1/16/17: Monday Night Open Skate

[bapo!]

I haven't played video games in decades, which means that I'm not fluent in a huge part of our culture. But I read about Nintendo releasing the NES Classic. It has 30 pre-installed games, including the Super Mario games, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, etc. It costs $60, but it's scarce now. If they ever manufacture more, I might buy one. This certainly won't make me feel more up to date, but whatever. As a nostalgia addict, I'm pretty much obligated to buy it.

Related, did any of yinz read the article about people who collect NES games, specifically Stadium Events? That game was licensed by another company, but then Nintendo bought the rights to it, pulled it just after it was released, then rebranded it. An original copy can sell for $25,000.

If a thing exists, then there are going to be people who collect it. But this is still kind of insane to me. Highly recommended article.

[degenerasian]

Pruitt & L-Jam: Sorry to hear about the bad news. Hopefully it'll be for the best in the long term.

Looks like I missed that crazy Caps-Pens game. Malkin is now Penguins 2nd all-time in hat-tricks with 11. You all know who first place is, he had FORTY!

[bapo!]

Looks like I missed that crazy Caps-Pens game. Malkin is now Penguins 2nd all-time in hat-tricks with 11. You all know who first place is, he had FORTY!

Fun fact from the Pens/Caps game: The Caps had gone 321 minutes without giving up an even-strength goal. Then they gave up 5 in 8 minutes.

[Rush2112]

Spent a "date day" with the wife. Coffee shop, then an early showing of La La Land (surprisingly good,) lunch at a brewery, tasting at a meadery, then a pint at a taproom that we've been to before but have heard the new brewer has been doing great things. Great day.

Which taproom?

Nighthawk.

and Giff the wife doesn't smoke, so I just packed a bowl after the kids went to sleep and played some Battlefield 1.


I should reload Skyrim though...

[mister d]

Oh hell no. As I recall, Jimi had an old school religious dad that felt left-handedness was in concert (ha!) with the devil.

Weird timing. In the handwriting thing, I mentioned that I look like I'm writing lefty even though its my right hand and the family joke was always that it was my grandmother's left-handedness coming through. She was a natural lefty but for some reason catholic school frowned upon it and so she was forced to learn with her right. Religion is definitely not stupid.

[HaulCitgo]

Wife writes the same way (except it looks like a 3 yr olds) because overbearing African pops wouldn't allow a lefty. Gave her shit for years but now the kid does the same thing. Writes righty and throws a baseball lefty. Wife is cut from the same cloth (god help me) but I don't think she imposed it upon him. Maybe there's just a societal default to right handedness.

[Sabo]

Hey bapo, does it warm your cockles that Dmitri Martin is schlepping for life insurance companies on TV these days?

[bapo!]

Hey bapo, does it warm your cockles that Dmitri Martin is schlepping for life insurance companies on TV these days?

Did I have a thing for/against Demetri Martin back in the day? Did I ever express an opinion on him in the Swamp? I honestly don't remember. Is it possible that you're confusing me with, say, anybody else in the world? Anyway, as of this writing, consider my cockles frigid.

Also, I owe Delaware a Deerhunter review. I'll get around to it one of these hours. (It's going to be a great one.)

[Johnnie]

I haven't played video games in decades, which means that I'm not fluent in a huge part of our culture. But I read about Nintendo releasing the NES Classic. It has 30 pre-installed games, including the Super Mario games, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, etc. It costs $60, but it's scarce now. If they ever manufacture more, I might buy one. This certainly won't make me feel more up to date, but whatever. As a nostalgia addict, I'm pretty much obligated to buy it.

Related, did any of yinz read the article about people who collect NES games, specifically Stadium Events? That game was licensed by another company, but then Nintendo bought the rights to it, pulled it just after it was released, then rebranded it. An original copy can sell for $25,000.

If a thing exists, then there are going to be people who collect it. But this is still kind of insane to me. Highly recommended article.

Ya know how I made a Kodi post the other day about why one should get it pending they are cool with technically stealing?

Well, a device you can put Kodi on, a Raspberry Pi, can do lots of kooky things. Like, perhaps, be turned into an emulator for all cartridge based games. The software for all of these games fits on a memory card the size of your pinky nail.

https://retropie.org.uk

Read up on it a bit. I think you'll like it.

[bapo!]

Thanks for the info, Johnnie. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'm comfortable with 'technically stealing' these days, and I didn't recognize a bunch of words in your post. I'll read the post you linked to, tho. Cheers.

[Sabo]

Hey bapo, does it warm your cockles that Dmitri Martin is schlepping for life insurance companies on TV these days?

Did I have a thing for/against Demetri Martin back in the day? Did I ever express an opinion on him in the Swamp? I honestly don't remember. Is it possible that you're confusing me with, say, anybody else in the world? Anyway, as of this writing, consider my cockles frigid.

Also, I owe Delaware a Deerhunter review. I'll get around to it one of these hours. (It's going to be a great one.)

Yes. I seem to remember you went on an extended rant against him a few years ago. Maybe I'm misremembering.

[bapo!]

Hey bapo, does it warm your cockles that Dmitri Martin is schlepping for life insurance companies on TV these days?

Did I have a thing for/against Demetri Martin back in the day? Did I ever express an opinion on him in the Swamp? I honestly don't remember. Is it possible that you're confusing me with, say, anybody else in the world? Anyway, as of this writing, consider my cockles frigid.

Also, I owe Delaware a Deerhunter review. I'll get around to it one of these hours. (It's going to be a great one.)

Yes. I seem to remember you went on an extended rant against him a few years ago. Maybe I'm misremembering.

I didn't even remember his name when you mentioned it and had to Google it. But, you know, a lot of people come into and out of my life, and I dislike most of them, so this doesn't sound out of character for me. I was really wrapped up in the comedy world circa 2010, so maybe he did something to offend my sensibilities back then.

[bapo!]

Monsieur D, the Deerhunter show was not what I was expecting, but it was great. First of all, Bradford Cox mostly just sang the first half of the concert, barely touched his guitar. And he's been performing for 15 years, so I shouldn't have been surprised that he knows what he's doing, but I didn't expect him to have stage presence and be charismatic and likable.

He pointed out a guy in the audience, said how happy he was to see him, told some story about how their parents lived together years ago. 'I held you when you were a baby!' (This is becoming a thing at the concerts I go to at Mr. Smalls. A couple of years ago, Sharon van Etten was excited because her cousin was there.)

So, everything was good and a little weird. The band sounded great. Cox would play the guitar sometimes, and sometimes just roam around the stage and violate his bandmates' personal spaces.

Towards the end of the show, they played some long, noisy things, including a Patti Smith cover. The last song lasted somewhere between 20 minutes and 4 hours, and it was loud and chaotic and joyous. Cox pulled some 10-year-old kid out of the audience and strapped his guitar to him, and the kid started strumming and adding to the noise. I loved it.

And I need to mention Palm, the opening act. They're a prog band from Philly. I'm so happy that these four people found each other and decided to make this music. They're just so odd. Weird time signatures and blurred tempos, a lot of dissonance, some calypso going on. But I was completely captivated by them.

Their bassist was adorable. He would break into a huge smile after every song. He seemed to be thinking, 'We're fucking killing it tonight!' Then, late in the set, I actually saw him give himself a fist-pump.

I wouldn't recommend their music to anybody here unless you're into messy prog, but I'm a fan.

[Sabo]

Hey bapo, does it warm your cockles that Dmitri Martin is schlepping for life insurance companies on TV these days?

Did I have a thing for/against Demetri Martin back in the day? Did I ever express an opinion on him in the Swamp? I honestly don't remember. Is it possible that you're confusing me with, say, anybody else in the world? Anyway, as of this writing, consider my cockles frigid.

Also, I owe Delaware a Deerhunter review. I'll get around to it one of these hours. (It's going to be a great one.)

Yes. I seem to remember you went on an extended rant against him a few years ago. Maybe I'm misremembering.

I didn't even remember his name when you mentioned it and had to Google it. But, you know, a lot of people come into and out of my life, and I dislike most of them, so this doesn't sound out of character for me. I was really wrapped up in the comedy world circa 2010, so maybe he did something to offend my sensibilities back then.

Jesus Christ, bapo. Do you even know who Chamillionaire is?

[bapo!]

I will never forget Chamillionaire. Cold cockles do not disqualify you from joining the Chamillitary.

[Pruitt]

I don't want to get bottom-paged, so here's a picture of Kumamon.

Kumamon (the mascot of the Kumamoto region of Japan where EVERYTHING has a mascot) is in the anime movie I wrote! Love that guy.

(although for American audiences, he's been renamed "Merry Beary.")

[sancarlos]

I like those apple cheeks!

[bapo!]

Kumamon (the mascot of the Kumamoto region of Japan where EVERYTHING has a mascot) is in the anime movie I wrote! Love that guy.

Yes! How could anybody not love Kumamon?

[rass]

I know who REALLY loves him:

[Pruitt]

[BSF21]

Fuck Merry Beary.

Kumamon for life.

[Pruitt]

Fuck Merry Beary.

Kumamon for life.

I can only build with the tools that I am given.