back when the world watched charles and diana

Media are currently all abuzz about the upcoming Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Their names have recently become ubiquitous and redundant as the world's curiosity is stoked by this union.

We who were alive in 1981 can't help recalling the other royal wedding - the one of William's parents, HRH Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

Photos from here and here.

I was too young at that time to have more than a vague recollection of it now, but I do remember that the world gushed over them for years. It was often referred to as a fairy tale romance between the heir to the throne and "a mere commoner" (or so media people said*).

* I don't know why it was ever said she was a commoner; Diana was the daughter of an Earl and was born into an aristocratic family. Oh well.

I also remember her wedding dress - a voluminous gown with the puffiest sleeves and the longest train ever - I mean, who could forget that?

Photos from here and here.

Younger people might find it hideous today, but fluffy, massive gowns used to be considered beautiful. Her gown was coveted by brides and knocked-off by couturiers throughout the 1980s.

There was also much ado about her haircut, her tiara and the engagement ring.

Image from here.

I remember there were even numerous Princess Diana dolls, including a meticulously-detailed Franklin Mint collectors-item porcelain replica of her on her wedding day.

People went crazy over Diana. There was just something about her; she was regarded in her day as a paragon of beauty and charm and grace and all things (wholesome) that one would want to see in a woman. Plus, she managed to nab a prince. Little girls wanted to be her.

But of course, we know how the fairy tale ended. And I'd rather not say anything about that.

back when a "lamb chop" was a lovable puppet

Image from here.

My favorite celebrity sock puppet to date is a knitted wool sheep named Lamb Chop. She was so cute and sassy, and I just loved her name - Lamb Chop. My older brother thought the name was hilarious, seeing through the irony. At that time I didn't even show sheep were edible.

When I was in kindergarten, I watched her every weekday morning on The Shari Show.

Image from here.

The Shari Show was a children's program hosted by puppeteer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. Shari and Lamb Chop worked at a TV station totally run by puppets. There was a lion named Lionel, another lion named Dandy Lion and a kangaroo named Captain Person. It wasn't quite as educational as the more popular Sesame Street, but it did have a lot of singing and good values.

Thank you Shari, for the Shari Show.

As a kid I'd wondered why her name was spelled "Shari" (I saw it on the hand-painted heart on the opening of each episode), but it was pronounced Sherry. It was then I began to realize that Americans pronounced their vowels differently, depending on how the rest of the word is spelled. I obsessed over the letter A for a while and observed how it differed in words like mango, car and Franchesca.

Thank you Shari, for showing me that Teacher was not really that good in teaching English .

Image from here.

I really missed the program it when it stopped running. I missed Lamb Chop most of all, and wondered if she did any more shows (Of course I knew she was a puppet! But I still adored her).

Thank you Shari, for sharing Lamb Chop with the world.

The next - and last - time I caught a glimpse of them was wen I was in third or fourth grade; Imagine my excitement. It was in a TV Christmas program of sorts with a segment featuring Lamb Chop and an older Shari. By that time, my brother had forgotten who Lamb Chop and Shari were, so I had to explain we used to watch them.

All grown up, none of my friends remember The Shari Show. I was beginning to think it might have all been figments of my imagination, so I Googled for proof. Voila! Lamb Chop really did exist!

I am also pleased to find that videos of Shari's programs are available at Amazon. Not that I intend to buy any of them, I just think it's nice to know.

I also found that Lamb Chop dolls are being sold. Now that's tempting, considering I've always coveted Lamb Chop whenever I saw her on screen. But instead of buying a ready-made doll, it might be more fun to acquire a Lamb Chop knitting pattern and try to make one myself.
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back when kurt ... well, kurt

I still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news that he was gone. Heck, I still remember what I was wearing.

It was a sweltering summer morning. I was with my family in my Dad's old car, sweating in my yellow polo shirt and shorts. The radio was on, and news came in that Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home. I couldn't believe it; wanted to overreact upon hearing the horrible, horrible news, but decided I shouldn't do that in the presence of my very religious mother or she might have me exorcised.

Kurt Donald Cobain was a disturbed genius, the Byron of my generation. He popularized a whole new genre of music and demoted another. In 1991, Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit invaded the airwaves with an unpretentious aggression, giving a voice to to the pent-up emotions of the youth. Before Kurt and his guys came in, rock music was all about big hair, spandex, vocal acrobatics and theatrics. Nirvana had none of that; they introduced an edgy, unpolished flavor of anti-art - aptly called grunge - which quickly caught on and made glam rock seem like last night's leftovers.

To this day, Teen Spirit is one of the top rock tunes of all time. It's probably Nirvana's most popular hit, but it wasn't the only one. There also was the similarly testosterone-laden Come As You Are, Lithium and In Bloom, all written by Cobain. The iconic Nevermind was followed by In Utero and an MTV Unplugged album.

Grunge's come as you are philosophy sparked a fashion trend and a way of life. It was suddenly attractive to look disheveled and unkempt, admirable to be so laid-back and low-maintenance.


Alas, on the 5th of April, 1994, A drug-drowned gunshot to the head. A suicide, authorities said. Age 27, in the fashion of other rock superstars like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. His death was surrounded with controversy, as some believe it to be a murder. Read more here.

Dr. Martens Ad

Kurt went away, and grunge left with him. There was suddenly a void where he and his music should have been. Many tried to keep grunge alive, but holding up a standard of it defeated the purpose of anti-art. In the mid-90's came a wave of what was called post-grunge, which was pretty much more cleaned up, watered-down and more sellable.

Kurt and his work was never forgotten, especially not by those he gave a voice to. He remains today an icon of rock, a gritty-but-fond memory of our growing up years.

monday music trip army of me BJORK

I'm in the mood for some retro Bjork today. I watched Sucker Punch fairly recently; in its kickass soundtrack is a remix of Bjork's Army of Me. A decade and a half after it was first released, it still sounds avant-garde enough to fit in a current movie.

I first heard Army of Me in '95, and noted how it sounded angry and sexy at the same time. And if you complain / Once more, you'll meet an / Army of me. I thought that was so clever.

Bjork was always too experimental for miantream tastes, and in this country her music was played only on NU107. Can't say I was ever a Bjork fan, but I loved her crazy music. Her music videos were delicious - the kind of soup one's subconscious mind cooks up while sleeping.




The Sucker Punch remix featuring Skunk Anansie still sounds much like the original track, only much more aggressive.