"In Our Day We Didn't Have 3D Graphics. We Had 16-Bit Sprite Images. And We Were Happy."

Before we get started today, I would just like to share some new found knowledge. Recently I discovered Blogspot.com allows me to look at how many people look at my blog (which, to my surprise, is a number larger than 1 [apparently I have some other fans, Dave]). Now, that information on it's own is very exciting. But I have something even better to add to that: People from South Korea read my blog. And quite regularly. I mean, Russia and China and some other spots in the world show up on my viewing statistics, but South Korea appears to be a pretty regular visitor.

With that said, I would just like to give a big American welcome to our South Korean brothers and sisters across the earth who frequently visit "Revenge of the Living Blog". I would like to also say, I love your part of the world, could you possibly find me some work and a place to stay? I would really like to visit (or live) in Seoul if possible. Kimchi is pretty tasty. I've never practiced Tai Kwan Do, but am willing to learn. That's about the extent of my South Korean knowledge.

Now, with that portion crossed off the list, we can finally move onto more important things.

Like, things we (Generation Y) will have to explain to our children 15-20 years from now. The last couple generations have been lucky in the sense that we've been able to see technology advance at an astonishing rate (well, astonishing for me. I'm always fascinated by the magic of technology. It might be because I'm not really savy on math or science. That doesn't mean neither subject interests me. I just don't grasp either subject as well as others. I'm a dumb emotional artist rather than someone with a vast amount of logic and patience). We've seen the explosion of the video game market in the late 80's into the 90's. We've seen the mediums of music, video, and games go from cassettes and cartridges to thin discs, enhancing the quality of each medium. Our children (my friend Phil Freeman brought this up) will never understand the phrase "Be Kind, Rewind" ("You guys had to rewind all your movies when you were done watching them?"). They won't understand the proper method of blowing into a cartridge to get a video game to work. They're method of getting a game to work will be to rub the disc on their shirt. Or maybe all the games will be 100% downloadable, like how books, music, and movies are becoming, so they won't have to wipe or blow anything at all.

It'll be a little strange I suppose. Still, I hope my kids are fascinated by the notion of the video game cartridge, just like when my parents and grandparents would describe old methods to me it would instill a bit of fascination.

The other day I was playing Mario Kart for the Wii with my friend's nephew. He's about 9 or 10 right now. Never experienced the 90's (poor kid). This is probably the only Mario Kart game he's ever experienced. Well, this one and the Mario Kart for the DS. Still, I knew he had never played the original Mario Kart for SNES, or even Mario Kart 64. As I was playing the new Mario Kart, I said to him, "You know, there was a time in Mario Kart when there wasn't a blue shell". I think I blew the kid's mind.

It's a small thing, but it gives me that refined feeling that I've lived a bit of this life. I'm getting to a point where I have certain cultural experiences that people born much later never had an opportunity to enjoy. There'll be more added on, I know. This is but a taste, and I like it. Doesn't make me feel old. At least not yet. It makes me feel privilaged, the fact that I have this secret knowledge of previous times in my brain. I, along with a few million others, are keepers of this knowledge, waiting to share when the proper time comes.

Maybe I'm giving us too much credit. As if Super Nintendo is as important as remembering The Depression or WWII. Still, as the up and coming generation, the one that is finally vacating the colleges to start overthrowing the world, we have certain histories (outside of old video games) that we'll have the privilage to tell succeeding generations.

And to that I say, "Remember when there were only a 151 Pokemon?"...