WAPCT

Ah, change. Such a deeply profound occurrence of the natural world. It can be scary, exciting or just taking up space in your wallet. And on top of the fact that the only constant is change, the rate of change increases exponentially. Take for example your studies. By the time you finish your 3-year course, the information is redundant and the associated profession obsolete or automated. So now that we have accelerated your heart rate, dilated your pupils and thrown your entire existence into question, you know exactly how the folks working at radio stations felt on this day in 1981. The birth fathers of the channel were originally met with disdain from the music, television and radio industries. But thanks to one of the most brilliant guerilla marketing campaigns ever employed, cable networks received thousands of phone calls from teens and young adults across America all with the same statement: “I want my MTV!” Caving into market pressured, the channel which revolutionised the music industry launched and gained 92% of the cable market within 6 months. As if that wasn’t bad ass enough, the very first video they aired was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. Classic!

The year is 1969 and maybe just maybe, two men made history. With their flag proudly flapping in zero gravity, the world’s most under-appreciated (or non-existent) cameraman captured Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking the first human steps on the set that we now know as the moon. Now, we cannot comment on the validity of American studios, but we can recognise a great copy line and some amazing image manipulation (way before After Effects and Photoshop). So let’s put the “landing” aside for today and salute these brave blockbuster stars. It must have been one bad-ass wrap party.

“The Sultan of Swat” aka “The Great Bambino” aka “The Behemoth of Bust” aka “The Big Fellow” aka the man with so many great nicknames, he makes headline writers’ toes curl! Yes, ladies, gentlemen and other-gendered, we are talking about the one and only Babe Ruth. On and off the field, this man had more standing O’s than commentators worthy of his victories. Other than being one of the greatest Lefties who ever lived, the beloved “Caliph of Clout” (we don’t know what that means either), was able to leave this earth a legend. Ranked #1 on The Sporting News list of Baseball’s Top 100 players, he was a 7 x World Series Champion, 12 x AL Home Run Champion and the only person to ever walk out on a movie premier about his own life. And on this day, 102 years ago, he made his debut.