Redemption

Here  I  am,  a  quiet  survivor  of  yesterday's  exchange  of  ideas  and  corresponding  emotions.  Note  that  the  number  of  posts  doubled  a  "typical"  day,  if  there  indeed  is  such  a  thing.  When  I  got  home  with  my  kid,  having  set  up  a  few  things  where  we  vote  out  here  &  moved  to  the  "jam"  music  of  the  moment  afterwards,  I  just  watched  and  "listened"  and  those  that  commented  were  fascinating.....    One  thing  that  I  suspected  but  that  now  I  know  for  sure,  the  issue  of  friction  and  inequality  between  the  sexes  in  the  workplace  and  elsewhere  is  not  going  away  any  time  soon.   Today's  "soft"  topic  may  let  us  all  take  a  deep  breath.....

and,funny enough,the word  ball was never even mentioned once yesterday....

Good  morning,  Road   Yacht.   If  you  did  not  already  do  so,  you  might  want  to  check  out  the  comments  of  those  that  posted  after  yesterday's  landing  zone  got  "hot,"  and  emotions  surfaced.    We  sure  are  reminded  if  we  didn't  clearly  recall  that  men  and  women  process  information  differently,  and  react  accordingly.  Today  will  be  a  good  day,  I  just  KNOW  that  it  will,  and  that  is  something  for  which  we  should  all  feel  lucky.   As  I  tuck  myself  in  for  the  deep  sleep  that  I  need  before  the  hard  part  of  Tuesday  comes  calling,  I   watch  my  daughter,  asleep  on  my  spot  in  my  home  office.    I  remember  how  it  was  so  reassuring  to  do  the  same  thing  when  I  was  a  kid,  confident  that  I  was  in  a  safe  harbor  and  out  of  harm's  way.  Enjoy  your  day,  Eli.....

More testosterone, more balls, BUT...
I like Whack-a-Mole!
GO, Ms Pac-Man! Yay Lara Croft!
Smoke 'em if you got 'em but police those butts!
Hey, hold my beer and watch THIS!

Checkers: The king can go wherever he wants, and jump any of his subjects.
That old Double Standard again!
Chess: Now we're talking! The Queen can go wherever she wants, she's the most powerful piece!
But everyone wants her destroyed. Sucks.
I play the rogue, the Hummingbird Queen: try and jump me against my will and I cut you three ways:
Long, deep, and frequent.
Like the duck said-put it on my bill...

I miss the Arcades, and some of the Arcade Games that used to be in the Lounge at the Bowling Alley ... Made enough money in Pot Games to pay for two '57 Ford A300 Coupes (My all time favorite Ford) but my crowning accomplishment was Winning a Scholarship to P U for Pin Ball ....... I competed in College in the XXX League, but Switched to Shuffleboard in my Junior year ....... Pin Ball takes so much attention, that my Beer kept getting warm, and I hate warm Beer ....... We'd play a dozen Rounds or so, until the Girls started Wrestling Nekkid in the Lime Jello ... Then all the Games stopped, and they cut these Black Lites on, and the Girls sorta glowed like Swamp Thing as they Tussel'd around in the Jello ....... Kinda inter restin how some things look in that wierd lite .......

Skee-Ball was my favorite arcade game at Coney Island when I was a kid.
I was very petite so I probably remained in the range of the 3 ft needed to glide the ball air hocky style into the center ring for a few years.

Skee-ball is probably the only game where the vertically challanged have an advantage.

The game that I'm hooked on is Pop A Ball or any video poker machine.  We usually win a lot of coupons because we usually spend a lot of money there.....the problem comes when we have our grandchildren with us.  I'm eyeing that huge panda for the 3,000 or so tickets I have and they....................they pick one ticket items after agonizing over their choice
f-o-r-e-v-e-r.  I've pleaded, I've begged, I've told them I'm not young enough for this.  But do they listen?  Noooooooo, one little piece of candy, then a small whistle while I'm breaking out in hives.  My husband, who by the way would have made a great divorced father (he takes me to all these really wonderful kid things trying to make up for a not great childhood) takes me to the arcades even when we don't have kids with us. The best part then?  Watching another person's child's eyes light up when we ask if we may give them our tickets.

Whenever I think of stuffed animals as prizes, my mind doesn't go to Skee-Ball, but to pachinko (and I'm from New Jersey!).... oh, well.....

)At the risk of belaboring the obvious,I think yesterday's conversation was one of the most challenging, emotional, absorbing, and revealing that PE has had.... a lot of hidden ice under the sea in our respective icebergs.)   

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZCwiNJ4wgo

doc, it definately exposed sayed topic............  !

Skee-ball is usually the beginning of the arcaade experiece.  Its were you linger on first date.   Pinball has always been much more competitive for me.    I never approach the machine unless the crowd is mature and confident.

Double Standards, Arcade Games...must be Election Day.

It's time for the voters to give it their best shot. Everyone, make sure to pull that plunger, hit those flippers and aim for that perfect combo shot  on that big machine today...let's hope none of our "Balls "hit the drain before all the bumpers are hit ,the poppers shoot them to the ramp and we make our modes.

All EyEs will be on the back box tonight as we all hope for the jackpot.

Just remember, all voters are wizards (and no tilts, please).

I had the Beatles' Rubber Soul playing while I worked out this morning...as I was reading on NPR about Chechnya reinstating medieval Islam to appease the unappeasable fanatics, promoting head coverings and honor killings-mostly oppression of women-Run For Your Life begins to play.
Some things never change...
Stalin had a workable solution-he sent the ENTIRE POPULATION to Mongolia when they started this agitation. A good lesson in THINGS COULD BE WORSE.
That settled them down for half a century. And it beats the Roman Solution: enslave the women and children, put the men to the sword.
Hmmm...here, we start with the Pentecostals? Or the Southern Babtists?
I'm in!

Olivia:  I  also  heard  the  NPR  story  driving  to  work.  Chechnya  is  reverting  to  the  Middle  Ages.  How  very  sad.....
 
Doc  Nolan:   I  have  the  ballistic  Kevlar  vest  that  you  ordered,  for  later  on when  the  women  get  their  sights  focused  on  us....we can  share.....lol
 
Hey!!!   Who  stole  Despereaux,  the   small  mouse  with  big  dreams???

Kindlee, I can't believe you'd throw a game for a guy!  He probably misinterpreted the frog toy as a sign that you thought he was Prince Charming.  Buggs and his carrot would have would seemed like a dare to buy you a 24kt gold 3 carat diamond. 

Olivia, if you want a revolution, lets start with the  health care system at home and then move on to build roads and fix the plumbing in developing nations so that doctors can bring in medical supplies.  We can help the woman of the world by using the same roads for rescue missions.  

It's okay, Julia Masi. I found my real Prince Charming a few years later. Someone who can beat me at Skee-Ball fair-and-square, but who is also equally happy when I'm the one who wins the stuffed animal. He's the best prize of all.

Skee-Ball is the best, I'd say only but all three are entertained, redeeming factor in a Chuck-E-Cheese outting.  The kids flit by on their way to games with more noise and less tickets and all say, "Look, they even have a game Mom can play."  Priceless.  Off to vote for mayor and city council members today.  Can't figure exactly why people don't place more importance on the officials who actually vote on stuff, roads, schools, etc. that matters right in their own back (or front) yards?  For example, where will we play skee-ball if they sell the fair grounds to developers?
 
Kindlee, I too am married to a good sport.  Loves to win, can lose to me if he must.  Fair fight either way.  Blessings!
 
Julia Masi, yea for fixing health care, roads and plumbing, and rescue missions!

Skee ball is nice, and for an online version, pogo.com is fun...
 
Off-topic by one day, how come the men can buy pants from Peterman's catalog with specific inseams, but the women get "one length fits all"?
 
I asked customer service, but haven't gotten an answer yet...
 
 

Vbaker: How ironic an observation in view of yesterday's Eye of the storm.

Vbaker:  One size never fits all.  Its a conspiracy to get us back into skirts. 

I am with Doc Nolan on thinking first of pachinko, and pachinko parlors. When I lived in Taipei, the police busted a large chain of pachinko parlors because the owners were putting amphetamines into the air conditioning. As a result, you could walk by a pachinko parlor in the a.m., and walk by again in the evening and see many of the same players still there, rapt, with extreme fixity of purpose.

I love skirts-way more comfortable than pants...
 
I agree that our sickness care system must be corrected, but we will do as Churchill once said: The Americans will do the right thing-once they have exhausted every other possible option.
 
I read recently where international aid NGOs have adopted a new policy whereby all food and medicine and other aid will only be distributed to women now. Why? Women's organizations see that the aid goes where it's needed.
Men trade everything for more guns...
To civilize a society, educate and empower the women.

Save the woman and you save her child, its the fastest way to change the culture of poverty.
 
Skirts are the secret to lobbying and making the old boys network sweat.
 
As much as I like Churchill, I feel it is our duty to create policies that render that quote non applicable.  
 
But doing the right thing once can chance the course of history. 
 

YES!

unbelievable.....let's just emasculate them all........now that's a double standard in progress...wait that's be ....retro...double negative
 
 

I'm watching CSPAN in the background as I work. Madeleine Albright. Condoleza Rice. Two entirely different styles,to be sure. Two very smart women,with opposingly styled plans.  I think that was a part of yesterdays discussion overlooked;there is no one size fits all in any catagory. Except you have to breathe.

Good point RY. Gender solidarity is easy, cheap and fallow.

OLIVIA:   Skirts are lovely, but there is a lot to be said for a pair of well-fitting Jeans ....... and a plethora of Inseam available .......

This morning I went back to read some of the follow-up comments made later in the day.  Suffice it to say...I'm retiring for the day so I don't feel obliged to re-ignite the flames. 
 
BTW, pinball was always my favorite.

Yes, Road Yacht, we all need to breathe, but the amount of air you take in   and exhale, and temperature of such, is subjective  to criticism and gender debate.

Ahhhh skee-ball, the less honest kids would wait until the arcade attendant had turned their back and then scurry up the ramp and drop the ball in the highest point circle and then climb back down.  Early signs that "Damn the Man, Save the Empire!" is in their future.
 
I could care less about the prizes, the games are fun by themselves...if they weren't they'd probably have to offer something other than sawdust stuffed velor animals.  For my birthday my husband took me to the little old arcade in our local mall.  A lot of the games didn't work or were in rough shape but we had a blast, the only downside is the only 2 skeeball lanes they had were closed.  Maybe next year...

Julia~ that always reminds me of the siblings in the back seat of the car- "MAAA, He's breathing MY air"...Nachista~ You couldn't care less?

Exactly!  The boys get more.  Its a double standard! 

Wow.

I ran off to Seattle for the day....and returned to discover that you'd gone ahead and had an entire fracas without me. It was a good one, too. This whole gender thing is just a whole lot more nuanced than feminism tried to make it out to be. And a good thing it is, too -- except when it leads to fights.

Re: skeeball. I was never an arcade kind of girl. My parents were Indiana Methodists of old Quaker and German Brethren stock, and regarded the midway at the county fair with deep suspicion. The rides were one thing -- one way or another, you'd get your money's worth -- but Daddy'd walk me around the game booths, telling me all the ways the games were rigged. "Never bet your money on another man's game," he warned me.

I did win a Siamese Fighting Fish once, by landing a dime in the fishbowl. I loved that fish.

My son's got my dad's dead-eye shot, though, and he always beats the shooting games. The carnies take one look at this blond, freckle-faced kid with his tin grin, and figure he's going to be an easy take. But after K takes two or three starter shots to figure out which direction they've tweaked the sight, he turns all business -- and then, it's all over but the prize selection. Pop...pop...pop...the targets go down in an inevitable rhythm, like a machine was taking them down. The last time we went to a carnival, the guy in the booth was just holding his head in his hands by the time the kid collected his three-foot teddy bear and walked away.

First skee-ball game I ever played was at the Santa Monica Pier, probably in the late 70s. IIRC, it was the last one, too.

We have one arcade left here in town, connected to a bowling alley/pool hall/mini-golf/go-cart/sand volleyball/kid fun center building of beeps.  Skee-ball is about all I'll play anymore.  And when I get bored, or run out of quarters, I give my tickets to the nearest kid.  I really don't need a plastic snake.  
 
In other news, last night I decided to try publishing a book on the Amazon Kindle.  I will know in a few days if it goes up.  And, as soon as it does, it will probably be taken down again for a few days, because I didn't have a cover created until this morning.  If it goes up, I'll give a link.

I won a set of dessert bowls playing Skee-ball when I was a kid at Coney Island.  Come to think of it, whenever my mom needed new glassware in the summer my dad would take me to Coney Island. I'd spend the afternoon in the arcade.  I always came home with a bag full of boring kitchen stuff.  I never liked stuffed animals.  I guess that was to my parent's advantage.
 
I won a fish once at the Feast of San Genero in little Italy.  I was on a date so I had to haul it around with me all night.  We took  to the movies and people in line kept asking me if you were supposed to bring a fish to that particular movie.  Only in New York!  Then we took it to a bar and let everyone make stupid jokes.  It was probably the best thing I'd ever won.    

Skeeball is God's favorite game. And he gives all the tickets he wins to the kids playing in the lanes next to Him.

Is that your theory on why we have thunder?

Some people never get it, and never will get it, for they can see or accept no perspective other than their own.
I consider that a disability, but that's just me.
Some go through life perplexed and frustrated and angry. They cannot understand why people react so negatively to crude and/or vulgar speech, intrusive and insensitive questions, careless assumptions about others that they do not know well enough to make any sort of assumption about.
THEY'RE  fine with it, so what's the problem...HONEY?
Here, let me win ya a lil ol prahze, sumpin shiny, and y'awta be happy!
Run get me a beer and I'll show ya how it's dun...
Well, no.
But I would say that this sort of behaviour is becoming more and more the exception in my world, and it has a lot to do with expectations. A great deal of the time, what we expect of ourselves and others, our very nature, the people we allow into our experiential sphere-these all combine to make our life. Ups and downs...
I love people. I love people who love people and who treat others with common courtesy. I'm rather partial to the men who get into that category too, and will happily do all sorts of things for the ones in that subset that I decide to go out with, for they have proven to be really nice guys. I like to be made to feel special, and I like to ensure that they feel that way too. They can even show me how to hold the cue to make that bank shot, up real close, even though I used to win bets with impossible shots at the arcade...
Manners are social lubrication. Consideration is the condensation of the golden rule of Confucius et al.
Hit it you get it back, DOUBLE...TRIPLE...whatever you need, dear.
That's how I roll. Don't you just LOVE cliches? I know I do.
Treat me right, and you will be glad. Anything less and I tend to engage Noise Cancel. Persist, and you get to meet my Evil Twin.
The essence of feminism to me is that I don't have to put up with mistreatment. That's all I want:
Go be a jerk somewhere else cos institutionalized assholism is now illegal.

Golly-was that on topic? I hope so. Let's see, I had an unspecified game, and pool. Oh, and I forgot to mention Lou Holtz and his Do-Right Rule.
 
And that deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.
How do you think he does it? What makes him so good?

It was so very damp, cold, and lonely last night as I stood shivering on the platform at the edge of town anxiously awaiting the distant sound of thesepia train's warm and welcoming whistle.  

This had always been a very soothing sound that elevated one's spirit because it typically signaled that the day's harsh and hurtful words which may have been expressed in those moments of anger and thoughtlessness had finally been exposed for what they were; and had been reduced to nothing but distant echoes to be soon forgotten.

But that didn't seem to happen last night. I'm afraid that a lot of us were left standing alone on our platforms huddled and waiting but all we could hear was the occasional wail of a lost and lonely train whistle whose music was quickly drowned out by the stormy skies that even thesepia train could not outrun. This foul storm lasted through the night and shows no sign of letting up today.

I hope this foul weather passes soon ‘cos no one really knows how many opportunities they have to ride this train of simple hopes, pleasures and dreams...

but pay no mind to this sad, silly fool...... he is after all just a dreamer still...... just another guy..

P.L.~ hot toddy awaiting...good to the last drop

 
 RoadYacht
 
 I'll have one,please.

Julia~ no.

To yank the discussion off of Skee-Ball (and yesterday's 'chat'), I only found out last year the reason they give away stuffed animals at pachinko parlors in Japan.... It seems that gambling is (wink, wink) officially illegal there, BUT there's no reason one can't open a business to purchase stuffed animals.  SOOO.... down the street from every pachinko parlor is a storefront (curiously owned by the SAME PEOPLE as those who operate the pachinko parlors!) that buys the stuffed animals folks win in the parlors.  Of course some animals are more valuable than are others (wink, wink).... and therefore they are purchased for more.  Now something I'd love to know:  I wonder if the stuffed animal purchase firms sell their buys back to the pachinko parlors so sustain a closed ecology....  It would seem the 'green' thing to do.  As in 100 yen, 500 yen, 1000 yen 10,000 yen 'green'.....

Moral: If you win at Skee-Ball, it's time to head to eBay... FAST!

Holy  ravioli,  Kindlee  kissed  Michigan  J.  Frog,  and  darned   if  he  didn't  turn  into  Prince  Charming......

RY - Sounds like a plan, but since I rarely drink I think I'll take a trip in Mr. Peabody's "Way Back" machine at least a few decades and just roll a "fatty". Peace out

 
Mr. Peter Lake,

Just a note to remind:

Thesepia train has pulled far enough past your front gate that the Club Car back steps just about line up with your front ones.

The tall dignified porter will only remove the Peterman beaver coat from its warming station when you are near.

Let yourself get lost in its cozy volume, sink deeply into the green leather with your name upon it and enjoy that goofball salted caramel Starbuck's concoction that you so deserve.

The EYE will blink itself back into sensible discourse in due time. It always has.

Nudge me awake when you board and we can amuse ourselves drawing Beverly Penn. Dibs on the bod.

Stoney

Jamaica  Blue  Mountain  Coffee,  freshly  ground,  so  good  that  you'll  confuse  your  receptors  of  seratonin  with......well,  with  ANY  NUMBER  OF  HIGHLY  EROTIC  .....   BLENDS.

Peter Lake rolled onto the club car Stonily.

Back to the stuffed animals in the Japanese arcade where you can't gamble, so what else goes on there Doc Nolan?  This location seems perfect for an undercover investigation unfortunately, my Japanese is  limited.  I always get thank you and urinal mixed up.

Beverly said bluntly to no one in particular, "Weed be there now, had we left on time.  Weed be gone from the station and onto our thesepia adventure, had we not waited for John and Stoney. 
 
Beverly considered pouting, then, but her spirits lifted when thesepia conductor at last called out:
 
"Let's roll."
 
 
ah...that's better.
 

  
 
 
Smokem if ya gottem boys( and girls)!
 
 
 
 
aaahhhh....almost 4:20

Hey Olivia, I figured out how he does it.  Feet parallel, stomach muscles pulled in and up, bend knees slightly and flutter middle and ring fingers in a 4/4 beat.  I saw TOMMY about 16 times when I was a kid.  I figured out the female eqivalent of Roger Daltry's rock star stance and flipper fingers.  It worked everytime.  Alas, a greatly underated skill.  
 
   

PeterLake - I am 1/3 way through your book and loving every word of it.  My only complaint with the book is that it will end.  I actually don't read it some nights so that it will last longer.
 
It's Manhattan weather, dear friends.

At the fair or the park, Rye Beach, I didn't play the games.
 
I liked the rides and played in the "Tunnel of Love".

Julia: The Japanese have a very civilized approach to organized crime and to semi-crime.  When it comes to organized crime, it operates alongside 'society' following its own codes; as long as 'public order' is not disturbed, it's tolerated, much as we tolerate crabgrass in our lawns.  If you are foolish enough (or desperate enough) to borrow money from the yakuza, common opinion is that you are making an unwise decision.  If you don't pay your 'lender of last resort' in a timely manner, you will undoubtedly come to agree (but too late!).  The yakuza do provide 'socially useful services'.  Among them is acting as 'security people' at annual board meetings to discourage dissenting shareholders from questioning the dictats of management (think of Altamont and the Hell's Angels security detail... the yakuza, however, dress better and have the sense not to draw attention to themselves!).  As far as 'semi-crime' (gambling, prostitiution, etc), the police simply monitor the behavior of 'providers' to make sure they don't act in conspicuously unpleasant ways that might offend the public.  Certain neighborhoods are known for their 'entertainment value' and law-abiding citizens know that if they decide to 'party' the police will insure no harm comes to them while spending their money in those districts.  As I said, Japan is very civilized.  They don't confuse private views of morality with social or policing issues.  The smooth running of society is paramount; the citizens' role is to 'fit in'.

  
Whatever Manhattan weather is, I will be in it tomorrow at this time.

It is my hope that something a little more worth passing on occurs than the man in a white lab coat, stethoscope and around-neck-ID-badge who just steps away from the nearby hospital complex, threw his stuff into his caddy sedan, got out his Blackberry and stood two-handed texting as he took a screaming leak down the side of a two-toned green Subaru Outback parked on Rutherford Place.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm guessing that this guy, assuming he is ever found to use the indoor facilities at the hospital, does not observe fastidious hand washing protocol.  

SYONEY:
 GROSS, GROSS!!!

That was STONEY.

THE FINGERS SLIP OVER THE KEYBOARD AND SOMETIMES HIT THE WRONG KEY.

Stoney,  Do not go to the emergancy room near Rutherford.  Drive to the ER in the next twon.   And if you ever see that guy in a bar or at a party, step away form the peanut bowl and the chips.

 
 
 
 
'Bet he knows the owner of the two-toned green Subaru Outback

I am not sure where arcades and arcade games fit in the social scheme of things.  I have friends that are consumed in their  arcade games.  They have them in their basements or rec-rooms and are obscessed with restoring them to original mint condition.  Whats funny is they don't play them much when I am over.  I am not sure if that is because  the game(s) is/are really not condusive to social conversation.  Especially in pinball you must concentrate to work up those game credits so you can play all night...talking to no one.  Or maybe their obscession is with of the "good ole days" where it was really the arcade that did the trick.  As time passed by ...today   Imagine scenerio A.) she says to him "where ya going", and he says "over to Bills arca..er house".  And she says for some strange reason  "wait let me come with ya."  Now your stuck bringing your prize to the arcade instead of looking forward to bringing her home from the arcade.  How does that happen?  Or  Scenerio B.) how about the conversation in that viagra moment...Honey wanna goe out this evening?" ..."naugh lets stay home play pinball in the arcade."  How does this happen? 

Paul~ they're there for the grandkids while we folk are upstairs solving the problems that try men's (and women's)souls....

Stoney~ maybe the outback belongs to his boss, and he was updating the "who desecrated the outback today"website

P.L.~ had an Airdale named Peabody,and I called the hatchback datsun our time machine...we were an act to see. And,ya know,we have those non-alky toddys for when your throat gets dry...and there is an ozium dispenser. 'Dunno why.

Arcades were part of a cheap date in high school and college. A place to get out of the cold while you were waiting for the midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Eraserhead.   It was harmless fun. 
 
Of course these days if spent 10 minutes a day on the Pinball machine at the arcade someone would  call it an addiction, hold an intervention for  people who hoard quarters and caution yos that it would lead to harder stuff.  Thankfully, pinball was popular before reality tv.   

poo, they were replaced by computer solitare- - more people do that then use it for actual work- - sadly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s60hOgqLFGg
 
 
 

Stoney, when we draw her, we must not forget that "her eyes were blue, electric blue, wet shining warm blue, blee with no end, everywhere" and that she has a special berth on top of the club car. 

I'll buy the first round of Antwerp Flanders.... heavy on the cinnamon.

Shandonista, I feel that way every time I read that book. So glad you like it.

Next stop. Lake of the Coheeries where there is everything except something to argue about.

The skeeball is god's favorite game post reminded me of the movie Dogma.
 
Peter Lake, sometimes we've got a walk a while before we can get to the Sepia Train depot, its good to stretch the muscles and get the blood pumping...for a little while at least.  It makes you appreciate the comfort and hospitality of the club car that much more when you do finally get to board.  Just remember to take your copy of A Winter's Tale with you so you have something to read in case the train is running a bit behind schedule.

PS - You'll recognize me on the platform, I'll have my copy of "An Echo in the Bone" with me, if the conversation runs thin I'd be delighted to read in companionable silence with you.

Helpful hint, don't go up against a Marine in the shooting games at the arcade...especially if you are a sore loser.

Stoney, now whenever I hear someone say "I've gotta go see a man about a horse/dog/whatever" that euphamism is going to be replaced in my head with "I gotta go see a doctor about a 2 toned green subaru outback"...lol yet another situation where people will wonder why I'm grinning like a jack o lantern for no apparent reason

Speaking of movies, wasn't Skee Ball the name of the horse that Stuffy was riding in "A Day at the Races" ???

park4!! great link!

Park4:   Any  special  reason  why  you  chose  to  share  that  particular  link?    Are  you  trying  to  tell  us  that  "There's  trouble  right  here  in  River  City?"    Or  could  you  be  gently  trying  to  tell  us  that  we  argued  and  fought  in  yesterday's  chat,  but  actually  never  were  that  close  to  the  abyss?    Cuukoo1  liked  it,  and  so  did  I.

Park4&Cuukoo1~ Buddy Hacket in the beginning of that clip was my second cousin

I'm having a Beatles day...and that John Lennon one keeps shocking me...
 
"I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved.
Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene, and I'm doing the best that I can."
 
Like Sean Connery, he admits to being 'a hitter'.

Ok, I'll shut up.

I  must  admit  that  I  had  completely  forgotten  over  the  years  that  confessions  of  former  acts  of  domestic  violence  were  part  of  John  Lennon's  song.......but  that  was  yesterday,  and  I  have  made  a  firm  commitment  to  stick  to   topic.
 
Speaking  of  nostalga,  I  saw  a  story  the  other  day  indicating  that  the  founder  of  Sonic  Drive  In  Restaurants  died  somewhere  in  Oklahoma  on  Monday.  The  man  had  apparently  failed  at  just  about  every  other  restaurant  format,   then  the  classic  1950's  theme  came   together  for  him.   I  remember  that  it  was  a  good  way  to  see  and  be  seen  if  it  was  a  nice  Summer  evening,  your  car  was  waxed  and  polished,  and  you  relished  the  thought  of  an  order  being  taken  via  loudspeaker,  followed  shortly  by  a  waitress  delivering  your  selection  to  you  on  rollerskates......  When  I  think  of  arcades  and  games,  I  also  think  of  Sonic,  as  well  as  of  Riverview  Amusement  Park  in  Chicago,  our  equivalent  of   Palisades  Park 

 
Two other persons in Stuyvesant Square that misty morning figured into the anointing of the auto: One, a street person who snapped something at the M.D. that I didn't quite get. Maybe he was telling him that one had already been seen to.
The other, a lady doing tai chi who stopped pointing at the guy and offered something very un-zenlike by way of a comment.

It made a fairly unconvincing Flip video except for how well the sound was picked up.

  
Peter Lake,

I've been working on the behind the knees area a particular feti... er, feature I enjoy.

Maybe some soft Irish lullabies are in order. You know she has the skylight thrown open to the night. 

I do remember the last time I played a non-skee-ball game in an arcade.  It was an old-west fast-draw game.  My scores beat everybody's from my first draw.  Most of my draw/shoot/kill times were under a quarter of a second.

Bert~ I not only had to kiss a frog, but also toads, wolves, snakes, eels, and some other life forms, in the guise of man, that I'm still not sure about (but fortunately was quick enough to realize I should stay away from), before I eventually found my Prince Charming. Unfortunately, it's something most men and women have to endure in their quest for the person of their dreams...our personal search for the Grail...

Is it my imagination or do we seem tired, irritated, hostile and stressed?

It seems it has been a difficult couple of days for everyone, especially here at the Eye.

Tonight, I wish all of us could just sit back and relax...

Gaze at the moon, full and bright in the night sky...

While theSepia train gently rocks and clickety-clacks down the tracks...

Cognac warming in a balloon glass, its aromatic intensity wafting under the nose...

And Ella crooning...

"Get in touch with that sundown fellow,

As he tiptoes across the sand.

He's got a million kinds of stardust,

Pick your favorite brand...

Dream, when you're feeling blue,

Dream, that's the thing to do.

Just watch the smoke rings rise in the air,

You'll find your share of memories there...

So dream, when the day is through,

Dream, and they might come true.

Things never are as bad as they seem,

So dream, dream, dream."

Pleasant dreams to all...and to all a goodnight.

I must confess... I don't know any of the games all of you are talking about.. I  must complain to my mother about the lack of education i received in my youth.  I do play solitare when i am on hold listening the horrible music.  But, since i am the boss no one can get mad at me.
 
Of to a conference for a couple of days..if I have time i will check ob all of you but, can't imagine responding on a Blackberry's tiny, tiny itty bitty keyboard.

jubilee here, a newcomer...................born and bred in the south, arcades were places ladies did not go, or gentlemen for that fact.  first time i went to an arcade was with my son when he was old enough to play (kinda) pac-man.

on the other hand, i gave my partner in crime (a.k.a. husband) an old pinball game for christmas, that was his all time favorite arcade game. maybe 'cause he is a lefty? fyi: he was not born in the south

was towed all over kingdom come by his navy employed father, but he found his way to me.  praise the baby jesus.

 

Stoney - any woman capable of placing Pearly Soames into a state of mute suspension should be painted by Michelangelo..... but would graciously settle for the likes of us. 

Nachista - Save me a seat and let me know how you like "An Echo in the Bone".

Peace out to all from the Lake of the Coheeries..............

Park4~ loved the link. They just don't make musicals like that anymore.  It would be hard to imagine an ode to a video game ever becoming a pivital part of a Broadway classic or blockbuster musical movie. 

JULIA:   Don't know if you were kidding or not ....... but the Gag about the Fish and the Date, has got me to where I am still sore from Laughing !!!  You're right, Only in New York ....... but seriously, you can make an excellent half hour SitCom out of that entire story, including how the Date/Nite ended ........  (What the hell happened to Isles ???) That is actually too funny for words, and actually the only reason I am writing right now is so's I can try and stop laughing long enough to catch my breath .......
 
Please be assured, I am NOT laughing  AT  you ....... but I love your delivery, and it is just, funny !!!!!!!   I grew up the only Jew in an entire neighborhood of Neapolitans, and the "Prize" makes complete sense to me ....... and there are a lotta others who will 'Get It' too ... you REALLY ought to write it out in full detail, and film it ... Goldie Hawn would be ideal for the part, but she is a little too experienced ... so get Sarah Silverman for the part, cuz you gotta have the Best person to carry the part and do it flawlessly, and get the Big Dago kid that played Meat in the Picture, Porky's, to play your date .......   The rest of the Cast doesn't matter ... the whole shtik is you and the Fish, and the appropriate foil(Your Date) to fonfer his way thru the entire event .......   Good On You, Julia Masi ... This is a RIOT !!!!!!!  You REALLY should write this and present it to a Producer somewhere, This is the kind of thing that NOBODY could make up !!!
 
 
It is really too bad that you can't get Martha Raye for your Part, and Tom D'Andrea for your Date .............

Jalopkin...you are so right.  Had me laughing too and images in my eyes.  So what happened to the guy, Julia?

Jalopkin~ every word is true.
 
Kim ~ The guy was great.  He became a psychiatric social worker. 

Julia...oh, I like those guys...work with them a lot

I had to read Julia's blurb one more time ... Just when I thought I could stop laughing ... Julia, you are a natural ... your delivery is excellent ....... and I love the way you blythly glide over, " I Always Get Thank You and Urinal Mixed Up ..."
 
In Comedy, Timing is everything, and Kiddo, you have GOT IT !!!!!!!   Much like, Georgia Engels, but more sophisticated ...
 
 
Its never too late .......

Welcome jubilee-great post!

bert: I wasn't making any social commentary about the Eye at all.  Somebody upthread mentioned "addiction" to these games, how everything enjoyable like games will ultimately be called 'bad' and addictive -- and I thought of "Pool" right there in River City.
 
I kind of like that song.  I think it's funny. 
 
And that a pool parlor was the closest thing the River City folks had to an arcade..

Michael~ I wish you the best of luck in publishing your book! Dreams can come true, with persistence and determination.
 
jubilee~ welcome! Hope to hear from you again.