Thursday, October 30, 2008
80's Slang
PREPPY/PREPPIE.
A collegiate type, someone who wore Polo or Izod shirts, deck shoes and a cloth belt. Preppies usually grew up to be yuppies.
A collegiate type, someone who wore Polo or Izod shirts, deck shoes and a cloth belt. Preppies usually grew up to be yuppies.
1988: May
May 4 - PEPCON disaster in Henderson, Nevada: A major explosion at an industrial solid-fuel rocket plant causes damage extending up to 10 miles away, including Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport.
May 14 - Bus collision near Carrollton, Kentucky: A drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71, hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group from Radcliff, Kentucky. The resulting fire kills 27, making it tied for 1st in the U.S. for most fatalities involving 2 vehicles to the present day. Coincidentally, the other 2-vehicle accident involving a bus that also killed 27 occurred in Prestonsburg, KY 30 years prior.
May 14 - Wimbledon wins the English FA Cup after beating Liverpool 1–0 at Wembley. The southwest Londoners had pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of English football, as they had been top division members for just 2 years and had joined the Football League only 11 years earlier. Liverpool, meanwhile, had won a total of 30 major trophies including 17 league titles.
May 15 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Red Army begins withdrawing from Afghanistan.
May 16 - A report by U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
May 16 - California v. Greenwood: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that police officers do not need a search warrant to search through discarded garbage.
May 24 - Section 28 (outlawing promotion of homosexuality in schools) is passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom.
May 31 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses 600 Moscow State University students, during his visit to the Soviet Union.
May 14 - Bus collision near Carrollton, Kentucky: A drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71, hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group from Radcliff, Kentucky. The resulting fire kills 27, making it tied for 1st in the U.S. for most fatalities involving 2 vehicles to the present day. Coincidentally, the other 2-vehicle accident involving a bus that also killed 27 occurred in Prestonsburg, KY 30 years prior.
May 14 - Wimbledon wins the English FA Cup after beating Liverpool 1–0 at Wembley. The southwest Londoners had pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of English football, as they had been top division members for just 2 years and had joined the Football League only 11 years earlier. Liverpool, meanwhile, had won a total of 30 major trophies including 17 league titles.
May 15 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Red Army begins withdrawing from Afghanistan.
May 16 - A report by U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
May 16 - California v. Greenwood: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that police officers do not need a search warrant to search through discarded garbage.
May 24 - Section 28 (outlawing promotion of homosexuality in schools) is passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom.
May 31 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses 600 Moscow State University students, during his visit to the Soviet Union.
Sayings of Brown
I’m sick and tired of coming in here every stinking day and listening to this. This is not a stinking zoo!
If you get a little foggy, just use your fingers.
Let me clarify one thing…
No extracurricular conversation should be going on.
I’m tired of your silly sense of humor, and if you think every little mannerism that goes on in this class is so funny, then we’ll find a way to bust it out of you.
If you get a little foggy, just use your fingers.
Let me clarify one thing…
No extracurricular conversation should be going on.
I’m tired of your silly sense of humor, and if you think every little mannerism that goes on in this class is so funny, then we’ll find a way to bust it out of you.
1988: April
April 4 - Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
April 5 - Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis wins the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary.
April 10 - The Ojhri Camp Disaster occurs in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
April 10 - The Great Seto Bridge opens to traffic in Japan.
April 11 - The Last Emperor (directed by Bernardo Bertolucci) wins nine Oscars.
April 12 - Former pop singer Sonny Bono is elected mayor of Palm Springs, California.
April 14 - In the Geneva Accords, the Soviet Union commits itself to withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.
The USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) strikes a naval mine in the Persian Gulf, while deployed on Operation Earnest Will during the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War.
April 16 - Israeli commandos kill the PLO's Abu Jihad in Tunisia.
April 16 - In Forlì, Italy, the brigate rosse kill Senator Roberto Ruffilli, an advisor of Prime Minister Ciriaco de Mita.
April 18 - United States Navy retaliates for the Roberts mining with Operation Praying Mantis, in a day of strikes against Iranian oil platforms and naval vessels.
April 25 - In Israel, Ivan Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II. He was accused by survivors of being the notorious guard at the Treblinka extermination camp known as "Ivan the Terrible". The conviction is later overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court.
April 28 - Aloha Flight 243 loses several yards of its upper fuselage while in flight, killing one.
April 30 - World Expo '88 opens in Brisbane Queensland, Australia.
1988: March
March 6 - Students at Gallaudet University go on strike for the selection of a non-deaf university president.
March 7 - Operation Flavius: The Special Air Service fatally shoot three unarmed Irish Republican Army members in Gibraltar.
March 8 - Two U.S. Army helicopters collide in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing 17 servicemen.
March 8 - U.S. presidential candidate George Herbert Walker Bush defeats Robert Dole in numerous Republican primaries and caucuses on "Super Tuesday". The bipartisan primary/caucus calendar, designed by Democrats to help solidify their own nominee early, backfires when none of the 6 competing candidates are able to break out of the pack in the day's Democratic contests. Jesse Jackson, however, wins several Southern state primaries.
March 16 - The Halabja poison gas attack is carried out by Iraqi government forces.
March 16 - Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
March 17 - A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into the side of the mountains near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
March 17 - Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
March 19 - British Army Corporals Woods and Howes are killed by the IRA in the so-called "Corporals killings".
March 20 - Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the EPLF enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
March 24 - An Israeli court sentences Mordechai Vanunu to 18 years in prison for disclosing Israel's nuclear program to The Sunday Times.
March 25 - The Candle Demonstration in Bratislava, Slovakia is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
March 26 - U.S. presidential candidate Jesse Jackson defeats Michael Dukakis in the Michigan Democratic caucuses, becoming the temporary front-runner for the party's nomination. Richard Gephardt withdraws his candidacy after his campaign speeches against imported automobiles fail to earn him much support in Detroit.
March 29 - African National Congress representative Dulcie September is assassinated in Paris.
March 7 - Operation Flavius: The Special Air Service fatally shoot three unarmed Irish Republican Army members in Gibraltar.
March 8 - Two U.S. Army helicopters collide in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing 17 servicemen.
March 8 - U.S. presidential candidate George Herbert Walker Bush defeats Robert Dole in numerous Republican primaries and caucuses on "Super Tuesday". The bipartisan primary/caucus calendar, designed by Democrats to help solidify their own nominee early, backfires when none of the 6 competing candidates are able to break out of the pack in the day's Democratic contests. Jesse Jackson, however, wins several Southern state primaries.
March 16 - The Halabja poison gas attack is carried out by Iraqi government forces.
March 16 - Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
March 17 - A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into the side of the mountains near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
March 17 - Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
March 19 - British Army Corporals Woods and Howes are killed by the IRA in the so-called "Corporals killings".
March 20 - Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the EPLF enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
March 24 - An Israeli court sentences Mordechai Vanunu to 18 years in prison for disclosing Israel's nuclear program to The Sunday Times.
March 25 - The Candle Demonstration in Bratislava, Slovakia is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
March 26 - U.S. presidential candidate Jesse Jackson defeats Michael Dukakis in the Michigan Democratic caucuses, becoming the temporary front-runner for the party's nomination. Richard Gephardt withdraws his candidacy after his campaign speeches against imported automobiles fail to earn him much support in Detroit.
March 29 - African National Congress representative Dulcie September is assassinated in Paris.
1988: February
February 3 - The Democratic-controlled United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to support the Nicaraguan Contras.
February 12 - Anthony M. Kennedy is appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
February 13–28 - The 1988 Winter Olympics are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
February 17 - A bomb explodes outside of the First National Bank in Oshakati, Namibia, killing 27 and injuring 70 others.
February 17 - U.S. Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins, serving with a United Nations group monitoring a truce in southern Lebanon, is kidnapped (he is later killed by his captors).
February 24 - Hustler Magazine v. Falwell: The Supreme Court of the United States sides with Hustler magazine by overturning a lower court decision to award Jerry Falwell $200,000 for defamation.
February 29 - A Nazi document implicates Kurt Waldheim in WWII deportations.
February 12 - Anthony M. Kennedy is appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
February 13–28 - The 1988 Winter Olympics are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
February 17 - A bomb explodes outside of the First National Bank in Oshakati, Namibia, killing 27 and injuring 70 others.
February 17 - U.S. Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins, serving with a United Nations group monitoring a truce in southern Lebanon, is kidnapped (he is later killed by his captors).
February 24 - Hustler Magazine v. Falwell: The Supreme Court of the United States sides with Hustler magazine by overturning a lower court decision to award Jerry Falwell $200,000 for defamation.
February 29 - A Nazi document implicates Kurt Waldheim in WWII deportations.
1988: January
January 1 - The Soviet Union begins its program of economic restructuring (perestroika) with legislation initiated by Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (though Gorbachev had begun minor restructuring in 1985).
January 1 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
January 8 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 140.58 points, or 6.85%, to close at 1,911.31 in a mini-crash.
January 13 - Taiwan President Chiang Ching-kuo dies in Taipei; Vice-President Lee Teng-hui becomes president.
January 15 - In Jerusalem, Israeli police and Palestinian protestors clash at the Dome of the Rock; several police and at least 70 Palestinians are injured.
January 25 - U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush and CBS News anchor Dan Rather clash over Bush's role in the Iran-Contra scandal, during a contentious television interview.
January 29 - The Midwest Classic Conference, a U.S. college athletic conference, is formed.
January 1 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
January 8 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 140.58 points, or 6.85%, to close at 1,911.31 in a mini-crash.
January 13 - Taiwan President Chiang Ching-kuo dies in Taipei; Vice-President Lee Teng-hui becomes president.
January 15 - In Jerusalem, Israeli police and Palestinian protestors clash at the Dome of the Rock; several police and at least 70 Palestinians are injured.
January 25 - U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush and CBS News anchor Dan Rather clash over Bush's role in the Iran-Contra scandal, during a contentious television interview.
January 29 - The Midwest Classic Conference, a U.S. college athletic conference, is formed.
1987: December
December 1 - NASA announces the names of 4 companies who were awarded contracts to help build Space Station Freedom: Boeing Aerospace, General Electric's Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas, and the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell.
December 1 - Construction of the Channel Tunnel is initiated.
December 1 - Queensland: Following a week of turmoil from his National Party of Australia colleagues, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigns as Premier of Queensland. He is replaced by Mike Ahern, the only premier never to contest an election as premier.
December 2 - Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
December 7 - PSA Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-supervisor on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
December 8 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
December 8 - Queen Street Massacre in Melbourne, Australia: 22-year-old Frank Vitkovic kills 8 and injures another 5 in an Australia Post office building in Queen Street, before committing suicide by jumping from the 11th floor.
December 8 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
December 8 - Alianza Lima air disaster: A Peruvian Navy Fokker F27 crashes near Ventanilla, Peru, killing 43.
December 9 - General Rahimuddin Khan retires from the Pakistan Army, as well as the cabinet of the country's military dictatorship.
December 17 - Czechoslovakian leader Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party.
December 18 - Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
December 18 - The Perl programming language was created by Larry Wall.
December 21 - The ferry Doña Paz collides with the oil tanker Vector I - 1,500 confirmed deaths (reportedly closer to 4,000 due to unregistered passengers).
December 29 - Prozac makes its debut in the United States.
December 30 - Pope John Paul II issues encyclical on Social Concern.
December 1 - Construction of the Channel Tunnel is initiated.
December 1 - Queensland: Following a week of turmoil from his National Party of Australia colleagues, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigns as Premier of Queensland. He is replaced by Mike Ahern, the only premier never to contest an election as premier.
December 2 - Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
December 7 - PSA Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-supervisor on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
December 8 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
December 8 - Queen Street Massacre in Melbourne, Australia: 22-year-old Frank Vitkovic kills 8 and injures another 5 in an Australia Post office building in Queen Street, before committing suicide by jumping from the 11th floor.
December 8 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
December 8 - Alianza Lima air disaster: A Peruvian Navy Fokker F27 crashes near Ventanilla, Peru, killing 43.
December 9 - General Rahimuddin Khan retires from the Pakistan Army, as well as the cabinet of the country's military dictatorship.
December 17 - Czechoslovakian leader Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party.
December 18 - Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
December 18 - The Perl programming language was created by Larry Wall.
December 21 - The ferry Doña Paz collides with the oil tanker Vector I - 1,500 confirmed deaths (reportedly closer to 4,000 due to unregistered passengers).
December 29 - Prozac makes its debut in the United States.
December 30 - Pope John Paul II issues encyclical on Social Concern.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The 1980's: Europe
The Solidarity movement begins in Poland in 1980, involving workers demanding political liberalization and democracy in Poland. Attempts by the communist regime to crush the Solidarity movement fail and negotiations between the movement and the government take place. Solidarity would be instrumental in encouraging people in other communist states to demand political reform.
In 1981 there was a assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square.
In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated.
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, and intiates major reforms to the Soviet Union's government through increasing the rights of expressing political dissent, allowing some democratic elections (though maintaining Communist dominance). Gorbachev pursues negotiation with the United States to decrease tensions and eventually end the Cold War.
The Rome and Vienna airport attacks take place on December 27, 1985 against people going on the Israeli El Al airline. The attack was done by militants loyal to Abu Nidal, backed by the government of Libya.
The European Community's, enlargement continued with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986.
Significant political reforms occurred in a number of communist countries in eastern Europe as the populations of these countries grew increasingly hostile and politically active in opposing the authoritarian communist regimes. These reforms included increasing individual liberties, market liberalization, and promises of democratic renewal. One exception was Romania where the communist regime violently fought against protestors until the regime was overthrown. By 1989, a number of former Warsaw Pact countries had abandoned communism and adopted multi-party democracies.
In Yugoslavia, following the death of communist dictator Joseph Broz Tito, the trend of political reform of the communist system occurred along with a trend towards ethnic nationalism and inter-ethnic hostility, especially in Serbia, beginning with the 1986 Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts followed by the agenda of Serbian communist leader Slobodan Milošević who aggressively pushed for increased political influence of Serbs in the late 1980s, condemning non-Serb Yugoslav politicians who challenged his agenda as being enemies of Serbs.
At the end of the decade, the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 would be followed in 1990 by the German reunification.
80's Slang
CHEESY.
Adj. 1. In poor taste; lame, corny. The gift I received was really cheesy. 2. Overly sentimental or insincere.
Adj. 1. In poor taste; lame, corny. The gift I received was really cheesy. 2. Overly sentimental or insincere.
Television During the 1980s
The 1980s was an important decade in the television industry. Not only were great strides made in the way of “pushing the envelope” with shows like Married…With Children, but other programs displayed a stark contrast with family-friendly issues and themes. The Cosby Show began in the mid-1980s and it enjoyed several years as the #1 television program because it was a witty and realistic rendering of family life during the era. It also destroyed the stereotype of poor African-American families that shows in the past only helped to reinforce. Heathcliff Huxtable – the father on The Cosby Show – was an obstetrician while his wife – Claire – was a successful lawyer.
The 1980s also saw the creation of a number of cable networks that viewers still enjoy today. The Weather Channel – based in Atlanta, GA – premiered in 1982 as a cable network that covered the weather 24 hours a day. The Cable News Network, better known as CNN, was also created as television’s first 24-hour news network. It created a trend and today you have the option of several 24-hour cable news networks to choose from. Rupert Murdoch also created the Fox Network in the 1980s as a challenge to the only three major networks at the time – NBC, CBS, and ABC. Even though many people scoffed at the idea of Fox being a major competitor, it has since created several popular and award-winning shows in its more than 20 year existence. Music Television (MTV) was also a major breakthrough network in the 1980s and today viewers can choose from a large number of music-based television channels.
Other shows that began in the 1980s that are still memorable and popular today include Cheers, The Golden Girls, Miami Vice, and Family Ties. Along with The Simpsons, many of these programs are available as DVD box sets for those who lived through the era and want to experience a feeling of nostalgia by experiencing these shows again.
The 1980s also saw the creation of a number of cable networks that viewers still enjoy today. The Weather Channel – based in Atlanta, GA – premiered in 1982 as a cable network that covered the weather 24 hours a day. The Cable News Network, better known as CNN, was also created as television’s first 24-hour news network. It created a trend and today you have the option of several 24-hour cable news networks to choose from. Rupert Murdoch also created the Fox Network in the 1980s as a challenge to the only three major networks at the time – NBC, CBS, and ABC. Even though many people scoffed at the idea of Fox being a major competitor, it has since created several popular and award-winning shows in its more than 20 year existence. Music Television (MTV) was also a major breakthrough network in the 1980s and today viewers can choose from a large number of music-based television channels.
Other shows that began in the 1980s that are still memorable and popular today include Cheers, The Golden Girls, Miami Vice, and Family Ties. Along with The Simpsons, many of these programs are available as DVD box sets for those who lived through the era and want to experience a feeling of nostalgia by experiencing these shows again.
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