10: before I began
Thinking back to 10 years ago and remembering 10 events of that year that have made a difference to my life.
1. The Euro was established and made holidaying abroad easier to see where all that money had gone!
2. Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp stadium, Barcelona, beating Bayern Munich to complete a Treble winning season. I’d travelled to Barcelona with my ticket for the game which no matter how many times I checked was still securely fastened in my jacket.
3. Napster makes its debut and the world of peer-to-peer file distribution is born.
4. Texas Governor George W. Bush announces he will seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. His appointment to office two years later would see changes in both the US and across the world.
5. Apple Computer releases the first iBook, the first Laptop designed specifically for average consumers. It’s a “clamshell” design and comes in five flavours.
6. Sega releases the Sega Dreamcast. For me this is not just a chance to play on the first of the sixth-generation consoles but another set of templates to learn and adhere to.
7. The film Fight Club is released. The year within Fight Club is said to be 1999, just before the beginning of the Millennium. Probably my favourite film.
8. The film The Matrix is released. Again the year within the Matrix is said to be 1999. “Bullet time” is seen for the first time and the style of action filming will never be the same again. Thought it was good at the time, I can’t stand this film anymore.
9. Rumours of the Millenium bug are circulating around the office and talk of incompatibility is heard.
10. Four guys who worked in the office with me have set up their own Advertising & Design Agency. I wonder if they’re taking anyone on?