Malcom X- No one expressed the anger that many black Americans felt during the 1950s a nd 1960s more vividly than this man did. In 1963, after being a leading spokesman for the Nation of Islam for a number of years, he left and formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He also looked a lot like Denzel Washington. Wait. That was the movie. My bad.

British Politician Sex- Hehe. It seems that the British have skeletons in their closets after all. This refers to the Profumo scandal of 1963. It was tough to dig up info (the Brits are good at keeping things secret) on this one. Apparently, it led to suicide, betrayal, exile, social ostracism, and political disgrace. Sounds like a scandal to me.

J.F.K. Blown Away- One of the worst tragedies of the latter twentieth century. On November 22, while in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, he was shot three times. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and Lyndon Johnson succeeded him as President. Though Lee Harvey Oswald was first believed to be the assassin, it was later concluded that a conspiracy was likely, though there is still debate on the matter today. I personally believe it was the same aliens that later kidnapped Elvis and impregnated the Loch Ness monster.

Ho Chi Minh- Vietnamese nationalist leader and president of North Vietnam. He led Vietnam in its victory in the French Indochina War in 1954. In his last years, he led the North's struggle to de feat the U.S.-supported government of South Vietnam. He died in 1969. In his free time, he enjoyed reading Aristophanes and Marcus Aurelius, and collecting baseball cards.

Richard Nixon Back Again- The Man With the Nose returned in 1969 when he defeated Hubert Humphrey in the Presidential race. As President, Nixon achieved a cease-fire in the Vietnam War, but only after he had ordered invasions of Cambodia and Laos and the saturation bombing of North Vietnam. In 1972, he visited the People's Republic of China, thus opening up diplomatic relations between that nation and the U.S. What a guy.

 

Moonshot- One of Kennedy's dreams was to get Americans to the moon before the Soviets in the Space Race. The Apollo program was highlighted by the first manned flight to the moon on December 21 of 1968 (Apollo 8), the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969 (Apollo 12), and the motorized lunar rover excursions in 1971 and 1972 (Apollos 15 & 17). On a side note, when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he stated the line we all know pretty well: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." When his co-pilot Buzz Aldrin stepped down, he was said to have yelled, "Nyah, nyah! We were here first!"

Woodstock- A town in southeast New York, it gave its name to the most famous of the music festivals of the 1960s and 70s, held in August of 1969 near Bethel, N.Y. Some of the artists to perform were The Who, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Greatful Dead. In August of 1994, a 25^th-anniversary Woodstock concert was held in Saugerties, N.Y., drawing both a new generation of rock-cultured youths and a pack of hippies in a chartreuse microbus from Vermont.

Watergate- The presidential scandal by which all other scandals since have been judged. In July of 1972, agents of Nixon's reelection committee were arrested in Democratic party headquarters, in the Watergate apartment building in Washington, D.C. after attempting to tap the telephones there (apparently the report was phoned in by some guy named Gump). The subsequent hearings revealed that Nixon had taped conversations in the Oval Office. When special prosecutor Archibald Cox requested the tapes, he was fired. To make a very long story short, in July of 1974, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment against Nixon, the first for obstruction of justice. On August 9, 197 4, Nixon became the first president to resign from office. A month later, his successor, Gerald Ford pardoned him. And I thought Nixon was cool…

Punkrock- English influence returned in the late 1970s with punk rock. This music expressed the discontent of working-class youth, particularly through large pink mohawks and nose rings. Punk's stripped-down form and aggressiveness were echoed in the less political and more art-conscious American new wave.

Begin-Menachem Begin was born the son of a Jewish timber merchant. He is best known for his leading the first Jewish-nationalist revolution in 2,000 years and signing the first peace treaty in Israeli history. In 1983, he stepped down from the position of Israeli Prime Minister, a postition he held since 1969. He died in 1993. Sounded like a cool guy. The Middle-East could use a few more of those.

Reagan- The fortieth President of the United States, he was a popular actor in his prime (I guess that made him a good politician). He won the presidential race of 1980 over Jimmy Carter (the "defending champion"). In March of 1981, he was shot by a would-be assassin (John Hinckley, Jr.) trying to win Jodie Foster's love (true story this time). What a fruitcake. Reagan made important steps in U.S./Soviet nuclear disarmament negotiations, signing the INF treaty with the USSR. His tax and spending policies, however, led to enormous peacetime budget deficits, greatly increasing the national debt. Thanks, Ronnie. In 1994, he disclosed that he had Alzheimer's disease in hopes of increasing public awareness of the illness.

Palestine- Known best as the Holy Land. Earliest known settlements in Palestine may date c.8000 BC (quirky fact totally irrelevant to what I am detailing). During the latter half of the twentieth century, this area became a hotbed of tension and violence between the Jews and Arabs. The British turned the situation over to the United Nations in 1947. The UN supported the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), led by Yassir Arafat. In 1982, the Israeli siege of Beirut, Lebanon weakened the PLO, but in '88, it returned and responded to the Palestinian uprising by proclaiming the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Terror On The Airline- This is a reference to the increase in airline terrorism that took place in the eighties (duh), particularly by Lybian rebels. In 1986, the U.S. retaliated by bombing Muammar-al Qaddafi's residence and other Lybian sites. We're slow to anger, but when it happens…

Ayatollah's In Iran- Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian religious leader, was a Shiite Muslim. He was exiled from Iran in 1963, but returned in a revolution and declared and Islamic republic. His rule is was marked by the holding of U.S. hostages from 1979-1981 and by war with Iraq from 1980-1988. Busy guy.

Russian's In Afghanistan- In 1979, a coup supported by Soviet troops, installed Barbak Karmal as president. In 1989, the emigration of over five million Afghans (not the blankets, stupid) and harassment by U.S.-supported rebels caused the Russians to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.

Wheel of Fortune- The popular game show involving guessing letters and then solving word puzzles. It aired sometime in the seventies with hosts Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. In 1981 Pat Sajak and Vanna White took over the show after Woolery quit. Now, they are doing a spinoff of the show called Wheel 2000. Sounds lame. For your information, the first picture is of Chuck and Susan, the second is of Pat and Susan.

Sally Ride- American astrophysicist and astronaut. In 1983 she became the first American woman in space. She also served (1986) on the Presidential commission investigating the Challenger disaster. In 1989 she became professor of physics and director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego. Atta girl.

Heavy Metal- Another offshoot of rock music, heavy metal is most often characterized by loud guitar riffs and incoherent drum sequences. Bands carrying this description include Metallica, MegaDeath, and Iron Maiden. Though originally starting in the late seventies, heavy metal gained prominence before 1985. Rock on, man.

Suicide- If you don't know what suicide is, ask Dr. Kevorkian. In 1989, there were over 30,000 successful suicide attempts, 24,000 of them by men. Obviously, this was becoming quite a source of attention, and still is today.

Foreign Debts- The foreign debts of the U.S. reached an unprecedented amount in the late eighties, totaling over one trillion dollars. That's what Trickle-Down economics does for ya. Thanks again, Ronnie. Hehe.

Homeless Vets- By 1989, the population of homeless people had risen to alarming numbers. More startling were the numbers of war veterans among their ranks. In this year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was established to help aid both homeless veterans and those with homes.

AIDS- The now-infamous viral epidemic that became nationally recognized in the early eighties. This disease is still incurable. Though first believed to only affect homosexuals, drug abusers, prostitutes, and hemophiliacs, it is now recognized to be transmitted just as easily in heterosexuals. Some famous AIDS-afflicted people include, Ryan White, basketball star Magic Johnson, the rapper Easy-E, the star of MTV's the Real World, Pedro Zamora, and the lead singer for Queen, Freddy Mercury. Queen rocks. Below is a picture of Freddy Mercury.

Crack- The problem of baggy pants on plumbers reached an enormous- just kidding. Hehe. Crack is a form of cocaine. It is less expensive and more potent. The drug's availability in the eighties g reatly increased the number of addicts, resulting in major law enforcement problems in Western countries.

Bernie Goetz- A real crankcase, let me tell you. On December 22, 1984, four teenagers approached Bernard Goetz on the subway. The leader said, "Give me five dollars." Goetz proceeded to pull out a .38 caliber pistol and begin firing on the teenagers, injuring all four. During the subsequent trials, Goetz was never convicted for attempted murder, even though he testified that he would have killed them had he been able. He was convicted on a count of illegal possession of a firearm. All that for five dollars. Jeez…

Hypodermics On The Shore- The journalists ate this one up. During the late eighties, numerous public beaches became unintentional repositories for medical waste from the nearby hospitals. This allowed for the transfusion of many forms of bacteria and disease. Since the "littering" was accidental, no hospitals were tried, but many-a fun day at the beach were ruined. Major bummer, dude.

China's Under Martial Law- This is best exemplified by the June, 1989 massacre of over 1,000 demonstrators in Beijing by the Chinese army. Later, many of the reforms such protestors worked for were implemented. Fat lot of good it does them now, but hey.

Rock And Roller Cola Wars- This was a tough one for me (Mr. Joel had a tendency for vagueness). In fact, I have absolutely no clue what this really means, but I will try to pull something out of my sleeve. He is probably referring to the increased hostility between many rock bands in the late eighties and the increased competition between cola companies.

I Can't Take It Anymore- Self explanatory, I think.

Justin Blais

Diann Terpstra

Nicol Schickedanz

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