Hi. Welcome to Hand Me My Flannel, a nostalgia blog by, for, and about children of the 90s. My goal in writing this blog is to offer brief riffs about the cultural and news-breaking events of the decade – and maybe also drop just a little bit of nostalgia, because let’s face it, Class of ’99: it’s time.
Put simply, I loved the 90s. No one could chase you down by calling your cellphone – most people didn’t have one. The Internet was still very much taking off, so the “personal brand” pressures of today were still years away. We had just a couple of reality TV shows, not endless behind-the-scenes peeks into celebrities’ and strangers’ lives. It was easy to find your favorite shows on TV – there were things called “cable providers,” and you only needed one. And for those of us fortunate enough to have come of age then, any photographic evidence of what went on in our past is safely stored in shoeboxes on top shelves. Overall, things felt manageable.
I especially loved and still love the 90s because of the grunge and alt-rock music at the time. It is, hands-down, my favorite musical era. I’ve dedicated the first official post to it – it is my personal soundtrack, and I can never get enough of it. Love of grunge aside, there were a lot of great happenings in the 90s, and some not so great happenings. We will visit a variety of topics, from politics to sports, television to fashion trends, video games to the Internet. We’ll reminisce about Party of Five, Kerri Strug’s vault, and where we all were when the OJ verdict came down. We’ll talk Tomb Raider, Tupac, and Daria. We’ll roll our eyes at Topanga before we realize that, like Corey, we’ve secretly loved her all along. If you’ve been wanting to dive back into any of these things, this blog is for you.
One last thing: My perspective is shaped by where I grew up, my family, my interests, and how I spent my free time. In other words, it’s limited. I didn’t engage in everything, nor do I remember every detail. But that’s where you come in. You may remember things differently or have a unique perspective to share. If there is a topic you’d like to see, or if you are interested in guest-writing a post, please get in touch.
Now go grab your flannel and let’s go back to a simpler time: the sometimes angry, mostly analog, awesome and amazing . . . 90s.
About Me
I came of age during the 90s, and I’ll use any excuse to go back there. I’ve been eager to share my personal account of that time, hence this blog. I live and work in New York City, where, fortunately, you can find pieces of any era – 90s included – lurking around corners. I do have a day job, which is pretty unrelated to anything 90s, but it pays the bills. There are few things that give me as much joy as the 90s, but parks, dogs, and snacks come pretty close.