missing the '90s

11 THINGS: MISSING THE ’90S

Thursday, April 27, 2006

1. TV: "Seinfeld" (and Kramer and George and Elaine ... and Newwwwwman!!!), "The X-Files" (and Scully!!!!!), "Ren & Stimpy" ("Happy, happy, joy, joy" and "don't touch the red button"), "Baywatch," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Melrose Place" and O.J. on trial (hey, wait a second ... we don't miss those last four).

2. Film: "Rushmore," "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Usual Suspects," "Being John Malkovich," "Fargo," "L.A. Confidential," "Pulp Fiction," "Goodfellas," "The Game," "Groundhog Day" and "Freeway."

3. Music: Beck (pre-"Mutations"), Nirvana (pre-"In Utero"), Green Day (pre-"Insomniac"), Jawbreaker (pre-"Dear You"), J-Church (pre-leaving S.F.), MC 900 Ft. Jesus (pre-disappearing altogether).

4. Nightclubs: The I-Beam (now housing), the Kennel Club (now the Independent), Brave New World (now the 1751 Social Club), CW Saloon (now Annie's Social Club), the Chameleon (now Amnesia).

5. Web sites: Excite.com, the next Yahoo? ... OK, maybe not ... and um, has anyone figured out where Webvan drove off to? Ah yes, that's right; a steady convoy, straight off a nearby pier ...

6. Flannel shirts: Now occupying several racks at a thrift store near you.

7. Government surpluses: A balanced budget, a booming economy, low gas prices, a Democrat in the White House ... a bridge to the future? Seems like a fairy tale nowadays.

8. Common sense: Truth has been replaced by "truthiness," science by religion, hope by fear, peace and rationality by war and fanaticism.

9. A genuine health care debate: Will the insurance companies let me list this? Probably not, which is precisely why I'm listing it.

10. The Giants at Candlestick: A young Barry Bonds (with knees that work), a Weeble Wobble Tommy Lasorda (with a sense of humor that works) and baseball parks (with names that work).

11. Looking forward to the year 2000: Nowadays, we're just waiting for 2008.

Tim Sullivan, tsullivan@sfchronicle.com

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/27/NSG6OIFL541.DTL

This article appeared on page H - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle