1960s
TOUGH AND COMPETENT: AN AMERICAN LEGACY
TweetShareShareToday we celebrate the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969. It was a momentous and heroic feat, a testament to American strength, ingenuity and persistence. Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins are historic names and this moment an “American moment.” But we should never forget Apollo 1. Just two years…
Read MoreAmerican Shame? NOT GUILTY.
TweetShareShareIn our current highly-charged, divisive culture, far too many Americans live with a guilt complex. There is an element of our society that has led us to believe we’re SHAMEFUL and GUILTY…that America is wired by oppression, theft, greed and arrogance. They charge us with crimes against humanity. America, we need to plead NOT GUILTY. Since…
Read MoreSchool Prayer Outlawed (June 26, 1963)
TweetShareShareToday is the anniversary of a ruling that was far more transformative to American culture than Roe v. Wade (1973). On this day, school prayer was ruled unconstitutional (a year later the same SCOTUS would opine that Bible readings were equally wrong). It’s the day religion (Christianity) was essentially segregated…and barred in the educational curriculum…
Read MoreThe Long Play (LP) Vinyl Arrives!
TweetShareShare Today is a big day in the “Vinyl is Final” world, as it’s the day that 33 1/3 rpm records debuted. This format allowed for longer recordings (around 30 minutes per side). The LP (long play) would be a significant technological innovation for the coming “rock ‘n roll” era that relied upon “singles”…
Read MoreThe Introduction of the VCR
TweetShareShareTelevision was (and is) a transformative technology. It transformed how we processed information and received entertainment. It transformed how we interacted with our world. It transformed education, religion and government. And it introduced other transformative technologies, from the remote control to “smart” television. From rabbit ears to cable to satellite to streaming, television has reimagined…
Read MoreThe Real Thing: Coke Advertising
TweetShareShareI’ll confess. I’m deeply biased when it comes to my favorite carbonated beverage. If it’s not a Coca-Cola, it’s not a cola. I don’t know if I was born with this affection (some might call it an affliction), but here I am 58 years later still sipping Coke…albeit in more sugar-free varieties. My favorite is…
Read MoreHeeeeeere’s The End, Johnny!
TweetShareShareThe Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was the drug of choice for late night insomniacs for three decades.The program was ranked #12 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. The undisputed King of Late Night talk show hosts, Johnny Carson (1925-2009) made his debut on October 1, 1962 at the NBC studio…
Read MoreNetwork News is Born!
TweetShareShareIf your over 40, you remember a day when the three big networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) dominated the television news landscape. Indeed, the 1960s and 1970s were the “golden age” of network news, featuring personalities like Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley and Howard K. Smith. There were also new emerging (and future) stars like Dan Rather…
Read MoreBoomers The First To Get the Point on Polio!
TweetShareShare Polio was a feared disease in the early and mid-1900s. The crippling disease had disabled Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. But, even more so, polio was epidemic among children (who saw the lion share of the cases). In 1952 there were 58,000 new cases of poliomyelitis (with 3000 deaths). The worst part was…
Read MoreWalter Cronkite Debuts!
TweetShareShare If you grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, television anchor news was summed up in a few names…Brinkley, Smith, Rather, Reasoner…and “Uncle Walter” Cronkite. Cronkite proved the most trusted and durable. He was there for Kennedy’s assassination and man’s moon walk. He was there for the civil rights and women’s rights movement. He…
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