Immediately upon watching TPB, most people fall in love with Bubbles. His thick, goofy glasses. His obsession with kitties. His ability to make sense of the insanity that is Sunnyvale Trailer Park. Bubbles is the most loveable of all TPB characters.
Bubbles was never supposed to be part of the show. Mike Smith, the actor who plays Bubbles, was just a sound editor for the original TPB movie/ pilot. He had known Mike Clattenburg (Director/ Creator/ Writer) for awhile through "The Cart Boy" film short. Clattenburg saw potential in the character and Bubbles found his way into the series after walking around set as "Cart Boy."
With this stroke of creative genius, one of Canada's favourite television personalities was born. Bubbles is not just a role on some TV show. Bubbles has become part of the Canadian lexicon and a national icon. There is really no area in the country you can go to without everyone knowing Bubbles. He is on par with Stompin' Tom Connors, Don Cherry and Wayne Gretzky.
For me personally, Bubbles has had a major impact on my life. From fashion to musical tastes to life lessons about family and friend loyalty, Bubbles has influenced many aspects of my personal life. He is far and away the most ethical and righteous of all TPB characters. That is why I decided to start with Bubbles... He is simply the easiest character in which to find morality and truth.
1. Cowboy Shirts...
Even from a young age, I had loved cowboy shirts. I think its my second grade school photo where I sport a bright yellow number. Embroidered shoulders, mother of pearl-esque snap buttons, big collar. Yeah... I was the best dressed kid in C.O. Somes Elementary. I think this might stem from my mom's love of Hank Williams, Charley Pride and Loretta Lynn.
Throughout the series, Bubbles rocks some beauty shirts. My favourite is the brown gem he wore in Season Seven Episode Four- "Friends of the Road." This is the episode where Bubbles and Ray try to haul a bunch of shopping carts to Maine to sell as scrap metal. Ray ends up getting pinched for soliciting prostitutes in a truck stop parking lot while Bubbles goes half insane in a phone booth waiting for Ricky and Julian to save him. The shirt iteself if a wonderfully embroidered piece. The white floral pattern would make Conway Twitty proud. The piping that runs along the buttons screams quality. They just don't make cowboy shirts like this anymore. The only way you will ever score a monster like this is to get incredibly lucky at a charity shop or to break into the Porter Wagoner exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
This is far from the only amazing cowboy shirt. Even the simple ones with standard plaid patterns are great. Bubbles wore a sweet one in the Season Four episode, "Conky." This episode, which is in my opinion one of the top five episodes in TPB history, features a hand puppet called Conky that Bubbles uses as a coping mechanism for all the crazy bullshit that goes on in his life. Ricky and Julian use Conky to convince Bubbles to go to the hospital to get a "dirty fucking tooth" removed. I don't want to do a full synopsis of the Conky madness but Ricky gets a rag glued to his nose, a truck glued to his hand, Mr. Lahey and Randy get shot with traquillizer darts and end up in the drunk tank while Julian shoots Conky in the head in Sam Losco's vet office. But yeah... way off track here... The shirt... The shirt is a simple example of how fucking cool cowboy shirts can be.
In the past ten years I have accumulated about a dozen vintage cowboy shirts. I don't think I would have ever bothered if Bubbles hadn't made it cool again. Most people look at Bubbles as a goofy looking, four eyed weirdo but I see him as a Canadian fashion icon. Fuck Justin Beiber. Fuck Avril Lavigne. Fuck Sebastian Bach. Bubbles can be my fashion advisor any day.
2. RUSH...
There is really only one episode that shows Bubbles' love of Canadian rock legends, Rush. Season Three, Episode Five- "Closer To The Heart" focuses on Bubbles and his attempt to get into a Rush concert at the Halifax Metro Center. He gives Ricky some cash to get him a ticket while he brings his cat to the vet. It "drank garbage juice and got the shits." The boys don't get tickets because Lahey and Randy fuck it up. So after numerous attempts to get Bubbles into the show which features the kidnapping (or 'borrowing' as Ricky put it) of Alex Lifeson, walking through the sewers and trying to win a radio contest, Bubbles finally gets to be Alex Lifeson's guitar tech for the show.
I was never a huge Rush fan. There were a couple of songs that I knew and that I didn't hate but I was not what you would call a fan of the band. After seeing the dedication Bubbles had for Rush, I decided to give them another shot. I was only a casual listener so maybe I was missing something. Bubbles did steer me down the right path when it came to fashion. Maybe his love of Rush was something else he could transfer to me.
I decided to go out and grab a few Rush records. 2112 and Hemispheres were my first two purchases. It had been years since I had actually tried to listen to a Rush album so I was able to keep an open mind. That open mind??? Blown!!! Hemispheres is one of the great psychedelic/ progressive albums of all time. 2112, although not my favourite Rush album, is probably their high point as a band. Every track is killer. The purchase of these two albums has led me down the path of Rush love. I might not be a huge fan of any stuff post-"Moving Pictures" but everything leading up to that album and even a few tracks following that album are sheer magic.
Bubbles taught me another lesson in this episode. Not only was he just a fan of Rush, he worshipped them. He was a dedicated fan who was loyal to the end. Its ok to love a band. Its even ok to love a band that has never been hugely popular. Bubbles, even though his friends weren't big fans of the band, still spent his last pennies supporting the artists that he grew up loving. He didn't care if it was cool or not. He loved their music and that is all that mattered. Over the years I have been questioned about my love of certain bands and genres. Whenever anyone mocks my musical choices, I simply remember the speech Bubbles delivers when he has finally had enough of the madness... "This fucking thing shouldn't be about dope and swearing and idiots with no fucking shirts on going camping drunk. You guys don't even give a fuck about Rush. I do!!!"
Monday 21 January 2013
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Chapter One- Exposure
The arts have always had the ability to move and inspire people mentally, physically and spiritually. Whether it be a painting by an old master, a song by a modern pop star or even a small television program based on a bunch of drunken criminal assholes who live in a trailer park in Nova Scotia, the arts are an important part of not just human culture but human existence.
I first heard about TPB a couple episodes into the second season. I could have lied and said I was there from the very beginning but I have, as Ricky would say, "vice principals." I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing on the screen. Was this a reality show? Was everyone in Sunnyvale retarded? There were more questions than answers. I was not sure if this show was the best thing I had ever seen or the dumbest fucking show on television.
I continued to watch religiously for the rest of the season and when it was all over I realised that I needed to get the word out about this ridicuously masterful show. I began telling everyone that TPB was a must watch. I even held a couple viewing parties at my place for friends who did not have access to Showcase (The cable network on which it was aired) May 27, 2003 was a huge day at my house. It marked the release of Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. I threw a TPB themed bash that night where everyone dressed as their favourite character, ate pepperoni and donairs, drank rum and cokes and listened to Helix and April Wine. It was one of the best parties I have ever thrown. I felt I had done my part to help this little tv show make its mark in Canadian culture.
By then I had read all the history of the show, its main characters, its minor characters and had even tracked down a copy of the original TPB movie that was shown in 1999 at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I had also discovered a little 'easter egg' bonus on my Seasons 1 and 2 DVDs that featured a short called "The Cart Boy" which was a character created by Mike Smith that evolved in the character Bubbles. I was a full on TPB junkie.
I continued to watch throughout the run of the show. I rarely missed a new episode. I once quit a shitty job because I was always scheduled to work on the nights when new episodes were being aired. I am not saying I was obsessed but I was bordering on a Swayze Express-like trance whenever it was on. I can even remember when a girl asked me out on a date I said "You looking for a date? Ten bucks or six Dairy Queen coupons..." I could not help referencing the show in basically every conversation.
The beautiful thing about my Conky-esque compulsion was that by now most of Canada was also in the same Shitmobile. Everyone in my life who mattered to me was also a fan. And I could basically figure out if I would be friends with someone simply by making a TPB reference to see their reaction. Not laughing when I say "One person's garbage is another person's ungarbage"??? Fuck you... I can't hang out with you. It was a fool proof way of deciding who was garbage and who was ungarbage. Even my mom was a fan. My grandmother was a fan. Everyone who had ever visited a trailer park or was related to some drunk asshole who did stupid shit all the time was a fan. TPB was a television sensation in Canada not seen since the days of the Tommy Hunter Show and The Friendly Giant.
Since the show ended, I have continued to watch every episode over and over. I have been on the internet message boards. I have followed them on Facebook and read the TPB quotes on Twitter. I have gone to the theatre to see the movies and I still host the odd theme party... without the Helix (I've stepped it up to Rush.) I never thought that a small, low budget television show based around the shenanigans of a bunch of drunken, cheeseburger eating, dope growing, rap listening, cop uniform wearing, gas stealing, hash smoking, porn filming rejects would change my outlook on life but surprisingly I think that through their lunacy, I have become a better person. A more complete person. Someone who has finally figured out my path to happiness and the ability to stick to my "vice principals."
I first heard about TPB a couple episodes into the second season. I could have lied and said I was there from the very beginning but I have, as Ricky would say, "vice principals." I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing on the screen. Was this a reality show? Was everyone in Sunnyvale retarded? There were more questions than answers. I was not sure if this show was the best thing I had ever seen or the dumbest fucking show on television.
I continued to watch religiously for the rest of the season and when it was all over I realised that I needed to get the word out about this ridicuously masterful show. I began telling everyone that TPB was a must watch. I even held a couple viewing parties at my place for friends who did not have access to Showcase (The cable network on which it was aired) May 27, 2003 was a huge day at my house. It marked the release of Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. I threw a TPB themed bash that night where everyone dressed as their favourite character, ate pepperoni and donairs, drank rum and cokes and listened to Helix and April Wine. It was one of the best parties I have ever thrown. I felt I had done my part to help this little tv show make its mark in Canadian culture.
By then I had read all the history of the show, its main characters, its minor characters and had even tracked down a copy of the original TPB movie that was shown in 1999 at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I had also discovered a little 'easter egg' bonus on my Seasons 1 and 2 DVDs that featured a short called "The Cart Boy" which was a character created by Mike Smith that evolved in the character Bubbles. I was a full on TPB junkie.
I continued to watch throughout the run of the show. I rarely missed a new episode. I once quit a shitty job because I was always scheduled to work on the nights when new episodes were being aired. I am not saying I was obsessed but I was bordering on a Swayze Express-like trance whenever it was on. I can even remember when a girl asked me out on a date I said "You looking for a date? Ten bucks or six Dairy Queen coupons..." I could not help referencing the show in basically every conversation.
The beautiful thing about my Conky-esque compulsion was that by now most of Canada was also in the same Shitmobile. Everyone in my life who mattered to me was also a fan. And I could basically figure out if I would be friends with someone simply by making a TPB reference to see their reaction. Not laughing when I say "One person's garbage is another person's ungarbage"??? Fuck you... I can't hang out with you. It was a fool proof way of deciding who was garbage and who was ungarbage. Even my mom was a fan. My grandmother was a fan. Everyone who had ever visited a trailer park or was related to some drunk asshole who did stupid shit all the time was a fan. TPB was a television sensation in Canada not seen since the days of the Tommy Hunter Show and The Friendly Giant.
Since the show ended, I have continued to watch every episode over and over. I have been on the internet message boards. I have followed them on Facebook and read the TPB quotes on Twitter. I have gone to the theatre to see the movies and I still host the odd theme party... without the Helix (I've stepped it up to Rush.) I never thought that a small, low budget television show based around the shenanigans of a bunch of drunken, cheeseburger eating, dope growing, rap listening, cop uniform wearing, gas stealing, hash smoking, porn filming rejects would change my outlook on life but surprisingly I think that through their lunacy, I have become a better person. A more complete person. Someone who has finally figured out my path to happiness and the ability to stick to my "vice principals."
Thursday 20 December 2012
The Tao of The Mustard Tiger: Introduction
Many people drift aimlessly through existence, racing like neutrinos through the ether, with no moral guidance, no direction, no way of knowing if their path to happiness is the correct one. Some people cannot even fathom such a beautiful path. Life is a burden for such people and the magic that is humanity is completely lost and foreign to them.
Indeed most people never find that something in their life that truly makes them not only happy but fulfilled. It is rare that someone can say they love their life all the way down to a subatomic level. That even their double- helixed DNA strands have smiles. These people have found that something, whether it be family, true love, a quiet park bench or even picking a banjo on the front porch, that creates this sense of wonderment and inner peace.
It has taken me 37 years to discover this path to true happines, this cure to an empty life. It is not religion. Its not meditation. Its not even strumming a banjo. No. For me, I have discovered that everything that is good in my life can be traced back to decisions I have made that have been influenced by the wisdom of the Trailer Park Boys (TPB).
TPB may have started out as a mockumentary style comedy but as the show evolved, so too did the world around me. From Ricky`s love of his family to Julian`s loyalty to the trailer park to even J-ROC`s drive to succeed as a gangsta rap star, TPB has given me a completely different outlook on life and has helped me through some difficult decisions that previous to the show, I may have, as Ricky would put it, fucked it up.
This blog, which I hope to one day publish, will chronicle not just my life as it relates to TPB but hopefully will allow you, the reader, to look upon life in a more open and understandable fashion. I am not saying that I have unlocked the key to enlightenment or that what will follow will even be helpful to all who read it. I am simply outlining what TPB has meant to me and how, if you choose to listen, you too may find love and harmony from the teachings of Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and the rest of the drunken gang from Sunnyvale.
Indeed most people never find that something in their life that truly makes them not only happy but fulfilled. It is rare that someone can say they love their life all the way down to a subatomic level. That even their double- helixed DNA strands have smiles. These people have found that something, whether it be family, true love, a quiet park bench or even picking a banjo on the front porch, that creates this sense of wonderment and inner peace.
It has taken me 37 years to discover this path to true happines, this cure to an empty life. It is not religion. Its not meditation. Its not even strumming a banjo. No. For me, I have discovered that everything that is good in my life can be traced back to decisions I have made that have been influenced by the wisdom of the Trailer Park Boys (TPB).
TPB may have started out as a mockumentary style comedy but as the show evolved, so too did the world around me. From Ricky`s love of his family to Julian`s loyalty to the trailer park to even J-ROC`s drive to succeed as a gangsta rap star, TPB has given me a completely different outlook on life and has helped me through some difficult decisions that previous to the show, I may have, as Ricky would put it, fucked it up.
This blog, which I hope to one day publish, will chronicle not just my life as it relates to TPB but hopefully will allow you, the reader, to look upon life in a more open and understandable fashion. I am not saying that I have unlocked the key to enlightenment or that what will follow will even be helpful to all who read it. I am simply outlining what TPB has meant to me and how, if you choose to listen, you too may find love and harmony from the teachings of Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and the rest of the drunken gang from Sunnyvale.
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