Mini Project

And you can help. The last two months or so of my life, while still being wonderful, have been filled with their fair share of stress…and more. I lost my job and went through a failed IVF cycle with my wife. Between hormone shots, filing for unemployment insurance and interviewing for new positions, things have been a bit trying lately. Not to mention, this election year hasn’t made things any less stressful.
 

So, I’ve decided to fight back by doing something fun. And as I said in the opening, you can help. I’m going to compile a list of the Top 50 Pop Culture Items of the Past 50 Years. I’ve often told my daughter it is important to understand what America looked like to the generation before, and now I’m going to compile a list.
 

Obvious candidates are things like “Star Trek” and “Star Wars.” Also, “The Brady Bunch” and “Ferris Bueller” will be recognizable choices for the list. However, nothing I list here is a guarantee of the final draft, but I’m giving examples to help others play along.
 

Any item, whether a TV show, movie, book character, catch phrase or even a song is fair game. Can anyone see “The Macarena” making the list? What defines an item’s potential candidacy is its recognizable popularity in its own given time. “In its own given time” is the key here. Also, it must be viewable as piece of entertainment, not tragedy or current events. There will probably be items that today’s kids just won’t know, but back in 1974 everyone was “Kung Fu Fighting.”
 

I will be the final judge for time period and popularity. I will try to be fair and promise to even do some research to give a relative ranking. In general, any item from 1963 forward is fair game – meaning JFK’s assassination could have made the list if it were not a tragic news story. However, the movie “Cleopatra” could be a contender, despite its tragic story line and Richard Burton’s drunken delivery in many scenes...wait a drunk Richard Burton might be the entertainment entry.
 

Modern entries of the past few years are fair game too. This is not a list of things from only 50 years ago. “Charlie Sheen’s Winning” is an obvious entry.
 

Anyway…add your ideas in the comments here or send me a private message if you don’t want your ideas to be seen by others. I will be compiling my own list and combine it with the ideas you send and reveal my Top 50 in about a week.