Trivia quiz explanations
Here's the quiz itself: http://jpmassar.livejournal.com/69015.html
'The Day the Music Died' (1950's)
This is a lyric from 'American Pie', which was written in the 60's,
but it is generally taken to refer to the plane crash in 1959 which
killed musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP Richardson:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died
Another line from the song, 'When I read about his widowed bride', is often interpreted to refer to Buddy Holly's wife, who was his recent bride.
(Although I had originally thought it referred to John Kennedy's widow)
For an interpretation of the whole song, see http://www.fiftiesweb.com/amerpie-1.htm
Buddy Holly was, perhaps "the single most influential creative force
in early rock and roll" and his death was widely mourned.
====================
Cuyahoga River (1960's)
The river through Cleveland, Ohio, it is famous for having caught on fire
on June 22nd, 1969, due to the amount and flammability of its pollutants.
This fire attracted such national attention that it is credited with being
at least partly responsible for the enactment of the Clean Water Act and
the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
People who were not alive back then seem to have little
understanding of just how bad air and water pollution were at that time,
and how much things have improved, partially as a result of the Cuyahoga
River fire.
====================
COSVN (1970's)
The Central Office for South VietNam, the 'elusive' headquarters of
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, located in Cambodia, and therefore
out of the reach of US forces and airstrikes.
Until, that is, Nixon authorized the invasion of Cambodia on
April 26th, 1970. In a famous television presentation, he
told the American people of his decision, specifically saying that
a prime target of the operation was "the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam." I am fairly certain he used the
term COSVN and it may have even appeared on a map he was using; I was 14
at the time and remember Nixon's television appearance and associate it
with the term COSVN.
The invasion of Cambodia prompted immediate and massive protests, especially
on college campuses, which resulted in the Kent State massacre on May 4th.
COSVN itself was never found or its personnel captured.
===================================================
'The Fate of the Earth'
A book published in 1982 by Jonathan Schell.
http://www.amazon.com/Fate-Earth-Jonathan-Schell/dp/B000GRKLPG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223963074&sr=1-3
It describes the Earth after a nuclear holocaust and was a
best-seller. The book was created out of three articles
originally published in the New Yorker.
More generally, this is a reference to the threat of nuclear
annihilation that hung over the entire world, especially in
the early Reagan years, as rhetoric was ratcheted up on both
sides (e.g. 'Evil Empire'), and the effect of said threat on society.
The book delves into this in detail.
I was deeply disturbed by the whole concept, and for a time
experienced anxiety attacks and near-fainting incidents which
I came to attribute to this general atmosphere and my brooding
over it, although of course I have no proof of cause and effect.
A conceptually related movie, 'The Day After',
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/10/24/all-time-scariest-tv-characters-2-the-day-afters-entire-ca/
was shown in 1983. 'Bloom County', a comic strip, had some famous strips
devoted to the reactions of its inhabitants to watching The Day After.
Before Googling, I had incorrectly associated these comic strips with
'The Fate of the Earth' rather than 'The Day After'.
'The Day the Music Died' (1950's)
This is a lyric from 'American Pie', which was written in the 60's,
but it is generally taken to refer to the plane crash in 1959 which
killed musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP Richardson:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died
Another line from the song, 'When I read about his widowed bride', is often interpreted to refer to Buddy Holly's wife, who was his recent bride.
(Although I had originally thought it referred to John Kennedy's widow)
For an interpretation of the whole song, see http://www.fiftiesweb.com/amerpie-1.htm
Buddy Holly was, perhaps "the single most influential creative force
in early rock and roll" and his death was widely mourned.
====================
Cuyahoga River (1960's)
The river through Cleveland, Ohio, it is famous for having caught on fire
on June 22nd, 1969, due to the amount and flammability of its pollutants.
This fire attracted such national attention that it is credited with being
at least partly responsible for the enactment of the Clean Water Act and
the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
People who were not alive back then seem to have little
understanding of just how bad air and water pollution were at that time,
and how much things have improved, partially as a result of the Cuyahoga
River fire.
====================
COSVN (1970's)
The Central Office for South VietNam, the 'elusive' headquarters of
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, located in Cambodia, and therefore
out of the reach of US forces and airstrikes.
Until, that is, Nixon authorized the invasion of Cambodia on
April 26th, 1970. In a famous television presentation, he
told the American people of his decision, specifically saying that
a prime target of the operation was "the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam." I am fairly certain he used the
term COSVN and it may have even appeared on a map he was using; I was 14
at the time and remember Nixon's television appearance and associate it
with the term COSVN.
The invasion of Cambodia prompted immediate and massive protests, especially
on college campuses, which resulted in the Kent State massacre on May 4th.
COSVN itself was never found or its personnel captured.
===================================================
'The Fate of the Earth'
A book published in 1982 by Jonathan Schell.
http://www.amazon.com/Fate-Earth-Jonathan-Schell/dp/B000GRKLPG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223963074&sr=1-3
It describes the Earth after a nuclear holocaust and was a
best-seller. The book was created out of three articles
originally published in the New Yorker.
More generally, this is a reference to the threat of nuclear
annihilation that hung over the entire world, especially in
the early Reagan years, as rhetoric was ratcheted up on both
sides (e.g. 'Evil Empire'), and the effect of said threat on society.
The book delves into this in detail.
I was deeply disturbed by the whole concept, and for a time
experienced anxiety attacks and near-fainting incidents which
I came to attribute to this general atmosphere and my brooding
over it, although of course I have no proof of cause and effect.
A conceptually related movie, 'The Day After',
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/10/24/all-time-scariest-tv-characters-2-the-day-afters-entire-ca/
was shown in 1983. 'Bloom County', a comic strip, had some famous strips
devoted to the reactions of its inhabitants to watching The Day After.
Before Googling, I had incorrectly associated these comic strips with
'The Fate of the Earth' rather than 'The Day After'.