Saturday, December 24, 2016

Happy Holidays from CC

Hello there! CC here just wanting to wish my readers ( if there are any :D) Happy Holidays!


Thursday, December 22, 2016

Mr. CC VS the NES Classic Mini

I have no idea where my hands are.

When I had first heard the news of the NES Mini coming out, My inner child leaped free from my body, shattering several of my ribs and causing a great amount of hemorrhaging as well as eating all available candy and cookies throughout the house...

Okay, not really, but I was pretty excited to hear that they were bringing the old system back.

I had imagined they were going to redo the NES like it used to be, the old cartridges that needed a good puff of air every once in a while, the simple 8 bit graphics and getting games that you didn't know were good or not until it was too late (We have the internet now, so that point is kinda null.)

But I wondered how they were going to do this. Would they cram 15 like games per cartridge? Would they make new games?
 HOW AWESOME WILL THIS BE?!

When I learned that it was a plug and play system with 30 pre-set games, I had gone from a "GADZOOKS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THEY'RE BRINGING IT BACK" to "Oh wait, never mind."

My small remaining interest with the system faded out with the scalping situation that's been going on with Wal-mart and Amazon.
At the time of writing this article, Amazon had them at $195 and walmart had them at $997.72

I know it seems to be routine to pick on Action 52 when it comes to high priced multi-carts, but in this situation, remember, you're getting 30 games, 22 games less than action 52's "games".
 If you get it from Amazon, that means the games are approximately 6.50 each (Not too bad) But from walmart, they're 33.25 (This price is actually closer to what they were when the NES came out so long ago.)
This leaves the other problem, are the games actually worth 6.50 each?
We'll get to that later.

But enough with the technicalities. This system reeks of trying to make a quick buck and get up the hopes of gamers that want a sense of nostalgia to share with their kids that didn't grow up with that feeling.

For the sake of this rant, I've decided to think up questions a younger version of myself would ask in regards to my adult self. That font will be in blue.

"But CC! This kind of thing isn't for you! You don't even have kids! Think of the people that do! They can share the memories the game system gave them!"

Okay, sure. Maybe. I do see it from a different point of view.
These games have all been released for the Wii at right around 2.99 a piece. Not only that, a lot of the games have been ported and reported by way of NES classics for Game boy advance, E-reader cards (Again, for game boy advance)
Nintendo seems to think that if they port the same games over and over again we'll keep buying them. And maybe we do but I haven't and I don't know may that have.

And for me, it's not all about the games on the system, it's the experience of the system itself.

Let's talk about the original NES for a bit.
The NES I had was from 1987 and had let's just say... Issues.
I grew up in coastal Virginia where the temperature occasionally hit the low hundreds and the humidity made everything steamy and muggy. When it did that, My sister and I had to stay indoors so we played games. That would cause the system to overheat. and get moisture inside. I didn't think it could but it did.
My NES suffered some damage a few years later during a bad lightning storm, yet it still worked. It had the occasional problem, some pretty neat glitches, but it still worked.

"That doesn't sound fun at all. Wouldn't you want a system that works perfectly for your kids?"

I can't believe I asked myself a loaded question.
For me, My NES and collection was going to be more of an heirloom item. Something that meant something. Not just another plug -n-play system that had the "best of the best" games with no quirks or flaws shelled out by Nintendo for a quick buck.
Something that I had played, my mom and dad had played in happier times. sure it had problems, but isn't that the feeling they're trying to capture? That it wasn't perfect which made it perfect?
 ( Okay, now I'm rambling. I want to get to the points on what I was trying to get to.)

The game selection
When I saw the games that were on the list, it was my deal breaker.
I'm not trying to be a snob or a so-called hipster when it comes to the games of the NES. A lot of the games I used to play were based on cartoons that family thought I would enjoy, movies that my parents watched and got the game but the big thing was I had whatever the stores had. They were ones that just weren't on the list but I think they could do better.
I'm sure licensing and some of the legal stuff might come into play on this, But given the selection, I would say if it WAS the 60.00 it's supposed to be, it would be more reasonable, but the problem I have is that I couldn't see much interest in playing most of the games.

This is all done by emulation. They could have packed the entire NES library on the thing and they limited it to 30 games. Nintendo does everything they can to get Emulator sites taken down ( Which, legally it's their right) But why be so short about it? Anyways.

Let's take a looky-loo at the games, shall we? And seeing as how I've figured out the coloration for fonts, I'm going to color code this!

Games in blue are games I would love to play again
Games in red, I probably wouldn't play much or at all
Keep in mind, I'm basing this off of the combined effort of my adult self now and what I would have played as a kid. Also, I would most likely be playing this 1p as there's no one else to play along.


Balloon Fight-Meh. I've played this one. I might play it once or twice, but it doesn't do much for me.

BUBBLE BOBBLE-Okay, this is a good one. If you had the second controller, it is a good 2 player game. 

Castlevania- I'm undecided on this one. But I'm leaning more towards not being interested. I've played it to completion a few times and it is a good challenge. But I also had it on GBA and played it excessively.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest-Since AVGN started his entire fame by tearing this game apart. I can't help but wonder why they even bothered with this one. It is extremely flawed and it isn't even one of the good ones. Castlevania III Dracula's curse would have been better.

Donkey Kong-It's a classic and it does have some playability but it would get boring fast.

Donkey Kong Jr.-Much like it's predecessor (father?) Donkey Kong Jr. holds limited interest to me. Most of the older games are based on getting a high score. Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4 Repeat but a little faster.

DOUBLE DRAGON II: THE REVENGE- This is one I was on the fence with again. I'm not really into fighting or beat-em-ups, but I do have a few fond memories of playing this. I doubt I would play it again though.

Dr. Mario- Dr. Mario is good. 

Excitebike- Meh. Not into racing games really. 

FINAL FANTASY-This is alright. I would probably play it again.

Galaga- Galaga is an arcade game. It can also be readily found several places online and in the namco collection. Why port it here? 

GHOSTS'N GOBLINS- Again, AVGN reviewed it and it is a flawed game. You have to play the entire thing TWICE to completion. The only good thing this time is that you can use savestates, but doesnt' that take away from the original feeling (Okay, I'll stop.)

GRADIUS- Salamander or Parodius would have been better.

Ice Climber-I didn't even know this game existed until I played Super Smash Bros Melee. It isn't a bad game but it's kind of generic and doesn't keep me interested for long.

Kid Icarus- See Kirby's Adventure

Kirby's Adventure- Kid Icarus and Kirby's adventure are 2 games that I missed growing up. I had Kirby's dreamland and Kid Icarus: Myth and Monsters for the original game boy but they're not really the same. I would probably play these.

Mario Bros.- What fun is a 2 player game when there's no one to play with.

MEGA MAN 2-I already have the Megaman Collection for PS2 that has 1-8 I play it once in a while but since I already have it, I wouldn't be playing it on here.

Metroid- I had this one on GBA when they re-released the classic games back in the early 2000's. I would probably play Metroid.

NINJA GAIDEN- A tough as nails platformer that's unforgiving and been reviewed by AVGN and others as being near impossible? Pass. I wasn't good at it anyways.

PAC-MAN- THIS GAME IS EVERYWHERE. I HAVE HAD CELLPHONES WITH THIS GAME BUILT ON IT. WHY PORT IT AGAIN?

Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream- I never got into the punch-out franchise. I'm just not into sports or boxing, and although I've gotten far when I unlocked it in Animal crossing, It just isn't my kind of thing.

StarTropics- I got startropics when I was about 13. I wasted so much time playing it and loved all the interesting concepts of the stories, the things you had to do with your manual to reveal the secret code number ( That stuff can be looked up online now) It would be cool to go back and play it again.

SUPER C- I have no interest. Didn't have any interest in the original Contra game either. I beat it, it's done in my book.

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 3- There's a good chance I've spent more time playing these games than most people should. I've beaten them over and over again and their ports are already numerous. I've had all 3 on GBA and I still have Super Mario All stars for the Snes which is the same game with upgrades to graphics.

TECMO BOWL- I have a special beef about sports games. My grandparents got me John Elway's Quarterback to encourage me to like sports more. Instead of the desired result, I both grew to dislike football and played other games. ( I did take up ballet much to the chagrin of my grandparents.)

  I can't stand playing sports games. If you're going to play a sport, play a sport. Unless you're a die-hard football fan, what's the point. ( Also, I don't like sports Anyways.)

The Legend of Zelda

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link- Another 2 I wouldn't mind playing again. 


Okay, so that's 9 games out of 30. One was a maybe. So, 10 games out of 30. One third of the games that I have any interest in. Are the games worth 6.00 each? Sure. Any more than that? Certainly not.

Final thoughts- Thank goodness!

What I see is a situation that is somewhat sad. I've always been a gamer since I was 2 or 3. I've loved picking up something new and giving it a try and hearing that the NES was going to come back and it was going to be a quality product somewhat made me happy. I imagined that maybe nintendo would have some nifty tricks up their sleeve by releasing translated games from the famicom that I've never had the experience of enjoying or maybe porting some well made homebrew games and hacks that I've heard about. I even had a funny idea of them releasing 8-bit versions of some of their new games like skyward sword or splatoon. 
The wonderful meld of new concepts in games with old school graphics. This is what I hoped for. Instead it's yet another rehash.

 the possibility of seeing some games that could work flawlessly on a system sounded like (somewhat) of a great idea but it's cut short with a small game selection.

Ok. Rant over. Thanks for reading!



Sunday, December 18, 2016

A funeral for my game collection 1992-2010

I started collecting games at a fairly young age. My mom and Dad got an NES right around the time I was born. They had the usual Super Mario bros, Legend of Zelda, that sort of thing.

By the time I learned to walk, I started playing games. Granted, I wasn't excessively good at them, but it was impressive to see a 2 year old make it past the first few levels of SMB.

A few years passed and I started playing more. My favorites were the Legend of Zelda and the Mega man series. I loved them so much My mom actually made costumes for me. I actually dressed up as Megaman for halloween once.

Anyways, Again, more time passed. I moved from coastal Virginia up to Northern Ohio where I learned about the wonderful thing that is a snow day. A day that it is too cold to go out and school gets cancelled so you get to sit around playing hours upon hours of video games.
           It was also around this time that I moved up from the NES and SNES to a N64. The first system I bought on my own. It was 200$ and I had done everything I could to save up for it. I wasn't the only person that played in my family. My mother loves Simcity for the Snes and Pokemon Snap for the N64.

 Over the years my collection had increased with games for the NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gamecube, PS2 and GBA.
When I started for college, I took an SNES and a gameboy for occasional play but didn't have much time to play.



The storm
My third year of college was difficult. I was on academic probation thanks to a rough couple of quarters the year before, My sister was on campus because the two years before were tough on her at home and she had a sort of separation anxiety.
On February 11th, 2009, I was over at the college police station. My buddy was a dispatcher and I hung out with him when there was nothing better to do. Right around midnight, I decided to call it a night and go to bed.
The next morning, I went to work as a janitor. As I was mopping my hallway, I could hear my phone in my room ringing.
It was my mother. 
"Where have you been? I've tried calling you all night." I could remember the worry in her voice.
"We had a tornado. The house is wrecked."
I felt my heart skip a few beats. My mother was alright, a bit scraped up but the house was a loss. When I told my sister, she made it a goal to get up there and do as much as she could.

If you haven't been through a disaster, It's a real pain in the neck. Insurance companies have to come out to take a look, friends and family do come together to help you out, but you're at your worst, the house is a biohazard of sorts and it's extremely taxing on your health in general.(my mom still hasn't recovered.)

The other thing is the things that survive the disaster have to go somewhere.
Most of the furniture was transferred to a storage trailer. ( Ya know, the things semis pull down the road.)
It became a guessing game where all of our stuff went.
Most of the contents of my room went into our shed in the back yard.
While all of this was going on, My sister and I were urged to stay in school and complete our studies, so we did.

The NES and the games were given to my cousins for safe keeping. They stored them in their barn and of course, a month or so later, it burned down. The games that had survived a tree going through the house went up in smoke.
15 years of collecting, 75 games, gone. I still had my SNES and my N64 games though... Until 2010.

College isn't free
I graduated in June of 2009 with my Associate's degree in Wildlife management. Around August of the same year, we were in temporary housing because our house wasn't built yet, I had started to get phone calls from the various companies I had taken loans out on demanding upcoming payments.
My loans rang up to right about 200 Dollars a month. Normally this is an easily attained goal. However, I couldn't find a job.
Not knowing where to turn to next, I had read an article about selling things online to make money. I eyed my collection and calculated out that my collection (save for the ones that weren't worth anything to sell) Were worth about 2,500 bucks. I spent 3 years going to yard sales, thrift stores and rummage sales searching for old video games, game systems, game guides, antique books and board games to hawk online.
I learned that old pokemon red and blue cartridges were worth A LOT if they had a functioning save ability.  This was the opprotunity to turn a 2.00 "broken" game into 40.00 worth of profit. So, I learned how to change the batteries.
For 3 years, I had a well functioning business with somewhere around 120 sales a year. I was paying my loans off well enough but I knew it wouldn't last forever.


So, why not rebuild?

When I started my saddle shop IT job, My amazon store sales fell considerably. I didn't get to sales as much as I used to, and I had steady income so I didn't need to find things to sell.
 I had a few friends that knew I sold my collection ask if I was ever going to get back into collecting.
My short answer: Nope.

... Oh, you're still here. I take it you're curious why...

1-It's way too expensive to get the games back
 When I started collecting games in the 90s, NES games didn't cost much. There were newer systems coming out so they were marked as obsolete and all the game stores had super low prices on them. Remember places like funcoland? (I think they became babbages and then became gamestop) Those stores and the little independantly owned stores practically gave them away.
There was a store in the city near me that had a deal of buy 4 for 8 dollars. It was there that I got some of my more rare games like Fire N' Ice and rainbow islands
Granted, there's a lot of them out there at a decent enough price, but that brings me to my next problem.
2-They won't mean as much as they did before
A lot of the games I had in my collection were bought for me by family members for birthdays, christmas, that sort of thing. Getting them online now probably won't feel the same.
The internet has a funny way of putting a negative light on anything. Much of the games on my lists have been reviewed by AVGN, Armake21 and other gamers that get their kicks from reviewing "bad" games.
They might be bad, but it's what I grew up with. I couldn't stand the contra games or battletoads and those tend to be on a lot of people's top 10 lists.

3-I'm falling out of gaming as it is
My most current system is an X-box 360 which I use to play a few games.
The problem I have with the new games is they just don't look like my kind of thing. I'm not really into shooters or multiplayers,  and all the new systems seem to have the same problem: There's only one or two games each of them that I have any remote interest and it doesn't warrant me buying the system.
That, and I just don't have time anymore. Balancing a job, more education,  a social life, family life and a Library committee doesn't leave too much time for gaming.

While I won't be getting the old collection back together again, I can still remember the good times that were had. (And how badly my grades suffered :D )



Saturday, December 10, 2016

Ornithology in Video Games

Hey, What's up! If you haven't read my intro, give it a quick look, You'll see that I like things like old school video games and nature (What a combo!)

I want to do a few of these articles... Have it be a little bit educational and entertaining at the same time. We'll see how well these play out.

One thing I have focused in on within my love of nature is birds. They're everywhere, they're drastically different between families and locations and they're just so neat.
So Majestic...
Anyways, Along with My second fascination : Video games, I decided to take a look at some of the birds in a few of the games. Not all the games, and definitely not the Pokemon games... That would take forever...

And, for the sake of keeping this somewhat biological, Robot birds, alien birds and bird-people don't count.

PART 1: GAMES WHERE YOU PLAY AS A BIRD

Before I go too far in this, I am not going to mention the angry birds game. I never played it ( I don't have a cell phone and I just don't like those kinds of games) and the birds are just purely fiction. So instead, I'm going to mention a few oldies that come to mind.

#1 Percy the potty Pigeon
Yes, this exists

Originally, this spot was going to be for Flicky, but I felt that it didn't stand out as much as this game. I was looking around on some gaming sites and found this, and thought "This sounds more interesting."

Now I haven't played this personally but I found a good video that does a good job reviewing it and showing some gameplay.

If you don't feel like watching the video here's the simple version: You are a pigeon gathering twigs for a nest. You have to defend yourself against cars, other birds and moths! Your defense? Pooping on them! It's a simple arcade game for the Commodore 64

Now for the fun part! Pigeons! People call them feathered rats, disease bags and well, they're not Far off. They can cause bird flu, and a bunch of other stuff.
Because I live out in the country, I don't experience much with pigeons. Granted, they're at the farm down the road but I hardly see them.

Percy's attack is in reality more damaging than you'd think. But we'll get to that later!

#2 Birdweek
I like how the predator bird is like "Wow, a 4 course meal!"
Now, I played this once at a game store that was selling Japanese Famicoms as well as the plug-n-plays you see every once in a while at flea markets and county fairs. 
I only played for a few minutes and got the gist of it.While you appear to be again some kind of song bird, this time your young are completely altricial, relying on you for food and protection. You have to move quick as your babies can starve.
You also have a bigger predatory bird, Most likely an Accipiter, Maybe a Goshawk  Judging from his bird hunting behavior stalking you from the beginning. You can drop a mushroom on him to get him to back off for a short time while he presumably trips out or is too sick to fly.
In any case, levels are made up of seasons. In the later levels, there's more enemies that can kill you in a hit. ( I think one is supposed to be a frog, but who knows...) The music is pretty typical for an NES game from 1986. 

#3 Tiki the Kiwi- New Zealand Story

Okay, Tiki the Kiwi is AWESOME. If real kiwis kicked as much butt as Tiki, they wouldn't be endangered. Tiki can use arrow, lasers and bombs to take out his enemies.
In real life, Kiwis are actually decently strong enough to keep themself from being killed off by predators for the most part. That is except for the ones brought over by man. Pigs, dogs and cats have damaged their populations heavily over the years.
While the kiwi is flightless in real life, (Except in Depressing animations) Tiki can fly after he murders an enemy and steals their jet pack or hot air balloon. 
I believe I can fly!

Part 2- Birds that help you

Sometimes, a bird is your best friend. Here's a couple of avian allies that I feel stand out.

#1 Peter the Parrot (Star Tropics)

Peter is a talking parrot from startropics. When he is found, he won't talk to you unless you give him a gift ( A yummy worm) Afterwards, he gives you the musical code to open Captain Bell's Memorial, allowing you to progress.

Parrots can learn to talk and often understand what they're saying if taught correctly. Parrots mimic other birds in their area, and will mimic people around them So chances are, Captain bell pretty much programmed Peter to repeat the phrase after being fed a worm. Cool beans!


#2 Kaepora Gaebora


Kaepora Gaebora, AKA The owl, AKA "DARN IT, I HIT YES WHEN HE ASKED IF I WANTED TO HEAR WHAT HE SAID AGAIN!" Is a wise sage of a bird within the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time Universe. He gives you helpful advice when you're traveling around but once you've beaten the game once, you don't really need to know what he says unless you completely forgot what he said...
 Kaepora, like most owls in literature and cartoons is portrayed as being wise. A lot of this portrayal comes from ancient Greek mythology where a symbol of Athena (A goddess related to concepts of wisdom and knowledge) was the owl.
Not all cultures portrayed owls as intelligent however. India associated the owl with foolishness.

Scientifically, some tests have found owls to be a little lacking the the smarts department...

Should I repeat that? Yes Or  NO. NO PLEASE NO.



#3 Cutrus(8 eyes)

I thought about this one for a while. There were a couple of choices but in the end, I thought to myself "Hey, what was that one game where you were a falconer... It was like castlevania but nowhere near as fun..."
8 eyes is a platformer game for the NES. It has a long convoluted story about the apocalypse or something but that's not important. What is important is that you are a swordfighter named Orin that has a falcon named Cutrus that helps you hit switches and certain enemies are only hurt by him. Cutrus even has his own health bar, he dies, he's gone.

There's only one other game to feature falconry (that I know of) But for what it's worth, Falconry has a long and fascinating history that dates back Thousands of years and is still practiced today and it's highly regulated.


Part 3- Birds that want to kill you

Not all birds can be heroes or helpers. Some are jaded jerks that want you dead, others... Well, it's just their nature. Can't really blame them, can you? of course you can't.
Let's take a look at the birds that want to peck your eyes out and use your corpse for a nest.
#1 Buzzard- Puss in boots

I got a hold of Puss in boots: Pero's great adventure pretty early in my life. It was among one of my favorite games. You're a cat that shoots things, drives a submarine, a plane, a car... What's not to like!!! Well, when you get to stage 3, You're in Saudi Arabia driving a car. Some of the enemies include a weird little drilling car looking thing, a wolf in a flying cart thing and the "Buzzard"

In the US, the buzzard is a sort of localized name for vultures. In Europe, a buzzard is a common name for a whole line of birds of prey, mainly members of the Buteo family.

Anyways, in the game, they have 2 attacks. They fly in a straight line at you, which If you're airborne like in the plane level, this makes sense because a bird can seriously mess up A plane.
Their second attack is to drop these things...
Yep. We're going to talk about birds pooping again.

I know the nes didn't have wonderful graphics, but COME ON! THAT'S DEFINITELY poop!

This isn't the first time I spotted this in a game. The second time came from a disney game.
Taken from Level 2 of Mickey's mousecapades

So... Yeah. Birds pooping. While getting messed on by a bird isn't excessively detrimental to your health, It can be damaging to the environment.

Certain birds, such as the cormorant have a history of having nutrient rich guano that can be used for fertilizer and other stuff. It also destroys the environment they poo on because it's extremely acidic. Some places even have control issues where Cormorants have become overpopulated.

For what it's worth, being pooped on by birds is pretty darn gross.
It's happened to me and it's not pleasant. 

#2 Owls from Castlevania III
Of course... More owls.
I was somewhat haunted by this game as a child. It almost made me afraid of the woods at night. 

Owls are encountered in the mad woods of Castlevania III Dracula's curse.

I liked this level's music and the graphics were alright. And then the owls showed up. They start out as 2 eyes appearing in the black of the forest and then they dive out and attack.
Along with their quick movement and dive pattern, they were no match for me as a kid. That and they would knock me into the nearest pool of water.
I know it might be nitpicking, but owls are known well for their silent flight. In the game they kind of have this weird "Card shuffling" sound which isn't exactly accurate, but who cares. They scared me back then and I felt it was worth mentioning.

#3- Meh. I give up

By this point, I got torn between cuccos from LOZ, and countless other birds from other games.

Wow. this was sort of a dumb article but it was fun working on it. 








Thursday, December 8, 2016

Ah shoot... Winter's here.

The first flakes have fallen on this gloomy December morn.
with each falling flake I feel the increase in scorn

Goodbye spring, goodbye fall, goodbye summer.
Hello winter, you're a bummer -CS

Why yes, that's me... At a happier time. Last Wednesday when there weren't feet of snow forecasted.

So, I live in North East Ohio. A short way from Lake Erie. If you're from the area, you know where I'm going with this. If you're from a warmer climate, let me jokingly tell you the seasons of ohio : Winter, Still winter, Almost spring, Road construction.

Originally, I'm from warmer coastal Virginia but left at a very young age due to the increasing crime and the fact that my mother's originally from here.

This year was chock full of warmth and mild weather. Here's some highlights of this year's spring and summer:

 A young deer that wandered onto our yard :)
Our tomato garden. It got really overgrown really fast this time.
Me looking like a dolt out on the side porch around June
A nice click beetle on the back door of the shed

 A sunset behind our house
Lake Erie in Conneaut

Okay, enough with pining for the pleasant months around here. Let's take a look at the damage, Day 1
 Cat tails at the creek bed
 The happy little elves I put out Saturday for christmas
 The view down our road ( And yet people still drive 50+MPH)
 A look at the back field
 Me, Realizing that it's only the first week of December.
Another look at the backyard ( I was mowing this like 2 weeks ago!)


Ah, the heck with it. Stay safe out there and keep warm!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Bandicoots are real, so are echidnas: How video games expanded my knowledge of animals that exist

While messing around on Youtube, I stumbled across a video that made a flood of memories come back.
While Moganarchy had a predicament involving bandicoots, My issue involved one of its fellow australian family members... The echidna. The bandicoot argument came later.

I grew up as a nintendo kid because that was the system I had and couldn't afford much else. I did go over to my friend's house and he had the sega systems. we would play the sonic games and be amazed as to how fast the game went.
Anyways, We were playing sonic 3 once and I was introduced to Knuckles the echidna. He stood on two legs, had spiked gloves and could fly ( sorta) I asked. "Is he some kind of bat?" My friend replied in a quick voice "He's an EEKIDDNA" I had never heard the term. I didn't even know how to spell it.
But damn did he look cool.
When I made it back to school a few days later, I had said something about the new mysterious animal. My teacher who was an older guy, smart but grumpy had overheard us talking and said something that "We must have meant echidnaderms" Which were a type of aquatic creatures. Well, us being kids kind of made a stand and told what we knew about them. They were red, they could fly and they were in a video game. The teacher, who was now more skeptical kind of gave a quick eye roll and asked what kind of game it was in.
Now, we as adults know now that adults in the 90s didn't know mario from sonic or link from a christmas elf. So the teacher said something that stuck with me for a long time...
"Just because it is in a video game, doesn't mean it exists."
Now to us, because we were just a group of dumb kids, we didn't think to look it up immediately at the library. It took some time but we finally did and this is essentially what we saw :
It was an elongated, egg-laying hedgehog,  They couldn't fly and they couldn't run incredibly fast, climb up walls or punch. 
Our discovery was a letdown. We thought we had found something cool  based off of something cool in real life, but it was an egglaying hedgehog (Actually, the egglaying part was kinda neat.) Not as cool as T-rexes, Sharks and whatever cool crap we were into at the age of 9.

A few years passed and a few of us got into the next generation of game systems. I got into stuff like N64. My cousins had a Playstation. I would go there more often because they lived down the road. It was there that I was introduced to the Twisted Metal franchise and crash Bandicoot.
Crash bandicoot was a hyperactive, shirtless cool guy that spun around and had amusing death animations.

Again, There was a group of doubters that came against kids fascination with (to us) the newly found bandicoot... They were teachers. People that had been educated already and most likely had access to resources to prove or disprove our interests, yet they didn't want to use the resources... They went with the same argument that our teacher previously had used.

"Just because it is in a video game, doesn't mean it exists."

Granted, again, we discovered the truth that bandicoots in real life weren't nearly as cool as his video game counterpart.


I think the good news now is that because almost everyone has information at their fingertips, this kind of thing probably doesn't happen much anymore. But I'm sure it's possible... So, what about you?


Monday, December 5, 2016

Greetings and Hello from Chris


Hey! What's up! My name is Chris. I started this blogspot back in 2009 when I had nothing going on. I had some pushy ethics, morality issues but all that's gone. Now I'm just here to have a little fun and draw conclusions between things that probably shouldn't have conclusions.

I'm an old school gamer, Lover of nature and enjoy making things whether it's a simple craft or an elaborate work of art ( Coming soon?!)

With that little intro out of the way, I'm going to answer a few questions that I'm sure people probably want to know.

Q1: What's with your name?

Mr. CC is an internet persona I came up with a long time ago. I wrote a few game related articles on a website that went defunct a few years ago and then for other accounts I kept using the CC. It stands for Computer Chris which is stupid now that I think about it. Meh, I was young.

Q2: Okay, what's with the "Whywontyouthink" Youtube username?
A: I came up with the idea to be a political commentator a LOOONG time ago but decided against it and was just going to use the channel to argue with people... After a while, I decided that was dumb but never got around to changing it back. Maybe I'll get it changed around some time.

Q3:Why did it take you so long? We've been waiting!
A: When I started this blog in 2009, I really didn't know what I was doing. I was fresh out of college, and thought I had an opinion that mattered. Fast forward 7 years later and I did a lot of growing up. Not enough to lose my childish edge but enough to realize that there's more to sitting around and typing up angry political crap. I can have fun with this and maybe if you're reading this, you'll have fun too.

Q4: So what, You think you're going to sit around and type up a blog? Don't quit your day job!
A: Actually, I want this to be a partial hobby. I really don't intend on trying to make money on this unless I turn out to be REALLY good ( Which I doubt I will be.)
 In any case, I have a day job which I'm keeping and am working on another degree from home to expand my horizon.

Q5: You said something about college... You're actually educated?
A: Yep. I have an associates degree in Wildlife Management (Which sadly, I'm not really using) and I'm working on a degree at home with Chemical dependency counseling. I hope to help out and maybe turn some lives around.

Alright, enough rambling. See you all soon!