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A First Favorite Short Film and Related Loves #amblogging #blogfest
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 11:35AM I now interrupt our regularly scheduled Monday Movie Meme* (see the bottom of this post for details) program for the following event...
Today, Captain Ninja Alex is hosting the First Loves Blogfest. Participants post their first loves - first movie, first/song/band, first book and first person. Here are mine..
My First Movie: “The Red Balloon” is my first favorite short film. I think I saw it when I was in school, maybe. I don’t quite remember. I do know that it is one of many short films that I would watch again.
My First Rock Song: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. Although my mother introduced me to The Beatles and Bon Jovi when I was a kid, I didn’t take a liking to their music because I was preoccupied with Michael Jackson as well as R&B and rap tunes that they played on the radio -- specifically the Power 99FM radio station.
My First Rock Band: No Doubt is my first favorite rock band. Although I’ve probably heard their songs on the radio prior to attending college, I didn’t pay much attention to this group until the “Hey Baby” song was released. A few fellow classmates played the tune during one of our assignments for a summer program, and I was hooked on it ever since. The track piqued my interest in No Doubt and I’ve been a fan of their music ever since. “Hey Baby,” however, is not my favorite No Doubt song, at least not anymore.
My First Book: After searching around for the author, product listings and the name of one of my first favorite childhood books, I came up empty. All I know is it’s red with black letters on the cover that spell out the main character’s name, which is Darlene or Danielle or something of the sort. Therefore, I’ll move on to my first favorite novel, which is “Jack” by A.M. Holmes. I read “Jack” when I was in high school and it’s the only book that I enjoyed reading, as far as fiction is concerned.
My First Person: Johnathan Taylor Thomas is the first actor that I remember (at the time of this writing) having a crush on. I used to enjoy watching episodes of the ABC comedy “Home Improvement” starring Tim Allen, because it was a funny show. Thomas’ presence, however, made me look forward to those prime-time airings of Home Improvement even more.
Crushing on Johnathan Taylor Thomas is also the main reason I watched the action/adventure film “Wild America,” about three brothers who travel across the country to get rare footage of a bear cave. “Wild America” is based on the true life story of Martin “Marty” Stouffer and his brothers Mark and Marshall Stouffer.
Marty Stouffer produced and directed the PBS animal documentary TV show called “Wild America” that aired in the early 90s. He and his brothers have produced many award-winning documentaries about endangered species. Today, I find it ironic that when this movie came out, I was a high school student with expectations of my future being centered on fine arts, yet, I eventually took a different route after graduation -- filmmaking -- go figure!
*Tune in next week for a new installment of the Monday Movie Meme, as it takes a break this week.
Reader Comments (16)
Nicole, this is a great list. I saw the Red Balloon in school and it is a great film. Sweet song too. I was never into grunge, but I loved this song. The Muppets version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" cracked me up along with the Weird Al version. LOL
not familiar with the red balloon... interested!
We all love something...right!
Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine
From Jackson to Nirvana - quite a jump!
Thanks for participating in my blogfest.
JTT - I was soooo in love with him as a kid. Definitely a first actor love!!!! Great choice :)
Oh I remember Wild America. JTT was the reason I watched it too, but I think I fell in love with the other two boys in the film as well, lol.
Hi there. Some great firsts. I haven't heard of the book Jack but it may be a good one to offer some of my students in high school who don't like to read. I love Home Improvement too. Whatever happened to JTT?
Denise
I like your music choices! Nirvana and No Doubt :)
Not familiar at all with the movie or the book but JTT, yes, he's one of the reasons I watched Home Improvement too haha!
Thanks for dropping by my blog too! Have a great week!
Don't Speak really caught my attention. I loved that song.
JTT is quite popular among the Love posts! :)
I'm with you on No Doubt - yes, they were something!! :)
Sharing the Love!
English Speaking Zone
A little late in visiting 1st loves! Great choices. Funny the things that end up influencing our lives.
I love, love, LOVE No Doubt! I still listen to them today.
Btw, are you originally from Philly? Are you talking about Power 99 in Philadelphia? If so, I was born and raised there and listened to that station nonstop!
Saw The Red Balloon in 4th grade--a milestone year for the arts for me--and have seen it many times since. It's a wonderful film. If you haven't seen the Weird Al version of "Smells Like Nirvana" you must go to YouTube immediately and watch it--best parody ever.
Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out
I love your music choices! :)
Maurice,
Thank you. I'm not sure if I saw the Weird Al version but I am definitely interested in checking out The Muppets one that you mentioned.
Jeremy,
Yes, there is something for all of us to love. For some, that is Star Wars and for others, it's Twilight while for the rest, it's neither. For me, it's The Red Balloon, as far as short films are concerned -- but my favorites have been expanded into a top five list over the last few years, thanks to film festivals, YouTube and even Myspace -- before it became centered on music.
Alex,
The jump may be wide but the impact wasn't to overwhelming once I hit the other foundation, thanks to my mother's interest in The Beatles, Bon Jovi and some other rockers.
S.L. Hennessy,
JTT all the way baby! I realized that I had another first crush around the same time so I guess I'll have to make JTT my age-appropriate one and the other my grown-up actor crush ;)
Cassie,
You know how to spread the love, I see. Nothing wrong with that but JTT will always be my top pick among the three leading boys in Wild America, lol.
L'Aussie,
Jack would be a good book for high school students. It even made my male classmates want to continue the book, which was interesting to witness because these boys were into sports and music. Of all the books that could get teenagers interested in reading more, I think Jack fits perfectly among them. Also, your guess about what happened to JTT is as good as mine....I think he worked on some TV movies or something...I'm not sure tho.
Amelia,
I wonder if JTT may have been one of Home Improvements best assets with regards to the show's TV ratings and viewership. I don't know about you, but I'd say that was a great casting move on the part of whoever was responsible for selecting him to play one of the Taylor boys.
Angela,
Don't Speak wasn't on my radar much until my friend Shauntae told me what she thought the song was about. After listening to it in full, I now consider it to be among my favorite No Doubt tunes. I once added it to a "breakup" playlist and it has remained there ever since but now that we're discussing it, I want to listen to the song! So, I'll be heading over to YouTube as soon as I finish my reply comments.
Barbara,
It's great to learn that many people reading my blog are also (or at least were at some point in time) fans of No Doubt!
mj,
Better late than never, at least where visiting blogs in the First Loves fest are concerned! I still haven't put much of a dent in my visits to participants on the list, but just as the A to Z Roadtrip is getting underway, maybe there is something to that old adage that "slow and steady wins the race!" Yep, while writing my post for the First Loves Fest and even during the A to Z Challenge, I was surprised to realize the things that influence our lives.
Ro,
Now that's what I'm talking about! -- I love your big love for No Doubt! :)
and yes, I am referring to the Power 99 radio station in Philadelphia. In fact, I started to choose The Golden Boy as my First Love, but I'll save that for another blog post or another blogfest on another day! LOL
Arlee,
I wish they showed more short films in schools these days, to at least introduce students to new art forms and non-domestic works. If there is any short film worth repeat viewings, The Red Balloon is it! This Weird Al parody of Nirvana seems to be quite popular -- how can I not go to YouTube to check it out, after you've (and Maurice) insisted?! Will do, buddy :)
Dana,
Thanks for visiting. I love that my First Loves music choices resonate with so many people! -- especially No Doubt but I also find it interesting how my Nirvana selection automatically brings up memories and a fondness of Weird Al.
Oh yes, Jonathan Taylor Thomas was such a cutie. Good pick.
Thanks for stopping by. Your blog's great fun.
Never Mind is one of my favorite CDs of all time. Every song was good. I place it in my Top Five of all time.