Good news, everyone! Futurama has returned!

I toyed with the idea of writing this on the night that Futurama began airing again.  I sort of forgot about it until this week, when Rufus commented on a Facebook post I had made using a quote from the most recent episode.  It was then that I decided to write a short piece on the return of Futurama to television.  It’s not super in-depth, because I don’t want to spoil any of the episodes.  I am probably naive in thinking that some of you might not have seen the debut episodes, but that’s neither here, not there.

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Chain snatchers and giant broads – The 4th Annual White Elephant Blogathon

This is my second year participating the White Elephant Blogathon; my experience last year was so enjoyable (by which I mean utter dismay) that I quickly signed up for another year of service. If you’re new to this, basically we all throw movies into a hat, draw a title from said hat and write a review about it. Usually we go for some awful movies and just try to make the best of it. This year I drew Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (a la 1958 version)… all I can say is whoever threw this name into the pot has to be godless and cruel.

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Scott’s Top7 NES games

It helps to be autistic.

I got my NES for Christmas when I was 6, and I kept playing it (fairly consistently) until I was sixteen–when the system finally gave out after 10 years of reliable service.  Yes, there were days when a game would freeze up on me just as I made it to the final boss battle..and yes, there were the times that I threw a game cartridge across the room in frustration…and yes, there were days entirely punctuated with my brother’s mantra, “stop talking to me!  You’re making me die!”  But, even with all of these petty frustrations, I am typing this blog not six feet away from a (somewhat) functional NES, and I can’t help but be happy to have it in my life.  Here are the 7 greatest games from my youth, although there were many, many more. … Continue Reading

The Legacy of Ms. Pac-Man; or Who is Crazy Otto?

Ms, not Mrs

In 1981, Namco unleashed what was to become the most successful arcade cabinet of all time, Ms. Pac-Man, which featured subtle but significant tweaks on the original Pac-Man, thus seriously enhancing the gameplay experience.  A few of these changes were as follows: 1) Apparently, the logarithms (not that I remember enough sophomore math to really get this) which were used to program the ghosts made them less predictable and more erratic,  2) instead of remaining static, the fruit dances around the play-field and appears in a random order,  3) and, of course, Ms. Pac-Man features a female protagonist–which was a rare find in the male-centric world of 80s gaming.

Even if you’re a wee-young gamer, you’re probably aware of these facts.  You’ve been raised in a world saturated with Pac-mania.  Many bars (and Laundromats) here in Brooklyn feature a Ms. Pac-Man machine (even if it is adjacent The Fast and the Furious).  What you’re probably not privy to is that Ms. Pac-Man began her long career with a snip and a tuck–namely, a sex change.  She was originally a little guy named Crazy Otto (see below). … Continue Reading

Shaka’s Top 7 Toys from Childhood

Yes, I had a My Buddy Doll and no, I don't want to talk about it.

I don’t plan on including video game systems, though they are pretty much a given as a big part of my childhood, simply because they’re not really toys. Everything else on this list however, is.

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Muppets are still awesome

Happy Easter weekend everyone! Its Friday and I have 45 minutes to get ready for work but first I came across this awesome muppets youtube video. I love that they’ve been releasing these viral videos online and targeting the kids that grew up watching them (us) in a way that will get us interested again (teh internets). So its Friday and I have to go eat and take a shower so I’m cutting this short. This video is fairly amazing. Enjoy.

I Still Like Marshmallows on My Pizza

Twenty years ago a cinematic masterpiece was unleashed upon the world. No not Opportunity Knocks, it was about lean green fighting machines. Yes Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, was released twenty years ago. The Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters pretty much encompassed most of my childhood cartoon watching and toy playing. As I sit typing this right now the ninja turtles are watching me from the top of my desk. I once had a theory that everything our generation liked came from the Ninja Turtles. It had ninjas, pizza, skateboarding (extreme sports), arcade games, martial arts, Asian philosophy, hockey (via Casey Jones) and hot redheads in jumpsuits. The first movie in the series stands the test of time as actually a good movie. By far the best of the series (come on I know your thinking Secret of the Ooze but that got pretty ridiculous plus the ninja rap was only cool when you were little) the first film actually had a plot and character arcs and was fairly dark. It brought the best of the comic and the cartoon together into one glorious turtle power movie.

I’m hoping that they continue with the Turtles line, as I for one really enjoyed TMNT. Also I would love to see hardcover collections of the Image comic book. Also could we please get the special edition with the deleted scenes and alternate ending over here? Why only Germany?

That Is A New Direction

Apparently there was once going to be a cartoon show called X-Men. Oh wait there was and it was awesome. But you wouldn’t know it by watching these clips from a failed TV pilot from 1989 for a show called X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men:

Now the animation is rather high quality (Toei Animation did it and they were responsible for Transformers too) and it did eventually lead to Konami developing the awesome arcade game that everyone wishes would finally be released on Xbox Live. (Really people you’re sitting on a cash cow what is the hold up???) Obviously though the biggest problem is the Australian Wolverine that they have. Whats that aboot eh?