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.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Goodreads

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

The Year I Turned 18 Blogfest

Today is the beginning of Cally Jackson's The Year I Turned 18 blogfest to celebrate the launch of her new book, The Big Smoke.

The idea for the blogfest comes from the fact that both of the main characters in The Big Smoke turn 18 in the course of the novel. So, Cally is asking participants to write about our own 18th year.

I turned 18 way back in 1986, so I am a long way off from Ceara and Seb, the characters who celebrate their 18th birthdays in Cally's novel.

When thinking about this blogfest I realized that I don't have any particular memories of my 18th birthday at all. I have vivid memories of turning 16 and, especially, 21, but 18 doesn't stand out much.

But there were lots of things about 1986 that do stand out. It was the year of the Challenger space shuttle explosion and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. And, on a much lighter note, the "only in the 80s" event Hands Across America was held in May and an estimated 6.5 million people held hands across the country.

I have to admit I don't remember Hands Across America taking place in Cincinnati, but according to this Wiki entry my hometown was in fact one of the cities along the route. And, none other than Chewbacca was our celebrity representative. I can't imagine how we got Chewie but had I known he was going to be there I feel sure I would have gone down to the route to hold hands.

I was too old for toys in 1986 but there are still a few from that year that I remember vividly, as both were horrifying. One was the My Buddy doll, who was probably the inspiration for the demonic Chucky. He also had a Kid Sister. I hate dolls in general, and these are particularly creepy.

But the most terrifying toy of all was undoubtedly Teddy Ruxpin, the talking teddy bear.

I had a teacher that year who was so in love with her Teddy Ruxpin that she put him on her desk and had him talk to the class nearly every day. It goes without saying the woman was more than a little nuts.

The most popular movie of 1986 was easily Top Gun and I can't deny I totally loved that movie in the '80s. It hasn't aged well, to say the least, and it now seems like the cheesiest thing ever, but it was a fun time back then.

But when I look at this list of "big movies" from 1986 my favorite is easily Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Unlike many '80s movies, Ferris is still fun to watch today. And I will never tire of "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?" or of Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago. :D

One last bit of 1986 popular culture, the three most popular tv shows were The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Cheers. These shows aired in a 90 minute block on Thursday nights on NBC, and we never missed them at my house. It seems strange now to think we actually had to watch them as they aired if we wanted to see them, as it's hard to remember like before DVRs and On Demand viewing.

So that's my quick look back at 1986, the year I turned 18. It was fun to take this little walk down memory lane. :)

Congratulations again to Cally on the release of The Big Smoke! Here is a short blurb about the book:

Ceara’s desperate for love; Seb’s desperate to get laid. Ceara adores reading novels; Seb hasn’t finished a book in years. Two strangers, both moving from small country towns to Brisbane – the big smoke. As they prepare to attend the same university, their paths seem set to collide, but they keep missing each other. Maybe fate is keeping them apart, or maybe it’s just chance.

When the semester starts, things get complicated. Ceara’s best friend withdraws from her, Seb’s closest mate turns into a sleazebag, and the relentless demands of university make their stress levels soar. Before their first semester is over, both Seb and Ceara will be forced to question who they are and what they want from their lives. Will they have the courage to find the answers, or will they crumble under the pressure? And when they finally meet, will it be love at first sight or a collision of headstrong personalities?