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Extra 90s nostalgia 

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 Journaling helps me support myself. I let everything out when I write, but I’m also very loving and compassionate towards myself. I realized how soothing journalling can be when one day I just kept writing, “it’s ok, you’re going to be ok”. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Benefits of Journaling
• Journaling has helped me through some of the hardest times of my life
• Journaling has increased my gratitude
• Journaling is free
• Journaling is flexible - I can do it anywhere
 The 90s

Fashion was combat boots, flannel shirts, and heart shaped choker necklaces and you didn’t have to match back then. Doc Martens back then we’re really over priced and for sale at stores like the Wild Pair. Malls were very busy in the 90s and the economy was pretty good. The 90s also had a festival called Lollapolozza similar to Woodstock but more bands played. The grunge movement was going on thanks to Kurt Cobain. I loved listening to House of pain, Hole, Juliana Hatfield, The Lemonheads, 7 year Bih, and Matthew Sweet. Don’t forget Cindy Crawford.
The 90s were trying to re-create the hippy culture I think. If you watched the movie Higher Learning with Tyra banks and jay fergesen that’s exactly how the 90s were! Everyone was preaching the message to love one another and making their own clothes and thrift shopping.
There weren’t a lot of garage sales in the 90s. We had festivals and flea markets. The garage sale was an over load in the 80s.

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1991-1992 : Long Beach California
penny loafers from Payless shoe store with School uniform

Kids made fun of Barney the dinosaur and Nickelodeon had the best Cartoons and tv shows

1993-1994
3rd grade and 4th grade
boys haircut in school “bowl cut” with blonde highlights
Surfer clothing was popular in Long Beach
dye their hair


used bookstores and used cD/cassette stores
Were everwhere in Long Beach,
Crown bookstore on pine ave, don’t forget Acres of Books was a famous bookstore that operated during the 90s. It was a treasure trove for book lovers, housing thousands of books covering various genres and subjects. Many people in Long Beach and beyond remember Acres of Books fondly and were saddened when it closed its doors in 2008.

Cafeteria food was so good square pizza and chocolate milk
pizza and Power Rangers for Halloween

Tape and record room downtown where R bar is where I’d go peruse records and funny magazines while my mom would be getting her jewelry worked on next door before it became Chase.

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1995
pocahontas was the most popular movie.
Blockbuster video store on bellflower Blvd
Video arcades and sow ling alleys wee
MTV music awards and Grammy awards were actually fun to watch back in 1945
Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves,
Forrest Gump jokes wer popular
In chass
Oj Simpson on tv all day we couldn’t watch our favorite cartoons because of this

Video of a bowl cut 90s kids hair style school

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You bet all the kids in Long Beach went to blockbuster video on bellflower blvd

Beyond popcorn, Blockbuster stocked a range of classic movie theater candies, solidifying its role as a complete entertainment destination. These often came in the familiar "movie box" sizes, perfect for sharing during a film. Popular choices included chocolate-covered delights such as Sno-Caps and Raisinettes, along with chewy confections like Jujyfruits and Red Vines, all staples of any cinema visit. Other specific mentions from employees include Butterfinger BB's, Wonka Bars, and marshmallow ice cream cones.

The explicit statement that Blockbuster's snack choices "were meant to mimic what you could find at your local movie theater for inflated prices" establishes a direct business rationale. By adopting the proven high-margin concession model of cinemas, Blockbuster could significantly boost its revenue per customer. The familiarity and expectation of these classic candies made them an easy and almost automatic add-on for customers already in a "movie night" mindset, even if the prices were higher than a grocery store. This approach allowed Blockbuster to leverage an existing, deeply ingrained consumer habit, maximizing sales by offering a perceived essential component of the movie-watching experience.

The specific mention of "movie boxes of candy" is a notable detail. This particular packaging format, distinct from standard grocery store candy, served to reinforce the "movie experience" at home. It psychologically cued customers that this candy was specifically for movie watching, making the purchase feel more integrated with the rental purpose. This subtle branding and packaging choice likely encouraged sales and enhanced the overall themed experience, making the snack feel less like a generic purchase and more like an essential, authentic component of the Blockbuster night, further blurring the lines between home and cinema.

Thirsty Work: The Drink Selection

No movie night is complete without a refreshing beverage, and Blockbuster stores offered a variety of drinks to complement their snacks. This included popular sodas and other 90s favorites like Mango Madness Snapple. The goal was to ensure customers had everything they needed for their home viewing party in one convenient location. Furthermore, there were instances of strategic brand partnerships, such as Fruitopia, a Coca-Cola product, having "tie-ins with video rental juggernaut Blockbuster," indicating a deliberate effort to align with popular beverage brands of the era.

The explicit mention of Fruitopia having "tie-ins with video rental juggernaut Blockbuster" reveals a broader corporate strategy beyond simply stocking generic beverages. Blockbuster was engaging in strategic brand partnerships with popular beverage companies. This allowed them to offer recognizable, in-demand drinks that enhanced the customer experience by providing familiar choices, while also potentially benefiting from co-promotion and advantageous bulk purchasing agreements. 

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in 1994 , Long Beach California coffee shops were popular and Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery in Long Beach, California, It’s A Grind was built to be reminiscent of a lived-in home, with the goal that everyone who visited for a freshly brewed coffee felt comfortable enough to stay a while. In 2014, It’s A Grind was acquired by Retail Food Group – USA and has since opened several new locations, currently with 20 units in operation, and further expansion on the horizon.
“We are proud to celebrate the fact that we’ve been rockin’ the local pour since ‘94 and, since  the ‘90s is arguably one of the best decades for pop culture

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Composition

The Big N' Tasty was designed to be a substantial and satisfying burger, featuring a seasoned quarter-pound (4 oz or 110 g) beef meat patty. This patty size was a direct parallel to the Whopper's quarter-pound offering, emphasizing a hearty burger experience intended to compete directly with Burger King's flagship.

The burger was generously topped with a combination of classic condiments and fresh vegetables, contributing to its appealing flavor profile. These included ketchup, mayonnaise, slivered onions, two dill pickle slices, and one tomato slice. These components were consistently cited as core to its composition and contributed to its reputation as a "yummy burger" among consumers.

A notable feature of the Big N' Tasty, and one often highlighted by consumers, was its use of crisp leaf lettuce. This specific choice of lettuce was frequently contrasted with the "limp, shredded stuff" found on other McDonald's burgers, such as the modern-day Quarter Pounder. This detail suggests a commitment to a higher perceived quality of fresh ingredients for this particular offering. All these components were assembled on a classic sesame seed bun, providing the traditional foundation for the burger.

It is worth noting a minor discrepancy in the provided information regarding ingredients. While the most focused descriptions of the Big N' Tasty's components consistently list the above without cheese, one snippet mentions "ketchup, cheese, mayonnaise with grilled, diced onions, pickles, leaf lettuce, and tomatoes." The inclusion of "cheese" and "grilled, diced onions" in the latter may refer to a specific regional variant, an early test market version, or a slight inconsistency in that particular record. For the general national release, the description from and is considered the standard.

 

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Del taco in 1994 

Would you like a Macho Diet Coke with your fries?

The explicit mention of "Macho" designated items from Naugles being integrated into Del Taco's menu , along with the specific confirmation of the "Macho Burrito" through 1994 Pogs , indicates that this was more than a simple transfer of products. The "Macho" branding, likely associated with larger, more substantial portions, effectively became a distinct sub-category or signature within the Del Taco menu. This represents a successful brand extension strategy where Del Taco assimilated a popular naming convention and product identity from its acquisition. This move leveraged the recognition and appeal of the "Macho" line to enhance its own menu and likely attracted Naugles' loyal customers, demonstrating how product naming can become an integral part of a brand's evolving identity.

Furthermore, the "Stoner Burrito" being described as a "secret menu" item and a "fan favorite" that is now part of a "throwback menu" reveals a compelling aspect of consumer brand history. These items, while not always officially advertised, were known and ordered by a dedicated customer base through word-of-mouth. Their re-introduction on a "retro" menu validates their past popularity and underscores the power of customer memory and informal brand lore. This phenomenon points to the existence of an unwritten menu within fast-food establishments, where certain items gain popularity through customer-driven demand and become part of the brand's cultural fabric. It also illustrates how companies can strategically tap into nostalgia and consumer-driven preferences by reintroducing these cult favorites, acknowledging their historical significance to their customer base

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I got a chance to interview 90s iconic actor Michael Ray Bower from the 1991 tv show Salute Your Shorts in 2022 for this book.
1. Where was the location salute your shorts tv show was filmed? North Hollywood and the Griffith Park Boys club in Los Angeles
2. What is your favorite 90s movie? Wayne’s world and Matrix
3. Do you remember 90s grunge rock and what’s your opinion on it ? Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden went to Lollapolooza festival. I wore Doc Martens.
4. What’s your favorite restaurant in Los Angeles? Mr Chow and El Torito.
5. How do you feel about the gas prices going up in 2022? I hope everyone can get a electric car. Gas Prices affect everybody. It’s a scary time.
6. Any chance of DVD release of salute your shorts? Conspiracy rumors they don’t have the official masters. 26 episode s not enough demands. Michael Ray Bower of Salute your Shorts.

 

I was blessed to do a interview with Crash Test Dummies Interview with Crash Test Dummies: Hi I'm a huge fan of your band can you tell me what kind of drums you played in your song mmm mmm mmm the exact drum brand ( a lot of 90s rock groups used this drum brand too) thank you so much .
Drummer : Pearl masters 

Reading and writing zines has been described by various zinesters as therapeutic, healing, and helping to process certain issues and connect to others for support. Clearly zines can be used as tools for self-care as there are plenty of zines being published about mental health, specifically in the last decade

Brian says, and i was age 16 and 17 when i saw all this happening. all the way up until 1997 maybe? the things that i remember is, u would go to a local show and to get into the show, you would pay the $5 door cover and there would be 'zine's that people would just hand out to you to read. (or take home) thing is, i never read them or received one. i did however see posters up in business windows or flyers advertising all over the downtown area for 2 weeks prior to the show. so you would know the dates when certain bands played, etc. I actually wish i could have kept some of the flyers that bands made up etc. because i used to collect them but have since tossed them out sadly then internet came in and ruined those things etc.i actually miss that time in my life. things seemed simple and no one expected much out of you,
Reasons I hate California in 2024, s. But in the last bunch of years I’ve felt really disconnected from zine culture. Cancel culture and “social justice” orthodoxy have stripped zines of their raw vulnerability and messy imperfection.

Video inside crown book store in 1992

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Another thing kids loved in the 90s is watch Sneak Prevue. We had no computers or social media so we got bored and laughed at this channel, here’s a video examples check it out

Sneak Prevue premiered in 1991 as a service for promoting pay-per-view services, providing viewers with a listing and showcase of the events and movies that were showing in the next 30 minutes to the next week. Like the Prevue Channel, Sneak Prevue was provided to cable and satellite companies for its customers. In 1999, when the Prevue Channel transformed in to the TV Guide Channel, Sneak Prevue remained under its respective name, and continued in its current format

The thing about Gen X being in our 40s and 50s now is that we were never supposed to get “old.” Like, we’re the cool, aloof grunge generation of young tech geniuses. Most of the giants that everyone uses every day—Google, Amazon, YouTube—came from Gen X. Our generation is both “Friends” and “The Office.” We are, like, relevant, dammit.