Wednesday, November 25, 2009
My 'Feedback' to GameInformer magazine about their feature on the top 200 video games of all time
From: Jonathan Clark
Subject: Show me some C64!
To: feedback@gameinformer.com
Cc: wongojack@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 7:59 PM
I love your magazine, but I couldn't help noticing that your list of top 200 games of all time included no titles from the Commodore 64 (or Amiga). I know we all love our arcade classics, but there were people playing games between 1983 and 1986 and they did it on Commodores (and others - nice cameo by Lode Runner for Apple II).
Zelda is in my top 5 games of all time, but certainly some games from the C64 could have made it in "The 200" - Sid Meier's Pirates, Summer Games, Bard's Tale, Impossible Mission????
Thats not to mention the fact that some genres like sports franchise modes trace their origins back to Amiga/64 titles like Superstar Ice Hockey. How bout the Jump Man lovers who claim that Mario ripped them off?
I know C64 is just a memory and probably didn't do squat in Japan, but I think at least one game could have made it in the top 200.
PS - Nice choice on the 2600 being represented by Adventure. It was way ahead of its time. Although I wouldn't be surprised if you got an angry e-mail from David Crane
Subject: Show me some C64!
To: feedback@gameinformer.com
Cc: wongojack@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 7:59 PM
I love your magazine, but I couldn't help noticing that your list of top 200 games of all time included no titles from the Commodore 64 (or Amiga). I know we all love our arcade classics, but there were people playing games between 1983 and 1986 and they did it on Commodores (and others - nice cameo by Lode Runner for Apple II).
Zelda is in my top 5 games of all time, but certainly some games from the C64 could have made it in "The 200" - Sid Meier's Pirates, Summer Games, Bard's Tale, Impossible Mission????
Thats not to mention the fact that some genres like sports franchise modes trace their origins back to Amiga/64 titles like Superstar Ice Hockey. How bout the Jump Man lovers who claim that Mario ripped them off?
I know C64 is just a memory and probably didn't do squat in Japan, but I think at least one game could have made it in the top 200.
PS - Nice choice on the 2600 being represented by Adventure. It was way ahead of its time. Although I wouldn't be surprised if you got an angry e-mail from David Crane
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Election Day Observations
In Texas we have constitutional amendments proposed to us all the time. For example, one of the more recent ones was an amendment to define marraige which I voted against, but this post is not about the pros and cons of that issue.
We had another 11 amendments proposed to us today which will undoubtedly pass; all seemed basically unnecessary to me.
The highlight is Proposition 11 which is an attempt to restrict the government's eminent domain or the right to buy your property and turn it into a highway offramp. They have always been able to do this but recently eminent domain has been stretched to include property that could improve urban areas and increase tax revenue for the state. So in some situations around the country, they have been able to force grandma to sell her house so they could gentrify the neighborhood and open an Anthropology next to a Starbucks because that improves tax revenue etc.
Well the Proposition proposed to us was supposed to prevent such property seizure by private enterprise, but they included some deliberately flexible language that allows certain organizations to essentially seize property:
"entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight"
This is troublesome and even my friends at the Libertarian party of Texas, who would normally be all over limiting eminent domain, couldn't make up their minds about it. (I would paste a link in here, but every attempt I've made to paste in this post has simply done nothing?)
I chose to vote for Prop 11, thinking that some regulation on this sensitive topic is probably better than none. At least some claims will be thrown out immediately and someone's property will be protected.
I chose not to vote on 2 other propositions (3 and 5) that seemed written in such a way that no one could possibly understand their intent unless they were standing on the floor of the legislature helping to write them. I don't use this internet abbreviation lightly when I type - WTF!
I went with the Libertarian recommendations on most of the propositions, but split from them on Prop 7. Call me paranoid of military dictator overlords, but I think that if you're in the military you should retire before you run for elected office.
There was one item on the ballot other than the 11 amendments and even though I was a political science major and am actively interested in local politics, I still don't really know what the school board does. I mean, I know they make decisions about the budget appropriated to them and probably sanction texbooks as well as appoint the superintendant, but how am I supposed to choose who would be best at that job? The shool board election is a bit of a political 'foot in the door,' and the job would probably be done better by an actual career educator.
I did not cast a vote for School Board.
Also, I'm running for Dallas School Board next year
Not really
We had another 11 amendments proposed to us today which will undoubtedly pass; all seemed basically unnecessary to me.
The highlight is Proposition 11 which is an attempt to restrict the government's eminent domain or the right to buy your property and turn it into a highway offramp. They have always been able to do this but recently eminent domain has been stretched to include property that could improve urban areas and increase tax revenue for the state. So in some situations around the country, they have been able to force grandma to sell her house so they could gentrify the neighborhood and open an Anthropology next to a Starbucks because that improves tax revenue etc.
Well the Proposition proposed to us was supposed to prevent such property seizure by private enterprise, but they included some deliberately flexible language that allows certain organizations to essentially seize property:
"entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight"
This is troublesome and even my friends at the Libertarian party of Texas, who would normally be all over limiting eminent domain, couldn't make up their minds about it. (I would paste a link in here, but every attempt I've made to paste in this post has simply done nothing?)
I chose to vote for Prop 11, thinking that some regulation on this sensitive topic is probably better than none. At least some claims will be thrown out immediately and someone's property will be protected.
I chose not to vote on 2 other propositions (3 and 5) that seemed written in such a way that no one could possibly understand their intent unless they were standing on the floor of the legislature helping to write them. I don't use this internet abbreviation lightly when I type - WTF!
I went with the Libertarian recommendations on most of the propositions, but split from them on Prop 7. Call me paranoid of military dictator overlords, but I think that if you're in the military you should retire before you run for elected office.
There was one item on the ballot other than the 11 amendments and even though I was a political science major and am actively interested in local politics, I still don't really know what the school board does. I mean, I know they make decisions about the budget appropriated to them and probably sanction texbooks as well as appoint the superintendant, but how am I supposed to choose who would be best at that job? The shool board election is a bit of a political 'foot in the door,' and the job would probably be done better by an actual career educator.
I did not cast a vote for School Board.
Also, I'm running for Dallas School Board next year
Not really
