Name your favorite things about the 80's. by OPPYH

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Name your favorite things about the 80's.

POSTED BY: OPPYH
UPDATED: Saturday, September 1, 2007 13:59
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007 11:21 PM

10. Video game arcades. My local mall had 5 different arcades at the high point, now they don't exist.

9. After school cartoons. Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, Voltron. The 80's was just all out awesome when it came to cartoons.

8. The snacks. Choco Bliss, Hostess pudding pies(havent seen these since 88) gummi sharks(all blue, and short lived, circa 85 i think).

7. Garbage Pail Kids. My friends, and I were addicted to these things.

6. The music. Yes, I know it's cheesy, but how can you go wrong with drum machines, synthesizers, and the decade that will stand the test of time for one hit wonders.

5. Phone Booths. What the hell is a cell phone? I'm gonna be cool and make a call from a phone booth. Ah...such simple times.

4. VCR's. Yup, dvd's kill vhs, but I still have a fondness for all the movies I rented, and watched on my vcr.

3. The movies. I like a lot of films from the 80's. I'm talking a whole lot.

2. My friends. Don't know where they are today, but I wish I could find them again, and just talk about old times.

1. Memories. Being a kid in the 80's, I had some great times. Elementary, and Jr. High school were
pretty good times. Being a kid in the 80's beats the heck out of being an adult in todays society.
The world needs dreamers!

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:44 AM

FLATTOP

Being expected to go outside to play, unsupervised, from right after breakfast until the street lights came on.

The music. It's coming back. Not necessarily the bands (they are too, but it's almost sad really), but the sound.

Slasher films. Jason, Freddy, Michael Meyers. Someone help me here, name this movie? (I'm sure the rest of the film is horrid, or I'd remember more of it, but the opening was great!): Film starts with a woman running through the wood, pursued by Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, etc. She hides in a cave, they follow her in, and a few seconds later she comes out, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, "Amateurs".

High school kids (not 20 somethings) playing high school kids in movies and on TV.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:08 AM

THEHEROOFWILLIAMTOWN

The great 80's rock and metal.

Oh and i was born 87 woohoo

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:16 AM

REDLAVA

My girlfriend and I have a debate all the time about the 80's. She loves 80's music and I pretty much think it was the worst time period in the history of music. Even the movies sucked.

So I'm gonna have to go with cartoons as well.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:21 AM

SISTER

..they're over.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:51 AM

JONGSSTRAW

Erections without Viagra

Kim Wilde videos...she couldn't sing, but who cared?

Brat Pack movies

No SUV's on the road, you could actually see what's in front of you.

Copying "everything" from TV onto VHS tapes...it was a mission.

No e-mail

No Paris Hilton and ilk

No Nancy Grace or Greta

Dallas was on!

Dynasty was on!

Salvage One Tv show with Andy Griffith

Star Wars movies were good then

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 5:02 AM

FLYVOTE

Quote:
Originally posted by FlatTop:
Someone help me here, name this movie? (I'm sure the rest of the film is horrid, or I'd remember more of it, but the opening was great!): Film starts with a woman running through the wood, pursued by Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, etc. She hides in a cave, they follow her in, and a few seconds later she comes out, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, "Amateurs".

I think that was my wife...

You know what the first rule of flyin' is? Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. And love keeps her in the air when she oughtta fall down… tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keels… makes her a home.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 6:50 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Quote:
Originally posted by Sister:
..they're over.

Damn, she beat me to it.
But she's absolutely right.
I'm old enough to have been working then, and those were the years when I didn't listen to the radio, didn't own a TV, didn't go see movies.

Those years are gone but not forgotten, and are surely not missed.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:11 AM

CHRISISALL

Meeting my Wife (not a movie), Robocop, Predator, Die Hard, Aliens, Terminator, Airwolf, Star Trek TNG, Back To The Future, Firefox, Dancing all night at discos, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Blondie, BIG buckets of popcorn at the movies, the general optimism.....

Child of the 80's Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:19 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Favourite things about the 80's

The 84 olympics! A dude flies into the stadium on a JETPACK!!!!! It looked liked those things were just around the corner! I felt sure I'd be going to work in the 90's on one of those things! Damn the 90's they sucked.

Anyway....

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Empire Strikes Back
Back to the Future
The Breakfast Club
TRON
Big trouble in Little China
Starman
Ghostbusters
The whole Batman Phenomenon
The Fall Guy
Dukes of Hazzard
Knight Rider
Magnum PI
Ulysees 31
Dangermouse
The A-team
Buck Rogers
Airwolf
The Space Shuttle.

Definative seasons. (None of this crazy arsed weather we have now)
Girls wearing odd coloured socks
Not being sued for playing kiss chase in the playground
Not being sued for playing in the playground
Not being sued
Kids not having nervous breakdowns
No pollitical correctness up the arse!

Joy Division
Tears for Fears
Duran Duran
Ultravox
The Cure
Madness
Jean Michel Jarre
Synthesizers
No Flares
Pseudo goth girls!
BMX's
Space dust
Curly Wurly's

The Rubix Cube
Deloreans
CD players
The Walkman

To name but a few...

www.cirqus.com

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:23 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Quote:
Originally posted by FlyVote:
Quote:
Originally posted by FlatTop:
Someone help me here, name this movie? (I'm sure the rest of the film is horrid, or I'd remember more of it, but the opening was great!): Film starts with a woman running through the wood, pursued by Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, etc. She hides in a cave, they follow her in, and a few seconds later she comes out, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, "Amateurs".
I think that was my wife...

Classic!

www.cirqus.com

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:25 AM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Empire Strikes Back

How could I have left those out????

And Blade Runner Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:33 AM

LWAVES

Some good ones mentioned.

Quote:
"Star Wars movies were good then.
Copying "everything" from TV onto VHS tapes...it was a mission.
Video game arcades. My local mall had 5 different arcades at the high point, now they don't exist.
Being expected to go outside to play, unsupervised, from right after breakfast until the street lights came on.
The great 80's rock and metal.
Everything Chrisisall said earlier

And to add to the list:
Being able to play 'war' without being arrested.
Affordable home computers.
V.
Double features at the cinema.
Being one of those who had seen a pirated 'banned' movie on VHS i.e. The Evil Dead.
No reality TV.
Saturday evening TV was great (may only apply to the UK).
Battle Of The Planets.
Star Fleet.
Swap Shop/Saturday Superstore/Tiswas (again UK based).

I was 9 when the 80's began so I saw all of it.
Okay there was some bad synth pop, but it was never as bad as rave.

"I don't believe in suicide, but if you'd like to try it it might cheer me up to watch."

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:05 AM

OPPYH

Quote:
Originally posted by Sister:
..they're over.

So what? Read the title of the thread. If this were a test, you would have failed.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:21 AM

NVGHOSTRIDER

Oooh. Fail me too.

The 80's felt like the puberty of American culture. Odd color combinations, wierd musical tastes, funny smells... yeah, America's puberty.

Okay, some of the music was good, TV was almost worth watching again, and digital media was introduced to the world.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:28 AM

OPPYH

I'm glad some of you get the idea of this thread. To name your FAVORITE things about the 80's. IF you hated that certain decade: Don't post messages here!!!

Instead why don't you start a thread about what you hated most of the 80's, and I won't read it. Thanks.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:42 AM

NVGHOSTRIDER

How about Cold War themed flicks like Red Dawn. Robotech at 6 then TMNT at 6:30. Ya know, real cartoons to eat cereal by. Life before the BS Brady Bill. The ability to punch on someone with differing views and to discuss afterwards how dumb it was to fight about it in the first place. Finding more creative and supportive modes of communication rather than the passive/aggressive bashing on the internet.

Most who know me her understand where this is coming from. For those who don't I keep a supply of Vagisil and Midol in the truck for cramps and sore pussies.

Browncoats rock. They don't rock the boat to be superior to other Browncoats.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:56 AM

OPPYH

John Hughes movies, like Ferris Bueller's day off, Weird Science, and The Breakfast Club.

Dungeons and Dragons(I know it still exists, but I only played it in the 80's)

NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. 8 bit. Don't know how I forgot this one. Zelda forever. I also had a Colecovision before that.

The movie Heathers starring Winona Ryder. A truely original film.

The Goonies.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:03 AM

11THHOUR

For the most part, I really love the music from the 80s. I know some of it was trite and very forgettable, but there are also many, many songs that just hit the right vibe with me. The upbeat songs were good natured and had so much life to them. The more evocative songs were saying something, without being jaded or dumping on the world. And... the music from the 80s didn't confuse cynicism with being cool, or celebrate being scary violent and negative. (Wait... Punk music was more late 70s right?)

Other things I loved about the 80s:

• Max Headroom

• MTV actually showed music videos AND they were great!

• Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood was the funnest, hippest place to explore EVER. Lots of independent shops and one of a kind items... I found so many treasures there, and the people watching was fantastic... how I miss that...

• Computers and technology were in the first stages of really changing our society. It was terribly exciting.

I embarked upon the world in the 80s, so there's a personal connection. People connect with different eras for all kinds of personal reasons. I associate the energy and changes of the 80s with my own. So that's part of why the 80s are meaningful for me.

Maybe some of the things I loved about the 80s were the things that weren't there... like people constantly talking on cell phones in restaurants, the market, movie theaters, etc... that stuff really gets on my nerves.

Probably the thing I like best about the 80s is that it's the decade that is the closest to the 20s... and I LOVE the 1920s!

11th Hour

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:17 AM

OPPYH

Quote:
Originally posted by 11thHour:
I embarked upon the world in the 80s, so there's a personal connection. People connect with different eras for all kinds of personal reasons. I associate the energy and changes of the 80s with my own. So that's part of why the 80s are meaningful for me.

You nailed the purpose of this thread. When you have many good experiences in a ceratin timeframe, of course you will be fond of it(my brother is older than me, and he swears the 70's were the best)and you take those experiences with you. Growing up in the 80's made me who I am today, and I'm pretty happy.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:18 AM

JONGSSTRAW

Greetings 11thHour...
I've only been a Browncoat for about a year now, but I certainly recognize your name from watching Done The Impossible. I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done on behalf of Firefly fans. I think you're tremendously talented, and deserve high praise & credit for being one of the people responsible for spreading the joy of Firefly out to the masses who missed out on it originally like I did.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 11:34 AM

FLYVOTE

Quote:
Originally posted by 11thHour:
For the most part, I really love the music from the 80s. I know some of it was trite and very forgettable, but there are also many, many songs that just hit the right vibe with me.

The Safety Dance!

No?

*hears crickets*

Bon Voyage party and continuing party for "those left behind":
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=30320

I'd love to see you stop by and sat "hi".

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 11:35 AM

HUGHFF

In addition to the many things already mentioned (but NOT bloody new bloody romantic bloody synth bloody pop bloody bands) can I weigh in with:

Fast times at Ridgemont High (and to a lesser degree Porkies and Revenge of the Nerds)

Jason and the Scorchers (and to a lesser degree The Rainmakers and The Johnnys)

Ian Wright and Mark Bright (though that was also the 1990s)

University

Meeting and marrying mrs ff

William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and the other cyberpunks

www.cpfc.org - my life
www.nbhs.school.nz - my work

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:01 PM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Crickey!
I left out Breakdancing!!!!

www.cirqus.com

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:52 PM

GRIZWALD

Journey.
Kansas.
REO Speedwagon.
Rush.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (a.k.a. Tess Turbo and the Blackheads).
DEVO.
INXS.
J. Geils Band.
Cyndi Lauper.
Dire Straits.
Sting.
Genesis.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:55 PM

SIRTHOMAS

That the world was blessed with my birth. Im pretty sure it changed humanity as we know it.

Hope know one really takes that serious.

No I was born in the early 80's so dont have alot of memories from the time. The only time that I remember much of the time is when I see it on that VH1 special that they play about the 80's.

Most favorite thing about it to me.
-Reagan
-Nintendo
-GI Joe (whcih by the way is the 2nd best TV show of all times, 2nd only to Firefly of course)

I really like that comment though about 80's being the puberty of american culture, ha good one I liked that one..

Happiness is a warm gun...
Yes it is..

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:57 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Bartles and Jaymes

OK, to clarify,.....wine coolers. What a great way to get sexy young ladies inebriated! Other fav things about the 80's...

MTV playing actual MUSIC VIDEOS!

( Martha Quinn)

the music....man, so many awsome bands. From ABC to Van Halen. From Asia to The Valley Girl soundtack.

Ronald Reagan
Space Shuttle
Preppies
Da Bears
Carl Sagan's COSMOS series
Bo Knows
Berlin ( the band )
Fall of the (actual) Berlin Wall

and much, MUCH more.....

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:13 PM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

OOOOH Max Headroom! I loved that show

Concerts - Rush, Styx, Boston, UB40, Triumph, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, REO Speedwagon, The Police, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, The Specials, The Bangles, GO GO's, Aerosmith, The Cars, 4 Out Of Five Doctors............

And Annies in Georgetown and the Fairfax Library.

I miss the safety of walking around Reston at night without fear, the friendships.............good times

I am on The List. We are The Forsaken and we aim to burn!
"We don't fear the reaper"

FORSAKEN original

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 4:19 PM

JRC

Quote:
Originally posted by Redlava:
My girlfriend and I have a debate all the time about the 80's. She loves 80's music and I pretty much think it was the worst time period in the history of music. Even the movies sucked.

So I'm gonna have to go with cartoons as well.

Whoa. You think the decade of disco ('70s) was better than the music of the "80s????? Talk about whimsical in the brainpan!!!!

Everyone dies alone.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:19 PM

BROOKLYNBROWNCOAT

Ok, this is easy-

#1) Crack rock
#2) The pre-Giuliani Times Square with porn and peep shows, not this Disney caddaho
#3) Heather Locklear
#4) Crack rock
#5) free basing
#6) Kathy Ireland
#7) Miami VIce
#8) crack rock
#9) Van Halen
#10) crack rock

crack?

"Take my love, take my land,
Take my crack stem from my hand,
I don't care, I'm still free,
My fingers stink of feces

Take me out, buy some crack,
Tell your mom I'll be right back,
Burn the land boil the sea,
You can't take this high from me

There's no place I can be
since I started smoking trees

You can't take my crack from me"

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:36 PM

QUIETUDE

This may sound a little gay, but I have to say Hair Gel for men. When you look at the footage of 70's everyone had bowl cuts or mop tops. 80's yes they went overboard with it, gringe worthy over the top but at least they let the genie out of the bottle that has lead to pretty much everyone in the civilised world having a good hair day every day.

Without it the Captain would have looked like Calib off Buffy.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:49 PM

SINGATE

Electronic handheld games that didn't cost $300.

Video arcades. Feels like I grew up in these places. Later, my first job was at an arcade.

D&D. So much fun in my pre-adolesence.

Movie theatres that had been converted from opera houses. These things were enormous and grand. Movie going was a truly epic experience in these old movie houses, a far cry from the matchbox theatres of today.

The progression of home video game systems. We got them all as soon as they came out what with my father being a gaming tech geek. Atari 2600>Intellivision>Colecovision...not to mention the Atari 800 home computer with the large floppy disks!

The advent of the CD.

Toys that were made out of metal.

Nerf football!

Pedestrians knew to move out of the street when a car approached.

Tossing a snowball was not considered assault.

All of the weird B-movies I saw on cable.

Kung Fu Theatre.

2XL...no, it's not a shirt size!

The death of disco.

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We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

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Thursday, August 30, 2007 10:14 AM

OUT2THEBLACK

'Til Tuesday...featuring Aimee Mann .

Aimee still ROCKS ! Gone solo , though .

She don't need the 80's any more...She's still

an Artist for our times !

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Thursday, August 30, 2007 10:49 AM

TINADOLL

Adam Baldwin

oh snap did i say that out loud LMAO..sorry I am a huge My Bodyguard/ Animal Mother fan

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Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:56 PM

FLORALBUNNY

everything here already
plus
Shogun

maybe "who shot J. R.?" as the til-then biggest TV cliff-hanger/hype of all time...

bun
Frisky Browncoat
Capt. Mal's birthday is Sept. 20
I planted a cake...
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Save the fireflies! Minimize outdoor lighting so the boys can find the girls!!

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Friday, August 31, 2007 3:30 AM

DARKFLY

Missed out on the 80's really too young but I do love Duran Duran a personnel favorite band of mine not my favorite but a personel.

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Friday, August 31, 2007 4:08 AM

CYBERSNARK

Growing up there (born in '79, just in time for the fun).

Springsteen, Madonna,
Way before Nirvana,
There was U2, and Blondie,
And music still on MTV.

Her two kids, in high school,
They tell her that she's uncool,
'Cause she's still pre-occupied
With 1985.

=

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Friday, August 31, 2007 12:52 PM

TRAVELER

They ended.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Friday, August 31, 2007 12:54 PM

WYTCHCROFT

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
They ended.

ah, you beat me.

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Friday, August 31, 2007 1:49 PM

TRAVELER

Isn't that decade when they had those commercials with the guy frying eggs and saying "This your brain on drugs".

Then I would go to bathroom mirror and try looking up my nose to see if they did look like that.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Friday, August 31, 2007 1:54 PM

WYTCHCROFT

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:

Isn't that decade when they had those commercials with the guy frying eggs and saying "This your brain on drugs".

Then I would go to bathroom mirror and try looking up my nose to see if they did look like that.

i'll take the fifth on that!
move along fellas - nuthin' to see...

cute photo tho...

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Saturday, September 1, 2007 7:27 AM

SAVEWASH

Now I am learning about scary.

I think one thing I really liked about the 80s is that it seems to be the last decade of shared experiences. I mean, most of us (at least those who were born before the 80s or in the early 80s) recognize the movies, music and other things from that decade, especially the excellent examples mentioned above, but since then it's become splintered. Everyone's on the Internet at a different site, everyone has their own radio station or iPod, everyone seems to have their own experiences and you can't really meet around the water cooler (do they still have those??) to talk about them the next day. There are some exceptions, of course, but it seems harder for me to find a common subject to talk about today than in the 80s, when I could say, "What do you think of the latest Van Halen video?" and the other person would know who/what I was talking about.

Besides that: sure, the music was cheesy, but I still loved a lot of it. I remember tunes from the 80s a lot easier than those from the 90s.

But that's just me.

"We need to keep our heads so we can ... keep our heads."

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Saturday, September 1, 2007 9:04 AM

FINN MAC CUMHAL

I have fond memories of the 80s. I don’t really know why, because I was pretty poor in those days. I suspect it may be just nostalgia. People look back on the decade that they grew up as a pivotal time in their lives and remember it fondly. Things seemed simpler back in those days, but that’s another cliché. I don’t know if I’m impartial enough to really assess what the 80s were like. There seemed to be so many things that radically changed the world that came out of the 80s and certainly defined my life.

The first was the personal computer. I know people will insist that the personal computer was from the 70s with the invention of the microprocessor, but let’s be honest, who could afford one in the 70s? The technology was new and the capital just wasn’t there to produce them cheaply. They weren’t cheap in the 80s either, but my 6th Grade school was able to purchase a TRS-80 and we started studying computers. It had no harddrive – only a 5.5 in. floppy – and only eight Kb of RAM. Eight! I was deep into science fiction at the time (some things don’t change I guess), and I loved this computer. I was so amazed by it. It symbolized a level of human ingenuity that, until then, I had only known in episodes of Star Trek. I stayed late after Mr. MacGregor’s class almost every day programming D&D choose-your-own adventure games into that computer using BASIC. My early introduction to programming and the computer was more than a little head start for my career. It might surprise you young whippersnappers, but there was a time when people were terrified of computers. In the 90s when I went to college, I was already well ahead of many people.

There were lots of great movies during the 80s. I was a major Star Wars enthusiast. I know it’s probably been said by many adult who was a kid in the 80s, but if I only had half of my Star War toys… Still one movie that really strikes me as influential in my life and representative on the 80s was War Games. This movie came out in 1982-3 and weaves together several major 80s themes. From the inspiration of Personal Computers to Arcade Games to nuclear threat and Soviet-US relations. In a way, it had some of the earliest computer cinematography. It was a pivotal movie that defined the decade and influenced me to seek my current employment.

Another thing that strikes me as pretty profound was Reagan. Left-wing types hated Reagan, because more than anyone he represented the failed Left-wing economic and international policies of the 70s. Reagan gave Americans a reason to believe in America. He made us feel good about our country and about ourselves and in doing so he reminded us why we compete. It’s not an exaggeration to say that had it not been for Reagan and the policies he supported that I might not have been as successful as I am. I lived through the 70s, but my family was very poor – and on welfare. That was the way things were done in the 70s. If you were poor, you went on welfare and condemned yourself to a life of state-codependence. This was the result of Johnson’s Great Society – endemic poverty for the poor. But the rules began to change in the 80s. My mother, who had spent my entire life until then on welfare, was told that she could stay on welfare for only two more years and only if she went to school. The state was cutting her lose. And the Left-wing types hated it. Reagan was so heartless and uncaring, according to them. But my mother graduated from nursing school with a 4.0 GPA, and by the late 80s she was earning over $30,000 a year. We went from poverty to middle class and nothing inspired me more to work hard in school and later in my career then that.

That’s a few things about the 80s that I remember, and which directly affected me.

Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

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Saturday, September 1, 2007 9:45 AM

OLDENGLANDDRY

December 31st 1989.

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Saturday, September 1, 2007 1:59 PM

NINAH148

Another vote for Max Headroom!

In general, the 80's was a mecca for t.v. shows that seemed AWESOME at the time but I'm sure are now cringe-worthy. I guess I was less judgmental at age 10. A-Team, Stingray, McGyver, Knight Rider, Amazing Stories, Manimal, Moonlighting, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Spenser for Hire...and trying to stay up late enough for Dance Party USA and music videos (Night Tracks?), which were only on late at night :-D

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