Apple, Hello Kitty, and Me

1976 was a seminal year. I was born. My mom brought me down to NYC harbor with the tall ships. I may not remember it, but according to the photo, I was darn cute. Oh, and America was celebrating its 200th birthday, not just my birth.

There were other notable births that year.

Yes, the meme was born. Richard Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene first used the word, which means “an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.”

Hello Kitty. Technically, the company formed in 1974 (my sister and husband’s birth years), but that adorable Japanese iconic feline debuted in America in 1976.

Apple Computer has marked their 40th with a pirate flag (damn, I don’t want to love this company, but…). And here’s a video they produced summing it all up:

Typing of pirates, the cool actress who starred in Pirates of the Carribean also turns forty: Naomi Harris.

“Murdered by pirates is good!” And Fred Savage from The Princess Bride.

But let’s move on to vampires, oh wait, I already covered Apple. Ah-hem. Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice was first published in 1976. Since the original Dracula, it revived the pop-culture of sexy bloodsuckers.

A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony. My father had always given me science fiction books he loved, and I enjoyed them. But in seventh grade, a friend got me two books in the Xanth series thinking I might like “that sort of thing.” I LOVED it and collected the first twenty or so books in the series until I started getting annoyed at the guy-ness of the writing. I moved on to other fantasy authors, but this was my gateway.

But on science fiction: Bicentennial Man by Issac Asimov was published the year I was born.

And a man who acts like a robot–Sherlock! One of my favorite actors turns forty this year: Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays BBC’s Sherlock. Here he is with The Muppets:

Which is a great segue because The Muppet Show debuted in 1976. Let’s close this post with the closing of that first episode. Happy Birthday to me and everyone else!