Where past meets present and future

Flashback

Feature Story

A Glimpse

into 1984 See page 6 for more

Volume 1 Issue 1

http://www.fanboy.com/2009/07/compuserve.html

Dear Readers, Welcome to Flashback’s inaugural edition. We are very happy to share our passion for the past, present and future with you. Inside you’ll find articles based on music, media, and cul-tural icons from the 1980s and early 1990s made pertinent to today. The wise baboon Rafiki (The Lion King, 1994) said, “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.” We have chosen to learn about the technological advancements that have helped us reach the stars literally, as with the numerous space shuttle mis-sions conducted in the past 31 years, and figuratively, as we have grown more united in our efforts to relieve the suffer-ing of our global neighbors in the pathways of natural disas-ters. Our past contains both positive and negative changes. Flashback doesn’t shy from highlighting either. Our goal is to provide an objective and informative “flashback” into the 80s and early 90s to remember how we got to where we are today. Our staff of editors and writers has worked diligently to bring you a high quality reading experience covering nu-merous topics. We are confident you’ll find something within these pages that will not only pique your interest, but also enlighten and motivate you. Again, welcome to Flashback. We hope you have a totally tubular experience. Best regards, Jennifer Schultz

Letter from the EditorLetter from the Editor

1

Toys and Games

Music

TV Shows

and Movies

Celebrities

Trends

Technology and Gadgets

Jennifer Schultz

Kourtney Kimes

Marilee Wigginton

Shannon Jones Candice Grover

Jennifer Schultz

Capstone Publishing

Staff

Welcome to Flashback

2

What’s Inside

Capstone Publishing

Living Color

By Kayla Lusk Toys Across Time

By Brittany Cordero

page 7

page 10

Shannon Miller:

Athlete and Inspiration

By Hannah Jacobs page 15

Ragnarök and Roll By Paul Williams

Page 12

Mark Wahlberg:

From the Concert Stage

to the Silver Screen

By Meghan Stroschein

Page 11

Popular Music and

Its Opposition

By Lyndee Gardner Page 14

Homeschooling

Attitudes

By Leslie Armstrong

page 17

Steve Jobs and

the Internet

Gadget

By Alicia Dayley

Page 19

Photo Credits

page 18

Celebrity Profiles

By Aaron Bonney

page 11

Mark Wahlberg:

From the Concert Stage

to the Silver Screen

By Meghan Stroschein

Popular Music and

Its Opposition

By Lyndee Gardner

Photo Credits

Celebrity Profiles

By Aaron Bonney

4

T he year 1984 exemplifies both the positive and negative events of our world‘s history. We‘re

going to take a flashback to 1984 and revisit some world events that have greatly influenced the way we live. In 1984 Los Angles, California was to be the home of the summer Olympic games. One of the greatest heroes of the 1984 Olympic games was Mary Lou Retton. She stole America‘s hearts with her ―golden smile, pixie hairdo, and sweet cocker spaniel eyes‖(Weinberg). Retton scored a perfect 10 on the vault, becoming the first American female to ever win a gold medal in gymnastics. On May 8, just twelve weeks before the opening ceremony, while the Olym-pic flame was making its way across the

United States, the Soviet Union an-nounced that it would be boycotting the Olympics (Saum 45). Four years earlier in the 1980 sum-mer Olympics the United States boy-cotted in protest of the Soviet Union‘s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan (O‘Keffe). Many believed that the So-viet Union was boycotting the 1984 Olympics in retaliation for the United States‘ boycott in 1980. Yet the Soviet Union maintained the accusation that the United States was using the games ―for political purposes and stirring up anti-Soviet propaganda and for having a cavalier attitude to-ward the security of Russian ath-letes‖ (BBC). As 1984 brought athletic achieve-ments to the United states, other ad-

vancements in technology were emerg-ing. In 1984, Apple Inc. released a com-puter line called Lisa 2. A year later, Apple Inc. re-named Lisa 2/10, the premium model of the Lisa 2 line, to Macintosh XL. Today, children are exposed to high-powered electronics at such a young age that it is unlikely that they are able to appreciate the truly remarkable com-bination of technological precision and creative genius that these machines are. As Apple Inc. continued to pio-neer innovations in the way personal and business computer data was proc-essed and displayed, technological ad-vancements in other fields grew as well. As the horizons on how intricately small personal and business technology could be were broadened, limits were being expanded in space exploration. On August 30, 1984 the space shut-

A Glimpse A Glimpse

Into Into 19841984

Capstone Publishing

A flashback to 1984 helps us better

understand today.

BY CAPSTONE PUBLISHING STAFF

“The idea of assembling a

galaxy of pop stars to make

hit records for the benefit of

famine relief, with the artists

donating time and services

and the record company

turning over all net profits,

began with Bob

Geldof” (Pflanz).

tle Discovery launched on its first mis-sion to deploy three space satellites. Since then it has been on over 30 missions, making it the oldest and most-used NASA space shuttle. Its most famous mission was to take the Hubble telescope into space in 1990. Discovery also did the subse-quent maintenance missions to the telescope. The shuttle finished its final mis-sion earlier this year, and is now be-ing prepped for display in a museum (Chow). Space shuttles Endeavor, and Atlantis join Discovery’s decommission-ing, bringing NASA‘s 30 year space shuttle program to a close.

The space shuttle Discovery‘s name was derived from the historical ex-ploring ships of the past. Just as those ships broadened our knowl-edge of the world we live in, Discov-ery‘s legacy will live on as we continue our exploration of our solar system. The knowledge gained from Discov-ery’s missions sparked an awareness of the world and the plights of the others we share it with. That aware-ness continues on, even today. Lack of rain on the Ethiopian countryside can lead to severe famine that is not uncommon to Africa. A particularly devastating famine oc-curred from 1983-1985 when villag-ers were forced to leave their shriv-eled crops and burnt land in search

of food (Vestal 8). Summer rains of 1985 brought hope and life back to the people and soil. From 1983 to 1985 many Ethio-pians relocated; others died. A stag-gering 405,000 Ethiopians fled to refugee camps in neighboring Sudan to escape starvation and civil war. In 1984, the Ethiopian government spent $35 million dollars in an effort to relocate 1.5 million people from the suffering regions in the north to more fertile regions in the west and south (Vestal 16). The actual number of those relo-cated is approximately 600,000, many forcibly. The number of those who perished due to the famine is esti-mated to be 1 million (Milner). Following a televised report of the Ethiopian famine by the BBC in Oc-tober of 1984, many nations, organi-zations, and individuals stepped in to offer aid. This celebrity group called them-selves Band Aid. They produced a single entitled ―Do They Know It‘s Christmas?‖ which Bob Geldof, lead singer for Ireland‘s Boomtown Rats co-wrote. The single raised a re-corded 8 million dollars as well as western awareness (Milner).

Among the groups of celebrities organized were USA for Africa and Band Aid. They later combined for a ―Live Aid‖ concert. ―This concert alone raised more than $50 million to purchase food, medical supplies, and farming equipment for Af-rica‖ (Vestal 7). Famines, food shortages, and civil war remain prevalent issues in Africa and Ethiopia. It was reported that, ―longer and more regular droughts have today pushed almost 23 million people across Africa‘s east and north-east close to starvation once again‖ (Milner). Aid is still received and 91% of humanitarian aid has been received in food. Efforts are being made to feed the people and to develop better methods of irrigation and food stor-age to sustain drought times. The decades connect through devastation, aid, and a scope that looks to the past to learn for the future. Though our past is riddled with contention, disease, and sorrow, it also offers inspiring lessons that al-lows us to learn and grow as indi-viduals and as a society. Re-examining a handful of world events from 1984 encourages hope; we have overcome so much, and we can do it again.

5 Cover Story

What’s next for NASA?

NASA is designing and

building the capabilities to

send humans to explore the

solar system, working

toward a goal of landing

humans on Mars.”

BBC. ―1984: ―Moscow Pulls Out of the US Olympics.‖ On This Day May 08, 1984. Web. 26 Oct 2011. Chow, Denise. "Shuttle Discovery Comes Back to Earth for Final Time." Space.com, 07 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Oct 2011. ―iMac.‖ http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/

6

Milner, Kat. "Flashback 1984: Por-trait of a famine." BBC News. (2000): 6 April 2000. Web. 26 Oct 2011. "NASA—Space Shuttle Overview: Discovery (OV-103)." NASA.gov. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. "NASA—What's Next For NASA?" NASA.gov. 01 July 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.

Pflanz, Mike. "Face of 1984 Ethiopia famine Says Food Aid Does Not Help." New York Times 22 Oct 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. O‘Keef, Derrick. ―1980 Summer Olympics Boycott Echoes Today.‖ Straight. 11 Feburary 2010. Web. 26 Oct 2011. Redhed, David D. ―The Lisa 2: Ap-ple‘s Ablest Computer.‖ Reprinted from Byte, issue 12/1984, pp. A106-A114. Web 9 Nov 2011.

Saum, Shane R. ―The Olympic Cold War.‖ San Diego State University. Fall 2010. Web. 26 Oct 2011. Vestal, Theodore M. "Famine in Ethiopia: Crisis of Many Dimen-sions." Indiana University Press: Food, Famine and Development. Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 7-28. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

Capstone Publishing

I n 2004, 20 years after Band Aid’s original re-lease of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” to help end famine in Ethiopia, a new set of musi-

cians re-recorded the hit single. The sales of this new CD single go to help relieve famine in the Darfur region of Sudan. Some of the musicians that participated in the re-recording include: Sir Paul McCartney (bass guitar) Bono from U2 (vocals) Chris Martin from Coldplay (vocals) Dido (vocals) Tom Chaplin from Keane (vocals) Snow Patrol (vocals) Robbie Williams (vocals)

Band Aid 20

Toys

Across

Time BY BRITTANY CORDERO

7 Toys and Games

I don‘t see myself getting older from day to day or even from last year‘s birthday to this year‘s, until

I look at those younger than me and I realize I have already been there. I love to watch children and their con-tentedness with life; they love to play and that makes a world of difference in their live-in-the-minute life. How-ever, I look at their objects of amuse-ment and wonder at how different—and sometimes similar—most are from the toys that were popular when I was their age. Yes, those would be the unique play-things from the 1980s and 90s.

The earliest toys I remember play-ing with are Barbie and Hot Wheels, both of which are still popular today, as they were before the 80s. Barbie was first introduced in 1959 as Vintage Barbie. These first dolls had a unique look of short, curled hair in a ponytail with thick black eyeliner, white irises, bright red lips, and blush (Prochaska). While Barbie‘s basic body shape and size has not changed much from then until now, the same cannot be said for her face, which got a new look every few years until 1977 (Prochaska par. 5). That‘s when Su-perstar Barbie was released and re-mained popular through the 90‘s. This big blonde hair doll with a toothy smile was what I got to play with. I had many Barbie accessories, including clothes, shoes, and most importantly a new convertible jeep to drive herself and her friends around the living room floor. Hot Wheels was introduced in 1968, coming out with cool new models every few years since then, some even before the real car was made! Their ―California Cus-tom‖ car had ―Lowered front ends and raised rear wheels‖ (―Hot Wheels History,‖ par. 1). My collection of Hot Wheels was parked in a row and took turns driving up and down the ramps I made and a fabric city that laid flat on the ground. These two

classic toys have been around for more than 40 years and continue to entertain kids now. My parents ap-preciated these toys because they could keep me entertained for hours each day . . . and they were quiet. Not all toys have made it through the years with as minor upgrades as Bar-bie and Hot Wheels have, however. My first plaything comes to mind. I was two weeks old when I received my first Teddy Bear with dark brown fur and wearing a little suit jacket. I still have him; he instituted a love of stuffed animals in me. Stuffed bears have actually been around for more than a hundred years. Originating separately in America and Germany shortly before 1900, the stuffed bear became popular in 1902 as ―Teddy‘s Bear‖ in reference to a hunting ex-perience of American President Theo-dore Roosevelt‘s (he didn‘t catch any-thing and refused to shoot a tethered bear that had been placed there spe-cifically for him) (―History Page‖ par. 2). After being filled with nothing but stuffing for decades, plush creatures began to be filled with something else—technology. Stuffed animals now talk, sing, dance, shake, and some even move around the floor on their own. The Teddy Ruxpin emerged in 1985, the first talking

8 Capstone Publishing

teddy bear, with a place in its back to play casettes (―The Evolution of Teddy Ruxpin‖). Rock‘n‘Roll Ernie came in the late 1990‘s singing three swing songs and strumming his guitar as fast as his electronic arm would allow. Elmo soon followed with his own songs. Store shelves started stocking singing fish on plaques and caroling, hip-swaying Santas. A more modern popular toy has been the ZhuZhu pets, little mechanical hamsters that roam around the floor much like a real ham-ster, making its debut in 2009. Without batteries many of these toys just aren‘t as entertaining. Teddy bears took a new turn in the past decade or so; instead of just talking and

moving, you can now build your own teddy by choosing its color and style, filling it with stuffing and other items (like a plastic heart), and having it sewn closed yourself. Each Build-A-Bear is unique because it is your own creation and you get to choose its name and birth date. Similar to Barbie, Build-A-Bear Workshop now offers a variety of outfits and accessories for each bear.Kids‘ modern toys are more com-plicated than I remember mine to be. We seem to expect more from toys to-day; they must ―do‖ something such as talk or move. That means they need a battery and without batteries they are considered useless. Even still, it is in-teresting to see how technology has

changed children‘s views of entertain-ment and to remember fondly the days when no electronics were needed to keep me happy with my toys.

Zhu Zhu Pet

R eruns of The Cosby Show ap-peared on channel fifteen eve-ryday at eleven o‘clock. My sib-

lings and I would hurry to get our chores done. Then, we would crowd around the television in my mom‘s room to watch it together. We would start to watch an episode and then my mom would start laugh when she rec-ognized what was coming up. She‘d have such a hard time not telling us the punch line. Once when my sister was not home from her date yet, we pushed the couch right in front of the door just like Cliff and Claire did when Vanessa was late. We were laughing so hard. We are not the only ones who love the show. Leslie B. Inniss and Joe R. Feagin wrote about the Cosby Show, ―Records reveal that the show was the top rated show of the 1980s and the most watched sitcom in television his-tory‖ (695). This was a huge audience that was shaped by every episode. It was a show unlike any other on televi-sion. Inniss and Feagin explain, ―During its 8-year, 198-episode run, the Cosby Show was lauded as a major milestone in popular entertainment: The first all-Black program that avoided racial stereotyping‖ (695). This wasn‘t a show about the poor black family victimized by the world around them. The Huxtables were a middle-class family that worked hard and loved each other. When asked about the show Cosby said ―he was tired of what he was see-ing on television—tired of the car chases, the hookers with the black pimps‖ (695). The sad thing is that this sounds a lot like what is going on right now on television. For some reason,

producers feel that those methods are the only way to create a message. ―Cosby believed that he could send vi-tal messages along with the positive images of a black family: Children are the same all over‖ (Inniss and Feagin 695). The show did not center on the fact that the Huxtables were of a par-ticular race. They were black, that was-n‘t ignored, but it was not the point of the show. Every episode brought

home that ―…the show is about par-ents loving their children and giving them understanding‖ (696). It didn‘t matter that they were a black family. This isn‘t to say that the subject of racism was not ever approached. In Inniss and Feagin‘s article, we read about different point of views of the show ―one response noted that Cosby tends to approach the problems of ra-

cisms in a subtle way‖ (706). Cliff was a doctor and Claire was a lawyer. A black father and mother were more typically represented on television as something like a factory worker and a maid. This wasn‘t true and this wasn‘t the way the world needed to be. So the Cosby Show changed it. They didn‘t let the world dictate the way they lived their lives. The Huxtables taught their children that they needed to stand up to their potential. The Cosby Show changed the face of television and the world. It taught us that a family is a family. They love each other, fight with each other, and most importantly laugh with each other. Black or white, we all need to see this and remember that it is still possible. The Cosby Show worked because it stayed away from stereotypes. Stereo-types aren‘t real, but a family is. To-gether, a family can solve any problem coming their way. Though the show ended long ago, its message still is im-portant for us to hear.

The Cosby Show Facts and Figures

● The show ran for 8 seasons from 1984-1992.

● Malcolm-Jamal Walker (Theo Hux-table) directed 5 episodes during the 1991-1992 season.

● The show’s tagline is: “In a house filled with love...there’s always room for more.”

● The Cosby Show won the People’s Choice Awards for Favorite TV Comedy every year from 1985-1990, and again in 1992.

9 TV Shows and Movies

Living Color BY KAYLA LUSK

Inniss, Leslie B. and Feagin, Joe R. ―The Cosby Show: The View from the Black Middle Class.‖ Journal of Black Studies 25.6 (1995) : 693-711. Web. Jul 1995.

10 Capstone Publishing

BY AARON BONNEY

D o you remember Matthew Broderick, that guy from

the movie with the teacher (played by Ben Stein) that droned in a monotone voice, ―Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?‖ Yeah, that guy. What ever happened to him? Matthew Broderick is still alive, and married to Sex and the City‘s star Sarah Jessica Parker. They have three children (IMDb). Broderick continues to act, albeit on a smaller profile

than when he achieved stardom in the 1980s. Matthew Broderick was born March 21, 1962 in New York City and started his professional acting career in 1981 with his first Broad-way play Torch Song Trilogy. His first big hit film was WarGames (1983), and he continued building his repu-tation with his solid performance in LadyHawke (1985). His resume in-cludes over fifty films, thirteen stage plays, and twelve television appear-ances. His notable films include

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Project X (1987), Glory (1989), The Lion King (1994), Godzilla (1998), Inspector Gadget (1999), and The Producers (2005) (IMDb). Broderick won two Tony Awards and was nominated for various act-ing awards (IMDb). Although fans won‘t likely be seeing any more blockbuster performances from him, his stellar career will be remem-bered for generations.

Ce

leb

rity

Pro

file

s

O ne of the top phenom child-actors in the 1990s, Culkin‘s

claim to fame was his role as Kevin McAllister in the first two Home Alone films. Macaulay Culkin was born in New York City on August 20, 1980. He is the third of seven children born to Brentrup and Kit Culkin. In 1998, Culkin married ac-tress Rachel Minor; the couple di-vorced in 2002. In that same year, Culkin dated That 70’s Show star Mila Kunis, and they had a relationship until 2010 (IMDb).

Following a series of mediocre performances in 1994, Culkin took a brief hiatus from acting until 2003, making a couple of television ap-pearances (IMDb). Although Culkin resumed his acting career, his peak in popularity had already come and gone. In 2004, Culkin was arrested for marijuana possession, perhaps marring his reputation permanently (IMDb). Culkin‘s filmography contains over thirty film and television ap-pearances, including notable works

such as Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990) in which he won three awards, My Girl (1991), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), the Good Son (1993), Getting Even with Dad (1994), the Pagemaster (1994), and Richie Rich (1994) (IMDb). Even though Culkin has fallen off of the radar, television network channels traditionally show the first two Home Alone films every Decem-ber during Christmas season.

11 Music

Mark Wahlberg: From the Concert Stage to the Silver Screen BY MEGAN STROSCHEIN

Did you know that action star Mark Wahlberg used to be rapper? Neither did I. Before Walhberg made the jump to movie stardom, he was better known as Marky Mark, a rapper who per-formed with the Funky Bunch. Born on June 5, 1971, Mark had a troubled childhood that culminated in his assaulting a man on the street. This violent offence earned him 45 days in jail and gave him a wake up call. He knew he didn‘t want a life of imprison-ment. Fortunately for him, his older brother was cast in the boy band New Kids On The Block (a precursor to bands like The Backstreet Boys). Through his brother‘s connections and Mark‘s natural stage presence he re-leased the musical hits ―Good Vibra-

tions‖ and ―Wildside‖ in the early 90s (bio True Story). While not afraid of gaining attention with publicity stunts that showed off his body (like dropping his pants on stage, stunts which earned Mark a two year modeling contract with Calvin Klein), he caught the eye of movie di-rectors. Renaissance Man (1994) was the first movie Mark appeared in; it starred Danny DeVito as a teacher to a group of misfit soldiers. His more re-cent films include The Italian Job (2003), Shooter (2007), and The Other Guys (2010) with actor Will Ferrell. Wahlberg turned to producing in his 2004 documentary titled Juvies. His most noteworthy productions are The Fighter (2010) (in which he also

starred), Entourage (TV series 2004-2010) (which is loosely based on his life), and most recently the television series How To Make It In America. Mark Wahlberg‘s focus and direc-tion drove him through the music scene and onto the silver screen.

All Stars Flame Outs Musicians of the 1990s Britney Spears: Hers was the first CD I ever bought, and she is still putting them out. She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and is continuing to produce hits such as ―Hold It Against Me.‖ The Cranberries: This Irish band has found new life after a 6-year hiatus from touring. Their sixth album will be released February 14, 2012. Valentine‘s day gift any-body? Christina Aguilera: Originally discovered on the televi-sion show Star Search in 1990, this former Mouseketeer has continued to produce albums and is transitioning onto the silver screen. Eminem:―Slim Shady‖ has been called the King of Hip Hop. Eminem has won 13 Grammy awards since 1999. And everyone remember ―My Name Is.‖ Justin Timberlake—Made the successful transition from boy band into solo artist, the other members of *NSYNC can ―Cry Me A River.‖ Smash Mouth—First formed in ‘94, this band has sold over ten million albums and is still touring. Their most recent and popular hits are featured in Shrek and The Jungle Book 2.

*NSYNC: They first tried their sound in Europe before breaking onto the American scene. This band did have success in the early years of the decade, but announced a hiatus in 2002. The band never produced another song together and it is unlikely they ever will. Billy Ray Cyrus—Best known for ―Achy Breaky Heart,‖ he‘s now known as Miley Cyrus‘s dad and co-stars on her show Hannah Montana. Proclaimers—This band might have walked 500 miles, but it couldn‘t pass into the next decade. Vanilla Ice—―Ice Ice Baby‖ was the first hit for artist Robert Van Winkle. Unable to sustain the fabricated image of Vanilla Ice, Van Winkle changed his sound and continues to perform without popular success. Semisonic—Their hit ―Closing Time‖ was aptly named. Failing to release an album since 2001, Semi-sonic won‘t be making any more radio waves. Sir Mix-a-lot—I cannot lie, ―Baby Got Back‖ was his only commercial success. Right Said Fred—Too sexy for America. This English band continues to produce and tour in the United Kingdom.

12 Capstone Publishing

Ragnarök and Roll BY PAUL WILLIAMS

I n the iconic fifth chapter of the iconic book, The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is nearly stumped by the

ring-possessed Gollum in a game of riddles. Gollum‘s puzzle described a force before which every man, every kingdom and king must eventually fall: time. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that often people will herald their favorite musicians as royalty, since even the most prominent of bands have shown that they fall victim to age. Despite the 1980 Led Zeppelin breakup, which may have appeared a dark omen for the future of rock and roll, the decade quickly became one of the single greatest for the genre. 1980-81 saw the appearance of Ozzy Os-bourne‘s Blizzard of Ozz album, the first of his highly successful solo ca-reer, followed shortly by the genesis of Metallica. In 1985, Guns n‘ Roses blasted to the forefront of

the movement with Appetite for Destruc-tion. Furthermore, bands such as Queen, Van Halen, AC/DC, Scorpi-ons, Heart, and others continued to maintain a solid basis of fame, and Iron Maiden released their most lauded albums during the decade. The tremendous success of these bands was overwhelmingly obvious and continued to feed the stereotype of the rockstar life, one of money, drugs, sex, and worship from the masses. Festivals grew in number and popularity, and record sales were stag-gering—Appetite for Destruction is the highest selling debut album of all time!1 Record labels quickly took note and followed the trends of big busi-ness, looking for the next big act to add to the boiling pot of rock music. And so the 80‘s closed with Nirvana,

planting the seeds for their early 90‘s harvest. For whatever reason, the next gen-eration was not as receptive to the massive epics of the foundational gi-ants of the previous era. Perhaps it was the growth of the industry—there were now so many bands producing grand works that people began want-ing smaller, quainter songs. Whatever the reason, Nirvana‘s second album, Nevermind is the single most important of the decade, presenting a list of shorter, more accessible songs to the general public in a style that no one had ever heard before; it wasn‘t metal, but it was more technical than the pop and punk of U2 and the Pixies.2 However, with Kurt Cobain‘s sui-cide, Nirvana broke up, surrounded and followed by a hurricane of chaos:

Ragnarök is the future event in Norse mythology which will mean the deaths of several major Norse gods, including Odin (the chief god), Thor (the most famous son of Odin and god of thunder among many other things), Týr (the god of single combat, victory, and heroic glory), Freyr (the god of farming, weather, and male

fertility), Heimdallr ( a god who watches for the coming of Ragnarök), and Loki (a shape-shifting god).

13 Music

Ragnarök and Roll BY PAUL WILLIAMS

Freddie Mercury‘s death ended Queen, Iron Maiden underwent a number of line-up changes and released their most disdained albums, Guns n‘ Roses split up (though the name would go with Axl Rose), etc. With the founda-tion of rock splintering, labels turned more and more to the growing number of bands trying to follow Nirvana‘s example and propel themselves into stardom. Few would achieve the same heights of sales (Creed‘s 30 million be-ing one of a few examples), but new recording technology made it possible to support many smaller bands that each sold a few million albums rather than a few massive bands that each sold significantly more albums, but also demanded more. Sadly, the system could not sustain itself. The late 90‘s and the turn of the

century ushered in the era of Napster and music pirating, followed by You-tube and any number of websites that handed out music freely.3 Today, bands struggle to support themselves, and evermore gone are the times of massive record sales.4 Digital equip-ment and local bands have forever changed the landscape of rock and roll, and time has slain the one-time gods of a generation. 1 "Guns N' Roses Biography." TheRock-Radio.com. The Rock Radio LTD, Apr. 2005. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. 2 "Nirvana." Encyclopedia Britannica. En-cyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edi-tion. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2011.

3 Frucci, Adam. "Record Labels" Change or Die." Gizmodo.com. Gizmo-do Music, 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. 4 Cohan, Jillian. "The Show Must Go On." TheAmerican.com. The American Magazine, Apr. 2008. Web. 25 Nov. 2011.

Ragnarök is the future event in Norse mythology which will mean the deaths of several major Norse gods, including Odin (the chief god), Thor (the most famous son

of Odin and god of thunder among many other things), Týr (the god of single combat, victory, and heroic glory), Freyr (the god of farming, weather, and male fertility), Heimdallr ( a god who watches for the coming of Ragnarök), and Loki (a shape-shifting god).

T o see a teenager walking around with ear-buds shoved deep into their ears is a common sight in

the world today. Pop culture has be-come ingrained in youth‘s lives with such saturation that it would be near impossible to take that influence away from youth. It seems that, through time, every generation has latched on to their own different era, which is usually de-fined by popular music of the time. Think of Billy Holiday, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Bruce Spring-steen, *NSync, Britney Spears, and, now, Lady Gaga. The music that has been produced over the years has ef-fected the youth of that generation and always seems to meet some kind of re-sistance from the prior generation, namely: rock and roll, rap and current pop music. What is now know as classic rock was once the most radical music of its time. It evolved from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music. It began to grow in popularity in the early 40s and continues to influence music today. Some of the big names in classic rock were and still are: Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Big Bopper and Johnny Cash, to name a few. The older genera-tion thought this kind of music was ex-tremely offensive and, because of this, rock and roll met a great amount of re-sistance. Some radios refused to play it on their stations and the dancing that accompanied rock and roll music was thought to be provocative and evil.

Frank Sinatra is quoted as saying , ―[Rock and Roll] music is deplorable...a rancid smelling aphrodisiac...[it is] sung, played, and written for the most part by cretinous goons‖ (Taraborelli). Many people agreed with Sinatra‘s views, but, obviously, not everyone did because rock and roll music is still listened to today. In the late 80s and early 90s rap mu-sic began to really take its place in the popular culture of that time. Bands like Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, and Tupac were extremely popular and they all seemed to be talking about more than just music. Theresa A. Martinez wrote an article entitled ―Popular Cul-ture as Oppositional Culture: Rap as Resistance‖ and in it she states ―the po-litical and gangsta rap of the late 1980s and early 1990s was an ardent form or resistance and a definite expression of oppositional culture‖ (Martinez). Much like every generation, in the early 80s and 90s rappers and hip-hop artists have spoke out against perceived problems in many of our nation‘s cities. Martinez goes on to say that rap music ―translate[s] in to experiences of power, freedom, coherence, and the enactment of sur-vival in a complex, dangerous world‖ (Martinez). Despite this some-what noble view of rap music, this era in music has been blamed for increased crime, violence, and is said to be a bad influence on young listeners. Popular music today is eclectic and almost all encompassing of genres and falls under the genre of ―pop‖. Some of

the popular artists of today are: Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, Kate Perry, Justin Timberlake, and Lady Gaga. Pop music today is, possibly, less radical than rock and roll was in the 40s, but it is now eas-ier accessible. It takes only a matter of seconds to download a song and listen to it on a cellphone. The older genera-tion is not quite as excited about it. It is said that ―practically all popular tunes fall into three categories: ―happy in love‖, ―sad in love‖, and ―novelty songs with sex interest‖ (Hirsch). Many peo-ple feel that pop music of today is im-mature and lacking talent and substance. Yet the record companies continue to make billions of dollars a year on this music franchise. Music is interesting in that it seems to influence, greatly, popular culture of its time. Music has the power to change and influence many people for better or for worse. One can not ignore the im-pact that music has on culture or the impact has on culture. Music is a form of expression that is, occasionally, a re-action to the time period. Slash, from the rock band Guns ‗n Roses, says ―Whenever society gets too stifling and the rules get too complex, there's some sort of musical explosion" (Envi- ronmental Music). This ―explosion‖ is rejected by some and embraced by oth-ers, but no one can deny its power.

14 Capstone Publishing

Popular Music and

Its Opposition BY LYNDEE GARDNER

15 Celebrities

Shannon Miller: Athlete and Inspiration

BY HANNAH JACOBS Shannon Miller is passionate about helping women become

motivated to help themselves and others.

Shannon Miller has been a great inspira-tion to millions of people. She is known for being an Olympic gymnast, a cancer victim, and a dedicated wife and mother. She was born in Rolla, Missouri on March 10, 1977. Her parents, Clau-dia and Ron Miller. met while living in Texas and attending school. Soon after Shannon was born, they moved to Ed-mond, Oklahoma. When she was an infant, doctors said that her legs were not growing properly; they were grow-ing inward. She had to wear a brace for a few months, but after it was removed,

she was a small yet very active toddler. Initially, she was taking ballet les-sons, and then she and her sister, Tessa, got a trampoline for Christmas. She and her sister learned how to do flips, but their parents didn‘t want them to get injured and so they enrolled them at the local gymnastics center. Throughout the next few years, she impressed coaches around the world. Up until then, she had been doing gymnastics for fun, but then she began training diligently. Gym-nastics, education, and family were her life.

Over the years, Shannon miller be-came a world champion and everyone knew her name. Miller was fourteen when she first made her World Cham-pionships appearance. She helped bring her team to receiving silver medal, which was the highest US finish at that time. In 1992, after the Worlds, many competing gymnasts and fans declared Miller as one of the major Olympic contenders. In March 1992, Miller dis-located her elbow and had emergency surgery and a screw inserted. Though she had surgery, she was determined to

16 Capstone Publishing

succeed. She was back on her game and competing in both compulsories and optionals in June 1992. She won. Soon there became a rivalry between Shannon Miller and fellow American Kim Zmeskal. Both of them were rising in performance. ―To add to the rivalry, the two gymnasts had contrasting styles: Zmeskal was powerful and char-ismatic when she performed, while Miller was more serious, letting her im-pressive array of skills speak for them-selves.‖ She is one of only three Ameri-can gymnasts to have won five medals in a single Games. Though she pulled a stomach muscle, she endured through the competition and won her second consecutive all-around title. Miller is the only US gymnast to have accomplished this feat. In 2000, Miller attempted a third Olympic, but unfortunately she was forced to withdraw after she suf-fered a knee injury and was not named on the team. Overall she won seven Olympic medals- 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze, 9 World Championship Medals: 5 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze, and she was a mem-ber of 8 Halls of Fame. It was not a surprise when she received a great honor of being the most decorated gymnast, male or female, in United States history. According to Shannon Miller Lifestyle: Health and Fitness for Women, ―She is the only American to rank among the Top 10 All-Time gym-nasts and is the only female athlete to be inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame – Twice! (Individual (2006) and Team (2008)).‖ She was a great in-spiration and still is a motivation to many young girls and their parents. After retiring from Olympic compe-tition, she has dedicated her life to helping others to achieve a healthy and fit lifestyle. In 2011, Shannon was diag-nosed with a type of ovarian cancer. In her latest book, Competing With Cancer:

My Journey, My Mindset, My Mission, she reminds and is an advocate for women to receive regular check ups and screen-ings. Cancer can come at any moment, but having a positive mindset and out-look can save a person. There are a few tips and guidelines to a healthy exercise program. She mentions strong legs, toned thighs, mo-tor running, heart thumping, and mus-cle stretching. These activities with strengthen the body and help in the mundane tasks. In her fitness section, she has a BMI calculator, Calorie Burn-ing Calculator, and steps to mile calcu-lator. She also has a list of group exer-cise programs such as kickboxing, yoga, spinning, Pilates, and Zumba that work with your body to produce the results you desire.

She brings her never back down atti-tude to her professional life as well as her health. She has shared her conven-ient health life style on her site, www.shannonmillerlifestyle.com, and her weekly radio show. When she be-came a wife and mother, she knew that

there were going to be many transi-tions. Women tend to serve as the pri-mary caregiver at home and to their friends, and Shannon emphasizes the need for time alone, away from every-thing to relax. Exercising and meditat-ing while pregnant are two ways that Shannon helped herself relax and be-come a better mother. She is a professional and inspira-tional speaker and teacher. She is pas-sionate about helping women under-stand and become motivated to help themselves and others. When she found out that she had cancer, it could have broken her, but she decided—as she encourages everyone to do—to have it build her up. She became moti-vational and a great help to many peo-ple. She continued living her life, she didn‘t stop—instead she moved ahead at full speed. Shannon Miller will always be known as a world-renowned gymnast, but she also is now known as a wife and mother, cancer survivor, and a physical fitness trainer and motivational speaker.

How to Calculate Your BMI:

( Weight in Pounds / ( Height in

inches x Height in inches ) ) x 703

Example:

(130lbs/(65in x 65in)) x 703

=

21.6 BMI

Underweight = <18.5

Normal weight = 18.5–24.9

Overweight = 25–29.9

Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/

15

18 Capstone Publishing

W hen has school not been all about friends and the social life? A child or teen grow-

ing up in the 1980s would have said the popular catchphrase ―gag me with a spoon‖ if it meant isolation from friends so mom could be his or her stay-at-home teacher. Parents raising chil-dren in the 80s were frustrated with the public education system and knowing they could do better, set the precedence for homeschooling. However, they met great challenges from being advocates of homeschooling. School administrators and the gen-eral public were enraged with parents who were teaching their children at home. They outwardly expressed their concerns with the home school practice and their fears of the children becom-ing illiterate from the lack of proper classroom instruction. Parents didn‘t back down. The opposition and hostil-ity they faced led to the creation of the Homeschool Legal Defense Associa-tion (HSLDA) in the early 1980s to as-sist them with their challenges. Parents were not purposefully seek-ing to make their children outcasts in society and although children were not excited about the idea of having to stay at home all day with mom or dad as their teacher, statistics proved that in the 1990s over 850,000 children were being homeschooled. University of Illi-nois Education Professor Christopher

Lubienski remarks, ―A lot of families are looking at what‘s happening in pub-lic or private school and saying, ‗You know what? I could do better, and I'd like to be a bigger part of my kid's life‘‖ (Conlin). The increase in homeschooled chil-dren in the 90s showed parents were playing a bigger role in their child‘s life as well as homeschooling becoming viewed as a less radical form of parent-ing. The new millennium led to advance-ments in technology as well as height-ened awareness with safety issues within the school environment. Statis-tics in 2007 show that 85% of parents homeschooled their children due the school‘s environment. Drug use, bully-ing, and violence were significant issues that gave parents grounds to protect their child‘s character from being dam-aged as well as their emotional health and well-being. Modern technology and the innova-tion of the internet generated an inva-sion of new information with the click of the mouse. Education courses and materials are available with the help of ―Google.‖ Modern advances have de-creased funding for public schools and increased standard achievement tests for students, basing intelligence solely on test scores to prove that a child is being educated in the 21st century.

Therefore, determined to be ―totally awesome‖ parents, battles were pur-sued, courts were fought, and homeschooled children have excelled far above students who have been taught in the public school system. Homeschooling is a trend that has in-creased every year since the ―totally tu-bular‖ days in the 1980s and is an ac-ceptable form of education in 2011 with over 1 million children being in-structed in the home. Conlin, Michelle. "Meet My Teachers: Mom And Dad." Businessweek 3972 (2006): 80-81. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. ―Issue Brief.‖ U.S. Department of Educa-tion. December 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. Newcomb, Amelia. "A fresh view of homeschoolers." Christian Science Monitor 07 Aug. 2001: 15. Academic Search Pre-mier. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. Stevens, Mitchell L. "The Normalisa-tion Of Homeschooling In The USA." Evaluation & Research In Education 17.2/3 (2003): 90-100. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

Learning How

to Learn BY LESLIE ARMSTRONG

19 Tech and Gadgets

Steve Jobs and the

Internet Gadget

BY ALICIA DAYLEY

W hen I was little, I remember typing in codes to get into my favorite computer video

game, rather than using the mouse and an icon or menu. The monitors were huge. I remember looking curiously at the ―tape‖ coiled around the com-puter‘s innards when my uncle would take the case off the tower. Since then we have come a long way, but the 80s and 90s were the building blocks. It was

an exciting time of new ideas and knowledge. When we think of innovation, we think of Steve Jobs. This man touched about every aspect of our toys and gadgets today. We have the quick, effi-cient apple computer, iPods, iPhones, and iPads (anything ―i‖). He even had an influence on the internet. But com-puters and phones were already in exis-tence; Jobs just improved upon them.

During the 1980s and 1990s, many cru-cial technological developments were created, and we still use them today. Steven Jobs‘ birth parents gave him up for adoption on the day of his birth, February 24, 1955. His adoptive par-ents, Carla and Paul Jobs, encouraged his ingenuity. He and his father tink-ered with electronics together, taking things apart, and putting them back together again. He left for Portland,

Oregon, and attended Reed College. But he dropped out after only six months and spent the next 18 months unofficially attending creative classes (Biography). He met Stephen Wozniak in 1971, and the two later founded Apple (Internet, 130). They produced their first computer, Apple I. A few years after Apple II‘s debut, sales were at $139 million, a 700 percent increase). Jobs was particularly excited about the Lisa computer, which appeared on the market in 1983. This computer came with many new features, drop down menus, and copy and paste options. It was a navigational computer with fold-ers, icons, and more. The Lisa even had a mouse (Bellis)! These are many of the things that we take for granted today. Jobs was determined that the Lisa would ―make a dent in the uni-verse‖ (Elliot 5). But the Lisa didn‘t do well; only 10,000 units were sold. Even-tually it was scrapped. Soon after Lisa‘s demise, Jobs left Apple and began the company NeXT (Bellis). This is when Jobs‘ influence leapt in innovation of the Internet. Today, we take the Internet for granted. We now have wireless, high speed ver-sions available, but I‘m sure most of my readers would remember the phone cable internet. My family was a little late discovering wireless inter-net; it took three hours to load a four-minute YouTube video using my phone line. What Jobs contributed to the Internet was his improvement of something called OOP, object-oriented programming. Instead of having the data and codes separate (which was difficult to reprogram because the smallest mistake would rewire the whole program) OOP places the data and codes in the same ―object.‖ This way, programmers

could use these objects to create large programs (Internet 133). OOP style programming is still widely used today. The Internet really took off in the early 90s, but in the 80s, the Internet was looked upon with suspicion and fear. The Cold War was a serious issue, and hackers began to appear as National Security threats. The movie, War Games(1983), reflected the people‘s fear of the dangers of the Internet. Those fears weren‘t unfounded. Three years after the movie‘s releaser, there was a scare when a spy was discovered gaining ac-cess to military information and selling it to the KBG. Cliff Stoll, an astrono-mer, noticed the unauthorized access and tracked the hacker. Cliff Stoll was eventually able trace and arrest three Germans in 1989 (Internet 122-123). But despite all these fears, the Internet continued to grow. By the late 80s, the Internet was no longer just for the mili-tary and prestigious universities. It be-came accessible to just about everybody

(Internet 126). The interesting thing that came from the Internet is that it developed its own culture. Common online com-munities are role playing games, and Habitat was one of the first. Habitat would only run on Commodore 64s, and they would tie up the phone lines (133). Habitat is what would be called a ―metaworld.‖ It consists of the basics of typical online worlds like World of War Craft that we have today. Play-ers take on the role of an alternate vir-tual identity, an avatar, and navigate a digital world with its own geography and currency (Rossney). The programmers, Chip Morning-star and F. Randall Farmer, wrote the essay, ―The Lessons of Lucasfilm‘s Habitat‖ in 1990. They concluded that ―it is impossible to determine the struc-ture and evolution of the game; the task of planning the details of the system should be left to the users them-

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selves‖ (Internet 134). The culture was to be determined by the users, and the creators decided it would be better not to interfere. The Internet had taken on a new function—to entertain, to pre-tend, and to socialize. With all these gadgets (particularly the Internet) that we have today, we cannot forget how they were valued and admired in the 1980s and 90s. They were developed, improved on, and de-manded. It was all about new ways of communicating, even within new cul-tures and virtual worlds. Steve Jobs was only one of the people who helped bring about the innovation. But as Morningstar and Farmer said, it is not for the CEO‘s or programmers to con-

trol how technology develops—it‘s the users. Young, Jeffrey S., and Simon, William L. iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print. Elliot, Jay. The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation. Vanguard Press, 2011. Print. Moschovitis, Christos J.P.; Poole, Hilary; Schuyler, Tami; and Senft, Theresa M. History of the Internet: A Chro-nology, 1843 to the Present. The Moschovi-tis Group, 1999. Print.

"Steve Jobs." 2011. Biography.com. 25 Nov 2011, 06:40 Bellis, Mary. ―Inventors of the Modern Computer: The History of the Graphi-cal User Interface or GUI- The Apple Lisa.‖ About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. ―War Games.‖ fastrewind.com Fast Re-wind, n.d. Web. Nov. 19 2011. Rossney, Robert. ―Metaworlds.‖ Wired.com, Jun 1996. Web. Nov. 19 2011.

21 Tech and Gadgets

Inside Cover: Compuserve ad. http://www.fanboy.com/2009/07/compuserve.html Table of Contents: From Top to Bottom The Cosby Show. http://blogs.centrictv.com/shows/oncentric/the-cosby-show-claire-and-cliff-huxtable-talk- trust-video/ Shannon Miller. http://thecouchgymnast.squarespace.com/the-list-5/?SSScrollPosition=0 War Games screen shot. http://64.78.51.83/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1722 Steve Jobs and the Lisa line. http://www.thetechlabs.com/tech-news/steve-jobs-biography/ Page 3: Church Norris Action Jeans ad. http://www.thisnext.com/item/4E701A4E/Chuck-Norris-Action-Jeans Page 4: 80s eyeglasses. http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/vintage-1980s-clear-with-peach-eyeglass-frames-made-in-france-never-worn Page 6: Band Aid 20 album cover. http://www.themusicphiles.com/2010/12/video-of-the-day-12-19-10-band-aid-20- do-they-know-its-christmas/ Page 7: Top to Bottom Popples. http://bestofthe80s.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/popples/ Teddy Ruxpin. http://wowshopper.com/educational-toys/teddy-ruxpin-box-set.htm Page 8: Top to Bottom Let‘s Rock Elmo. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/toys-r-us-reveals-its-hot-toy-list/ Zhu Zhu Pet. http://www.amazon.com/Zhu-Pets-Hamster-Mr-Squiggles/dp/B002BHDXY0 Citations: "History Page." The Teddy Bear Museum: Stratford-Upon-Avon. N.p., Jul 2011. Web. 1 Dec 2011. "Hot Wheels History." Vex.Net: The Flexible ISP. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec 2011. Prochaska, Suzanne. "Fashion Doll Guide." Vintage Bliss Network. N.p., 2011. Web. 1 Dec 2011. "TalkingTeddies.com." . N.p., 2011. Web. 1 Dec 2011. "TeddyBearGift Review." . N.p., 2011. Web. 1 Dec 2011. ―The Evolution of Teddy Ruxpin.‖ RetroJunk. N.p., Web. 1 Dec 2011. Page 9: Top to Bottom Facts and Figures about The Cosby Show. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086687/ Bill Cosby. http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/the-cosby-show/EP00017073 Page 10: Clockwise from Left Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. http://www.fanpop.com/spots/the-80s/images/583786/title/ferris-buellers-day-off- photo Glory. http://www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/glory.html Lion King. http://www.amazon.com/Lion-King-Matthew-Broderick/dp/B001AQR3JY Inspector Gadget. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Gadget_%28film%29 Richie Rich. www.tower.com/richie-rich-macaulay-culkin-dvd/wapi/107027814

17 Toys and Games

Photo Credits

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Photo Credits

15 Photo Credits

Page 10: Continued My Girl. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102492/ Home Alone. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/ Uncle Buck. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Buck Page 11: Mark Wahlberg. http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/sightings_0OLTLMMoeymOML0BuvS5xK Page 12: Left to Right Led Zeppelin. http://www.sweetslyrics.com/Led%20Zeppelin.html Metallica. http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/cavalera-cut-hair-in-return-for-metallica-album/1351/ AC/DC. http://www.soundunwound.com/music/ac-dc/626 Page 14: Citations "Environmental Music: Aquatic Invasive Species." University of Wisconsin-Extension. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. Hirsch, Paul M. "Sociological Approaches to the Pop Music Phenomenon." American Behavioral Scientist 14.3 (1971). Web. 04 Nov. 2011. Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Sinatra: a Complete Life. Seacaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. Group, 1997. Print. Theresa A. Martinez.. Popular Culture as Oppositional Culture: Rap as Resistance. Sociological Perspectives. University of California Press Vol. 40, No. 2 (1997), pp. 265-286.

Page 15: Shannon Miller. http://bestgymnastics.net/shannon-millers-triumph/ Page 16: Shannon Miller with baby. http://www.goodbite.com/articles/qa-with-olympic-champion-gymnast-shannon- miller-i-cook-get-job-done Page 17: Olsen Twins Got Milk Ad. http://www.funzu.com/index.php/crazy-pics/got-milk-girls-31082010.html Page 18: Homeschooling. http://www.homeschool.com/resources/ConnectionsAcademy/default.asp Page 19: Steve Jobs. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/10/world-without-steve-jobs/ Page 20: LucasFilm‘s Habitat Game. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21883 Page 21: Steve Jobs and the first iPhone. http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs/