In 1955: Jim Henson built the first version of Kermit the Frog; The first US advisors arrived in South Vietnam; Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of the UK; The Salk polio vaccine received FDA approval; Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s in Illinois; Disneyland opened to the public; Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The… Continue reading Before Elvis and his gyrating hips ruined everything: A look back at 1955
The thirteenth year of the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth: A look back at 1965
In 1965: Lyndon Johnson unveiled the Great Society; The United States passed the Voting Rights Act; Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov became the first person to walk in space; The Astrodome opened; Bob Dylan went electric; The Watts riots take place in Los Angeles; The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium; After fifty five years, Casey Stengel retired as… Continue reading The thirteenth year of the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth: A look back at 1965
Back when Ronald Reagan Was most known for being the 33rd Governor of California: A look back at 1975
In 1975: Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac; Wheel of Fortune and Saturday Night Live debuted; Space Mountain opened at the Magic Kingdom; Margaret Thatcher became the leader of the Conservative Party; Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft; The Vietnam War ended with the Fall of Saigon; Cape Verde, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, and East… Continue reading Back when Ronald Reagan Was most known for being the 33rd Governor of California: A look back at 1975
A visit with the master
Bergman’s Island (2004) Few directors consistently speak to me as deeply as Ingmar Bergman. In this fascinating documentary, Marie Nyeröd visits the famed director at his home on the small Swedish island of Fårö to discuss his process, his most famous films, and his notorious relationships with women. This is the equivalent of an interview… Continue reading A visit with the master
The year after Big Brother started watching us all: A look back at 1985
In 1985: Ronald Reagan began his second term as US President; Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power in the Soviet Union; Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the inaugural Wrestlemania; Elmo first appeared on Sesame Street; New Coke debuted and, after a disastrous couple of months, was removed from US stores; David… Continue reading The year after Big Brother started watching us all: A look back at 1985
The Quest – Episode 4
In Episode 4, Ben and I discuss the surprises I’ve encountered during my quest for ten thousand films and talk about our favorite twist ending films.
Everything that follows is older than Tom Holland: A look back at 1995
In 1995: O.J. Simpson was acquitted for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman; Mississippi ratified the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution; Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City; The first DVD was made available; eBay went online; Calvin and Hobbes ended its ten-year run in… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Tom Holland: A look back at 1995
The Quest – Episode 3
On this episode of The Quest, Ben and I acknowledge the limitations and variables of time, specifically the time it takes to watch and catalog ten thousand movies. With time on the brain, we naturally thought of films which feature time travel.
11905 HE*: A look back at 1905
*The Human era calendar, first proposed by Cesare Emiliani in 1993 was an attempt to eliminate the confusing distinction of BC and BCE in the Common Era calendar. 11905 HE is the Common Era equivalent of 1905. In 1905: The Russo-Japanese War ended; The Trans-Siberian Railway opened; Las Vegas was founded; Albert Einstein published his ideas regarding the special theory… Continue reading 11905 HE*: A look back at 1905
The Quest – Episode 2
Welcome back to episode two of The Quest, the supplemental podcast to my ambitious project. Last time in our premiere episode, Ben and I spent some time talking about firsts, our first memory of going to the movies, and my top five movies with “First” in the title. In our second episode, we’ll spend some… Continue reading The Quest – Episode 2