Friday, December 9, 2016

Friday Celebrations & Revisiting the 80's with Tara Tyler

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Happy Friday! If it's Friday, that means it's time to Celebrate the Small Things. This week I'm celebrating that it was my birthday on Tuesday and I had a great birthday. I actually celebrated last weekend and had a great birthday cake, a birthday brownie, and lots of yummy food, all with wonderful people. Can't really ask for more than that.






The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.











And now I'm turning things over to Tara Tyler, an 80's girl like me, who is visiting as part of her Cradle Rock release tour. Welcome, Tara!

Teenagers, the 80s to Now!

That sounds like an adult hits radio station… I’m very proud to be a child of the eighties. They were such a bright, positive change from the harsh, psychedelic seventies. We had big bold hair, big bold colors, big bold music, and big bold dreams!

Here are a couple pictures from my teenage years in the 80s…



I can’t believe it’s been thirty years since I graduated from high school! The last twenty went the fastest and I blame my kids. All three boys in their teens - yes, I would like to tear my hair out some days...

Teens today are overloaded with technology, overloaded with activities, and overloaded with stress. With more information comes more responsibility, unfortunately, no one is holding anyone else accountable! I also think they should have time to be kids, too. Here’s my comparison: Teenagers - the 80s vs Now

TEENAGERS!

THE 80s
TODAY
In General...

Smaller world
The whole wide world!
Pay phones with cords
Cell phones and wireless
Bullies - physically and verbally abusive, seen, heard, known by all
Cyberbullies - mentally abusive, anonymous trolls who hide and lurk on the internet
Fashion...

Jeans - tight w/o stretch, tight-rolled, acid washed, name brands, high-waisted
Big belts, leg-warmers, fluorescents, off-the-shoulder, headbands, chunky jewelry, mini skirts
Eye shadow!
Big hair for all
Casual - jeans, sweatpants, spandex in everything, leggings (ugh)
Piercings and tattoos
Colorful gym shoes, name brands
Long hair, braids, colorful/dyed, top knots
Beards
Music...

Pop, punk, hard rock, rock ballads, funk, insinuated
Pop, retro!, alternative, songs with a message, rap, blatant, crossover
Movies & Books & more...

The Outsiders, Pretty in Pink, Back to the Future, War Games, The Breakfast Club
Hunger Games, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, Harry Potter, Netflix, Youtube!
Communication...

Passing notes, talking on the telephone with a cord attached and a time limit
Texting, snapchat, facetime, etc... limitless!
TIMELESS UNIVERSAL SIMILARITIES
Dealing with Relationships - friends, parents, figures of authority, young love
Growing up - taking on responsibilities, managing time, setting goals
Getting a job, driving, chores, homework
Figuring out what you want out of life

My take on Today’s Teens - Innocence seems lost more quickly these days, but maybe it’s because there’s less shame and more openness which can be good and bad… The internet has brought instant information, instant feedback, instant gratification, but also anonymous antagonism, and TMI self-expression.

Eventually, the cycle begins again with the next generation of teens coming up with new ways to revolt and test their parents’ and societies’ "prudish" ways… I wonder how they’ll turn out! They have to be better than the millenials, right? Ha!

What do you think? Did you love the 80s? What’s wrong/right with today’s teens? Are you ready for the next wave?

Thanks for having me, Julie. Love coming over, and hope to see you more often!

WELCOME BACK TO THE FOREST!


CRADLE ROCK, Beast World Book Two
by Tara Tyler

Gabe the goblin just saved his town Broken Branch Falls from splitting apart. He also revealed that humans--horrible creatures of myth and legend--may actually be part of their history! But seriously? Nah!

Now Ona, Gabe’s girlfriend, is headed thousands of miles away to Camp Cradle Rock for Spring Break seeking evidence of humans. Gabe knows better than to tell a stubborn ogress she’s crazy, so he’s letting her go and spending the break at the beach like a normal teenage beast. And he’s determined to have a good time without her, whether he likes it or not.

But when Gabe hears Ona went missing, he and his friends set out for the wilds of the west to find her, no matter what dangerous creatures get in his way. Not even humans.

Check out the Book Trailer!

Tara Tyler has had a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After moving all over, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. Currently she has two series, Pop Travel (techno-thriller detective capers) and Broken Branch Falls (fantasy adventures). To squeeze in writing, she economizes her time aka the Lazy Housewife. Make every day an adventure!

Talk to me!
Author Blog ~~ @taratylertalks ~~ Facebook ~~ Housewives Blog


I'm also giving away signed copies of Broken Branch Falls and Cradle Rock, some Beast World swag, and a $20 GC!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

22 comments:

  1. I was a teen in both the 70's and 80's and can't believe it's been over thirty years since I graduated either.
    It was simpler. Although there are still endless hours of video games. But people actually talked to each other more.

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  2. Happy (belated!) Birthday, Julie! :)

    Oh, I loved The Outsiders, both the book and the movie! And I also now have the soundtrack from Pretty in Pink playing in my head.... :)

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  3. Hi Julie and Tara - lovely photos taking us back ... and Happy Birthday Julie ... and now have great Christmases with family and friends ... cheers Hilary

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  4. I am SO glad that my ignorant teen years got to fade to memory and not have to be documented on social media. I don't think teens are any more or less stupid- we just got to live it down faster.

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  5. The pics sure bring back memories. Enjoy your weekend.

    mparel @ www.onbecomingawriter.com

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  6. Congrats with your new book baby, Tara! I loved the 80's. The music was great. My brother still listens to only 80's music;)

    Happy belated birthday, Julie.

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  7. Happy Birthday! That dog looks so suave and debonair.

    Love,
    Janie

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  8. I began high school in 79 and graduated by 82. Today, kids don't get a break from any stimuli. They're constantly plugged in. Even my 4-year-old grandsons walk around with I=pads and Game Boys.

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  9. Now that is one cool looking dog! Maybe a top hat and eye monocle are in order. have a safe and great holiday season!

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  10. I was a teen in the 70s and a young woman in the 80s. My pictures are cringe-worthy, and I thank goodness that in the 90s we regained our senses and stopped the weird clothes/hair styles. I wish there could be laws about cyber-bullying, trolling, and lying on the net. People must be held accountable, but these days it seems the clothes and hairstyles are better but accountability has disappeared. Wishing you much success, Tara! (I plugged your giveaway on my blog.)

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  11. First, Happy Birthday! Glad you had a nice one :) This post brought back so many memories. My kids laugh at the big hair, but I still find it nicer than the flat straight my daughter goes for now.

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  12. I was a child of the 80s too - but a very tame child. Money was quite tight, so I wasn't allowed to buy fashionable clothes and jeans were banned until I stopped growing!

    I loved the music though, and still listen to most of it today. My favourite radio station in the UK is Absolute 80s (available online, if you want to check it out) which plays a huge variety of that great decade.

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  13. well I have just as much fun reading all your great comments as I did writing my post down memory lane! thanks!

    and Julie happy birthday baby! thanks so much for having me and helping me spread the word about Cradle Rock!

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  14. Loved the chart! It really sets out how different the era are from each other. I'm not sure I think we're getting better. I do think we're getting busier and the question is doing what?

    Happy Birthday and here's to a wonderful Christmas and new year.

    Congrats again to Tara! All the luck to you on your new book.

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  15. Thanks. You took me back to a simpler time with weird (fun) hair. hehehe

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  16. Is that a Gunne Sax?! LOL
    (I graduated HS in the 80s)

    Congratulations, Tara.
    Hi, Julie. :)

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  17. I was born in 1980, so I'm more of a 90s kid, but that was still much simpler than today. The social media explosion is great in a lot of ways, but it is scary that no one is really accountable for it!

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  18. Aw, happy belated birthday, Julie! Glad to hear it went fantastically for you... :)

    And fun post, Tara! Even though my teen years were in the early 2000s, my family had been too poor for computers and such then, so I simultaneously relate and don't relate to both sections of your chart. LOL.

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  19. Born 1984 so I'm a big 90's kid. One of the big changes for me is the quality of television and the streaming entertainment. There have been both good and bad changes. One of the bad/sad ones for me is how easy it is for good even great animated shows to get cancelled. Especially by channels like Disney XD. I don't care what they say, moving new episodes of a cartoon to midnight that isn't on an adult station is full on sabotage. RIP short lived Motorcity and Tron cartoon. Didn't have the highest ratings but didn't need the sabotage either. Titmouse even tried to get the IP back for Motorcity but failed. I truly believe either would have had a better life cycle on Cartoon Network. Kids today have all kids of advantages and challenges in the 21st century. Good luck with that guys.

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  20. Had fun reading your comments, you guys! Great stuff! Yes, Sheena, we need lots of luck with the kiddos! Growing up too fast and faster!

    and thanks again Julie, for hosting me =)

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  21. Love the pics! From the 80s to doggie memes, it's all good:)

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