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Posts tagged ‘Culture’

Jan 29

A Year in the 80’s – People of Influence

So I  totally copied and pasted a lot of this information. These are very time consuming, so if I could find all I wanted in one place, I just copied it. But I linked all the sources.

Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004)
RR photoUS President from ’81-’89. During the eight years of his presidency, he reshaped national politics and carried out his campaign promises to cut taxes and increase the defense budget, using the latter as leverage to negotiate significant arms control agreements with the Soviet Union. Despite some setbacks, including notable budget deficits, Reagan left office in 1989 with strong approval ratings. MillerCenter.Org

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Reagan is credited with bringing a quicker end to the Cold War, along with this man:

Mikhail Gorbachev (1931 – )
mgThe general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. His efforts to democratize his country’s political system and decentralize its economy led to the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In part because he ended the Soviet Union’s postwar domination of eastern Europe, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1990. Britannica.com

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Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013)
MTIn 1979, Thatcher was elected British Prime Minister, the first and only woman to hold that position, and the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century. Called the “Iron Lady” by a Soviet journalist, that nickname became associated with her leadership style and politics. During her three terms, from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher worked to cut welfare programs, reduce trade union power and influence, and privatize state-owned companies. The policies she implemented have become known as Thatcherism, and continue to have influence today.

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Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 – )
SDOIn 1981, Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and she received unanimous Senate approval. O’Connor made history as the first woman justice to serve on the Supreme Court. As a justice, O’Connor was a key swing vote in many important cases, including the upholding of Roe v. Wade. She often focused on the letter of law, not the clamoring of politicians, and voted for what she believed best fit the intentions of the U.S. Constitution. She retired in 2006, after serving for 24 years. Biography.com

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Bill Gates (1955 – )
BGIn 1975, Gates co-founded Microsoft. In 1980, he partnered with IBM, adapting an operating system (86-DOS) for their new personal computer. Microsoft retained the copyright for the operating system, and went on to become a major name in the computer industry with sales of MS-DOS, which was released in 1982. Microsoft Windows was launched in 1985, which went on to become an industry standard. “His Microsoft software shaped the way millions use the technology that has transformed communications and commerce.” – USA Today

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Hiroshi Yamauchi (1927 – 2013)
HYYamauchi transformed his grandfather’s playing card company into one of the world’s most recognizable brands. Nintendo’s Famicom (The Family Computer) launched in 1983 and became a must-have product in Japan. Against the advice of many experts in the US toy industry, and despite the fact that the North American market was still reeling from the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo launched the Famicom in the United States as the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985.  And the rest is history. NintendoLife.com

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Stephen Hawking (1942 – )
SHCosmologist Stephen Hawking is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein. His work on the origins and structure of the universe, from the Big Bang to black holes, has revolutionized the field, while his best-selling books have appealed to readers who may not have Hawking’s scientific background. His first book,”A Brief History of Time,” was published in 1988 and became an international best seller. Space.com

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Ryan White (1971 – 1990)
RWRyan White and his mom courageously fought AIDS-related discrimination and helped educate the Nation about his disease. Diagnosed with AIDS at age 13, he and his mother fought for his right to attend school, gaining international attention as a voice of reason about HIV/AIDS. At the age of 18, Ryan died just months before Congress passed the AIDS bill that bears his name – the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act, now called the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. HSRA

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Princess Diana (1961 – 1997)
PDPrincess Diana, the wife of British Prince Charles, endeared herself to the public through her warmth and caring. From her picture-perfect wedding to her untimely death in a car accident, Princess Diana was in the spotlight nearly at all times. Despite problems with so much attention, Princess Diana tried to use this publicity to bring attention to worthy causes such as the elimination of AIDS and landmines. She also became truly a princess of the people when she publicly shared her struggles with depression and bulimia, becoming a role model for those who suffer from those ailments. About.com

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Wayne Gretzky (1961 – )
WGConsidered by many as the greatest hockey player of all time, “The Great One” helped the NHL gain popularity in the US. At the end of his 1980 rookie year, he was MVP and tied for first in scoring. By the end of his second year, he had broken two major records, for points and assists in a season. Gretzky has won or shares 61 NHL records (one of his records is for breaking the most records). In his first nine years in major league hockey, he won eight consecutive MVP’s, four Stanley Cups and seven Art Ross Trophies (award for most points). His #99 jersey has been retired by every NHL team.

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Michael Jordan (1963 – )
MJo2By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. As a phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of fundamental soundness, grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire, Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar. A listing of his top accomplishments include: Rookie of the Year, Five-time NBA MVP, Six-time NBA champion, Six-time NBA Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, 14-time NBA All-Star, Three-time NBA All-Star MVP, Ten scoring titles (an NBA record), Retired with the NBA’s highest scoring average, Hall of Fame inductee. NBA.com

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Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009)
MJTAt approx. 65 million copies sold, “The King of Pop’s” 1982 Thriller  remains the best-selling album of all time worldwide. The 14 minute music video was so popular that MTV played it twice an hour to meet demand. Jackson had nine #1 singles throughout the 80’s, more than any other musician, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He is only person from pop and rock music to ever be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame. Jackson has 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist), including “Artist of the Century” and “Artist of the 1980’s”. Jackson is the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music, and posthumously became the most downloaded artist of all time.

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Madonna (1958 – )
291863aMadonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. She attained immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream pop music and imagery in her videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Critics have praised her diverse musical productions which have also been known to induce controversy. Her music and style has influenced numerous artists around the world. Madonna is considered by Forbes as a cultural icon and she is often referred to by the international media as the “Queen of Pop”. Wikipedia

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Russell Simmons (1957 – )
RSRussell Simmons is the most important businessman in the history of rap music. As co-founder of the Def Jam label in 1984, his street-friendly taste and marketing savvy helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream of American culture and mass media. Simmons ensured his artists remained as uncompromisingly rebellious as possible, an attitude that made hip-hop a music of choice for a generation of multi-cultural teenagers simply by staying true to its roots. Simmons shepherded rap music into big business, gradually building his own communications company into the largest black-owned enterprise in the industry. MTV.com

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Steven Spielberg (1946 – )
SSIn the ’80s, this director was basically an unstoppable blockbuster machine. Virtually everything he made was huge — all three Indiana Jones  films, E.T., Back to the Future I  and II, Gremlins, Poltergeist, The Goonies — and he perfected the difficult mix between family accessible adventure and enormously successful moneymakers. He’s inarguably one of the most influential people in film, and from Raiders of the Lost Ark  onward, all his work in the ’80s became pop culture gold. AskMen.com

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Whoopi Goldberg (1955 – )
WGbIn 1985, Goldberg won a Grammy for skits taken from her one-woman show, which addressed the issue of race in America. She also starred in The Color Purple, for which she received an Oscar nomination and her first Golden Globe Award. She won her second Golden Globe for her role in 1990’s Ghost, and became the first African-American actress to win the Academy Award for best supporting actress since 1940 (and only the second to win an Oscar for acting). That same year, the NAACP named her the Black Entertainer of the Year, and she also collected an Excellence Award at the Women in Film Festival. Biography.com

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Tom Cruise (1962 – )
TCThomas Cruise Mapother IV always thought he would be a priest. But he ditched that idea in high school, and focused on becoming an actor. He made his 1981 début in Endless Love, and quickly shot to stardom. Within five years, Tom became the highest grossing actor in the market, starring in hits like Top Gun, Risky Business, and Rain Man. Tom became a big supporter of The Church Of Scientology in 1990, claiming that the teachings cured him of the dyslexia that he’d had all of his life. HollywoodLife.com

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Oprah Winfrey (1954 – )
OWIn 1984, Oprah moved to Chicago to host a faltering half-hour morning program, which she turned into the hottest show in town. In 1986, it was broadcast nationally, and quickly became the number one talk show. In 1987, it received three Daytime Emmy Awards, and in 1988, Oprah herself received the International Radio and Television Society’s “Broadcaster of the Year” Award; the youngest person ever to receive the honor. Achievement.org  “She pioneered a form of intimate public discourse that brought taboo subjects into the open and sparked a confessional, self-help culture.” – USA Today

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So there you have it. No matter what you think of their politics, opinions or careers, they were all people of influence, in one way or another.

Obviously, these are not the only people who were influential in the 1980’s (and beyond).

Who’d I leave off this list?

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Jan 15

6 Comments

A Year in the 80’s – a music sampler

The first album I ever bought was Asia’s sefl-titled début record, and I bought it because I liked the cover. What can I say, I was 12 and I just really wanted to own a record.

Remember vinyl records and those big gorgeous covers? And if you were lucky you’d open them up and all the lyrics would be on the inner sleeve and you’d lay on the couch and play the record over and over until you knew all the lyrics by heart. *sigh* That lasted through my cassette tape years, but I was beyond that by the time cd’s came out.

We are now in the digital age, and I don’t even think I’ve bought an actual physical copy of an album in over ten years. Times they are a changin’, and music along with it. But I have a huge place in my heart for the music I grew up with in the 80’s, and that will probably never change. By the way, I really liked that Asia album. 12 year old me knew a good cover when she saw one. 🙂

Here’s a little sampler of the music I listened to in the 1980’s:

1980 – 1982
These were the boombox years for me, when I’d carry that thing all over the neighborhood. I remember when I got my boombox for Christmas. It. Was. Beautiful. Remember listening to the radio, waiting for that one song you loved to come on, your finger hovering over the record button? I remember that.

Air supply – The One That You Love, All Out of Love, Lost In Love, Even the Nights Are Better

Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’, Who’s Crying Now, Open Arms, Faithfully

Hall & Oats – Private Eyes, Kiss on My List, I Can’t Go for That, Maneater

REO Speedwagon – Keep on Loving You, Take It on the Run

Pat Benatar – Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Heartbreaker, Treat Me Right, Love Is a Battlefield

The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

But Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band is the one that always comes to mind first when I think of that boombox. This video is hideous hilarious:

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1983 – 1985
MTV came to my town in ’83 or so, and that’s when I really got into music. Or at least the music they were playing on MTV. Actually, most of these songs blend together along the early 80’s timeline in my brain.

Huey Lewis and the News – Do You Believe in Love, The Heart of Rock & Roll, If This Is It, The Power of Love

Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Here Comes the Rain Again, Would I Lie To You?

Culture Club – Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, I’ll Tumble 4 Ya, Karma Chameleon

Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Time After Time, All Through The Night

The Go-Go’s – We Got the Beat, Our Lips are Sealed, Vacation

Madonna – Borderline, Lucky Star, Holiday, Crazy for You, Material Girl

Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Shout, I Believe

Duran Duran – Hungry Like the Wolf, The Reflex, Rio

Bryan Adams – Strait from the Heart, Summer of ’69, Run to You

John (Cougar) Mellencamp – Jack & Diane, Hurts So Good, Lonely Ol’ Night

Pink Houses is the one I really liked the best. My Nannie lived in a pink house, and I always thought of this song when I thought of her house:

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1986 – 1987
I got my license in ’86, and after that I wasn’t sitting at home watching music videos much anymore. We were cruising town! 

Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin’ on a Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive

Heart – Never, These Dreams, Alone, Nothing at All

Madonna – Causing a Commotion, La Isla Bonita, Open Your Heart, Papa Don’t Preach, Live to Tell

Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark, Tunnel of Love, Brilliant Disguise, Born in the U.S.A.

The Eagles – New Kid in Town, Life in the Fast Lane, One of These Nights, Take It to the Limit

The Dream Academy – Life in a Northern Town, Bound to Be, Indian Summer, The Love Parade

I saw The Dream Academy on Saturday Night Live and bought their album after only hearing those two songs. I’ve been in love with them ever since.

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1988 – 1989
Graduation and my first year at college! We went to a few concerts these years, too, which are great memories. I went to school in the mountains, and many an afternoon I was riding through the hills blasting The Eagles, Indigo Girls, and Bruce Hornsby. Singing at the top of my lungs. Those poor, poor cows.

U2 – With or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Where The Streets Have No Name

R.E.M. – Stand, Orange Crush, Pop Song ’89, Begin the Begin, Fall on Me

INXS – What You Need, Need You Tonight, Devil Inside, New Sensation, Never Tear Us Apart

Aerosmith – Dude Looks Like a Lady, Janie’s Got a Gun, What it Takes, Don’t Get Mad Get Even

The Smiths – Is It Really So Strange, Sheila Take a Bow, Panic, Ask

Indigo Girls – Closer to Fine, Tried to Be True, Secure Yourself

Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It Is, Mandolin Rain, Every Little Kiss, On The Western Skyline

The best concert I ever saw was Bruce Hornsby playing piano with the Richmond Symphony. Love, love this music. But I have no recollection of ever having seen this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDgOwX72fLI&list=PLtNHZl8xCc_t7x4h5jje8kNZyw_9txjbg&feature=share

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This one was harder than the movies by a long mile. I wanted to list every single song I remembered from the 80’s! This is just a tiny sampling of the great music I loved from that decade, in the general order of when I remember listening to it.

You know, I just realized that some of the albums I fell in love with in the 80’s – Bruce Hornsby, The Dream Academy, U2, The Eagles – those are still among my absolute favorites today. More than 2o years later. And I still get excited when I hear them.

What were you listening to in the 80’s? I mean, if you were alive then. 🙂

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Jan 8

8 Comments

A Year in the 80’s – a movie sampler

IN WHICH I SQUEEZE 10 YEARS INTO 52 DAYS
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When I think 80’s movies, I first think Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Footloose, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Say Anything. They all have some form of teen angst at their center, so it’s no wonder they stuck out most for me when I was going through many of the same kinds of emotions myself.

But when I sat down to make a real list of the 80’s movies I liked, it got out of hand pretty quickly. And then , when I searched movies by release year, fuhgeddaboudit! I realized I’d have to majorly spread my movie picks out over this year, and it would still be too many films. So be forewarned: I love movies, this is my blog, and I’m gonna put as many picks and write as much as I like on these posts. Continue at your own risk.

To start, here’s a sampler of movies that made a lasting impression on me for one reason or another:

E.T. (82)
I’m 44 years old, and last week I cried my eyes out when E.T. died. Or didn’t really die. Doesn’t matter, I’m gonna cry every time, even though I know he’s coming back in the next scene. Then I cry at the end, too. You know, just for good measure. This movie never, ever, ever gets old. It just gets better every time I see it. Ahem, in its original, pre-“fixed” state, the way God intended E.T. to be watched. Here’s a super fun scene (though I’m not a fan of the CGI ET face), and one of my favorites:

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Terms of Endearment (83)
I haven’t watched this movie in years, but I always remember this particular scene. I especially love it when she starts to climb in. It resonated with me from the first moment I saw it, and it’s one of my favorite opening scenes of any movie ever.  Also, I’ve done this to my dog countless times, poor guy. Terms of Endearment is still alive as a pop culture reference today, but typically when this movie comes up, people quote the hospital scene. You know, the “give my daughter the shot!” scene. But this is the one I love:

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Eddie and the Cruisers (83)
I was captivated by this movie when I first saw it at about 15 or so, and I always remembered it. I watched it again about six months ago. It’s kind of dated, and I couldn’t stop focusing on how every  person in every  scene is smoking a cigarette. But it’s still good; I was still hooked on the hope and melancholy and regret and acceptance. And the music! Not so believable lip-syncing, but awesome music by John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band (as Eddie’s voice and band). I totally owned the hell out of that movie soundtrack on cassette tape, ya’ll. Here’s the trailer and a song:

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Red Dawn (84)
This one made a big impression on me when I was younger, but when I watched it last year, it upset me a lot.  A lot, a lot. I couldn’t get it off my mind for a long time. It was years between viewings (mine’s on VHS, if that tells you anything), and I had no idea it would hit me so hard. But the older I get, the more I understand about love and loss and the preciousness of life. Movies like this have a much greater impact on me than they did when I was 16 or 18 or 25.

I didn’t like the characterizations in the remake; they basically ripped the heart and soul right out of the film. I felt like, “that’s too bad,” when the first Wolverine got killed in the new movie, whereas I felt absolutely soul-gutted in the original. This scene from 1984 is not as vibrant as the remake, the color and sound, the special effects, but everything about it feels more real and more heartbreaking. In this clip, green and ill-prepared kids experience combat for the first time, against an enemy that looks and acts a lot like them:

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Night of the Comet (84)
I saw this in the theater when I was 14, and it’s the only time I’ve ever heard people cheer at the movies. The whole audience, not just one little group.  I just watched it again on YouTube, and I still got a kick out of it after all these years (shout out to the boombox, cordless phones with extendable antenna, and the awesomely 80’s shirt Reggie wears through most of the movie).

Hey – one guy gets eaten (off camera) by a zombie-like person in an alley, and another is chased through the house by a zombie-like kid. Those two scenes have popped into my head at random times over all these years. It never occurred to me until now that maybe this movie is how I got my zombie fear. Hm.

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Prince of Darkness (87)
I’ve only seen three scary movies in the theater, and two of those were in the 80’s. This one still haunts me as the scariest movie I’ve ever seen ever. Ever, ever. And that includes The Exorcist. And The Shining – oh my goodness, The Shining! This is worse than The Shining, you guys. I’m sure it’s small potatoes to all the horror fans out there, but I wouldn’t see this movie again if you paid me. Even this trailer freaks me out:

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Dirty Dancing (87)
I loved this movie, and it’s still one of my sentimental favorites. The oldest theater in town (which is now a shopping strip) had dollar movies on Wednesdays, and my friends and I saw Dirty Dancing three Wednesdays in a row. We were in love with Patrick Swayze (and who can blame us), with the dancing and the music, and with the adorable, awkward, awesome Jennifer Grey as “Baby”. We were tickled and delighted and left the theater on little happy clouds week after week. This clip has subtitles, but it’s the only one I could find of the entire scene when Baby first meets Johnny. I’m still like Baby, gawking at the moves – lots of music and dancing and awkward in this one! Not to mention, she “carried a watermelon”.

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Heathers (88)
This is another movie I never forgot, but for being the complete opposite of fluffy fun. Heathers is delightfully odd and twisted and a cult classic. It’s a dark comedy about “teen angst bullshit”, and I can’t think of 80’s movies without this one rearing up its psychopathic head. It’s like the Mean Girls of the 80’s. But with a body count. The trailer pretty much tells it all:

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The Accidental Tourist (88)
Here is another film about odd people who you just can’t forget.  I’m not a great William Hurt fan, but there are roles for which his stiff style are the perfect match, and this was one of them. And Geena Davis, my gosh, so good in her role as Muriel. This is a film full of quirky characters who are so vulnerable and irritating and thoroughly likable. You can’t help but root for each one to find what it is they need to make their lives feel complete.

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Platoon (86) – My most memorable movie experience.
The movie started, and I was gone. When a snake slithered across the screen, a lady screamed and I was amazed to “wake up” in a full theater. I gave a nervous titter with the rest of the audience, and then disappeared again. I was that absorbed: I was inside the movie instead of watching it, I was a pair of eyes in a theater. I forgot about my body, the crowd and the uncomfortable seats. When it was over, there was silence. Just a mass of eerily silent people, sitting still in their seats or slowly shuffling out of the theater. I felt shell-shocked and numb and at a loss for words myself. When I got home, I stuck my key in the lock and suddenly burst out crying.

Unlike Red Dawn, Platoon impacted me less as I aged; the memory was more powerful than the film. What felt dramatic and real and emotional at 16 and 25, touched on self-importance, and even felt a bit contrived, as I watched in my mid-thirties. But I think that’s just because there’d been so much in between. Movies like Platoon are the point of a wedge, carving a path for others to follow. But in so doing, that sharp edge dulls a little in comparison to what comes after. Even so, for me this is still one of the most memorable and impressive films of the 1980’s. Just seeing the trailer gave me chills and brought back memories of that first amazing viewing. I want to know what I think of it now, and I guess I need to keep up that ten year pattern.

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So that’s the first movie list, just a sampler of 80’s films that stick out in my mind.

What are the 80’s movies that made a lasting impression on you?

What are your movie stories?

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Nov 22

18 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving (or Thursday)

I was supposed to work my office job on Friday, and I was either going to hang out at my sister’s for a bit today or just take it easy at home.  But I woke up yesterday morning with a strong desire to get my work knocked out early and spend a couple of days at the river with my parents.  I wanted the water, and I wanted to spend a little time with my mom and dad.  So here I am – good decision making on my part, I think!

Sometimes you just need to be with your people.  Sometimes you just need to stuff your face with massive amounts of food.  And sometimes you just need to sleep it all off.  I love a holiday that gives me permission to do all three at the same time!

I want to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends and a happy regular Thursday to everyone else.  No matter where you are or how you’re spending the day, I hope it’s been a good one!

And I want you to know how thankful I am for you all!

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Some pictures from my morning:

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