Of space shuttles and love-sick woodpeckers, 1995
For NASA, 1995 was quite the robust year. The space agency in 1995 launched its 100th human mission, sending a crew of five Americans and two Russians into Earth orbit … Continue reading
1995 as tipping point: Recalling Smith Corona’s bankruptcy
Even as 1995 unfolded, it became clear that the year would be regarded as a hinge moment, as an important transitory time near the end of the millennium. As I … Continue reading
‘Cyberporn’ scare of 1995 demonstrates the early Web’s corrective power
The demotion last month of Brian Williams, the former NBC News lead anchor, was testimony, at least in part, to the power of social media to expose and debunk. The … Continue reading
Microsoft warns Netscape in prelude to the ‘browser war’ of 1995-98
Before they were locked in a death struggle known as the “browser war,” the software giant Microsoft and Web upstart Netscape made nice, at least for a while. Representatives of … Continue reading
Hinge moment at the O.J. ‘Trial of the Century’
O.J. Simpson never testified at his sensational double-murder trial in 1995. Even so, a consistent feature of the often-absorbing, often-repellant case was that Simpson was never far from center stage … Continue reading
When Secret Service officers wore rubber gloves to greet gay officials
Is it “different enough”? One of the tests for conducting research into the recent past is whether the period under scrutiny is “different enough” from the present. With the passage … Continue reading
Downed pilot eludes Serbs; Americans take notice of Bosnia
The war that tore apart Bosnia in 1992-95 was Europe’s deadliest and most vicious since the time of the Nazis. It was a war that returned “ethnic cleansing” to the … Continue reading
Bob Dole, Hollywood, and ‘mainstreaming of deviancy,’ 1995
It’s been 20 years since Bob Dole, then the Senate majority leader and a contender for the GOP presidential nomination, went to Los Angeles and condemned what he called Hollywood’s … Continue reading
‘The Internet Tidal Wave,’ 20 years on
Twenty years ago this week, Bill Gates sent a lengthy internal memorandum to senior staff at Microsoft Corporation, announcing an embrace of the Internet that was to help shape the … Continue reading
Closing off Pennsylvania Ave.: 1995 and a psychology of fear
The uglying-up of the nation’s capital in the name of security and terrorism-prevention can be traced to 20 years ago this week when, without warning, a two-block section of Pennsylvania … Continue reading
The 1995 Blog 