Ramblings

I decided to give you a break from my PhD whining today and chat about what has been in my thoughts lately (what extra thoughts I have that are squished in between crab worries and PhD panics)...

"Bouncing here and there and everywhere,
high adventures that are beyond compare..."
I am going to have this song in my head for
rest of today, so maybe you should too! 

A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends mentioned that she had recently seen Maleficent and this lead on to a conversation about adaptations of stories. I mentioned Roald Dahl and his "Revolting Rhymes" and she has never heard of Roald Dahl. I have to say it again - she had never heard of Roald Dahl! I was astounded, but then again, she is German and probably has a whole different set of childhood treasures that I know nothing about. And even when I think of "Revolting Rhymes" I am generally thinking about my cousin dressed in a rock 'n roll skirt (layers of petticoat and, I think, neon pineapples on black material) jiving in my primary school's rendition of Roald Dahl's Cinderella (although not my primary school at the time because this was when I was about 4) which is a memory few people will have. This has me thinking about the early influences on our lives, and how I take for granted that everyone knows Gummi Bears, The Goonies, Roald Dahl or Enid Blyton. I can't imagine a childhood without the influence of the Secret Seven, or learning about the importance of protecting the environment from Captain Planet. To this day I can still "sing" the lyrics to the sound tracks from Captain Planet, Gummi Bears and even Pumpkin Patch (which caused trauma for me in my teenage life when I went to watch "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and Janet was played by the woman that used to be the sweet innocent presenter of Pumpkin Patch and was not so sweet and innocent any more - nothing like tainting childhood memories). 

Captain Planet, he's our Hero... 

When I was younger and still "clubbing" (before I put my dance moves away in the bottom drawer, only to be taken out at weddings), in the classy places that I frequented (Springboks/Tin Roof) they would inevitably play the theme from the Gummi Bears at some stage during the night. Does that still happen? Or are the undergrads of today bopping to the "Teletubbies" or "Barney" sound track - or some other show that didn't enter my world at all. And what will form the early sound track to the next generation (please not Barney). 

Never a huge fan of Rainbow
Brite, but I thought a 6 year
old would appreciate all the
cheerful colour! 

At the beginning of last year, I made a birthday invitation for my goddaughter using a picture of Rainbow Brite, my cousin told me that she loved the invitation, but obviously had no idea who Rainbow Brite was. It is possible that I am overly influenced by TV and books (anyone that has had a conversation with me will know that I am likely to mention 'How I Met Your Mother' at some stage), but what are the shows and books that influenced people that grew up in Germany, Argentina, Sweden and Armenia? What have I missed out on? I am really curious about how the media that we grow up with affects our perceptions in life. Or, maybe I am just feeling nostalgic for my youth and those carefree times when someone else paid for the food in the fridge...


(I have used "bopping", "jiving" and "clubbing" in this blog - am I already so middle aged?)