2020.05.11
About 5 years ago, Rocket League, a video game about acrobatic car soccer, came out:
What's interesting how this game is the clear successor to one of the very first games to use a dedicated microprocessor, Exidy's 1977 "Car Polo":
(I think that game might have an option for AI controlled opponents? Which would really be pretty impressive for the era!)
My mom sent me a NY Times Magazine issue w/ a really beautiful tribute to Weird Al (centered on the concert tour I saw with Liz and Sophie last summer, specifically the performance the day before we saw it)
The article is surprisingly meaty - Weird Al really is crazy wholesome, there's a kind of Mr. Rogers energy behind the goofiness. He has really meant a heck of a lot to LEGIONS of nerds. (Also the article really examines how even the goofiest of lines has been lovingly poured over for exact rhyme and meter.)
For me, he was the crucial gateway to getting over myself enough to bring pop music into my life - as a kid I felt it was critical that I live the life of a smart person, and since smart people liked classical and jazz, why, that's what *I* liked, of course. But since Weird Al was *making fun* of the music, I could appreciate it - and eventually, pop-music itself. And that has enhanced my life greatly.