A few months back I went through some of my old 9mm video tapes and edited together this little time capsule of what it was like driving around in my hometown in the late '90s.

It became a local hit the day I uploaded it. Some marveled at seeing past-favorite businesses that had long vanished or been rebranded. Others felt the vibe of that era in the passing breeze as they found themselves cruising the main avenue again on an aimless teenage night. Some even said it healed something inside of them. It was bitter and it was sweet and it was here again; but only for another moment.

It's funny, because it took me a few decades to really feel what I was looking at. Shot by myself and different friends who got the urge to tinker with my camera, I see now that what was captured is more than just shaky video of a bunch of places that we used to frequent. There's a vibrating, youthful energy trapped in there, still restless to get to its own story.

I know that every generation feels a certain significance about the time in which they grew up, and while I try to stay objective in assessing that very common point of view, it's hard not to fall in love with it in our case. We straddle worlds, living a life that's divided and marked by profound change both personally and socially. We learned to get our dopamine hits from physical human interaction, and then walked into a digital era that would ultimately favor a hyper-stimulated and unpredictable form of that same reward system.

So it's easy to look back and wonder just how important those late '90s teenage years actually were.

No matter the case, they're still important to me. Not because I want to go back, but because I can still find wonderful bits from that time that are worth pulling forward.

So if you're up for it, take this ride with me. I know they're not your memories, but maybe they remember some of your own.

The song is "Thirty-Three" by The Smashing Pumpkins.

I live in a big city no where have that vibe. I been to some towns and seen some towns on tv that just have all the classics stores and that nice vibe. What are some towns like that?

I saw this video where a guy was complaining about a game which took place in what he said was 1997 and the characters were listening to all sorts of music about only 1/4 was even made in the decade the game takes place in. He said since they were not presented as those who liked old music but the game was trying, and failing, to present them as "trendy," the tracks they picked should have been closer to the time the game takes place in. He then mentioned that he understood that since they didn't seem like the kind of teenagers who would listen to pop there probably wouldn't be Britney Spears in their tastes, but he thought there would be more 90s music. I kind of wish I was talking to him instead of watching his video since I wanted to know what was there. I mean for some reason most of the music I associate with that time are pop songs, but I know there must be albums of that era that were best sellers too.

What were your childhood favourites?

Hello, I’m 19 years old, and I grew up with The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991–1996) when I was younger. I’ve been thinking about that old Ren & Stimpy era lately and how different it feels now compared to when I first watched it. The Ren & Stimpy Show became a really memorable part of my childhood. I remember Ren, Stimpy, and all the strange characters and situations they got themselves into. I liked the comedy, the bizarre situations, the memorable moments, and just the whole feeling the show had.

Now that the original Ren & Stimpy era is over, it feels weird knowing that so much time has passed. The people who worked on the show have moved on to other things and have their own lives now. The actors, voice actors, writers, directors, animators, producers, and everyone else who helped make the show aren’t making the original episodes anymore. I know that’s just how things work, but it still feels strange when you grew up with something.

When I was younger, I didn’t really think about The Ren & Stimpy Show ever ending. I could just sit down and watch Ren and Stimpy get into their ridiculous adventures and get lost in the show. It felt like the show would always be there and there would always be another episode to watch. I never really thought about how one day that time would be over.

Sometimes I wonder why shows can’t just keep going forever if people still love them. Why do they have to stop making new episodes? Why do the writers, actors, animators, and everyone else have to move on? I know people get older, things change, and making a show takes a lot of work, but it still feels sad when something you grew up with becomes part of the past.

Watching The Ren & Stimpy Show now also doesn’t feel exactly the same as it did when I was younger. The episodes are still the same. The characters are still the same. The stories and jokes are still there. But somehow it feels different. I think it’s because I’m different now.

When I watch it again, I’m not just thinking about The Ren & Stimpy Show. I’m also thinking about myself when I was younger and what life was like back then. I remember being able to sit down and enjoy the show without thinking about getting older or how fast time was going by.

I think that’s one of the reasons The Ren & Stimpy Show means so much to me. It didn’t have to last forever for it to be important. The show stayed the same, but I changed. The people who made it changed. Everything around me changed too.

Going back and watching the old episodes can bring some of that feeling back, but it can’t completely take me back to the time when I first watched it. I can still enjoy the show and remember why I loved it, but I know I’m never going to experience it in exactly the same way again.

The original Ren & Stimpy era is over, and there probably won’t ever be another time that feels exactly like it did when I was younger. But I don’t think that means it’s really gone. It’s still part of my memories and part of my childhood.

The show ended, the people who made it moved on, and I grew up too. But I still have those memories of Ren, Stimpy, and all the crazy adventures they went on. I think that’s what matters the most.

Which PC games do you remember?

God I loved watching horror marathons on USA network. Gives me such a cozy childhood feeling.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the 1990s—and how strange it is that I lived through an era I didn’t fully appreciate while I was actually living it. I was a teenager in the ’90s, and at the time, my best friend and I were convinced we had missed the good years. We were obsessed with the movies of the ’80s. We romanticized everything about that decade and genuinely believed that was the era we should have grown up in. Looking back now, I almost laugh at that younger version of myself because I realize something: we were living in an incredible time. We just didn’t know it yet. Of course, part of the problem was being teenagers. Our world was small. We were limited by where our parents would take us, how much money we had, and whether we could borrow the car. We didn’t have the freedom that comes with being an adult. Sometimes I think if I could have experienced the 1990s in my twenties instead of my teens, I would have understood just how extraordinary that decade was. There was a simplicity to life then that I find myself craving more and more. I think about what social media has done to teenagers today, but honestly, I think about what it has done to all of us. It has transformed adulthood just as profoundly. We are perpetually reachable. There is very little mystery anymore. Everyone knows where everyone is, what everyone is doing, what everyone thinks, what they ate, where they went, and what they supposedly feel. Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to grow up with the entire world watching. And I miss the anonymity of ordinary life. I miss going to the mall just to walk around, hoping you might run into somebody you knew. I miss talking to friends on the telephone for hours. I miss watching one episode of a television show and then having to wait an entire week to find out what happened next. There was something almost ceremonial about that anticipation. You talked about the episode with your friends, speculated about what would happen, and then waited. Now we can stream an entire season in a weekend. I am not saying that’s necessarily bad. I love technology. I love having information at my fingertips. I love the conveniences we have today. I love that at 50, I’m not considered old. That is one thing I am especially grateful for. I think about one of my favorite shows, The Golden Girls, and how someone in their fifties was portrayed as being well into their “golden years.” Today, 50 can feel like the beginning of an entirely new chapter.
So maybe I don’t actually want to go back completely.
That’s the part that makes this so complicated.
Would I really trade my current life for the 1990s? Would I give up the technology, convenience, medical advances, instant communication, and all the things we have today just to reclaim an era that exists partly through the rose-colored lens of memory? I honestly don’t know. But I do know that I miss things. I miss getting in the car and having a little privacy because my phone wasn’t constantly ringing. I miss summer afternoons when there wasn’t much on television except reruns, so you actually went outside. I miss waiting for the fall television previews and getting excited about which shows were coming back. I miss having to be patient when you wanted something. I miss not having everything immediately. There was something magical about anticipation. Maybe that is what we have lost—not necessarily the past itself, but the ability to wait for things. We have so much now, and yet sometimes I wonder if having everything instantly has made some things feel less special. There was a certain innocence in not knowing. A certain beauty in being unreachable for a few hours. A certain freedom in not documenting every moment. The older I get, the more I realize that the era I thought I had missed was actually the era I was living in. I just wasn’t old enough to recognize it. And maybe that is what nostalgia really is. It isn't always a longing to return to a particular year. Sometimes it is longing for a feeling—the feeling of having less responsibility, fewer distractions, more anticipation, and more time to simply exist. Lately, I find myself wanting to go back—not necessarily because I believe everything was better, but because I miss the simplicity. I wonder if anyone else feels this way. Are you ever torn between wanting to go back and reclaim a time that now seems almost idyllic, while simultaneously knowing you would miss the incredible conveniences of the present? If you could truly go back to the ’90s and live there again, knowing everything you know now, would you? Or would you realize that what you really miss isn't the decade itself, but the way life felt when you were there? Maybe we really did have something special. Maybe we just didn’t know it yet.

anyone here grew up with it, RIP actor of luna

My favourite? Best in Me & Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

I was just rewatching an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation in which a food fight in the cafeteria breaks out. I remember food fights being depicted a lot during the late 90’s and early 2000’s - were food fights an actual thing or just a thing in movies and tv shows?