Episode 115: Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 115

In this episode:

  • WILDsound FALL Feature Screenplay Contest winner Scott C. Clements (scarletavenger.blogspot.com),
  • listener Jack in NJ and album art,
  • problems with Greg’s Toshiba laptop,
  • Dennis in CA coming back on the show in November,
  • Jennifer Hudson,
  • Bill Cosby’s son getting shot,
  • photos from the October NAVA meeting at the Digital Press video game store in Clifton, NJ,
  • trick or treating memories,
  • our most and least favorite Halloween candy,
  • parents sorting through their children’s candy,
  • Fruit Roll-Ups,
  • the Italian snack taralli,
  • fruit snacks (hard vs. gummy),
  • chocolate Easter bunnies (hollow vs. solid),
  • the 70th anniversary of The War of the Worlds radio performance in West Windsor Township, NJ,
  • jelly bean flavors,
  • and the three-year anniversary of The Paunch Stevenson Show.

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31 minute MP3 file – 14.3 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 114: Friday, October 24, 2008

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 114

In this episode:

  • Ron Howard’s Call To Action video on Funny or Die featuring Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler,
  • Stephen Baldwin challenging Barack Obama to a boxing match,
  • the pointlessness of student government,
  • wearing costumes to the October NAVA meeting at the Digital Press video game store in Clifton, NJ (www.digitpress.com),
  • Greg trying to buy a Crosley Keepsake USB record player from Craig’s List,
  • Greg trying to buy an Indiana Jones costume,
  • crowded Halloween stores,
  • 16 rpm records,
  • pole vaulting in dreams,
  • receiving Sega video games from Juan in Missouri,
  • Sega’s obsession with Michael Jackson,
  • our review of the ColecoVision, the Atari 5200, and the Atari 7800,
  • the upcoming Pac-Man Collection for the ColecoVision (www.opcodegames.com),
  • a customer looking for an Osama bin Laden costume,
  • Michael Bay, Mike Tyson, and Jerry Seinfeld looking stupid,
  • our movie review of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) starring Michael Cera,
  • and our movie review of Religulous (2008) starring Bill Maher.

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57 minute MP3 file – 26.2 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 112: Friday, October 10, 2008

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 112

In this episode:

Download this episode:
45 minute MP3 file – 20.6 MB (right-click to save)

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Atari 2600 Nostalgia, Web Sites, and Custom Labels

classic Atari logo

Other than Nintendo, Atari is the most widely used and associated name with
video gaming. Though the company, as many of us knew it, has been largely
out of business for 15 years, it still rules the roost in terms of classic
gaming. Like many, the Atari 2600 was the first video game system Rob and I had.

Here are some great web sites dedicated to the Atari family of home consoles
and computers:

  • Atari Age is unquestionably the central hub for Atari enthusiasts, with its heavily used forum. All the news, finds, information, expertise, and game trading is there. It also has scans of cartridges, boxes, and manuals, plus screenshots, emulators, and ROMs for the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar.
  • Atari Guide has a huge amount of game, box, and manual scans for Atari and the NES. It also has a master list of Atari 2600 games and pictures of the cartridges, all in one page.
  • Atari Mania takes the visual archive to the utmost degree. There’s an enormous amount of scans of games, catalogs, you name it. All Atari systems are covered.
  • Atari Protos has the most updated and thorough information and research on the many Atari prototypes and unreleased games that exist. Check it out and find out why games like The A-Team, Garfield, and Planet of the Apes never got released.
  • Pitfall Jones has done the unthinkable! He has consolidated all of the scans of cartridges and screenshots of every Atari 5200, 7800, and 8-Bit Computer game! You can see what every cart looked like, all in one place.
  • Atari Gaming Headquarters has a wealth of information for all the Atari consoles and computers, as well as Atari developed arcade machines. Marquees, artwork, advertisements, screenshots, and more.
  • Atari 8-bit Forever is a tremendous source of information for the long line of Atari 8-bit computers.
  • Atari 2600.com is an online store for a large number of hard-to-find classic console parts and games. It is very well maintained.
  • Atari 7800.org has the most detailed technical information on the oft-forgotten Atari 7800 Pro System.
  • Atari Museum is just what it says it is.
  • 4 Jays has a ton of products to purchase for classic systems.
  • Best Electronics has untold amounts of official Atari vintage products, especially for making repairs.
  • The Video Game Critic is my favorite video game quick-review website. He’s got just one screenshot, a short paragraph or two, and a grade for each game. His opinion is unbiased and his web site is organized so much better than the overkill you get on sites like IGN.
  • Digital Press Video Games has the tremendous game rarity and price guide. Of course, the forum is the hub for all classic and modern gaming discussion, no matter what console or computer.

There is one more website I’ve come across, the Atari 2600 Label Maker. The Atari 2600 had fantastic and unique artwork on the cartridge labels. Well, now you can make your own Atari game, so to speak! To that end, I’ve gone a step further (probably right off the cliff) and with the help of Photoshop…

Here are 140 fake labels of Atari 2600 games. Some are prototypes and unreleased games, but most are licensed titles that could have been made in the late 1970s and early 80s for the 2600: TV shows, cartoons, movies, etc. Some of these labels I found on the Atari Age forums and were done by members Marc Oberhäuser, Atariboy2600, and user42. I took some of their work and put it on scans of real cartridges. I created the majority of these labels, though.

In any case, I think this is the largest custom, faux, “what-if” Atari 2600 label archive in one place!

Popular 1970s and 80s TV Shows:

Magnum P.I., The Fonz, T.J. Hooker, Rockford Files, Knight Rider, Starsky & Hutch, Chips, Columbo, and Kojak

Space: 1999, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Charlie’s Angels, Bionic Woman, and The Six Million Dollar Man

Popular 1970s and 80s Children’s Shows:

Batman, Wonder Woman, The Hobbit, The Secret of Nimh, Scooby Doo, and Woody Woodpecker

Fraggle Rock, Inspector Gadget, Rainbow Brite, Voltron, Transformers, Thundercats, Dungeons & Dragons, Transformers, and Alf

Popular 1970s and 80s Sci-Fi Movies:

Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker, Close Encounters, Logan’s Run, Star Wars, The Black Hole, Escape From New York, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and Blade Runner

Popular 1970s and 80s Action Films:

First Blood, Rocky II, Death Wish, Escape from Alcatraz, Jaws, The Poseidon Adventure, Conan the Barbarian, The Beastmaster, and The Road Warrior

Popular 1970s and 80s Cult Movies:

Deliverance, Swamp Thing, Clash of the Titans, Death Race 2000, Evil Dead, Hercules, The Warriors, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Rollerball

Popular 1970s and 1980s Childrens Movies:

Grease, Annie, Herbie the Love Bug, Bad News Bears, The Muppet Movie, and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Popular 1970s and 80s Comedy Movies:

Smokey and the Bandit, Caddyshack, Slap Shot, Cannonball Run, Revenge of the Nerds, 1941, Police Academy, Blues Brothers, and Daffy Duck’s Fantastic Island

Children’s Game Prototypes by Atari:

Dumbo’s Flying Circus, Donald Duck’s Speedboat, Snow White, Garfield, Good Luck Charlie Brown, Miss Piggy’s Wedding, Grover’s Music Maker, Bugs Bunny, and Sport Goofy

Licensed TV and Movie Game Prototypes:

Care Bears, Star Wars: Ewok Adventure, Incredible Hulk, Planet of the Apes, Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, Dune, The Pink Panther, and The Lord of the Rings

Other Game Prototypes by Atari:

Rubik’s Cube 3D, Elk Attack, Polo, Wizard, RealSports Basketball, Aquaventure, Boggle, and Combat Two

Other Game Prototypes by Third Party Developers:

Secret Agent, Meltdown, Pompeii, Wings, McDonald’s, and Save Mary

Ports of Popular Arcade Games of the Era:

Monaco GP, Le Mans, Galaxy Ranger, Space Ace, Dragon’s Lair, Mappy, Destruction Derby, Lode Runner, and Lady Bug

Goofy Games:

The Paunch Stevenson Show, Super Mario Bros., Alien vs. Predator, Jerry Hunt, Kiss: Destroyer, and Once Upon A Spy

Almost All of Mattel’s M Network Releases, Had They Featured the Intellivision Artwork and a Standard Cartridge:

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin, Adventures of TRON, Anteater, Armor Ambush, Astroblast, Bump ‘n’ Jump, Burger Time, Dark Cavern, Frogs and Flies, Master of the Universe: The Power of He-Man, International Soccer, Kool-Aid Man, Lock ‘N’ Chase, Loco Motion, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Space Attack, Star Strike, Super Challenge Baseball, Super Challenge Football, and TRON Deadly Discs
Faux Atari 2600 Labels of Mattel's M Network games

GameFly

Gamefly Logo

Hi, it’s Adam, Paunch Stevenson Show listener, guest, and blogger. I know we usually focus on things that annoy us, but here’s something I actually like.

A year and a half ago, I joined GameFly, the online video game rental service, and am happy with it. I log in, add games to my queue, and receive the first game in the mail. If that one’s out, I’ll receive the next available one instead. It only takes two or three days to arrive in the mail. It’s very easy, just like Netflix.

If you want to join, go here.