juliecampbell522

The Pop Cultural Impact of 9/11

It was the most beautiful mid-September day you could hope for – no matter where you lived. A high pressure system covered a large swath of the Northeast, meaning warm, sunny weather prevailed. The sky was blue and bright, with just a few puffy clouds. I was in an especially good mood, because my bestContinue reading “The Pop Cultural Impact of 9/11”

Quick Hits: September 4

Happy 40th birthday, Beyoncé: singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist, fashion icon and all-around boss. Beyoncé has won more Grammy Awards (28) than any other singer in history and more MTV Video Music Awards (24) than any other artist. She was named Billboard Top Female Artist of the Decade. She won a Peabody Award forContinue reading “Quick Hits: September 4”

Brother Gibb

Happy 75th birthday to the man responsible for my sexual awakening at age eleven: Barry Gibb. Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb was born on September 1, 1946 in Douglas, Isle of Man. In 1958, the Gibb family – father Hugh (also a musician), mother Barbara, older sister Lesley, Barry, twins Robin and Maurice, and babyContinue reading “Brother Gibb”

Legend: Ed Asner

Eddie Asner was born November 15, 1929, in Kansas City, Missouri to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant parents. He attended the University of Chicago, where he began appearing in campus productions like T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. He did odd jobs and then served two years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he performed inContinue reading “Legend: Ed Asner”

Quick Hits: August 29

Netflix launched on this day in 1997 as an online DVD rental store. It became a streaming service in 2007, and began developing original content in 2013. House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black both premiered that year, and the binge-watch was born. In 2016, Netflix had its best year yet with theContinue reading “Quick Hits: August 29”

Quick Hits: August 27

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died this week at the age of 80. Watts, widely considered among the all-time best rock drummers, was also an accomplished jazz musician. Watts frequented London R&B clubs in the early 60s, where he met Brian Jones, Stu Stewart, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in 1962. He played his firstContinue reading “Quick Hits: August 27”

Stand By Me at 35

On August 22, 1986, Stand By Me went wide after a limited release per-screen-average of $15,174. It would go on to earn more than $50 million on a $7.5 million budget and become one of the most beloved coming-of-age movies ever made. Based on the Stephen King novella The Body, from his 1982 collection DifferentContinue reading “Stand By Me at 35”

Quick Hits: August 15

The Woodstock music festival (“3 Days of Peace & Music”) was held August 15-18, 1969 on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York. A watershed moment for the 60s counterculture and a milestone in rock music history, Woodstock contained iconic performances by some of the period’s greatest artists. The festival spawned an Academy Award-winningContinue reading “Quick Hits: August 15”

Quick Hits: August 12

Hello, everyone! I haven’t posted yet this week; my husband and I lost our WiFi due to severe storms. No WiFi, no blog. So I’m going to try to make up for it over the next few days. I have a couple longer pieces in the pipeline that I’m hoping to finish soon. In theContinue reading “Quick Hits: August 12”

Pop Quiz Answers

“Moving in Stereo” – The Cars (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) There was a hilarious, gender-reversed take on this scene in Stranger Things 3 episode “Suzie, Do You Copy?” 2. “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John (Almost Famous) If there’s ever been a more beautiful love letter to how music can bring us together, I’m notContinue reading “Pop Quiz Answers”