February 2 & 9: F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

• Friends is an American situation comedy about six friends living in the same apartment complex in Manhattan.
• It originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 – May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons.
• The ensemble cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc.

The Central Perk

• The six main protagonists frequently visited Central Perk throughout the series, which is a play on words of Central Park.
• It is situated in New York City’s Greenwich Village, in the same apartment block as Monica’s apartment. It was where they spent much of their free time.
• At the beginning of the series, Rachel works there as a waitress, and Phoebe plays guitar there throughout the show!
• The large orange couch in the cafe is the same one in the theme song!

Characters

Phoebe Buffay

Phoebe is the odd one of the group, but she’s my favourite, so we’re starting with her 😀

She’s best known for her bohemian lifestyle, whimsical sense of humour, and guitar playing in the cafe where they spend their time, Central Perk. She’s not a talented singer or guitar player, but she’s a a creative and unique songwriter. 

One of her most popular songs is Smelly Cat. Its lyrics: Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? Smelly cat, smelly cat, it’s not your fault!

Later in the show, Phoebe makes a professional recording of the song for possible commercial release, though her voice is replaced by a professional singer. 

She had a very difficult childhood with a dysfunctional relationship with her birth mom, her adoptive parents, and her twin sister Ursula.

Phoebe was living on her own and was homeless on the streets of New York City by the age of 14. Phoebe occasionally resorted to mugging to survive. At one point, when she was 14, she mugged Ross.

When she was 18, she lived in a burnt-out Buick LeSabre. Her previous lifestyle and wild stories often shock her friends. For example, when she tells the story of the time she stabbed a cop, their obviously surprised looks cause her to retort, “What? He stabbed me first!”

She never attended high school or college, but she’s wise and has a lot of street smarts and emotional intelligence. In many ways, she’s still a child at heart, and gets along really well with Joey who has a similar personality.

Rachel Greene

Rachel’s personality evolves somewhat over the series. Early on, she is portrayed as a spoiled girl. She can often be self-centered, but is often sweet and tries to be a good friend. Later on in the series, she becomes much less self-absorbed.

She is determined to start her life over and be independent. She was always there for her friends and was respected by them. She respected Ross’ job and that he had to work a lot at the start of their relationship even though Ross never respected hers. She always had spirit and made the best out of her situation.

The season begins with Rachel, who left her fiance at the altar on her wedding day, who moved to New York and ends up living with Monica after her roommate Phoebe had just moved out.

Ross Geller

While he is intellectual and can be polite, caring, thoughtful and kind, Ross is often clumsy, oversensitive and socially awkward – taking the characteristics of the stereotypical “nerd”.

Ross would be right at home in the cast of The Big Bang Theory!

He is the only member of the group of friends with a PhD and that makes him arrogant and need to be right, which often backfires. Still, he tries to convince his friends to act for the best in difficult situations even though such actions may be difficult to carry out.

He is often looking out for everyone’s best interests and the most mature compared to the rest of the gang, despite his big ego, outbursts, and paranoia. Ross has been married and divorced three times, and he’s quite insecure in his relationship with Rachel.

Most of the show revolved around Ross and Rachel’s relationship, full of ups and downs! Here’s a compilation.

Ross’ ex-wife, Carol Willick, came out as gay and lives with her life partner Susan Bunch. Carol was pregnant with Ross’ baby, Ben, and the three of them co-parent him. Ben is played by Dylan and Cole Sprouse. Twins often play the same child on TV so they are not working as much as adults.

Monica Geller

Monica was known as the “Mother Hen” of the group. She’s always happy to host, and her apartment is one of the group’s main gathering places throughout the series.

Her and Rachel were best friends in high school, and Monica is the one who introduces Rachel to the friend group. She’s a talented professional chef, which suits some of her personality traits, like talking really loudly, being a control freak and bossy at times, and having very high standards for cleanliness. The joke is that “Monica Clean” is even cleaner than the Health and Safety Board’s highest standards.

Monica’s competitiveness could be from her always trying to make her parents proud of her. Ross and Monica’s parents revered Ross and often did not pay much attention to her. Also, although Monica dates a lot of people and is very thin, during highschool, she was fat and unpopular, while Rachel was a popular school diva with several boyfriends.

Despite her insecurities, her and Ross have a supportive, loving relationship as adults, and she never hesitates to help her friends.

Chandler Bing

Chandler makes jokes almost all the time, especially when the room is tense or when he feels uncomfortable, and he’s known for his dry, sarcastic humour.

He doesn’t have a relationship with his parents, and he blames a lot of his current issues on their divorce. He was the most afraid of commitment out of everyone in the group, but him and Monica were the first ones to be married.

Although sometimes Monica’s quirks make him feel exasperated, he also states that he loves how passionate she is, and he feels good about calming her down when she’s gets stressed.

He’s the most financially stable with a job in finance, but it’s a running joke that nobody knows exactly what he does.

He shares an apartment with Joey, his best friend, and often loans him money for his large appetite and acting expenses, not expecting anything in return. Monica and Chandler often act like Joey is their kid, which goes with his childlike, silly personality!

Joey Tribbiani

He is best known for being a ladies’ man and a silly but adorable personality.  Joey is generally a good-natured, charming and well-meaning person, but not so bright.

He loves food, family, friends, and the New York Knicks. It’s a running joke that Joey sleeps with lots of women, but he’ll put his friends before them without hesitation!

Joey’s character is an actor who has had both great success and failure. Joey’s most famous acting role is as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the serial drama Days of Our Lives.

Together, him and Chandler live together, and they had a duck and chick as pets!

Spinoff! Joey

Joey is the spinoff to Friends that focuses on the story Joey Tribbiani after the conclusion of Friends. It originally aired on NBC from September 9, 2004 – August 23, 2006, lasting two seasons before it was cancelled. The ensemble cast includes Matt LeBlanc, Drea de Matteo, Andrea Anders, Jennifer Coolidge and Paulo Costanzo.

Memorable Friendships within FRIENDS

Although everyone is friends with each other, it’s fun to see the dynamics between people within the friend group!

When Monica and Chandler first started dating, they kept it a secret from the rest of the friends because they wanted to make sure it was something serious before possibly disrupting the group dynamic.

But when the others started to find out, they felt offended that they were being lied to, so they started to mess with Chandler and Monica!

• As we can see, Ross was the last to find out about Chandler and Monica’s romantic relationship, and at first, he was furious.
• But after Chandler told Ross he and Monica weren’t just messing around and that they really loved each other, his attitude immediately changes and is very happy for them.
• Chandler becomes Ross (and later Rachel’s) brother-in-law when Chandler and Monica marry.

Let’s look at some of the major non-romantic relationships between friends:

Monica & Ross

• Like I mentioned last week, Ross is Monica’s brother.
• He is a year older than her, and they went to high school together with Rachel.
• Although they have become quite affectionate towards each other, a great deal of competition which existed between them as children has found its way into their adult lives.
• Although she has since forgiven him for being the “golden child”, they often fall back into childish brother/sister arguments.
• Even so, Ross is one of Monica’s best friends. Ross is the typical overprotective brother and is always looking out for her.

Phoebe & Joey

• Joey is Phoebe’s best male friend, and they have dinner once a month to talk about the rest of the group.
• There are hints that they have a crush on each other, but they remain friends throughout the series.
• Personally, I like this choice, because all of the other friends got married to each other. I think their relationship shows that men and women can just be friends, which was a popular debate at the time the showed aired.
• When they realize that the group may have to split up (because Ross’ then-wife Emily had forbidden Ross from being friends with Rachel), Phoebe and Rachel conspire to form a separate group by themselves. Phoebe insists that Joey come to their new group. Her loyalty is proven again when she states that she could live in Las Vegas, since it has everything she needs, “Including Joey!”
• He, in turn, invites her to live with him in the mansion he expects to own when he becomes rich from having a hand twin. Phoebe once said to her friends, “When the Revolution comes, I’ll have to kill you all.” After a moment’s pause, she adds, “Not you, Joey.”
• Phoebe, a vegetarian, was craving meat when she was pregnant. She felt so guilty, but her cravings were intense. Out of support, Joey, who loves meat, went vegetarian during her pregnancy so that she could eat meat without guilt.

The Girls

• Usually, friendship between women and girls on TV is based on a love triangle where they are constantly arguing over a guy. However, in Friends, although they occasionally have conflicts, Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe are very supportive of each other.

• Like I mentioned last week, Monica introduced Rachel to the friend group because they were friends in high school. But they have actually been friends since they were six.
• During the period that they lived together, Rachel is revealed to be an exceptionally good roommate.
• Rachel was the maid of honor at Monica and Chandler’s wedding. Their relationship grew even stronger as the series went on, especially when Rachel gives birth to Emma as the child’s father is her brother Ross.
• When Rachel was preparing to move to Paris, she told Monica that she had been like a sister to her over the last decade, Monica tearfully reciprocating their regret at the thought of not being able to see each other every day. But as we know, Rachel got off the plane 😉
• Phoebe and Monica have fairly different personalities, but this is a strength and not a weakness. They are often able to teach each other lessons about different things that they have experience in.
• Rachel says that both Phoebe and Monica are her best friends.
• In seasons 6 & 7, Rachel and Phoebe lived together after Chandler moved into Monica’s apartment.
• Phoebe and Rachel have a very strong relationship throughout the series, despite occasional and humorous squabbles over little things.

The Guys

• Joey met Chandler when he shows up at the apartment for a roommate interview. Similar to Phoebe and Monica, Joey’s relaxed lifestyle grows on Chandler.
• Chandler had an ongoing bromance (a close but non-sexual relationship between two men) with Joey, who is his best friend. Like we saw with the chick and the duck, a long-running gag depicts Joey and Chandler occasionally fighting with each other like an old married couple. This ends when Chandler becomes involved with Monica. 
• When Chandler moves out, Joey tears up. Joey moves out for a while when he finds success as Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives, but moves in again when he loses his job. He and Chandler remain roommates until Chandler moves in with Monica. When Chandler and Monica have trouble finding a minister to officiate at their wedding, Joey becomes ordained so he can perform the ceremony himself. 
• Ross calls both Joey and Chandler his best friends.
• Ross & Joey are the smartest and dumbest members of the group, and they used to clash over being annoyed at each other.
• At first, they were only friends because they were close with Chandler. They also have a very close relationship, as shown by them having a nap together on the couch after Joey invites Ross in episode 6 of Season 7.
• When Joey developed feelings for Rachel, he didn’t act on them due to his long friendship with Ross, feeling that Ross and Rachel had too much history for him to try and step in.
• Ross and Chandler met in college where they were roommates. They are always there to help and comfort each other but there are also times when they get into ‘competitions’ or petty fights.
• After Chandler plays a prank on Ross by posting on their college website that Ross has sex with dinosaurs, Ross creates a page for Chandler. On the page, Ross claims that Chandler is, “as gay as the day is long,” and also supplies digitally edited images of Chandler making out with a policeman. Many of the alumni congratulate Chandler on revealing this fact. As a retort, Chandler posts on Ross’ page that he has died.

Let’s end class with a Phoebe Buffet Concert!

January 26: The Big Bang Theory

• The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom that ran for twelve seasons on CBS from 2007 to 2019.

• The Big Bang Theory starred Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch.
• The Big Bang Theory was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.

Plot

• The Big Bang Theory was centered on physicists Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, whose geeky and introverted lives were changed when Penny, an attractive waitress and aspiring actress, moved into the apartment across the hall from theirs.
• Penny quickly became a part of Sheldon and Leonard’s social group, which included the equally geeky engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali.
• The group later expanded to include Howard’s wife Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz and Sheldon’s wife Amy Farrah Fowler.

Characters

• Dr. Sheldon Cooper is a theoretical physicist at Caltech who is married to neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler.
• Sheldon is known for his brilliant mind but also his quirky behaviour. Sheldon has a hard time understanding sarcasm. Except his close friends and wife Amy, he is uncomfortable with many social situations.
• Sheldon is extremely logical, but this comes at a cost of often being rude or condescending to others. Although Sheldon’s friends are often the subject of his put downs, they have generally learned to live with Sheldon’s quirks.

• Sheldon has many interests, including comic books, video games and sci-fi TV shows.

• Leonard Hofstadter is an experimental physicist at Caltech in Pasadena.

• Although Leonard has many geeky interests and hobbies, he was the most willing of the guys to try and socialize with other people.

• Leonard’s crush on Penny brought her into the guys’ social group. Penny helped bring Leonard, and all of the guys, out of their shells.

• Leonard and Penny were married in 2015.

• Penny Hofstadter spent most of the show as an aspiring actress who worked as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory. By the end of the show, she had become a pharmaceutical sales rep.
• Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Penny moved to California to pursue acting. In 2007, she moved into the apartment across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. In 2015, she and Leonard got married and they now live together in the apartment that Sheldon and Leonard had shared for many years.
• Penny’s lack of formal education sets her apart from the guys and her friends, Amy and Bernadette, although she has street smarts and social skills which many of the others lack.
• Penny has proved to be very handy as a result of growing up on a farm, where she rebuilt a tractor engine at the age of twelve.
• Penny has been called on by the guys to defeat spiders, online hackers and teach the guys about fishing.

• Penny has often had little interest in the guys’ geeky hobbies, though she has tried to get on board with some of them for the sake of her relationship with Leonard.
• However, throughout the show, she has made comments that show she subconciously knows far more about the guys’ hobbies than she cares to admit, which is surprising even to her. Clearly, she’s learned quite a bit just by hanging out with them!

• Howard Wolowitz is an aerospace engineer and former NASA astronaut who works at Caltech in Pasadena.
• Howard is married to Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz. Together, they have a daughter, Halley, and a son, Neil Michael.
• Penny and Bernadette worked together at the Cheesecake Factory. Penny introduced Howard to Bernadette.

• Howard’s personality has changed over the years from an inappropriate, wanna-be ladies’ man to being the first of the guys to get married, settle down and start a family.
• Howard was known for his inappropriate, and typically unsuccessful, advances on just about any woman he came in contact with, and his elaborate schemes to meet women.

• Howard is best friends with Raj Koothrappali.

• Rajesh “Raj” Ramayan Koothrappali is an Indian-born astrophysicist who lives in Pasadena and works at Caltech.
• Raj now also presents shows at the Griffith Planetarium.
• For a long time, Raj was unable to talk to women due to a case of selective mutism. Raj usually needed to be drunk or intoxicated before he could even talk to women, including his close friends.
• However, he was a hopeless romantic and had a number of girlfriends throughout the show. Some fans were upset that he was the most interested in romance and yet was the only member of the group to be single when the show ended.

• Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler is a neurobiologist from Glendale, California, who is married to Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
• Amy met Sheldon Cooper after Howard and Raj created a fake dating profile for him, and Amy’s profile was matched to his.
• Amy’s introduction to Sheldon led to her becoming his friend (“a friend who is a girl but is not my girlfriend”, as Sheldon characterized it) and becoming a part of Sheldon’s social group.
• Though Amy and Sheldon share similar personalities, they do have some notable differences.
• Amy is far more open to socializing and is very appreciative of her new social life.
• Amy does not typically share Sheldon’s interest in science fiction or comic books.

• Amy became friends with Penny when she invited herself to a girls’ night that Penny was spending with Bernadette. Amy would come to value her friendship with Penny so much that she labeled them “besties”.

• Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz is a microbiologist who has a high-paying job at a pharmaceuticals company, Zangen. This is the same company where Penny would get a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative.
• Although Bernadette is generally nice and good-natured, she has shown a dark side and admits she is a very vengeful person. 
• At Leonard and Penny’s second wedding ceremony, Bernadette officiated the service.
• Bernadette and Amy are good friends, and they can discuss intellectual things together unlike with Penny. However, they’re both closer friends with Penny than with each other.
• Bernadette has shown a compassionate and understanding attitude when dealing with Sheldon. When Sheldon was stuck on a physics problem and stayed up for days on end, Bernadette was able to convince Sheldon to go to bed. Bernadette also helped Sheldon overcome his fear of birds.
• Bernadette has a warm relationship with Leonard. Soon after she met Leonard, Bernadette showed an interest in Leonard’s work, prompting feelings of jealousy in Howard and causing Penny to try learn more about science.
• Bernadette and Raj have a tense relationship. As Howard’s best friend, he has had been over-involved in their relationship and her pregnancies, which has made her and Howard uncomfortable.
• Bernadette is feared at work, even by her boss. When Bernadette arranged a job interview for Penny with her boss Dan, he wasn’t inclined to give Penny a job, but they soon bonded over their mutual fear of Bernie.

• Stuart Bloom is the owner of The Comic Center of Pasadena, the comic book store the guys often go to. Stuart is a talented artist.
• In the earlier seasons, he was romantically interested in both Penny and Amy, but it never went anywhere because this competition made Leonard and Sheldon realize that they wanted to be with their respective partners.
• When Howard went to space, Stuart become close friends with Raj and began hanging out with the gang.

History of the Show

• The Big Bang Theory was originally developed for the 2006/07 season, though the series did not get picked up.
• The pilot was very different from the version which would eventually go to series. Only Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki were part of the original pilot, which featured a much tougher character in the role that would morph into Penny.

• When the show was redeveloped for the 2007/08 season, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar were cast in the new roles of Penny, Howard and Raj, respectively.
• The retooled show was picked up by CBS in May 2007 with a thirteen-episode order for the 2007/08 season. The network gave the show the 8:30 time slot on CBS’s popular Monday night comedy block, sandwiched between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men.

Rising Popularity

• The Big Bang Theory premiered on September 24, 2007 and ran eight episodes before the 2007/8 Writers’ Strike halted production. This strike stopped a lot of shows at the time.
• At this point, the show only had “modest success.” However, after the first season finished airing, it ranked #68 in the ratings. for 2007/2008.
• The Big Bang Theory finished its second season at #44 in the ratings.
• Usually, popular TV shows get renewed one season at a time. The Big Bang Theory got renewed for two seasons in March 2009, taking it through to its fourth season in 2010/11.
• The Big Bang Theory finished its third season as the #12 ranked show on TV.
• The Big Bang Theory was renewed for a further three seasons in January 2011. The show finished its fourth season as the 13th most-watched show on TV.
• The Big Bang Theory’s popularity continued to rise in its fifth season, during which it reached 100 episodes.
• The Big Bang Theory became the US’s top-rated sitcom in the 2011/12 season and was the 8th most-watched program on TV. The sixth season saw ratings rise further, hitting twenty million viewers for the first time.
• During its sixth season, the Big Bang Theory averaged 18.68 million viewers and was the 3rd highest-rated program on TV.
• The Big Bang Theory was renewed for another three seasons in March 2014. It is one of the only shows in history to be renewed for three seasons at a time, two times in a row.
• During The Big Bang Theory’s seventh season, the show ranked as the top-rated scripted program on U.S. television, overtaking the CBS drama NCIS.
• Although The Big Bang Theory’s ratings fell year-to-year during its eighth season, the show remained the #1 sitcom on U.S. TV.
• In 2015/2016, The Big Bang Theory was the highest-rated and most-watched sitcom on television. The Big Bang Theory had an average of over 15 million viewers per episode for its ninth season.
• In March 2017, CBS renewed The Big Bang Theory for an eleventh season in 2017/18 and a twelfth season in 2018/19.
• On August 22, 2018, CBS and Warner Bros. announced that The Big Bang Theory will end after a twelve-season run. The Big Bang Theory’s twelfth season premiered with a special broadcast on Monday, September 24, 2018.
• The final episode of The Big Bang Theory was an hour long, and it aired on Thursday, May 16, 2019.
• In September 2019, TimeWarner announced that the upcoming HBO Max service would be the only place where people could stream The Big Bang Theory in the United States.
• The Big Bang Theory had not appeared on a streaming service in the U.S. during its run.

Spinoff! Young Sheldon

• There is a spin-off show of The Big Bang Theory called Young Sheldon. The series follows the early life of Sheldon Cooper growing up in Galveston, Texas.
• If you like The Big Bang Theory, you might like this show!
• It was created in March 2017.
• The special series debut of Young Sheldon aired after The Big Bang Theory’s eleventh season premiere.

• The show stars Iain Armitage as nine-year-old Sheldon and Zoe Perry as Mary Cooper, a younger version of Sheldon’s mom.
• Fun fact! In real life, Zoe Perry is the daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who plays Sheldon’s mother on The Big Bang Theory. That’s why they look so alike!

• The cast also includes Lance Barber (George, Sr.), Montana Jordan (George, Jr.), Raegan Revord (Missy), and Annie Potts (Meemaw/his grandmother).

Here are some more videos if we have time, or for you to watch after class 🙂

Sources

https://the-big-bang-theory.com/

January 24: David Onley

Let’s begin class by remembering David Onley and his contributions towards an accessible Ontario for all!

• His full name was David Charles Onley. He was born on June 12, 1950 and passed away on January 14, 2023.
• He was a Canadian broadcaster and author who was the 28^th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
• His term went from 2007 until 2014.
• He was a television journalist working at City TV as a weather reporter.
• He then changed positions and began covering science and technology stories.
• After that he worked with the 24-hour news station called Cable Pulse 24 as a news anchor and he hosted a weekly technology series called Homepage.
• He was a published author and was the founding president of the Aerospace Heritage foundation of Canada. His term as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was seven years long.
• It made him the provinces 3rd longest-serving Lieutenant Governor since the Confederation of Canada.

Early Life

• David was born in Midland, Ontario on June 12, 1950.
• He was raised in Westhill on Orchard Park Dr. in Scarborough.
• His post-secondary education was spent at the University of Toronto where he served as Student Council President and graduated in 1975 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Specialist Certificate in Political Science.
• David contracted polio at the age of three which resulted in partial paralysis.
• Because he received a lot of physical therapy he started to regain the use of this hands and arms and partial use of his legs.
• He got around using leg braces, canes, crutches, and his electric scooter. He was able to drive a car using hand controls.

Career

• He began his career in radio where he hosted a weekly science show for Toronto radio station CFRB.
• He then decided join the CKO network in 1983.
• He joined City TV in 1984 as a weather specialist. He held this position until 1989.
• In 2004 he had an interview with the agency called Link Up. This was an agency for people with disabilities in Toronto.
• During this interview he said, “At the time I remember saying to my mother, I don’t know if I should take this job at City TV. I don’t know if they’re hiring me because I’m disabled.” My mother said, “You’ve been turned down enough times because of your disability, so take it!” He thought to himself, “Damn it, she’s right” and that’s how I began my career at City TV.
• From 1989 to 1995 he was the first news anchor on Breakfast Television which was City TV’s morning show.
• He was the education specialist for City TV and Cable Pulse 24 from 1994 to 1999.
• He became an anchor on seat CP 24 when the station launched in 1999 and both hosted and produced Homepage on CP24.
• He was one of Canada’s first on air television personalities that had a visible disability. He used as scooter as a mobility device because of his paralysis. In the beginning camera shots only showed his upper body. But he not only insisted but demanded that the shot include him and scooter.
• In honour of his contributions towards disability issues in Canada, he has received awards from the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Clark Institute’s Courage to Come Back Award.
• He was also appointed the Chair of the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council to the Ministry of Community and Social Services in 2005.
• He was inducted to the Scarborough walk of fame in 2006.
• He wrote a best-selling novel called Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space.
• It was about space travel, and it was published in 1981. It was nominated by the Periodical Distributors of Canada as book of the year.
• He Was the Founding President of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada.
• He returned to his acting roots with a cameo appearance in the sixth season of the Canadian TV series Murdoch mysteries.
• The episode was called The Ghost of Queens Park.
• It aired in Canada on February 25, 2013. In the episode he played the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario named Sir Oliver Mowat.

As Lieutenant Governor

• David became the Lieutenant Governor on July 10, 2007. He Was told privately just after He taped  an episode of Homepage on July 4, 2007.
• He said “I had just reached the top of the Don Valley Parkway and there was no place to pull over. And when the Prime Minister of your country calls, all you could try to do is stay in the same lane, avoid any fender bender’s and have a meaningful conversation, which I did.”
• He was sworn in on September 5, 2007, at Queen’s Park in Toronto. As the province’s first Lieutenant Governor with the disability he said he would use his position to help remove physical barriers for Ontario’s 1.5 million abilities.
• He said he wanted to focus on other issues affecting abilities including obstacles to employment and housing.

• He also said in his installation speech that he wanted to carry on from where his predecessor left off with literacy initiatives for first Nations. He wanted to see computers on every student’s desk in northern schools.
• For his installation of Lieutenant Governor. he approached the legislature on his electric scooter. However, when he went towards the Throne he walked using his leg braces and canes.
• He travelled to China to represent the Queen and Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony.
• On November 12, 2011, David received a degree of Dr. of Law at Carleton University.

• He delivered his last speech from the Throne to the Ontario legislative assembly on July 3, 2014, however his last full day in office was September 22, 2014.
• David and his wife lived in Scarborough during his tenure because Ontario is one of the three provinces that does not have an official residence for the lieutenant governor.
• While he was the lieutenant governor, he participated in 2550 engagements and spoke to an estimated audience of over 1 million people.

After Being Lieutenant Governor

• David was appointed Senior lecturer at Department of Political sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.
• He began his appointment here on October 1, 2014. He also served as the universities Special Ambassador for the 2015 Pan American and para-Pan American games.

                                                      Personal Life and Death

• David was married to Ruth Ann. She is a Christian music performer.
• They have three sons named Jonathan, Robert and Michael.
•  In late 2019 David received emergency medical treatment after he had a brain scan that revealed a tumor that was the size of an orange at the front of his brain. It was successfully removed.

• David died on January 14, 2023, when he was 72 years old. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Let’s watch a video when David Donnelly was on Rick Mercer’s show.

Thank you David for all your commitment and determination to shine the light on what it means to be accessible for all people.

January 19: New Kids on the Block

The New Kids on the Block: Donnie, Danny, Jordan, Jonathan, and Joey. 

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

(ABC, September 8-December 14, 1990). DiC Entertainment, Big Step Productions.

Pre-NKOTB

• Before we can talk about NKOTB, we have to talk about the boy band that came before them: New Edition.

• Boston producer Maurice Starr created the band New Edition, made up of 5 young Black men, and then wanted to recreate that success with a similar band of young white men.

• Starr was fired from New Edition after a legal battle in court for not paying them the money that they were owed after a nation-wide tour. Remember that this happened before Lou Pearlman created Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, and before he lost a legal battle for not paying them the money that they were owed!
• Starr was not phased and immediately sought to create “a white New Edition”. He told the New York Times: “If New Edition was as big as they were, I could imagine what would happen if white kids were doing the same thing.”

The Beginning of NKOTB: Nynuk

• 15-year-old Donnie Wahlberg became their first recruit, impressing them with his rapping and dancing abilities, as well as his showmanship. Donnie helped recruit the next members of the group, including his brother, Mark, best friends Danny Wood and Jamie Kelly, former schoolmate Jordan Knight, and Jordan’s brother, Jonathan.
• After a few months, Mark left Nynuk (though he would late find fame as Marky Mark and then as an actor). According to his brother, Mark either “wanted to go out and steal cars with his friends” or preferred to “play basketball.”
• Jamie also made an early exit from Nynuk. This may have been due to a lack of talent or simply a lack of commitment. Starr felt that the band needed a fifth member and replaced Jamie with 12-year-old Joey McIntyre. At first, the other bandmembers didn’t agree with this decision.
• In elementary school, Donnie, Danny, Jordan, and Jonathan had been sent by bus out of Dorchester as part of an effort to make Boston schools less racially segregated.  
• Going to school with many Black students not only introduced the boys to new music and other parts of life, it later allowed them to be comfortable traveling to a largely Black neighborhood in order to work with Starr.
• Having Starr, a Black man, as a producer, choreographer and songwriter for white performers also set them apart from other white musicians at the time.
• The boys rehearsed after school and on the weekends.
• At first, Starr called the band Nynuk (pronounced “Na Nook”). Part of their recording contract with Columbia Records was to change their name. Inspired by a rap that Donnie wrote for their first album, Starr renamed the group New Kids on the Block.

New Name: New Kids on the Block

• Their self-titled first album dropped in April of 1986, but failed to catch on around the country and only received minor airplay in the group’s native Boston. The group toured around New England wherever Starr could book them, and Starr managed to convince Columbia to give them a second album.

• The group wanted more creative control over their music and image. Their first new single, “Please Don’t Go Girl”, was released in the spring of 1988.

• At first, it didn’t seem as successful. Columbia was set to drop them from the label until they learned that the song became the most requested at a radio station in Florida. Columbia decided to keep the group on and put more effort into their marketing, including shooting a music video for the single to send to radio stations and show the group’s appeal.
• “Please Don’t Go Girl” eventually reached #10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles Chart.
• The second album, Hangin’ Tough, dropped in September, with Donnie, Danny, and Jordan receiving associate producer credit.
• The group’s popularity began to rise, with the album’s second single, “You Got It (The Right Stuff”, reaching the top 5 in the charts.

• More singles released from the album also scored high, and such was their popularity that when Columbia released “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” from the previous album it not only reached #8 in the charts, but ignited a renewed interest in the album as a whole.

• By the end of 1989, Hangin’ Tough was #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and had been certified platinum 18 times.
• NKOTB was the first teen act to have five top-10 hits from a single album.
• By early 1990, New Kids on the Block was one of the most popular acts in the country. The title track from their next album, Step by Step, became their biggest-selling single.

• They were performing an estimated 200 concerts a year, with their The Magic Summer Tour making them the top-grossing touring act in the nation as well as being one of the highest-grossing concert tours of the decade.
• Their official fan club became one of the largest in the country, posting a membership of over 200,000. 100,000 calls a week were made to their official hotline. The group became heavily merchandised with the performers’ likenesses put on everything from lunch boxes to dolls.

• The next step was to target the younger fans with an animated series. Here are the band members next to their animated characters!

• The series focused on the band getting into wacky misadventures while on tour, always causing a headache for their management team as those adventures constantly threatened to make them late for an upcoming concert. Instead of the band members saying their lines, rofessional voice actors were used.
• New Kids on the Block debuted on ABC on September 9, 1990. Each episode began with an interview with an actual member of the band interspersed with other footage relating to the theme of that episode’s story, and ended with a shot of them performing in concert with some added visual effects flare.
• The series only lasted one season, but managed to generate some of its own merchandise. Primarily, there was a Colorforms playset and a lunch box from Thermos.

• Between 1990 and 1992, Harvey Comics published several series of comics utilizing the New Kids designs. They even had crossovers with their regular characters Richie Rich and Wendy, the Good Little Witch. Sony Music released six episodes onto VHS, which were released as a box set with two bonus music CDs overseas.

The Break Up

• What goes up must always come down. In 1992, Gregory McPherson, who worked on Step by Step, made a claim that Starr actually sang vocals for the group and that they lip-synched to pre-recorded tracks on stage. This was while the Milli Vanilli scandal was still fresh on everyone’s minds.
• The group admitted that Starr sometimes sang harmony on background vocals and that they used backing tracks for live performances, but still performed themselves.

• The group split from Starr in 1993 and shortened their name to simply NKOTB. They released their fifth album, Face the Music, the following year and toured to promote it in much smaller venues.

• The album, a departure from their previous sound, failed to match commercial expectations and its single didn’t chart very high. Suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, Jonathan left the group. The remaining members decided to disband shortly after.

Where are they Now?

• Danny did some professional acting, but now he is known for his YouTube channel. It has over 27,000 subscribers. He shared some solo music, cooking videos, and a series of live streams called Danny After Dark.

• Donnie followed his brother into acting. He plays Detective Danny Reagan in the CBS series Blue Bloods, which has been on air from 2010 to present. (start at 1:15)

• In an interview with Showbiz CheatSheet, he shared that he snuck New Kids on the Block song titles into every episode of the first season. “So I would tell, like Bridget [Moynahan]’s character, ‘Hey, hang tough’ and ‘Call It What You Want,’ ‘Step by Step,'” he shared. “I was speaking in song titles pretty much every episode and nobody was really catching it because of the way I did it. But my music fans and the [NKOTB] fans definitely were catching it. And every week they would hashtag whatever the song title was.”
• Outside of his acting, Donnie Wahlberg also has his hand in the family restaurant business. Burger chain Wahlburgers is owned by Donnie, Mark, and Paul Wahlberg. The chain was opened in the greater Boston area (where the HQ is still located) and now serves cities all across the U.S., Canada, and Germany.
• The chain became so famous that it actually got its own reality TV show on A&E, Wahlburgers, which aired from 2014 to 2019. While the show is off the air, the brothers continue to handle the logistics of the restaurants.

• Jordan Knight also spends his time, energy, and money on restaurants — not to eat out at, but rather to invest in. He’s an investor in Italian restaurant Novara, located in Boston.
• Joey and Jordan both recorded solo albums in 1999.
• Joey has been in two Broadway shows, Wicked (2004) and The Waitress (2018). He’s also performed off-Broadway, appearing in tick, tick…BOOM! in Los Angeles and Cabaret in Alaska. He has also appeared on shows like Boston Public, The McCarthys, and his own Pop TV series Return of the Mac. (Start at 0:25)

• Joey McIntyre had his very own podcast, entitled The Move With Joey McIntyre. He centered the entire show around the concept of moving — what motivates it, the emotions associated with it, and how it impacts life as a whole.
• While only 14 episodes aired between 2017 and 2018 before the podcast came to a halt, McIntyre had the opportunity to chat with the likes of mixed martial artist David Heath, actor Chet Dixon, and comedian Adam Ray, among others.
• After stepping back from singing, Jonathan Knight focused his energy into home remodeling. He honed his skills while remodeling over 200 houses over the past two decades, and he eventually joined forces with HGTV to release his very own show with the network, Farmhouse Fixer. The series, which premiered on March 3, 2021, follows Knight as he restores — rather than tears down — classic farmhouses.

The Future of NKOTB

• Numerous attempts were made to bring the group back together, but none were successful. In 2008, the group themselves decided to reunite and recorded their sixth album, The Block, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard 200. Their seventh album, 10, dropped in 2013 while the group continued to tour.

Here are some more videos if we have time!

Sources

https://www.saturdaymorningsforever.com/2020/09/new-kids-on-block.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/nkotb-new-edition-book-excerpt-1026696/

https://www.biography.com/news/new-kids-on-the-block-origins

https://www.thelist.com/368675/heres-what-each-new-kids-on-the-block-member-is-up-to-now/

January 17: Famous Magicians

Penn and Teller

• They are American magicians, entertainers and scientific sceptics who have performed together since the late 1970s.
• Their act mixes together comedy and magic.
• They currently hold the longest running record for headliners to play at the same hotel in Las Vegas history.

• Penn is usually the one who uses humor and speaks during the performance while Teller does not speak but communicates through mining and nonverbal movement.
• They were even honored with the 2494^th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their achievement in the Live Performance category on April 5, 2013. Their star is just a few steps away from Harry Houdini.
• Penn and Teller’s material can go from lighthearted jokes such as card tricks and clever pranks that tackle issues by using humor for political issues and exposing frauds.
• Many of their tricks relied on shock appeal and fantasy violence although it was still presented in a humorous way.
• Some of their more daring tricks were Teller hanging upside down over a bed of spikes in a straitjacket, he was also submerged in a tank of water and run over by an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer.

David Copperfield

• He was born on September 16, 1956, and his real name is David that Kotkin.
• He is known professionally as David Copperfield and as an American magician.
• Forbes magazine describes him as the most commercially successful magician in history.
• His television specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy awards and out of them he won 21.
• He is best known for his storytelling and illusions.
• His career has spanned over 40 years, and he has been in the Guinness Book of World Records 11 times.
• He has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame and was knighted by the French government.

• 3 weeks into his freshman year at university in New York he left because he got the lead role in the musical called The Magic Man in Chicago. It was then that he changed his name to David Copperfield. This name was taken from a Charles Dickens novel he chose it because he liked the sound of it.
• In the show he sang, danced and created most of the original illusion. The Magic Man was the longest running musical in Chicago history.
• When he was 19 years old, he created and was the headliner at the Pagoda hotel in Honolulu Hawaii with his show called Magic of David Copperfield.
• Between the years of 1977 and April 2001 there have been 18 Copperfield TV specials and two documentaries.
• One of his most famous illusions occurred on April 8, 1983. In front of a live audience of 20 tourists that were seated in front of a giant curtain attached to two lateral scaffoldings built on Liberty Island in an enclosed viewing area.
• David raised the curtain before lowering it again a few seconds later to show the space where the Statue of Liberty once was.
• The statue had disappeared you could only see a circle of lights showing where it used to be.
• He explained that he wanted to have people imagine what it would be like if we had no liberty or freedoms. When David made the statue reappear, he said our ancestors couldn’t enjoy the rights and freedoms we have today, but we can, and our children will.

Harry Houdini

• He was born on March 24, 1874 and died on October 31, 1926. His real name was Erik Weisz. He was a Hungarian American escape artist, magic man and stunt performer and was best known for his escape acts.
• People started to notice him in the United States and then he went on tour as Harry handcuff Houdini in Europe.
• He challenged the police to keep him locked up.
• He decided to expand his tricks to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets underwater and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.

• In doing some more research, believe it or not, Houdini had little success when he started his magic career in 1891.
• He appeared in a tent act with a strong man. He performed in small museums and sideshows and he even doubled as The Wild Man at a circus.
• He began his career focusing primarily on traditional card tricks. He even called himself The King of Cards.
• Eventually some professional magicians said he was competent but not particularly skilled at his craft. They said he lacked the grace and finesse required.
• Houdini’s big break came in 1899 when he met his manager Martin Beck who was impressed by his handcuffs act.
• When he was in Cologne, he sued a police officer who accused him of making his escapes with bribery.
• He won the case when he opened the judges safe. However, he later said that the judge had forgotten to lock it.
• With his winnings from the case, he purchased a dress said to have been made for Queen Victoria.
• He arranged a grand reception where he presented his mother in the dress to all the relatives. He said it was the happiest day of his life.

David Blaine

• David was born on April 4, 1973.
• He is an American illusionist, endurance artist and extreme performer.
• He is very well known for his high-profile feats, endurance and has set and broken several world records.
• When he was four years old, he saw A magician performing magic on the subway. This is when he decided that he was very interested in magic.

Some of His Stunts and Specials

Street Magic and Magic Man (1997)

• On May 19, 1997, his first television special aired on ABC.
• It was called David Blaine: Street Magic even Penn and Teller said, “it really really break does break new ground”. David said when he performs, he wants to bring back magic to the place to be 100 years ago.
• In Magic Man David travels across the country and entertains on expecting pedestrians.

Buried Alive (1999)

• on April 5, 1999, David was placed in an underground plastic box underneath a 3-ton water filled tank for seven days.
• It was across from Trump Palace. David’s only communication to the outside world was a hand buzzer which he could activate in the event of an emergency.
• The plastic coffin only gave David 6 inches of headroom and 2 inches on each side of him. Approximately 75,000 people visited the site.
• Even Marie Blood was Houdini’s niece was there.
• April 12 was the final day of the stunt.
• A construction crew removed some of the gravel surrounding David and then the crane lifted the water tank.
• David came out and told the crowd, “I saw something very prophetic. A vision of every race, religion, age group and they all banded together. It made this all worthwhile.”
• David was able to outdo his hero Harry Houdini who was planning to do a similar stunt but died before he could do it.

Ascension

• In 2020 David performed the ascension stunt.
• This involved him floating while holding onto a cluster of 52 helium-filled balloons using a harness.
• The stunt took place on September 2, 2020, in Arizona.
• He managed to get to an altitude of 24,900 feet above sea level before he let go of the balloons and parachuted down towards a flat ravine close to where he planned to land. He landed successfully and was not hurt.

Josephine Lee

• Josephine is the world’s leading female illusionist.
• She has a modern spin on magic that she performed on Britain’s Got Talent.
• Her magic act got millions of views overnight making her the most talked about female magicians in the industry.
• She has made TV appearances all over the world.
• She spent two years doing her Impossible Tour and went on a second world tour with the illusionists. The show broke box office records in Broadway.
• She went on tour in China and performed in over 50 cities.
• She has had the pleasure of performing for famous people like Prince Albert of Monaco, Stella McCartney and Jermaine Jackson just to name a few.
• Her high energy magic show and cooperates some of the best dancers. The mind-blowing show is guaranteed to be something people will never forget.

I hope everyone enjoyed today’s class on famous magicians. I thought we could and class by watching a magician I saw On Americans Got Talent. He will show us that regardless of ability or any difference we all matter!

January 12: The Toronto Maple Leafs

image source

When people think “Toronto”, they think hockey!

• The Hockey Hall of Fame is in downtown Toronto near Union Station.

• Who here has been to the Hockey Hall of Fame? Who has been to a Toronto Maple Leafs game? Who has been to a Toronto Marlies game?

• The Toronto Maple Leafs (also called the Leafs) are one of the first four founding members of the National Hockey League, which they joined in 1917.
• The Leafs have won the Stanley Cup championship 13 times, more than any team except the Montreal Canadiens. However, they have not won since 1967.

• They play in the Scotia Bank Centre in downtown Toronto.

Let’s watch a very quick video about the rules of hockey so nobody feels left out.

History of the Leafs as told by logos and colours

As you know, my favourite part of sports is the logos! So I thought it would be nice to split up the history of the team into small chapters based on changes to the team’s name, colours, and logos.

For most of the team’s history, the logo featured some form of a maple leaf and the colour blue. Remember that most Toronto teams use blue as their colour to show their association with the Toronto Argonauts, which is Canada’s oldest sports team.

It’s interesting to see how a team’s logo and branding has evolved, especially when they have been around for so long. Here are some changes throughout time:

1917/18

At first, the Toronto Maple Leafs were called the Toronto Arenas. This team was made up of players from previous hockey teams and clubs in Toronto: The Toronto Blueshirts and the Toronto Shamrocks. Some people still called the team “The Blueshirts”.

The Toronto Arenas played their first hockey game on December 19, 1917.

1918/19

In 1918, the Toronto Arenas won their first Stanley Cup!

1919/20 – 1921/22, 1925/1926

The team changed their name to The Toronto St. Patrick’s, or The Toronto St. Pat’s. The team was hoping that the new name and green logo colour would bring in fans from Toronto’s large Irish community.

The team also won the Stanley Cup in 1922!

1922/23 – 1924/25

1926/27

1926/27

When the team fell on hard financial times, they were rescued by investor Con Smythe. The first thing he did was changed the name from the Toronto St. Patrick’s to the Toronto Maple Leafs. We don’t know for sure why he changed the name. There are many stories about it.

One story is that he named it after the Maple Leaf Regiment out of respect for the Canadian military. This is why the plural is the Toronto Maple Leafs (not Leaves) because it refers to the Maple Leaf Regiment (a proper noun), not any old leaf (a common noun that would be pluralized to leaves).

1927/28 – 1937/38

In 1932, the Leafs won their first NHL Championship with the new name! For the rest of the 1930s, the Leafs made it to the finals several times, but didn’t win any cups.

Also during the 1930s, the invention of the radio helped the Leafs become a famous team all across Canada.

1938/39 – 1962/63

In 1942, ten years after their previous cup win, the Leafs were in the finals with the Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs were losing by 3 games, but then won 4 games in a row. This made them the first team to recover from a 3-game deficit.

Many teams, including the Leafs, had lost star players who were fighting in World War Two.

Even so, in the late 1940s, Toronto won the Stanley Cup four times in five years, including three times in a row!

1963/64 – 1966/67

• This leaf has more detail and is the inspiration for their current logo!

1967/68 – 1969/70

• They simplified the logo’s design again!
• In 1960, Tim Horton played on the Leafs!
• The Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. This is an impression streak, but, as I mentioned before, the Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since then!

1970/71 – 1981/82

1970s: Daryl Sittler

• He was considered the heart and soul of the Leafs in the 70s.
• In 1976, captain Daryl Sittler set an NHL record for scoring 10 points in 1 game!
• He scored 6 goals and 4 assists (which is when you are the person who passes the puck to the person who scored a goal).
• Decades later, he still has this record. He has lots of fans and is considered a legend. (1:21 – 2:09)

Let’s watch him surprise a fan with a game of road hockey!

1982/83 – 1986/87

• There isn’t a huge difference between these logos, but the shape of the leaf is slightly different.

1980s: Wendel Clark

• He is one of the most popular players in team history.
• He was drafted in 1985 from the Canadian team the Saskatoon Blades.
• There is a restaurant chain that is named after him called “WendellClark’s”.

1987/88 – 2015/16

• This logo has the same shape but a darker blue. Do you prefer this darker blue or the brighter blue?

1990s: Mats Sundin

• Sundin served as the team captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs for 11 seasons.
• When the 2007–08 NHL season ended, Sundin became the longest serving non-North American born captain in NHL history. He is from Sweden.

• In February 1999, the Leafs played their last game in Maple Leaf Gardens and played their first game at the Air Canada Centre the next week.
• In 2012, the Leafs made it to the playoffs. But in the 7th game, they had one of the biggest losses in hockey history. They started beating the Boston Bruins from 4 to 1, but in the final 15 minutes of the third period of the game, the Leafs let in a number of goals, and the game was tied 4-4. Toronto was eliminated from the playoffs in overtime.
• Even though they haven’t won any more Stanley Cups, they still made it to the semi-finals and finals quite a few times, and many loyal fans still show up and show their support!

• In 2015, the Leafs got a new coach and general manager.

2016/17 – Present

• This logo is a modern take on the traditional logo from the 1960s.
• This 2016/2017 season was pivotal for the Leafs, so it makes sense that they changed their logo to reflect the new start!
• They recruited Austin Matthews, one of the best players who led the team in scoring. He won Rookie of the Year!

• Other new recruits who have been part of the Leaf’s improved playing are William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Zach Hyman. The future looks bright for the Leafs!

Let’s watch a video of Nylander and Matthews interviewing each other.

In this video, Zach Hyman gets interviewed by a young fan while eating sandwiches:

• Leafs fans are some of the most faithful and patient fans in professional sports! They have a reputation of traveling far and wide to see the Leafs play, so every game seems like a Home game!

Until 1:47

Community Partnerships

The Maple Leafs strive to give back to the Toronto community which gives so much to them. Check out what the Leafs have been up to off the ice!

NHL Future Goals

The Leafs are proud representatives of NHL Future Goals – a new league-wide school program focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Hockey Fights Cancer

The Toronto Maple Leafs are proud representatives of the National Hockey League’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.

Hockey Talks

The Toronto Maple Leafs promote Hockey Talks to help end the stigma around mental health.

SickKids Hospital

The Toronto Maple Leafs have held a strong and proud relationship with SickKids hospital, dating back to the 1920s

You Can Play

The Maple Leafs are proud to partner with You Can Play to ensure the equality, respect, and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

First Responders

The Maple Leafs are proud to partner with Toronto Fire Services, Toronto Police Services and Toronto Paramedic Services to highlight the important work they do in and for the community.

White Ribbon

The Maple Leafs are proud to team with White Ribbon in an effort to end violence against women. Find out more by visiting menofquality.ca

NHL Green

The Toronto Maple Leafs are committed to promoting environmental sustainability and have teamed up with the NHL to support the NHL Green Awareness month of March.

Community MVP

The Toronto Maple Leafs have teamed up with Citizen to recognize a member of our community for their outstanding achievements.

Huddle Up

The Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Argonauts, and TFC have joined forces to bring bullying education and awareness into schools.

Esso Game Day Skate

An opportunity to head down to Scotiabank Arena to watch the Maple Leafs optional practice and to learn from team personalities and Alumni.

Sources:

https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/2817492017/Toronto_Maple_Leafs/2017/Primary_Dark_Logo#logo_timeline

https://www.nhl.com/mapleleafs/community

January 10: The Simpsons

• The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise’s family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.
• They were created by a cartoonist named Matt Groening.
• The Simpsons was supposed to be a series of animated short videos that were to debut on the Tracy Ullman show on Fox on April 19, 1987.

• After three seasons the sketch was developed into The Simpsons which was turned into a half hour primetime show that was very popular for the Fox network.
• This made the show the first Fox network series to land in the top 30 ratings in one season. The season went from 1989 to 1990.
• The popularity of the show made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise.
• The characters of the show have also been featured in a variety of different media such as books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases and even video games.

• The Simpsons movie was released in 2007 and was the eighth highest grossing film of the year.
• A variety of merchandise was sold because of the movie such as T-shirts, DVDs, board games, and action figures.
• The merchandise made $2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months.
• In 2003 about 500 companies around the world got licensed to use The Simpsons characters in their advertising.
• In 2008 $750 million worth of Simpsons merchandise was purchased worldwide. The Executive Vice President of fox license and merchandising said The Simpsons were without a doubt the biggest license entity that the network has ever had and made the most money.

Background

Creation

• Matt Groening had the idea for The Simpsons in the lobby of James L Brooks’s office.
• Brooks was the producer of the sketch comedy program the Tracy Ullman show.
• He planned to use a series of animated cartoons between sketches on the show.
• He called Matt in two present a series of animated short. Originally Matt was going to use his Life and Hell series, but he realized it would mean that he would have to give away his publication rights for something he’s worked on his whole life.
• That’s when he decided to move in another direction. He quickly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and made all the characters after his own family.

Themes

• The Simpsons takes place in the fictional town of Springfield.
• The series centers on a family and their life.
• Springfield acts as the place where characters can explore the issues that are faced in our society.
• An example of this is having Homer work in a nuclear power plant. By doing this it means that the show can comment on the state of our environment.
• Bart and Lisa attending school shows important or controversial issues in the field of education. Some people believe that the show is political in nature.
• Religion is also important in the show. In difficult times in their lives the family often turns to God for answers and the show has also dealt with most of the major religions in our society.

Main characters

• The family lives at 742 Evergreen Terrace in Springfield.
• Even though the family is seen as dysfunctional many episodes show the relations and bonds with each other.
• They are often shown to care about each other and stand up for each other when needed.

Homer Simpson

• His character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta.
• His character represents a lot of American working-class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic.
• His voice at the beginning was supposed to style like Walter Matthau but changed between the second and third season.
• This allowed him to sound like he had a lot of different emotions during the show.
• He has become one of the most influential fictional characters ever and an entire line of merchandise with his catchphrase grunting “D’oh” on it. That phrase is even included in the Oxford English dictionary.

Marge Simpson

• Her character was voiced by Julie Cavender. She is the extremely patient wife of Homer and mother as the 46 of 100 most influential people of the 20^th century. He was the only fictional character to make the list., Lisa and Maggie.
• She is best known for her distinctive beehive hairstyle which was inspired by Bride of Frankenstein and was the style that Matt Groening’s mother had during the 1960s.

Bart Simpson

• He was voiced by Nancy Cartwright. He is the eldest child in the family and is 10 years old.
• He is best known for his mischievous nests, rebelliousness, disrespect for authority and sharp wit.
• In 1998 Time magazine selected Bart as the 46^th of the 100 most influential people of the 20^th century.
• He is the only fictional character to make the list. He also appeared on the December 31, 1990 edition.

Lisa Simpson

• Her character is voiced by Yeardley Smith. She is the oldest daughter and middle child of the family she is a very intelligent eight-year-old girl.
• Her character has a lot of political convictions and is generally liberal in nature.
• She is generally as mischievous as Bart is but as the series went on, she became even more intelligent but more emotional as well.
• An episode from the 7^th season was called Lisa at the Vegetarian. This episode won both an Environmental Media Award for best television episodic comedy and a Genesis Award for best television comedy series, ongoing commitment.

Maggie Simpson

• Her character is the youngest of the five main family members and is almost always seen as a baby.
• She rarely speaks but has been voiced by people like Elizabeth Taylor, James Earl Jones, Harry Shearer, who used his Kang voice, Jodie Foster, Yeardley Smith and Nancy Cartwright.

The Simpsons

• This half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with a show called Simpson’s Roasting on an Open Fire. It was a Christmas special.
• An episode called Some Enchanted Evening was the first full-length episode produced but it did not broadcast until May 1990 because of animation problems.
• Some repeat cast members include Albert Brooks, Phil Hartman, John Lovitz, Joe Mantegna and Kelsey Grammer.
• The Simpsons was the Fox network’s first TV series to rank among the season’s top 30 highest rated shows.
• On February 9, 1997 The Simpsons surpassed the Flintstones with the episode the Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie show as the longest-running primetime animated series in the United States.
• In May 2007 The Simpsons reached their 400^th episode At the end of their 18^th season.
• On January 14, 2000 The Simpsons were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

• All episodes of The Simpsons are now being streamed on Disney+ as of November 12, 2019.

Some Shows That Have Crossover Events with The Simpsons

The Simpsons Crossover with the X-Files

This episode was called The Springfield Files it was the 6th episode of the 8th season on The Simpsons.

The Family Guy crossover with The Simpsons.

This was the first and second episode of the 13^th season of the family Guy. It formed an hour-long crossover event with The Simpsons called The Simpsons Guy this aired on September 28, 2014.

Films

The Simpsons Movie

• This film was produced by 20^th Century Fox, Gracie Fellows and film Roman.
• It was released on July 27, 2007.
• It was produced by The Simpsons producer David Silverman and written by a team of Simpson’s writers Matt Groening and James L Brooks.
• The movie grossed a combined total of $74 million in its opening weekend in the United States.
• It went to the top of the box office and set the record for highest grossing opening weekend for a film based on a television series.
• It opened at the top of the international box office making $96 million and 71 overseas places. This included $27.8 million in the United Kingdom.

The Longest Day Care

• This was a 3D short film that focused on Maggie. It was shown in theatres before the 2012 film Ice Age: Continental Drift.
• It received an Academy award nomination for the category of best animated short film.

I thought we could finish class off with Justin Bieber doing carpool karaoke.

December 20: Happy Holidays!

Christmas means a lot of different things to people. It brings out different memories and other things that we cherish. Thank you, Carolyn, for this lovely idea to celebrate Christmas by learning about our memories, favourite movies and favourite songs.

Let’s begin with Kerr and Tina.

Kerr’s favourite memory of Christmas when he was a child was that his whole family would come up north and spent each Christmas and holiday at the cottage. His brother would always arrive early and bring a real Christmas tree. He would decorate it before the rest of the family would arrive. Kerr will miss his memories of the cottage once it’s gone but he looks forward to making new memories at the new.

His favourite song is Oh Christmas Tree. Let’s listen to it.

His favourite Christmas movie is Die Hard.

Now let’s look at Tina’s favourite Christmas memory.

Tina’s favourite memory is going into the bush with her girls and then cutting down a fresh Christmas tree. Then they take it home and decorate it together.

Her favourite Christmas song is Silent Night. Let’s listen to it together.

Her favourite Christmas movie is Love Actually.

Now let’s look at Carolyn’s favourite memory, Christmas song and Christmas movie.

Carolyn’s favourite memory comes from a time when she went to the mall by herself. She saw a beautiful Christmas vest in the window of Talbot’s. She told her sister about the sweater and her sister went out and surprised her and bought it for her. After that day she’s been wearing it every Christmas.

Carolyn’s favourite song is Little Drummer Boy. Let’s listen to it now.

Her favourite movie is Christmas in Vienna.

Now let’s take a look At Irene’s favourite memory, favourite song and favourite movie.

Irene’s favourite Christmas memory is when everyone helps to decorate the Christmas tree. We listen to and sing Christmas songs together. She really enjoys listening to Boney M Christmas songs.

Irene’s favourite Christmas song is Little Drummer Boy. We heard it during Carolyn’s favourite song so let’s listen to another Boney M Christmas song.

Her favourite Christmas movie is Home Alone. Let’s watch some of it now.

Now let’s take a look at Gabriel’s favourite Christmas memory, Christmas song and Christmas movie.

Now family and being with his nephew on his first Christmas.

His favourite Christmas song comes from his favourite artist Justin Bieber. Let’s listen to a song now.

His favourite movie is also Home Alone 2. So let’s watch another scene from the movie.

Now let’s take a look at Christine’s favourite Christmas memory, song and movie.

Christine’s favourite memory at Christmas is when her whole family helps decorating the Christmas tree. We listen to Christmas songs and sing them. She really likes to listen to Boney M Christmas songs.

Her favourite Christmas song is Silent Night as well. Let’s listen to a different version of that song.

Her favourite movie is also Home Alone. Here is a song from Home Alone.

Now let’s take a look at Jean-Luc’s favourite Christmas memory.

His favourite memory comes from a few years ago when he took a cruise with his family in South America over the Christmas period. The family went from around South America from Rio in Brazil to Santiago in Chile. One of the coolest things for him was when he went to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. He got to hold his arms out just like the statue. Then the family went to the Falkland Islands where he saw the Penguins and got to walk around with them.

I thought we could end our Christmas class by watching with a song for Hanukkah. I’m sure you all know it. Here is the elf on the shelf traditions celebrated on Ellen with Leslie Jordan, in memory of him.

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you have a wonderful new year! I will see you in January.

December 15: Coldplay

Image Source

• In the last 20 years, Coldplay has been one of the most famous bands in the world!

• Their albums have been sold over 100 million times worldwide.

• Its members are: Johnny Buckland (Lead Guitarist, Piano), Chris Martin (Lead Vocals, Piano), Guy Berryman (Bass, Harmonica), and Will Champion (Drums, Piano, Backup Vocals).

Origins

• The band formed in 1996, when its members were in college, and they were basically in the spotlight from the beginning of their career.
• They were offered a contract for 5 albums at the beginning of their music career!
• The Blue Room (1999) was their first EP. Their sound represented an evolution of the British Pop genre of the mid-90s to Alt Rock.
• In 2000, they released their debut album Parachutes. This album’s genre is Alt Rock.
• This album has warm instrumentals and touching, optimistic lyrics.
• Top songs from this album include: Don’t Panic, Sparks, and of course Yellow. The credit for this album’s success is the song Yellow.

• After this album, Coldplay began being compared to Radiohead. The album won a variety of awards!

• They wrote over 20 tracks for their next album “A Rush of Blood to the Head”, but then decided to narrow it down to 10 because they wanted it to be clearly different from “Parachutes.” It had heavier guitars and darker lyrics.
• Songs include In My Place, The Scientist, and Clocks.
• The song Clocks was a late addition, but it is considered to be the song that made this album successful, like how the song Yellow made the album Parachutes successful.

• This album also won them many awards. After this album, they were considered the biggest band in the world.
• They felt the pressure to stay at the top!!
• The original release date for their next album, X & Y, was January 2005. Coldplay wrote over 60 songs for their next album, but kept re-working them to be perfect.
• They delayed their album release by 6 months, and X& Y was released in June 2005. They narrowed this album down to 13 songs, including Fix You and Speed of Sound.

• This album was inspired by Brian Eno, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, and Craftwork.
• Their song tempos got faster, they incorporated more electronic sounds, and their lyrics became more philosophical.
• This was the best-selling album in the world that year! It also won the band many awards.
• However, at this time, the New York Times called Coldplay “the most insufferable band of the decade.” They said that this album was predictable and unsurprising.
• After their album X & Y, their albums began seeing a decline in popularity in terms of winning and being nominated for awards.
• This is when Coldplay began to worry less about fitting in with the Alt Rock genre and started to make music by their own rules.
• They hired Brian Eno, who is a famous electronic producer.
• Brian Eno didn’t bring in a new sound as much as he brought in new ideas for how they approach making music.
• He helped inspire the band to be more self-confident.
• He would divide the group of four into groups of two and have them write songs. The pairs would alternate so that everyone would get to work together.
• He would even sent Chris Martin home for weeks at a time to see what the other members would create without him.
• In 2008, Coldplay released its fourth album Viva La Vida!

• Each track experiments with sounds from different countries. For instance, “Life in Technicolor” features an Indian string instrument. Other songs feature Spanish flamenco-like hand claps, AfroPop guitar licks, and Eastern Bollywood-type strings.
• Even Chris Martin’s piano ballads had a new sound with more instruments.
• Usually, he sings in a high tone, but he tried to make his voice sound different by singing in a lower tone than ever before. We can especially see this in the song Yes.

• Thematically, this album is the most story-driven out of all of their albums.
• The lyrics have themes of love, war, death, loss, and revolution.
• X & Y also saw them transition their lyrics to be less personal and more about universal feelings in general.
• Viva La Vida also won bestselling album of the year, but it sold much fewer albums than before. Some people say that it only sold fewer copies because it was released during the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009.
• The album still won multiple awards like Best Rock Album, Best Vocal Pop Performance, and Song of the Year.
• The song Viva La Vida was Coldplay’s first time getting a #1 track in the U.S. and U.K.
• Their next album, Mylo Xyloto, was released in 2011.
• The goal of this album was to be a synthetic rock opera.
• This time, Brian Eno was more of a band member, and their music became much more pop and electronic and the lyrics became even more generic.
• Songs include Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Paradise, Princess of China (featuring Rihanna), and Major Minus.

• Their next album, Ghost Stories, came out in 2014. In this album, they somewhat returned to their more somber, minimalist sounds like they had in their first two albums.

• Songs include Midnight and Magic.

• The instruments were ambient, softer, and much more minimal. The one exception is the EDM song, a Sky Full of Stars.

• It came out after Chris Martin’s divorce from Gwyneth Paltrow. People were expecting deeper lyrics, but people considered the lyrics to be vague, and they had nowhere to hide because the instrumentals were so plain. Some fans saw this as trading authenticity for what would sell better.
• After Ghost Stories, their ratings from their fans dropped to an all-time low at 61%.
• Still, after this album, Coldplay was officially the most streamed band in the world.
• Their 2015 album A Head Full of Dreams returned to their upbeat, pop sound. If you liked Mylo Xyloto, fans saw this album as a bit of an identity crisis.
• Famous songs included Hymn for the Weekend featuring Beyonce, Birds, and Fun featuring Tove Lo.

• In 2017, Coldplay collaborated with The Chainsmokers on the song Something Just Like This.

• Also in 2017, Coldplay said that this would be their final studio album. Let’s watch a video showing how their sound changed over time. Remember, this is when fans did not expect any more new music from Coldplay.

• But in 2019, Coldplay announced the double LP Everyday Life. This album is considered an unexpected and bold album that veered to be more rock.

• The lyrics were more political and meaningful. It’s considered their least radio-friendly album to date, but their sound has definitely evolved once again.

• I think the lesson that we can take away from Coldplay is that you can’t please everyone at the same time. When their sound evolved, some people loved it, some people didn’t. But no matter what, their music is extremely meaningful to millions of people around the world.

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December 13: Extreme Rock Climbing

• Rock climbing is considered an extreme sport because it can be dangerous to participants if they’re not careful.
• People doing this sport have to be very physically fit because climbers must have the strength and endurance to climb up and scale walls.
• The reason we can call extreme rock climbing an extreme sport, is because it involves speed, a lot of height, elevation and be a little bit dangerous.
• Rock climbing has all these elements.
• It is a very popular extreme sport for people that are looking for an adrenaline rush.
• Rock climbing is also good for someone looking for a challenge and it is great for someone that wants to push themselves beyond their limits.

How Do You Prepare for Your Extreme Rock Climbing Experience?

• One of the most important things you can do before trying this sport is to learn as much as you can about it before you try it.
• It is important to know how to climb and repel safely. You should also be very familiar with the different types of climbing routes.
• It is also essential to be physically healthy because this type of rock climbing can be very strenuous on the body.

• It is very important to have the right gear when participating in this sport.
• You would need a harness, helmet, shoes and a chalk bag. You should also bring along some rope and some carabiners (which are coupling links with safety closures on them.

• It is also very important to bring along some snacks and water so that you can stay hydrated and nourished while doing your climb.
• There are two main types of rock climbing: one type is done indoors, and the other type is done outdoors.
• There are also 6 different styles of rock climbing as well. They are:

Slab Climbs – these climbs are easy and don’t require a lot of technical skill. They are good for beginners for people who want to move quickly up a rock.

Crack Climbs – for this type of climbing you can use a lot of places to hold on with your hand and foot.

Face Climbs – these types of climbs are the most popular for people. There are a lot of places to hold on with your hands and feet which make them a lot more fun and challenging for people.

Overhang Climbs – these types of climbs require a lot of strength and skill. They can be very challenging and dangerous.

Offwidth Climbs – this type of climbing is the most challenging. To do this type require a lot of strength and technical skill.

Chimney Climbing – this type of client is all about finding the right rhythm and finding the spot where you’re comfortable. You use different pressures with your hands, feet and knees on two different side walls and back on two different walls.

What Is Free Climbing Versus Soloing?

• These two types are the two main styles of climbing.
• Free climbing is when the climber uses ropes and gear to protect them from falling. It tends to be the most popular form of climbing. The climber has a partner who guides them from below. They will hold the rope tight in case the climber falls. Free climbing can be done indoors or outdoors.
• Soloing is when the climber plays without any protective equipment.
• This type of climbing is much more dangerous because there is no one to catch the climber if they fall.
• This type of climbing should only be done by an experienced climber that is comfortable with the risks involved.
• A lot of climbers enjoy soloing because it allows them to move faster and climb more freely.
• It is a great way to challenge yourself and push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

there is even some movies with dangerous rock climbing scenes in them. Let’s see if we would be scared doing them.

I thought we could and class one of Ellen’s last Christmas shows. I hope you enjoy class today I definitely learned a lot.