I 4B - New Student Edition - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 6, 2000 THE END OF MILLENNIUM BLUES: OUR CRAZY TIMES It's difficult to write about the coming of age in the waning hours of this century without sound- ing like that lame "children of the '80s" e-mail that I know all of you have gotten. How do I know you've all gotten it? Because we're adolescents of the '90s. The Internet is our industrial rev- olution, changing not only the way we do business but the way we interact with each other. I can type faster than I can think. I've often considered chucking my University education for a lucrative career of computer geekdom. Sometimes I wish to go back in time to when the only reason to wear a condom was to prevent preg- nancy, to when there was no such thing as an IMO, to when Elvis was king and Ella was queen. But there's a trade-off: no cars with CD players and airbags, no CNN or MTV or ESPN, no 24-hour shop- ping emporiums. I'm jealous of the generation that knows exactly where they were when JFK was shot and were lucky enough (yes, lucky) to have Vietnam AK protests, or a<' p r e s i d c n t :{> marred by cor- ruption and scandal that wasn't about cure diseases with a protest or soci- ety's ills with a picket line -so instead I pretend I don't watch "Real World" or read People Maga- zine. I'd be less jealous if we had made any progress. But we're as alarmist and puritanical as we were when caught in the throes of McCarthyism. We impeach for get- ting a blowjob. We censor because we don't trust parents to look out for their children. I'm 21 years old. I grew up mid- dle class in a middle class neighbor- hood. I'm from a city without a future - my sense of geographic attachment is to the suburbs. I know the sexual history of my country's political leaders even though I don't really care. I don't root for any pro sports teams because I've been jaded by contract disputes and drug busts, team color changes and play- er changes. I miss the days when I would stay up late listening to play-by-play on the radio. I miss the way my heart stopped when Isiah Thomas, sprained ankle and all, came back on the floor in Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals. Chalk it up to the sweatshops and the poverty, the homeless evicted from their shop- ping carts, the mind-numbing all- access denizens of culture that we - that I - have become. We have this insatiable need to know every- thing, and it has taken away our blissful ignorance. There's a drawer full of video- tapes at my house. Most of the tapes are of family occasions: birthdays, snow days, holidays. There are piano recitals and music class con- certs, basebal games and school projects. And theres one tape marked "Gulf War." You and I both know what's on this tape. Close your eyes. I know what you see. The glowing green of night vision, the tiny poof of bombs exploding, the Schw-artzkopfs, the Blitzers, the Shaw s. This tape sums up everything about "my" generation, whatever that is, exactly. I take it to mean growving up in the final two deca'des of this century. This tape is :th tangible result of growing up in 'a time where there has always been a Blockbuster on every cor- ner, where the specter of AIDS has always been around, where a war is fought in the media instead of the ground. This tape is instant replay of the Chaullenger exploding, the vamping of Madonna, ET and his Reese's Pitees. This tape is every Cabbage Patch Kid fad and every supermar- ket checkout tabloid, every day sp..nt waiting to be 16, then 18, then 21 every minute spent waiting for the bell to ring so that I could - so that I could what? Get on with my life? Bell or no bell, tape or no tape, life goes on. The last 20 years, the 20 years I have knmxvn, have been fascinating. There's no reason to think that the next 20 will be any less so. This tape is the sum total of 100 years of nonstop technological innovation that I take for granted, culminating in the computer that I'm typing this column on. There are times when I'd like to return it to its maker, but that's not possible. We all made this tape. And we all watched it. - Recently graduated, Erin Podolsky is now living in New York City interning with Enfertainnment Weekly magazine. Last wvinter semester A Podolsk ion tivo Hopwood awards in the categorvof screenwritingfor her screenplay "Sunday Drive." She can be rached via e-mail at oppsieumich. edit. sex but about political war- fare. I have an in ex pl i cable desire for a Erin Podolsky cause, any . cause, worth fighting for with the potential for a result, But I don't have one - I can't 1 T I I v Ad- - UNIVE I T a :. - TA -Y -1 _.. Get the most out of class wth lecture notes from Grade A Notes. At Grade A Notes wie use experienced seniors and graduate students as noletakers to ensure correct and complete information. To further guarantee accurate material, we provide lecture notes only for classes where we have received professor approval, and professors also receive all of our notes for review. With Grade A Notes you can concentrate on the lecture, then have quality typewritten notes to review after class. New Location 1100 S. Universit Above Nat. City Bank By Student Vote- Best Posters in Ann Arbor! Eosie the Riveter r -*~ Posters & Frames! t In addition to lecture notes. we also provide course packets, full service copies, bindery, resumes, and fax services. Stop by to see how we can make "back to school" a breeze. Grade A Notes is the one-stop shop for all your academic needs. USE COUPON BELOW 0 , a 1205 South University AniDCFranco (734)-663 -2434 11:30am-9pm Mon.-Thurs. & 11:30-10pm Fri.--Sat. & Noon-6pm Sun. ' .... j r ' C' r ::..- - Lecture Notes - Course Packets " Resume Services - Copy & Bindery " Fax Services Grade A Notes 1100 South University, Above National City Bank . 741-9669 Fax 741-8877 " annarbor@gradcanotes.com www.gradcanotes.com C L E C TUR EN "Al, NOTES -L jrNses ' I 'Cocjrs.Packebs .aa. 1 CS1M1S1l1C Ses'ees 6taiuyytmirt to yaiou far n C.144Yqh lid j'y .k ris a iutll iarm subxurpaof na" Foar ioncay$28 . I 'F4 orv e abuy otwdy ild ioi1s mx ge are day FREE. A Grade A Notes . 1 00 South Unworsitdy. Above Nat City Bank'° 741 9669J - " " w Starry Night Fight Club Photos ..oto E N# V. S N w S. Forest Church St. E. University -- POu NEED HOUSING? GO WITH BEST! THE OVER 18 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS OVER 300 DIFFERENT APARTMENTS ON CENTRAL CAMPUS DON'T MISS OUT CALL TODAY