You Ever Notice...and What's the Deal...

[Drtooth]

Here's a big "What's the deal...?"

I've been playing the Arcade game "Wild West C.O.W.Boys" arcade game on MAME, and I've noticed a few things.... here's a video of 4 player game play.

Okay... remember the bootleg Lion King game where the game over sequence has Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa all committing suicide for no reason? Well, if you watched the gameplay footage above, it's a very uncharacteristically dark game.

First off, when a player dies, he turns into a well cooked steak with his initial on a toothpick.

EEK.

The mini-boss who's in a small battle Hot Air balloon, when defeated, swallows a stick of dynamite and blows up.

Yikes.

And in the window of the ghost town, the building that burns down and reveals a cow version of Slimer, before it engulfs in flame, you can see the silhouette of a cow with a knife about to stab someone Norman Bates style.

Now, if anyone remembers the cartoon, there was a lot of behind the scenes problems with censorship, and the Wild West C.O.W. Boys couldn't use guns (because Glob forbid we show that kind of weapon famous in westerns) with the exception of Marshall Moo's sheriff star shooting non-gun that he rarely used anyway.

And the video game got away with some surprisingly morbid crap. I'm going to ignore the fact they do indeed use fire arms, as it's basically just a kiddy licensed version of Sunset Riders...but turning into a steak when you die? Such a turn from barely being able to attack the villains.

 

[D'Snowth]

Has anyone ever noticed that certain music out there seems to defy the decades because it has its own signature sound that makes it stand out from others? Two examples I can think of right off the bat are The Beatles and Roy Orbison. Each decade of popular music has its own distinct sound that makes it easy to identify, but when you listen to a Beatles song from the 60s, then you hear any one of their solo songs from the 80s, they have their own, unique, Beatles sound to them. Same with Roy Orbison, his songs all have their own sound to them unlike much of anything else you heard during the decades: "Pretty Woman" doesn't necessarily sound like a 60s song, while "You Got It" certainly doesn't sound like an 80s song. Come to think of it, another example of a song that doesn't sound like it belongs to any specific decade is Melanie's "Brand New Key." It was a novelty song from the early 70s, but it sounds like it could be from any decade, even the 90s.

 

[fuzzygobo]

That is hard to do. There are some contemporaries of the Beatles that sound timeless and ageless ("Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks) while others are so dated they're embarrassing ("Winds of Change" by the Animals).

Van Morrison is another artist whose work holds up extremely well, in spite of not having a top ten hit since 1967's "Brown Eyed Girl".

One other hidden gem that defies time: Frank Zappa, " I'm the Slime".
I dare anyone to click on YouTube and give it a listen. The message still holds true (and hasn't lost its sting) since 1973. And could still work today- almost too well.

 

[minor muppetz]

Has anyone ever noticed that certain music out there seems to defy the decades because it has its own signature sound that makes it stand out from others? Two examples I can think of right off the bat are The Beatles and Roy Orbison. Each decade of popular music has its own distinct sound that makes it easy to identify, but when you listen to a Beatles song from the 60s, then you hear any one of their solo songs from the 80s, they have their own, unique, Beatles sound to them. Same with Roy Orbison, his songs all have their own sound to them unlike much of anything else you heard during the decades: "Pretty Woman" doesn't necessarily sound like a 60s song, while "You Got It" certainly doesn't sound like an 80s song. Come to think of it, another example of a song that doesn't sound like it belongs to any specific decade is Melanie's "Brand New Key." It was a novelty song from the early 70s, but it sounds like it could be from any decade, even the 90s.

I feel like heavy metal is that way. Seems like it's hard to tell whether a heavy metal song is from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and beyond. Heavy metal songs from the 1970s seem to lack the groovy quality of the decade, heavy metal songs from the '80s seem to lack the sweet sound of songs from the decade, and so on.

 

[Schfifty]

What exactly is the deal with tattoos nowadays? I mean, it seems like having a tattoo has become more popular in recent years among young adults, and I can't stand it. I personally loathe the idea of having a tattoo, since it's potentially on your skin forever, and I think it's rebellious and unclassy. I especially feel disappointed about children who have parents with tats.

So what's the whole deal with that? Do people not care about class anymore? I'm not saying tattoos are bad or illegal, but I just don't get why having one is so popular.

 

[D'Snowth]

Dude, I've been saying this for years now. I mean, hey, people are free to get tattoos if they want to, it's their right, and their way of expressing themselves, and many of the people I know, including my own family members have tattoos: my dad, my sister, and my cousin all have tattoos.

But similarly, I too find that tattoos are essentially body graffiti, but that's me. I'm often accused of misogyny when I say this, but I find them to be a particular turn-off on women - and I'm not much of a superficial person, but tattoos definitely turn me off.

And the funny thing is often times when people get tattoos at a young age, they regret them later in life, and my sister is definitely one of those people.

But if we're going to talk about something being classless, let me ask this: skinny jeans in the workplace. I get the impression that skinny jeans are something like bellbottoms were in the 70s, and I suppose that's cool and all if women want to wear skinny jeans like for when they go out and about and such, but it seems to me like skinny jeans in the workplace would be inappropriate and invite sexual harassment. But then again, I've never been a fan of conformity, so I care not for workplaces where you have to wear suits or uniforms anyway.

 

[charlietheowl]

I don't think tattoos are rebellious anymore, they're just something that people think are a good way to express themselves. I would never get a tattoo, as my father has two arm sleeves of some of the stupidest things in the world, like the Hulk, dice, some random movie character, and then in the middle is me and my sister's names. So he's biased me against tattoos.

I think the key to them is thinking it through in a big way first. You have to make sure that what you're getting inked on you is important and meaningful, not just something you do on impulse.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Some tattoos can be tasteful, even on women. Some can be beautiful and have deep significance, like getting an angel for a deceased loved one. Tramp stamps, all bets are off.

Same with body piercings. In my twenties I got one ear pierced. Just one. One diamond stud. Tasteful, even acceptable in the most conservative workplace. No big hoops, no discs stretching your earlobes down to the floor. The novelty of my earring wore off after a couple years, so I took it out, the hole grew over, no regrets or painful skin grafts if you get tired of a tattoo.

It is amazing the lengths some people will go to when it comes to adorning their body. A few years back it seemed the next big thing might be ear points. Getting little points on the tops of your ears so you can fulfill your desire to be an elf. Or Spock.

The most extreme case I ever saw was some guy who wanted to become a lizard. He added fangs, dyed his skin green, had scales grafted to his face, and put contacts in to make his eyes look like slits. He couldn't quite pull off a forked tongue.

This wasn't for Halloween. This wasn't for a movie. This wasn't for cosplay. This was to be his new identity.

I wonder if Target would give him his own bathroom.

 

[fuzzygobo]

You ever notice...
Right now, just like countless times before, continued flooding in Louisiana.
At the exact same moment, 80,000 acres in California burning down.
Like clockwork, there always seems to be a flood and fire at the same time.
If someone with an engineering degree can find a way to get the flood water to douse the flames, you'd be a hero in two states.

 

[D'Snowth]

And many other states as well as the southeast continues to suffer from drought conditions: the grass is turning brown and crinkly, the leaves are falling out of the trees, wild flowers are dying everywhere.