3rd Place in Derby #287: The '90s, Guest Editor rglee129's pick!

Oh, the 1990s: a time when no one knew what hacking was but everyone was convinced it involved vector-graphic-rendered stickmen floating through weird, empty landscapes of green pyramids and purple cubes and crap; a time when Michael Crichton got everyone to admit that they were still nuts for dinosaurs; a time when people thought Arnold Schwarzenegger would keep on going for decades; and a time when everyone was really afraid of aliens of all kinds, for some reason.

But now it's 2013, and we're more mature and experienced. We know now that hacking involves less Angelina Jolie rollerblading with a laptop and more Chinese teenagers shutting down wastewater treatment plants in Kentucky. People still like dinosaurs, but we're still coming to grips with the fact that they probably all had goofy-looking feathers, and everyone's trying to forget that third Jurassic Park flick. For some reason, Californians elected Ah-nold to actually represent them as governor, and now he's making terrible movies with Johnny Knoxville. And now people are coming to grips with the harsh reality that the aliens we encounter are less likely to be star-faring conquerors and more likely to be a couple of bacteria kicking around some Jovian moon.

At least we ditched the baggy pants and flannel.

Back to top