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It's a Simulated World: Part One

By Bob Mackey

April 4, 2008

69 comments

Will Wright is part of the hallowed halls of video game celebrities for a reason; not only is his name much easier to say than his Japanese contemporaries, Wright’s output has been nearly unavoidable for anyone who’s owned a PC in the last twenty years.  SimCity may not be as visually iconic or musically memorable as other cultural gaming touchstones like Super Mario Bros., but it’s very hard to find a person who hasn’t sat down with a SimCity game, if only to just goof around for a few minutes.

And that’s exactly where the beauty of Wright’s games lie; they’re “pointless” in the best sense of the world.  While the term has never been entirely pinned down, Wright’s games are essentially of the “sandbox” variety: you’re given a space to play in with some confines, and the goals are determined by the player rather than the sandbox itself.  So, if you were the type of kid who loved building intricate sand castles, your personal goal in a SimCity game may be to make a one-horse town grow to the size of a teeming metropolis; but for any juvenile delinquents out there who buried their sisters’ Barbies head-first in the sand, the SimCity series offers many natural disasters to inflict on a terrified populace with just the push of a button.  And unlike a lot of other games featuring the hot topic of morality, SimCity will never judge you.

Wright’s most successful creation to date—and perhaps the most successful PC-related creation of anyone, aside from Bill Gates—is The Sims franchise.  The rumblings about the death of PC gaming are a little hard to take seriously, what with 2004’s The Sims 2 and its ensuing expansion packs selling a combined, estimated total of 100 million copies.  To put that in perspective, the nine million strong user base of World of Warcraft seems downright wimpy in comparison.  The Sims franchise may have reached such astronomical numbers through the sale exploitative and extremely superfluous expansion packs, but if the game wasn’t phenomenal to begin with, why would anyone in their right mind pay twenty dollars to put a digital sweater on a virtual dog?

Wright’s breakthrough life sim brought sick fantasies like these to life; and though The Sims may appear to be just a elaborate version of “playing house” at its most superficial level, the franchise has always offered a stunning amount of options for how to live your virtual life—or destroy it, horribly.  Whether you wanted to live out a Donna Reed nuclear family fantasy life or create a house full of elaborate deathtraps straight out of the Saw movies, The Sims made it possible.  And the Internet was there to document every bit of it.

Since The Sims 3 has recently been announced, it may be helpful to go over the highs and lows (mostly highs) of a series that’s had the “Sim” branding over three decades.  The Sim games may be standout, memorable titles, but amid all of the spinoffs and copycats, it’s sometimes difficult to remember what makes up the core SimExperience.  Consider this a refresher course in the school of imaginary life.

The (Simulated) Good Times

SimCity (1989) –
While the original game is certainly getting long in the tooth, it’s hard to ignore the impact it had on the genre it created.  Also, SimCity’s status as a game both educational and fun meant that children of the 80s would have one legitimately interesting game to play on the school computers aside from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

SimCity 2000 (1993) – Ah, to live in the simpler times when the addition of “2000” implied the future.  And in the case of SimCity 2000, this suffix was rather befitting; the sequel to the original innovative hit is what many consider the definitive version of the SimCity experience.  Simcity 2000 adds a new level of complexity to nearly every element of the original, yet it still manages to be extremely approachable, despite new considerations like water pipes and the reticulation of splines.  One notable addition to 2000 is a giant, city-destroying mechanical spider, years before Wild Wild West ruined this concept for everyone.

The Sims (2000)
– Some complain that you can’t mention the beauty of the original Sims game without bringing up its predecessor, the 1985 Commodore 64 game Little Computer People.  Since we’ve gotten that out of the way, those who scoffed at the somewhat-preposterous premise of The Sims with a “Why would I want to live a virtual life when it comes with all of the crap I try to avoid in real life?” soon found themselves just as addicted to taking out the virtual trash as the rest of us.  And, if the monotonous minutia of daily Sim life really got to you, it was always possible to lure your entire Sim family into a swimming pool and dispose of the ladder.  Good times.

SimCity 4 (2003) – The most recent real SimCity game—and still a top seller—is definitely the most intimidating of the series.  But if you’re willing to learn the ins and out of intense micromanagement, it’s clear why SimCity 4 is the first true sequel to Simcity 2000.  The jump in complexity from 2000 to 4 is akin to the jump from the original to 2000; in fact, the “City” in SimCity 4 is actually a little misleading.  To play the game effectively, it’s mandatory to control the fate of multiple cities in a single region.  Luckily, the Rush Hour expansion pack provides plenty of GTA-esque missions if the concept of region management seems a little too daunting.

Next week - The worst moments of the Sim- series, and the copycats that tried (and possibly failed) to capture that Sim-Magic.


By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

And when asked by on air talent "Moestradamus" for an ON AIR interview... "The Mackey" turned his "Backey" and became the ultimate "Lackey".
<br>
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p262/...
<br>
I rest my case as his pal also bolts out the back door because he can't handle when things get real.

Oh and Mackey, if the music was to loud and you couldn't hear the sweet nothing i whispered into your ear.... it was.... GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!

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By north_side_girl ( anonymous )

it might have also been all the whiskey he drank at my house before the show. or because this is dumb.

which pal?

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

so you were the paunchy man who reeked of dirty bedsheets and cigarettes! mystery solved.

and i'm not sure who my "bolting pal" is because i went to the show with my girlfriend and some other people and we all left at the same time, but congratulations for putting a picture of my back on the internet? that certainly isn't creepy

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By qjeg63jd ( anonymous )

Man, really, you are creepy.

And what exactly is your definition of lackey?

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By north_side_girl ( anonymous )

its even creepier that tq has other bob mackey pictures saved in his photobucket. plus pictures of merchandise bearing his name that i guess he hawks on cafepress. and a bunch of hippie crap.

and ON AIR isnt the same thing as ON WEB. how did the sound quality of the show come out on the webcast, being that cedars' sound isnt that great and there were 400 people there? was it being broadcast right from the sound board?

i dont know about simulated reality, but i believe this is a simulated rivalry.

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

guys, i don't want to be part of a skin suit :(

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

creepy? no. crazy? yes. Hippie? Damn Straight.

as for the recording/broadcast. Using small cardioid condenser microphones, akg 150's, having them in the air 7ft... sorry sara satanic you are to short to see up that high... and tilted at a left/right stereo axis, and recording directly into my Firepod digital interface and recorded on Cubase. With a bit of editing and mixing i think the recording sounds great... thanks for asking... if you would like a copy just let me know... i share.

As far as the broadcast. Moe used an SM58 sure microphone to speak through. but yet again "Shorty" you forgot to see that M-Audio Solaris large cardioid condenser in the air behind Moe. Knowing the broadcast was "ON WEB" or "ON AIR" whichever way your pleasure tends, we are unable to know exactly how it sounded to listeners and we feel that it was the effort and not the quality.

And as far as the sound in cedars. Pete is one hell of a sound guy, one hell of a producer, and one hell of Great Guy. Besides that his sound system is one of the best in town. So before you go around telling people they suck, you might want to know who they are.

"so you were the paunchy man who reeked of dirty bedsheets and cigarettes! mystery solved." - Bob cmon, now i didnt need to go all High School on me. I mean yeah so i have a lil belly, cigarettes are a bad habit, and if you knew how your mom was in bed you would know that she pisses everywhere while getting the ol TQ Sausage. So the dirty bedsheet thing isnt my fault.

actually i havent looked at my photobucket in a long time... those t shirts are a bit old... but if you would like one i would be happy to wipe my ass with it, hand it to you free of charge, smile, flip you the bird, and remind you all to "Go Fuck Yourself"

Thanks
TQ

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

btw.

glad to know that all i had to do was post one comment and all you losers come back to shit on my parade.

glad you can hide behind your computer instead of confronting us when you were face to face with us. talk shit all. we will listen and love the press.

ive seen more backbone in spina bifita patients!

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

ugh, valley 24 staff, can we wipe these comments from the face of the earth? i'd rather not have the events of friday night immortalized when a large manchild whispered big boy words in my ear and slinked off into the night like some sort of white trash batman.

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By north_side_girl ( anonymous )

i know pete. i know the sound. ive been going to cedars for 10 years. he does a great job in the studio. however, cedars live shows are dependent about 50 on the house sound, and 50 on the bands gear. its a toss-up sometimes. the room acoustically isnt so hot either. i guess the nyabinghis sound spoiled us, but i think the oaks bought up some of their stuff.

and i waved hello to moe and sarah. however, id rather have no backbone than be a chest-bumping ahole. choose battles.

ALL IN ALL SIMCITY IS SIMTASTIC

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By The_Party_Pooper ( anonymous )
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

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By MzVirgoLuv ( anonymous )

Okay, I'm commenting on the post and nothing else...I don't anyone in here personally and even if I did...well anyway...I have to say, I have been a fan of the sims since the first sim person game. I recently found a site where there are over 400,000 items to download for your game...I love this game because you can make a world full of sh** or fun and make whatever you want to. This game is also very therapeutic because it can make you forget about your own bullsh** life and it can take you away from reality for a while too. I suggest this game to people are extremely lonely or just want to escape the confines of the real world. I only play every three months or so due to being extremely busy, but when I do play, I play for like two weeks straight, (with some sleep and daily chores in between) but it really makes me deal with my own situations better when I see how much I've messed up one of my Sims lives, the only difference is, is that I can fix theirs way faster and with a way better outcome sometimes than my own. So to all of you who don't know the experience, give it a try and maybe you can get some type of therapy out it. Happy Simming!!

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By HYBRID ( anonymous )

"and slinked off into the night like some sort of white trash batman"

Why do you have to bring Batman into this? Just because you're insecure about your place in the world doesn't mean you have to brandish your unsophisticated writing by putting down a prominent character in our pop culture, no matter the comparison.

And while we're at it, bob, stop acting like a adolescent crybaby. (domestic whine?! HA!!)

"ugh, valley 24 staff, can we wipe these comments from the face of the earth?"

Why? Because it's the truth and deep down you know it? Is that how the writing game goes? Hash out meaningless garbage and when someone puts you in your place get other people to take the post down?

Does that mean this is going to get yanked too? It wouldn't suprise me if it did. I see now that if you have NO legs to stand on, you just get other people to stand for you.

Maybe one day you'll stop hiding behind a computer screen and learn to act like a man. Who knows, you might even start going to the bathroom by yourself.

Well, this is great. Really. I actually missed owning mackey again. I know you're not really accustomed to hearing the truth, so i guess you'll have to settle for the Sim-truth, which is whatever you convince yourself in your digitized safe-haven.

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

mzvirgoluv- that's usually how i play the game, too. i get super addicted for a few solid weeks and then immediately quit after i realize how much time i spent. i recently started up a new game and was able to stop myself with the realization that i probably shouldn't do this during the end of the semester.

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By michael ( anonymous )

i was the pal that bolted.

what i find funny is that i have no idea what these people look like, yet i bolted because "things got too real".

real what? real lame?

i left because i'm tired or party dream and have seen them do the same thing on stage for like 3 years now.

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By blavinsaddles ( anonymous )

remember youngstownscene.com? those were the days when everyone got along on the internet.......

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By KLibecco ( Katie Libecco )

ARE YOU KIDDING?

Do you not remember the YoungstownScene flame wars on THOSE message boards????

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By north_side_girl ( anonymous )

i bet freecreditreport.com has some bitchy message boards.

youngstownscene is missed.

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By Alicia ( Alicia Delvaux )

Angry hippies? Isn't that an oxy-moron?

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

Hippie? Yes. Moron? Sure. Angry? NO WAY!!!

Alicia,
I am not an angry being. Anyone who knows me personally knows this. I am just fighting the fight against negativity and the onslaught of what has been a bashing of what I love to do. So as any Human would, you fight for what you believe in...

Though my tactics are a bit un-orthadox, my spelling and grammar are pretty bad, and some people even like to say I smell like dirty bedsheets. So I am not perfect, not by any means.

But "angry"? NO WAY!!!! even though we have a full range of people who are ready to tear me down with their Negative, yet feeble attempts, I and my Family will stand united and true to what we believe.

"I will rise up from the depths of hell and spat fire upon the unwashed masses."

See Alicia, you should look back at the prior "Mack-Attack" blogs posted that put me in the Kellys lineup just because I run a radio station with Moe. And this all started with the unintelligent, non-researched, uninformed blog about my station and my friends band receiving the "Lamey Award".

Also if you look back and see where the fire started. You will see that we, ruKus radio, did not cast the first stone. And unfortunately with my ethnic heritage upon my soul, i hold grudges.

As far as i am concerned this is all just press. We get more hits on our station when one of us gets ol Lackey Mackey yappin his trap. Hell even V24.com misses the hits that these blogs get.(even though the blogs are boring, uninformed, wastes of time... its the comments that get the views)

So angry I am not. Just stirring the kettle to give Mr. Mackey and the rest of his loser Lackey friends something to talk about over a good game of D&D. (ouch critical hit with the 1D20 there)

"A true activist stands before the apposing force and wont back down at any cost" - (if you can figure out who wrote this quote it will give you more exp. points to level up your wizard.)

Tune into www.rukusradio.net Tomorrow at 7pm for the Live Set of Gil Mantera's Party Dream from Friday at Cedars!!! Also premiering The Zou Live @ Upie.

Happy Hippie,
MoonBeam

GFY (i cant resist)

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

you really don't know what the word "lackey" means, do you

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

lack·ey /ˈlæki/ Pronunciation Key - [lak-ee] plural -eys, verb, -eyed, -ey·ing.
–noun

1. a servile follower; toady.
2. a footman or liveried manservant.

Yeah, I think he's got it just right. You're a lackey to the darkside. They're your lackeys. Yep, he uses the word perfectly.

Peace,
-s

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

you get an A for effort

great job, go hog wild

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

Mackey, give it up already... you lose pal...

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

I know, I'm constantly putting you in your place. It's actually getting rather boring. But thanks, anyway.

-s

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

Oh wait, I'm sorry. I'm constantly pwning you.

http://www.rukusradio.net/images/pwned.j...

-s

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

Like all teh time.

And now I'm through.

-s

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By Alicia ( Alicia Delvaux )

You think the blogs are boring wastes of time? I write one. Should I go on a tirade?

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

i thought i "won" because i never cared about this nonsense to begin with? hence me not appearing on rukus radio or having a last-man-standing rap battle showdown with your "Family" or whatever kind of face to face confrontation you want so badly. i made fun of you, moved on, and it has affected me in no way whatsoever. in fact, trevor was the only person who had anything negative to say on friday night; i was surprised to meet many fans in the audience.

i'm not the one who's invading people's blogs, posting pcitures of their backs, and claiming some sort of twisted "victory." you may not claim to be on drugs, but i can't think of any other way to explain this behavior. toodles

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By blavinsaddles ( anonymous )

Look, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. My daughter's playing with the red ball, hits the uke on the shelf, the uke falls down, hits my laptop, and I can't get on my sites.

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By HYBRID ( anonymous )

"i'm not the one who's invading people's blogs"

Wow. First you're crying to get Moe back bacause nobody cares to read your lame topics, and now they're 'invading your Blog'?! I guess the well has run bone dry, huh bob?

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

I have come to the conclusion that the guys from ruckus have huge man crushes on Bob.

That's the only way to explain people taking pictures of his back side, and TQ's constant request for him to go masturbate.

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

Alicia,

sorry i didnt mean to offend you or where you blog, or even here for that matter, i was directing that comment towards my "Man Crush". His blogs are boring wastes of time, i just like to comment on them because he has a vendetta against me. I apologize.

And speaking of that, that picture was taken to try to get Moe and Mackey in the same pic as Moe asked Mackey for an interview, knowing damn well that Bob is to terrified to interview with us because he knows we will call him out. So that wasnt an attentional picture of the back of Bob's head.

DrGoo,
Step back out the door you came in. You have no business even commenting here. This isnt for you.

"ugh, valley 24 staff, can we wipe these comments from the face of the earth?" -BM

thanks again for the humor.
TQ

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

and thank you listeners for tuning in last night for the wonderful Party Dream Set!!!! we enjoyed your company!!! www.rukusradio.net

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

yes, dr. goo. this is a tale of men, podcasts, burnt teaspoons, and internet justice. just like in bible times. you and your god have no place here.

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

"Step back out the door you came in. You have no business even commenting here. This isnt for you."

LOL, are you serious? Why do you want me to leave? Wana be alone with bob?

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

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By blavinsaddles ( anonymous )

I understand that there is a reason for the constant defending of one's character, and on the other hand, the attacking of one's character. But I've yet to figure out the benefit of either action. But who knows, maybe this is simply a continuation of what it started as: an ongoing joke. Maybe not. I'd like to assume it's a joke, because it helps me sleep at night. Regardless of what I have to say, you've all managed to lure my attention to this nonsense. And for that, I congratulate you?

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

see Dr Goo Ber, this is exactly why you should leave. you really dont have a fight here, and you are tossing in something from left field into this. In hopes to ride the coattails of the press in hopes to bring up your sad acting carrier. Boo DrGoo.

bob, how do you know so much about burnt teaspoons? find your mom on the kitchen floor again all junked out?

and for you viewing pleasure... more fun with photoshop!!!
i can play too.....

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p262/...

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

finally blavinsaddles, i was hoping someone would get my humor, its not as hard as getting The Mack's Humor. anyway thank you and im glad to have your attention. so now that i do... take a listen to www.rukusradio.net

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

It really is quite funny, all of this. But still a waste of my time, I must say. Have fun, kids. I'll see you all around. Probably on our internet radio station, www.ruKusradio.net. You know, the one that is such a terrible idea? I mean, way worse than video game blogs, right?

Peace,
-m

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

Dear TQ: if anyone really has no idea what they are talking about it is you.

"In hopes to ride the coattails of the press in hopes to bring up your sad acting carrier."

Not only is this not a complete sentence, but it's completely laughable. Valley 24 is not the press. It's a site with an audience of 15 people who use the comments to waste time.

Also, let's not talk about sad careers, or "carriers." I would think a person who plays sets that everyone walks out on would not talk about someone else.

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

PS your photo shop is filled with fail

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

i guess i'd be pretty insecure if an institution in the beloved town that was my only audience named me the worst of 2007 in what i claim to be good at.

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

And you kids went to school for reading and writing... and yet both DrGooBer and Mack Attack still don't get the idea of research... lets take each of their last comments and do the research for them, shall we...

DrGooBer this is a quote of mine from just a few comments above your comment... if you would only just look back and actually read what people post.... "Though my tactics are a bit un-orthadox, my spelling and grammar are pretty bad, and some people even like to say I smell like dirty bedsheets. So I am not perfect, not by any means."

Now lets take a look at this quote a little closer... "my spelling and grammar are pretty bad"... gee DrGooBer you hit the nail on the head by making fun of my writing skills... wow big shocker...

Mack Attack this is a quote from the story that you read about me being the worst of 2007... lets see once again what these witty scholars have missed...."We could spend quite some time talking about why this happened, but let's be realistic: This Dec. 23 performance at Barley's really was no indication of Trevor Quillan. The chords were off, the words were wrong and slurred and it was downright painful. Come on TQ, what were you thinking? Admittedly, this set was not his best. But this medley was an unfortunate low point of the night for those in attendance. We'd love to hear this (better rehearsed and polished) again in the future. Can you do us that favor?"

Now Mack, lets look a little closer at what you missed... "Admittedly, this set was not his best."

I dont have a claim of being great, or good at playing music. Two things i claim are 1.) having a big heart, And the CLAIM to be... "I'm a Crusader for Justice, I'm an innovator For Life and it's my mission that you Trust this" - The Grouch from the album Crusader for Justice (2004).

here let me not read what DrGooBer wrote above... and totally miss the point of what he meant... just so i can fit in....

DrGooBer i am glad i make you laugh... it makes me feel warm a fuzzy on the inside.

have a great morning all, see ya on the flip...

dont forget to tune into www.rukusradio.net for our new show on Wednesdays at 7pm
DaBoonDox Presents: Hip Hop on ruKus. where we will be playing local hiphop, rap, and R&B... from 7pm-9pm on www.rukusradio.net

thanks again all
TQ

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

I make fun of your writing, cause you are like 30 years old. You should understand the concept of writing complete sentences. You write like a 14 year old that just heard a Public Enemy cd, but has no clue what they were rapping about. You're fighting for justice on Valley 24, by advertising Rukus? Man, I can't believe you're so... lame.

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

i think trevor and "the Family" are jealous that hundreds of thousands of people read my freelance writing every month; meanwhile, they desperately and shamelessly shill for their radio station by spamming links on a site that about 12 people read and 6 people care about. note: i don't mean to talk up or brag about what i do; i just want to put things in perspective, especially in light of all of the time the rukus peeps have said "no one cares" about the kind of writing i do. and it's not even like our chosen professions are part of the same field, so i have no idea why they think they're actually accomplishing anything with trying to "bring me down."

i made fun of them three months ago, haven't written an article about them since then, and this spring i'm doing more writing than i've ever done before. i don't have a "vendetta" against rukus radio because the worst thing you can do is give them attention; hence, why i didn't appear on the the station and why i haven't written anything about them since then (i planned a something awful article about the fiasco back in dec., but then i realized how much they love this kind of attention). i'm not trying to destroy rukus at all because i know they're going to fail based on their unprofessionalism, absolutism, and lack of inertia.

and for all of the people out there who don't know what the hell this string of comments is even about, I APOLOGIZE. i suspect there's a certain brand of neoptism here that's allowing this off-topic nonsense and spamming of links to continue. i promise that something will be done about this soon.

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By north_side_girl ( anonymous )

nepotism! cronyism! rascalism!

might i suggest an in-person showdown at the next acoustic-jam-pachouli ruckus hootenany? perhaps that will smooth those adolescent feathers.

MACKEY/QUINLAN II - this time, its BLOGWORTHY

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

Hahahaha, this is hysterical. Enough that it warrants a response.

Are you serious, Mac? Let's have a look...

"i made fun of them three months ago, haven't written an article about them since then

I'm sure there is something, somewhere worth writing about in Youngstown; though I admit it must be a little frustrating when local bands are prone to having Grade-A Baby Meltdowns if you exhibit one electron's worth of negativity.

The site's also gotten pretty boring on the blogging side of things, so I was thinking maybe we could get a certain someone to get a certain crazy podcaster to come back..."

That was on March 25. This? http://bobservo.livejournal.com/286160.h...

February 29. And this? http://bobservo.livejournal.com/284908.h...

February 21. Oh, and what about this one?? http://bobservo.livejournal.com/281185.h...

Any guesses? January 30. Do I really need to continue on with this? Like to comments and such? I don't think so. I'm sure you get the point. At least, I hope so. And how about some of the other utterly uninformed trash that you so graciously continue to spew forth, invading the grey matter of the unsuspecting usual reader? You, my friend, unbelievably unaware...

"i'm not trying to destroy rukus at all because i know they're going to fail based on their unprofessionalism, absolutism, and lack of inertia."

Friday April 4 - Gil Mantera and Go Lab - Cedars
Saturday April 5 - Winslow - Barleys
Friday April 11 - APG, Relic, Rosella, and Made in Canada - Barleys
Last night - Just Another Band and Trilogy - Captain Kelly's in Warren.
Saturday April 19 - Fourth River - Thunderbirds, Pitt
Sunday April 20 - possibly the Lakehouse Bash in Poland

That's just 2 weeks worth of shows we have and are recording. For free. All for the love of this town and its scene. Not to mention the time that goes into mixing, art design, printing and cutting, as well as a multitude of other things that have to happen to make this machine run. So please, stop preaching to me about "inertia" from behind the glow of your monitor. We're not just cutting and pasting blogs. It takes a team of people to do this, and we're slowly building. Stay tuned for some really interesting news, Bobbi. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't just yet. But when I can, then we'll talk about failure. Send me your resume, though. Maybe when the ruKus news department gets off the ground you could write some blogs or something. Who knows? The possibilities are endless in the wide world of internet radio!

Oh, and hey Captain Contradiction...

"they desperately and shamelessly shill for their radio station by spamming links on a site that about 12 people read and 6 people care about.

and for all of the people out there who don't know what the hell this string of comments is even about, I APOLOGIZE."

Sounds like like a touch of the old god complex...

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

"i suspect there's a certain brand of neoptism here that's allowing this off-topic nonsense and spamming of links to continue."

Nepotism? Neoptimism? Yes, there are both. Yes, we favor our family. But it's wide open to anyone who wants to join it. Anyone. It's the Justice League, Mac. We crusade for justice.

And without further adieu...

Mondays - ruKus mic night at The Royal Oaks. Recording sets and broadcasting anyone who wants to come down and kick it.

Tuesdays - Moestradamus brings you ruKus au Kourant - all brand new music!!

Wednesdays - DJ Mayhem of DaBoonDox is hitting up the hip-hop.

Thursdays are ruKus on the road where we bring you two live shows each episode!

So there we have it. Lack of inertia? I think not. And we're not trying to bring you down, ace. You're the one who attacks first. We just DEFEND.

This internet bitch slap has been brought to you by www.rukusradio.net.

Peace,
-s

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

Actually, I'm wrong about something. We didn't record Winslow at Barley's. I was just there enjoying that one. My bad. When your work week turns into your work weekend, things tend to run together.

-m

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

drgoober, thanks again for the "lame" referral, maybe your boy Mack will give me the "lamey" award this year... im working on it... and while i do... i love to listen to the sounds of independence on www.rukusradio.net

peace

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

i will take 12 more listeners on www.rukusradio.net and hell if 6 people enjoy www.rukusradio.net then i feel its a success on www.rukusradio.net

thanks again

www.rukusradio.net

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

did i mention



www.rukusradio.net

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

In fact, I think Ultimate says it best a couple times on Bloodsongs. Like when he says ″we all live together and we all want this world to be great.″ And again when he states ″I only want justice. I only want equality. Can you dig this?″ And I leave you with that. Good day!

-m

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By TrevorQuillan ( anonymous )

sumadartseom,

are you moestradamus?

golly gee... didn't even know... wow you are sneaky...
www.rukusradio.net

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By HYBRID ( anonymous )

You know, I don't think the mackster gets the fact that you didn't ask him on Rukus because you admire or respect him, you did to to show everyone he's made up entirely of weak sauce. You asked him to do the "Man dance" and he wimped out so his ballerina slippers didn't get scuffed.

bob, next time you want to attack RuKus you might as well hit them with your purse, it'll do more damage, sweetheart.

And come on, "hundreds of thousands of readers?! I mean, really?! The only one you're convincing is yourself, girly.

And Goo........man, you're just a waste. It's sad that the best part of you ran down your mom's leg 20 odd years ago. Now I see where Goo comes from.......

You equate independance with promotion?! You obviously don't understand either.

Independance = Doing what we want while going against the current of the stereotypical social construct.

Promotion = Getting what we love out there for the rest of the people who think like we do. And they appreciate it. I mean, we already have requests for shirts and patches. How many people want to see you dance? Anyone?

If you don't agree, that's fine. It's your opinion and you're entitiled to it, no matter how distorted your ideals are. I don't expect anything but this behavior from the jealous haters of the world.

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By north_side_girl ( anonymous )

im sure somethingawful.com gets more hits daily than valley24 or any of our local sites. thats the numbers bob was referring to.

i want to know how you all are going against any kind of stereotype? guys in bands promoting themselves, making merchandise, and using the internet to promote their music? that sounds pretty run of the mill. groupie sluts will always wear band tshirts, ditto for stoners.

when me, mackey and our friends all ran our own independent (notice how i spelled that correctly) newspaper, an endeavor that had only been done once before by our fellow writer bj lisko, im pretty sure we were 'getting the love out there,' in far less hokey-sounding terms.

and its obvious that moe, trevor and the rest are just interested in having a dick measuring contest. because whenever i see them they either have their tongue shoved down some girls throat, playing rock star onstage, or are challenging some guy to a 'im cooler than you, right? RIGHT???' face off. this all reeks of high school and im sick of it.

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By blavinsaddles ( anonymous )

For some reason I believe that my comments have been misconstrued from the beginning. It could be due to the fact that my first comment was not to be taken seriously (kind of like the majority of the words in these comments).

Now I'm not "bashing" anyone whatsoever, because I don't know most of you enough to ever have an opinion that could cause me to dislike you. Well, after reading some of the things that were said, I suppose I could generate some kind of assessment of your characters. But that would be ridiculous, this is the Internet! And besides, for what does my opinion even matter.

Here's something on subject.

I enjoyed reading this, it reminded me of all the times I'd play the Sim City games. It also reminded me of how much I never really cared for them. I would always lose interest too quickly, or something. I'm more a fan of games that have interesting(or even not so interesting, who am I to judge?!) plots, and that way the story ends up being the motivator for me to play the game. I grew up on video games, I love video games. I never play them anymore, and it saddens me. Except recently, I've fallen into the Silent Hill series. But you can't forget classics like Final Fantasy, Ys, and Metal Gear(looking forward to Guns of the Patriots). I think the reason I always hated Sim-games was the fact that I'm already responsible for my life, when I play a game I want to let someone else entertain me.

And back off subject:

And in terms of your "means" of promoting. Sure, any kind of promotion is good. However, along side of each of your links that you have posted on here has been some words associated with either rude, elementary, or jockish insults. And I'm sure some people that read those types of things will think ruKus radio is "really, really cool!" and "more power to them!", but unfortunately I think most will be slightly(or even more than slightly) disappointed. I know I am. I think there are better ways to deal with your issues than attempting to prove you're stronger or better than someone else over such a petty thing. And really - everything is petty.

Except blogs about video games. Because I like video games.

The End.

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By bobservo ( Bob Mackey )

"im sure somethingawful.com gets more hits daily than valley24 or any of our local sites. thats the numbers bob was referring to."

yeah, that and 1up.com (which i also write for). if you check alexa.com's page statistics, you'll see that SA averages about 400k hits a day, and 1up about 700k. i post these numbers if only to suggest that people out there *may* actually care about the kind of writing that people like me and my friends do. and while i could ask for mathematical proof of a certain internet radio station's popularity, i really don't care because our chosen fields will never be in direct competition with each other. so why should i be concerned outside of the few random times i get touched and cursed at in public?

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

Right, why WOULD you reply to anything i say to you, Mac? Because it would be way too tough to explain your existence. The only reason i ever said no one cares about your writing is because it was a direct quote from you about What we do. but you have obviously taken major offense. It's a classic scenario of dishing and not taking. It's ok though, Mac, when we're absent from v24 for another month, i am sure you will be crying for us to come back again. It's ok, it's cute.

-m

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By sumadartseom ( anonymous )

2 capitalization errors, and one missed semi-colon. All apologies. Goodnight, you princes of print; you Kings of Kreativity.

Is that right? I'm not quite sure. It was psych, not english. Can I get a diagram of that?

Peace,
-m

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

"How many people want to see you dance? Anyone?"

ROFL! You lost.

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By HYBRID ( anonymous )

Marvelous comeback there, goo. What did i lose? Your adoration? big loss there....

I'll say again dousche,

"And Goo........man, you're just a waste. It's sad that the best part of you ran down your mom's leg 20 odd years ago. Now I see where Goo comes from......."

Until I hear something even remotely close to funny or clever come from you I'm not going to bother with you anymore, because you're not even on my level. You're a wannabe in every sense of the word. Deal with it.

Mac, you're right about ONE thing, our respective mediums should never be in direct conflict. Unless you use your "skills" to bash ours. That's what started all this in the first place. And it has grown tiresome and shallow, and not worth my time any longer. I know i'll never be able to broaden your tunnel-visioned perspective, so why keep trying?

And finally, blavinsaddles, you are correct that all of this is essentially a pissing contest. But more often than not, all conflicts with differing viewpoints end the same way. When people fail to listen to reason, they sling mud. Because everything IS petty. As I said above, it's no longer worth my time.

So this is my last post, unless I have to come back to put Goo in his place again. But like I said earlier, I've got nothing to worry about from him.

Keep fighting the good fight for slandering people anonymously, ladies.

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By DrGoo ( anonymous )

"Marvelous comeback there, goo. What did i lose? Your adoration? big loss there...."

You lost, because you made a baseless argument against me, that is the furthest thing from the truth. You lost in the debate/life/putting me in my place/anything else you can think of.

Lets just make this simple. You have no idea what you're talking about.

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By joestradamus ( anonymous )

I just wanted to tell you what a good blog this is. Simcity 2000 is the best game ever. I made a name just to tell you that. (I couldn't think of a clever name, until I discovered that my first name rhymes with the first syllable of the name of the famous seer (Nostradamus!!!))

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By MaggieMae ( anonymous )

Hahahaha! Joestradamus, like Moestradamus... how long have you been following the blogging wars?

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By joestradamus ( anonymous )

I don't know what you're talking about. Who's Moestradamus and what are the blogging wars?

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By MaggieMae ( anonymous )

Moestradamus is a former blogger who had it out with Bob Mackey for a few months. He posted on this blog under the name sumadartseom. Some of it was entertaining, but it got pretty ugly for a while.

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