SNES Me Up.

Video Games
Hello all. I'm gonna jump right in, go out on a limb and say it: The SNES era is the pinnacle of gaming. I've loved no other console, before or since, like I loved my SNES. While my peers were doing what teenagers are supposed to do, I was locked away in my bedroom having the time of my life (insert masturbation joke here.) While they were dating, I was throwing the Foot at Shredder in TMNT: Turtles In Time. While they were learning how to drive, I was learning how to beat Goldie in Unirally (or Uniracers, as it was known outside Australia.) And while they were flipping burgers for minimum wage at McDonald's, I was raking in the big bucks in Sim City.
Of course, gaming progressed, and I with it, buying the original PlayStation, then it's younger brother, before moving on to the Xbox 360. But my love for the SNES never abated, and thanks to the wonders of emulation, I was able to not only relive my favorite gaming moments, (FYI,, my favorite SNES game, which is also my favorite game of all time, is Secret of Evermore.) but because we didn't have a lot of money when I was a kid, I was also able to play all the games I'd read about but could never afford.
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to ask for some recommendations. I've played through pretty much every game I wanted to, so I'm asking you to let me know of any relatively obscure SNES games that are worth checking out. I've done pretty much all the RPG's, and every available scrolling beat 'em up, so I'm looking for games that are 'pick up & play', i.e no obscure Japan-only titles, just games that are good, old fashioned fun. I'm interested to see what you guys can come up with, and if you'd like me to, I'll write a review of each of the titles I pick based on your recommendations, so let me know what I should be playing in the comments.

The More Things Change...

Hello Children! Its time for your friendly neighborhood Colleen to show off her knowledge of Child Psychology.

Grr...Argh... So on TR today there was a post about an article in which a mom lamented the fact her daughter was being teased for liking Star Wars. Boys have been telling her that Star Wars is "for boys." So yeah, fucking A, the more things change...the more things stay the same. I was very lucky in that, although teased for liking scifi, I was never actually told that the stuff I liked was for boys. But I know that such attitudes persist. The gender roles that are applied to boys and girls still persists. The girls are expected to play with dolls and pretend to be mommies, whereas the boys get the action figures and play war. Heaven forbid a girl or boy want to deviate from those set roles. The worst part is that PARENTS often force these gender concepts upon their kids. There have been many irate nerd girls bitching about how their parents told them that they shouldn't like something because they are girls. Again, in this, I was lucky that my parents never uttered the hated phrase "but you're a girl..." I guess having a geek Dad is quite beneficial.

And its not just little girls who have to deal with this. Even worse must be for the boys who want to play dress up and house and stuff. This is not an abnormal activity for little boys...they enjoy nurturing too. But most parents would go absolutely nuts, even more than at girls who want to play with GI JOE, if they saw their son playing with a barbie or dressing up in mom's clothes...again this is not as atypical as it sounds. Psychologically speaking, its very normal for little children to mimic their parents...both parents. But you know the thought "Shit my son's a fag" would be going through the parents', particularly the dad's, heads. Parents will often respond quite adamantly to alter their son's behavior in order to deviate him from what they consider abnormal behavior. Though if they ever bothered to read a single damn book about child psychology, they would know that its not abnormal in the least.

So why does it persist? Why is placing gender roles upon children practically second nature in parenting? Well, its very much in our DNA. As much as I rail against the propagation of gender roles, there is a biological imperative that also makes this perpetuation so easy to do. Girls ARE natural nurturers, as a whole, while boys are natural competitors. Its part of our very DNA and our survival has depended on it for countless millenia. Back in the stone age, women stayed close to home and hearth to watch over their children, while the males went out and killed the mammoths. So males = competition, females = caretakers, is more or less encoded into our very blood.

However, the continuation of these gender roles is counterproductive in a modern society. Moms can't stay at home, and more and more frequently care-giving falls to both parents. How can a little girl learn assertiveness if she is relegated to the nurturing role only? And how can a little boy learn how to be a nurturer if he is relegated to competition roles only? This behavior modification...and make no mistake, its conditioning at the most basic level...keeps girls from learning the skills to make it to top level positions in the workforce. And it makes men completely unprepared to be parents. Not to mention it perpetuates war. So fuck it! When I'm a mom, I'm gonna buy dolls and action figures to be played with by whichever child wants to play with them. AND MY children will love Star Wars and hate the prequels as ardently as I do.

So anyway, click on the link to the original TR post and show your support for budding nerd girls who have to deal with little boy chauvinism. Give them WHAT-FOR!

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/11/dear_nerd_girls_a_young_nerd_girl_needs_your_suppo.php

A HUMBLE REQUEST TO MY DEAR READERS: SAVE THE TAO!

(yes, I'm stooping to lolcats--that's where I'm at right now.)

Scoot here.


TTOS is in a bit of a pickle--here's the dealio:


As some of you know, the nerve center of operations for The Tao Of Scoot is a barely operational E-Machines desktop which I do not even own. It is the property of my roomie's brother--the only reason it's in the living room is so my roommate has access to it.

Well, the roomie got himself his own laptop. Which means the computer I'm using right this second will likely be no longer available--its owner plans on keeping it in his room.

This means the only access I'll have to this blog, to TR, and to my writing will be from my roomie's laptop while he's at work.


The issue here isn't so much the reduced access, it's the fact that my online activities have grown to a point where managing them through a third party's system is absurd.

I need, and indeed, the blog needs to have its own computer.



So, I turn to you, my dear readers:

I'm guessing most, or at least a large number of you, own your own systems. I was considering the fact that many computer owners upgrade their hardware and end up with outdated, but perfectly serviceable units taking up space in storage. And considering that most computers have next to no resale value, they'll likely do nothing but collect dust until they're eventually thrown out.

Does this situation sound familiar to anyone here? Got a working, but no longer necessary laptop or desktop system you're always tripping over?


Well, you could do me and the blog a great service by considering our need and sending it here!

I'll pay or reimburse all shipping and postage charges from anywhere in the world.


I wish I could give more in return. Just know that whoever does this will insure the continued existence of this little corner of cyberspace.

Post a comment if you think you can help, or if you have any other ideas...

I'd like to keep this thread open exclusively for those interested in donating or who would like to help in some other way. For general chitchat, use the threads below or above.



Thank you, My Friends,

Scooter Needs Help!