Jingle Bell Love

 

On Tuesday night Lisa and I watched Jingle Bell Love, a light hearted Christmas romance starring NKOTB's Joey McIntyre. It's available free on the Roku app. 

Joe plays widower Jack Cooper, who takes his 12 year old daughter to spend the holidays with his former in-laws in a quaint small town. His daughter is eager to pair him up, citing a promise she made to her Mom, and promptly tries to get him to date a local coffee shop owner played by Michelle Morgan.  Alas, unbeknownst to anyone in town but Joe, his employer has secretly sent him to buy out the coffee shop and replace it with a quasi-Starbucks. 

So what did I think? 

It isn't Oscar material, but it isn't meant to be. What it was intended to be, and what it is, is a sweet, simple love story that certainly matches up to any of the Hallmark Christmas Movies. It also, by the way, has some very good musical performances from a certain blue eyed New Kid. 

Do some plot points  not make sense? Sure. The wife seems to have died that year, based on the condolences he receives in town, yet everyone, from Joe to his in-laws, seems cool with finding wife # 2. Okay. What about the 12 year old who still earnestly believes in Santa? Etc 

Who cares? It was entertaining and endearing, and it's worth a watch. 

NKOTB News

Step by Step

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the classic NKOTB album "Step by Step", which would go on to be certified 3x platinum. #25yearsOfStepByStep

Smiley is going to see NKOTB tonight!

Just got up from a nap with Smiley, in preparation for his first ever concert - NKOTB at Summerfest tonight!

update: According to a text from Lisa, 98 degrees just took their bow and the crowd is waiting for New Kids to take the stage . . . .

A Busy Day

Lisa and her crew are en route to Hammond, IN to see a New Kids on the Block concert. Meanwhile, we've extended Smiley's sleepover, and I took the boys to three libraries, a store, and finally to Little Caesar's for dinner. BTW thank heavens for LuLu; her Mommy skills have sure come in handy.

Joey McIntyre's New Single - "Here we Go Again"

Joe Mac is back, and with a pretty damn catchy song. He is (or will be) on tour to back the album, and will be in Chicago Jan 20th.

This is the official video, and Lisa, ever the New Kid fan, was visibly upset to see Joe's face take a punch in the shoot, staged or not. LOL :)



While we're at it, here's "I love you Came too Late" from his "Stay the Same" album



and "Rain", from his follow-up

update on the Kansas trip:

Got a text from Lis @ ~12 saying they were 75 miles outside of DuBuque, IA. West of the Mississippi my city to city geography gets a little sketchy, so I have no idea if they're making good time.

Lisa's NKOTB Trip

In a few hours Lisa will be leaving to join her friends Jolenne and Jenny on a road trip to Kansas. The purpose of the 12 hour ride? They have tickets to a New Kids on the Block concert near Witchita.

Not just any tickets. These are what are (officially) called Five Star tickets that include 7th row (or better) seats and most importantly, a personal meet and greet with the group backstage before the show.

[The funds came from my time at Job Prior, back when I *thought* money was tight.]

It is, quite literally, a lifelong dream come true for her. I'm very happy she's going. When she mentioned feeling guilty over the money I told her to knock it off, just as she did when we sucked it up to send me to Bush's second inauguration. Forty years from now we won't remember what bill was due this month, or what the balance is on our auto loan. But just as I'll remember my trip to D.C., she'll carry the memories of this forever.

The hardest part of packing has been deciding what item to have them all sign. We have an extensive collection of NKOTB merchandise, truthfully more than we thought. We have all the CD's, LP's, cassettes, sheets, dolls, clothing, boxes of sorted and filed magazines, exclusive imports, press releases, lunch boxes, slippers, a sleeping bag, towels, folders, buttons, the infamous marbles, trading cards, books - you name it.

She's going to take an assortment with her and decide in Kansas. We also gifted my sister a Donnie photo to have signed.

The only bad part of all this is that she'll miss most or all of July 4th with the family. It's her favorite holiday of the year. The parades and whatnot will fall on my shoulders this year.

I can't tell if she's super excited or super nervous. Probably a lot of both.

"God, I hope they aren't having a bad day," she told me. "It would suck if they were as*holes."

Yeah, I bet it would. But somehow I'm doubting she'll even notice if they were :)

Almost Time

Getting Lisa packed and ready to go to the New Kids concert in Kansas. T minus 12 hours now.

The Rambles pt 2

Here's the last half of that post, fleshed out for good measure.

* * * *

For Mother's Day I bought Lisa another copy of the New Kids' CD, replacing one my sister had "borrowed" and never returned. This brings to mind an experience she had at the concert in April. She was seated between the main stage and stage 'B', the rotating platform where they perform three songs. As the guys moved from one to another she grabbed hold of Jon Knight's hand. Always and forever her favorite, he had to pry her hand off in order to continue on his way. She said his hand was much bigger and softer than she expected.

* * * *

The media coverage of Jon and Kate's marital problems leaves me shaking my head . Yes, yes, smirk and say "what's good for the goose is good for the gander. They were certainly keen on the attention when things were well, weren't they?"

Well, sure. Anyone who says - let me elaborate: says and truly believes- that they would turn down the same offer is a fool. The couple has eight children. A television station offered them a chance to document their family for posterity, while paying the Gosslin's more money per episode than they would earn in a year at a 'real' job.

You're right, it sounds like a horrible, selfish idea. [Attention Hollywood: if you want to come over to the Slapinons household and film the convoluted mess that is our lives, my number is 414 555-5555.]

As far as the alleged infidelity: if he's cheating, and I say 'if', then he's an idiot for doing it in public when he knows cameras are following him. That said, no one knows what goes on inside a marriage except the two people who exchanged vows. There are rumours of sexual discord, of Kate herself having a 'friend', and even of 'allowed' dalliances - none of which is any of my business, nor changes my respect for what they've accomplished as parents.

Update: since this was began I've read Kate's interview in People. Sometimes I wonder where this woman's PR people learned their trade. She tries to sell herself as a saint, and paints Jon as a lazy, shiftless wreck of a man. I don't care what's going on behind the scenes, if you want to try and work on your marriage that's a lousy, lousy, way to start the process. Score one for Jon on the sympathy meter.

* * * *

We watched a second week of The Fashion Show, and it's growing on us. I like the emphasis on sale-and-wearability over the 'arty' fashion of Project Runway.

We've also scoped out a week of Any Dream Will Do, Andrew Lloyd Webber's casting call for an English lead for Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph is my favorite musical, but the reality show falls flat. It's much too posh and slow paced for my cheap American tastes.

* * * * *
I ran into an old customer of mine from Job Prior, a prostitute who now seems to have retired from the trade. She was with a husband/boyfriend at Wal-Mart, and while we exchanged nods we didn't speak. I don't blame her. What was she going to tell the guy? "Oh, this is Dan. He was working 3rd shift back when I was turning tricks, and sometimes he'd have to step in and deal with a john that got out of line."

I remember one time, in a lobby filled with people, she whipped out a caramel colored breast to show off a bright white crescent scar; the result, she said, of a woman biting her chest during a youthful brawl.

Ah, memories.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Boring Life for Me

Lisa's up in Green Bay right now at a New Kids on the Block concert with some friends, which means I had to (gasp!) parent on my own for a night, shuffling the kids to and from school and dance class. The big test will be tomorrow morning. Lisa won't get in until the middle of the night, and will be out of commission for the morning prep-for-school rituals. And I am not a functioning human being at 6:30 A.M.

Speaking of the New Kids, they are embarking on another tour over the summer (or an extension of this one, take your pick) and you'll no doubt hear us yak about them again in the coming months.

BTW, their song Two in the Morning won a KISS Combat Challenge on the radio here. And it's 2009. Wow. Whodathunkit back in 1990?

* * * * *

True story: YaYa and I were dispatched by my Mom to pick up my father from a local church(not my own). When I asked for my Dad by name a woman got an odd look on her face, then came up and offered me her hand.

"I thought I recognized your picture from the paper, and that name is hard to forget. You were in the Journal a few days ago, weren't you? The article on snow. Oh, I thought that was dead on. I LOVED it. Are you writing anything else?" The woman wasn't 'meet the rock star' giddy, but she was reaching the 'meet the smooth jazz star' plateau.

I swear to you, I thought it was a candid camera moment and that my Dad set me up. But no, I guess she was legit. It was the only 'out of the blue' congrats, but I've had a few from people that vaguely know me (or of me), some of which had very sweet things to say.*

Huh.

Anyway, what's that old anecdote about Caesar having someone whisper 'fame is fleeting' in his ear? You could tell YaYa was proud, but she's old enough now to treat such feelings towards her parents as 'uncool'. Here's her official take on it: "I hope you don't think you're famous now. Cuz, uh, you're not."

:)

*Meanwhile a family member flat out said they didn't like it, and you know what? I appreciate their honesty.

* * * *

I burned my right ring finger last night cooking some Ramen noodles. I always do this idioticly macho 'shake it for a moment, swear, continue on as if nothing happened' routine when I burn myself. Most of the time I refuse to even run it under cold water, but this sucker hurt and blistered up. I all but teleported to the sink. Dang near ruined my viewing of the Match Game, it did.

Memo to college grad: don't grab a metal serving spoon if it's been laying on the hot stovetop for ten minutes.

* * * *

By Request - NKOTB's Dirty Dancing, official Video

Twice now I've tried to embed this video from different sources, with no luck. Eh, I never said I was a tech.

At the request of some parties here is the official New Kid's on the Block video for the song 'Dirty Dancing'.

It is set in Medieval Germany for some reason, and I think it's just goofy. It's a good song, a sexy song, and so you decide to make a video in Renaissance Faire outfits with a supporting cast speaking German. Yeah. Next time fellas just take two puffs and pass it on, cuz this is *not* your brightest idea, although it is funny at times.

Here's a link to the video: NKOTB

[BTW - translations I've seen of the speech indicate the King is saying NKOTB broke up years ago, and his daughter blowing him off by saying they've been reunited]

YaYa and LuLu's 1st Ever Concert, pt 3

When the group moved to the B stage we had a great view, and just like in Chicago the crowd went nuts for Dirty Dancing. YaYa's face lit up during this time too, and it was the first time I think she really got into the full swing of the concert.





Well, it wasn't *that* close, but that's certainly far closer to the mark than this one. We'd be on the far right of this photo, straight across from Jordan, assuming we're somewhere in the shot.















'Round about Click


I realized that I was in the clear. LuLu was fast asleep, YaYa was content, and we were in the home stretch. The money wasn't a waste, there'd be no meltdown, no early exit, and no hard feelings. Hot dog!









For Summertime YaYa was singing full blast and bopping around in her seat (remember, I did try waking LuLu at this point).





When it came time for the final encore, Hanging Tough/We Will Rock You, I told YaYa enough was enough. On your feet, throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care.

Oh, she was hesitant at first, and glanced around to see if she'd be the 'only one'. But once she saw thousands of arms in the air, she joined right along. Personally, unlike Chicago, it felt eerily familar and comfortable to do it. Yikes.

















When the house lights came on I threw Lu over my shoulders and went up to Lisa's seats. On the way out of the arena I saw Nikki again, and saw the woman I'd later buy some pictures from. I was also seen by but didn't see an employee of mine who was a few rows beind me. 'You were kind of recognizable. There's not many guys your size with a goatee at that concert.'

[not many, but some: in one segment Donnie thanked all the guys who'd come out with their wives or girlfriends, and the smart single guys who'd just realized the opportunites to be had there. During this the camera stayed on a big, bearded young guy with multiple piercings]

[I also saw a woman featured in a ho-hum Milwaukee Journal column about devoted fans. Please. Lisa's done far more things for her fandom than that woman. Where was her write-up, huh?]

I'm telling you, it was like being at a high school reunion, but without all the baggage and anxiety.

On the way to the parking garage Lisa and her friends decided to wait by the NKOTB bus to meet the guys, and somehow YaYa wormed her way into the mix. It was 11 pm on a school day, but the next day was her birthday and I'd already conceded her absence in my head. So I left YaYa with Lisa and took LuLu, still over my shoulder, on a two block walk to the car.

[The ladies had promised me a ride to my van, but had reneged in their quest for NKOTB. So Lu and I had exited the door on the far side of the arena from our parking spot]



Sometime later they would in fact meet Danny Wood, who took the time to stop and take a photograph with YaYa in honor of her birthday.

'She's adorable,' he told Lisa.



[note: Right as this important event took place Jolene's camera battery gave out, and all we have left is the camera phone picture. Don't think I'll forget Jo. Or forgive.]






That's the back of YaYa's head in the above pic.





Meanwhile Lu and I returned home, NKOTB on the radio, and went to bed. Lisa and YaYa never did return home, choosing instead to crash at a local hotel once their quest ended well after after midnight.

Obviously I'm overjoyed that my two oldest kids have now seen their first concert and that it was New Kids on the Block. Aside from that, however, how was the show?

The crowd was lame compared to Chicago, but in return I think the guys tried extra hard to make the show memorable. Jon seemed to be having a *lot* of fun, and Joe's voice was spot-on impressive yet again.

I prefered Chicago, not only because it was my first time seeing them but because the Milwaukee show was hampered, initially, by worrying about the kids and later by having to remain seated so as not to block YaYa's view. I'd have much prefered to have been on my feet and moving. And either way it would have been great to have had Lisa beside me.

Still, a great show and I'm so glad I decided to buck up and make it happen.

YaYa and LuLu's 1st Ever Concert - pt 2

We took our seats as Natasha Bedingfield was finishing her act. YaYa is a fan of one of her songs, the one she was singing at that moment as it turns out, and so she was immediately in awe.

Actually we all were. I was still shocked about the seats, and the girls were blown away by the size of the venue, the crowd, the noise level, and the flurry of activity. Their tension was palpatable for a moment there.

When the opening act ended I passed around earplugs - feeling mighty like a mighty Good Daddy to have thought of bringing them - and tried to raise Lisa on her cell. No dice. So I called her friend's husband two hours to the north of Milwaukee and asked him for his wife's cell number. Within minutes the kids and I were waving hello to Lisa and friends, all of whom had snuck down into the 200's themselves.

They were still in the last row however, whereas we, if you recall, were in the first. Ahem.



I'm going to interrupt the story for a moment to mention that all the photos you'll see were taken at that very show; the good, the great, the mediocre, and the awful. They come from my cell phone, Jolene's camera, Nikki K, and from the sister of one of my employees.

That sibling charged me - charged me! - five dollars for a CD of mediocre to poor concert photos. As she knew my intentions, and knew I make no profit from the blog, I objected. I paid the money, but as I didstated it was BS that violated Blockhead karma. The brother looked like he wanted to swing at me, but whatever. It was bogus.

There was ten or fifteen minutes between the end of the opening act and NKOTB, and I can't remember anything of that time, but I'm reasonably sure it was filled with terror at the thought that the girls would meltdown mid-concert.

But that was temporarilly forgotten as the introduction started playing. Cue the screaming, which fascinated my girls. And then, the sounds of 'Single' and the concert began, with the guys rising from the stage.











Confession time: it was downright embarrasing how big of a smile, and how much honest enjoyment and excitement I felt at that moment. There is nothing like the zeal of a convert . . .

The girls both sang along to Single and Right Stuff, but YaYa was still a little intimidated. Lu was up and dancing to my right, but YaYa not only stayed seated but asked me to sit down because I was blocking her view.

I obliged her, but you can't enjoy a concert properly sitting on your butt, at least I can't. That was a bit of a buzzkill for me.

'Round about the fourth song LuLu asked me when they'd play Summertime. I told her it was near the end of the conert and she growled her dissapointment. She then announced she was going to rest and proceeded to zonk out in her seat. She slept THROUGH THE REST OF THE CONCERT.

That means she slept through all the noise, the screaming, the booming music, the literally shaking floor beneath us when the entire section was jumping, even the slightly drunk woman to her right who stumbled and fell into her. I couldn't even rouse her for Summertime. She might as well have been comatose.





A few songs later YaYa began bawling. She'd dropped one of her earplugs onto the arena floor below us. No big deal - I had others - but it was way past her bedtime and she's a girl who really needs her sleep. The usher on the floor strolled over and offered to replace the earplugs herself (that's how close we were), and a woman to our left asked what was the matter. All told the incident was a non-event and took up five minutes of the night. But I tell it here to record it as the ONLY 'bad' moment the kids provided that night.











Throughout the concert YaYa continued to sing along with any and all songs from the new album, but blanked out on many of the classic stuff. The silence was noticeable.

"Didn't your Mom ever teach you the words to this?" I asked during Cover Girl.

She shook her head.

"Well I'm sorry honey. That's just bad parenting on our part. " I said.













I object to this next shot, but Lisa wants it preserved for posterity.





To be continued . . .