As I mentioned in another post about incoming college freshmen and their frames of reference, most of the new Class of 2013 was born in 1991.
OK. For those who, like me, have this urge to check the mirror for wrinkles when talking to the college crowd, let's have a look at 1991. My source here is the World Almanac.
Top story: Without a doubt, when Operation Desert Storm was launched against Iraq that February. George Bush Sr. enjoyed a surge in popularity, Saddam Hussein became everyone's favorite villain, and guys like Norman Schwartzkopf, Colin Powell, and Wolf Blitzer were headline regulars. And CNN built a name for itself with its all-Iraq, all-the-time coverage, making a viable entity out of cable TV news.
Also: Thurgood Marshall retired from the Supreme Court, and his successor Clarence Thomas' chances took a hit amid accusations of sexual harassment by his former aide Anita Hill. Thomas was confirmed for the court anyway, though sexual harassment became a new issue.
Internet: Berners-Lee introduced the first Web browser. It was certainly more like Lynx than Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Computers: The most current computer operating system was Windows 3.0, and I was struck by its similarities to the MacIntosh interface. There didn't seem to be a lot of early adopters; most users still typed at the command line in DOS. And Linus Torvalds, a student in Helsinki, built the first Linux operating system from bits and pieces of Minix and other types of UNIX. Nobody but a few fellow geeks noticed.
Movies: The Silence Of The Lambs swept the Oscars: Best movie, best director (Jonathan Demme), best actor(Anthony Hopkins, for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter), and best actress (Jodie Foster). And Jack Palance took top supporting actor's honors in City Slickers as Curly. Who can forget Curly?
Music: Natalie Cole received a Grammy for "Unforgettable," a duet recorded with her late (by more than 25 years) father, Nat "King" Cole.
Super Bowl winner: New York Giants, who beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-19. I watched that game at a bar called the Pour House in Bullhead City, Arizona. Ottis Anderson was the game MVP., and I believe that was the game where the Bills kicker shanked a field goal attempt in the closing seconds.
Baseball: The Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in a barnburner of a World Series. Cal Ripken and Terry Pendleton were MVP's of their leagues, and Cy Young winners were Tom Glavine and Roger Clemens.
NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt won the Winston Cup, though no one knew it outside the South.
Kind of eerie, when you think about it. Like the man said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Although we're throwing more resources into Afghanistan, we were still at war in Iraq. A Bush was still in the White House until this year. Colin Powell had some pull until fairly recently.
Cable TV news is still relevant, though the Internet may soon change that as it is doing to larger newspapers.
I have no idea whatever happened to Ottis Anderson, but Roger Clemens and Tom Glavine were still mowing 'em down until about a year ago.
And Hannibal Lecter is still having a friend for dinner.
OK. For those who, like me, have this urge to check the mirror for wrinkles when talking to the college crowd, let's have a look at 1991. My source here is the World Almanac.
Top story: Without a doubt, when Operation Desert Storm was launched against Iraq that February. George Bush Sr. enjoyed a surge in popularity, Saddam Hussein became everyone's favorite villain, and guys like Norman Schwartzkopf, Colin Powell, and Wolf Blitzer were headline regulars. And CNN built a name for itself with its all-Iraq, all-the-time coverage, making a viable entity out of cable TV news.
Also: Thurgood Marshall retired from the Supreme Court, and his successor Clarence Thomas' chances took a hit amid accusations of sexual harassment by his former aide Anita Hill. Thomas was confirmed for the court anyway, though sexual harassment became a new issue.
Internet: Berners-Lee introduced the first Web browser. It was certainly more like Lynx than Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Computers: The most current computer operating system was Windows 3.0, and I was struck by its similarities to the MacIntosh interface. There didn't seem to be a lot of early adopters; most users still typed at the command line in DOS. And Linus Torvalds, a student in Helsinki, built the first Linux operating system from bits and pieces of Minix and other types of UNIX. Nobody but a few fellow geeks noticed.
Movies: The Silence Of The Lambs swept the Oscars: Best movie, best director (Jonathan Demme), best actor(Anthony Hopkins, for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter), and best actress (Jodie Foster). And Jack Palance took top supporting actor's honors in City Slickers as Curly. Who can forget Curly?
Music: Natalie Cole received a Grammy for "Unforgettable," a duet recorded with her late (by more than 25 years) father, Nat "King" Cole.
Super Bowl winner: New York Giants, who beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-19. I watched that game at a bar called the Pour House in Bullhead City, Arizona. Ottis Anderson was the game MVP., and I believe that was the game where the Bills kicker shanked a field goal attempt in the closing seconds.
Baseball: The Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in a barnburner of a World Series. Cal Ripken and Terry Pendleton were MVP's of their leagues, and Cy Young winners were Tom Glavine and Roger Clemens.
NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt won the Winston Cup, though no one knew it outside the South.
Kind of eerie, when you think about it. Like the man said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Although we're throwing more resources into Afghanistan, we were still at war in Iraq. A Bush was still in the White House until this year. Colin Powell had some pull until fairly recently.
Cable TV news is still relevant, though the Internet may soon change that as it is doing to larger newspapers.
I have no idea whatever happened to Ottis Anderson, but Roger Clemens and Tom Glavine were still mowing 'em down until about a year ago.
And Hannibal Lecter is still having a friend for dinner.
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