Five years before America’s bicentennial: A look back at 1971

In 1971, Charles Manson was found guilty of the Tate-LaBianca murders; Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in The Fight of the Century; The Ed Sullivan Show aired its final episode; Starbucks and FedEx were founded; The New York Times published The Pentagon Papers; Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs; Walt Disney World opened; The… Continue reading Five years before America’s bicentennial: A look back at 1971

Everything that follows is older than Cardi B: A look back at 1991

In 1991: Operation Desert Storm took place; The Dow Jones closed over 3000 for the first time; Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the US Congress; Thurgood Marshall retired from the US Supreme Court and Clarence Thomas replaced him; Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog; Mike Tyson was arrested and charged with… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Cardi B: A look back at 1991

Everything that follows is older than Carl Grimes: A look back at 1998

In 1998, The Drudge Report broke the story about Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky; The Unabomber pled guilty; The Winter Olympics took place in Nagano, Japan; Titanic became the first film to gross over a billion dollars; France won the World Cup; Google was founded; Iranian President Mohammad Khatami retracted the fatwa against Salman… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Carl Grimes: A look back at 1998

Byzanitum is a contender for the best place to slay badgers in the past

  The Past (2013) Iranian Ahmad travels to Paris to complete his divorce from Marie (Berenice Bejo) who’s already in a new relationship with the married Samir, whose wife is comatose after a failed suicide attempt. This is a melancholy film about the difficulties in multicultural relationships and the importance of honesty to the success of… Continue reading Byzanitum is a contender for the best place to slay badgers in the past

Senna was fearless

  Fearless (1993) Surviving a plane crash changes Max Klein (Jeff Bridges) emotionally and psychologically; he grows apart from his wife and son and closer to the other survivors. One of whom, Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez), develops feelings for Max while she struggles with the death of her son. The crash provides Max with a detached… Continue reading Senna was fearless

The fabulous pillow

  Pillow Talk (1959) Jan Morrow (Doris Day), a strong, independent women, lives next door to misogynistic Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) whose womanizing monopolizes the party line in their building, repulsing Morrow while charming her older housekeeper Alma (Thelma Ritter). Through a series of contrived circumstances, Allen and Morrow fall in love. Day and Ritter earned Oscar nominations,… Continue reading The fabulous pillow

Garrincha went on a fantastic voyage to the stars; it ended in a massacre

  Fantastic Voyage (1966) Working in the Soviet Union, scientist Jan Benes has discovered how to miniaturize items permanently. He escapes to the west to share this information, but an attempted assassination causes a blood clot in his brain and leaves him comatose. A submarine containing several scientists is shrunk to a micrometer and placed inside… Continue reading Garrincha went on a fantastic voyage to the stars; it ended in a massacre