Getting Started

For anyone who may stumble across this blog, it is intended as a conversation between old friends. Peter and I met in New York City in the early 1980s, an era that seems as impossibly distant now as the 1930s did to us then. We lost touch in the late 1990s, and reconnected recently, via Facebook, as so many have.

It is interesting to speculate that one of the greatest joys of Facebook - finding people one thought lost forever - is a temporary treat. It seems likely that people who grow up in the current era will lose complete contact with far fewer people. But then again, I could be wrong.

Peter and I first conceived of this as a place to exchange thoughts and opinions about pop culture, but we by no means limit ourselves to that should other subjects come to mind.

So - to start - Peter, I have been thinking lately about the recent 20th anniversary of Back to the Future. This is one of those times when a cultural touchstone seems to have passed me right by while I was standing there watching it go. I have never understood why that movie achieved such significance. I mean, sure, it was funny. I never had any desire to see the sequels, though I think I saw bits of both. Michael J Fox was adorable, Christopher Lloyd was hilarious, and the rest of the cast was solid. The concept was by no means novel. The execution was competent. I wasn't surprised it was a hit - but I have been surprised throughout the years by the way people seem to view it as one of the great American comedies, and the idea that the 20th anniversary of its release was in any way noteworthy took me by surprise.

What did I miss, PD?