Year: 2001

She is Hooked on DVDs: Like millions of others, staff reporter Jae-Ha Kim shamelessly cast aside her VCR in favor of new technology. Now she gets her kicks buying films on those CD-like discs

Jae-Ha Kim

Those shiny, pristine CD-like discs are my obsession. Each time I get a new one, it’s like I’m getting a sweet gift. Besides their affordable price, they are a movie buff’s dream. Sure, there’s the prime attraction of the movie. But most discs contain myriad treats, such as the director’s commentary, alternate endings, the option to watch the film with subtitles or listen to it in a foreign language, interviews with the cast and so on.

Service at your fingertips:  The whole world’s in your hand with an electronic organizer

Jae-Ha Kim

“Some people prefer to use an agenda book or aren’t comfortable with techy devices,” says Bill Dyszel, author of Palm for Dummies. “These organizers are the wave of the future because they’re small, store a lot of data, are affordable and can be backed up on your home computer. They’re a lot more secure than your paper datebook because if you lose that, your information is gone.”

Rules of engagement

Jae-Ha Kim

Betsy Lancefield knew early on that she didn’t want to live with a man before getting married. But then she fell in love with a man who wouldn’t consider marrying a woman he hadn’t already lived with. She was torn. So they compromised. “Six months into the relationship, we got engaged,” says Lancefield, 37. “He went to work in Indonesia for eight months, and when he returned, he moved in with me. My family and friends were excited when we got engaged, but then when they heard we hadn’t set a date, they were sort of let down.”

The Backstreet Boys at the Allstate Arena

Jae-Ha Kim

There was a little of everything at the Backstreet Boys’ concert Monday night at the Allstate Arena, from pyrotechnics to druids to ballerinas. But for the youngsters who filled the venue to capacity, all that could have disappeared, and they still would have been happy just to see–and, I guess, hear–Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean and Howie Dorough do what they do.

The new rude

Jae-Ha Kim

Imagine finding strangers sitting on your lawn chairs, drinking beer and scarfing down sandwiches on your deck. You’d ask them to leave, right? Now imagine them telling you where to go. “Rude goes way beyond slamming a door in someone’s face or flipping them off on the highway,” says 48-year-old Wrigleyville resident Mike Porcaro, whose property has often been besieged by rowdy Cubs fans. “I had to chain my barbecue pit on the deck because people felt compelled to open the lid to look inside, as if they were going to find the Holy Grail or a mini-Sammy Sosa.”

Disney’s Jungle Adventures on Ice

Jae-Ha Kim

See Tarzan skate. See Jane swoon. See Tarzan and Jane swing on vines through the air . . . with their ice skates on. “Disney’s Jungle Adventures on Ice” takes three beloved Disney stories–“The Jungle Book,” “Tarzan” and “The Lion King”–and gives them a twist for the 21st century. The vignette for “The Jungle Book,” for instance, incorporates hip-hop beats into the remastered score.

Third Eye Blind, the Jayhawks, Nina Gordon at the House of Blues

Jae-Ha Kim

In the last few seconds of 2000, Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins was in a friendly frenzy at the House of Blues. He had picked out a young woman from the audience whom he wanted onstage NOW to help him count down to the new year. The timing wasn’t perfect, but his efforts didn’t go unappreciated by the capacity crowd of revelers–or the beaming fan who got to hug and briefly chat with all the members of the band–who joined in the countdown, clinked their champagne glasses together and kissed their dates as colorful balloons fell from the rafters.