Are These Eyeglasses Half-Broken or Half-Repaired?

    So, I broke my eyeglasses again. It happened late Friday night. I was just taking my glasses off, when the left stem came off of the hinge. The two parts just separated, with nothing else falling off. This isn't anything like ten plus years ago when my old, old glasses had the left hinge break off. It looked like I could just insert the stem back on the tiny peg on the hinge to repair it. Unfortunately, the stem wouldn't stay attached. Also, for some reason, the left lens was extremely close to my eye. Even when I tried looking out of my glasses without the left stem in, the left lens still got very close to my eye. I couldn't figure out why it would tilt so.

    Since it was the weekend, my optometrist wasn't open, and I was stuck until Monday morning. Fortunately, I still had the replacement glasses that I got when the hinge broke off the previously mentioned pair. Unfortunately, the lens came from that old pair, and they were already about ten years old or more at the time. I had a totally different prescription now involving bifocals.  While I could 'see,' I had trouble reading and viewing screens. Worse, there were still traces of adhesive that I could never remove from when the lens got put in. I had to either try to use my current broken glasses and risk my eyeball or just go without whenever I tried to read or play games. I had a major Golf Clash tournament over the weekend that was already going to be hard, and playing without my glasses made it even harder.

    At least I had one saving grace. I still had my prescription sunglasses that I got last year. This meant I could drive without any difficulties. There was no way I could drive without wearing something, and my sunglasses are bifocal as well, allowing me a full range of vision. I couldn't wear them inside though. It made everything too dark. 

    I was able to go to my optometrist Monday morning. Some remodeling was going on in one of the back rooms, making it very loud. Some young kids who were waiting there would occasionally shout over the work going on in back. This was the second time I had to replace this brand of glasses due to a part failure. The previous time, one of the nose guards fell off. It was a minor issues, but my mom forced me to get the frames replaced. Not repaired, as there was apparently no way to re-attach the broken nose guard. I'm not certain, but I think these might be a replacement pair as well.  The hinges are noticeably tighter than my previous pair, and I think the style/color is off just slightly as well. 

    Anyway, I'm seeing again just fine without any worries. For now. I'm on my third pair of these glasses in just under four years. I had my previous pair over a decade before I had a problem with them. Their replacement still looks okay, even though the styling is dated. Even my previous pair of sunglasses are still good, even if I no longer wear them regularly, and they are at least fifteen years old. Maybe almost twenty. No real problems with them, but the newer, way more expensive ones?

    I'll come back to this topic in another year or two

Red, White, and Lots of Blueberries

    I can't remember when I had my first blueberry. It may have been in high school, or quite possibly college. I know that sounds fairly late in life to try something so common, but I am quite the picky eater. Blueberries just weren't that big a thing when I was a kid.  Sure, they were around, but it took some time before I tried them, probably on one of my new food kicks that I used to go on all the time when I just got bored with everything else.  However, once I tried the actual fruit, I was hooked. I began trying everything that was blueberry-flavored. To a point.

    My initial dislike of blueberries may come from something my mother once forced me to try, blueberry cream cheese danish. While I might have liked the fruit, the cream cheese was just not something I could tolerate. I guess I tried a few other things before I got to the actual berries.  I mean, blueberries aren't even blue on the inside. The flesh is whitish, generally speaking. Very ripe berries might be darker, but I am starting to lose my train of thought.

    The first blueberry product that really took my interest was Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. Blueberry wasn't one of the original flavors, I think. I tried strawberry, but I didn't really like the flavor of strawberries when heated. Blueberry, however, is superb. Even as new flavor came out, I would return to blueberry. The only other flavor that caught my attention was Wildberry, which was a mix of strawberry and blueberry, maybe a touch of another. That one was discontinued, although a Mixed Berry limited-edition came out for last year, with special strawberry icing. Alas, the promotion ended. The current one features a strawberry/cream cheese with blue blueberry icing, a first. Haven't seen this one in store yet, just the apple pie flavor, but I'm still on the lookout.

    I also tried dozens of blueberry cereal bars. I almost stopped after the first one I tried because it tasted horrible. Maybe it was a spice in the filling, but I couldn't stand it. I occasionally tried a different flavor in the beans, and while it wasn't the type of filling I liked, it didn't taste as bad. I kept trying new bars, but they were always discontinued after a time. There was even one with blueberries and cream cheese that I actually could tolerate. Almost all of them now gone. The few left that I alternate are just barely better than the previous one, which is still the industry leader. There is one that is quite similar to that flavor to an Archway blueberry cookie, which was my absolute favorite in the world, before the current owners pared down the varieties and eliminated it. That's just the story of my life.

    I've had blueberry danishes, scraping off some of the cream cheese when necessary. I've made my own blueberry muffins, and even coffee cakes, from mixes, but the best ones were discontinued. I'm a fiend for blueberry jelly doughnuts whenever I can get them, but they are hard to find lately. I try other bakery blueberry products, with mixed results. 

    One type of product that has just come out are ice creams with blueberries. Years and years ago, I remember trying a blueberry and blackberry ice cream from Pet. (This was before I started trying blackberries by the way. Also, a fairly strong favorite.) However, Pet is no longer carried anywhere anymore, if it even still exists. Even if it does, that flavor is long gone, but other brands have brought out something new. First Bluebell has brought back its Red, White, & Bluebell flavor, which is a mix of strawberry, vanilla, and blueberry flavors swirled together. Fortunately, I live on the eastern end of the range and can get this flavor, only in half-gallons. I don't know if I would like it enough to get that much. I mean, I loved the Dr Pepper float flavor, but the banana fudge was lacking a bit. Still, blueberry ice cream. Another store had a 'gourmet' store brand with a 'huckleberry' flavor in pints, but quite expensive. Technically, huckleberries are just larger, wild blueberries, so I might like them. Not so sure about it being a store brand, but the prospect is almost too tempting.

    One thing I don't get is cheesecake. Not even blueberries can change that. I also try to steer around anything with lemon. The flavors match well enough, but the combination is not a favorite. Personally, blood orange might be the better citrus choice, but that is so rare that I would skip it for the most part.

    Thank you 'berry' much for being here today. See you next week.

Paint the Town and Country Shopping Center Red, and More

    As I mentioned before, the shopping center where my store is located got sold to a hospital. Still kind of worried about why a NPO wants with a retail establishment, but whatever. In doing so, the new owners have decided to make some renovations to the center. A major one was been repainting the marquees and support pillars in the hospital's signature gray. However, the individual units are not being painted gray. No, they have been repainted in a bunch of different colors. Six in all.

    First, there is a terra cotta orangey red. Really in your face. It gives a strong Southwestern feel. Next is a light orange, close to apricot. Very pale, but still recognizable. After that is a creamy, yellow neutral. Very close to butter, yet darker than ecru. Fourth is a minty green with just a touch of blue. Fairly unnatural, but somewhat appealing. That is followed by a light, sky blue. Nothing remarkable about it. Finally, there is another blue, mixed with grey and a touch of purple. It's very close to the accent color of my store's interior. For the sake of explanation, let's call these six colors, in order, as follows:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. (I also forgot the Oxford comma. Very necessary.)

    Probably fortunately, these six colors cycle in a pattern among the eighteen units at the center.  In fact, I hadn't realized that the center had that many units, not counting the former supermarket that was the anchor at the east end. Going from east to west, the colors cycle yellow, green, red, blue, orange, violet. Units supposedly didn't get to choose which color they got; they just got whatever color was next in the cycle. I say 'supposedly' because one unit may have got to pick green for their unit. I find that strange, as the unit is a boutique with a pink color scheme inside. The two colors have a watermelon feel, which might work on some level. Maybe. My store got the yellow. This so happens to be just a tad brighter than the original ecru that was the original interior color for my store before we repainted a long time ago. At least the contrast makes the store a little brighter.

    Of particular note is the church. (Yes, one unit of the center is now being used for a church. It was previously a dialysis clinic.  Before that, it was a drugstore and the main display for a Sears franchise. [The two even switched out in the early 70s.] The Sears took up many of the units before they were divided a very long time ago.) They didn't seem to get any favors out of this.  While not a traditional white, they were able to get the lightest color of the six made available, the orange. Of the other five colors, only the yellow would've been even barely appropriate. The church has the largest wall space of any unit at the center, at least for the side facing the parking lot. The most western unit probably has the most wall space, if you include the side facing the road as well. 

    The weirdest thing is the unit directly controlled by the hospital, the one with the scrubs store, as well as the center manager's office, is blue. While not the official color of the hospital, it is the most notable. Now, while I admit I haven't been to that many places, I don't remember seeing any shopping center with such a wide range of different colors for each unit. I'm not sure it works, but that may be point. More opinions on this at a later date.

Goggling Gaggles of Geese

    I have been noticing that a once rare trend has slowly been taking off. Or rather putting on. See, I've noticed people dressing their ceramic geese, or perhaps ducks, in various costumes to celebrate various holidays and seasons.

    The first time I remember seeing this was almost twenty years ago. A house on my way to work had a goose on a pedestal by the steps to their porch. Then they got a second one, or maybe they had two all along. Anyway, the woman who lived there would sew up costumes for them, depending upon the season. I would eagerly await to see what she came up with as holidays rolled around. Then, one morning, the geese were gone. For some reason, someone stole the geese, costumes and all. Now, I couldn't sure if the geese were attached to the pedestal or not, but the birds were gone. This is when I found out about the background of the geese, through various means. After some time, the geese were recovered and the perpetrator was jailed. The first new costumes for the geese were a police officer uniform and a striped convict suit. Soon, a tiny gosling statue was added between the two, although it rarely got its own costume.

    The woman would later die, but the geese remained.  The new owners of the house weren't into decorating so much, and the geese would be naked. I believe that no one is currently living in the place, as giant weeds have slowly overtaken not just the yard, but even the dirt road to the trailer above the house. The weeds are so tall that I can't even tell if the geese are still there, or even the pedestal and steps. I can barely tell that the house is still there, if it wasn't on a small hill. That's how tall those weeds are.

    For many years, I barely saw any costumed geese anywhere. Then, last summer, I noticed that a house had places a pair of geese, one on each side at the top of the steps to the porch. Last summer, the geese were in swimsuits, one even had an inner tube. Over the next few months, the geese would be dressed in clothes representative of the various holidays, which many in actual costumes. For Christmas, one goose was Santa Claus, while the other was just in a red, white, and green dress. Or was it a reindeer. I think I remember a goose as Christmas tree? Anyway, one had bunny ears for Easter

    I'm finding it hard to remember, as so many other houses now are doing the exact same thing. While the original goose lady made many of her costumes, it now looks like an entire industry has popped up to make sure geese don't stay naked. Just this morning, I saw over a dozen places with at least of their geese in get-ups. That's right, some of these homes have so many geese that not all of them are dressed. The home from the last paragraph have their geese in old-timey swim ware complete with bathing caps. Another house has one goose graduating in a cap and gown; its partner is still in the farming gear she has had since after Easter. Multiple geese are in red, white, and blue, dressed like Uncle Sam. One even has attached wings, spread out and holding flags in each side. One house has their goose dressed as a giant ladybug, with translucent wings unfurled behind it. 

    In all fairness, this trend is a little easier to take in than having your giant Halloween skeleton up year round and dressing it up for different holidays, just so you don't have to take it down. I imagine it's less expensive too, as these ceramic birds are only a foot tall or so. Still, everyone deciding to clothe geese at the same time is somewhat freaky. Cute, but kind of weird.

Popping up out of Nowhere

    I'm back to my regular schedule, and it is time for a favorite of mine. Today I'll talk about the newest sodas out in the market. Each one of them is different for me, but in totally different ways.

    First is Cherry Sprite. No, not Cherry Limeade Sprite Chill, which is a different product available in many places. This is just Cherry Sprite which is an exclusive limited edition flavor found only at Food City brand stores. Normally, I don't drink Sprite, or any Coca Cola product. However, I felt that I needed to try this as I never knew a smaller regional market like Food City would get a major exclusive. At first, I thought that this would be like Cherry 7-Up, a cherry-flavored drink from a company mostly known for lemon-lime.  I was wrong, as this is just regular Sprite with cherry added. While some people like the flavor combination, I didn't. The mix of the two flavors didn't work well together, as the lemon-lime overpowered the cherry, whose notes barely registered. After the original bottle, I didn't try it again.

    Next comes something even more out of left field for me, Dirty Mountain Dew. I rarely ever have Mountain Dew. Usually, it is just a quick blast from a fountain added to my usual Dr Pepper/Pepsi mix, and very rarely at that since the flavors rarely work right. However, I have a slight partiality to cream soda/vanilla flavors, so I decided to try it. Mountain Dew has had multiple flavors for twenty-five years now. (See Code Red/cherry, Live Wire/orange, and Voltage/raspberry.) I have never tried one before, just because of the flavor. Not even the watermelon-flavored Major Melon that just got discontinued for Dirty Dew. Personally, I don't see why vanilla is getting added to everything, but why argue. The color is a pale greenish-yellow, which is somewhat off-putting. I opened the bottle and got a strong whiff of vanilla. I wasn't expecting that. The cream soda flavor was pronounced, but not overwhelming. The regular lemon-lime of the Mountain Dew blended seamlessly with that of the cream soda. It reminded me or lime sherbet, even though I rarely have had it, and I didn't really like it the few times I've had it. The flavor was just different enough from anything else I tasted that made me want it more. (Maybe it was the extra caffeine.) Anyway, I have wound up getting some more bottles for extra testing and tasting. I even got the zero-sugar one by accident to try later on today. I mean, my mind is blown that I like this so much. Not enough maybe to buy a carton or six-pact at once, but possibly a few more times.

    Finally, Dr Pepper has brought back the Coconut Cream flavor for the summer. Keep it away from me. I just hate coconut that much.

    I am looking forward to the battle of the root beer floats as Mug and A & W both bring out their root beer/cream soda combos soon. Which I find odd, as root beer already has some vanilla notes naturally. Oh well.

My Video Game Library: Bonus Stage

    Normally, I would call this extra post an addendum or errata. However, since we are talking video games, bonus stage sounded cooler. Here is the post where I clarify some details I missed in the main posts of this series, as well as correct some mistakes. I did a lot of research this time around, so any mistakes are from bad memory and are somewhat intentional. Let's start.

    I mentioned that I played games at friends and family members' homes, but not what they were. My next-door neighbor had an Atari. He had that horrible port of Pac-Man, Pitfall, and the game with the tanks (Combat?). An older cousin had a Coleco. He had Donkey Kong, a basketball game, and poker.  A slightly younger cousin may have had an Atari as well. I think he had Space Invaders and Centipede, but I played the least amount of time with him, so I might be forgetting some. My best friend in grade mentioned some sort of Indiana Jones/Raiders game while talking with a mutual friend, but I never went to his home to play any. Either he didn't want me there, or my mother wouldn't allow me to go. Both options were equally possible. Finally, I went to one friend's place in high school, without anyone knowing. After some sports type stuff, he went back to his room, where he had an NES. Some guys were playing baseball on it, so I couldn't get a chance to play before I had to leave.  

    I tried to mention everywhere I bought my games. If I didn't mention a location, it was probably due to the fact that my mom got it for me as a gift. (Christmas, birthday, late birthday, etc.) She usually got them at a local Walmart. Mostly Prestonsburg, but sometimes Pikeville or one further out if it couldn't be found closer. Since I wasn't usually there, I can only guess at these assumptions.

    The algorithm on Facebook picked up on my recent interest in video games. One of the articles it picked out involved older retailers. That's when I remembered Babbage's, an old video game store. I'm pretty sure that the GameStop at the Huntington Mall was originally a Babbage's and that is where I actually got those games from. In fact, there is a good chance that the unknown game store at the Fayette Mall in Lexington was a Babbage's as well. It just wasn't open as long.

    I need to mention two stores that I have visited many times, but never buying anything. The first is Page 3 Game Zone. They have sold used and new games for many years, but I've never bought any there. I've bought hundreds, if not thousands, of other things there (comics, books, cards, even a small paint brush for miniatures), but video games. Then there is CM Games at the Fayette Mall. They also have new and used video games, among other types of games. While I've visited many times, I have yet to buy anything at all there.

    As I mentioned at the start, I was skipping giving some games a post, for various reasons. The first is Duck Hunt, which would be obvious as it game with the NES. I hated the light gun, and I easily beat the game by standing a foot or two in front of the television screen. Another NES game, I am too embarrassed to mention, but it included "cookie" in the title. I almost remember playing Dr. Mario in color somewhere, but I don't remember buying it separate.

    While nearing the end of this series, I finally remembered a PS1 game that I had totally forgotten about. It was a game based on Magic:  The Gathering. I liked the game, mostly the back story and collectability of it, but I never played it in public. I asked for the game as a way to play it, without getting embarrassed in public for my bad skills. However, since I didn't have internet access back then, I could only play the story mode.  None of the rules made any sense. I may have gotten far into it, but I don't remember. It was just too weird. I might come back to this in next year's update.

    I mentioned the video game-based cartoons I watched regularly, but not other media. I was planning on it, but I ran out of time that post. I have never followed any live action television series based on a game. I don't go to theaters, so I have never seen any type of game-based movie. The closest I've gotten to watching a full movie is with Wreck-It-Ralph on Disney, and not the entire movie all at once. (Yes, I am immature for my age.) And it just barely can qualify as a video game movie.  I might have gotten a few comics on video games, for free in hand-outs, but I have never collected any series.

    And that is just ab out all for this post. Come back this Wednesday, as I return to my regular schedule. See you then.

My Video Game Library: Afterthoughts

    Well, I've come to the end of My Video Game Library series. I have played a lot of games over the year, losing a lot of times, but winning quite a bit too. Not as much as I would have liked, but I won.

    I remember a television series on TBS in the 80s. It was a "game show" involving people competing on arcade games. Each round, one of the players would win the chance to determine which of the arcade games they would be playing and who they would play against. While they would usually pick games they would be good at, they would occasionally choose a game they had never played before. One time, the contestant chose one of those animated style games, like Dragon's Lair, only this one involved these two thieves trying to make a getaway. Both players were wrecking their cars all over the place. Neither one gained any points that round, I think. The player who did the best over the show won the prizes. It has been so long since this show was on that I can't remember much else about it.

    Flash forward to the 2000s. I was just flipping through the channels, when I caught a computer game competition on one of the ESPN channels. One of the games was the Aztec/Mayan-themed one where you have to shoot balls at a series of other balls as they spiral inward towards the center to eliminate them. I am guessing that whoever got the largest cumulative score over all the games they played would win. While I never tuned in, I've even heard about shows about teams competing in these massive battle Royale style games, such as Fortnite, for real life prizes.

    Nowadays, students in both college and high school can compete in video games for actual recognition, as if it were varsity sports. When I decided to try to get into gaming, I had no idea that it could turn into something for real money. The idea is so alien to me. However, the realization is also scary for me. It's similar to how I felt when I realized in my mid 20s that I could have been an athlete in school. I had the ability to compete, but not the compulsion to do so. I mean, I only have played basketball once outside of gym class once in my life. I just don't have the right body type to enjoy it. However, with just a little push, I could have gotten into baseball, maybe even football. Heck, if my school had track, I would have tried out immediately. Unfortunately, it didn't start until after I graduated. 

    Now, I could get money just for playing games. It feels wrong on some level. While I don't play those battle-style variety of game (too violent), I have seen contests for other games that I do play. Unfortunately, I never seem to be able to make it far in those. I almost qualified in a Candy Crush contest but I could never play enough to make it far. In just the past week, Golf Clash has started a competition for money, tied to various gameplay features. I have both of my accounts registered, but I don't think it will amount to anything. I am still unsure about the rules, but I doubt that I am skillful enough to contribute much to it. Still, I guess I'll try. 

    The idea of playing for money, though. Just beyond me, but if that's what I can add to gaming to change the experience, so be it.

    Come back this Saturday for one final post in this series focusing on errata and bonus information.

My Video Game Side Quest: School

    That's right.  I played games at school. 

    Although not an actual game, or a "real" computer for that matter, my first experience of games at school was in first grade when I got sent over to second grade for my reading lessons. I can't explain it either. Anyway, there was this thing called a Systems 80. It had a monitor with four or five buttons under it. You would put a strip of tape on a punch card, stuck int into the system, and a series of pictures would pop up as an audio track would play over some headphones attached to it. You were given prompts and answer questions by pressing the buttons. When done, you took out the card and presented it to the teacher who would grade it, based on the holes on the tape that corresponded to the buttons you pressed.  

    I didn't get to be at a real computer until fourth grade when I was part of the inaugural Talented and Gifted program (TAG) at my school. We had special advanced lessons involving a number of different topics. Among them were advanced number theory, learning French and ASL (the former using a Systems 80 at times), helping to paint a mural for the school library (some of the details I did got painted over later), and computing. We did some basic coding, in BASIC, and played games during our brief periods at the screen.  (We also played board games designed to teach, well, advanced game playing. Chess was one, but anything without dice was allowed. We particularly loved a game about evacuating a volcanic island.) One of the games was probably Oregon Trail. I never touched it, but I think others did. I tried a sci-fi game once, but it was too complicated to figure out what to do. There was also a trivia game. You had to match up pairs of answers. For instance, one question asked about superheroes and their secret identities. The name 'Lamont Cranston' was on both sides. I didn't know yet that The Shadow used the name to hide his original one, which I can't remember right now.

    High school didn't have as many opportunities. At the end of my sophomore year, maybe junior, I wound up wandering around campus, ending in the typing lab with of bunch of guys playing the diving section of an Olympics game. No one knew the exact buttons to play, and the game acted up anyway, so winning was never an issue.  We were just goofing around. There were other sports, but I don't remember much about them, if we played them. There was also a version for winter sports. We were just as clueless for the figure skating portion.

    Anyway, that experience led me to take typing my senior year. I also thought it would be a way to get me on the yearbook staff. Unfortunately, I found out too late that you need a year of typing to make the staff. Not only was my dream shattered, but I had to suffer the indignity of being the only senior in a class full of freshman. At least I frequently got to use the computer, or the Mac that showed up later in the year, for lessons. The backspace key makes drills so much easier. (I only used it twice, at most. I swear.) I usually arrived early enough to see the actual yearbook staff, who took accounting, as they were finishing up. Sometimes, they were playing games. One was a lemonade stand business sim; another was poker. I played neither, but I sometimes offered suggestions.

    At least my dream of being the editor of the school paper survived, even if we barely touched our textbooks. And teacher didn't even know they had been changed that year. Or that an entire section of the class got detoured into doing a major project for the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day (I actually took control of the school for a brief time due to this, but that is for another post.) instead of making the paper. The class met in the computer lab. There was some overlap with the computer class beforehand, so some students would be finishing up the games they were playing when I got there. I remember helping out some people solve a case from Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? (I actually asked for the NES port for Christmas, but my mom never got it.) I would help someone else with a haunted house text-based game, but I couldn't solve one puzzle until well after the game.

    As editor, I mostly got to use the Mac as my computer. While I searched a lot through it, I don't think I ever found any games. That doesn't mean I never 'played' with it. As I may have mentioned once in a post, a friend and I were goofing around instead of working just before winter break. We wound up altering some clip art of Santa Claus into a punk rock 'Satan' Clause. What did you expect? We were kids. (Technically, my friend had been eighteen for a few months, but since we didn't go to grade school together, I was unfamiliar with his birthday. And I would turn eighteen a few weeks later. However, we were still in school, so we were kids. What matters is we didn't get in trouble when we were caught. So there.)

    The only time I was at a computer at community college was during a computer science course my second year. We barely made it to the actual computers in the lab/s (a second lab was started in a former nursing lab room halfway through the semester). One of the lessons involved a tutorial that could be considered a type of game, involving learning how to move things on screen. Everything else was mostly drills. For my last two-and-a-half years of college, I never used a computer. The lab at the school was in the basement level of a building I rarely went to. The library wasn't even fully computerized yet, but I didn't need the help for research. I'm an expert on that, usually.

    And that ends the side quest. Wednesday ends this series, so come back for the big finish.

My Video Game Library: Golf Clash

    I didn't want to play a sports game based on golf. However, a friend of mine on Facebook invited me to play Golf Clash.  Since I wanted to be friendly, I took him up on the offer. (I would later find out that he got an in-game bonus for every friend invite who joined the game. I positive that had nothing to do with it.). While I wouldn't say I was hooked, I did stay with the game longer than I thought I would. I would soon find out that another friend of mine also played Golf Clash.  That surprised me. One of the features of the game is that you can challenge your friends to matches. One day, before I got my own computer, I wound up playing against the two of them at the same time, alternating between them for over ten minutes. I had to stop because I was running out of time at the library.  I forget where I was that day, but it was getting confusing playing between the two of them. I've played with other friends, on occasion, but most of them have since left the game.

    The object of the game is basically just golf. Two players put up money from the game, play a hole, and the winner gets both players' money.  The winner also gets a chest with a little more money, as well as cards to develop clubs. Originally, the holes were all created for the game, involving situations that were really feasible in real life. Recently, they have been licensing real world courses for the game, which are more authentic, but not as much fun.

    Sometime after I started, and just barely getting really good at the game, Golf Clash introduced the concept of clans. Up to fifty players could get together in a clan, getting extra bonuses for their combined wins for how well their clan did each week. My friend found a clan, and I joined him there. I managed to get my second friend in the same clan as well, but he got kicked out after a short while because our clan's leader at the time didn't feel he was playing enough. However, both my friend and I have stuck through ever since.  In fact, he somehow got to be our clan's leader after the original one felt that the clan had too many players not caring enough about competing.

    I have since become one of the better players there, KentuckyBBN, even though I still don't consider myself that great. Luck is still playing a big role in my playing. Sometime in the next month or two, I will have maxed out one of the power clubs of the game, after already maxed out all of the basic and medium clubs. Golf Clash has since instituted seasons, offering better benefits and challenges lastly every four weeks. (Players can pay to get them faster, as well as many, many, many other offers. I've read on social media about the complaints over pay-to-play.) One new feature that has just started is a three-way challenge among clans, competing over a weekend a course with many club drawbacks that can only be resolved by having the best scores on four secondary courses, whose ownerships can cycle every four hours. My clan won the first time it was out, but only came in second the next two times. I must admit, I had some burnout playing the same holes time and again, but I do what I must for my clan.

    That includes taking over as leader. My friend, the current leader, hasn't been able to play much lately. If he needs me to step in, I could. I would just need a week to prepare and proper timing, and I would be in a position to take over at the next season change. I admit, my style would be different from his, but I might be up for the challenge. Maybe. I still find it strange that someone who hates sports games as much as I has become a sports gamer. 

    

My Video Game Library: SongPop

    I first saw SongPop on Facebook, just there on the side where the games used to be. I have always been pretty good at music, so this was a clear for me. SongPop 2, as it was called back then, is basically a version of the television game show Name That Tune or a "reverse Shazam." A computer plays a snippet of a song from a category you chose (usually an artist, genre, or timeframe; although some categories can be based on features from the titles or lyrics), and you have to guess the song correctly as quickly as possible before the other player. You get more points if you guess correctly sooner, so that an incorrect guess doesn't automatically mean you lose, especially if the other player takes longer to get all of their songs correct. There was also a second game mode, Party, where you and four other players try to guess songs as quickly as possible. You get bonus points based on how fast you are. After the twenty-four hour Party is over, you gain a prize based on your ranking among the over a hundred other possible party players.  While I never got to play against of any of my Facebook friends, I still loved the game. I had a bunch of regular players that I vied against as much as I could.

    Then, SongPop announced that they were leaving Facebook at the end of the year. On that December 31, I played like I normally would, thinking I had until midnight to play. I was waiting until that evening to say goodbye. When I tried to log back on to the game, it had disappeared. Unfortunately, they had meant midnight their time, in England I think, not here. I hated that I never said goodbye. I even wrote a post on my blogcast about it. Sure, the game was still available as an app, but I didn't have a phone at the time.  Or a PC. So, I had to stop playing.

    But only for a few months.

    The following summer or so, SongPop finally developed an app for Macs. I even got an email about it.I quickly downloaded it, when I could. I still had a prize available from the last Party I never got to finish. All but one of my regular players had left me. Well, the computer opponent had to stay, but one woman kept with me during my absence. I would always try to give her a category she could compete with whenever we played.

    SongPop Classic, as it was now named, had added a few features. They now had challenges (daily, weekly, monthly, and expert) that one could finish to add points to a prize path. Some require playing the other SongPop game, which leaves me out.  For now. It took me a while, but I ultimately got to the biggest prize at the end of the month, and even the bonus ones available beyond that. Last year, they added Carnival mode, a themed group of challenges similar to Party mode, but available to everyone and not just the 200 or so for parties. The Carnival lasts seven day, and there is about one a month, or so. They are usually based around holidays or similar events. 

    I currently have a group of around thirty or so players that I compete with every week. Some drop me after a few times, as our musical tastes don't line up, or if they only want to get money from me. The number of players who want me to buy naked pics of them are way too many. Others, I drop if I don't hear from them after four or five months. I try to give everyone a real chance at coming back.

    Unfortunately, one of those players I had to drop was the one who stuck with me during my absence. She started to miss challenges, on a very frequent basis. She mentioned she was having problems, medical I think. Possibly financial as well. She was gone for a few weeks at a time. Then, she missed a few months. After a year, I finally deleted the game with her. I had kept her going as long as I could.  Even with the intentional and accidental deletions, I still needed the extra space I needed to maintain a minimum number of active games. While I hope she is okay, I'm pretty sure she isn't. 

    So, I'm still chugging along, playing at a fairly high level. I'm discovering songs that came out long ago that I missed, remembering oldies that I all but forgot. I keep up with new music too. I still wonder about the newer version of SongPop.  It has a number of new features and types of play not on 2. And I wonder what happened to all of the players who I had to delete their games.

    I'm sorry.

My Video Game Side Quest: Apps and Ads

    When I first got a computer, one of the things I couldn't wait for was solitaire. I knew from experience that many PCs had their own solitaire programs. I played it a lot in the 90s, since I didn't need anyone else to play. Well, I quickly found out by checking my MacBook, as well as a third-party manual, that Apple doesn't include a solitaire app with its Macs. They have Chess instead. Now, I played chess quite a bit when I was young, but I wasn't that big of a fan.  Since it took a few weeks after I got my MacBook for the installation of the internet at home, chess was the only game I had. Sure, I could customize a little, but I still didn't like playing it. At least there was also a sliding tile game widget hidden within a file. That I really liked. Too bad it got dropped in a later update.

    At least I had internet access at work to download a few games until I got hooked up at home. The first solitaire app I tried was technically free, but you had to buy extra layouts after the limited ones included. The first tableau was impossible for me to solve. I think I accidentally skipped a few layouts, preventing me from ever trying to solve them. I stopped playing it fast. I also got Epic Solitaire, at least I think that was the name. It had different modes to play, customizable card designs and tabletop, and a daily challenge. I played the challenge almost first thing everyday when I turned on my MacBook, usually playing a second game, or more, as well. Every day until my first MacBook died. Of course, I got the game again three days later with my new computer, but it wasn't the same. I couldn't get the game to look the same. I wound up not playing the game ever again. (Like a dunce, I didn't realize that the original game was still on my iCloud. I could have just retrieved it. Oh, well.)  I also got two pool games. One had basic graphics, but an easy mechanics system. The other had much better graphics, but some of the mechanics weren't as intuitive. I played the former way more. I stopped with the pool games after I got the internet installed and I could play my Facebook games instead.

    The only other game I have on my MacBook is Songpop Classic, and I only have that one due to the fact that it got dropped my Facebook gaming. It didn't get a Mac version for months after that, but that is for a later post. I have yet to activate any of the free trials to Apple Arcade on any of my devices. Strangely enough, the Songpop app appeared on my iPhone the same time I got it on my MacBook, without me having to download it.

    I only got an iPhone because I needed it for SFA for my grad school.  I wasn't planing to use it for games and such, but that's what happened. Not only do I have Songpop Classic on my phone, but I have Golf Clash as well. I had to migrate it from Facebook after the game makers had some difficulties with them. At least I had a phone by then to make it work. (More on this it a later post.)

    One thing I noticed on each game is the huge amount of ads on the phone versions, many of them for other games. When on my Mac, there were few ads, and they were usually just there when a special offer was given or when switching between modes. On the phone, Songpop has an ad after every single match it seems, not just occasionally. It's why I try to stick to my MacBook. Golf Clash also had ads, and they can be more intrusive. At first, many of these ads were interactive. You could play a level to try out the game. Sometimes, the playing would stop just before you could beat the level, though. Instead of continuing, the ad would take you to the game's site so you could purchase it. Very infuriating.

    So far, the only game I've actually gotten was one of those fruit merging games, that I keep on my second phone, the one without a SIM. I've also tried different merging games on Bing and YouTube. No other type of game that I've looked at was enjoyable enough to download to my phones. I don't think that I'll get the chance to do it again. Recently, I've not been getting ads for games on Golf Clash. Instead, I'm getting ads for AppleTV, wild salmon, TEMU, and chair tai chi for seniors. I guess that I've aged out of the game demographics, although Clash seems to have a new ad partner as well. The number of possible ads has decreased a lot as well. 

     I just want another test run ad. I want to try out something else. Especially since I don't eat salmon and don't need to sit in a chair for exercise.

My Comic Book Journey: 2026 Update

    I'm taking a break from my current video game series to give the update for my 2024 series on comic book buying locations. (I would have done one on series, but so many have had multiple volumes over the decades, that it would be difficult for a non-fan to understand all the differences. Besides, the series is about the experience of getting the comics, not the enjoyment of reading and collecting them.) I have a lot to update about, so let's get started with the biggest news.

• Page 3 Game Zone:  After over a year of not having new books, Page 3 finally started getting new comics in March. I restarted my weekly pull in April. They still haven't been able to establish connections with all distributors/publishers, but I will be able to get the majority of my books from them. They had a soft re-opening last fall, with being almost full time this spring. Because they had to stop all orders after last year's flood, it took them some time to get back up to speed. Having major changes in the worlds of comic book distribution hurt them as well. That's why they can't get certain titles yet, such as Marvel. Still, I'm doing pretty good for now.

    When Page 3 closed last year due to flooding, I waited a few months before trying to find my comics. I had the mistaken belief that they would continue getting the orders they already had, but wait on any new ones. Yeah, I'm overly hopeful. Anyway, when I found out what was happening, I started making plans on getting my missing books. I started with the places I already knew about, then I started researching the entire state for places I could go to. I even looked into a few neighboring states, hoping for a lead. As such, I was able to maintain my hobby for over a year. This meant going to new places or returning to old ones to buy from, finally.

• Super Hero Creamery, Huntington Mall, ✓:  After avoiding it on my first trip to the Mall, soon after it opened there, I made a special trip that included my first try to retrieve my comics. I had a long list of books to get, and I wasn't disappointed at what I found. As I mentioned in a post last year, I was able to get over a dozen books, but I could've gotten more. In an effort to save money, I skipped a few series that I felt I could easily get later, as well as some that had gaps. I have since made two more trips there, with me getting about a month's worth of comics last fall. However, I was only able to get one comic this past January, and it wasn't the most current issue. I'm somewhat worried that they might be having financial problems. They don't carry many collectables beyond comics, aside from the ice cream parlor in the rear of the store. (Haven't tried it yet.) Maybe the just moved the current comics to a different place that I missed. (I'm a man; of course I didn't ask for directions. Also, most of the employees were in the back with the parlor.) Still, it is worrisome.
• Cavalier Comics, Norton, VA, ✓:  Late last May, I made my first stop in years here to search for comics. While I have been to this store many times, back in the 2010s, I never got anything here, due to Page 3. They had a nice selection, although they were missing quite a few titles I was missing. Still, I was able to pick up a few, as well as almost getting a few more if it weren't for gaps. While fairly close, I decided not to immediately go back. The roads along the shorter route through Knott and Letcher counties were very damaged from the recent floods, making the trip kind of bad. The longer way on US 23 in Pike was took an extra thirty minutes, and was very boring. Also, there wasn't much else to shop at that felt interesting.
• Comic Interlude, Lexington, ✓, + online:  Before my annual June trip to Lexington, I researched the various comic book shops to find one to get my missing issues. I settled on this one, due to a reachable location along my usual route. Unfortunately, my travel companion reneged on the deal the last second, thinking I was planning to shop online instead of in person. I missed out on about a dozen comics that had sold out in the time it took me to place the order and have it confirmed. Still, the joy I had a week later getting a package with over twenty comics I was missing was amazing. Not only have I placed multiple orders since that first one, I even managed to visit the actual store last November. I even wrote about how I geeked out about it in a post. If I ever move to Lexington, this is a strong contender for my new store. 
• Comic Book World, Florence (and Louisville), KY, online only:  After I missed out on a bunch of issues from Comic Interlude, I made another search for other stores in Kentucky. I settled on this one, as it had a wide selection of comics available online. I had to set up an account to buy them though, only to find out that they were changing the way they sold merchandise. I had to email them my order, instead of just clicking. Still, I was able to get almost all of my missing comics. I could have gotten all of them, but comics from their Louisville location weren't available for online sales. (I was finally able to get the three issues I was still down by buying the trade paperback collection they were in through my store.) I've set up a communication chain for the last few months, alternating with Comic Interlude for my orders. While the emails aren't always responded to on time, I've been mostly satisfied. I will probably make my last order with them soon, for the last new issues I'm needing until Page 3 can start ordering them again.
• The E-Bay Store, Prestonsburg: In desperation, I stopped here last summer to see if they had anything. I couldn't see any new comics I got, but they did have a catalog from a publisher I rarely get anything from.  Most of their older comics weren't things I liked either.
• [The Gaming Co., Pikeville:  This place got hit so badly in the flood, that they had to move to a whole different location that was way bigger. It helped that they may have gotten some fixtures from a a different location that shut down in Charleston, WV.  They were able to reopen shortly before Page 3. I noticed from their Facebook posts that they don't have that big of a selection of comics.  Still haven't been there yet.] {Edited May 20, 2026.}

     Finally, I remembered yet another place that I forgot the first time around.

•   Unknown collectable store, Pikeville:  In the mid-90s, there was a collectable store on 4th Avenue, across from the Hardee's. I think I sent my mom in first, to see what they had, but I don't remember if I actually went in myself. They really didn't have comics, so I never went again. Some time later, the closed. Whether they went out of business or move, I never found out. The building was later torn down, with the space becoming a parking lot, next to the church next door.

    And finally, finally, in a few months, expect part two of this update. While writing this year's series on video games, I realized I may have missed a few things about buying comics I should had added. Expect part two in July or so.  See you Monday, as I return to video games.

My Video Game Library: Candy Crush

    Last year, in a trial of sorts for this series, I described my history with the various Candy Crush games. I don't want to go over everything, just a few months later, so I will just give the highlights for this post and give a few recent updates. Yes, a lot has changed since I first talked about Candy Crush about seven months ago.

    I started playing Candy Crush Saga on Facebook about the same time it debuted as a game show on CBS. It was about the time they started phasing out most of the story elements from the game. When it began, one needed to win each level in a stage to complete a story element, such as repairing a candy factory or refilling a lake. Now, new players have no idea why they have to rescue baby dragons or use a flying saucer as a power-up, because those story elements have gone. Sure, some story beats roll out whenever a special event starts, but it has basically been allowed to fade away. The levels, obstacles, and power-ups have changed, even some before I started playing. Even the layout is different, going from a stylized game board to a scrolling line of repeating backgrounds. Just this week, some artistic elements has been updated, while a glitch with a daily bonus still hasn't been fixed after a month. At one point, I was winning so much, that I was in danger of reaching the end of the game and having to wait for new levels to drop. Now, I'm lucky to beat a few levels each week. I can go for days without a win, only to go on a streak soon after. I'm nowhere near the end any more. Currently, I play once or twice a day, usually at work in the mid-morning or afternoon. Rarely do I play at night any more.

    Candy Crush Soda Saga has the same issues with story elements, possibly to a greater degree. At least you still see the characters sometimes in the original game. The Facebook version barely has a background anymore. I don't even get the chance to play in events. Not a one has ever shown up, while other players get them all the time. I'm still enjoying the random extra bonuses that popped up for a few weeks last year whenever I played. I'm only now starting to get back into the double digits, although I have used up most of my gold.  Way more than I should have. I am facing worse setbacks here than in the original game. I usually play a few rounds first thing in the morning, only occasionally playing at other times.

    Candy Crush Jelly Saga is the only game that still has some of its story elements out in the open, if only because of the competitive challenge levels. Like Soda, I have yet to experience an event for Jelly. I think they are out there, just not for my version. Recently, I accidentally befriended a bunch of strangers, and I now get life requests and gifts.  I hate that, but it somewhat makes up for not beating levels as fast as I could otherwise. I usually play at night, losing a few lives, then stopping. I return and finish later in the evening, after those lives replenish. 

    There are other Candy Crush games, but they are only apps and not available on Facebook. (I'm not counting the recently added brainteaser version on Yahoo. I've solving it since February, but it hasn't updated the game for a few days.) While I probably keep my progress if I switchover to the apps, I don't want to. I've already got enough games on my phone that take up a lot of my time. I don't need any more. Unless forced to, by having Facebook finally dropping the games. Maybe. 

My Video Game Library: Cartoons

    Before I got my first video game system, I got much of my fill for gaming from cartoons. At one time int he 80s, you had Pac-Man and Dragon's Lair on ABC, a compilation that featured Donkey Kong, Q*Bert, Kangaroo, and Pitfall (with later seasons featuring Donkey Kong Jr. and Space Ace) on CBS, and Captain N on NBC with Simon Belmont (from the 'Castlevania' games), Kid Icarus, and a very inaccurate Mega-Man, with appearances by Link and Zelda, on NBC. There was even a Super Mario series mixed in with live-action segments in syndication by the early 90s. I mostly missed that one, since it was on a time when I couldn't watch. 

    The 90s would also bring a fairly accurate Mega-Man cartoon. The season/series finale even brought in time-traveling characters from Mega-Man X. There was also a cartoon based on 'Street Fighter II' on USA, although it featured many elements from the live-action movie. I didn't like the animation style for the last season, although they brought in elements from Street Fighter Alpha for a surprise. Fox had some cartoons from games I didn't actually play, such as Monster Hunter. I think the show had a fairly deep plot, but I'm not sure it really reflected the actual game. There was also Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego? I really liked that one, as Rita Moreno voiced the titular villain, even though the only episode the visited Kentucky had them at a generic coal mine. (I also liked the PBS game show for kids. It was a nearly perfect blend of education and entertainment. The follow-up Where in Time leaned too much into education.) I even seem to remember a cartoon based on Mortal Kombat, but I never watched that one that much.

    Of course, the biggest video game cartoon was Pokémon. I knew about both the game and the cartoon before it debuted in America, mostly from the now banned episode that caused so many kids to have seizures. I watched it from its start in syndication through Kids WB onto Cartoon Network, where it went all the way through Gen VI. The show then went to streaming for the next to generations, before ending with the original human cast. A new cast was created for the current games. Never saw them.

    The late 90s brought the unusual knock-off Digimon. This cartoon had an overarching plot line that made much more sense. The first block/seasons of episodes feature a bunch of kids transported to a digital world, meeting up their Digimon partners. They managed to get back to earth, and they saved both worlds, only to have their partners return to their world. The second block had a flash forward of a few years, adding many new cast members, as the older ones mostly kept to the background. A similar menace arose, but this time, the two worlds managed to merge, allowing everyone on earth to bond with their own Digimon partner. The third block took place in a different universe with different characters. I couldn't understand much of it. The fourth block moved to a different network, and existed in another universe again. I missed large sections of it, but it was easily the weirdest one of all.

    Since the 2000s, there haven't been many gaming cartoons that I watched. Some, like one based on a Mega-Man spinoff, weren't really interesting. The latest Pac-Man cartoon from Discovery Family was barely watchable. There was also a highly-rated Castlevania cartoon, but it was on a steaming platform I didn't have. Frankly, so much is now streaming and not on cable, that there aren't any cartoons I can watch any more.

My Video Game Side Quest: Social Media

    I have mentioned many times in this blogcast about how I first joined Facebook. I was only trying to get publicity for my store by creating a page for it, only to be forced to form a page for myself first. The rules had changed after I had read an older book, I guess. I didn't even try to get friends for a few months, after a disappointing birthday message from Facebook. One of those friends invited me to join a game he played. Since I wanted to be nice, I tried it out, even though it wasn't the type I usually liked, sports. Specifically, Golf Clash. (I would later realize that he got an in-game bonus whenever he invited someone to join the game, and they accepted.)  After that, I finally started trying out various games. Of course, the first one I chose on my own was Bejeweled. Their version wasn't exactly the same as the one I was familiar with, but I played for a few weeks before I decided to drop it. I would try out a bunch of other games, abandoning them for one reason or another. I quickly got rid of this weird diner-based matching game, once I found out it was from China. I would go on to find other games, most notably the "Candy Crush" games. I even looked into the game Chats that Facebook had with some of the games.  That feature slowly faded. At my height, I had around ten games that a cycled through. Then the shoes began to drop.

    I hit a wall on one matching game. Try as I might, I couldn't get through this one level. I was all but out of special resources, and I saw no way out to push through. So, I deleted the game. I deleted another game after I accidentally reset it back to the beginning. There was no way I was going to start over, so the block breaking game was history. A third game got deleted after it began to freeze up. While I was getting the daily check-in bonuses, I couldn't actually play the word-building game. I was gone too. One game that I really, really loved was SongPop 2 (don't ask about the original). I was taken down when Flash support was ended. I was in the middle of getting ready to say goodbye, when the game was taken down earlier than I expected. At least I managed to get that game back later. (See a future post.) Even Golf Clash was affected for a few weeks by a dispute with Facebook. I was froze out of the game while things were sorted out. The game came back, but left the platform shortly afterwards. (I managed a way to play this game too. Again, later post.) 

    With all of the upgrades that Facebook has gone through, many of the games I left behind aren't even mentioned in my History any more. Only the four games I still play daily are left. I've mentioned the three "Candy Crush" games before, and I will feature them in a separate post soon. The only remaining game left is Cookie Jam. I don't remember how I got attached to this matching game that is quite similar to "Candy Crush." It has similar themes and rules, but the game has always had features unique to themself. In fact, "Candy Crush" has been implementing some of those features, or something close to them. In some ways, Cookie Jam is a better game with their newest features. I find myself playing for longer periods than I do with any "Candy Crush" game. I just seem to rack up longer winning streaks in it. In fact, I sometimes feel that Cookie Jam lets me win. That's how easy it gets at times.

    Facebook isn't the only social media site that has games now. (The games are a big reason why I prefer the site over the mobile app.) LinkedIn added games over a year ago, but I don't really play them. They just feel like digital versions of traditional pencil-and-paper games. In fact, I actually do many similar games in puzzle magazines. Classmates.com is adding games, but the few they have can be found elsewhere. Even Apple News has digital versions of classic newspaper puzzles, as well as few of their own design. These games are usually locked behind a paywall, so I ignore them, but the emoji-based one is similar to puzzles I've made. Small world, I guess.

My Video Game Library: Backstreet Billiards

    I've always been partial to pool. There was something about the colored balls and geometric shots that thrilled me. I was disappointed that I never got a toy pool table like one my cousins got for Christmas. One of my great aunts lived in a house that once was a pool hall. Another relative had a pool table in their attic area. I only got to go up there once, and I never got a chance at the table. Considering how young I was, I couldn't have done much anyway. I started watching 9-ball pool matches on ESPN my junior year of high school. I was just amazed it was on television, but then ESPN didn't have the best variety of sports to choose from back then. The restaurant next to my high school had a table, from what I heard from those who had went there. I only went once, to pick up an order for another student, so I never had a chance to play. I think both colleges I went to had pool table in their rec areas, but I didn't know anyone to help me learn how to play.

    That's why I was very happy once previews started to show up about the first pool games for the PS1. I think there was one on a demo disc, but I didn't like it too much. I was leaning to another game that kept getting previews, Backstreet Billiards. I didn't know which one to get, until I saw a billiards magazine on a shopping trip to Lexington. They were reviewing pool video games, and they rated Backstreet as the slightly better option for the PlayStation. Slightly better graphics and gameplay. That was the one I asked for Christmas.

    The game had two primary options, Story Mode and One-on-One. In Story Mode, you were going after the pool shark who ruined your father's life. You went around town, beating various opponents at pool to get information, while collecting token to increase your stats. (To be honest, I don't think the stats added anything to the game.) As each one was defeated, the bosses, and their pool rooms and background music, would be added to the other mode as playable opponents.  However, after the fourth boss or so, the game stopped. There was a scratch on the disc I didn't notice, and it was causing the game to freeze. My mom returned the game to Walmart.  She got the money back, but they didn't have another game to replace it. I had to wait about a month until my birthday trip to the Huntington Mall to find another copy.

    I played it that evening after the trip, using the saved data on my card to continue. I made it to the next to last boss, when I faced a new problem. I had just picked up a new token to raise one of my stats. However, I had chosen to raise that stat previously using another token that could be used for one of two different one. The new token would push that stat over the max, thereby freezing the game again. I had to start the game over from scratch, making sure to use the tokens correctly so that it wouldn't happen again. I had maxed out all my stats just before the seventh, final boss, and beating Story Mode. 

    My favorite part was One-on-One. There was something about the special tables and music that just hit me the right way. I mostly chose 9-ball, occasionally going with 8-ball if I wanted a change. There was even a snookers table for playing straight billiards. I didn't know enough about the rules at the time, so I barely played that one. I'm thinking there was a two player mode as well, but since I didn't have anyone else to play with, I just used the game's opponents. I couldn't tell much of a difference in gameplay among them, although their stats and styles were supposedly different. I would usually end a gaming session with a few rounds after everything else. I'm fairly sure that I played this game for fun more than any other, as opposed to just grinding away to get every possible challenge in the game.

    After the I lost my games in the flood, my outlets for pool dwindled. I found some online games over time, but done exactly matched the mechanics and graphics of Backstreet. I got a few pool books for my store, but reading is never the same as actual playing. I least I got caught up on the history and rules. As ESPN started to get the rights to more pro and collegiate sports, the need to air pool across their family of networks slowed down. I don't know if they still have the matches anymore. At least at I time I would watch them. Other sports networks have aired pool as well, including a dedicated channel in the upper, upper reaches of my cable box at one time, but it is never at a time I would watch.  I still want to play, but I have yet to get my chance. 

My Video Game Side Quest: Browser Games

    When I got out of playing on consoles, I eventually found my way to computer games via browser home pages. See, I didn't yet have a computer, yet I would need to go online for my store.  I would have to look up books as well as print off various pages This is beyond standard searches and stuff. From the late 2000s to mid 2010s,  I would go to the Floyd County Public Library in Prestonsburg to do this, as they had a better policy on printing at the time. (Since then, the current management has taken up a much stricter policy.) Also, the library was a great place to wait while I was getting car maintenance and my mom's appointments. After I finished what I absolutely needed to do, I would usually wind up with some extra time. At the time, the library's default browser was Yahoo, and I noticed the 'Games' tab. I would sometimes try a few games out, just to wait.  However, there was one game I wanted to try that wasn't there. 

    That game was Bejeweled. I had first read about it in Games Magazine (now known as Games World of Puzzles Magazine), and I wanted to try it out. It was one of the first three-in-a-row games, if not the first to catch the public's attention. Yahoo didn't have it, but MSN did. I would switch out browsers to play it, in the non-combative mode. Just matching until no possible moves were left. I would play a few other games if I got bored. They had an interesting 9-ball pool game. It had tricky mechanics, but it was the only place I had for pool.

    Well, the library got remodeled, and the computers moved to a different room, as well as replaced with newer models. The browser also changed to Google, and I joined Facebook and started playing games there instead. I also finally got a computer, meaning I'd only have to use the library's computer for print jobs or goofing off while waiting. Yahoo had gotten rid of its games tab, and I never really liked Microsoft. I basically stopped playing browser games, even on my own computer.

    But things would change.

    Google doesn't normally have games on its home page. Normally. Occasionally, the doodle will have a link to a game randomly. Whenever there is a game, it is something unexpected with abstract rules or uncommon themes. The most notable of these was an RPG that was in conjunction with the recent Tokyo Summer Olympics. You played as cat competing in certain sports, while also completing various tasks. I googled hints in solving some of these challenges, while making sure not to delete my search history to keep my progress going. Finding out there was a house I overlooked that kept track of my achievements was great, even if I had already finished almost the entire game. I still check the doodle to see if there is anything to play. Just recently, YouTube has started to have small, casual games available, beyond what there is to download on GooglePlay. I haven't look too much into this yet, but I've seen many of these types of games elsewhere.

    Late last year, I noticed that Yahoo had brought back its games tab. (Yahoo is still my mom's go-to browser.) It doesn't have the large selection it used to, but I still checked some out. At first, after trying out a few games, I settled on a mahjong tile-matching game. Now, I am greatly familiar with mahjong, although I have never played, but I had seen others playing something similar. I had also seen the ads. While I didn't always beat the game, I did win enough that I got bored with it. I then moved on to jigsaw puzzles. I loved jigsaws when I was a kid, but I lost them all to floods. Yes, many of the images are cursed enough to suggest they were generated by AI, but I still like them. The puzzles got easier once I noticed that I could focus on just the edges. The rest of the pieces would vanish, until the border was done. Then, they would come back, with the right third on one side, and the rest on the other. And the pieces would show up in the same places with each puzzle. This allows me to finish a puzzle in about five minutes, or less. I started out at 8 x 6, but I have since moved up to 10 x 8 most days, or 12 x 10 if I've got the extra time. I've also started to do the daily Candy Crush Crushable brainteaser since February. (More on this in a later post.) I either solve it immediately or I need multiple tries and hints to get it done.

    I have even started to check out the games on Bing, Microsoft's update of MSN. For the most part, I have only checked out games that are similar to ones I've seen in ads elsewhere. I've only played a fruit merger game on a regular basis, and that was an over a month ago. Bing still has the same 9-ball game that they had years ago. I tried to play it again, but the mechanics are just not quite to my liking. Still better than other pool games I've seen. 

My Video Game Library: Tonga

    Even by my standards, Tonga was weird

    I would never have ever gotten Tonga if I had never played it on a demo disc. It was just that weird-looking, but it was innovative in ways that were beyond many platformers. You played as a pink-haired guy who ended up on a tropical island being invaded by evil, magic pigs.  Years before Angry Birds. Along the way, you defeat the pigs by learning new skills and unlocking special weapons. The game also had sections rendered in a "3-D" effect, allowing you to go 'into' the background as it were at times. While the game was basically a platformer, it had many RPG elements as well.  Achievement missions and side quests that you had to perform to beat the game. I never did get all of them completed. Some of the side quests were just a little too hard for me. One of the missions was to return a lunch box to a character. Unfortunately, lunch boxes were also power-ups used to restore health that you kept until needed. I accidentally used the wrong box, and I couldn't reset the game back to before I used it. I didn't complete the mission correctly, but I still got the credit when I finally met up with him.

    There is reason why I am being a little vague about Tonga. I started playing the game at a time when my grandmother was in the hospital for rehabilitation. My mom would spend the evenings with her, while I stayed at home. As such, I played a lot of games later a night, so the memories of some of the levels are slightly surreal. It didn't help that some of the levels were already weird. One section involved saving a village from the pigs and restoring their water supply. Once done, the water returned to a fountain being filled by streams of water coming from the mid-sections of male statues. You can guess where exactly on your own. 

    The original game was highly rated, and successful enough to garner a sequel. Tonga had a longer game, but only faces five evil pig bosses, instead of the seven in the original game. There was just enough new material added that the sequel didn't feel like a straight rehash of the original, but not enough to warrant keeping the game line running. Like the first game, while I beat it, I didn't get every achievement. 

    I really liked both games, but it is has been so long  since I played them that I can't remember more details. I don't think I replayed them much. I just had to replay certain levels multiple times just to move on to beat the game, although I feel that I had a slightly easier time with the second game. 

    I just wish that I had played it a bit more.

My Video Game Library: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

    During the mid to late 90s, I got a little goth. Not all the way wearing black all the time, but goth nonetheless. I blame it on my bad emotional state at the time. Anyway, when I played the first demo of Legacy of Kain:  Soul Reaver, I was amazed.  The story was deeper than I imagined.  The gameplay was so interactive. Technically, the game was a sequel to Blood Omen:  Legacy of Kain. I barely knew of the game and never played it, but it didn't look like the type of game I would be interested in. Soul Reaver felt different. Just the two levels that had demos showed a great mix of combat and puzzles, as well as an intriguing backstory. You play as the vampire Raziel, a lieutenant to Kane, the head vampire who has taken over the land in the first game. Before the game starts, you were killed for having developed wings to fly, and have been in the underworld for a long time before being revived by this Elder god. Upon returning, you go out to defeat the remaining vampires, while trying to avoid vampire hunters out to kill you. You have to shift from the physical world back to the spirit world at times, both to regain power as well as to solve some of the puzzles. After gaining new abilities by defeating the vampire bosses, you defeat one last lieutenant to end the game, before setting out on a new quest.

    I replayed this game quite a few times to get the most out of it, which was a little strange for me. There was just something about going back to solve the puzzles faster and defeating all of the bosses while exploring the many locations in the game. I don't think I even had to use many tips, or cheat codes which were available. (Okay, I did use one once for one of the replays, but only because I messed up something and I wasn't able to defeat one of the bosses. I wouldn't have been able to complete that run without it.) I really got the most out of that game.

    There was a Soul Reaver 2 released soon after. The first game was so large, some portions had to be saved for the second game.  I never got it.  I think I may have skipped it because I was so busy opening my store that I just forgot about it or something.The was also a sequel of Blood Omen starring the original Kane as well, but that was another game I didn't want. I can't even remember if I knew about the game at the time. (I did some research to make sure I remembered everything correctly for this post, as well as many of the others in this series.)

    In 2003, Legacy of Kain:  Defiance came out.  It was the first PS2 game I got after the flood destroyed my entire Playstation collection. Although it was supposed to be a Christmas present from my mom, I was the one who had to buy it from Walmart. It was also the only time in my life I had to be carded for anything, as it was rated Mature. (Note:  I was over thirty at the time, with a touch of gray on my goatee if the cashier had noticed. Still, I find it kind of great that I looked almost ten years longer. I still think I could pass about five years younger, or more, in certain situations. I have yet to be in any other situation that required ID for age limits.) The game combined the two protagonists into one game. Levels shifted from Kain to Raziel.  Each character maintained most of the powers from their previous games, gaining and improving them as the game progressed. Finally, through some sort of time travel, the two met in a final battle.

    And that's where the game lost it for me. At the start of the fight, you were one character. Then just before winning, you shifted back to the other one to finish the game. No spoilers here, but the winner was not the one I preferred. You then went to battle the final boss. The fight was just button pushing. Literally. After knocking out a few tentacles, that would grow back, you had to hit buttons on the wall behind the tentacles in a certain order to win. No real strategy involved.  You didn't even need your special powers to win. The game ends with an uncertain, but somewhat hopeful, future. Maybe. I would go on to buy a guide for this game, because I was sure I had missed something while playing, because I finished it in less than one weekend. I hadn't. I tried replaying the game, using some of the bonus codes for new modes, but I didn't feel it was interesting enough to even finish the first level with any of them.

    I still like the series, but the way it ended was just anticlimactic. There were talks about new games in the series, but nothing came about for them beyond updated versions with some tweaks. I'm not even sure if I would go back to the games if new ones were out. 

My Video Game Side Quest: Demos

    If you weren't sure about whether or not to buy a game or system, there was really only one option back in the 80s--demos. Many places had systems set up so that one could try out a game or two for certain systems. The first one I ever tried was in the early 80s. I went with my mom on Saturday morning to South Mayo Tire to either get the tires rotated or the oil changed. Instead of waiting downstairs, we went upstairs to the electronics department where they had some video game system demo. Of course, I went to play with it. I was having troubles with it though, probably because I was holding the controller upside down, (I have always been a little ambidextrous, doing things offhandedly, so I had the directional buttons on the right and the action buttons on the left, which was backwards.) After a few minutes, my mom forced me off, even though we were basically the only people up there. I spent the rest of the time watching a Smurfs cartoon I don't think I had seen yet. She never took me back, going elsewhere for maintenance when I was there. South Mayo Tire may have gotten rid of its electronics section a long time ago, but it is otherwise still in business. 

    Other stores had demos too.  The ones I remember most were the original location of Lowe's in Pikeville and the Sears at the Huntington Mall. The latter one may have had a Phillips CD-i with the cursed Zelda game port on display. I don't remember ever playing any of them. Video game stores also had some demos up, but I never played them either, as they were usually at distant malls where I didn't have all that extra time to play games.

    In the mid/late 90s, when I was unemployed, I would make trips to Prestonsburg just to break the monotony. One thing I did was go to Walmart and play Super Mario 64 on the GC demo for a few minutes, usually after I lost a few lives. I thought it was fun combining my takes with others to beat the game. There were other system demos up, but I never tried those. I would wind up playing other games at GC demos in Paintsville and Norton. (Walmart has since opened larger, Superstore locations nearby at both spots.). Today, you can't find demos at Walmart, at least locally. Some gaming stores might have playable demos up, but I so rarely go into them and I rarely have enough time to play when I do go.

    I had another way to demo games in the 90s. The Official US Playstation Magazine used to have a demo disc in every issue.  Similar to the disc I got with my PS1, the discs had previews and playable levels to a number of games each issue. These discs were the main reason why I bought one almost every month. The mag even had a mini-guide for many of the playable demos, so you could complete them. Some of the levels could be replayed as many times as you wanted.  Others ended as soon as you lost all your lives, and you couldn't replay it until you reloaded the CD. A few were on a timer, ending after ten minutes or so. I replayed one game multiple times to see as far it went, always losing my lives or hitting the time limit, before I finally finished it, only to get an ending saying you needed the full version of the game to see more.

    While I didn't play every game, or watch every preview reel, I played most of them. In fact, some of them were more enjoyable than some of my full games. For a few months after the 2003 flood, those demos were all I had to play until I could buy more new games. Yes, strangely enough, I had saved most of the demo discs, as well as getting newer ones. 

    Ultimately, the magazine was cancelled, so I had no more new demos. A few other free discs had been available at places, but I never tried them as I was afraid of their dubious nature. Nowadays, with most games being digital, such demos would be hard to come by anyway, even if I had a newer system. I think I remember seeing something packaged with some of the few gaming mags that are still left, but I don't know if any of them were demos. 

    The next few posts will be about the games I only bought because I loved the demos so much. None of them were typical of what I would have normally bought, and I might not even considered them unless I had had them as part of a demo.

My Video Game Library: Q*Bert?!

    When scheduling posts for my latest series, I tried to plan it so that any of the side-quest posts on Mondays would coordinate with the following regular on Wednesdays somehow.  For instance, when I had the side-quest post about gaming magazines, the following regular post was about a game I picked up due to reading about it in a magazine.  Last week, I talked about guides, and the next post was about the game I needed guides that most for. My next side-quest with tie very closely with the next few games.  However, since I want the side-quest posts to precede regular post immediately, and since I don't to have regular posts on Mondays, I am left with a quandary.  I either have to cover games I didn't want to or come up with some other tangential topics to cover.  These posts were supposed to occur nearer the end of the series, but because some of the side-quest posts had to be split up into two parts, I am forced to put one of these 'filler' posts up today.

    Technically, my first ever 'video' game was Q*Bert. The board game. One Christmas, some relative got me this. Probably a second cousin or great aunt or something.  The game board was a tray in the bottom of the box.  On it was the pyramid from the first level of Q*Bert.  Each block of the pyramid had a hole in it to place a peg before the start. One player was Q*Bert, hopping from block-to-block grabbing the pegs.  The other player controlled the bad guys trying to stop Q*Bert, moving in their own ways. (The actual rules may have included more players controlling the bad guys, but since I only had my mom to play against, this is the only way we could play.) The goal for Q*Bert was to get all the pegs, and staying away from the enemies. He even had the flying saucers on the sides for a one-time escape. The other player won by preventing Q*Bert from getting the pegs. I can't remember anything beyond this.

    I lost almost all of my board games in the 1986 flood, save Trivial Pursuit which I had taken with me. I got many of them back. For obvious reasons, Q*Bert was not one of the games still available. (I would end up losing them almost all again in the 2003 flood, save for most of a small portable chess set.  As of yet, I still haven't gotten any of them back.)

My Video Game Library: Pokémon

    That's right.  I tried to catch them all, and I failed miserably about it.

    I had known about Pokémon for some time before it debuted in America. The big thing was when an episode of the anime caused viewers to have seizures. That is what led me to want to get a Gameboy and play the game. Of course, I got the Blue version.  I didn't have that much history with RPGs, so I had an even steeper learning curve with the game than usual. While I started out okay, I quickly began to flail. After a few tries, I took a break. I bought a guide.  Or two.  Ultimately three, I believe. The first guide was the official one from Nintendo, with the stickers of all of the Gen I Pokémon. I bough the others to get slightly different views on strategy. It took some time, but I finally beat the game, although I didn't catch them all, as I had no one to trade with.  Sigh.

    I still liked the game, mostly the cartoon once it started in the US. I got the Gen II game when it game out, again for Christmas. I wanted the Silver version, which was a mistake. Although I might have known, I failed to comprehend that Silver had the same mix of Gen I Pokémon as Blue. This meant that I couldn't even catch the ones I missed in the first game, even if I had a way to trade them.  Still, I continued playing, and made it not just to beating the first endgame boss, but also to the final boss. Yes, I had more guides.  Even more so than for Gen I, as I also got the remix game, Crystal, when it came out later. (I am of the same opinion as a few others that the remix should have been Platinum, and the Gen IV remix should have been Crystal. Whatever.) I think I liked Crystal more than Silver. Still couldn't catch them all.

    When the GBA came out, it meant that I could finally trade with myself, maybe. I know I bought a special connector cable, but I can't remember if the GBA was backwards-compatible. Anyway, I got the Gen III game. Yes, I picked Sapphire. For some reason, I felt this game was harder than it should have been. There were just too many secrets to find. I did beat the game, though.  Barely.  I don't think I was able to collect everything though. I also picked up the remix, Emerald. I picked up a lot more guides for that one.

    Although I lost my Gameboy and GBA in the flood, I didn't lose the Pokémon games. I lost about half the guides though, making getting everything harder. What was fun was getting the updated Gen I game. This time I got Fire Red for Christmas, assuring that I would finally be able to catch as many different Pokémon as possible. I played through the game multiple times just so I could get every single unique Pokémon, and then trade them to Emerald so that I could finally say I caught all the Gen I group that I could. I think I played it through at least five times, including one where I messed up so horribly that I had to play through with the same starter just to collect the special one that I missed. 

    I guess that I had gamer fatigue, but I just stopped wanting to play. I reached a point in Emerald that I couldn't play through, so I took a break.  I never went back.

    When the Nintendo Dual Screen (DS) game out with the Gen IV games, I never picked one up.  Sure, as I mentioned in another post, I picked up the guide, but I never got the DS and the games. I didn't really have the money for the system, but I had also lost some of the will to play after going through the previous games so much. I continued getting guides for each generation up to Gen VIII. (I also watched the cartoon until it moved over to streaming, just before it got to Gen VII.) With Gen IX, official guides were no longer being published.  Sure, I followed along online as much as I could, but I mostly lost interest. 

    Gen X was recently announced, and it is due out later this year on the current version of the Nintendo Switch portable. As of today, only the starters have been announced, and not their evolutions. Part of me almost wants to finally go back to system gaming, but only a small part. The idea of having to pay more just to make sure I had a physical copy of a game doesn't sit right with me. Also, the Switch is more of a partnership system, made for having multiple people playing.  That's something I just don't have. 

    I still want to connect with the series. I'm just not sure how any more.

My Video Game Side Quest: Guides

    I had trouble with a lot of games, so I used every possible avenue to find a way to beat them. Hence, guides. I didn't have them for every game, but I did use them when and where I could. When I first started gaming, guides were frequently actual books. By the late 90s, bookazines became the standard format, as they were quicker to produce. The guides would be out almost as soon as the games. They could also focus on just one game, as opposed to books which frequently featured multiple games.  I regret that I tore out large sections of these books that featured games I would never play, and I threw them away. That was wrong of me. For magazines, that would be okay, but not books.

    Following are a list of places where I bought guides. Places that are closed are in black, while those still open are in blue. I'll mention some other facts with each entry.

• Readmore, Prestonsburg:  I got one of my NES guides that included Super Mario here after signing up for classes at PCC, before going on to Pikeville to get two of my wisdom teeth removed. (The two on the left. The right ones came in fine. However, I still have jaw problems due to the imbalance to this day.) I may have gotten a Pokémon guide here later as well.
• Walmart, Prestonsburg:  I may have gotten another Pokémon guide here. I know I looked at some. Maybe at the closed Winn Dixie as well, but I don't think I bought any there. All I know is that Walmart's magazine area is less than half of what it was at its peak.
• Booknotes, Pikeville:  Of course, I bought books for myself through my own store.  Technically, they all belong to me until sold, but I digress. Almost entirely official Pokémon guides, but one or two others.
• Economy Drug, Pikevile:  They used to get a few guides along with their magazines. I would close my store early the day new mags came in to look at them. I kept looking at a Gen IV Pokémon guide. I think I bought it there, but it could have been elsewhere. The stopped getting mags over a decade ago.
• Food City, Town & Country, Pikeville: I think I saw a few unofficial early Gen Pokémon guides here, but it was the advance guide to the GBA that I ultimately bought here. It was what made me want to buy one, even though I didn't like the majority of the games featured in it. I don't think the current location ever had any guides.
• Walmart, Pikeville:  I got one or two guides from the Gen II/III eras here. At least one was unofficial.
• Readmore, Coal Run:  I'm pretty sure I got my first NES guide here, just after the Christmas I got it. I might have had a Pokémon guide as well.
• Borders, Huntingon Mall:  I remember getting at least one Pokémon guide here, or at least looking at a few. I believe I got a Street Fighter Alpha art book as well. (It featured move lists as well, so I'm calling it a guide.) However, it may be from somewhere else.
• Game Stop, Huntington Mall: Here. They had guides, but I'm not sure if they do any more.  They were still open the last time I went to the Mall.
• BAM, Huntington Mall:  The timeline is a little off, but I may have looked at some guides here, before deciding to get them through my store, if I didn't actually buy them here.
• Joseph-Beth Bookselleres, Lexington:  At least one Pokémon guide from here, most likely unofficial.
• Unknown video game store, Fayette Mall, Lexington: On a birthday trip, soon after I got my SNES for Christmas, I picked up the official guides to both Super Mario World and the competition cartridge with the original three games plus the bonus unreleased one. And this was a few days before I got the second cartridge through mail giveaway. Only time I can remember buying anything here before the store closed, since I can't remember where I got the PS1 controller

    Like mags, guides have gone the way of the internet.  I tried to look for a Gen IX Pokémon guide a few years ago, only to find unofficial, third-party, independently published books of unknown quality. Sure, I could order something, but I'm not sure how good it would be. Places likes Joseph-Beth and BAM would have art books based on games, but they mostly aren't play throughs for guides