My friend Amanda's birthday is coming up in a week, so tonight I decided to give her a call to see when would be a good time for me to go visit her and hang out (she lives in Starkville). I had my hand on the receiver, ready to pick it up and call her, when the phone suddenly rang. It was Amanda, asking if I could come up to Starkville sometime soon.
Directionless Talk About Directions
Reading over that last paragraph, I realize I used the term "up" in reference to the direction of Starkville, which is really north of here. Working on maps this summer has gotten me to thinking some about how we view them. Hattiesburg is "down" from here. Boston is "up there." Penguins live "way down" in Antarctica. Why then don't we refer to Arizona as being "to the left" of here?
One time in 7th grade Social Studies class, we were studying the geography of Egypt, and one guy in the class just couldn't fathom how the Nile could flow north, since it would be going "up." The teacher couldn't figure out what the heck he was talking about.
Since Everybody's Doing It...
10 Xevious
9 Joust
8 Dig Dug
7 Roadblasters
6 Ms. Pac-Man
5 Super Pac-Man
4 Galaga
3 Galaga '88
2 Q*bert
1 Bubble Bobble
Yeah, you heard me... Bubble Bobble rules! It rules the school! Bubble Bobble 2 and 3 are just as good, but not on this list, since they're basically more of the same game.
Back in the day, there was an intense rivalry between me and this woman who played Q*bert all the time at the Cotton Bowl bowling alley in Jackson. We were both damn good at the thing, constantly topping each other's high scores, and no one else could ever make it into the list of top scorers.
Atari owes me a t-shirt--Both times I got to the end of Roadblasters, the screen messed up and I couldn't read the code or phone number or whatever you were supposed to get for your free prize for beating the game.
I was never very good at Joust or Xevious, but I did play them a lot, so they're on the list.
10. Ravage (original cartoon and Beast Wars)
9. Megatron (the Beast Wars character--definitely NOT the Beast Machines portrayal of the character)
8. Waspinator (Beast Wars)
7. Megatron (the original--esp. his portrayal in the Generation 2 comics)
6. Blackarachnia (Beast Wars--and definitely NOT the Beast Machines portrayal of the character)
5. Tarantulas (Beast Wars)
4. Cyclonus (original series)
3. Grimlock (the violent philosopher who only pretends to be dumb in the comics--not the total idiot of the cartoon)
2. Death's Head (Okay, he's not a Transformer, but he was introduced in the British TF comics, oh, and the original DH only, not the lame Death's Head II version)
1. Dinobot (Beast Wars)
Yeah, I know Optimus Prime isn't in there. Sorry, he may be a badass, and I love the guy, but he's also the stereotypical Heroic Leader Guy, and as a character isn't quite as complex or compelling as these guys. Note that this list refers to characters only, the top ten toys are another list for another time. (I know you're all just trembling with anticipation.)
Time Traveling
I've never played Chrononaut (sounds fun) with Steph, but we did play Doctor Who (which is now being released on DVD--gotta get some of those) all the time when we were kids.
Hey Lori!
Haven't seen or talked to you much since high school. (Not that I ever talked to you or anyone much in high school... or at any other time in my life for that matter) Glad to see you joining in on all the bloggery!
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