1. If you could play one video game again for the first time, what would it be?
The stand up, arcade version of Atari’s Tempest. In my day, as a 17 year old, man ! That game was the bomb. i was so good at that. I have a version on my console emulator but it is so no the same.
2. What’s one product or service you’ve paid for (one-time purchase OR monthly/yearly subscription) that legitimately changed your life for the better that you believe more people should know about?
YouTube Premium. 13.00 or so a month but all of those damned annoying commercials are gone and the content is watchable.
3. What are TV shows or a series that you have the entire DVD set for?
Hogan’s Heroes, the Dick Van Dyke Show, Steve Martin and Mel Brooks “TV stuff” appearances.
4. Which historical event would look the most insane if we had 4K camera footage of it today?
The Lincoln assassination.
5. What will someday be illegal after we finally understand how bad for us it is?
Vaping tobacco. Very few published studies have been done yet we know that even vaping tobacco is dangerous – see mouth/jaw cancer in relation to those you chew tobacco.
1) Space invaders the sit down table version, which had controllers on either side and was usually in a bar.
2) Way back when 24 hour Fitness started up (early 2000s), I signed up for an paid up front for a lifetime membership. 20+ years later and I pay a measly $49 a year to go to any 24 hour fitness anywhere in the world. And, yes, I do go.
3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
4) The Battle of Gettysburg.
5) This is a hard one, because as a human race we do something once, rinse and then repeat. So if we make it illegal, it will be legal again soon enough. I assume asbestos will make a come back for some unknown use soon enough. But, to answer the question at hand, Ibuprofen.
If you could play one video game again for the first time, what would it be?
Vectorman, from Sega. From the mid 90s.
What’s one product or service you’ve paid for (one-time purchase OR monthly/yearly subscription) that legitimately changed your life for the better that you believe more people should know about?
Spotify. For years we used, and paid for, Pandora. But they had the wonkiest agreements. Let’s say you build a Pearl Jam channel. You can only play one Pearl Jam song an hour. Then, it would play things I probably liked if I liked Pearl Jam. and they were always right! Yes, I do lik Alice in Chains and Nirvana. And you would get a ton of those bands’ songs playing on your Pearl Jam station. Your Pearl Jam station played everything but.
But then Spotify… you can play an album ever made? And save it for offline? This is amazing as its not just WAY cheaper than buying cds, neither of our cars have CD players anymore. The moment a record is released, it’s available on Spotify. Another amazing thing about it is they hae box sets. There is a really great box set of Appetite for Destruction. As you imagine, there are tons of outtakes and demos and live shows from that era. That album is a masterpiece, but do I want to pay $120 for something I can’t play? Same for the box set of Dylan’s late masterpiece Blood on the Tracks (1974). They wisely released a big ass box set for that. I love Idiot Wind, but do I want literally 90 minutes of demos of that song? Not really. With spotify it goes from my phone to wifey’s phone and as a direct result to our cars. And due to the tv being all smart, it has a Spotify tile/app on it. This way I can listen through our Bose Hi-fi with the subwoofer and surround sound and such.
Important note. VERY important. I pay for the service, and so should you. These artists need the money, bad. Sure, Bob Dylan and Axl doesn’t need my money. But almost all bands do. It still costs money to make records and tour. You can listen to the ad supported commercial version… but don’t. Not only is spotify a better listening experience without commercials, the artists get a higher kickback. And the money in spotiy is BAD. Its like if you get a million ‘spins’ or ‘hits’ you get 25 cents. That doesn’t even pay for a pack of guitar strings. I also like the interface. I also like I can check out a band without having to shell out money.
What are TV shows or a series that you have the entire DVD set for?
Hmmm, I’m not home so I can’t say. I would have to look. I definitely have several seasons of Breaking Bad, and Sons of Anarchy. Listen, I know you know Breaking Bad. But you probably don’t know Sons of Anarchy. It was about 7ish seasons, and it is a master class in storytelling, tension, and performance. I put it up there with Sopranos.
Now that I am trapped in the hospital again for another week (at least, but hopefully out for Thanksgiving) maybe I’ll start it from scratch. Most importantly, unlike Lost, or Sopranos, or so many others… Sons of Anarchy wraps up all the loose ends brilliantly by the, and with the, finale. SO satisfying.
Which historical event would look the most insane if we had 4K camera footage of it today?
SO many things. Quickly… the Kennedy shooting in Dallas. The ‘Immaculate Reception’ from the Steelers and Cowboys Oakland. We have a very strong idea what happened in that football play (a wild interception). But there is a small piece. It was likely done illegally on procedure. It was intercepted, but probably should have been called back. Each team is rather sure of what they think happened. Go ahead, I dare you to ask a Steelers fan if it was a legit interception. Prepare to get Mark Wahlberg’d like an Asian guy who brought him his check too late.
I also thought of the HInderberg. But, we actually have really really good crystal clear video of that… every moment of it. It was coming down to land, the whole thing was a big publicity stunt to get people to consider Zeppelins and airships over planes. So, there were tons of reporters and tv crews right there waiting with all their cameras trained at the lumbering beast. Oh, the huge manatee indeed!
I feel like I should have more noble concerns. If I could be back in history, AND document it… I should be asking about Jesus or something, right? Or, when my parents first met? Or to be at the Dakota that horrible and cold December night in 1980. Or when Joseph Smith first pretended to find those pretend buried books that only he could see and find. And only he could read and understand them. And then they were lost but it was ok because he somehow memorized all of them and is ready to start a whole new religion. and these magic books told him he could take as many brides and at any age that he wanted. It was god’s will and here was the proof. Well, you have to take my word for it, only I can read it. But for reals, there is a whole section that says I can marry sweet little Lizzy. It’s god’s will, fer chrissakes! I should be asking about that. But really… football mysteries are just as interesting to me.
What will someday be illegal after we finally understand how bad for us it is?
Chemotherapy. Go forward a 100 years and explain to a doctor what we did throughout the 20th century. He would shake his head with a hearty, but sad, laugh. “Can you believe we did that people? Just… poison EVERYTHING and hope it finds the bad guys. That is like killing a fly on your head by ramming your car into a brick wall at top speed.”
Just as we look back and see what we did. Didn’t wash hands, that is pretty recent. Drill holes in people’s heads to let the demons out? Man, Freud took that the WAY other direction. Freud is all ‘Ok, man is plagued with sadness and doubt. Man is even suicidal due to the horrible and hurtful things his brain is telling him. Now… we could do it your way. The drill thing. We could. It’s great, and we are all fans, Steve. OR… and stay with me… we could give him (and us, i mean we are doctors after all) a metric fuck ton of cocaine and see if that makes him instantly happy. Turns out it does, huh? Look how happy this fucker is. And there is zero blood on my persian rugs. So you do you… the whole trephination thing. And us? We are gonna do a ton of blood and talk about your momma’s titties.
1) Arcade version of Gauntlet. The one with 4 joysticks so you could have up to 4 players.
2) I was onto the Netflix game when they mailed you the DVDs. I still think it’s a hell of a deal for all that content.
3) I no longer own dvds or a dvd player.
4) The moon landing.
5) Having a fucking felon as president!