1976 China, Tangshan

At 3:42 am on July 28, 1976 a magnitude of 7.8 earthquake hit the city of Tangshan in northeastern China. The earth Quake had killed over 240,000 people. Because of the amount of deaths, this was the deadliest earth quake of the twentieth century. Before the earthquake ended up occurring, nature had given signs of warning. We know this because it is a general rule when earthquakes will hit soon and because of the literal way that the animals are reacting. For example there were 1000 some odd chickens in Baiguantuan refused to eat and had run around excitedly chirping, mice and weasels were looking for places to hide. Not only did animals five a sign but nature gave signs. The night preceding the earthquake, July 27-28, many people reported seeing strange lights and noises, there were fireballs everywhere, and workers at an air port reported the noises were louder than that of an air plane. The amazing thing about the earthquake is that it wasn't long. It was only about 14-16 seconds. but caused massive amounts of damage. when it struck over a million people lay sleeping, unaware of the disaster, that was to rip them up. most people were doing the usual and hiding under tables and looking for shelters to hide in. Most people were sleeping and did not have time. when the quake was over most buildings were destroyed including hospitals. After the quake 242,419 people were deas and 164,581 people injured.

1970s New York

The article presents the 1970s in New York City to be a time of sexual rebellion, self expression, and freedom. It's presented by opening up the article telling a story of a photography set filled with nudity but claiming that it was OK because it's the disco era- a time of leather, boas, and suits. Claiming from this was born a social revolution where the social and sexual selves we being completely modified. Then Russell Smith blames Ronald Reagan for the death of that social revolution due to his implementation of family values.

When comparing modern day to the 70s it makes us seem very conservative because of the fact that smoking is no longer allowed in bars, and then Smith mocks the fact that girls-gone-wild is seen as a criminal act now. He argues that sex today is in turn commercialized. Further contrasting the 70s with the 80s Smith sees that the 80s are viewed as far more sarcastic and angry then the 70s.

link: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=News&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA133490588&mode=view&

Smith, Russell. "General Logon Page." Gale Error Page. 23 June 2005. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. .

In 1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released. It did not gain instant fame and it acutely failed in first few years of its release.  It gained its recognition when older teen fans in New York City began to ask for it to have a repeat showing at midnight. This is when the film really took off. The Rocky Horror Picture show was so odd that people began to interact with the movie. At the time, people did not interact with movies they would just go to the movies watch it and leave. The RHPS gave people a chances to yell at the screen and say weird things. As the movie grew people began to dress up like the characters and role play as the movie was going on. What really made the movie different is it took parts from the popular gleam rock of the time. In the gleam rock, rock stars would dress very flamboyantly with tight leather ,sparkly costumes and make up to give them a very loud and a none social norm look.This helped the RHPS open peoples eyes and giving them a culture shock to the sexual exploration and human sexuality. This was a giant step for those how had been previously kept in the closet about these feelings or thoughts. The movie was the first outlet where people with different sexuality ideas could truly feel ok with there opinions. This movie had an impact on the people watching it not just  in a literal sense but also a sociological effect on society.

Fads and Fashion of the 1970's

During the 1970's era many new trends and fads were born, many of which people are happy they never caught on in the later generations. From toys, games and activities, to fashion, the 70's brought it all. Fashion-wise, hippies were the most influential on the generation. Men sported long hair and leisure suits, while bell-bottom pants, hip-huggers, clothing patches, clogs and platform shoes, and gypsy dresses were all a part of casual attire. The hippie trend was essentially colorful, baggy clothing, that disregarded every social norm to create a separate culture.

As for the games and activities, pet rocks, sea monkeys, lava lamps, mood rings, and the Rubik's cube were all fads that began. The Rubik's cube was one of the classic 70's inventions. A person had to make all sides of the cube the same color by twisting the blocks in different directions. It was such a simple concept, yet very few people were actually capable of solving the puzzle. Mathematicians finally understood that there were actually mathematical combinations called algorithms which solved the puzzle. Through a set combinations of moves, the puzzle could be easily solved. The Rubik's cube became such a classic puzzle that even today it is still considered part of our culture. New variations and twists of the puzzle are still being made today.

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade70.html

Michael Craig-Martin: Artist of the 1970's

Michael Craig-Martin (http://www.michaelcraigmartin.co.uk/): If you click on his website you can look at his work from decade to decade and you can see that he's heavily influence by Duchamp's (artist who took the urinal and called it 'the fountain') style-he even uses it in a piece called "Common History" of his 90's works.

In the 60's Craig-Martin's work was mostly photography and conceptual pieces with boxes, etc.. Then in the 70's he began to do installation pieces where he would hang jars of paint, use mirrors, and glasses of water. Things became just straight forward and clear cut at that time for him. Then in the 80's he progressed to mixed medias of household objects with neon colors in them. So what can this say about the time periods that he worked in, other than that the 80's are associated with neons and so was his work? Maybe in the 60's it was all about being straight forward and presenting something that one could make sense of. Potentially in the 70's he wanted to make people view the ordinary as a form of art. He possibly was trying to inspire hope by taking something average and demonstrating how it could be so easily made intriguing. And then in the 80's he could have been trying to draw attention to simplicity by juxtaposing his metal objects with bold neon stripes.

Citation:

MICHAEL CRAIG-MARTIN. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. .

Link for the post below:

http://www.americanhitnetwork.com/ahn/decade-overview.cfm/decade/1970

Social and Musical Change in the 70s

Citation:

Mid-decade, By. "1970's Decade Overview." American Hit Network. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. .

Nixon's resignation should have been a time of victory for the counterculture but the lack of political vision that followed led to a realization that the hippie look could no longer be a form of protest. As people were driven to think of their own interests, a generation of self-centeredness was born.

Pop music was redefined in the 70s to be an overall lighthearted experience as a form of escape. By the end of the 70s, punk music began to invade the scene as a form of rebellion to the laziness of society. Later it was filtered into mainstream, never having gained as much of a hold as disco had.