Things I Think Are Kinda Cool

The arcade was a full spectrum of emotions for me…from shouts of pride when I entered my initials on the “Donkey Kong Jr.” high-score screen, to tantrums of despair when Dad said it was time to leave. Today arcades are endangered species – one of the last spots in NYC, “Chinatown Fair”, closed down just a few weeks ago.

Luckily, there’s photographic proof that these mystical places actually existed. The Flickr group “Growing Up In Arcades: 1979 – 1989″ serves up a retro-tastic blast from the 8-bit past. Some of my favorites (warning…French-rolled jeans ahead!):

-via

-via

Dig Dug!

-via

-via

-via

-via

-via

-via

-via

-via

Check out “Growing Up in Arcades: 1979-1989″ for more…(via Neatorama)

UPDATE: There’s a documentary in the works about the final few days of “Chinatown Arcade”. Trailer:

And good news…the owners have relocated to Brooklyn and just opened a new spot called “Next Level”. Game on.

Jacksonville based artist James Hance says his paintings scream out, “Childhood! It was amazing! I want it forever please!”.  The mind-bending juxtapositions he creates feel perfect – you just know that if Hendrix was alive today he’d be rocking a high score on “Guitar Hero”.  These are some of my favorites from James’ collection:

“Guitar Hero”

—
“The Mona Leia”

—
“The Man & The Man of Steel”

—
“Doozers Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima”

—
“Young Steins In Love”

—
“Alice – A Suitable Case For Treatment”

—
“Force By Northwest”

—
“Music & Me”

—
“Bert & Ernie (Picasso Style)

Be sure to check out more of James’ amazing work on Artbreak.  Many of his pieces are still for sale…