.

3. Back to the Future (1985)

Sci-Fi meets Comedy with a blast to the past and then back to the future again. With all the rockabilly Stray Cats music I was listening to at the time it was great fun being transported to 1955. Everyone wanted a time traveling DeLorean after watching this retro flick.

The official BTTF news site  gives you a daily jolt of about 1.21 jigowatts and you can rent out the DeLorean if you’re interested.

4. The Outsiders (1983)

After reading the novel by S.E. Hinton, I was hooked on the storyline and fell in love with the film. Not to mention crushing over every hot young actor involved. Ironically, I didn’t think Ponyboy was golden. It was scrawny little Johnny that stole my heart.

Like so many teen girls romanticizing The Greasers on the big screen, I could recite at will at least 3-4 lines from the film:

“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight, from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman, and a ride home.”—Ponyboy

“I hope I never see Dallas Winston again. If I do I’d… probably fall in love with him.” —Cherry

“Let’s do it for Johnny man! We’ll do it for Johnny!”—Dallas

5. The Breakfast Club (1985)

This John Hughes classic is the movie I can watch over and over again. Like so many teens in the 1980’s this was the film that spoke directly to our teenage angst, intensity, issues, and triumphs.

The day in the life of 5 teens, The Criminal, The Princess, The Brain, The Athlete, and The Basket Case. Which one were you in high school?