Spending Rings

What's the current rate for exchanging Rupees for Chaos Emeralds?

Monte Mart

Monte Mart: 01/01/1983 newspaper ad
Atari 2600
David Calderon shared this ad from 35 years ago on AtariAge.  This was the dawn of the crash, and it's funny to see that all of the sports titles were heavily discounted while the arcade ports were almost $25.  I wonder what the Atari game covers were.

Gaze Into My Beverage

Crystal Ball Frappuccino
Starbucks (2018)
The new Crystal Ball Frappuccino from Starbucks is a creme-based beverage cut with peach flavoring and turquoise sprinkles.  It's topped with whipped cream and "mystical sparkles" that can be either blue, green or purple.  It's a cute idea, but it's not something I think I'll get again.  It was creamy and sweet, but I wasn't able to taste too much of the peach flavor.

Carl's Pudding Bar

Carl's Chocolate Pudding Filled Bar
Astor Chocolate (2018)
This decal is on the window of FYE in the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  I didn't buy one (mostly because everything at this store is ridiculously overpriced), but they're selling candy bars based on the massive tub of pudding that Carl devoured in The Walking Dead.  They're branded as a Hethcox Foods product, but they're really made by Astor Chocolate (Hethcox is the fictitious company that made Carl's pudding in the show).

Pickle Slushie

This June, Sonic will not only be selling pickle slushies, but they'll also be allowing guests to add pickle syrup to any other frozen dessert.  Not gonna lie, I will be trying a strawberry pickle milkshake this summer.

Pimps, Nuns and Ice Cream

Big Gay Ice Cream: Salty Pimp
Market 32 - Edwardsville, PA
It's not often that a carton of ice cream advises me against undressing nuns.

On Top Of Old Hash Browns, All Covered With Cheese

Waffle House
Lancaster, PA

I've heard people rave about Waffle House for years, but I've never had the opportunity to eat at one before yesterday.  Honestly, I'm not quite sure what the hype is about.  I wouldn't go so far as to call it disgusting, but it ranks somewhere between hospital food and the flavorless, pre-packaged sandwiches that you get from a vending machine at a rest stop.

The hash browns were especially disappointing - kind of like burnt, shredded cardboard.  I would have traded them for a McDonalds hash brown without a second thought.  They looked good on the menu though when I saw them.  You could even get them covered with cheese for 50 cents extra.  See for yourself.

I suppose they technically were covered.

Maybe this isn't a typical Waffle House experience, but I can't imagine I'd ever stop at one again unless I'm starving and it's literally the only thing open.

Indulging In The Ridiculous

Weird Al Yankovic and Emo Philips

The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour
American Music Theatre - Lancaster, PA
I've been a Weird Al fan for as long as I've known what music was.  One of the 45 records that was in the box that my mother gave to me before I had even started kindergarten included a Weird Al single for Eat It, with That Boy Could Dance as the B-side.  As I got older, I listened to more of his catalog.  I still remember swimming with my stepsister in her grandparent's pool and listening to her cousin's Weird Al cassettes.

The first of album of his that I bought for myself was Off The Deep End when I was 11 years old.  I played that cassette until the sound warped, and I thought the original songs, like Trigger Happy and I Was Only Kidding, were even funnier than the parodies that he's best known for.  Later on, when I bought his older albums on CD, I found the same thing.  I enjoyed the parodies, but I liked his non-parody comedy music even more.  When I learned that he was doing a tour that was largely centered around this part of his catalog, I knew I couldn't pass it up.

The show began with a performance from stand-up comedian Emo Philips, who was hysterically funny.  I know him mostly from his performance in UHF, but I've also heard a few of his albums and I enjoyed them very much.  He's a very talented and funny comedian with a unique style.  I'm very glad I got to see him.

Weird Al concerts are known for their wacky, over-the-top presentation filled with video screens, props and multiple costume changes throughout the show.  In contrast, The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour was advertised as informal and low key, taking cues from the stage setup of MTV Unplugged.  The show was exactly that, but it certainly wasn't as quiet as an Unplugged show.  He began with the You Don't Love Me Anymore, which is musically calm despite the zany lyrics.  After that, it was time to buckle up after that as he screamed his way through the 12 minute long insanity of Albuquerque.  

He performed a medley of some of his best known parody songs at the end of the show (including Amish Paradise, complete with a shout out to Lancaster).  For an encore, he did a straight cover of Hello There by Cheap Trick before finishing the night with his epic American Pie/Star Wars mash up, The Saga Begins.  Aside from these three, all of the other songs he performed were original comedy songs that rarely get the attention they deserve.  It was a great show and a very fun night.

I didn't go to this show expecting to buy a t-shirt from the tour, but how could I pass this up?

Pepsi Flashback

Pepsi seems to be going back to their 80's design.

The Mega Powers Live On

WWF Superstars
American Technos Inc. (1989)
It took me nearly thirty years, but I finally beat The Million Dollar Man and Andre The Giant on the WWF Superstars arcade game.  It would probably have cost about ten bucks in quarters if the games weren't all set to free play at the Timeline Arcade in York, but in a video game rematch of the 1988 Summerslam main event, the Mega Powers defeated the Mega Bucks to win the tag team championship.

 

Retro Gaming In The White Rose City

Timeline Arcade
Market Street - York, PA
I've been to the Timeline Arcade in Hanover a few times over the past year and a half.  I even got to meet Howard Scott Warshaw and Phil Moore there.  However, this was my first time checking out their arcade in the historic city of York, Pennsylvania.

If I had to pick one, I have to say that I prefer the atmosphere of the Timeline Arcade in Hanover, but in no way do I mean that as a slight to York.  This is a fantastic arcade where you easily spend a full day without spending a lot of money, and with plenty of games to play so that you'll never get bored.

There are tons of arcade cabinets and pinball machines, all set to free play.

Ready Player One has me keyed up to play Joust (check out my snazzy St. Patrick's Day Phillies gear).

There is a mini living room set up with vintage consoles hooked up to a woodgrain CRT television.

 

You could just start at one end and work your way all the way through the arcade, one classic arcade game at a time.  The best part is that you can play as much as you want and finish games that would have cost a fortune to beat back in the 80's.

 

Golden Axe was one of my favorite beat-em-ups when I was a kid.  I played it every morning on Genesis when I was in Middle School.

The Pole Position sit-down cabinet was in the far corner of Aladdin's Castle in the Laurel Mall when I was growing up.  I was pretty lousy at it back then, and I'm not too much better today.

Space Invaders (1978 Midway)

Zaxxon (1982 Sega)

Missile Command (1980 Atari)

Stargate (1981 Williams)

Centipede (1980 Atari)

Time Pilot (1982 Centuri)

Galaga (1981 Namco)

Donkey Kong Junior (1982 Nintendo)

Dig Dug (1982 Atari)

Time Pilot (1982 Centuri)

WWF Superstars (1989 Technos)

Nintendo Playchoice 10 - running Fester's Quest (1989 Sunsoft)

After Burner (1987 Sega)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989 Konami)

Marvel Super Heroes (1995 Capcom)

X-Men vs Street Fighter (1996 Capcom)

Time Killers (1992 Incredible Technologies)

Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (1998 Sega)

Aerosmith Revolution X (1994 Midway)

One of these days, I want to write more about Revolution X.  It was one of my favorite arcade shooters when I was a teenager, and I feel like it doesn't get the appreciation that it deserves.

I've haven't seen the Pigskin 621 AD cabinet before.  In fact, I've never even heard of it, but it's a pretty interesting concept for a football game.

Look at all of these pinball machines.  I could spend all day here!

There's a very nice mix of pinball tables from the 70's, 80's, 90's and modern games.

This is a side view of one of the older pinball machines - Bally's Future Spa

Bad Girls (1988 Gottlieb)

Night Rider (1977 Bally)

Future Spa (1979 Bally)

Doctor Who (1992 Midway)

The Walking Dead (2014 Stern)

Ghostbusters (2016 Stern)

Robocop (1989 Data East)

Jurassic Park (2019 Stern)

The Jurassic Park table has some pretty cool artwork, including a sweaty Dennis Nedry.

 

Funhouse (1990 Williams)

Elvira & The Party Monsters (1989 Bally)

I absolutely love the Deadhead head in a jar on the Elvira backglass.

 

The Addams Family (1992 Bally) - this is the best selling pinball machine of all time

Rollergames (1990 Williams)

Check out the early 90's ads for GamePro, Thermos and Pepsi products on the Rollergames table.

If you enjoy playing retro arcade games and you're withing driving distance of York PA, you owe it to yourself to check this place out.  It's a treasure of vintage gaming.

Happy Birthday, Albert

Albert Einstein In His Own Voice
Shared by: Hashem Al-Ghaili
I know this sounds hokey, but it's things like this that make me truly value the internet.

Damn You, Kylo!

One too many smug looks at the kart races finally caught up with Luigi.

No Chopsticks This Time

Chicken McNuggets with Szechuan Sauce
McDonald's (2018)
I'm not at all a fan of Rick and Morty, but I'm happy that it helped inspire some interesting fast food.  McDonald's originally had szechuan sauce in 1998 as part of their Mulan promotion.  I didn't try it back then, but this new sauce reminds me of the Asian-themed McNuggets that came out when I was six years old.

In 1986, McDonald's sold Shanghai McNuggets.  They came with chopsticks and a McFortune Cookie, and your choice of three dipping sauces: Hot Mustard, Sweet & Sour and Teriyaki.  I remember that the Teriyaki was my favorite, and it was fun to eat McNuggets with chopsticks, but they sadly haven't come back since the 80's.

In The Name Of The Father, The Son, And The Holy Suplex

The Sanctuary
Wyoming Street - Hazleton, PA

I first met Jon Trosky in the late 90's.  He ran a kiosk outside of Electronics Boutique in the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre.  He was selling pro wrestling VHS tapes, and there was a small TV/VCR combo unit set up that was showing some of the backyard wrestling that he did under his alter ego, Supreme Lee Great.  I talked with him for a little bit, and I mentioned that there was a training school and indy promotion in my hometown of Hazleton that was run by Afa the Wild Samoan.

He did end up going to the Wild Samoan Training School and worked shows for WXW in Hazleton, and he had an impressive pro wrestling career, including at least one appearance on WWE television.  I went to a Smackdown tv taping in Wilkes-Barre back in 2006, less than a mile from where I first saw him slinging wrestling VHS tapes, and there he was in the ring with Mark Henry.  You gotta hand it to the dude.  He had a dream and he followed it.

Years later, I bumped into him again during the filming of The Wrestler in New Jersey.  I answered a call for crowd extras, and Jon was working as the referee in the final scene of the movie between Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by Mickey Rourke) and The Ayatollah (played by Ernest "The Cat" Miller).  This led to a career as a stuntman and stunt rigger in movies and television.

 

Fast forward about 30 years and everything has come full circle.  Jon is back in Hazleton, but this time he's running his own professional wrestling training school and indy promotion.  It's called The Sanctuary, and the shows are held inside the old Holy Trinity Church on North Wyoming Street which Jon purchased and converted into a pro wrestling venue.  I went to the show on March 9th and it was a lot of fun; just the kind of escape from the outside world that I need right now.  The atmosphere is very cool and eerie.  Most of the original church is intact, which includes incredible artwork on the ceiling.  If you live within driving distance of Northeast Pennsylvania and you like pro wrestling, you really need to check this out.  

Happy Mario Day

Chollymania

Charlie Manuel and Hulk Hogan
Clearwater, FL
The Hulkster visited the Phillies before their spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier today.

Tater Salad On The Square

Ron White
F.M. Kirby Center - Wilkes-Barre, PA

One of my dad's favorite stand-up comedians is Ron White, so I got him tickets to this show as a Christmas present last year.  I've seen most of his videos and HBO specials, but this was the first opportunity I had to see him perform live.

It was a very fun night.  We stopped for dinner and drinks at Franklin's on the square before the show.  Mr. White was hysterically funny as we knew he would be.  He bought a tequila company at some point and there was a contest to win an autographed bottle (we didn't win).  I hope we get to see him again sometime.

That's Princess Rocketship To You

Aspen Dental
Hazleton, PA
Hey look, I got a crown at the dentist.