Dungeons and Dragons
By Julie Anderson It’s 1984. A little girl eavesdrops outside her older brother’s bedroom. Inside, he and three of his teenage friends are clustered around a card table littered with exotic dice, tiny metal figurines and complicated hand-drawn papers. She listens. They talk about “hit points” and “melee rounds” and the all-powerful “Dungeon Master.” They visit the “elemental plane.” They encounter a “water weird” and a “gray slime.”...
Dirty Dancing, 1987
Want to make a grown woman melt? Mention this movie. It works on so many levels: as an allegory about growing up, as a song and dance movie, as a love story. And Patrick Swayze as Johnny? All muscle and sparkling eyes and tough-but-tender sneer? Say it with me: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner!” This 1987 film follows Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) during a pivotal summer in the 1960s. Baby and her family go to the Catskills for...
Top Gun (1986)
Tom Cruise in top form. There’s really no other way to say it. This 1986 movie is a bright, beautifully shot story about Maverick (Cruise), a pilot whose father’s legacy weighs heavily on him. Maverick’s father, also a pilot, was killed in combat along with other men. Many of his fellow pilots still think it was his fault. Once Maverick is recruited to join the Top Gun Naval Flying School, his fellow pilots won’t let his father’s past...
Interview with original MTV VJ, Martha Quinn
May 16, 2011 Among the original 5 VJs on MTV when it launched in the Summer of 1981 (almost 30 years ago!), Martha Quinn charmed music fans everywhere with her adorable style and upbeat attitude. At 52, she is still charming us on the radio with the 80s music we love. We’d like to thank Martha for taking the time to answer our questions about the early days of MTV, her Fountain of Youth secrets, her take on 80s music and what she’s up...
Trapper Keepers
By Julie Anderson 05.13.11 It’s mid-August of 1982. You’re with your Mom doing some back-to-school shopping. You want to project just the right level of cool for elementary school. To do that, you need a binder that’s trendy yet functional, well-organized yet hip. You need a . . . Trapper Keeper, baby! Oh, they were just the coolest; a whole new breed of 3-ring binder. The “keeper”, or outer shell, came in bold colors or mega-cool...
