Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Midwest Gaming Classic, Ahoy!



This next weekend marks an important one, having been a life-long gamer, and that weekend will consist of the Midwest Gaming Classic! A weekend-long convention of all things gaming, focusing on mostly retro stuff (like the Commodore 64, Vectrex, and all the good ole Nintendo/Sega/Sony consoles).

Kids these days don't know how good it felt to ka-chunk on a keyboard and pop those 5.25" disks in the drives!

This event has been going on for over a decade, and seems to expand every year. This is a Mecca of sorts for gamers and gaming enthusiasts alike. No politics, fighting, or nay-saying here! Just a bunch of kindred spirits gathering for a mass waxing of nostalgia.

What goes on at ye convention, thou might inquire? Let me tell thee:

Vendors - plenty of shops and vendors selling retro game memorabilia, games, systems, and the like.
See? Elvis wishes he could go, but can only stare longingly at his bag o' money.
 


Presentations - Each year seems to be peppered with well-known speakers in the gaming industry. You'll see folks who worked on systems like the Atari 2600 (or older even) talking about the programming process and how they helped shape the video game industry. Definitely worth checking out.

 
Competitions - There are competitions for pinball games, arcade games and even console-based games. If you think you can top a high score, or even take down anyone at Mortal Kombat, you need to register for this.
 
Computer Museum - There are rooms dedicated to showcasing the well-known to the barely heard of computers and consoles from the past 30+ years. All of them work. I had my son playing on computers that were older than me, and it was just mind-boggling! Things like the Vectrex and so on are yours to try out.
 
There's still a couple days to register, so if you need to satisfy the nerdy-gamer craving that's been welling up like a bad case of the hives, then check it out now!
 
via GIPHY

Stay weird,
Stay very retro!
Stay silly!

~B

*Shout-out to YouTube account Guy Kazama for the music link above. Good ole Legend of Zelda!

Posted by Unknown on Thursday, April 7, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Shout-Out to...The Bloggess!



I'm calling this my first official 'Shout-Out', and I think it's an appropriate one. I like to blog (hence the nonsense I put out on here), but I also like to read blogs now and again. Thanks to my wife, she introduced me to a well-known blogger called The Bloggess, or Jenny Lawson. She has written two books about her life and the fears she's faced growing up. First off, go buy and read 'Let's Pretend this Never Happened', then continue here. 

Did I mention she loves just about anything taxidermied?

 Part of what makes her awesome and relate-able is her fight with things like anxiety, depression, and social situations. I know I can get down sometimes or anxious about the stupidest things, and I let those demons win. I hate it. It makes me someone I'm not. Granted, those battles happen once in a while, but they're about normal things normal people worry about like money and getting the kids to swim lessons on time. Nothing earth-shattering, but one has to learn to let things go.
Still, there are some things I will never l'eggo...

 I started reading her second book, 'Furiously Happy', and she delves more into what it's like fighting with depression and social aversion, etc. Now go buy and read that book and we'll meet up back here. I want this to be a positive shout-out, so check out this book because if you EVER feel depressed, anxious, or socially awkward she has a good way of (I quote) 'how-to-thrive-in-spite-of-your-brain-being-a-real-bastard. 

I haven't read this all the way through yet, but I'm still pushing for you to. It's good; trust me.

 She regularly blogs, has a Twitter account (@thebloggess), and an amazing following of like-minded people. Her latest post sparked forming a tribe of sorts, like a community of people who can help each other out. I showed my support and made a few new friends. How cool is that? Happened on Easter too. Double win.

 To end this post, always reach out if you need help. Like she said, you are never alone. I have an incredible wife who is my rock when I need her, and vice versa. I have two spirited little boys who make me tear up every time I come home because nothing makes me happier than seeing them run to me for a big hug. I love my family.

 Stay weird,
Stay retro,
Stay silly!

 ~B

 *Today's music is from a favorite PC game of mine: King's Quest V. This is Crispin's Theme,  and I think it's a nice calm tune to read to. Check out the account Maverick1978 for more music like this!

Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 0 comments

I'm No Medium, But...

I had mentioned the other day that my brother had gotten the writing bug as well and created an account over at medium.com. I too have done so, with the hopes of creating some fun articles for the community to read. We are going to keep each other in check, with the end goal of writing an article every two weeks or so. And with that, here is my first article:

https://medium.com/@sillyhusband/doing-time-in-the-cubicle-16d9836c83ce#.d4e7n2c81

It just covers my thoughts on working in cubicle-populated environment and how I handle it. Maybe you'll get something out of the article too!

As for everything else blog-wise, going to kick that into gear this weekend or early next week. I wish you all a safe and fun weekend.

Stay weird. Stay geeky. Stay silly!

~B

Posted by Unknown on Friday, March 11, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , | 0 comments

Planning to Blog...or Blogging to Plan?

If you were to compare my blogging ambitions to a standard wavelength, the past couple days would have been the trough. Today, however, has peaked at the crest and so continues my blogging quest. 



I've been plotting out how I want to approach this and what sort of message I hope to send to my potential readers. Since I'm considering doing this weekly I don't want to burn out too quickly, so I think doing 3 posts/week to start should be fun for most. As for what in the world I'll write about...here's what I've come up with thus far:

In no particular order (yet):

1. Reviews - things like video games, toys from my childhood, websites I think you all might grow attached to, etc.
2. Throwbacks - getting semi-personal here, but using a picture, toy, other memorabilia to focus on and provide a post about my weird and sordid past... okay, I'm about as far from sordid as you can get. But if that got your interest let's just run with it.
3. Shout Out - taking the time to not so much as review, but boast or promote a site/podcast/YouTube Channel/etc that I truly enjoy. Maybe I'll get you hooked on these as well. As part of wanting to promote more positive things on the World Wide Web I felt that this might be a fun weekly post to do.
4. Silly/Weird anecdotes - Since my site starts off with 'sillyhusband' in the address, you'd probably like to know why that's even there or how I qualify as such. I'll post something recent that happened, or a memory that immediate family will never let me forget and let you be the judge. This isn't self-inflicted torture, it's juicy content for my followers to eat up! 



All in all, I know blogs are popping up every few minutes, but I hope to stand out in a niche of like-minded folks. Many people start blogs, but fewer keep posting, and fewer yet post something interesting. Here's hoping I can meet and exceed that criteria. Feel free to share on your own walls and feeds. I am really looking forward to deleting comments-er-reviewing your feedback!

Lastly (surprise! Not done yet!), my brother was motivated by me a bit to start blogging and has a profile on medium.com. I too have done so and will give a go at writing an article of some sense-make to link to here. It's a way for us to put forth something fun to read and see what kind of trouble we can get into. :)

Stay Silly! (Working on some sort of sign off as well. Excelsior was already taken)

~Brandon

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , | 0 comments