Go Retro Wins The Versatile Blogger Award!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Blogging awards are a lot like Candid Camera: sometime, somewhere, when you least expect it, someone may come up to you and say, "Surprise! You've won a blog award!" This time the honor was bestowed upon me by Amanda By Night at Made For TV Mayhem - a fantastic blog that chronicles Amanda's love for horror films made for the TV medium, but it's not limited to just horror; she also writes about all kinds of past television shows, miniseries, specials and actors. Definitely check it out - her knowledge is expansive and impressive! Thanks, Amanda, for passing along this award to me and for being such a devoted supporter of this blog!

As is the case with all blogging awards, and to quote a title of one of my favorite Kevin Spacey films, I'm to "pay it forward" to ten blogs that I enjoy reading and that deserve this award. But first I'm supposed to reveal ten tidbits about myself....which is actually even more difficult than choosing ten blogs to award. Hmmm....and how personal am I supposed to get with this? Could be scary....here goes....

1. Believe it or not, I once wasn't into all of this retro stuff....at...all. Growing up in the 80s, we were all so focused on the "new" technology infiltrating our homes and the "new" fashion (!) that I actually cringed when I saw images of long, straight Brady Bunch hair or bell bottoms from the 60s and 70s. It wasn't until I fell in love with the Beatles when I was 19 or 20 that I gained a huge appreciation for past decades. Aren't you all glad I did?

2. I didn't learn to swim until I was a teen. Up until then no one had really taught me and I was a little bit afraid of water (now I love it.)

3. When I was 13, some sort of virus settled in my neck and paralyzed it. I was very sick and missed over 2 weeks of school. A ears, eyes, nose, and throat specialist put me on strong antibiotics that cleared it up. It was one of the scariest moments of my life and my parents' as well.

4. In case you didn't figure it out, Kevin Spacey is my favorite actor of all time and number one celebrity crush (as much as I love doing the Retro Hottie of the Month features.) I saw him perform Bobby Darin's songs when he toured to promote his biopic Beyond the Sea and it was the best concert I've ever attended - even more so than seeing Paul McCartney or Tom Jones. Seriously!

5. I've been a devoted follower of Dr. Wayne Dyer, the principles outlined in the book The Secret and positive thinking in general and it has made a humongous difference in my life. I am constantly amazed by the accomplishments and things I have attracted into my life and I can honestly say I do not remember the last time I was truly unhappy (during my teens and 20s, there were quite a few stretches of time where I would say I was depressed or borderline depressed.) I manage to find something or several somethings to be grateful for every day, even if something does go wrong, which thankfully isn't that often.

6. Given the choice between chocolate and cheese, I'd choose cheese every time.

7. I'm learning to play the guitar, but secretly I would like to try the accordion (which my dad could play, and I'm sorry I allowed my sister to give his away to a music store after he died) and I want to buy a ukulele.

8. My mother's mother was only 12 years old when she was put on a ship by herself and came to the States from Poland, knowing no English and having to deal with losing some of her personal belongings along the way and then not being picked up by the family members who were supposed to greet her. No matter what tough circumstances I encounter in my life, I will draw strength from her story.

9. My total fantasy job, if I could go back in time, would be as a dancer on Shindig, Hullabaloo, or any of those music variety shows. Today, if I had to choose another profession other than marketing, I'd probably find a way to hack a living as a writer.

10. You mean I have to squeeze out one more? OK, this one's a bit personal...I didn't kiss a boy until I was 19. His name was Doug Fine and he worked at a hotel with me.

OK, now here's ten swell blogs I'm passing this award to. I'm pretty sure at least some of them already have this award, in which case I apologize (I couldn't bear writing ten things about myself all over again) but they're well deserved. Some are retro and some are not so retro, but they're ones I all enjoy reading. Drumroll, please...

1. Disguised As A Grown Up - Marlene's snappy commentary, whether on her won blog or when she leaves a comment on mine, never fails to make me laugh or brighten my day. She's also a very creative card designer to boot, so definitely check her site out. 

2. Retrospace - Gilligan probably already has this award, but I can't resist calling his blog out because it's just incredible, and keeps me inspired. This man has the most extensive retro pop culture knowledge of any blogger I've encountered, and he has access to the coolest and most hilarious old catalogs, magazines, pamphlets, books, etc. that he scans and posts for our viewing pleasure. His observations on pop culture history is also very insightful and dead-on. Once you visit his blog once, you're hooked for life!

3.  Dads Dish Retro Blog -  Many of my readers (and I) love visiting Darrin's retro blog, because a lot of the posts are personal, well written, and bring back wonderful memories for any of us who grew up in the 60s through the 80s. Darrin also specializes in collecting tiki lounge and Disney memorabilia. 

4. Decades a Go-Go - This blog is written by Nick, who is only 19 years old and an architectural student, but who is doing an incredible job decorating his pad vintage style. Lots of great tips on where he finds his furniture and restores it.

5. Losing the Shadow Behind Me - Jen is a friend and a mental health blogger who is chronicling her life through her blog. She just returned from the BlogHer conference in NYC, and she is an expert level knitter who often posts her beautiful creations on her site.

6. If I Didn't Have a Sense of Humor - Barbara finds and posts some of the most amusing retro advertisements that I've seen, accompanied by humorous commentary.

7. Coolness Is Timeless - When Keith announced a while back that he was going to stop posting to his blog for an undetermined amount of time, all of his followers were sad. We're happy that he's back. Lots of well dressed hotties from both the past and present on this blog - definitely a favorite with the ladies.

8. Pop-O-Matic Deluxe - what I love about Desiree's blog is that she covers both current and retro pop culture news and insights, so I get caught up on who and what's hot in 2010. She's also a Mad Men fan. 

9. Mid Century Madness - love mid-century modern homes and furniture like me? Then you'll love the Mid Century Madam's blog. She has the pleasure of living in one of these beautiful pieces of architectural history, and posts about anything related to them. 

10. 1972 The Retro Weight Watchers Experiment - Mimi's blog is truly unique; she's living like a dieter in the year I was born and daring to try WW recipes from the 70s decade (gelantinized salads, anyone? See my previous J-E-L-L-Hell-to-the-no post for my thoughts on that!) A really fun blog to visit.

Congratulations to everyone! My apologies to those I had to leave out, but I encourage everyone to visit the blogs on my blog roll if you haven't already. And thanks again, Amanda, for the award!

8 comments:

  1. Thanks Pam!! I am so honored!!! Your blog is one of my favorites too! I follow most of the blogs you picked, so I have to agree with your good taste. Thanks for following my crazy experiment. And I'll be sure to pass along this honor! xoxo

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  2. Pam, the award is deserved. Your posts are fun, witty, creative, and you share of yourself, revealing you as smart, eclectic, interesting, and sweet; and a real person.
    Congratulations on being recognized by your peers.
    stay-at-home-dad

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  3. Congrats on the award - and thank you for bestowing upon me! Woohoo!!! I made the #1 spot, even! HA. (Ok, so that was just random, huh?)

    Totally love reading your blog!

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  4. So fun to hear about you and congrats on your award! Sounds like you've had a heck of a life. I love your blog.

    Best Wishes,
    Amanda

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  5. Thanks, everyone! Such nice comments...they definitely help keep me inspired.

    Even though I've had a few kooky things happen in my life, it's definitely a good one, and continues to get better. Anything "bad" that happened to me is *nothing* compared to other people's experiences, so I'm nothing but grateful.

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  6. Thanks so much girlie! I'm truly honored! And I plan on doing the meme as well. Cheers!

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  7. Thanks for passing on the award Pam! Isn't it nice to know people are reading and enjoying your blog? It's icing on the cake to receive an award for doing something you enjoy. Loved your 10 tidbits.

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  8. I'm commenting on this really, really late, but thank you! And of course, congratulations for getting it in the first place. I really do appreciate and I'm honored. These are things that make it feel worth it. It's always good to know someone cares. I'll try to disappear less often.

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