Friday, Jul 25, 2008
Why some people still yearn for the apocalypse. Plus: A beer-soaked argument for the re-segregation of baseball and an absurd portrait of two macho men duking it out in court.
Jan 7, 2000 | The media is not actually done talking about Y2K. Some of us, you see, are bummed that the world wasn't somehow forever altered on Jan. 1, 2000. We have our reasons for feeling this way. Some felt it all should have been more interesting. Others (read: Peter Jennings) simply want to believe all that hype wasn't all for nothing. Others still believe we live in dreadfully stable, prosperous, mesmerizing times -- where image triumphs over reality and money is seen as a virtue; disaster would be a welcome and long-overdue turn of events.
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Metro Times Detroit
"Apocalypse, please" by Metro Times staff
This list of 1,000 reasons the Metro Times staff is glad the last millennium is over is actually just a shortsighted itemization of tripe from the last 50 years in pop culture. A sample: Heaven's Gate cult, Blue Oyster Cult, Ishtar, Jar Jar Binks, Virginia Slims ads ... Like who isn't pissed about "The Mummy"?
But the title -- "Apocalypse, please" -- sets the tone. It invokes many a person's secret wish that the world would fall apart, forcing everyone to start life over from scratch at the age of 26, 38, 62 or whatever. It isn't enough that we have to listen to the Blue Oyster Cult. Humanity must be punished for spawning such garbage.
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Feed, Jan. 4, 2000
Daily Feed by Steven Johnson
Steven Johnson is relieved that the turning of the calendar was not accompanied by "global technological meltdown, Ebola in the subways, or the Coming Of The Dark Prince." At the same time, he is saddened by the lack of what he calls "visceral carnage." He writes: "With six billion souls strapped onto Spaceship Earth, and not one of them capable of implementing a fiendish millennial scheme, you can't help wondering if -- at least in the Evil Genius category -- we're becoming a species of underachievers." And I agree! Was nobody brave or smart enough to pull some large-scale prank that would have sent thousands into a temporary tizzy? But there's really not much more to say about that, so Johnson spends his remaining paragraphs talking about Peter Jennings' inane coverage of the festivities.
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New York Press, Jan. 6-12
"Preaching to the stupid" by John Strausbaugh
John Strausbagh is depressed not only because the event itself was a letdown, but because magazines' "Millennial Issues" failed to enthrall. To this I say, Doy huh. Did anybody actually expect that Rolling Stone and the Nation would have something unique to say about the turning of a year?
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Wilammette Week, Jan. 5-11
"Bye, 2K" by Philip Dawdy
It was boring, says this cub reporter about the New Year's Eve festivities in Portland, Ore. It was not nearly as exciting as I thought it would be.
Thanks for that fascinating report, Philip Dawdy. Now back to you, Peter Jennings.
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Orlando Weekly
"Y2K complacent?" by Steve Perry
Don't throw out that bunker! It's not over yet! For reasons beyond the human scope of comprehension, the Orlando Weekly is highlighting this Sept. 16, 1999, news story on its Web site. In it, intrepid reporter Steve Perry complains that the media is really underplaying the impending threat of the havoc-wreaking Y2K bug.
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Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages, Jan. 5-11
"Year of the White Male" by Keith Harris
"Above all, 1999 was a great year to be a white man, as much in music as anything else," declares Keith Harris in this end-
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