Good-bye Laura Petrie and Mary Richards ... another legend has passed. I remember her fondly watching all of her shows back in the day and following most of her life and work. Many of her beloved co-workers are still alive including Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, Betty White, Valerie Harper, Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman... more. Mary was born in Brooklyn. She became a feminist icon with her hit 1970 sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. As Mary Richards, Moore was the unthinkable - a single career woman on television, out to make it on her own (as the show's iconic theme song described), without the help of a man. It was a progressive concept that marked a shift in popular and political culture - and would go on to influence a generation of women, including Oprah Winfrey, and inspire them to visualized a world for themselves outside of simply being a wife and homemaker.

Doomsday Clock Ticks Half-Minute Closer to Midnight in Historic Move   Live Science - January 26, 2017
For the first time in its history, the Doomsday Clock, an imaginary timepiece that represents humanity's proximity to annihilation through mechanisms of our own design, has moved 30 seconds closer to calamity, with the minute hand now at 2 and a half minutes to midnight, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced this morning (Jan. 26). The minute hand's new position for 2017 was determined by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with a team of experts including 15 Nobel laureates. They last reset the clock on Jan. 22, 2015, at 3 minutes to midnight, with midnight representing global calamity.

In the year 1984, actor John Hurt starred in the film "1984," winning praise and awards for his portrayal of a citizen caught in the grip of a totalitarian government.

We are coming the end of Donald Trump's first week in office. Comparisons have been made with the book 1984. I remember the book, the films, and not aligning with the dystopian novel published in 1949 - post WWII. The phrases "war is peace," "freedom is slavery" and "ignorance is strength" are resonating with readers as well as "Big Brother is watching you" something I've thought about through the years especially as surveillance increased and shows like Person of Interest became part of our culture. Surveillance is both positive and negative - destined to happen in the Age of Technology and Awakening to the truth behind the illusion.

John Hurt Quotes