Flashback Fridays: The World Wide Web!

FREE AOL OMGGG!!!!1!!1!
Photo Credit Pulse2.com

Unlike the kiddos of today, I can remember a time without a computer. Obviously, this is a very vague memory because we got one when I six, but I still like to pull out that superiority card from time to time when talking to my 12 year old cousin. She can barely fathom that my first family computer would now be older than she is.

I can distinctly remember the day I discovered the internet. It was a Friday afternoon back in 1998. Before taking me to my Dad's house for the weekend as is the custom with divorced families, my Grandmother and I stopped at the supermarket. There at the end of the check-out counters I saw the beauty before me: a beautiful row of shiny CDs promising the gift of the internet!

I quickly snatched a CD and took it with me to my Dad's. I recall being in his kitchen eagerly handing him the CD saying, "Dad...I want to go to AOL Keyword: Nick.com like the TV said to do." I apparently had no idea the Nickelodeon website existed without having to have AOL.

What happened next changed my world forever...I found out we actually already had the internet. We had some magic thing called Comcast that was super fast. Shortly thereafter, my Mom got the internet, but she had dial-up. Let's reminisce with the beautiful melodic sound of dial up internet doing the actual dialing up part:

Does anyone remember how awesome websites from the 90s looked? All those hyperlinks! All those snazzy graphics! All those fancy HTML tricks! If you don't remember, perhaps this slide show of 90s websites that still exist will help you out. My personal favorite is the official website for the movie SpaceJam. It's been left untouched since its launch in 1996. Another gem is the website for You've Got Mail.

So Beautiful. So Simple. So 90s
Photo Credit: Warner Bros. 

Yes, folks, the 90s were a much simpler time for the Internet. Imagine if these sites are still up 50 years from now. Future generations will be so confused. Of course, this adheres to the underlying assumption that we're still using the internet then. With the rapid increase of newer and faster technology we're experiencing, who knows?

What were your favorite 90s sites? Do you remember your first encounter with the world wide web?

Flashback Fridays: Spring Break

Ah Spring Break! Just as soon as the semester starts to get tough, colleges are thoughtful enough to give their students a much needed break. As I posted earlier, mine has been rather tame, but some of my fellow students are off living the good life down in the gulf. However, this is nothing new. College students have been flocking to the coasts since the early 60s. It seems each break brings more sunburns and even more scandals.

Back in the 1990s, I was, of course, spending my spring breaks playing with Barbies or running around my yard. Nothing really scandalous to talk about there, but I am curious as to what I could have been doing as a college student in the 90s. A quick YouTube search led me to this inside edition gem from 1989 (close enough!). Enjoy:

Flashback Fridays: "Science-y Things"

Ms. Frizzle & Bill Nye Leave No Child Left Behind.
Photo Credit: GraphJam.com

When it comes to things involving Math & Science, I am always the first to admit that I haven't got a clue. I'm fine with words, literature, art, and facts, but once you throw numbers in there, you've lost me.

Case in point, I somehow managed to find a loop hole at my college that has allowed me to take JOUR175: Media Literacy as a Math Science course. It didn't involve equations or number voodoo magic, just analyzing articles and thinking critically.

However, if those actual math science courses had been taught by the great science teachers of the 90s, I would have been far more willing to take the classes. I am, of course, referring to Bill Nye the Science Guy and everyone's favorite elementary school teacher, Ms. Frizzle.

I can recall many mornings spent watching those shows before heading off to my real school. I think it's safe to say (as that handy graph points out) that I learned much more from those shows than I did sitting in an overcrowded classroom. Who says television rots our brains? I definitely learned some valuable life lessons from both shows.

The best day in any classroom was when you arrived to class and saw that big TV set on the cart. You know this one:

It usually meant one thing: Bill Nye videos. That show had everything: dinosaurs, terrible child actors, experiments to try at home, experiments you're not allowed to try at home, and that awesome theme song! (Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Nye the Science Guy!) Because of that song, I will never forget that "inertia is a property of matter." I'm not even exactly sure what that means, but I know it, That has to count for something, right? Perhaps it will come in handy if I am on Jeopardy one day.

Bill Nye is actually still teaching science. It seems some people need to go back and watch his videos again. Watch as Bill attempts to explain Global Warming and the moon to a Fox News anchor: 

Perhaps Bill Nye could have used some help from the other best science teacher of the 90s, Ms. Frizzle. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wished my class field trips were as cool as hers. My class only went to the body exhibit at the science center. Ms. Frizzle's class got to actually go inside a body. Talk about hands on learning. 

Ms. Frizzle taught more than just those "science-y things." She also taught some valuable life lessons. I absolutely love her catch phrase: Take Chances! Make Mistakes! Get Messy! 

Wise words my friends. So even if you're like me and not inclined towards the math science or somehow gifted in those skills, you can still take those words to heart. In whatever field you pursue, don't be afraid to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. Oh, and never forget: FoxNews doesn't know what they're talking about. Those four things will get you far in life.  

Flashback Fridays: 90s Chick Flicks

For those of you who don't know, this blog's creation stems from a fantastic course I am taking at the University of Maryland. It's called ENGL 488B: Writing for the Blogosphere. In class, we occasionally receive challenges. This week's challenge is to respond to someone else's post/incorporate it into our own blog.


I've decided to tackle the subject of "Chick Flicks" as inspired by my fellow classmate's blog, Ezra Won't Shut Up. Ezra informed me that her favorite chick flick of her childhood was When Harry Met Sally. That's definitely a classic, but let's take a look at some great ones from the 90s.


Ezra begins by claiming, "We like to think chick flicks are about love in its ideal state, that they are about the best case scenario. I would actually argue that they are snapshots of female fantasy." I completely agree. Chick flicks somehow manage to tap into the inner minds of women. In fact, Sleepless in Seattle completely plays into that as an important part of its plot. The main character, Annie, dreams of finding a love like the classic old-time chick flick movie, An Affair to Remember. It's a chick flick within a chick flick! Chick-flick-ception. I think people fell in love with this movie because it showed a woman aspiring to achieve that chick flick female fantasy, and then, of course, in true chick flick fashion, she totally did.

So much love. So much passion. So much estrogen.
Photo Credit: NY Daily News

The chick flick romance is basically what every woman wants. Ezra argues: 


"Now, I can’t speak for all women (actually, I totally can, and you can’t do anything about it!), but I’m guessing most of you daydream as much as my friends and I do about the perfect guy [or girl] falling madly in love with us and getting married/moving in together and living together in the perfect blend of lighthearted jesting, cute shared traditions, and fiery passion." 

"She walked off of the street, into his life,
and she stole his heart." Wow. Ok.
Photo Credit: Movie Posters.com

If you say you don't, you're lying. Everyone has their own little "female fantasy." For some, it's that perfect bliss of happily Ever After. However, what happens after that ever after? Reality sets in. The rest of Ezra's post analyzes the newest chick flick, The Vow, and how we sometimes lose sight of reality when we escape into the world of the movies. 


I think it's safe to say many escaped into the reality of some more 90s chick flicks. For instance, Pretty Woman. I looked up a list of The Top 10 Chick Flicks of the 90s. Sure enough, Pretty Woman was number one. 


Pretty Woman is supposed to be the "cinderella story" of the 90s. Girl is prostitute. Prostitue meets wealthy business man. Prostitue begins affair with wealthy business man. They fall in love. Uh oh. Prostitute is almost sexually assaulted by George Costanza. Wealthy Business man comes to her rescue. They live happily after...until she becomes a Runaway Bride...or something like that. You get the point. Highly unrealistic, but everyone loves it. 


We all love it because we also love to put ourselves into those situations. Ezra believes that an important part of chick flicks is that they are  "Vague slots for us to emotionally slide our personality into." Case in point: The Bodygaurd. Come on, who hasn't belted out the lyrics to this movie's iconic song "I Will Always Love You" in front of a mirror? You haven't? Well fear not. Get your belting voice ready, it's karaoke time:

Ok, moving on. Every decade has its great, tear jerking, chick flicks. Why? Because that's What Women Want. Yes, they're often unrealistic, but that's the formula that works. Women buy tickets and buy into the fantasy. 


Some chick flicks are so successful that they get to be re-released. In one month or so, Titanic will be back on the big screen...and this time in 3-D. I am not ashamed to admit that you will find me in line, most likely dragging my boyfriend along with me. (Sorry not sorry Dear!)  Will buy into that movie once again and I will eat it up. I will eat it up like the pint of Ben & Jerry's that often accompanies most chick flick watching sprees. 

Flashback Fridays: Game Boy Color

Game Boy in Atomic Purple
Photo Credit: Nintendo 

My Mom recently asked me what favorite christmas gift of all time was. I think she was slightly surprised when I answered the Game Boy Color of Christmas '98. Like many girls, I typically asked for Barbies, dress-ups, and all that jazz, but that christmas was different. Game Boys had recently re-entered the market--and this time in color! (Hence the name, duh.) I had to get my hands on one.

This was back during the Christmases when I had to still retreat to my room and go to sleep before Santa would magically arrive. I can still distinctly remember dreaming about the Game Boy color that night. You know when you have something big like a presentation due the next day and you just dream about it over and over? Yeah, that happened to me with the idea of receiving my Game Boy color.

I finally awoke, probably somewhere around 6 am much to my mother's dismay, and I eagerly rushed down the stairs. Unfortunately, this was the first Christmas after my parent's divorce, so I had to sit and wait for my Dad to arrive so he could join in the festivities. (I have an oddly specific memory?) Eventually, he arrived, and I was free to do what American children do best: tear open all of my presents in record speed.

I remember getting excited about my various other toys, but in the back of my mind wondering if my parents, er, Santa, had in fact fulfilled my number one wish. (Not gonna lie the same thing happened this Christmas with a Testudo Pillow Pet. Don't judge me; it's so fluffy). Finally the moment arrived, and I found the box that contained that awesome Atomic Purple Game Boy Color with the see-through plastic shell. 

Now, by today's standards, the Game Boy color pales in comparison, but at the time it was perfect. Its equivalent counterpart today has not one but two screen and even has a 3D feature. Nintendo has now dropped the "Game Boy" name, but the concept is still the same: handheld gaming system with a wide variety of games.

If you're currently missing some of your favorite handheld games, I've found a great online resource with ways to play them on your computer.

And for my fellow English majors out there, I present to you the greatest game that never was: The Great Gatsby Video Game. (WARNING: It's addicting)

Great Gatsby Video Game! 

Flashback Fridays: Furbies

Photo Credit 9Gag

Every Christmas, there's that toy that every kid absolutely has to have. First there was the cabbage patch doll, then of course Tickle Me Elmo. In the winter of 1998, there was Fruby. No one was exactly sure what a Furby was, but it talked and "interacted" with you, and that was cool enough. You didn't even have to be reponsible for it like those annoying, needy Tamagotchis.

 However, there's one thing many buyers overlooked: the thing was so fucking creepy. Seriously. Was I the only one who though Furbies looked like some weird, devil spawn, cousin of Gremlins?

I remember my first, and only Furby. It was the pink "baby" one. It was just as creepy only allegedly cuter. Someone "generously" gifted it to me at my birthday party when I was seven. Like most toys, the novelty ran out fairly quickly. I soon moved on to cooler interactive toys like DivaStarz, not as creepy, and far more trendy.

However, my Furby somehow managed to live on...I swear Furbies continue to just keep going and going and going even after the batteries die. Case in point, a few years ago, I journeyed into my basement to retrieve something. As I made my was down the dark stairs while fumbling for the light switch,  I heard the little voice I can only equate to nails on a chalkboard screeching some gibberish of a language. My Furby had somehow resurrected itself. It was probably asking, "Why don't you love meeeeee?" Answer: because you're so creepy!!  You can bet I grabbed whatever it was I needed and made my way up the stairs faster than I ever had before. That thing went into the trashcan the next morning for sure.

Apparently, some people still have their Furbies. I have no idea why; maybe they put it out as decoration for Halloween. Our interactive technology has vastly improved, but I suppose they're a nice novelty for some. Watch as Furby meets the latest interactive technology, Siri: