T minus 20

🚀✨ This week, we're zipping back to mid-May 2004 with a monumental leap in equality, the formidable force of nature and we unleash our inner emo…  

🌈 First up, Massachusetts makes history by being the first U.S. state to say "I do" to same-sex marriage. The champagne popped and love won, setting the stage for a nationwide wave of wedding bells. Here's to love ruling the day!

🌪️ Switching from heartwarming to heart-stopping, we rewind to the terrifying day an F4 tornado blitzed through Nebraska. Hallam got hit hard, but the spirit of resilience outshone the debris. Nature's fury? Yes. Unbreakable human spirit? Absolutely.

🏉 On the sports front, the 2004 Super Rugby Final was nothing short of legendary. The Brumbies and the Crusaders brought an epic showdown that’s still one of the most memorable in rugby history.

🎶 And Fall Out Boy gifted us an EP of all the emotions as posted in the YouTube comments you bet we’ll dissect.

Tune in, turn up the volume and time travel with us #FlashbackFever #May2004Magic #HistoryMeetsToday 

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🚀 This week on T minus 20, we rewind to headline-grabbing news, ethical media dilemmas, unforgettable pop hits and pivotal sports triumphs.

🎬 We kick off with a dark chapter in modern history, revisiting the tragic fate of Nick Berg, whose brutal demise at the hands of extremists left the world reeling. This heart-wrenching story isn't just a reflection on the perils faced in conflict zones but also sparks a conversation on the ethics of media in the digital age. How far is too far when sharing the truth?

📰 In a twist of media fate, we dial into the controversy that saw Piers Morgan stepping down from the Daily Mirror over fabricated photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse. A stark reminder of the thin line between sensationalism and integrity in journalism—decades on, are we any better at spotting the fakes?

🎶 Switching gears to lighter vibes, we're cranking up the hits - from Maroon 5's 'This Love' to Usher ruling the charts. Plus, a nod to Killswitch Engage's 'The End of Heartache,' pumping fierce energy into metalheads' hearts and the airwaves alike.

🏆 Sports fans, we haven't forgotten you! Revel in nostalgia as we recap the Laureus World Sports Awards, where legends like Michael Schumacher and Annika Sörenstam took top honors.

🌍 And who could forget the Eurovision spectacle? With Ukraine's electrifying win with "Wild Dances," we’re diving deep into the cultural and musical legacy of this iconic competition.

🎥 On the movie front, 'Van Helsing' was slashing through cinemas, but was it a hit or a miss? We dissect this monster mash-up and its impact on the horror genre.

📺 Lastly, pour one out for 'Frasier' as we revisit its grand finale. After 11 seasons, did it deliver the send-off it deserved?

📚 And for our bookworms, we delve into Bob Woodward's 'Plan of Attack,' offering a piercing look into the corridors of power during a pivotal time in American and global politics.

Ready to rewind? Join us on T minus 20, where the past is always present! 🎙️✨ #NostalgiaTrip #PopCultureRewind #Tminus20

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Hey Y2K lovers (and loathers), hold on to your trucker caps ‘cause this week 20 years ago is an emotional ride.

Friends Farewell: Grab the tissues 'cause we’re going on a break. We say farewell to FRIENDS - the iconic show that became a pop culture phenomenon. 52.5 million of us watched them close the door on that iconic apartment. And you know what’s really weird? The show as we know it almost didn’t end up on our screens.

Princess Scam-a-lot: Hitch a wild ride in the high society lane with SAUDI PRINCESS Antoinette Millard. This Buffalo native turned faux royal shook the glitterati with her jewel heist drama and high-end fakery. Dive into this tiara-toppling tale of deception with us!

Turntable Time Travel: Confessions from USHER tops the album charts, with PRINCE'S new album Musicology hot on its heels. We also dissect the 50 WORST SONGS EVER list and we’re not sure we agree… see what you think!

Tragedy in Nigeria: In this week’s heavy hit, we touch on the YELWA MASSACRE, a devastating reminder of the severe religious and ethnic clashes rocking Nigeria back in '04. Over 600 souls lost in a brutal reprisal that shook the world.

We also have a number 1 flick described by critics as clunky and foolish, and our last check-in on the J-Kwon inbox status…

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Buckle up, buttercup: this week 20 years ago was a wild ride - equal parts horrifying, hilarious and of course nostalgic.

The heavy:

• The Abu Ghraib prison scandal explodes, sending shockwaves around the world. We'll unpack the details and the fallout, but be warned, it's not a pretty picture.
• Dick Cheney and George W. Bush take a turn in the hot seat, testifying before the 9/11 Commission. Did they reveal anything juicy?

The hilarity:

• Remember Shrek the sheep? The runaway merino who became a national treasure in New Zealand after six years on the run? We'll relive his epic shearing complete with celebrity guests.

The headliners:

• Beyoncé's "Naughty Girl" is setting the charts on fire with its sassy vibes and dance moves inspired by Fred Astaire (yes, really!).
• D12 drops their album "D12 World," and we'll dive into the music and the group's complicated history.
• Coachella becomes a cultural phenomenon with Radiohead and The Cure headlining. 

Bonus Round:

• We'll mourn the end of an era: the Sunday night movie tradition bites the dust on Network Ten.

So, grab your flip phones (good luck finding a charger!), dust off your old iPods and join us for a trip down memory lane.

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This week twenty years ago delivered a mix of jaw-dropping headlines and eyebrow-raising moments that'll make you say, "Wait, did that really happen?"

First up, the heart-wrenching tale of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned soldier whose story reads like a Hollywood script. From sacking quarterbacks to dodging bullets, Tillman's journey took a tragic turn when he was killed by friendly fire in
Afghanistan. But hey, at least the military gave him a hero's send-off, right? Wrong. Turns out, the truth got lost in a military cover up, leaving us scratching our heads and wondering, "What really went down?"

Meanwhile, down under, Aussie PM John Howard pulled off a surprise visit to Baghdad. Talk about a plot twist! With more security than a pop star at Coachella, Howard made a quick pit stop to hang with the troops. Because nothing says "support our troops" like a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek in a war zone.

In sports, the NFL Draft turned into a real-life soap opera when Eli Manning got drafted by the Chargers but pulled a fast one to end up with the Giants. Forget touchdown passes—this was some next-level maneuvering worthy of a primetime drama. 

And speaking of drama, Maroon 5's "This Love" was all over the charts, giving us major relationship vibes and inspiring awkward conversations about exes.

But let's not forget the literary world, where Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' "Glorious Appearing" took us on a wild ride through the end times. Move over, summer blockbusters—this book had everything from biblical prophecy to characters you'd swear were plucked straight from a Sunday sermon.

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The headline is a bit misleading but British PM Tony Blair did visit the US this week 20 years ago where he held a joint press conference with the US President Geroge W Bush to talk all things Coalition of the Willing and give an update on the War in Iraq. Surprisingly Bush managed to forget a few key dates when questioned.

In sport West Indian Cricket batting legend Brian Lara broke the record for the highest individual score in a test innings with a whopping 400 not out. In spite of this, the match against England would result in a draw. 

On the charts Usher continues with world domination and add his latest single 'Burn' to the Billboard charts to compete with 'Yeah'. But Mario Winans says 'I Don't Wanna Know' . If you think that song isn't that old, you're probably remembering The Weekend's version 'Creepin' from 2022. 

In entertainment news, the Olsen Twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley go to war with the press as they fight for their right not to be called 'The Olsen Twins'.

And Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey make us wonder if they actually are Muppets when their variety special airs on NBC featuring Kitt from Knight Rider, Jewel and the actual Muppets among all their guests. 

We also take a peek at the New York Times Best Seller for this week in 2004 'Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror' by former U.S. chief counter-terrorism advisor Richard A. Clarke.

Along with some other stuff! 

 

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We’re pretty sure our research this week has us on a watch list somewhere as we look into ammonium nitrate and why this highly explosive chemical needed to be banned way back in 2004. The fun doesn’t stop there either as we take the best parts from Condaleeza Rice when she testifies for over three hours at the 9/11 commission hearings. As promised you can find all the deets here: https://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing9.htm

In tech news the NYPD launch a new device capable of sniffing out bio terrorism and Apple gets a virus, which is something we thought did not happen to those guys.

In music news Jay Z flicks that ‘Dirt off your shoulder’, J-Kwon releases ‘Hood Hop’ and doesn’t answer his messages and Daniel Johns and Paul Mac release the Dissociatives self titled album.

At the box office Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman breathe life into Mike
Mgnola’s cult comic book hero with ‘Hellboy’ and we explain why Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson underwhelmed us with a rehash of ‘Starsky and Hutch’.

In TV we take a look at a reality show you probably enjoyed but may have forgotten. It didn’t age well either. The Swan saw a team of plastic surgeons and psychologists quite literally pull apart ugly ducklings with psychological and body issues and put them back together as a beautiful swan! What could go wrong?

Have a listen and find out!

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It’s a week of good news for the people in Ireland, whether they like it or not, as they breathe the fresh air that comes with banning smoking in pubs and clubs. Although some may argue that it was a rather anti-social initiative, the people who didn’t have to breathe the passive smoke found it much easier to hold a conversation.

Not so good news for military contractors in Fallujah however when a mission to guard a catering truck ended in the deaths and mutilation of 4 Blackwater employees. The ambush that took place was a precursor to the First Battle Of Fallujah, where the US would attempt to take control of the city, however politics got in the way and it ultimately was seen as a victory to the insurgents by many.

In sport Australia’s Libby Lenton broke Inge de Bruijn’s 100m women’s freestyle record at the Australian Olympic trials in Sydney. We also take a look at what Libby has been up to recently with her activism against body shaming women in sport.

In tech Google introduced Gmail on April Fool's Day and everyone thought they were joking. They were however quite serious.

America Idol runner up Clay Aiken entered the Billboard top 5 this time 20 years ago, however now you’d find him having a crack at politics, with mixed results. While Anastasia told us how it really feels to be left outside alone and Janet Jackson’s ‘Damita Jo’ has short lived success due to no promo from the record company in the wake of #nipplegate.

Scooby Doo 2 tops the box office, in spite of a poor reviews for the prequel and the hideous addition of Scrappy Doo. Kevin Hart has a sitcom as do video games… who knew?!?!?

Plus a Mel offers up health and fitness tips about how to age gracefully… 

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Ok so it’s an obscure title that we’ve used to put two unrelated occurrences together this week.

The first being the deliberate sinking of the HMS Scylla of the coast of Britain and the second, Usher releasing his album confessions. Where the single ‘Burn’ basically gave him an excuse to rip his shirt off.

In sport France defeated England to win the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.

We also had an album release from Maryland’s Clutch. Joe discusses why ‘Blast Tyrant’ is one of his fave albums of all time. And we have to endure another tacky compilation album as ‘Now That’s What I Call Music 15’ comes out.

Meanwhile Mel decides to spend 8 bucks sending an SMS to J-Kwon via cameo. Find out if he replies.

At the box office Zack Snyder made his motion picture directorial debut with a remake of George A Romero’s ‘Dawn of The Dead’. Whilemover on the small screen ‘Deadwood’ captivated those who could afford Foxtel or HBO.

Plus books we didn’t read and loads more!

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The news this week is positively and literally astronomical, with scientists announcing the discovery of 90377 Sedna, a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. We break down the selection criteria for a planet vs a dwarf planet and find out why Pluto was downgraded.

Terror in Taiwan this week in 2004 with Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot the day before the country's presidential election. Conspiracy theories exist to this day.

Wrestlemania XX returns to Madison Square Garden in New York. We talk about what went down then and compare it to what is happening now for Wrestlemania 40! 

In music DJ Casper introduces a new dance called the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ and while it’s a hit at the time, it’s doesn’t quite have the same impact as ‘The Nutbush’ at weddings.

Plus we’ve got new albums from George Michael, the Soul Train Musoc Awards and Prince steals the show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony with a blistering guitar solo that pays homage to George Harrison.

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