Four years before America’s bicentennial: A look back at 1972

In 1972, Kurt Waldheim became Secretary General of the United Nations; President Nixon visited China and met with Mao Zedong; Pioneer 10 became the first man-made spacecraft to leave the solar system; Five White House operatives were arrested for breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee; On Bloody Friday, twenty-two bombs planted by… Continue reading Four years before America’s bicentennial: A look back at 1972

Learn to live with the unimaginable: A look back at 2021

In 2021, Supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol to delay the certification of Joe Biden as President; The COVID 19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc; Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters Tournament, becoming the first Japanese player to win a major golf championship; Space X and Blue Origin launched space tourism flights;… Continue reading Learn to live with the unimaginable: A look back at 2021

I was told there’d be flying cars: A look back at 2010

In 2010, Conan O’Brien was fired as host of The Tonight Show; The Burj Khalifa became the tallest man-made structure in the world; The XXI Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver; The eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajökull disrupted air traffic throughout Europe; The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform exploded; The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis… Continue reading I was told there’d be flying cars: A look back at 2010

The year before the world turned upside down: A look back at 2019

In 2019: Pope Francis became the first pontiff to visit the Arabian peninsula; The Republic of Macedonia renamed itself the Republic of Northern Macedonia; Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met for the second time in Hanoi, Vietnam; Disney bought 21st Century Fox; Robert Mueller concluded his report into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and… Continue reading The year before the world turned upside down: A look back at 2019

The year of the great video game crash: A look back 1983

The Disney Channel began broadcasting; Sally Ride became the first American woman in space; Dragon’s Lair was released in arcades; The Famicom (known in the United States as the Nintendo Entertainment System) was released; Vanessa Williams became the first African-American Miss America; Brunei and Saint Kitts and Nevis became independent states; Microsoft Word was released;… Continue reading The year of the great video game crash: A look back 1983

The year Trump entered the world: A look back at 1946

In 1946, The United Nations held its first meeting; Juan Perón was elected president of Argentina; Trygve Lie became the first Secretary-General of the United Nations; Syria and the Philippines became independent nations; Sony was founded (as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering); The first bikini was modeled in Paris; Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis debuted their comedy partnership; Mensa was founded;… Continue reading The year Trump entered the world: A look back at 1946

Men are pigs: A look back at 2017

In 2017, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States; The Nintendo Switch was released; Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria struck the US; Stephen Paddock killed 58 people at a Las Vegas music festival; The Walt Disney Company announced plans to purchase 21st Century Fox; The exposure of Harvey Weinstein as… Continue reading Men are pigs: A look back at 2017

America entered its twenty second decade: A look back at 1986

In 1986, Pixar Animation Studios opened; Halley’s Comet made its second visit to our solar system in the twentieth century; The The Legend of Zelda was released; A mishandled safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant killed over 4000 people; The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch; Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose 48 hours after being… Continue reading America entered its twenty second decade: A look back at 1986

Everything that follows is older than Hit Girl: A look back at 1996

In 1996, The murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman inspired the creation of the AMBER Alert system; Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov; Major League Soccer began its inaugural season; The Unabomber was arrested; The Nintendo 64 was released in Japan and the United States; Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill won the Grammy for Album of the Year; Dolly the sheep, the first cloned… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Hit Girl: A look back at 1996

Reflections on 3172, Year of Our Lady of Discord: A look back at 2006

In 2006, The Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Italy; Twitter launched; The Human Genome Project published the last chromosome sequence; Montenegro became an independent nation; Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet; The United States population passed 300 million people; No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock was sold for $140 million, becoming the most expensive painting at the time; Saddam… Continue reading Reflections on 3172, Year of Our Lady of Discord: A look back at 2006