•January 1, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's hard to believe that it's 2015....where does time go? I remember so vividly when the world was so scared of Y2K (year 2000) and how our computer systems would all fail, there'd be no water, electricity etc. Cari and I had just our little boy Chase about two months earlier and were already nervous as it was. Just like had been advised, we stocked up on water and some canned goods just in case. In case of what? I'm not really quite sure, but we were semi ready.
Cari and I snuggled up with our newborn baby in our tiny trailer as the "ball dropped". Yep, still electricity, still running water....we all collapsed into our beds for a peaceful nights rest. We'd awake the next morning in the year 2000 and realize none of those crazy Y2K dilemmas occurred.
Here's a few facts about Y2K:
2000 was the year that digital music broke. Personal computers became personal jukeboxes and music-sharing networks like Napster, and Gnutella became the best place to hang out and hear music. The format is here to stay, but the future of sharing free music over the Internet has yet to be decided by its major players: artists, record companies, fans, and lawyers.
The Sixth Sense cleans up at the People's Choice Awards, winning both Favorite Motion Picture and Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture. Bruce Willis takes home the Best Actor in a Drama Award. Big Daddy earns the Favorite Comedy award, and its star, Adam Sandler, wins the top acting prize in a comedy. NBC prevails in the television awards, winning both drama and comedy nods for ER and Friends,respectively.
In the biggest merger in the country's history, America Online agrees to buy Time Warner, the nation's largest traditional media company, for $165 billion. The mega-deal reflects the growing dominance of the Internet in areas including publishing, music, film, and broadcasting. It also serves to validate the Internet, proving that the Web is likely here to stay and somewhat justifying the value of Internet companies that have yet to turn a profit but are worth billions on paper.
In the biggest merger in the country's history, America Online agrees to buy Time Warner, the nation's largest traditional media company, for $165 billion. The mega-deal reflects the growing dominance of the Internet in areas including publishing, music, film, and broadcasting. It also serves to validate the Internet, proving that the Web is likely here to stay and somewhat justifying the value of Internet companies that have yet to turn a profit but are worth billions on paper.
This is hardly the first year that Japanese cartoons, or anime, has been huge in America. But this list would not be complete without it. "Pokemon" and "Dragonball" were two of the most searched words on the Internet. Anime has all the requirements of a pop trend: it looks great, it's controversial, and it's got lots and lots of merchandise for kids and parents to buy.
Michael J. Fox announces he's leaving Spin City at the end of the 1999–2000 television season to lobby on behalf of Parkinson's disease, with which he was diagnosed in 1991. In February, Charlie Sheen signs on to replace Michael J. Fox in ABC's hit Spin City. He'll earn $2.75 million a season, which translates into $125,000 per episode.
Jim Varney, the rubber-faced comic actor best known for portrayals of the dolty hayseed Ernest in dozens of commercials and nine films, including Ernest Goes to Camp and Ernest Rides Again, dies of lung cancer at age 50. He also voiced the character of Slinky Dog in Toy Story and Toy Story 2.
Oprah Winfrey debuts O magazine. The Queen of All Media graces the cover and plans to be front and center on all issues “for the foreseeable future.” Winfrey labels her latest endeavor “a personal growth guide” that's targeted to the 25-to-49 demographic.
NBC announces it has renewed Law & Order through the 2005 season—the show's 15th. The extension makes the show television's longest-running police drama. Gunsmoke holds the drama record, with 20 seasons.
Rosie O'Donnell wins her fourth consecutive Best Talk Show Host at the Daytime Emmy Awards. General Hospital earn its seventh consecutive award for Best Soap Opera. See Daytime Emmys for a full list of winners.
O magazine. The Queen of All Media graces the cover and plans to be front and center on all issues “for the foreseeable future.” Winfrey labels her latest endeavor “a personal growth guide” that's targeted to the 25-to-49 demographic.
NBC announces it has renewed Law & Order through the 2005 season—the show's 15th. The extension makes the show television's longest-running police drama. Gunsmoke holds the drama record, with 20 seasons.
Rosie O'Donnell wins her fourth consecutive Best Talk Show Host at the Daytime Emmy Awards. General Hospital earn its seventh consecutive award for Best Soap Opera. See Daytime Emmys for a full list of winners.
O magazine. The Queen of All Media graces the cover and plans to be front and center on all issues “for the foreseeable future.” Winfrey labels her latest endeavor “a personal growth guide” that's targeted to the 25-to-49 demographic.
NBC announces it has renewed Law & Order through the 2005 season—the show's 15th. The extension makes the show television's longest-running police drama. Gunsmoke holds the drama record, with 20 seasons.
CBS' other reality-based TV show, Big Brother, debuts to boffo ratings and horrendous reviews. In the show, 10 contestants, five men and five women, live together in a house under 24-hour surveillance. A house member is voted out every two weeks, and the sole survivor takes home a $500,000 purse.
It was as if all of last year's vast dot.com advertising airtime was handed over to the telecommunications industry. Every other commercial featured companies offering something digital, hand-held, and wireless.
It was as if all of last year's vast dot.com advertising airtime was handed over to the telecommunications industry. Every other commercial featured companies offering something digital, hand-held, and wireless.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston marry in an ultra-private, ultra-swank Malibu ceremony. The A-list couple reportedly spent $75,000 on flowers alone.
Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche announce their breakup. “Unfortunately, we have decided to end our relationship. It is an amicable parting, and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together,” they said in a joint statement. The same day, Heche was hospitalized after wandering disoriented to a southern Fresno County, California, house. No word on what prompted the behavior.
On December 13, 2000, 36 days after the election and the flurry of lawsuits, counter suits, appeals, and bitter partisan bickering that followed, Texas governor George W. Bush became the president-elect, prevailing over Vice President Al Gore in the electoral college by the narrowest of margins, 271–267. Gore dominated the popular vote, however, winning 50,158,094 votes over Bush's 49,820,518.
One day after the divided U.S. Supreme Court handed down its monumental 5–4 decision that essentially cleared the path for Bush to claim the White House, Gore conceded the presidency in a speech marked by its integrity. An hour later, Bush spoke to the nation in an equally dignified address.
Warner Bros. announces it has cast 11-year-old British actor Daniel Radcliffe to play Harry Potter in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. The film is due out in the Fall of 2001.
People magazine names Brad Pitt the “Sexiest Man Alive.” It's the second time the heartthrob has earned the honor. The first time was in 1995.
The last episode of the Emmy-winning The Chris Rock Show airs on HBO. The cable outlet offered no explanation for cancelling the show.
Robert Downey Jr. is arrested in Palm Springs, Calif., on charges of possession of cocaine and methamphetamine. Police responded to an anonymous caller who claimed there were drugs and guns in a room at the Merv Griffin Resort. No weapons were found. Downey had been out of prison for three months following a 14–month incarceration for a probation violation stemming from a series of drug-related arrests in 1996. He's scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 27.
Robert Downey Jr. is arrested in Palm Springs, Calif., on charges of possession of cocaine and methamphetamine. Police responded to an anonymous caller who claimed there were drugs and guns in a room at the Merv Griffin Resort. No weapons were found. Downey had been out of prison for three months following a 14–month incarceration for a probation violation stemming from a series of drug-related arrests in 1996. He's scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 27.
Today show host Matt Lauer announces that he and his wife, Dutch model Annette Roque Lauer, are expecting their first child.
| Product | 2000 price | 2010 price | Change |
| Observation deck, Empire State Building, adult | $4.00 | $20.00 | 400.00% |
| Gold, one ounce | $279.11 | $1,106.00 | 296.26% |
| New York Times daily edition | $0.75 | $2.00 | 166.66% |
| Slurpee, largest, 7-11 | $0.99 | $2.12 | 114.14% |
| Superman comic book | $1.99 | $3.99 | 100.50% |
| Toll (auto), Golden Gate Bridge | $3.00 | $6.00 | 100.00% |
| Gallon of gasoline | $1.30 | $2.56 | 96.92% |
| Apple (AAPL) stock, one share | $102.81 | $198.10 | 92.69% |
| Average ticket price, Boston Red Sox | $28.33 | $50.24 | 77.34% |
| Cost to raise newborn to age 18 | $165,630.00 | $291,570.00 | 76.04% |
| Disneyland, one day adult ticket | $41.00 | $72.00 | 75.61% |
| NYC YMCA summer membership | $125 | $200 | 60.00% |
| Average expanded basic cable (per month) | $31.22 | $49.65 | 59.03% |
| Average ticket, NFL Denver Broncos | $49.00 | $76.65 | 56.63% |
| ATM transaction cost | $2.28 | $3.54 | 55.26% |
| Babysitting per hour | $7-$10 | $10-$15 | 50.00% |
| Budweiser, six pack of cans | $4.01 | $5.99 | 49.38% |
| Home value, average | $119,600.00 | $173,100.00 | 44.73% |
| Electricity per 500 kwh | $45.38 | $65.21 | 43.70% |
| Movie ticket | $5.06 | $7.18 | 41.90% |
| Time magazine, newsstand | $3.50 | $4.95 | 41.43% |
| Aspirin, Bayer, 100-count | $3.47 | $4.81 | 38.62% |
| Sugar, 5 lb. | $2.13 | $2.90 | 36.15% |
| Cheerios, one box | $3.89 | $5.15 | 32.39% |
| Stamp, USPS, 1st class | $0.33 | $0.44 | 33.33% |
| Cigarettes, Marlboro, per pack, Calif. | $4.65 | $5.95 | 27.96% |
| Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster | $5,595.00 | $6,999.00 | 25.09% |
| Average cell phone bill | $40.24 | $49.57 | 23.19% |
| McDonald's Big Mac | $2.50 | $2.99 | 19.60% |
| Levi's, men's, 505 | $36.99 | $44.00 | 18.95% |
| Coca-Cola, one liter | $1.14 | $1.34 | 17.54% |
| Ty Warner penthouse, Four Seasons, NYC, per night | $30,000.00 | $34,000.00 | 13.33% |
| Car, Toyota Camry,base model | $17,518.00 | $19,395.00 | 10.71% |
| Wedding, average cost | $18,900.00 | $20,398.00 | 7.93% |
| Nike shoes Jordon vs. LeBron James | $150.00 | $160.00 | 6.67% |
| Gallon of milk | $2.88 | $3.05 | 5.90% |
| Top 100 Music CD | $13.65 | $13.98 | 2.42% |
| Bestseller novel, Grisham vs.Patterson | $27.95 | $27.99 | 0.14% |
| Tom Cruise earnings, per movie | $20 million | $20 million | 0.00% |
| Windows 1998 vs Windows 7 | $209.00 | $199.99 | -4.31% |
| Coffee, Maxwell House, 34.5 oz. | $9.99 | $9.49 | -5.01% |
| Average domestic airfare | $329.00 | $301.00 | -8.51% |
| Credit card average APR | 15.07% | 13.71% | -9.02% |
| Batteries, AA, 4, Energizer | $3.99 | $3.49 | -12.53% |
| Wal-Mart stock | $69.12 | $52.80 | -23.61% |
| $100,000 mortgage, 30 year fixed, total cost | $265,154.54 | $184,549.59 | -30.40% |
| iMac desktop computer, Apple | $1,499.00 | $999.00 | -33.36% |
| Hummel "To Market" #49 figurine | $120.00 | $79.95 | -33.38% |
| Martini and Rossi Spumante, 375 ml | $12.99 | $8.29 | -36.18% |
| Prime rate | 8.50% | 3.25% | -61.76% |
I've enjoyed looking back 5 years ago. It's crazy how time flies when you're having fun! Here's to the next 15!
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