Instrumental Invasion, Christmas 2025 Edition (12/24, 5PM; 12/25, 9PM) December 25, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, Bluegrass, Christmas, Classical, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, New Age, Personal, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Technology, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
A special three-hour Christmas 2025 edition of Instrumental Invasion was recorded principally on December 1 with pickups recorded during quality control on the morning of the 3rd and again that afternoon in case the show didn’t only air on Christmas. Indeed, it aired Christmas Eve at 5PM and reran on Christmas at 9PM. (I use the past tense despite publishing on Christmas morning.)
Before I say more, here is the scoped aircheck:
What I said in the outro is true. WCWP/WXBA station manager Dan Cox hosted a Microsoft Teams meeting for alumni on October 27. When he opened the “floor” to questions, I had two:
- May I contribute to the rotation of legal IDs voiced by alumni?
- Would it be okay if I recorded a special Christmas show?
Dan said yes to both. Right after the meeting I recorded VO for the ID, which turned out this way:
I didn’t start work on the Christmas Instrumental Invasion until the following Monday, November 3, when Dan answered a follow-up email about show length. He said it could be as long as I wanted. So, I chose to make a three-hour show. The playlist, created and tweaked between November 3 and 15, was reworked from the playlist for what would have been the fourth and final Christmas show of my Wednesday night run. (2020, 2021, 2022 recaps) The renovation hiatus ended that run sooner than planned. 22 of the 23 songs from the unused playlist were incorporated into this one with minimal rearranging. 15 songs were added to pad out the three hours (all under an hour in length), and the 23rd song from the original playlist was changed due to time constraints in hour 2.
Annotations drafting began November 5, when I completed my first playlist draft, and tweaks followed along through the 15th. For the first time ever, I’m sharing the script. Work on that began when my initial annotations draft completed on November 10. Tweaks continued all the way into recording and pickups.
I had planned on doing as I did for the last two Homecoming Weekend prerecords (2024, 2025), by recording and mixing live on my Twitch channel from December 4 to 6. I even did like this year’s HCW show and preloaded the music and liners into Adobe Audition multitrack session files. However, I developed an obsession with the video game PowerWash Simulator 2, for which I have the Xbox Series X/S port. I wasn’t about to halt gameplay for three days when I was on the verge of completing the game’s career mode. (I did that on December 6 and completed the game entirely [in its initial form] two nights later.) So, I recorded and edited all 15 talk breaks (five per hour) in a three-hour span on December 1. Then, I mixed them into the preloaded sessions. All three hours were within the 58:00 to 59:59 range Dan Cox asks of show files with hour 1 skewing closer to the minimum at 58:20, which I reworked to 58:36. Hours 2 and 3 required reworking in the opposite direction to reach run times of 59:58 and 59:57.
The December 3 quality control session required a handful of pickups with truncating in the last two hours for even shorter times. I misinterpreted an email that afternoon, leading me to think the show either might not air on Christmas or wouldn’t be limited to Christmas. The resulting evergreen pickups worked in my favor as Dan chose to premiere the show Christmas Eve at 5PM and run it again on Christmas at 9PM. The end result hour by hour: 58:39, 59:52, 59:54. There was no dead air between files as legal IDs bridged the gaps. That meant the show after mine began before the top of the hour.
This paragraph was written December 9 after learning that Gordon Goodwin died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 70. His Big Phat Band were part of my show with “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It’s too late for me to redo the talk break for the set with the song as I’ve already sent Dan the show hour files. Gordon will live on through his music, not just with the Big Phat Band, but for the TV shows and films he scored.
“You wanna have a catch?” in the intro was a quote from the end of Field of Dreams where Ray gets to play catch with his father. The Colin Mochrie joke about “foreplay” (not Fourplay) is a sound command for my Twitch streams and was sourced from this Whose Line video:
And lastly, pianist Bill Evans crediting “Joe LaBarbera on drums” was from the end of a live performance of “Days of Wine and Roses” at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. It’s part of a posthumous box set called Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2.
I’ll leave you with screenshots of each completed multitrack session on the morning of December 3 (before the evergreen revisions):
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/14/25, 12AM (Homecoming Weekend) September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Computer, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Pop, Radio, smooth jazz, Technology, Video Games.add a comment
Other posts: 9/12 12PM live show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The prerecorded edition of Instrumental Invasion for WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at midnight on Sunday, September 14. Unlike last year, this show was only two hours.
Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way before I detail how the show came to be.
I said in the live show recap that I knew well in advance I’d have that and the prerecord.
The playlist was created July 29 and 30 with two hours in mind. That duration was confirmed to me on August 5. There wasn’t much poaching from older playlists, meaning less copying and pasting of annotations. The annotations were drafted July 30 and August 1 and 4. The first draft of the script was written August 5 and 6. I wanted to get as much pre-production out of the way before Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
Little did I know the consequences of referencing Casiopea‘s fifth era with a new keyboardist, Jun Abe, and tying Brian Simpson‘s “Wonderland” to Taylor Swift‘s namesake from 1989 D.L.X. On August 12, Taylor announced a new album, The Life of a Showgirl, in an episode of New Heights, a podcast hosted by the Kelce brothers, Travis (her boyfriend) and Jason. Then, a few days later, I found out T-Square released an album called Turn the Page! and that Casiopea was about to release True Blue. That led to script revisions on August 15 and 17. Then, August 20, the playlist, annotations, and script were all tweaked to accommodate song replacements.
I planned on recording one hour per day – August 28 and 29 – during livestreams on my Twitch channel, just as I had done for last year’s prerecord and the final regular Instrumental Invasion. To save time during the streams, I prepared the Adobe Audition multitrack sessions for each hour on August 25. That’s when I realized I’d made a timing error for both hours! I was four minutes over in hour 1 and two minutes under in hour 2. So, I had to make further tweaks to the playlist, annotations, and script with different songs to make up for the oversights.
But I still wasn’t finished! I mistakenly thought one minute and 55 seconds was enough time to assign talk breaks. Unfortunately, most talk breaks were overly wordy. When I reached hour 1’s last talk break, I noticed I was well over. Drastic cuts had to be made to the talk breaks. The plan worked.
To avoid the same problem with hour 2, I cut back on that hour’s talk breaks before the August 29 Twitch stream, and worked in a congratulations to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on their engagement (earlier that week). It still wasn’t enough! Not only did I have to make further cuts; I also had to fade songs out early or have them start underneath a liner and the end of the last talk break. I recorded that last talk break first, knowing it would be the longest of the hour. Somehow, my cutbacks worked again, and each hour – or 59:59 – flowed smoothly. Unless you’ve read this post or watched my Twitch streams, you’d never know all the work that went into this show.
Here are screenshots of each hour’s multitrack session:
Only one pickup was necessary, recorded on the morning of August 30. For any talk break preceded by a liner that only acknowledged WCWP, I started with “and WXBA,” to reflect the merger and subsequent rebranding. I neglected to do that coming out of David Benoit‘s liner. David hosts a jazz show on another 88.1 FM, K-Jazz (KKJZ) at Cal State Long Beach. So, the pickup was for one more “and WXBA,” and to rerecord the first few sentences of the talk break to maintain its total run time.
On the Twitch side, I broadcast my streams with a program called OBS Studio. Once per day, there was a brief server disconnection. Friday’s outage happened while recording the fourth talk break of hour 2 (the last recorded that day). Rather than stop until OBS reconnected, I soldiered on. It made for this funny outtake:
And I did.
Read about my elaborate Twitch setup here.
Below is what the two recording session streams looked like at 65x speed, set to “Sweat It Off” by Casiopea:
Now that you know the story of this show, get back to the main recap, picking up with The Dad Rock Show hosted live at 6AM by Tom.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo recap: conclusion and pickups August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Education, Magazine, Media, Personal, Photography, TV, Video, Video Games.add a comment
If you haven’t seen them yet, read part one here and part two here.
CONCLUSION
With Leonard Herman’s panel complete, I said my goodbyes. On my way outside to wait for my Lyft ride home, I noticed a vendor that had a copy of David Crane‘s Pitfall! for the Atari 2600. Then, as you’ll see in the pickups section, I did something I’d never done in all my years attending Long Island Retro Gaming Expo at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale.
This was the last photo I took before packing up my Canon EOS R7 (with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II attached):
PICKUPS
As I walked around the vendor marketplace Sunday, I noticed this replica Pan Am plane in the window of the museum gift shop. Finally, after seven years, moments before going home, I stepped inside to buy that plane (seen here on Amazon).
The clerk told me his grandfather flew that model plane as a pilot for Pan Am.
My LI Retro program and badge, front and back:
Two vendor cards (only one side of the first):
Guest merchandise:
Pat Contri’s Twitch emote stickers, including one for Sue Simmons, and that Gaming Historian sticker I earned for getting Pat’s first NES trivia question right 
Old School Gamer Magazine, Issue 46 front… 
…and back
Video games:
1 for Nintendo 64 (on Saturday):
- Superman: The New Superman Adventures (a.k.a. Superman 64)
1 for Sega Genesis (on Saturday):
1 for Super Famicom (on Sunday):
- Super Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country outside Japan)
5 for Super Nintendo (1 Saturday, 4 Sunday):
- Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball
- The Lost Vikings
- Super Off Road
- Super Off Road: The Baja
- Wing Commander
5 for Atari VCS/2600 (4 Saturday, 1 Sunday):
- Combat
- Donkey Kong (programmed by Garry Kitchen)
- Ghostbusters (programmed by Dan Kitchen)
- E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
- Pitfall! (“Conceived and designed by David Crane for use with the Atari Video Computer System.”)
And by coincidence, I got a whopping 14 NES games for its 40th anniversary (6 Saturday, 8 Sunday):
- Bases Loaded II: The Second Season
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (Yes, that’s Fabio on the cover)
- Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf
- Mad Max
- MagMax
- Metal Gear
- Monster Party
- Ms. Pac-Man (Tengen) (I bought the licensed Namco release in 2023)
- Pac-Man (Tengen, Licensed) (I’ve had the unlicensed version since I was a kid)
- Pac-Man (Namco)
- P.O.W.: Prisoners of War
- Shadowgate
- Volleyball
- Whomp ‘Em
Whomp ‘Em was my most expensive game of the weekend, going for $60. Counting the fried ravioli (and Sprite) I ordered from a food truck Sunday afternoon, I only went $30 over my $370 cash budget. (I bought the Pan Am plane with my credit card.)
Volleyball is my latest NES Black Box game pickup. There were 30 Black Box games released, 17 at launch, then 10, and 3 more. Alphabetically, Volleyball was the 30th. I have 20 of the 30: 11 of the first 17, 6 of the next 10, and all of the last 3.
THE END
Thank you, as always, for taking this photographic journey through Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. I seem to say this all the time, but working on recap blog posts is truly a labor of love. So much work goes into them: editing the photos, choosing which ones to watermark for inclusion in these posts, making lower resolution equivalents for the blog and other social media, uploading the photos into each blog post draft, rearranging the photos in certain galleries, writing, link aggregation, coming up with SEO summaries (I forgot to make one for this post), publication, and social media promotion.
Like with Smooth Jazz for Scholars, I initially streamed the photo editing process on my Twitch channel (after showing all my pickups). I finished the “job” off-stream after Friday afternoon. I sacrificed many hours, and either truncated my treadmill runs (42 minutes instead of 70) or didn’t run at all. It was for the art. I hope you, the reader, are satisfied with the end results.
See you again next year.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming expo recap: touring the expo August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Computer, History, Internet, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, VHS, Video, Video Games, Weather, Wrestling.add a comment
If you haven’t viewed part one yet, click here. Skip ahead to part three here.
Settle in for a comprehensive photographic tour of as much as I could see at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale during the 10th annual Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
FIRST FLOOR
Vendor Marketplace:
The marketplace as seen from the second floor:
Sponsors:
Ticket prices:
Hangar Arcade:
NES Indie Game Exhibit:
VGNYsoft Physical Indie Games:
Homebrew/Indie Showcase:
PokéLab:
PCs:
(NOTE: This gallery is a mix of photos from PC Freeplay, PC Museum, and regional exclusive computers that were part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit.)
Console Freeplay:
Art Gallery:
Gaming hardware displays:
40 Years of the Nintendo Entertainment System:
“Thank you to this year’s museum donors!”
Vintage ad for the Batman Forever video game:
An episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!:
NES Challenges outside the Main Theatre (at least on the middle two):
SECOND FLOOR
LIU Sharks Game Showcase:
This was another table I was too shy to approach. I really should have, being an alumnus of LIU Post and WCWP. It is fitting, though, that in a year where Benjamin Abrams was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame, the LIU Sharks Game Showcase table included a TV/DVD player made by Emerson.
Retroware games:
Time Crisis on a modern TV!
Console History Exhibit:
The Arcade Age Exhibit
Other second floor attractions:
THIRD FLOOR
The Floor of Oddities:
And a bonus from the Cradle of Aviation Museum’s Pan Am exhibit:
The Boeing 707: A Fast Story:
That’s the end of the tour. All that remains is part three of my recap with a conclusion and pickups photos.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo: introduction, guests, staff, fellow attendees, panels August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Aviation, Books, Computer, Education, History, Internet, Magazine, Media, Personal, Photography, Podcast, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
Feel free to skip ahead to part two (touring the expo) or part three (conclusion and pickups).
INTRODUCTION
2025 marked the 10th anniversary Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, held annually (except during COVID) in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on the right end of Museum Row in Uniondale*. For the 10th anniversary, LI Retro celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System‘s New York area launch, introduced to the world in places such as Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
*I had no idea that LI Retro’s first year was the same year that East Garden City (a.k.a. Nassau Hub) was absorbed into Uniondale and is no longer a census-designated place. Keep that in mind when you read my earlier recaps.
I have attended seven of LI Retro’s nine years. I started small in 2017, only spending two hours there on Sunday afternoon. I was there the entire weekend in 2018 and ’19, and have used my weekend pass on two of the three days since 2022. By 2023, I had to spread my recaps out into three parts because I took so many pictures, mostly of the exhibits (as seen in 2024). That’s what I’m doing again this year.
Tickets went on sale in February and guests were announced in July. Some of those guests will be chronicled below.
You’ll be happy to know there weren’t any mishaps this year. None of my equipment was wrecked and no cups of coffee were spilled.
ARRIVING AT THE MUSEUM
My mom pulled into the Cradle of Aviation Museum parking lot at 9:38 AM on Saturday.
I exited the car with badge QR code printout in hand. I had the lanyard for my badge wrapped around my neck, along with my Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II attached. (I only used the latter on for flash photos, and never during panels.)
Inside, I was ushered to the box office where my QR code was scanned and I was handed my weekend badge. I attached to my lanyard and made my way to the first of four panels I had in mind. We’ll see photos from those later in this post.
The LI Retro staff is great and I’m honored to know them. Sunday morning, I met up with staff member Ryan Shapiro and he took this selfie of us:
Thank you, as always, Ryan.
PHOTOS WITH GUESTS AND CANDID PHOTOS OF THEIR TABLES
John Lester (Gamester81)
John is among the first on YouTube with a channel devoted to video games and collecting. Beyond that, he started Game On Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April. He is the co-owner of CollectorVision Games and developed their Sydney Hunter series. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is the first in that series available on modern consoles.
I got a photo with John after his The Evolution of Retro Collecting panel.
Check out his LI Retro vlog:
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
Pat and Ian have been a fixture at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo since 2019, and I never miss their panel, recorded live for their Completely Unnecessary Podcast (a.k.a. CU Podcast). Like John Lester, Pat Contri’s YouTube journey began in 2008 with his Pat the NES Punk series, a fictionalized take on his life as a video game fan and collector. Pat’s YouTube channel also includes Flea Market Madness (sometimes featuring Frank, a fellow New Jersey transplant in San Diego), The Video Game Years retrospective, the aforementioned CU Podcast in video form, and the Not So Common Podcast with Alex Faciane.
Alongside the many Charlie Brown/Peanuts Christmas TV specials, it’s an annual tradition of mine to watch Pat the NES Punk Christmas episodes every December. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the first two are the most sentimental. Incidentally, I can’t look at R.O.B., the original face of the NES, without hearing the Punch-Out!! opponent “voice.”
A big component of this year’s LI Retro was print media’s role in video game preservation. Pat’s Ultimate Nintendo series does its part. I have been a loyal reader since the Guide to the NES Library, which I bought from Pat (along with Pat the NES Punk DVD sets) in 2019. I helped fund Guide to the SNES Library later that year and last year, the latest book (as seen behind Ian, me, and Pat): Guide to the N64 Library. Pat, Ian, and an all-star lineup of reviewers break down every release for Nintendo’s first three home consoles. I used the Ultimate Nintendo app after each day of LI Retro to add any NES pickups to my collection. (Buy Ultimate Nintendo books here.)
Thank you to Kristen for taking this photo:
I returned the favor by having Kristen pose with Pat and Ian:
Adam Koralik
Sunday afternoon, “Mike Camera” and Adam Koralik met a third time. (That’s my server name on his Discord.) Adam’s trusty Sega Pluto prototype was part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit and he was more than happy to discuss it with attendees and have them try out its few playable games.
And of course, I had to get a selfie:
More exhibit photos can be found in part two of this year’s recap.
Matthew Sussman
While I did not meet actor Matthew Sussman, the original English language voice of Meowth in the Pokémon anime, he was a big draw, as seen in this Saturday photo.
I learned from an attendee in line outside the museum Sunday morning that Matthew is a fellow photographer, also in the Canon ecosystem. His camera of choice is the EOS R6 Mark II.
Ryan Burger
Ryan is the publisher of Old School Gamer Magazine, a literal mom-and-pop operation, at least at conventions. On staff at LI Retro were his wife Becky (who took the photo below), and their daughters Paige (the manager) and Rachel.
Ryan graciously gifted me with Old School Gamer Magazine Issue 46, which I held in our Sunday morning photo. You’ll see it again among the pickups in part three. Ryan was part of the third Saturday panel I attended: The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation. One of Ryan’s fellow panelists was…
Leonard Herman
I remain grateful to The Immortal John Hancock for introducing me to Leonard Herman at their joint 2018 panel. It inspired me to buy Phoenix IV and many other books. I have become good friends with Lenny and his table manager Patrick Wong, and a fixture at any panel Lenny is part of. (If I got the title wrong, either of you can let me know and I’ll edit post haste.)
Lenny is putting the finishing touches on Phoenix 5, to be released in two volumes in 2026 via Jeremy Parish’s Press Run, a division of Limited Run Games. (Jeremy and two rotating Retronauts co-hosts rounded out Saturday’s print media panel.)
Lenny with Patrick Wong on Saturday:
Patrick took our photo on Sunday:
One of the books I bought two years ago was ABC to the VCS, and I think Lenny would be proud that I bought five Atari VCS/2600 games this year. I was inspired to do so because I sought out any games programmed by the quartet of…
Dan and Garry Kitchen, David Crane, John Van Ryzin
Regrettably, I was too shy to approach Dan, Garry, David, or John, but I bought Ghostbusters (designed by David, programmed for 2600 by Dan), Donkey Kong (programmed for 2600 by Garry), and Pitfall! (by David). I couldn’t find H.E.R.O., designed by John. And because of my shyness, I didn’t buy any of their new games made for the 2600.
The new games, by Audacity Games, included:
- Circus Convoy (by David Crane and Garry Kitchen)
- Casey’s Gold (by Dan Kitchen; in second photo above)
- Alien Abduction (by John Van Ryzin)
Dan and Garry Kitchen, and David Crane are seated from left to right. John Van Ryzin is standing in the right corner of the photo. 
I forget if Dan Kitchen or Ryan Burger was playing Casey’s Gold in this candid photo Sunday morning.
That takes care of the guest photos. Photos with fellow attendees are coming up after a look at the quartet of panels I saw.
PANELS
Saturday Panel 1, 10:30-11:30 AM
Panel Room 2 (now upstairs in The Sperry Classroom)
John Lester (Gamester81)
The Evolution of Retro Collecting: From Hobby to Industry
Saturday Panel 2, 12-1PM
Main Theatre
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
CU Podcast Live!
The main topic for this edition of The CU Podcast was this video by Phil1Up Collects:
Next on the agenda, NES trivia:
I got the first question right: Which game was released for the NES licensed, unlicensed, and licensed again? I raised my hand and answered “Pac-Man.” I was right, and earned a sticker. As a supporter of The Gaming Historian (and yes, I read a quote in a video), I chose a GH Patreon supporter sticker to go with the one I have from my days as a supporter.
Alex and Daniel Greenberg in the audience:
Q&A:
As usual, I had a question: playing off the Gaming Historian sticker, I asked if Pat or Ian had been in touch with Norman Caruso since he announced last April that he was giving up pursuing the YouTube channel full time. Great news: Norm is still creating. He co-hosts An Old Timey Podcast with his wife Kristin.
Pat was surprised that we went the entire Q&A session without invoking the ill-fated vaporware known as the Intellivision Amico.
As of publication on August 21, the full episode is up, with the Phil1Up Collects video discussion heard starting at 1:15:30. NES trivia and the Q&A are not included. I will update with video clips when posted.
9/29 UPDATE: Sorry for the delay. There is one video and here it is:
Saturday Panel 3, 2:30-3:30 PM
Panel Room 2
The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation, moderated by Luis Aguasvivas (NPR, Debug Magazine, member of New York Videogame Critics Circle)
Panelists: Leonard Herman, Ryan Burger (Old School Gamer Magazine); Retronauts podcast host Jeremy Parish (Limited Run Games’ Press Run division, Video Works YouTube series and corresponding books [NES Works, SNES Works, Virtual Boy Works, SG-1000 Works]), rotating co-hosts Kevin Bunch (independent researcher, Atari Archive website and YouTube channel, author of Atari Archive Volume 1: 1977-78) and Brian Clark (translator, author of Gameplay Harmonies)
One other tidbit from this panel is Jeremy Parish lamenting that his early 2000s articles for now-defunct websites cannot be accessed because they weren’t archived.
I devoted most of my Sunday to photographing the exhibits and freeplay areas, buying any games I didn’t buy on Saturday, mingling further with guests, and actually playing freeplay games for the first time in years. (Oh, and I bought fried ravioli from a food truck; another first for me.)
So, the one panel I saw that day had to be Lenny’s.
Sunday Panel, 3-4PM
Panel Room 2
Leonard Herman
The History of the History of Videogames
9/29 UPDATE: Leonard posted video of his panel. (Of course, you see me front and center snapping away.)
PHOTOS WITH/OF FELLOW ATTENDEES
My friend Timothy (a.k.a. Sho):
Timothy and C.J. (I forget which vendor she was with):
Daniel Greenberg (Winterion Game Studios):
Daniel and his wife Alex:
Anthony and two of his friends:
I can’t say no to a photo op if someone asks, and I was more than happy to honor Anthony’s requests.
That is the end of post one. Head to part two for a tour of the marketplace and exhibits. Part three features a conclusion, and pickups photos.
I’ll leave you with photos taken before I left for home on Saturday and before I walked back into the museum on Sunday.
SJFS 2025 Night 1 recap May 15, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Food, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Technology, TV, Video Games.add a comment
Friday, May 2, was the first of two nights of the 22nd annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department. (6/17 NOTE: This was the 22nd anniversary, but the 21st overall. In spite of that, I am following the branding and referring to this as the 22nd annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars.)
In recent posts, I’ve tried my best to cut back on the diary aspect of my recaps and focus on the events. So, I’ll continue that trend in this recap and the one for Saturday, May 3.
Like last year (recaps here and here), I had minimal anxiety leading up to showtime at 8PM. I began packing (and charging camcorder batteries) on Thursday, May 1, and was all set by early Friday afternoon. My parents and I left Wantagh for Milford at 12:23 PM and we reached the Hampton Inn parking lot in less than two hours (2:16).
In addition to my laptop, mirrorless camera, pair of camcorders, tripods, and all other accessories, I brought a Nintendo Switch and a third party dock (with HDMI cable). I played games on that in handheld mode to pass the time in the car, and then in docked mode in my hotel room TV after check-in. This is when I wasn’t on my laptop, of course.
Pasquale Pizza was again the place for dinner on Friday for me and my parents where we shared a meatball pizza pie.
We stopped back at Hampton Inn for an hour, and then it was off to Veterans Memorial Auditorium at the Parsons Complex. I was in the door around 7:15 PM and, after buying three 50/50 raffle tickets (SPOILER: I lost, and would lose with another set of 3 on Saturday), I got my event tickets (one per night) from Michelle at the will call/merchandise table.
Then, I made a beeline for the orchestra pit and began unpacking my equipment.
For photos, I use a Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens. This year, I added a Speedlite 430 EX II flash attachment for pictures of the audience. 1/100 shutter speed and ISO 2000 works for a well-lit stage, but extra illumination was necessary off stage. Only one of the two 128GB SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I SDXC cards inserted is required for the amount of photos I take.
Ever since WCWP Homecoming Weekend last September, I have used a pair of Panasonic HC-X1500 camcorders. The main (“A”) camcorder has a VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II attached, and is connected to a Magnus VT-300 tripod, perfect for all the panning and zooming required. The secondary (“B”) camcorder, intended for a static wide shot, had no attachments and an Amazon Basics tripod. Each camcorder has one 256GB SanDisk SD card (same model as for the camera).
I’m still using the 6×9 stenographer notebook I got at the Milford CVS two years ago to write down the set list, house band members, headliners, and any other necessary notes.
Joining me down in the orchestra pit were fellow photographers Katherine Gilraine, Kenny Combs, Andrew James, and Ron Hancox. It’s Kat’s birthday as I write this sentence on Tuesday, May 13, and it was Kat who sent me down the interchangeable lens camera path in 2012.
I also said hello to Jay Dobbins, Judy Raphael, Mark and Phyllis Abrams, Diane Roth and her partner Rich, and Hap Carpenter. Friday, May 2, was his birthday.
(Okay, that was still a long preamble, but not as long as last year.)
8:00 arrived and Kevin McCabe bid us “good evening”:
Warming us up were the Jonathan Law High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by David Pelaggi.
The first song had an alto sax lead: “Soul Chicken,” by Kris Berg, not to be confused with Kris Bergh from Herb Alpert’s new Tijuana Brass. 
The Jonathan Law ensemble’s second song was “Slow Dancing,” led by a flautist (and vocals from the horn section). 
Mr. Pelaggi: “Thank you so, so much. Thank you for having us tonight. Thank you, Jay, for putting this together and doing this every year for the Milford school systems; particularly, the music department. We appreciate it. You wouldn’t see so many of the instruments on stage without this event that happens every year. So, big shoutout to Jay. Thank you so much. We appreciate you having us.”
Once the stage crew removed the chairs and Kevin McCabe introduced the headliners and band, Jay Rowe came on stage with opening remarks.
Jay led the way on keyboards:
Friday’s headliners were Jackiem Joyner on alto sax:
Nelson Rangell on alto sax (plus flute, piccolo, and whistling, which you’ll see later):
Peter White on guitar:
…and Timmy Maia on vocals:
The house band had Trever Somerville on drums (and even vocals for one song):
Andy Abel on guitar:
…and Dave Anderson on bass:
SET LIST (updated with videos on 6/19/25)
1. There She Goes (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Groove Reflections (2021)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
2. Take Me There (Jackiem Joyner)
Originally heard on: Lil’ Man Soul (2009)
Featured musician: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
3. I’m Waiting for You (Jackiem Joyner)
Originally heard on: Lil’ Man Soul (2009)
Featured musician: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
4. Tidal Wave (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: By Light (2019)
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
5. Gratitude (Nelson Rangell)
2023 single
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
6. Can We Talk (Jackiem Joyner) (Tevin Campbell cover)
Featured musician: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
7. Promenade (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Promenade (1993)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
8. Catalonia (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Light of Day (2025)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Nelson Rangell (flute)
9. Mornin’ (Timmy Maia) (Al Jarreau cover)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (vocals), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
10. I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Timmy Maia) (Hall & Oates cover)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (vocals), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
11. Beautiful Seduction (Jackiem Joyner)
Originally heard on: Touch (2019)
Featured musicians: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax), Peter White (guitar)
12. Bueno Funk (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Glow (2001)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
Included the James Bond sunglasses bit, audience participation for vocal scat and Bob Marley’s (The Wailers) “Get Up, Stand Up” chorus
13. Bright (Peter White) (tribute to Wayman Tisdale)
Originally heard on: Good Day (2009)
Featured musician: Peter White (guitar)
50/50 RAFFLE ($1,000 pot) (won by Carolyn)
14. Sonora (Nelson Rangell) (Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: Destiny (1995), My American Songbook, Vol. 1 (2005)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (vocal percussion intro, whistling, piccolo), Peter White (guitar)
15. What is Hip? (Timmy Maia) (Tower of Power cover)
Featured musician: Timmy Maia (vocals)
16. Tennessee Whiskey (Trever Somerville) (cover of Chris Stapleton interpretation of David Allan Coe song)
Featured musicians: Trever Somerville (vocals, drums), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
17 (Finale). Right Place, Wrong Time (Jay Rowe) (Dr. John cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone; Jay Rowe (vocals, keyboards)
This is the part with photo galleries of each musician, starting with Jay Rowe:
Nelson Rangell on alto sax:
I didn’t get any close-ups of Nelson on flute during “Catalonia,” so we’ll jump to “Sonora.”
Whistling:
Piccolo:
Whistling while holding piccolo:
The “Bueno Funk” James Bond bit:
That bit originated at an early 2000s live gig when saxophonist Richard Elliot dubbed Peter “the James Bond of smooth jazz.”
Trever Somerville:
Andy Abel:
…and Dave Anderson:
I’d take many more photos of Dave on Saturday, but less of Trever. Such is the nature of documenting live events.
On to medium shots, starting with Jackiem and Andy:
Jackiem and Peter:
Nelson and Peter:
Flute on “Catalonia“:
Whistling and piccolo on “Sonora”:
Timmy and Nelson:
Peter and Trever:
Now, wide shots, like this one from “Tidal Wave”:
“Bueno Funk”:
True to my word, I used the speedlight for audience photos. Here they are dancing to Timmy’s cover of “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)“:
Peter’s “Get Up, Stand Up” tangent during “Bueno Funk”:
The standing ovation after “Sonora”:
The 50/50 raffle (won by Carolyn):
Jay and Deborah Rowe kissed (after I said “do it again!”) 
The winning ticket 
Carolyn received her reward
“Tennessee Whiskey” (David Allan Coe song popularized by Chris Stapleton a la Etta James):
The finale was “Right Place, Wrong Time,” a Dr. John song, with vocals by John “Jay” Rowe!
The end:
Thanks to Andrew James for taking the meet-and-greet photos below. Here I am with Jackiem Joyner:
…and Peter White:
Peter signed my copy of Light of Day with seagull sketches to match the cover photo’s beach setting. Nice touch.
On the way out to the parking lot, I said hello to Jay Rowe’s mother Mia DiStasi. The title of Jay’s 2006 song (from Red, Hot and Smooth) is apt: “Everyone Loves Mia.”
When I got back to my hotel room at Hampton Inn, I unloaded all the photos and videos to my laptop. I would winnow down the photos in the morning and use Advanced Renamer to quickly change the remaining filenames.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/21/24, 12AM (Homecoming Weekend) October 4, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, smooth jazz, Video Games.add a comment
Other posts: 9/20 2PM live show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The prerecorded edition of Instrumental Invasion for WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at midnight on Saturday, September 21, eight hours after the live show concluded.
Again, let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way before the behind-the-scenes details.
Just before my unscheduled Twitch stream on Tuesday, September 3, Homecoming Weekend co-coordinator Jeff Kroll called to ask if I could do record a second show to air in the early mornings on September 21 or 22. It was to be a three-hour show, the first time hosting a three-hour since I filled in for Martin Phillips on Thursday Night Jazz on October 29, 2009.
Since I had used up my 60-year musical journey format on the live show, this prerecord would adhere to the segment formats I used when Instrumental Invasion aired weekly. As a refresher, the final version of those segment formats was:
- 1984 and earlier
- 1985-97
- 1998-2009
- 2010-20
- 2021-present
To make things easier, I recycled songs (and one whole set!) from various weekly shows when creating the playlist on September 4. Annotations and the script draft were adapted from original annotations and scripts, except for songs I’d never played before. I wrote new material for those. Annotations continued into the 5th while the script was drafted from the 4th to the morning of the 6th.
Inspired four of my early Twitch streams before the push to video gaming, I streamed recording sessions on Twitch from September 6 to 8. All the while I had no idea when the show would air, though I assumed it would air Sunday morning. I don’t regret the “Friday” references despite the show airing mere hours after I was live. One pickup was seen on stream on the 8th, a slower reading of hour 2’s first talk break. Another pickup was done on the morning of the 9th prior to submission lest anyone think the Casiopea-P4 song I played was stylized as “Dreamers’ Dream” rather than “Dreamer’s Dream.” The show featured three songs by Casiopea from their 1st, 2nd, and P4 eras; along with two by T-Square (one as The Square). (I also played one song each by Casiopea and T-Square in the live show; back-to-back, at that.)
Upon completion, the Adobe Audition multitrack session looked like this:
For good measure, I present the three recording session Twitch streams at 75x speed set to “Mid-Manhattan,” the second song of the show.
And that’s the story of this show. Now, get back to the main recap, picking up with Magick Mike Hendryx at 3AM.
2024 Long Island Retro Gaming expo recap: touring the expo August 21, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Computer, History, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
If you haven’t viewed the first recap post yet, click here. Skip ahead to the third recap here.
The vendor marketplace photos were taken both days while the exhibits were all taken Sunday.
Let the tour begin.
FIRST FLOOR
Walking in:
Vendor Marketplace:
First floor artwork:
First floor signs:
Hangar Arcade:
PC Freeplay:
Console Freeplay:
Dreamcast Indie Section:
PokéLab:
The Hall of Oddities:
Vintage ads:
Returning to civilization after nearly getting lost on the first floor:
SECOND FLOOR
I briefly caught up with LI Retro staff member George Portugal while walking this floor.
High Score Challenge
Indie/Homebrew Showcase
Gaming Console Timeline
The Arcade Age Exhibit
Other things on the second floor:
A view from the stairs to the third floor:
THIRD FLOOR
25 Years of the Sega Dreamcast
That’s the end of the tour. All that remains is the third recap post with a conclusion and pickups photos, including what I picked up after LI Retro.
2024 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo: introduction, guests, mishaps, panels August 21, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Aviation, Books, Computer, Education, Game Shows, History, Internet, Media, Personal, Photography, Podcast, Radio, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
Feel free to skip ahead to the second post (touring the expo) or third post (conclusion and pickups).
INTRODUCTION
2024 was my sixth year at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, held in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on the right end of Museum Row in East Garden City. This was also the first year that Flagstar bank had naming rights. That’s evident in the first photo below, taken as my mom pulled off Charles Lindbergh Boulevard at 9:45 AM on Saturday, August 10.
LI Retro, the expo’s shorthand, launched Friday, August 9, at 4PM, but since the expansion to three days (or 2 1/2) in 2022, I’ve forgone the Friday leg.
Tickets went on sale all the way back at the end of December and I was quick to secure my weekend badge, even though it would be months before attendees even knew who the guests would be.
Once announced, Long Island Retro Gaming Expo’s 2024 guest list was a mix of mainstays, newcomers, and returnees. Naturally, author/publisher Leonard Herman, Mark Baer (middle child of videogame pioneer Ralph Baer), Frank Cifaldi (Video Game History Foundation) and Jeremy Parish (Retronauts, Limited Run Games) would be there. G Gracin (G to the Next Level) returned for the second year in a row, this time with Greg Sewart (Generation 16). Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson were back for their fourth consecutive LI Retro. (There was a gap between their first and second years due to COVID postponements in 2020 and ’21.) The Immortal John Hancock was back for the first time since 2018. (I met Lenny Herman through the panel he and John co-hosted that year.) And it was the second appearance of Coury Carlson and Marc “Try4ce (‘triforce‘)” Duddleson of My Life in Gaming, having first appeared in 2019.
If you remember my disappointment last year when spotting Clint Basinger (LGR) walking through the vendor marketplace after the expo while editing photos, I was pleased to see he was a guest this year!
Two other notable guests were Warren Davis, the creator of Q*Bert “and other classic video arcade games” (as his book title notes), and legendary Nintendo marketer Gail Tilden. I was not able to attend Warren’s Saturday evening panel, though I met him at his table in the morning as you’ll see in that portion of this post. Gail had a free-form panel on Saturday evening and an interview panel on Sunday, the latter of which I attended.
Ahead of Saturday morning, I packed a printout of my badge retrieval code, my Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II, TASCAM DR-05X, and stenographer pad with pen. (I never used those last two.) I was anxious that my compulsive nature would lead to as many photos as last year. The bad news is I was right. The good news is the total over three cameras (you’ll read the why of that quantity later in the post) was 697 photos. This time, however, 617 were chosen to spread out over three blog posts, not counting scans or photos taken after Sunday.
Since last year’s Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, I have begun streaming on Twitch at least four days a week. Gaming is the channel’s main focus with occasional “media production” streams where I work on radio shows or edit photos from events like this. I spent a whole week editing photos in April after returning from Smooth Jazz for Scholars. While the initial plan was to do the expo photo editing off stream and go on hiatus until I was finished, I opted instead for occasional streams to report on my editing progress and show all games and merchandise I picked up. Thanks to a quicker editing process, only two of those streams were required before returning to gaming. The first stream – Wednesday, August 14 – dovetailed into saving smaller versions of watermarked photos (“© Mike Chimeri” on the lower left) edited that day. And with only 96 photos left to edit going into Saturday, August 17, that became the sole photo editing stream.
ARRIVING AT THE MUSEUM
Several paragraphs ago, I said I arrived at the Flagstar Cradle of Aviation Museum at 9:45 AM Saturday. After my mom dropped me off in the parking lot to the left of the roundabout, I took an establishing shot of the museum, unaware that my folded badge code printout was visible in the bottom left. So, I took another shot Sunday morning:
The photos in this gallery are from Saturday.
On the way to the guest table area, I ran into Timothy (a.k.a. Sho), a fellow My Life in Gaming fan. We met in person in 2019 and I had to get a selfie this time:
GUEST TABLE PHOTOS
Photos in this section were taken Saturday and Sunday. You can tell which day by what we’re wearing.
Warren Davis
Warren and I didn’t talk much – so, no magic tricks – but I introduced myself and gladly bought a copy of Creating Q*bert for him to sign. I told him on Sunday that I bought a copy of Q*bert’s NES port in his honor. He thanked me for that. (More on pickups in the third post.)
Clint Basinger (LGR)
It was honor to meet Clint in person. As I told him, I’ve been a fan of LGR for years, and that we both have the distinction of reading quotes in Gaming Historian videos. (I was in The Story of Link’s Awakening, per a blog post.) We commiserated over Norman Caruso’s April announcement that he was stepping back from pursuing his YouTube channel full time (but not retiring). (Norm went out in style with his magnum opus, The Story of The Oregon Trail, a video years in the making.) I told Clint that I unknowingly photographed him last year and thought about printing a copy for him to sign, but opted not to.
8/23 UPDATE: Today, that future video became a present video.
Thinking Clint would be at the expo on Sunday, as well, I brought my PlayStation 3 copy of Duke Nukem Forever to sign. Alas, he had left after Saturday.
A recent LGR video made me think of my psychologist of 27 years, known to patients like me as Brad. In the mid ’90s, Brad had an Acer Aspire. If I remember correctly, it was the same color as Clint’s. (Brad retired in 2018 and I’ve had another therapist since 2019.)
9/6 UPDATE: Clint went into greater detail about LI Retro in the vlog below.
The Immortal John Hancock
I reacquainted myself with John on Saturday – fresh from Retrocon in São Paulo, Brazil! (John’s Retrocon vlog) – and proudly bought the Genesis port of his original game, Block ‘Em Sock ‘Em, seen in the second photo.
Check out John’s LI Retro vlog. He saw exhibits that I missed, and thus won’t be seen in my second post.
Give Adam Koralik a look, too.
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
I was not a fan of either Pat or Ian prior to their LI Retro debut in 2019, but I got to know Ian and his wife Vani at their Luna Video Games table, placed between the My Life in Gaming table and Pat’s table. I worked up the courage to meet Pat, buy Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library and all DVD volumes of early episodes of Pat the NES Punk. That led to an interest in Flea Market Madness and The Video Game Years, and The CU (Completely Unnecessary Podcast). I was even hyped for Pat’s next Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library. I wrote reviews for both guides after reading them later in 2019 (NES, SNES).
So, of course, I was thrilled to see them again this year, and ask a question for the third year in a row at their panel/podcast recording.
9/2 UPDATE: The latest Flea Market Madness video is embedded below photos of the CU Podcast panel.
G Gracin and Greg Sewart didn’t have a table, but did have a Saturday panel. (Check the “Panels” section of this post for photos.) I posed with them in this photo on Sunday.
I also got the Sonic selfie treatment, in digital form…
…and in thermal print form. I scanned that (left) and used Photoshop’s photo restoration filter to limit the vertical banding (right).
G posted a few YouTube Shorts at LI Retro:
[The first short was removed in 2025.]
There really is so much to see at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. John Hancock and G saw things that I missed.
I really liked Greg Sewart’s Ridge Racer series retrospective:
I’ve had Ridge Racer 7 since I bought a slim PS3 back in 2018. The video made me seek out Ridge Racer 6 for Xbox 360 when scouring the marketplace at the end of each day.
Since you saw Daniel and Alex Greenberg (Winterion Game Studios) in Pat and Ian’s photo gallery, here is a photo Alex took of Daniel and me after Pat’s CU Podcast Live panel.
Let’s skip ahead one table to the My Life in Gaming duo of Coury Carlson and Mark “Try4ce” Duddleson:
I spent a lot of down time at the MLiG and Leonard Herman tables (see below). Coury and I talked about photography, while Try and I talked about Backloggery‘s recent 17th anniversary celebration, my multiple raids to the Backloggery Twitch channel, and how I rightly kept dejitter off on my Analogue Nt Mini Noir. Try neglected to do that in the MLiG review of the console back in 2020. (Source: Comment to Analogue Reddit post.) Having dejitter off allowed me to connect my Monoprice VGA-to-composite/S-Video adapter, run a composite cable to my sister’s old Durabrand DWT1304 CRT TV (a Funai-manufactured TV sold by Walmart), and play NES Zapper games in my last two Twitch streams before LI Retro.
9/2 UPDATE: Coury and Try ended August with a new My Life in Gaming video: the second in their Multi-Games Compilations series. It’s worth watching for Try’s LI Retro t-shirt alone.
We round out this segment with the Father of Videogame History, Leonard Herman, joined by Patrick Wong and Mark Baer (middle child of videogame pioneer Ralph Baer).
I spelled video game as one word because that’s how Ralph Baer spelled it and how Lenny spells it.
Leaving the guest tables behind, it’s panel time!
PANELS
Saturday Panel 1, 11AM-12PM
Panel Room 2
Mark Baer and Leonard Herman
Ralph Baer: His Creative Life in Electronic, Videogames and More
This strayed close to the 2023 presentation, which was the last panel I attended. So, I changed my photographic approach. Before the photos, here are the videos shown during the panel:
Before the other panels, a diversion.
Mishaps
It was in between the Ralph Baer panel and the CU Podcast panel that I accidentally knocked my camera off a food court table, breaking my Canon EOS R7’s RF-S 18-150mm lens. The ring attachment stayed on, but the rest of the lens broke off.
It was irrecoverable. The only solution was to buy a replacement lens once I got home, and with a 5-year lens accident warranty. I’m covered if history repeats itself, God forbid.
The lens and UV filter arrived Wednesday morning and a test photo was successful.
I took the rest of Saturday’s photos on my iPhone 13 Pro. Then, Sunday, I shot in RAW for the first time on my Nikon D5500 with a Nikkor 18-300mm lens.
Unfortunately, Sunday had another problem. Patrick Wong from Leonard Herman’s table prepped to take a photo of me with Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson. Ian sprained his ankle and was only at LI Retro that day. After I took the photo of Pat and Ian together, I foolishly chose to take a photo with them to the right of Pat’s table. Ian’s cup of coffee was perched on the right end of that table. As I turned to get into position for the photo, Ian warned “watch the backpack!” The warning was in vein. My bulky backpack knocked the cup over and it spilled on the upper right end of the table. The photo op was aborted, paper towels were summoned, and adjacent merchandise was checked for damage. As all that happened, I felt tremendous guilt and shame. I thought I’d become persona non grata to both of them, and God forbid, would be sued. Thankfully, none of that was true. No merch was damaged, the spill was quickly disposed of, and Pat used hand sanitizer to further clean the affected area. Then, we retreated to a safe spot away from the table for our photo op. Pat and Ian were all smiles in the photo while I was too drained to fully smile. They both assured me everything was fine and not to worry. That’s when I headed to the main theatre for the Gail Force panel.
After that panel, LI Retro staff member Ryan Shapiro gifted me with an expo backpack that contained a pin, sticker, 2024 program, and Asteroids-themed t-shirt. I’ll save the contents photo for the third post, but I’ll show the backpack here, too.
Thank you very much, Ryan.
Now, back to Saturday’s panels.
Saturday, 12:30-1:30 PM
Main Theatre
Pat Contri with Frank Cifaldi (filling in for Ian Ferguson)
CU Podcast Live!
The topic was the sudden end to GameStop’s Game Informer magazine, and the bizarre public relations statement accompanying its demise. (Reactions were compiled in this Resetera thread.)
When the theatre was opened to Q&A, only one person had an Amico-related question. Mine focused on Pat’s Wednesday Twitch streams:
Aside from the podcasts, you’re also on Twitch every Wednesday, watching retro commercials. How did you- What made you decide to go that route instead of streaming games?
Pat responded that it spun off from his NES Charity Marathon (origin of the “Buh-lack Box!” catchphrase), and that he felt relaxed and nostalgic watching things from the past. The TV commercials or promos allow him to recall moments from his past. That led to a discussion about the significance of preserving these moments in the same way video game media is preserved. I chimed in with radio airchecks as an example, but I might not have been heard.
As of publication, the podcast is not up in audio or segmented video form. There is, however, Flea Market Madness Volume 49, recorded on Father’s Day (June 16). It features the other Frank, as seen in the thumbnail.
3:51 PM UPDATE: There is audio of the Game Informer discussion, but not the Q&A, starting at the 1:17:25 mark of the latest podcast.
10/28 UPDATE: Video of Pat and Frank’s discussion went up six days after this post was published (August 27).
Saturday, 2PM-3PM
Panel Room 2
G Gracin and Greg Sewart
Growing Up Sega: A Trip Down Sega’s Console Timeline
After browsing and buying from the vendor marketplace, I went home.
I returned a little closer to 10AM on Sunday morning. I still had to wait in line for a bag check; I didn’t mind that.
In lieu of a panel I had in mind at 11AM, I re-photographed areas that were blurry on Saturday, took photos of vendors I missed on Saturday, then toured the exhibits on all three floors. Look for those in the second post.
Sunday, 12:30-1:30 PM
Main Theatre
Gail Tilden, interviewed by Jeremy Parish (Retronauts, Limited Run Games) and Lucas Thomas (Nintendo Force magazine founder)
Gail Force: An Intimate Interview with a Nintendo Legend
The interview initially covered Gail’s involvement in the Nintendo Entertaintment System’s North American launch, beginning in the New York Metro Area in October 1985. Among the locations chosen to carry the NES were Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. At some events, attendees could play Baseball against either New York Mets pitcher Ron Darling or center fielder Mookie Wilson.
Then, the topic switched to her tenure with Nintendo Power magazine. Lucas asked the audience to give a “whoo!” when their first issue was displayed on the projection screen above them.
Watch the video to see if I misremembered anything. Then, see the photos that I kept bending over to take.
Then, it was quickly off to Panel Room 2 for my last panel of the weekend.
Sunday, 2PM-3PM
Panel Room 2
Leonard Herman
The History of the History of Videogames
This was the place to be: a celebration of a man who blazed the trail for videogame history. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the original Phoenix: The Fall and Rise of Videogames.
Ahra wanted a photo with Lenny beforehand:
Then came a prologue from John Hancock:
Well said, John.
The stage is yours, Leonard.
Upon closing, Lenny opened the floor to Q&A:
The funniest question and answer came via Mark Baer:
LENNY: Yes, sir.
MARK: Do you have a favorite historical figure in videogame history, by any chance?
LENNY: Yeah. Nolan Bushnell.
[audience laughs]
If anyone doesn’t know, that’s Ralph Baer’s son. That’s his son, Mark. He’s a troublemaker.
MARK: You could answer honestly.
After a few more questions, the panel ended with a round of applause.
I had to get a photo of Leonard Herman, Frank Cifaldi, and John Hancock:
Ian Ferguson dropped by after the panel to say hello:
That is the end of post one. Head to post two for a tour of the marketplace and exhibits. Post three features a conclusion, pickups photos, and a postscript with post-expo pickups.
2023 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo recap: conclusion and pickups September 1, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Baseball, Books, Education, Football, Game Shows, Golf, History, Hockey, Internet, Japanese, Language, Media, Personal, Photography, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
If you haven’t seen them yet, read the first post here and second post here.
Sunday, August 13
After my last Long Island Retro Gaming Expo panel of the weekend, I made my way to the vendor marketplace and searched for games I didn’t have that were $20 or less. I bargained with each vendor, only spending close to $200. That’s the least I’ve spent since my first year (2017). The bulk of my purchases were for the Nintendo Entertainment System, my first video game console.
Satisfied, I exited the Cradle of Aviation Museum and waited for my mom to pick me up.
Exiting 
The opposite view from the establishing shot in post 1 
Cumulus clouds against the clear blue, sunny sky 
The American flag (I captioned the other two, so why not this?) 
My bag of combined pickups, led by the infamous Deadly Towers; I finally got it
Monday, August 14 and beyond
My attempt to make up for Saturday night’s severe storm-shortened sleep was unsuccessful. I woke up early Monday morning after five or six hours of sleep. Then, I went outside to look at the stars.
Back inside, as the sun rose, I unpacked the pickups from my paper bag and photographed them.
We’ll start with merchandise (and my badges):
- Pat Contri: CU Podcast pin, Pixelated Pat pin
- John Riggs: Ghostbusters Special Edition ROM hack
- Leonard Herman: ABC to the VCS: A Director of Software for the Atari 2600, Bill Kunkel‘s Confessions of the Game Doctor
- Mark W. Baer (gifted from him): copies of his father Ralph H. Baer‘s patent and of the Magnavox Odyssey licensing agreement between Magnavox, Atari and Sanders Associates
The front of the badges:
12 games for Nintendo Entertainment System:
- Athletic World (for Family Fun Fitness Pad/Power Pad)
- Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine
- Dance Aerobics (for Family Fun Fitness Pad/Power Pad)
- Deadly Towers
- Demon Sword
- Ms. Pac-Man (licensed release by Namco)
- Roger Clemens’ MVP Baseball
- Short Order/Eggsplode! (for Family Fun Fitness Pad/Power Pad)
- Star Voyager
- Strider
- Xenophobe
- Yoshi
Now, I have an NES Yoshi to go with the Game Boy version I’ve had since childhood. The Power Pad games and Star Voyager were the subjects of early Pat the NES Punk episodes (including one with Alison).
“Power Pad Fun!”, Part 1:
Part 2:
Deadly Towers got the Angry Video Game Nerd treatment (via fans’ script submissions):
Two for Super Nintendo:
The TV ads at launch tempted me into getting SimCity, but I never did. I haven’t even seen Judge Dredd the film.
Two Nintendo 64 games:
Another game show game for my collection – Jeopardy! for Nintendo DS:
One self-explanatory 3DS title – Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS:
Wrongly assuming the 3DS and Wii U Super Smash Bros. games were the same, I only bought for Wii U when I started collecting for the two consoles in 2017 (there’s that year again). Prior to LI Retro, I saw a Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Video Games video that set me straight (Japanese with English subtitles):
Good thing I found a copy from a vendor, eliminating the need to buy from Amazon.
And lastly, my first Sega CD game – Joe Montana’s NFL Football:
To quote the infamous TV ad (parodied here), I “still don’t have a Sega CD,” but after buying my first game Sunday afternoon, I bought 12 more games on eBay between Monday morning and Wednesday night. This included eight from four-game lots, and two Sonic CD variants. The complete list (in order of appearance):
- Lot 1: Ground Zero: Texas, Links: The Challenge of Golf, NFL’s Greatest: San Francisco vs. Dallas 1978-1993, Prize Fighter
- NHL ’94
- Sonic CD (not for resale pack-in)
- Lot 2: Ecco: The Tides of Time, Jeopardy!, NBA Jam, Tomcat Alley
- Mad Dog McCree
- Stellar-Fire
- Sonic CD (retail)
All the games on the shelf
Thank you for taking this photographic journey through the 2023 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. Until next year.
MikeChimeri.com 
