1. TGIF Sitcoms – “Did I do that?” Urkel’s iconic character on Family Matters was a linchpin of the Friday nights of my youth. Full House, Perfect Strangers, Dinosaurs, and the rest of ABC’s TGIF Lineup are also permanently seared in my memory. Thank god for these shows. If it weren’t for them, I would have actually had to make friends, meet girls, and play sports. TGIF you are a lifesaver!
2. Yo Mama Jokes! – Before Wilmer Valderrama killed the whole thing with his retarded MTV show, yo mama jokes were the pinnacle of schoolyard humor. I loved these. But there’s a long list so we better get off mamas for now. After all, I just got off yours!
3. Beepers/Pagers – Before the I-Phone and the Blackberry were these pioneers of staying connected. Initially synonymous with drug dealers (420 – 911), these little alphanumeric wunderkinds allowed us to 1) text our girlfriends 143 2) text 3704550 to anyone we were mad at. and 3) show off to all our friends. FYI – I had the clear glow in the dark case. Beat that!
4. Street Fighter 2 & Mortal Combat – I could go even further back and talk about the contra and TMNT videogames but why would I? SF2 and Mortal Combat were the pinnacle of competitive arcade and video gaming of our time. And I kicked ass in both. Scorpion or Ryu. Bet on it.
5. D.A.R.E. – Mcgruff did his part in educating children about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Or did he? I’m not sure if Mcgruff could even kick the ass of smokey bear of Forrest fire prevention fame. Either way, I enjoyed the free t-shirt back in the day. Thanks McGruff!
6. Grunge Music & Fashion – Kurt Cobain did his part before his tragic end. He took a generation of children and told him it is OKAY to wear old jeans with holes in them and vintage t-shirts. Those kids grew up to be the 30k millionaires of present-day midtown. And guess what… they’re STILL wearing the same shit, minus the flannel of course.
7. Stoner and Slacker Humor: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Beavis and Butthead, Ren and Stimpy… loved them all! Little did I know at the time but these were geared towards a niche demographic. Uh huh huh. Huh huh. Fire, fire!
8. Before the Real World and cutting yourself, there was My So-Called Life, an MTV sitcom aimed at the classic high school emo girl. Not only did this show serve as a launching pad for the careers of Jared Leto and Clair Danes, but it also served as an emotional vortex for the conflicted souls of Gen-X.
9. The rise of the internet – I remember messing around in IRC chatrooms before the web made it easy for me to get around the web. I was designing sites in HTML back when the only browsers available were netscape and IE. it was fun for a 6th graders but I never would have thought that it would get this pervasive, this quickly. Looking back, I think I should have purchased that Google IPO. Damn the Gods for not showing me the light sooner.
10. NOT working – Goddamn I miss the days where I would have nothing else to do but go to football practice or run amuck on the streets with my friends. Whether it be playing games, exploring the town on our bikes, or sports, there was always something to do. And the biggest worry was what to say to the crush at school during kickball. Mindsets haven’t changed much but responsiblities sure have. Jesus, will somebody get me a time machine?
DNC Worldwide 