GreenAdder

I’m gonna get them toitles

GreenAdder — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:15:01 +0000

TMNT collection so far

I decided I was going to collect every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game available for every console. I’m not in a hurry to get this done, really. It’s more of a “background project” than anything else.

I’m particularly interested in completing the NES collection (only two more to go) before moving onto other systems. The only other Genesis game I need is “The Hyperstone Heist.” That system is sadly turtle-deficient.

TMNT Comics

I’ve also began collecting and reading the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot series from IDW. The series is a bit of a departure from any known origin story, but the changes still feel rather organic.

To summarize: It’s only been 15 months since the Turtles and Splinter were introduced to the ooze. A cat named “Old Hob” ran off with Raphael before their mutation, which led to him walking around as a vagrant for a while. Casey is a college student with an alcoholic dad. Also, Splinter and the four turtles are most likely reincarnations of Hamato Yoshi and his four sons, slain during feudal times.

It’s important to have hobbies. Now if only we could get Hostess to bring back those TMNT pies.

TRG FAQ

GreenAdder — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:10:25 +0000

The time is almost at hand! Tracking has begun on the new Running Gags EP at long last! Since I announced our mighty return, I’ve gotten the same questions by quite a few people. In the interest of efficiency, I’ll answer the most common ones here.

Q. Will the new Running Gags have a “Ramones-core” sound?
A. For the most part,no. I’ve always felt that it was a rather limiting sub-genre. There might be some influence creeping in here and there, but I wouldn’t say it dominates the album.

Q. What will the new tracks be about?
I’m trying to avoid the usual puerile humor. Above all, the leitmotif seems to be personal dealings, dichotomies, and that sort of thing.

Q. Will it be an EP, a full-length album, or something else?
We’re not sure yet. We’re sort of shooting from the hip. We don’t have an endgame in mind, really. As three busy guys, we’re just recording whenever we can get together. Anymore, that’s harder to come across.

Q. When will it be released?
A. I hate to come off like one of those jerks who says “it’ll be done when it’s done,” but sadly that’s the case. Sorry.

Halloween 2011

GreenAdder — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:47:13 +0000

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween. New treats (and one big trick) are coming soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Halloween 2011

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween. New treats (and one big trick) are coming soon. I’ll keep you posted.

The winner, and still champion

GreenAdder — Sun, 22 May 2011 04:04:25 +0000

I currently hold the “Audiosurf” world records for “Sub Zero (Chinese Ninja Warrior)” in all three difficulty settings. Naturally I used variants of the “Ninja” character to do so.

Why would I do such a thing? Because I’m a loony. That’s why.

Old-school renting

GreenAdder — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:44:39 +0000

Yale Electric

This image might look ancient, but it was taken April 15 2011. That’s right. Come to scenic Yale Michigan, where apparently you can still rent SNES, Genesis, and Sega CD games. Regrettably this appears to be false advertising. A trip into the store yielded nothing older than some games for the PlayStation 2.

But cheer up, retro-fans. The place still does have a wonderful assortment of old VHS tapes to go along with their DVDs and Blu-Rays.

More music

GreenAdder — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:26:14 +0000

This year, expect new releases from The Running Gags and Dead Is Punk.

Jason Felt and I are discussing a new Asbestos Felt release this summer. Maybe we can even get a real drummer this time. Or at the very least, maybe I’ll program more than two fills on the drum machine.

If I ever stop acting like Nathan Explosion and deleting project files, maybe a slow trickle of GreenAdder stuff will come out. I said maybe.

The Bender Joke

GreenAdder — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 06:31:45 +0000

The Running Gags are doing one song a week until we get sick of it, or until somebody forces us to stop. This is partly just so we can actually get some stuff done, but it’s also a way to pimp our Fiverr project – in which we will write, perform, and record a 30-second punk rock song on the topic of your choosing for $5 (we’re such sellouts).

Our first song is about a scene from “The Breakfast Club.” At first we were hesitant to do a song about a Brat Pack movie, being that 80′s nostalgia has to be treated carefully. Look at how many bands do “ironic” 80′s pop-song covers as a cheap way to earn fans, or constantly spew out 80′s references to the same end.

After spending a while mulling it over, we came to the conclusion that this wasn’t about 80′s nostalgia. It was about one of the great unfinished works of the postmodern age. What was the punchline to Bender’s joke? The world may never know.

For the foreseeable future, our songs will exist over at our Soundclick page.

Go give The Bender Joke a listen.

Insert Coin to Continue

GreenAdder — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:54:23 +0000

Wadhams House of Pizza

Just off the main drag of Wadhams Michigan exists “Wadhams House of Pizza,” a pizza and ice cream joint with a 50′s look and feel. The ice cream is certainly enjoyable and they do make a good pizza, but that’s not what I go there for, and it’s certainly not why I’m writing about it.

Past the pizza counter and ice cream stand, just beyond the dining area, there exists a small but satisfying game room just waiting to claim the quarters from your wallet. Having grown up the the heyday of arcades, I consider it one of the last safe-havens from arcade extinction.

Wadhams House of Pizza Interior

The first thing you’ll notice when you enter is the retro-50′s decor. In a lot of restaurants this can get overdone and tacky. Here, it seems to work nicely.

Coca-Cola signs adorn the walls and tables at every turn, with a small corner containing a handful of Pepsi decorations. The place has both Coke in bottles and Pepsi on tap, so it works.

They have the usual assortment of scoop ice creams (my personal favorite being Superman) and a good selection of pizza toppings and side dishes. They even host birthday parties for children, just like a pizza joint should.

Wadhams House of Pizza Game Room

And then there’s the game room. There’s a scene in “Clerks II” where Randall says he enjoys riding the Go-Karts because it “centers” him. I feel the same way about arcades. Just knowing there’s something like this within driving distance is a comforting thought. Call it “twenty-five cen

Wadhams House of Pizza Arcade Games

therapy.”

The game room is lit by a few florescent lights and one black light each side of the room, causing a nice glow to take over the place. This is also where I discovered that the yellow parts in Superman ice cream glow under black light – almost as if it had real Kryptonite in it. Shooting games seem to dominate the place, but there are a few nice surprises to be had.

Air Hockey

Of course, no arcade would be complete without an air hockey table. The one at Wadhams House of Pizza is in great condition. If it wasn’t for the light above that air hockey table, that arcade would be much darker inside.

Neo-Geo

The game room also features a two-slot Neo-Geo arcade machine running “Samurai Shodown” and “Bust a Move.” Maybe one day I can convince them to put in some other Neo-Geo games like “Magician Lord” or “Blue’s Journey.” But it’s always good to know that I can throw down with some “Samurai Shodown” on a moment’s notice.

CarnEvil

The real star attraction for me is a fully-functioning “CarnEvil” machine. I remember when this game was new. Something about blasting my way through a circus just appeals to me. Back in the day, this game must have sucked away a small fortune worth of arcade tokens. Now it’s back to claim all of my quarters, and it’s welcome to them.

Today my fiancée and I blasted our way through the entire game, stopping only so I could run to the change machine and get four more quarters to continue our assault. It felt good. It felt better than good. As I pointed my plastic shotgun at the screen, my belly full of pizza, I felt a strange calm wash over me.

For that little bit of time, however brief, I felt like I was “home.” The withering away of American arcades has been a sad thing to experience. But it doesn’t have to be. If you can find a place around you that has a game room – or if you have access to an arcade – then get over there. Drop a few bucks in quarters. It can be the cure for what ails you.

CarnEvil High Score

Getting the to the top of the high score list is also a good feeling.

No problems, only solutions

GreenAdder — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:38:21 +0000

GreenAdder visits the Grid

A very strange thing happened when I hooked my Kaossilator up to my Monotron in the back room of this old abandoned arcade. At least I think it was abandoned.

Korg Monotron

GreenAdder — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 21:35:23 +0000

I now have a Korg Monotron in my arsenal. It’s a palm-sized analog synth that can be either played with a finger or a stylus. It’s not just good as an instrument, but as an all-around noisemaker. Just in the few hours I’ve been playing with it, I’ve already made all sorts of retro science fiction noises with the little thing.

I’ll probably put a bigger report and some audio clips online later on, when I feel up to it.