By BOB IVRY
Dec 27
Let�s hear it for 1998! Just when we thought the Nineties would turn out to be the
dullest
decade in the 20th century, we get: Monica.
Let�s hear it for Monica!
The world�s most famous intern is fit for the entertainment pages because 1998 was the
year
news became entertainment. Danielle Steel couldn�t have written a better beach book than
the Starr report; producers of �Melrose Place� blushed with envy.
Let�s hear it for TV producers blushing with envy!
1998 was also the year entertainment became news. Just ask the anti-American
demonstrator in the Sudan who, protesting the bombings that followed the attacks on U.S.
embassies in Africa, held aloft a sign that read �Wag the Dog.�
Let�s hear it for Sudanese references to Barry Levinson films!
1998 was also the year of DNA. Not only did the magical substance adorn the celebrated
blue dress, it was also a favorite subject for filmmakers � and we�re not talking
about the
kind of films found behind the curtain at the video store. We�re talking Cameron
Diaz�s hair
gel in �There�s Something About Mary� and those two very graphic references in Todd
Solondz�s �Happiness.� DNA was also the subtext to all that buzz about Viagra, which,
in
1998, raised more than an eyebrow.
Let�s hear it for raising more than an eyebrow!
Monica didn�t confine her trendsetting to precious bodily fluids. Highlighted by the
clandestinely taped intern and her impetuous �Creep,� 1998 was also the year of strange
bedfellows. The most powerful man in the world and a 22-year-old expert in photocopying
were just one example. 1998 was the year Public Enemy cut a song with Stephen Stills;
Warren Beatty became a rap impresario; Dennis Rodman married Carmen Electra and
Dharma stayed married to Greg; Courteney Cox fell under the spell of bad-boy David
Arquette; the distinguished Humbert Humbert once again fell hard for the 14-year-old
Lolita;
and Elvis Costello wrote and recorded an album with Burt Bacharach.
1998 was many, many things. It was the last year anyone said �Leonardo� and thought
automatically of Da Vinci.
1998 was the last year that hearing Prince�s �1999� didn�t make you nauseous.
1998 was the year �Seinfeld� said sayonara and �Teletubbies� said hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!
Ugh.
1998 was the year Steven Spielberg made his best film and Robert Altman made his worst.
1998 was the year Brandy allied with Monica (the other Monica), Missy Elliott joined up
with
Scary Spice, and Lauryn Hill announced her miseducation.
1998 was the year Buffy, Dawson, Felicity, the Seventh Heaven gang, and teenage girls
everywhere totally, like, ruled.
1998 was the year fatal skiing accidents were trendy.
1998 was the year Christina Ricci became a woman, Adam Sandler became an icon, and
Tom Wolfe returned to full form.
1998 was the year Busta Rhymes was everywhere.
1998 was the year the lists of Top 100 films and novels of the century were compiled,
leaving
little hope for a 1998 or 1999 masterpiece.
1998 was the year glam came back, Y2K was finally pegged as a potentially crippling snafu,
and Furby was a shopper magnet.
1998 was the year Flip Wilson, Jack Lord, Esther Rolle, Robert Young, Shari Lewis, and
Norman Fell were preempted for the last time.
1998 was the year of closing credits for J.T. Walsh, Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, Alan
Pakula, Roddy McDowall, E.G. Marshall, and Lloyd Bridges.&127;
1998 was the year Carl Perkins, Tammy Wynette, Betty Carter, Linda McCartney, Carl
Wilson, Junior Wells, Kenny Kirkland, Nicolette Larson, and Cozy Powell sang their swan
songs.
1998 was the year of the final curtain for Jerome Robbins, Henny Youngman, and Stubby
Kaye.
1998 was the year Octavio Paz, Carlos Castaneda, and John Hawkes wrote their last lines.
1998 was the year Roy Rogers and Gene Autry ambled off into the sunset.
1998 was the year Wendy O. Williams did, too. But she did it in a chainsawed Cadillac.
And, sadly, 1998 was not a good year for famous Italian-Americans. Frank Sinatra left us
and
Joe DiMaggio edged closer, leaving a void in all our hearts as we enter 1999.
PARIS, Dec 22 (AFP)
JANUARY 1: Launch of the euro, the common European currency adopted by 11 member
states of the European Union. Germany assumes EU presidency.
22: Pope John Paul II to visit Mexico and the United States (to 27th). 28: World Economic
Forum meets in Davos, Switzerland (to February 4).
FEBRUARY 1: 20th anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeiny to Tehran,
which triggered the overthrow of the Shah of Iran.
2: First world summit of �northern-ness� in Quebec (to 5th).
14: 10th anniversary of Khomeiny fatwa against British Indian-born writer Salman Rushdie.
20: Legislative elections in Nigeria, the first since the death of junta leader Sani
Abacha in
June.
27: Presidential elections in Nigeria.
MARCH 17: 40th anniversary of the Dalai Lama�s flight to India from Tibet.
31: US deadline for full government-wide computer compliance with requirements to
overcome the Year 2000 problem.
APRIL 1: Creation by Canada of a new Territory, Nunavut, in the Northwest Territories. 24:
NATO summit in Washington (and 25th).
25: 25th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
Unspecified date: Presidential elections in Algeria.
MAY 4: Expiry of the Israel-Palestinian interim accords agreed in Oslo.
29: Handover of power to a civilian president in Nigeria.
Unspecified date: Elections to first Scottish parliament for 300 years.
Unspecified date: Elections to an autonomous Welsh parliament.
JUNE 3: European Union summit at Cologne, Germany (and 4th).
4: 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.
10: European elections (to 13th, varying from country to country).
18: Group of Seven (G7) summit at Cologne (to 20th).
30: Special session of the UN General Assembly five years after population conference in
Cairo (to July 2).
JULY 1: Finland assumes European Union presidency. AUGUST 7: South East Asian
Games begin in Brunei (to 15th) 11: Total eclipse of the sun.
20: World Athletics Championships (to 29th).
SEPTEMBER 9: Possible computer problems anticipated as clocks register date 9.9.99, with
�9999� serving as �end of file� command for many machines.
Unspecified date: Annual meetings of World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
OCTOBER 1: 50TH anniversary of the reunification of China as the People�s Republic of
China.
10: Announcement of 1999 Nobel prizes (to 12th).
NOVEMBER Unspecified date: Iberian-American summit.
DECEMBER 20: Macau returns to Chinese rule.
31: The Panama canal reverts to full Panamanian control.
Unspecified date: Parliamentary elections in Russia.
Unspecified date: Referendum on self-determination in the Western Sahara.
Unspecified date: Launch of events in Bethlehem marking the beginning of the new
millennium.
OTHER EVENTS United Nations: 1999 designated Older Persons Year.
Britain: Discussion of a parliamentary bill aimed at abolishing the presence of 750
hereditary
peers in the House of Lords (early 1999). South Africa: General elections, after which
Nelson
Mandela will give up the presidency (between May and July). Yugoslavia: Local elections in
Kosovo (autumn, conditional on an agreement between Belgrade and Kosovo Albanian
leaders). China: Jiang Zemin due to visit Germany, Britain and France (second half of
year).
Australia: Referendum on declaring a republic (late 1999). Space: Russian space station
Mir
due to fall to earth (unspecified date).
No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It�s the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now�s the time for us to say...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don�t we might as well lay down and die
You and I
Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he�ll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he�s astray
Keeps on going anyway...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don�t we might as well lay down and die
You and I
Seems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor
It�s the end of a decade
In another ten years time
Who can say what we�ll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don�t we might as well lay down and die
You and I