Staff from The Strong explore the unique challenges of preserving Nutting Associates’ 1967 coin-operated game Computer Quiz and the reel of film inside.
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Play It Again: Enjoying Music Through the Ages
“I love songs!”
This short phrase is something I’ve been known to say (or occasionally shout) with great enthusiasm. Yes, I could simply say I love music, but that wouldn’t encompass all of those catchy little improvised (and largely a cappella) ditties made up with friends or family while driving, working, cooking, or whenever else inspiration may strike. The word “songs” seems more fitting given the broader creative terrain it covers. Not to mention, most people chuckle or at least crack […]
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Domestic Hobbies: The Search for Calm in Life’s Storms
“I knit so I don’t kill people.”
You can buy a mug, a tote bag, or a shirt with this phrase emblazoned on it. You can meet a handful of fellow knitters out on the town for World Wide Knit in Public Day or you can share your projects and patterns with the 5.5 million registered users of Ravelry, the social media site for knitters and crocheters. Surprised? You shouldn’t be: knitting, along with other “domestic hobbies,” is exceedingly popular, and […]
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Work vs. Play: Do I Even Call This Work?
An interesting dynamic exists between work and play. In my last blog, I discussed how domestic chores can be play. The work versus play issue came to mind recently since so much of what I do in my current job is playing (just don’t tell my boss that).
When it comes to a career, I never thought I would be someone who liked their job. It was called work for a reason. Before I knew any better, I envisioned finding something […]
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Go Greyhound!
From my childhood, I seem to recall an early TV advertising ditty that ended with: “Lucky us in a Greyhound bus!” Growing up in a village too small for Greyhound service, my introduction to the transportation line came from ads in magazines, newspapers, and television and from glimpses of Greyhound buses in movies, songs, and popular culture. It took me several bus rides during college and a wonderful donation to The Strong to appreciate Greyhound and its place in Americans’ […]
Video Games Showcase the Human Experience
Storytellers help listeners to connect to experiences. Current storytelling projects such as The Moth, Story Corps, and Human Library showcase human experience through various media platforms. Video games today demonstrate how storytelling continues to evolve. The format allows players to interpret the game and to make in-game decisions that affect the fate of the characters and the plot of the story. The video game industry has recently provided players with two games, The Novelist and Gone Home, that present an opportunity […]
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Derek Jeter: The “Star Power” of Play
Rabid fan that I am, and with spring training just finished, I knew baseball had to be my blog topic so I could talk about the coming season, Derek Jeter’s recent retirement announcement, and the power of his presence and his play. Yankee Captain since 2003, Jeter has been the face of his team for more than a decade. Not only has he been a key part of recent Yankee successes, he has also helped hold the game together during […]
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Realm Reborn: A Not-So-Final Fantasy
On September 22, 2010, game developer and publisher Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV), the latest addition to one of the top-grossing video game franchises ever created. This marked the second game in the series to be part of the massively-multiplayer online (MMO) genre. Almost immediately, negative responses from gamers and critics poured into the company, citing the game’s clunky interface, poor player economy, restrictive quest lines, and many other bugs and glitches that made the game nearly unplayable. In […]
Hercules: The Pinball Legend
In 1976, game designer Ron Halliburton of Arcade Engineering created a jumbo-sized pinball machine concept for the Bally Manufacturing Corporation. Bally created two prototypes for the electro-mechanical game they called Bigfoot and determined not to move it to production. Allan Reizman, Engineering Lab Supervisor at Bally, reported that the intense vibrations and stress the oversized components placed on the frame caused the game to shake itself apart. Yet, Halliburton’s former employee, Gene Lipkin, believed the game had potential. Bally sold […]
