The Backstreet Boys - Truly Unbreakable

While struggling over many options of titles for my blog, I finally settled on “OMG…(The 90’s) Are Back Again”, a play on words of the hit song “Backstreet’s Back” from BSB’s 1997 album. The reason I chose this song was because when I look back on my life as a 90’s kid, a large portion of it was spent singing this (and other) BSB songs into a hairbrush in front of my bathroom mirror.

Well common, you didn’t think I’d write a 90’s blog without mentioning The Backstreet Boys did you?

Although BSB is still really fairly popular today, their glory years as pop idols all began in the nineties. I will now take this time to list the many songs, videos, awards and appearances made by BSB through the 90’s. *ahem* In 1993, five young males from different parts of America came together with the help of Lou Pearlman to formulate one of the greatest boy bands to ever hit stardom…

Just kidding. I’ll assume by now we all get the gist of their height of fame.

It was simple with the Backstreet boys…You either loved ‘em, hated ‘em, loved to hate ‘em, or hated to love ‘em. Whichever it was, you knew them. But where are they now?

Like the Spice Girls, they are now down to a quartet rather than their original group of five. Kevin Richardson left the group officially in 2006.

But the remaining four are recording a new album. And although I just can’t see it being as good as the old ones, I still know it’ll be a huge success. BSB fans know the boys are just not as awesome as they once were, and yet, we still got together and screamed till we couldn’t speak at their “Never Gone” tour in 2006.

Obviously, their prime has past.
Bryan = married with children.
A.J. = in and out of rehab for alcohol abuse.
Nick = stars in a reality TV show about his dysfunctional family.
Howie = still the awkward nerdy one.

And yet, I’ve already started counting down the days till Oct 30^th, when “Unbreakable” comes out. And all in all, they still look pretty good. Y’know, I really love and miss the Backstreet Boys. Hearing their new album will be the perfect way for me to remember the way I used to obsess over their music as a child. And who knows, maybe I’ll even break out the old hairbrush stunt, and sing their really good songs in front of my mirror.

A Good Book Guide

I have always been an avid reader. That's why when I read the Windsor Star article The best book you read this summer article, I was a little bummed that I had only read one book that made the list. It’s probably because my summer as a camp counsellor restricted my potential reads to books that appealed to nine year olds. So how did I cope? I did what any first time counsellor would do, I collected all the books I enjoyed as a kid, and read them to my campers. And so, with inspiration from the Star’s article, I will now share with you my very own “Top 3 Books that I Read this summer” list.

Note: Keeping in mind the topic of my blog, the below named books were written and/or popular in the 90’s, for children
Another Note: The below named books contain some spoilers, but I will attempt to keep these to a minimum

Night of the Living Dummy – from the Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine. (1993) A crowd favourite amongst my 11 year olds boys, who listened in awe as the twin sister protagonists find themselves in awe as their dummy, Mr. Wood, seems to come to life. He wreaks havoc at home, in the neighbourhood, and at school (even threatening to kill their dog Barky!) and it is not until the girls receive a lucky blessing that they finally rid themselves of his evilness.

Witches Don’t Do Backflips – from the Bailey School Kids Series by Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey. (1994)My 12 year old girls grew just as suspicious as the quartet of main characters, Eddie, Howie, Liza and Melody who suspect their new gym teacher “Mrs. Brewbaker” to be a witch. Her black tights, shoes and hat, and her tendency to speak in rhyme lead them to believe she is able to cast spells. Is she really magical or will it remain a mystery?

Holes – by Louis Sachar (1998)Probably the most well known amid my campers because of the popular Blockbuster hit, Holes follows the story of Stanley Yelnats, a teen who has been wrongfully sent to a correctional camp for ‘stealing’ a pair of sneakers. At camp, Stanley and the others are forced to spend their days digging holes, where coincidentally they begin to find some pretty neat stuff.

I would like to note that during my last week of camp, I tried reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to my 13 year old girls. I have confidence that this book would have made this list, but because it was co-ed week, my girls found little interest in Harry’s dashing green eyes and sense of bravery, and more interest in the real boys in cabin 3. *sigh*, Maybe next year.

My list also leaves out other great series of the 90’s. (ie – Babysitter’s Club, Sweet Valley High). If you feel I have neglected to mention your favourite childhood series, let me know and I’d be happy to explore!

Girl Power...Gone Bad

Originally, I had hoped to begin this entry in both an original and exciting matter. I’ll openly admit that I sat at my desk and pondered of ways that I could possibly make this topic seem somehow stimulating. And then suddenly, it struck me. What I was about to write was in no way thrilling, amusing or even remotely fun to discuss (well…maybe a little). I simply could not do it, there was (and still is) no pleasurable way for me to say that the Spice Girls have confirmed a Reunion Tour.

Eeeeveryone remembers the Spice Girls, that five member female-pop-band that exploded with fame around 1995. Every little girl (and even some boys) favoured one of Baby , Ginger, Posh, Sporty, or Scary Spice. Back then, it was simple - The Spice Girls had fun, looked good, sang well (ish), and of course, had GIRL POWER.

But what exactly did “Girl Power” mean for the Spice Girls? Was it “Girl Power” that made Posh Spice hike up her “too-short” mini skirt even higher? Was it “Girl Power” that made Ginger Spice dessert the rest of the clan early and then watch as they crumbled as a group?

Looking back ten years to the Spice Girl’s promotion of Girl Power, I can comfortably agree that YES, these girls sure did have power. Little girls everywhere looked up to the Spice Girls as their role models and with in no time it was out with the frilly dresses and in with the GIRL POWER t-shirts. Quickly, the ‘girl power’ notion infiltrated the minds of their young fans nationwide, and it was an unwritten rule that anything that was related to “Girl Power” was to be bought, listened to, or talked about.

On a more serious note, as a former fan of the group, I will also admit that I am utterly ashamed of myself (and my parents!) for allowing me to get caught up in this crap. How could I have possibly looked up to a group of women who had little talent, little brains (ie – Spice World) , and, to be frank, little clothing? What’s even worse - The Spice Girls’ idea of 'girl power' seems to have set the stage for female singers of today too– drugged out Britney Spears at the VMA’s anyone?

…And now, we all get to re-live the hype as they spice up our life for a second time on their upcoming world tour. BLEH, As if the first time wasn’t enough…but I’m trying my very best to be excited about this, I swear.

To end this on a more positive note, I would like to confirm that I do not believe all female role models fail at life. (that was just the Spice Girls) In fact, as my (female!) classmate and author of Killer Queen’s shows, there’s enough awesome gals out there to recognize to keep a steady blog goin!

…Now THAT’S my idea of Girl Power!

TGIF - A Tribute

The last day before the weekend (worthy of its own well known acronym) means for some, simply the on set of the weekend. (WOOP!) For others, like the working force, it might mean payday, for the university student, it might mean no classes, and for the Catholics, it could mean fish sticks.

But for us kids who grew up in the 90’s, it meant only one thing- ABC TV baby, from 8:00-10:00pm.

That’s right, two solid hours of enjoyable television. Sure, there were those few shows that only made their way into the coveted line up for a season, (i.e. - Dinosaurs, from which all I can recall is that baby dinosaur whacking Daddy dinosaur's head with a frying pan, screaming “Not the Mama!”) But ,for the most part, the elementary school mentality (including my own) deemed these shows puh-retttty sa-weet!

My personal favourite line up: the Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper sequence that ran steady from ’93 - 95.

• The funniest program came first, (“Hahaha, Did IIIII do that?).


• The two shows with the cute guys came in the middle, (Rider Strong as Sean Hunter & Brandon Call as J.T made TGIF mean That Guy Is FINE).


• And well, the least of my favourites came last, so if I drifted off early, no biggie!

TGIF ruled – all the cool kids were watching it…until 1999- that is. As I ventured into my first year of highschool, this Friday night prime time phenomenon came to an end! (Blessing in disguise? I guess staying home on Friday nights might have been social suicide, but still - I was ticked)

Seriously though...why did TGIF get the boot?

Was it bad ratings? Was it a higher demand for cash flow to the casts of the show? Was it simply a loss of interest? My hypothesis: As TGIF grew older, so too did its viewers. Like myself, we graduated grade eight and made an attempt to leave our kiddy habits behind. What I (and presumably others) might not have realized at the time was that…by no longer watching these shows, we ourselves played a part in driving them off air! (Well that, and there was satellite).

... (*Thank god for re-runs*)

When TGIF did come back in 2000, it was a major flop. I tried watching the new shows…but after one episode of Hope and Faith, I seriously opted for the Disney Channel. Two seasons later, TGIF was over for good. And to be honest, I was not unhappy. The new shows just did not compare to the forgotten sitcoms of the early to mid 90’s.
So - YES, in some ways I totally miss TGIF, but in others I’m glad that what it turned into is gone. To better grasp why this is so, check out the 2004 show line up.

Thank God It’s Friday? More like…Thank God It’s Finished!!!