Festival of Games recap December 13, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Aviation, Christmas, History, Internet, Media, Personal, Photography, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Saturday, for the first time in two years and four months, I made the pilgrimage to the Cradle of Aviation Museum along Museum Row in East Garden City. The event was Festival of Games, spun off from the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. The main expo returns next August, but video games were calling for me. So, I bought a ticket to the Festival on November 23.
My plan Saturday was to attend for two to three hours, walking through the vendor hall, free play zones, and ticketed arcade zone. (Patrons were given a ticket with their wristband at the front desk.) If any arcade games caught my eye, I’d play them. Then, I’d go back to the vendor hall and pick up games. I followed that plan to the letter upon my arrival just after 12:30. Here are the photos:
A R.O.B. quintet “dances” to Christmas music. 
Computer Space is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month (and last month)! 
Ah, Tetris. As I noted in my recap of the 2019 LI Retro (the expo’s preferred shorthand, rather than LIRGE), I have fond memories of playing the Tetris arcade game at Kutsher’s Hotel and Country Club in March 1995. It was the third of four years in a row of weekend retreats with my fellow congregants of Union Reform Temple. We went to Kutsher’s in ’95 and January ’96, and prior to that, the Nevele Grand Hotel in January ’93 and ’94. Sadly, URT and the two resorts are now defunct. 
The next arcade machine I played was Street Fighter II. I picked up where the previous players left off, but didn’t realize they were in two-player mode until I had my way as Guile with Dhalsim. 
After this, one-player mode kicked in and I was summarily defeated by Ryu, despite somehow winning round 2. 
I am better with the NES port of Donkey Kong Jr. than with the arcade original. 
“Body blow! Body blow!” 
Out of privacy, I chose to remove the boy’s face from this photo. 
I’d heard about Rolling Thunder, but never played it until Saturday. Again, I didn’t get far. 
After that, I gave Double Dragon a go. Yet again, I didn’t get far, but it was far enough for me. 
I could not get a handle on Arkanoid, nor am I the best at its spiritual sibling Breakout. I’m great at Alleyway on Game Boy. 
NFL Blitz isn’t the same off N64. 
Last but not least, another game I saw in the arcade room at Kutsher’s: NARC.
I didn’t play NARC then (or now), but I videotaped two of my friends playing, per these vidcaps (12/27 UPDATE: I upscaled the vidcaps with Bigjpg):
I left this out of the stacked gallery, but one of the free play TVs was connected to a Famicom Disk System, which ran a festive program:
Back at the vendor hall, I picked up 33 games for various consoles. I don’t remember what I bought from which vendor, but the business cards show they were Geek Guilt, Flashback Gaming, The SemiCollector, and Joega’s Comic Chaos. When greeting one of the vendors, I inadvertently said “hello” like Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons‘ character from The Big Bang Theory (and Iain Armitage‘s from Young Sheldon). Noticing, I repeated and got a laugh. As I edited Saturday’s photos, I noticed I missed a couple of vendors over the course of my shopping spree. Oh, well.
As I shopped, I checked my video game collection Word document to make sure I didn’t buy a game I already had. I didn’t.
While waiting for a ride home, I photographed my haul:
Once I got home, I photographed my pickups by console.
Going chronologically, I picked up 15 NES games:
Five for Sega Master System:
Three on Game Boy:
Two for Super Nintendo:
One for Super Famicom!:
Two for Sega Genesis:
One for Sony PlayStation:
One for Nintendo 64 (N64):
Two for PlayStation 3:
And one for Nintendo Switch:
In writing, the games were:
Nintendo Entertainment System:
- Balloon Fight
- Cobra Triangle
- Fester’s Quest
- Freedom Force
- Gauntlet II
- Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
- Hogan’s Alley
- Kabuki: Quantum Fighter
- The Legend of Zelda
- Mickey Mousecapade
- Rambo
- RoboCop
- Section Z
- StarTropics
- Wrath of the Black Manta
Sega Master System:
Game Boy:
Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom*:
Sega Genesis:
PlayStation:
Nintendo 64:
PlayStation 3:
Xbox 360:
Nintendo Switch:
Thank you to LI Retro for an enjoyable Festival of Games. I’ll see you in August.
Instrumental Invasion, 12/8/21 December 9, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The December 8 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on October 25 (four segments) and 26 (two segments) with pickups on the 27th. Hour 1 was recorded from my remote location (with the fluorescent lights turned off); hour 2 and pickups were recorded from home.
The playlist was created on October 24 with annotations and the script draft following on the 25th, immediately followed by recording.
This was the first show I worked on after Homecoming Weekend, and the first with 18:30 segments in mind.
It was the second show in a row where a song from Norman Brown‘s debut album led off the second segment. “Top of the Tower” by Jay Rowe returned to make up for the last 25 seconds getting cut off on October 20.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 12/1/21 December 2, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, Video.add a comment
The December 1 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on October 10 and 11.
The playlist was created and annotated on October 9 while the script was drafted before recording on the 10th.
I chose to take the next two weeks off to focus on covering WCWP’s Homecoming Weekend and then to unwind, but was pressed into service on October 21 after an additional underwriting spot at the top of each hour necessitated shortening segments to 18:30, and also picking up where I took out a liner. The first segment couldn’t be shortened.
This is the first show with a new thumbnail, after updating my profile photo on my various platforms last Saturday. I took the photo on a GoPro Hero 7 attached to a 10″ flexible tripod. I held a tripod leg with my right hand while taking the photo in an iPhone app with my left hand. It was time-consuming adapting the photo to the show banner, and then updating thumbnails for all completed shows recorded to date, but the end results were worth it, even if the image is darker without a flash.
I led off the show with “Unisphere” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet because I had purchased their Time Changes album – an ironic title, considering my later circumstance – after watching video of a live performance on Dave’s Facebook page:
The song was inspired by the steel structure that served as the theme symbol to the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. As noted on the air, I saw the Unisphere firsthand back in July 2017:
This is the documentary I spoke of, After the Fair:
I saw The Rippingtons live at My Father’s Place in Roslyn in March 2019, the night before Open Road was released. Their set included “Tangerine Skyline.”
I made up for last week’s mistake by including “Watch Your Step” by Chris Geith in the second hour’s second segment.
Click here to download this show’s aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 11/24/21 November 25, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Politics, Radio, TV, Video Games.add a comment
The November 24 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on October 4 and 6. I chose not to record on the 5th due to insomnia the night before. Recording was done on my laptop at my secondary location, but with my spare Audio-Technica AT2020 mic connected to my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 that I used at home before receiving a new mixer for Christmas. The mic stood on a boom for three years under the false hope of conducting an interview with a house guest. Accepting reality, I brought the mic and interface to the other location to use with my laptop. I’d finally achieved a universal sound with the same mic model in both locations. The only problem is I noticed a hum on my talk breaks, which I determined was from the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Apparently, I had gotten used to the hum and forgot it existed. I know now to turn off the lights before recording.
Pickups were recorded from home on October 8 and 21. Segments were also remixed on the 21st down to 18:30 or close to it.
The playlist was created on October 1 and annotated on the 2nd. The script was drafted before recording on the 4th.
To accommodate all the new music I received, I replaced the 1984 and earlier segment with a third 2017 to present segment.
This was the first show with a new Dan Siegel liner in mind. Segments from the previous four shows featuring his music were retrofitted to include the liner.
In addition to new music by Dan, the show also marked the debut of the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio after his music was sent my way for airplay consideration. I said the title of the song I played “Girly Face,” a la Arnold Schwarzenegger, in reference to his phrase “girlie men.” The phrase was co-opted from the Hans and Franz sketch on Saturday Night Live, in the same manner that “cheese-eatin[g] surrender monkeys” was co-opted from an episode of The Simpsons.
I averted an error when crafting the second segment of hour 1, but missed the one in hour 2’s second segment. Thinking I had 3:50 available rather than 2:50, I selected “Watch Your Step” by Chris Geith. I realized the error during the October 6 recording session, replacing it with “Nocturnal” by Lisa Hilton. You’ll hear Chris’s song next week.
I’ve been meaning to end a show with Gerald Albright‘s cover of “Crazy” for a while, but it never fit. There was finally time for it this week.
Little did I realize that the penultimate song of the night, “Looking Ahead” by Bill Heller, would get the music video treatment the day after I finished recording. Here it is, with all musicians except for the percussionist (Paula Atherton is featured in the thumbnail on flute):
I didn’t mention on the air, but it was my parents’ 44th wedding anniversary.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
8:45 AM UPDATE: I made another mistake that I didn’t notice until listening to the aircheck. When drafting the script, I mistook the first “i” in Dan Feiszli for an “r,” leading me to call him “Dan Ferszli” while back-selling “Full Sail” by Lawson Rollins.
Turning 40! November 20, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Bowling, Food, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, Video.1 comment so far
As noted in this week’s Instrumental Invasion recap, I turned 40 the day the show aired. Celebration of my birthday began 11 days earlier with a late lunch with my friends Kelly and Lori and my mother Lisa at La Strada of Merrick. After pizza and pasta, I was treated to a birthday cannoli:
The following Saturday, my aunt Donna treated me to two games at AMF Wantagh Lanes, a bowling alley half a mile from my house:
Saturday afternoon bowling at Wantagh Lanes was a tradition for just over a decade of my life, most of which was in Nassau P.A.L.‘s handicap league.
Aunt Donna and I were on lane 24:
It took until late in the first game to regain my form, salvaging an 83. I bounced back with a 149 in the second game.
My ninth frame spare, via cropped vidcaps:
My first shot in the last frame:
The final scores for game 2:
Aunt Donna also shot video of three spare conversions, which I’ve compiled here along with my video:
I posed with my ball, which I’ve had for 25 years, before putting it away:
Aunt Donna then treated me to lunch at Margarita’s Cafe a few minutes to the north. We got caught in a severe thunderstorm on the way to King Kullen where I bought a pint of ice cream:
The storm contained small hail, slightly larger than sleet:
Finally came my 40th birthday on Wednesday. Here’s what greeted me in the kitchen that morning:
At one point in the day, I read Wikipedia’s entry for November 17. I was surprised how many pivotal events occurred on that day and how many notable public figures were born that day.
Dinner was at Umberto’s in Wantagh’s Cherrywood Shopping Center.
I was joined by my parents Lisa and Bill, sister Lauren, and family friends Janice and Joe, Mandy and Kevin, and Janine. This was one of my gifts:
My dinner was meat lasagna:
The staff sang “Happy Birthday” to me as they brought out my vanilla and chocolate tartufo:
I waved to the other guests and thanked them as they applauded, then let them know what milestone I was celebrating: “40!” I got more applause.
My 40th birthday concluded back at home with a Carvel ice cream cake:
Throughout the day, and all the way into this morning, I received hundreds of birthday wishes on social media. Thank you to each and every one of them. I greatly appreciate it. My 40th birthday was a rich, full day; just how a milestone birthday should be.
Working from my 30th birthday post where I said I was a tricenarian, I learned that I’m now a quadragenerian.
I’ll leave you with a simple photo I whipped up in Photoshop:
Instrumental Invasion, 11/17/21: 40th Birthday Special! November 18, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Basketball, Football, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio, Sports, Technology, TV.add a comment
The November 17 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on September 29 and 30. I would have started recording on the 28th, but deferred to the next day due to insomnia the night before. Pickups were recorded on October 21 while remixing segments to 18:30 in length. (The first segment is still 18:40.)
The playlist was created and annotated, and the script was drafted all on September 27.
The format for this week would have been used in my Homecoming Weekend prerecord if I was also granted a live show. Instead, it fit right in on my 40th birthday. I had a great birthday, by the way, and will have a separate recap post at a later date.
I didn’t realize how many males named Kim were in the show until recording began. It was a fun running gag. I was also surprised to learn that Dave Grusin wasn’t the one playing George Gershwin‘s “That Certain Feeling” at the start of his The Gershwin Collection album. It was a player piano playing a roll punched by George himself! Also, the Bryant Reeves “Big Country” reference tied in nicely with a Wayman Tisdale song to follow. As noted, they played basketball at rival colleges.
I made sure to play “Remember When” by Dan Siegel since Ed Alton played bass on it. That way, I could refer to Head of the Class, a show Ed composed for, which I rediscovered on HBO Max two weeks before recording. The reboot premiered earlier this month. (5/13/22 UPDATE: It was canceled in December.)
My use of the phrase “knock on wood if you’re with me” was an homage to (at the time of recording) Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. About a week after recording, unflattering e-mails from Gruden’s past were leaked to the public, which led him to resign.
In case you missed it, this was the first show without a David Benoit song. Don’t worry. He’ll be back next week.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 11/10/21 November 11, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Art, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, TV, Video, Video Games.add a comment
The November 10 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over four days for the second week in a row: one segment per day on September 20 and the 21st, and two per day on the 22nd and 23rd. The latter pair of days were also when pickups were recorded. Additional pickups were recorded on October 21 while shortening segments to 18:30 or close to it.
This was the first show recorded with a new shock mount, which seemed to muffle my mic’s audio. In some talk breaks, I sound like I’m in a hollow tube. It’s because the mic was facing the wrong way, which I didn’t notice until afterward. I had to apply a “denoise” effect on the last talk break as construction machinery was running next door.
The playlist was created on September 19 with annotations and the script draft on the 20th.
I ended the show with Scott Wilkie‘s cover of “Eu Vim da Bahia” (I Came from Bahia) to make up for not crediting percussionist Gibi dos Santos in the February 3 show.
I’d been meaning to play “Buckle Up” by Nick Colionne ever since I heard it on SiriusXM’s Watercolors on July 3 while on the way home from my first cousin once removed’s first birthday party.
My reading of “Smartypants,” while back-selling the David Benoit and Russ Freeman collaboration, was a nod to an infamous TV ad for the original Sonic the Hedgehog game:
The glasses and voice led me, and several others, to believe Andy Dick was the actor playing the H.A.G. president. I learned while drafting this post that it was really Larry Cedar. I mostly know Larry through his voice over work, but have followed him, and his artist daughter Jaqueline, on social media.
As for my show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Not included in the scope is a community calendar spot that ran during the first break:
Instrumental Invasion, 11/3/21 November 4, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Weather.add a comment
The November 3 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over four days: one segment per day on September 14, 16, and 17, and three segments on the 15th. Pickups were recorded on September 18 and October 21. You can tell what time of day I recorded based on the sound of my voice.
The playlist was created on September 12 and annotated on the 13th, followed by the script draft.
As I noted at the top of hour 2, I was inspired to play the Bob James Trio version of “Billy Boy” after hearing John Byner recall, in his memoir (I ducked away from the mic while shouting the title), that he sang it in a school play. I said “Billy Boy” twice while talking it up to reflect the first lyric:
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
I had no idea in mid-September how timely Chris Standring‘s rendition of “Autumn in New York” would be. Seasonable autumn/fall temperatures arrived Monday night with daytime highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s and 40s.
A technical glitch during the second segment of hour 2 made this the second show in three weeks where the last segment got cut off before its natural end; 1:33, in this case.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 10/27/21 October 28, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, TV.add a comment
The October 27 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the latest show recorded over three days. Two segments were recorded on September 7, three on the 8th, and one on the 9th along with pickups. Additional pickups were recorded on October 21 while shortening segments to 18:30 or close to it. The plan worked as the last segment was not cut off toward the end.
The playlist was created on September 6 with annotations carrying into the 7th followed by the script draft.
I had to replace a song in the second hour’s second segment. I originally planned on including Will Donato‘s cover of “Play That Funky Music,” but didn’t realize I only had the digital version of the album it appears on, Universal Groove. Not knowing who played what, outside of Will on saxophones, I swapped it for “Easy Does It” by fellow saxophonist Darren Rahn. I did have the CD version of his Talk of the Town album to reference.
The audio for my talk breaks sound different because I forgot to switch the hard limit setting back to light. I had it set on medium to record audio via HBO Max. The Nanny was one of many 1990s sitcoms to repeatedly insert two stock laughs, both by a tenor male. The first laugh is a guttural “ha!,” the second is this:
That godforsaken laugh, and its shorter duration sibling, was used upwards of three times in every episode from the second season on. It’s more irritating than “kind of,” “sort of,” and “at the end of the day!” I returned to it after a month of watching Head of the Class, but the laughs reared their ugly head and I quit during my second episode back and don’t plan on re-returning. It’s a shame because the scripts are hilarious and Fran and Maxwell do ultimately link up and, in the finale, have twins. Even Niles and C.C. are paired up, to the chagrin of Daniel Davis. In place of The Nanny, I’ve been watching Full House. The stock laughs debuted in 1994-95, which was the last season of Full House. So, I’m hoping I don’t hear it then. (11/17 UPDATE: Whoops, I’m wrong. It debuted in the 1993-94 season of Full House! So much for that show.)
Anyway, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
MikeChimeri.com 