Sunday, January 3, 2010

Flashback 1997







Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $8,110.90 billion

Federal spending: $1635.33 billion

Federal debt: $5498.9 billion

Median Household Income(current dollars): $37,005

Consumer Price Index: 160.5

Unemployment: 4.9%

Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32


US shuttle joins Russian space station (Jan. 17).
O. J. Simpson found liable in civil suit (Feb. 5).
Heaven's Gate cult members commit mass suicide in California (March 27).
US Appeals Court upholds California ban on affirmative action (April 8).
Clinton exercises new line-item veto (Aug. 11).
Timothy J. McVeigh sentenced to death for Oklahoma City bombing (Aug. 14).
Two convicted in New York Trade Center bombing (Nov. 12).



Events
The controversial television ratings system debuts on cable stations and broadcast networks. The ratings, TV-Y, TV-G, TV-Y7, TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-M, appear for 15 seconds in the upper left-hand corner of the screen at the beginning of each show, except news and sports programs, which are not rated.
Titanic crashes into theaters. It is the most expensive film of all time, costing between $250 and $300 million to produce and market.
Ellen DeGeneres outs herself. She becomes the first openly gay woman to have her own sitcom.
The Prince of Pop is born to Michael Jackson and wife Debbie Rowe. The child's name is Prince Michael Junior.
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone is published in the U.K. It comes to U.S. in 1998 as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.


Movies
As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, The Ice Storm, L.A. Confidential, Titanic


Books
Don DeLillo, Underworld
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain
Rick Moody, Purple America
Philip Roth, American Pastoral
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook





2 comments:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Missy, glad to see this post back. I really enjoy it!
Happy New Year : )

Lisa said...

Hey Missy! I "read" Cold Mountain in audio format years ago on a long drive to Saskatchewan. LOVED it. And Titanic still makes me do the ugly cry... you know.. the scene with those two old people on the bed as their room is filling up with water?..... see? Even just THINKING about it! (sniff!)

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