Geek Chic; Deco Edition.

Good morning, Potpourri.  After my fourth or fifth submission to Dave S of fun web finds, he graciously said, and I heavily paraphrase, "[Do it your damned self!]"  From this point forth, if you see a post about gaming or Star Wars, there is a high probability that it's from me.  My network of Bothan spies runs far and wide.

While surfing the web for gaming info, I stumbled upon "How Did the Duck Hunt Gun Work?", a blogpost/article from Jan 2011.  That article alone made the geek in me smile with 80s 90s nostalgia and optics glee.  Lo and behold, gaming with light beams was done 66 years prior to my beloved Nintendo Zapper!  Embedded was a link to some fantastic early gaming geekery, the 1936 Seeburg Ray-O-Lite Rifle Range (not to be confused with Ray-o-Vac flashlight products also named Ray-o-Lite).  Seeburg made a variety of vending units, primarily jukeboxes.  I was simultaneously taken aback by the pre-computer, vacuum tube technological innovation combined with the craftsmanship of the late-deco wood case and gorgeous art in the game scene.  I am not a collector, but what I wouldn't give to have one of these consoles in my den!

And a little more research reveals that Seeburg sold conversion kits with different scenery and animals; bear, deer, raccoon, and rabbit.  Later models included more mundane cans on a fence (why shoot cans at home when you can show off to your buddies in a bar!) and, sigh, people (a classic gangster shootout, a chicken thief, and convict escaping from a chain gang).  There's even a custom one called "Shoot the Bartender."  Not sure I'd want that game in my bar.

PONG on your oscilloscope?  Check.  And now, from the Great Depression, optical shooting galleries.  Gaming + tech = awesome in any time period!

Happy Hour Chronicles, No. 4: Read All About It

In casting the happy hour net this week, the issue that stuck was an article on the retail travails of Laredo, Texas. It seems that Laredo, a city of over 200,000, has lost its last actual bookstore--a B. Dalton Bookseller in the Mall del Norte. Things are tough all over, so of course, CNN.com has elevated this minor event into a sign that Laredo will (continue to) spiral into some kind of cultural abyss. Naturally, I have a few relevant observations.

I think it's reasonable to surmise that there is a village of 200,000 people in China where the entire industrial base is dedicated to the production and distribution of yak dung.* Good people of Laredo, we're all about positive thinking here at the weekly happy hour. The Fates could be worse to you.

In addition, despite the foreboding tone of CNN's article, I thought it wise to look into the overall mood in Laredo by checking the city's promotional website. I was immediately heartened by the fact that Laredo's recent motto seems to have been "Gateway to Mexico." See how they cleverly turned their historic gateway to America image right on its head? Now that's a glass half full attitude that I can appreciate!

Unfortunately, I also spotted a crack in the cheery facade when I opened this open letter/cry for help from the Acting Director of the Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau. There's plenty of fodder here for a good editor, but it seems to hit a real nadir in the penultimate paragraph, where a stalwart effort to push the Gateway to Mexico theme takes an ill-advised turn into a gateway to Mexico's "harsh realities" and "great tragedy." That's not going to bring in the American Dental Association's Annual Session (this year in Orlando!).

In all actuality, citizens of Laredo, forget the whole B. Dalton incident. You won't miss it, as Amazon, Kindle 3, the Sony Reader, and the Apple tablet will quickly ease your suffering. What you really need is a cultural path forward, and here it is. To go with your lack of a bookstore, I note from your website that you have three minor/independent league sports franchises. This really throws off your athlete-to-geek ratio to a degree that no city could overcome. You need geeks and lots of them.

And if you're in town for happy hour this Friday, January 29, please report to Matchbox Bistro, which is located near the Chinatown gate at 713 H Street, NW (Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station). Matchbox has excellent food and a beer on tap that will boost anyone's spirits--Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. I will see you there, starting at 6:30.

* I admit that I was unable to verify that fact, because I don't have ready access to a powerful research tool like a B. Dalton Bookseller at the moment. All I have is the Internet, and what good is that to an inquiring mind?