Jan 2, 2020
Topics: 80's Tech, MC Hammer, Do The Right Thing, The Arsenio Hall Show (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)
1989 Notes
1. General Snapshots
2. George Bush Sr. President
3. Feb - Barbara Harris is the first woman (and first black woman)
consecrated as a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United
States of America.
4. Mar - Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound
the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of oil after
running aground.
5. Apr - Bill White becomes president of baseball's National
League, becoming the first African American to head a major sports
league.
6. Apr - Trisha Meili is attacked while jogging in New York City's
Central Park; as her identity remains secret for years, she becomes
known as the "Central Park Jogger."
7. May - President Bush vetoes a minimum-wage bill passed by
Congress on May 17 that would have increased the minimum wage to
$4.55 an hour.
8. Jun - In Texas v. Johnson, the United States Supreme Court ruled
that burning the Flag of the United States was protected speech
under the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
9. Jun - In Penry v. Lynaugh, the Supreme Court rules that states
can execute murderers as young as 16 or who are mentally
retarded.
10. Jul - In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the Supreme
Court gives the state’s new authority to restrict
abortions.
11. Aug - President Bush nominates United States Army Gen. Colin
Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the
first African American to hold that position.
12. Aug - Hughey P. Newton was murdered in Oakland, California by
Tyrone Robinson, a member of the Black Guerrilla Family.
13. Aug - Yusef Hawkins is shot in the Bensonhurst section of
Brooklyn, New York, sparking racial tensions between African
Americans and Italian Americans.
14. Nov - Douglas Wilder wins the Virginia governor's race,
becoming the first elected African American governor in the United
States.
15. Nov - David Dinkins becomes the first African American mayor of
New York City.
16. Nov - Congress passes legislation to raise the minimum wage
from $3.35 to $4.25 an hour by April 1991. Bush signs this bill on
November 17.
17. Nov - Clarence Page 1989 Pulitzer Prize for
Commentary
18. Nov - Denzel Washington: First African American actor to
receive two Best Supporting Actor nominations. Cry Freedom / Glory
(Won)
19. Misc.: Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National
Committee, becoming the first African American to lead a major
United States political party.
20. Misc.: The first of 24 Global Positioning System satellites is
placed into orbit.
21. Open Comments:
22. Top 3 Pop Songs
23. #1 "Look Away" Chicago
24. #2 "My Prerogative" Bobby Brown
25. #3 "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Poison
26. Record of the Year: Bette Midler for "Wind Beneath My
Wings"
27. Album of the Year: Bonnie Raitt for Nick of Time
28. Song of the Year: "Wind Beneath My Wings" performed by Bette
Midler
29. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Anita Baker for "Giving
You the Best That I Got"
30. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Bobby Brown for "Every
Little Step"
31. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Soul II
Soul & Caron Wheeler for "Back to Life"
32. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
performed by Simply Red
33. Best Rap Performance: Young MC for "Bust a Move"
34. Open Comments
35. Top Movies
36. #1 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
37. #2 Batman
38. #3 Back to the Future Part II
39. Other Notables: Look Who's Talking, Dead Poets Society, Lethal
Weapon 2, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Disney, Ghostbusters II, The
Little Mermaid Disney, Born on the Fourth of July, Bill & Ted's
Excellent Adventure, Lean on Me, Field of Dreams, Weekend at
Bernie's, When Harry Met Sally..., Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Harlem
Nights, The War of the Roses, Steel Magnolias, Glory, and Driving
Miss Daisy*.
40. Top 3 TV Shows
41. #1 - The Cosby Show
42. #2 - Roseanne
43. #3 - Cheers
44. Debuts: Saved by the Bell, American Gladiators, Doogie Howser,
M.D., Baywatch, America's Funniest Home Videos, COPS, Seinfeld, and
The Simpsons
45. Economic Snapshot:
46. New Home: 120K - previously 91,777
47. Avg Rent: 425 - p. 420
48. Avg. Income: 37K - p. 24k
49. New Car: 15K - p. 10,432
50. Harvard: 12,700 - p. 12,015
51. Movie Ticket: 3.50 - same
52. Gas: .97 - p. .91
53. Stamp: .25 - same
54. Social Scene: Top Tech of The 80’s
55. Mobile Tech
56. Sony Walkman: Before the iPod effectively killed off an entire
industry, the Sony Walkman was the original, must-have portable
cassette player. Unlike portable radio players, the Japan-made
Walkman allowed people to choose what to listen to via portable
headphones, and make playlists on tape, alongside FM and AM radio
frequencies. Like with Texas Instrument’s Speak and Spell, the
first model hit shelves in the late 1970s, but it rose to
prominence during the two decades that followed. So ubiquitous it
became that the word Walkman even entered the English dictionary in
1986. The model pictured is the WM-F77.
57. Nokia-Mobira Cityman 900: These days, the mobile phone is so
far advanced we barely even call it a mobile phone any more, but
back in the '80s the sheer thought of carrying a phone any further
than the length of a coiled plastic chord seemed fantasy at best.
Then along came a handful of firms, including a certain Finnish
outfit by the name of Nokia-Mobira and made portable phone calls an
actual reality. Looking back the sheer size of it is almost
laughable (18cm high and 760g in weight to be precise), but it was
practically lightweight compared to the colossal Talkman, which
weighed in at shocking 5.5kg! Still, it put Nokia on the map and
set the stage for the firm's dominance to come in the late '90 and
early '00s.
58. The Boombox: Much like the VHS player, the humble Boombox was
more of a collective movement than the work of one particular
model, but it still became one of the most iconic devices of the
late '80s. Again, to keep things on message with this feature, the
classic Boombox wasn't just a powerful all-in-one music player
(with AM/FM radio and multiple cassette decks) it was also a
portable music player (if you were willing to lug it around). While
its size and battery-powered portability eventually saw it go the
way of the dodo in and around the mid '90s, the 'ghetto blaster'
became intertwined with the rise of hip hop in the States and
secured itself a place in the annals of gadget lore.
59. Sharp pocket computer: The 1980s was the decade of the
microprocessor, led by the likes of Sharp and its range of pocket
computers. These gadgets resembled calculators but worked in a
similar way to how we use keyboards on modern-day PCs and laptops.
Below a 24-digit dot matrix LCD display sat a full QWERTY-style
keyboard you could use to program BASIC code. The computer’s
battery was said to last 200 hours and it even came with a
connector that let you attach a printer or tape drive.
60. Epson ET-10 Pocket TV: If you haven't already twigged, there's
a bit of a pattern forming with this feature - good ol'
portability. From music on the move to phone calls away from home,
handheld technology helped define the decade and every single one
that's followed. And so, it was the turn of the humble TV, already
shrinking as a regular set, to get the micro treatment. The ET-10
from Epson was one of the first, and the most popular, with its
two-inch liquid crystal display offering proper TV viewing while
out and about (and in a decent spot to catch the analogue signal).
With a five-hour battery, the ET-10 was a proper little dynamo and
foreshadowed the portable TV experience we take for granted now
with tablets and smartphones.
61. Casio Databank: It’s a testament to just how cool and iconic
the Casio Databank watches became - they’re still sold in various
models and designs today. One of the original models of this
calculator watch, the gold version of the DBC 610 (pictured), was
first released in 1985 and later re-released due to popular demand.
The designs of these modern versions have barely deviated from the
original and still feature a membrane keyboard, with Mode and
Adjust physical buttons on the side.
62. Gaming Tech
63. Nintendo Entertainment System: Another iconic Japanese import
of the 1980s was the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES. A
remodeled version of the company’s Family Computer, or Famicom, the
8-bit NES was originally designed to be a joint venture between
Nintendo and Atari until a dispute over licensing meant Nintendo
decided to go it alone. It helped lift the gaming industry out of
the slump of 1983 by offering easier-to-use controllers,
standardized graphics and a wider variety of game genres. It
brought hugely popular arcade games, including Donkey Kong, to home
TVs.
64. Nintendo Game Boy: Fresh off the success of its Nintendo
Entertainment System, the Japanese giant launched a handheld
version of is 8-bit console called the Nintendo Game Boy in 1989.
It effectively used the same A and B controls and D pad seen on the
NES, positioned below a 4.7cm x 4.3xm “pea soup” green LCD display.
Using ROM cartridges also similar in design to those used on the
NES, these games could be inserted and removed on the back of the
device. The Game Boy ran on four AA batteries and was an incredibly
robust console, making it a popular choice among kids. The Game Boy
and its successor the Game Boy Color have sold in excess of 118
million units and spawned several later models, namely the Game Boy
Lite and Game Boy Advance.
65. Simon: Another classic from the 1980s that is still sold today
is the Simon game. Named after the Simon Says game, the toy’s
premise is simple – the colored panels light up and you must repeat
the pattern and tones it creates. Yet despite this simple gameplay,
it was a great feat of engineering at the time of release in 1978
and became a pop culture icon during the 1980s.
66. Speak and Spell: One of the world’s first handheld PCs and
gaming consoles, the educational Speak and Spell from Texas
Instruments was unveiled during the 1978 Consumer Electronic Shows.
Its visual display was among the first of its kind and it used
interchangeable cartridges to let children play different games,
aimed at helping to improve their spelling and vocabulary. It
became one of the iconic toys of the 1980s until its final model
was released in 1992, and its use of the first single-chip
microcontroller and speech synthesizer paved the way for many of
the gadgets we use today.
67. Social Media Tech
68. Polaroid Sun AF 660: Polaroid cameras have seen a resurgence of
late, thanks in part to the release of a classic-looking digital
model called One Step Plus. Yet the original designs, such as the
Polaroid Autofocus Lightmixer 660 pictured, can still be found on
auction sites selling for decent sums. Part of the Polaroid 600
series, the Autofocus 660 (also known as the AF 660) had an 116mm
lens and was the first in the range to use Polaroid's patented
Sonar Autofocus technology. This system used sensors to establish
how far away a subject was, using sonar pulses, to achieve an
accurate autofocus shot.
69. Computing Tech
70. Apple Macintosh 128K: Long before Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone
on stage in Cupertino in 2007, his company specialized in personal
computers. The first of which was known as the Apple Macintosh. It
was later renamed the Macintosh 128K to differentiate it from its
successor, the Macintosh 512K. Released to great fanfare in 1984,
Alien director Ridley Scott created the now-infamous advert for the
computer, broadcast during that year’s Superbowl. The Macintosh
128K got its name by the fact it ran on 128K of RAM. It had a 9in
CRT monitor, single-sided floppy disk drive and featured a handle
on the top that meant it could be moved from place to
place.
71. Smart Home Tech
72. The Clapper: Sadly not every gadget that came out of the '80s
set the precedent for a bloodline of tech to come, but hey, there's
something pretty satisfying about clapping your hands (or whichever
body parts you preferred using) to turn off a lamp. Plugging into a
power socket in your wall, the Clapper was basically a sound
activated on/off switch that could link up to devices for hours of
clap-controlled hilarity. It didn't work that great and was prone
to being set off by anything from coughs to dog barks. Still, it
looked good in the movies, right?
73. VHS player/VCR recorder: Okay, with so many different players
that helped make VHS the preferred video format in the '80s (sorry
BetaMax), it's hard to nail down particular model that made all the
difference, but it just goes to prove how influential those chunky
video cassettes became in the '80s and '90s. From Panasonic to JVC,
all the big and aspiring electronics giants had their own player
and future fortunes were made as the home video entertainment
market boomed. Now you could buy films and watch them in the
comfort of your home own home. More importantly, you could
eventually record TV content as well. Grainy compilations of Red
Dwarf and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles? Yes please!
74. Only thing missing was the internet
75. Open Comments:
76. Music Scene:
77. Top Black songs from Billboard Top 40 Chart
78. #2 "My Prerogative" Bobby Brown
79. #4 "Straight Up" Paula Abdul
80. #5 "Miss You Much" Janet Jackson
81. #6 "Cold Hearted" Paula Abdul
82. #8 "Girl You Know It's True" Milli Vanilli
83. #10 "Giving You the Best That I Got" Anita Baker
84. #14 "Don't Wanna Lose You" Gloria Estefan
85. #16 "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" Milli Vanilli
86. #19 "On Our Own" Bobby Brown
87. #21 "Blame It on the Rain" Milli Vanilli
88. #25 "Like a Prayer" Madonna
89. #28 "Baby Don't Forget My Number" Milli Vanilli
90. #30 "Forever Your Girl" Paula Abdul
91. #33 "Wild Thing" Tone Lōc
92. #36 "Buffalo Stance" Neneh Cherry
93. #46 "Real Love" Jody Watley
94. Vote:
95. Top RnB Albums
96. Jan - Giving You the Best That I Got, Anita Baker
97. Jan - Karyn White, Karyn White
98. Mar - Don't Be Cruel, Bobby Brown
99. Apr - Let's Get It Started, MC Hammer
100. Apr – Guy, Guy
101. May - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Slick Rick
102. May - Feet High and Rising, De La Soul
103. Jul - Walking with a Panther, LL Cool J
104. Aug - Big Tyme, Heavy D and the Boyz
105. Sep - 2 Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul
106. Sep - Unfinished Business, EPMD
107. Sep - No One Can Do It Better, The D.O.C.
108. Oct - Tender Lover, Babyface
109. Nov - Silky Soul, Frankie Beverly and Maze
110. Nov - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet
Jackson
111. Dec - Stay with Me Regina Belle
112. Vote:
113. Featured Artist: MC Hammer, Stanley Kirk Burrell (@27 Yrs.
old)
114. Childhood & Early Life: Born and raised in Oakland,
California. He was the youngest of his 6 siblings and lived in a
government housing project apartment in East Oakland. His father,
Lewis Burrell, worked as warehouse supervisor while his mother was
a secretary. Interested in baseball from his early boyhood, he
spent time around the ‘Oakland Coliseum’ and entertained by dancing
during the breaks. ‘Oakland Athletics’ owner, Charles Finley,
watched him perform in the Coliseum’s parking lot and hired the
11-year Burrell as ‘batboy.’ Burrell’s resemblance to the baseball
player ‘Hammerin’ Hank Aaron earned him the nick-name ‘Hammer.’ The
‘MC’ part came from ‘Master of Ceremonies’ as he performed at
various clubs while on the road with A’s. He played baseball
(second base) during high school years and wished to be a
professional player but was not selected. After high school, he
enlisted for US Navy and served as aviation storekeeper for 3
years.
115. Career: After being honorably discharged from the US Navy,
Hammer began playing in clubs and formed ‘Holy Ghost Boys,’ a
Christian rap music group with Jon Gibson. One of their songs, ‘The
Wall,’ became a hit. Two former A’s player, Mike Davis and Dwayne
Murphy, helped him financially to start his own record label, ‘Bust
It Records.’ Hammer released his debut album, ‘Feel My Power,’
through his own label, ‘Oakland Records,’ in 1987, and the album
sold over 60,000 copies. He released a single, ‘Ring ‘Em,’ and
marketed it on his own. Hammer formed a troupe with dancers,
musicians and vocalist, and presented stage shows and live shows at
clubs. Through his album and one of his live acts, he earned a
multi-album deal with the ‘Capitol Records’ in 1988. His first
album through ‘Capitol,’ was the 1989 album, ‘Let’s Get It
Started,’ a revised version of ‘Feel My Power.’ With its charted
numbers, ‘Turn This Mutha Out,’ ‘Let’s Get it Started,’ ‘They Put
Me in the Mix’ among others, the album sold more than 2 million
copies and was certified double platinum.
116. Hammer toured around with his live show promoting the album
and installed a recording studio at the back of this tour bus,
where he recorded songs. His next album, ‘Please, Hammer, Don’t
Hurt ‘Em,’ was brought out on February 12, 1990. The single, ‘U
Can’t Touch This,’ from this album proved most successful and is
considered as his signature song.
117. He was a part of many TV shows and films, including
cartoon-show, ‘Hammerman,’ ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘The Right
Connections,’ ‘Deadly Rhapsody,’ ‘The Surreal Life,’ among many
others. He appeared as a dance judge on the show, ‘Dance Fever’
(2003). ‘Hammertime’ (2009) was his reality TV series on ‘A&E
Network,’ which dealt with his daily life. Hammer established
‘Oakland Stable’ in 1991 for thoroughbred horses. He was also
involved with various business ventures from clothing lines, to
tech start-up and product endorsements. Hammer sported a lavish
lifestyle with a huge mansion at Fremont, California, sprawling
estate and luxury cars. He also spent a large amount of money on
his stage shows, staff, and relatives. With $13 million in debt, he
filed for bankruptcy in 1996. In 1997, he turned to faith and
became a preacher with a Christian Ministry TV show.
118. Open Comments:
119. Question: Would you rather flame out spectacularly like Hammer
or low-key longevity?
120. Movie Scene: Do The Right Thing, Spike Lee
121. Breakdown: by Walker Valdez - “The film…focuses on a single
day of the lives of racially diverse people who live and work in a
lower-class neighborhood in Brooklyn New York. However, this
ordinary day takes place on one of the hottest days of the summer.
The film centers on how social class, race and the moral decisions
that the characters make have a direct effect on the way people
interact with each other. It starts with the film’s characters
waking up to start their day and climaxes with a neighborhood riot
after police officers excessively restrain and kill a young black
man named Radio Raheem for fighting an older Italian American
restaurant owner named Sal in his pizzeria, and then outside on the
street. The film, although released in 1989, with its social
commentary on the effect that race has on police brutality is just
as relevant today as when it was released 26 years ago.
122. Cast was bananas!
123. Negative Review - David Denby, then writing for New York, also
predicted a dire outcome…He accused Lee of creating "the dramatic
structure that primes black people to cheer the explosion as an act
of revenge," and concluded, “The end of this movie is shambles, and
if some audiences go wild, he's partly responsible."
124. The same notion crept into Joe Klein's editorial in the same
issue of New York, in which he surmised as to the film's possible
political effect on David Dinkins's mayoral campaign. He wrote:
"Dinkins will also have to pay the price for Spike Lee's reckless
new movie about a summer race riot in Brooklyn"
125. Speaking about the reviews more than 10 years later, Lee was
still livid: "What the fuck is that?... What he's saying is, 'Pray
to God that this film doesn't open in your theater, (because)
niggers are gonna go crazy.'" Lee points out that white audiences
aren't presumed to "go crazy" over far more violent action films,
"but we're such mental midgets that we can't tell the difference
between what's on screen and what's in real life?"
126. Positive Review - Roger Ebert: “I have been given only a few
filmgoing experiences in my life to equal the first time I saw “Do
the Right Thing.” Most movies remain up there on the screen. Only a
few penetrate your soul. In May of 1989 I walked out of the
screening at the Cannes Film Festival with tears in my eyes. Spike
Lee had done an almost impossible thing. He'd made a movie about
race in America that empathized with all the participants. He
didn't draw lines or take sides but simply looked with sadness at
one racial flashpoint that stood for many others.”
127. Question: What is the right thing to do in the face of
systemic social injustice?
128. TV Scene: The Arsenio Hall Show
129. Arsenio Hall (@ 33 yrs. old) is a famous American comedian,
actor and talk show host who gained his fame from the show ‘The
Arsenio Hall Show’ that aired from the year 1989 to 1994 and 2013
to 2014. Born and raised in Cleveland, as a child, Arsenio used to
perform magic tricks. He joined and graduated from Warrensville
Heights High School and later pursued his higher education from
Kent State University.
130. Early Profession and Career: “Arsenio was a passionate and
determined child from childhood and wanted to pursue a career in
the entertainment industry. During his early career days, he went
to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. He has appeared on
Thicke of the Night as an announcer, besides, Alan Thicke. Arsenio
appeared on numerous talk shows which made him popular among the
audiences. However, he reached in a prominent place in the talk
show genre when he got an opportunity to host his own show ‘The
Arsenio Hall Show.’ The late-night show was a hit.
131. Where did he come from?
132. Open Comments:
133. Question: Where do you go nowadays to tap into black
culture?
134. Vote: Best/most important/favorite pop culture item from
1989?