7 posts tagged “fun”
What is your favorite classic video arcade game?
Submitted by northerngeek.
My mum and step-dad went to Ibiza one year. They decided to leave all of us kids with my step-dad's parents in Staffordshire.
Being rather hip and with it despite their advancing years, they decided to take us to not one but two theme parks over the course of the week. Alton Towers being one of the largest in the UK, and Drayton Manor being a smaller deal, albeit one with a mini-zoo and an arcade.
It was in this arcade that I, along with three unknown Japanese tourists, completed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game. I don't recall putting any more than £1 into the machine - and in those days, a credit was 20p, so that was a mere five credits.
The game remains the nuts. Go download it on Xbox Live Arcade.
Well, it's over. I meant to post a recap of who I saw on Saturday yesterday morning, but I got sidetracked; and I've been in bed feeling like rubbish all day today. Not sure whether Lollapalooza's to blame or some other source of lurgee, but I can at least see straight now.
So, Saturday. We got to Grant Park in time to see a snippet of Foals. I had no opinion on them either way, which is odd considering they're one of the many "saviours of rock n' roll" that get trotted out by the NME every year. I also caught a little snippet of The Gutter Twins, featuring the inimitable Mark Lanegan. I wasn't paying too much attention, but they sounded alright.
The first band proper for me was MGMT, whose weird Bowie meets dance sound was perfectly suited to the festival vibe. I really enjoyed them, and their guitarist's shredding all over 'Kids' was fantastic.
Josie went off to see DeVotchKa, who are like a Hispanic gypsy folk take on The Smiths, while Jess and I hung out waiting for Brand New to come on. We saw them live already, but in a terrible venue full of teenyboppers, so we were hoping they'd be better at a festival. Not so much. The highlight of their set was the dudes brawling a few metres away from me. It's a shame, because on CD, they're great.
At least frontman Jesse Lacey was as disappointed as us, at one point telling the crowd "You should all be watching Explosions In The Sky."
Somehow, there was a big gap for us, until we ended up watching Okkervil River while waiting for Broken Social Scene to come on. They weren't what I expected (the name conjured up rootsy blues, but they were more folky and upbeat). I liked them.
Then Broken Social Scene... Broken Social Scene were my second favourite band after Radiohead. For a band with such an inconsistent line-up, they manage to be consistently awesome, and played some of my favourites including '7/4 (Shoreline)' and 'Farewell To The Pressure Kids'... and they had Amy from Stars with them, awesome.
We caught the tail end of Toadies' set (apparently they were big in America, never heard of them... and gladly so), then sat patiently waiting for Rage Against The Machine. I had chosen them over Wilco as I don't know that I would get to see them again.
I was... kinda non-plussed. While musically, they were tight, it sounded exactly the same as the CDs. To me, part of the appeal of seeing a band live is seeing how they mess with their arrangements. Add to that the fact they *kept* stopping so Zach could lecture the moshpit, and it wasn't all that entertaining. A massive shame. I wish I had seen Wilco now.
Sunday was the least action packed of the three days, reflected by the fact we were able to head down so late (not helped by The Weakerthans pulling out).
As we arrived, we could hear Iron & Wine and decided against them as they would be a bit of a Debbie Downer. So, our first act of the day was the brilliant Saul Williams. The girls weren't fans, but he did put on an energetic performance.
We caught snippets of Blues Traveller and Love & Rockets, but the next band proper was The National. Having seen them in the colossal United Center supporting REM, I wanted to see if their sound fared better in a relatively smaller environment... and I am pleased to say it did. I love them.
After they left the stage, the girls went over to catch the start of Kanye West's set while I watched Nine Inch Nails. I'd seen them before and really enjoyed them, but for some reason, the magic just wasn't there this time around... I think mostly because they decided to kill the mood a short way into their set by playing some of the instrumental pieces from Ghosts I-IV... which, while great to listen to when you're chilling out, is not really much fun when you're stood in a field.
They did play an awful lot of material from The Downward Spiral, though, which sort of made up for it. Especially 'Closer'.
Overall, it really was a good weekend, marred only - really - by feeling horribly ill today.
A couple of weekends ago, we went to Sparta's Butterfest. Sparta is Jess' home town, and being a small city in Wisconsin, it was only natural that its annual fair be named after a dairy product.
While the fair itself was mostly rained out, the sun was out for the parade on the Sunday. Being my first real parade in the good ol' US of A, I was not fully prepared for the Shriners (aka Freemasons) in their little cars; the barage of sweets and chocolate milk; or the local Republican candidate handing out flyers that just said his name and that he's Pro-Life. I kid you not.
It was actually pretty fun, sitting on the pavement in little chairs, clapping and watching the assorted floats, vintage emergency services vehicles and marching bands go by. The only similar thing I can really recall enjoying was Lewes Bonfire Night back home.
This weekend in Chicago, we're getting a different kind of fest - Chicago Pride - and Jess and I are going to the parade on Sunday. Of course, having been to another parade, I am wondering what the gays could possibly do to top fez-wearing go kart drivers and one-note, Right Wing politicians. Will they throw condoms and arseless leather chaps into the throngs of spectators? Will they have the characters from The Wizard Of Oz driving little penis-shaped go karts? I can only hope.
While I do jest, it's still amazing to me that Chicago is such a gay-friendly city. I always assumed the US was still very homophobic based on their reluctance to endorse civil unions and so forth.
What's making you smile today?
Making fun of Jason - a common pasa tiempos.
This is my favourite song right now.
HAI! I've been very quiet the last week or so. First I was cramming at work to prepare for time off, then I took that time off. My parents flew in last Wednesday, so since then I've been hanging out with them, eating far too much and doing touristy things - many of which, I had never done before, despite having been to and from this city several times as a tourist before moving here.
Today is their final day in Chicago, so they'll be bringing their luggage up here shortly so we can go to the local farmer's market and the zoo before taking them to the airport. In lieu of getting my green card so I can go home and see *everyone*, it's been nice seeing them.
I'd better get ready. I just wanted to say I'm not dead or something.
As gloomy as she seems to be about aging another year, it would be very remiss of me not to wish Jess a very, very happy birthday!
Just don't get as wasted as this guy...
Today was another gorgeous day in the Virgin Islands. At 7am or so, we heard this horrible grinding engine sound that I later discovered was the guy clearing the paths with a leaf blower. I managed to sleep a little longer thanks to Radiohead's In Rainbows then we got our shit together for today's adventure.
We went to the other side of the island to a place called Frederiksted to do some shopping. The town seemed a little run down and a lot of shops were closed because of some holiday or other, but we got some browsing done. We ate a packed lunch with a beautiful view out to sea near Frederiksted pier, then drove to the Cruzan Rum factory. Sadly it too was closed so we turned around and headed back to Christiansted to do more shopping.
Christiansted is much nicer and more alive, so there was plenty more shopping to do. In one shop, the lady told us her husband worked at a brew pub down on the boardwalk and that tonight there was hermit crab racing. We went down to check it out.
So you put $2 down and choose from a huge container of hermit crabs. You give it a name which is marked on the crab and it is put into a bucket. At the start of each race, the organisers - Tito and his wife Sue - dumped the buckets of crabs in the middle of a chalk ring and commentated until the first three crabs crossed the line. Then they scooped them back into buckets and announced winners.
We each had a crab, but only Jess' crab - Sweet Tamarind - placed, earning us $20 off our bill for the evening. Once the racing was all done and dusted, we got food. I had a jerk chicken sandwich with fries, and compared to our other meals on the island so far, it came quickly and was delicious. Truly delicious. The jerk chicken had a real kick to it.
We returned to the hotel and grabbed towels and bits before heading up to the pool. No one else was in there as it was dark out, so we got to mess around undisturbed. I can't swim, so I had a couple of these float tube things to keep above the water but I tried teaching myself how to move about. It was good fun.
Now we're back in our rooms, warm and dry, resting up for tomorrow.
I don't want to leave.
