It is what it is – Commentary March 18, 2026 with Jen Brien

by Jennifer Brien, contributing writer, commentary

WE ALL NEED A BREAK

I don’t know about you, gang, but I’d rather laugh this week then gripe about everything and anything because there’s no shortage of things to bark about, that’s for sure.

Last week SHARON OSBORNE suggested the Hollywood elite shut up with the politics at the OSCARS (which they neglected to do) and give America the break from that BS it so desperately needs. I don’t disagree. SHE’S 100 percent correct. So, this week… in an ode to “RON AND JEN’S GREAT ESCAPE” and in memory of my dear friend, Ron, who died suddenly two years ago, we will take a trip down memory lane and hopefully…. in your world, we can “turn that frown upside down”. I hated it when Ron said that BTW… hahahaha… and he knew it. Which is why he said it! That Ronzo… I sure miss my friend. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. He sure would have loved the WBC. ANYHOW, settle in… kick back, put your feet up on your desk and relax… we are jumping into that time machine and headed back… to somewhere… ANYWHERE other than the here and now.

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TOP 10 SHOWS ON THIS WEEK IN 1979

1.) 60 Minutes

2.) Three’s Company

3.) That’s Incredible!

4.) ALICE / M*A*S*H (they tied so took 4 and 5)

6.) Dallas

7.) FLO

8.) The Jeffersons

9.) The Dukes of Hazard

10.) One Day at a Time

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TOP 10 SONGS IN 1964

1.) “I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND” – Beatles

2.) “She loves you” – Beatles

3.) “Hello dolly” – Louis Armstrong

4.) “Oh, Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison

5.) “I Get Around”- The Beach Boys

6.) “Everybody Loves Somebody – Dean Martin

7.) “My Guy” – Mary Wells

8.) “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine” – Gale Garnett

9.) “Last Kiss” – J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers

10.) “Where Did Our Love Go” – The Supremes

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THE MOST POPULAR RECIPES OF THE 1950’S

WACKY CAKE (there’s no eggs, no milk, and no butter in the batter!)

CHEX MIX

CHICKEN A LA KING

AMBROSIA SALAD

MEATLOAF

CHURCH SUPPER HOTDISH

CLASSIC BEEF SPAGHETTI

COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD

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ALL THINGS 80’S

Dust off your leg warmers and grab a can of AQUA NET gang, because we are traveling back to a time when your social status was measured entirely by the size of your boombox and the “crispness” of your high-top fade.

Before we were curated by algorithms, we were curated by the TOP 40 countdown and the frantic race to hit “record” on a cassette tape before the DJ started talking. The 80’s wasn’t just a decade, it was sensory overload of neon windbreakers, the specific smell of a newly opened pack of Garbage Pail Kids and the downwind of a Marlboro cigarette. It was a glorious low-resolution era where the hair was BIG, the colors were loud, and the only “smart” thing in your house was the kid who could solve a Rubik’s cube. Here are some of your crazy 80’s favs…

1.) Rotary telephones:  Before the world lived in “the cloud” we lived in the hallway tethered to the wall with a big cord!

2.) We performed “emergency surgery” on cassette tapes: If your Walkman decided to EAT your favorite tape… we didn’t buy new ones. All we needed was a number 2 pencil and some winding action… oh, and prayers there wasn’t a major dent in the brown ribbon that would alter the lyrics to “Jessie’s Girl”!

3.) Film Development – Before cell phones and digital cameras, you handed your vacation photos off to a stranger at a “Foto Mat” kiosk and waited for a week to pick them up. Everything was real back then, and there were no filters.

4.) TV GUIDE: In the 80’s, if you missed the first 5 minutes of your favorite show you were doomed. There was no “re-start from beginning” or “watch later” option. If you didn’t have TV GUIDE or a newspaper clipping to tell you when “Fantasy Island” was on, you spent the evening mindlessly flipping through 13 channels hoping to stumble upon something that wasn’t local news or a terrible black and white movie from 1967.

5.) FOLD-OUT MAP: Going on a road trip meant unfolding a GIANT paper map that was approximately the size of a twin bed. Once opened, it was legally impossible to fold it back to its original state. Navigating often involved a passenger screaming “TURN LEFT AT THE BIG OLD OAK TREE”! Ahhhh… those were the days.

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WHY THRILLER WAS A WORLD ALTERING PHENOMENON

When Michael Jackson released “THRILLER”, it took the PLANET by storm. It was the right album, at the right time and it was something NO ONE had ever heard before. I remember listening to it for the first time in high school and I was amazed. It literally was an out of body experience. “Beat It” blew me away.  Let’s break it down for greater clarity in case you doubt me:

1.) “ALL KILLER, NO FILLER STRATEGY” – Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones set out with a specific goal – every song on the album had to be “a hit”. In an era when most albums had 2 singles and 6 tracks of “filler”, THRILLER produced 7 top ten singles out of 9 tracks total.

2.) MTV – Before THRILLER MTV rarely played videos by black artists. Michael Jackson shattered that barrier.

3.) “THE MOONWALK MOMENT”- On May 16th, 1983, 47 million people watched the “MOTOWN 25” tv special. When Michael Jackson performed “Billie Jean” and did the MOONWALK, album sales didn’t just go up – they EXPLODED!

4.) “GENRE BORDER” – Rock fans got Eddie Van Halen and POP fans got Paul McCartney on this album which appealed to parents, kids, and disco lovers all at once! EVERYONE loved this record.

IN SUMMARY – “THRILLER” is the best-selling album of ALL TIME. Has sold between 70-100 million copies worldwide, won a record 8 Grammys and spent 37 consecutive weeks at NUMBER 1 on the BILLBOARD 200. It was a MONSTER!

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THE 1980’S WARDROBE:

SHOULDER PADS WERE NOT JUST FOR LINEBACKERS!

ACID WASH DENIM

LEG WARMERS AND SPANDEX

LEATHER JACKET

POWER SUITS

CHUNKY JEWELRY

WIDE BELTS

NEON ANYTHING

WHITE PUMPS

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MUST HAVE GADGETS:

THE SONY WALKMAN

NINTENDO

SWATCH WATCH

BOOM BOX

THE CLAPPER

FAX MACHINE

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HOTTEST 80’S TOYS

CABBAGE PATCH KIDS

TRANSFORMERS

RUBIK’S CUBE

SPEAK AND SPELL

TEDDY RUXPIN

G.I. JOE

CARE BEARS

STAR WARS

LEGO

SIMON ELECTRONIC MEMORY GAME

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THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THE FILM “BACK TO THE FUTURE”

* The director got inspiration for this film from his father’s high school yearbook

* This film would not have gotten made without the help from Steven Spielberg

*The film never explains how Marty and doc Brown met

*The Delorean wasn’t in the original script

*The setting for the third installment in the series was Fox’s idea

*The producers say there will never ever be a Back to the Future 4

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Well, that’s all I got this week gang. “IT IS WHAT IT IS”.

Till next time,

Jen

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