I'm a new Turbografx collector. Welcome Me !

[NecroPhile]

I'm missing Super Air Zonk, Samurai Ghost, Ghost Manor, Champions Forever Boxing, Chase HQ, Dynastic Hero, Tonma, Mysterious Song 1.1, and of course Magical Chase.  About half of 'em are relatively cheap and easy to pick up, but I doubt I'll ever get the spendy ones.  In any case, I'm not losing any sleep over it.

[esteban]

As I said, I was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout.

I enjoyed many aspects of it (camping, learning basic survival skills, learning about nature), but even as a kid there were many things I found "off-putting":

(1) undeniably strong presence of religion (Christianity) permeated the handbooks, activities, philosophies, etc. My local troops were all organized out of churches (leadership in Scouts were prominent members of congregation)...Boy Scouts, as an organization, was in many ways interchangeable with religious youth groups (that I also participated in).

(2) even stronger, and more problematic, was the blind patriotism/nationalism. Don't get me started on this. Even my Catechism teachers acknowledged that questioning the status quo was important (every now and then, anyway, otherwise, Jesus would have been a hoodlum).  The institutional desire for conformity in the Scouts seemed even more suffocating/oppressive than in church, if you can believe it. (Presbyterian and Roman Catholic, for the curious)

(3) Hunting/Fishing. I enjoyed marksmanship, but I stupidly opened my mouth about why I thought hunting/fishing was unsportsmanlike. Ha! That earned me some harsh rebuke from leadership team.  Also, I didn't like the way animals were treated, but I didn't say anything about that.



-----------

Remember, my critique of Scouts started when I was a kid, when I didn't even understand all the institutional problems the organization had with homophobia, pedophilia, racism, etc.

I am sure folks have had different experiences with the Scouts.

I feel like I was the last generation to experience *some* of the OLD SKOOL scouts...I was definitely part of a "transition" where the national organization was trying to be more inclusive. Early-to-mid 80's.

[Gredler]

Then I

I have never been in scout stuff, that was a descriptive picture you painted and supports the assumptions I had about them, but the ending left me on pins and needles!

[crazydean]

Well, the scouts is a Christian organization. The Mormon church has been sponsoring it for the past 100 years. As for the patriotism, the Boy Scouts have traditionally been involved stateside during wartime, especially WWI and WWII. Interestingly, if you make it to Eagle Scout and join the military, you are automatically promoted to E-3. I can't find a reason for this, but there ya go.

On a personal note, I had a friend in high school who made it to Eagle Scout when he was a senior. I was invited to the ceremony, even. The guy didn't seem to have many friends, and I remember wondering why anyone would want to spend time involved with such a group once they discovered that girls were a thing. Kudos to him, I guess. It takes a lot of dedication to make it that far. It's just not for me.

[TheClash603]

I don't like doing anything that involves effort which won't result in me getting money or vagina at the end, so I kinda see the anti-scout argument, especially from a non-conformist point of view.

However, the older I get the more I turn to socialism, which is the ultimate conformity and ironic considering my money and vagina point of view.

At the end of the day I don't criticize anyone's hobbies, groups, fetishes, etc...  because if you pull back the layers everyone has some deviant tendencies.

[SignOfZeta]

Would you also call kids that participate in team sports, debate club, cheerleading, etc. a bunch of weirdos? 

No, those are jocks. They're just disgusting. They don't do anything anywhere near as meaniful as what scouts do and they are one trillion times as proud. Whereas scouting attempts to Prepare you for anything, sports trains you in nothing useful whatever. It's like a training program designed to fill the planet with the worst people possible, egos that dwarf any skill set. 

Thank you Esteban for saying what I was thinking. My negative opinion of scouting was formed at an early age as well and while I broke it off early (my mother made sure I could do these kinds of things if I wanted to but never forced me) it's hard not to "fill in the gaps" as you get older.

And the military angle isn't something I mentioned but it bothers me greatly. Imagine doing all that scouting crap as a teenager instead of getting laid and staring off into space just so you can do Basic between 11th and 12th grade, go full time before you're 20, getting your legs blown off at 21, divorced by 24, addicted to heroin by 25, dead by your own hand at 28, and never having actually lived a life free of externally enforced structure duty and obedience. It's a hellish thought.

Pinewood derby cars are great though. I loved those for real. My company has an annual race now and next year there will be a modified class. I'm working on a twin chassis suspension cheat for next year but I'm not going to go much further than planning until the rules are announced.

[Killjoyy027]

I am new the community as well, welcome !

[geise]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Lol!  I started with a Huffy.  Eventually I had a Redline, GT, and a Gernaral.  Man the General's were nice bikes, but kinda heavy.  I loved my Redline for racing, and the GT was great for ramp.

[bob]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Lol!  I started with a Huffy.  Eventually I had a Redline, GT, and a Gernaral.  Man the General's were nice bikes, but kinda heavy.  I loved my Redline for racing, and the GT was great for ramp.

being a serious skateboarder growing up, i never got into bikes.  but man, the redlines were awesome.  had a couple friends with them.

not knowing anything about bikes, for some reason those really resonated with me.

[geise]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Lol!  I started with a Huffy.  Eventually I had a Redline, GT, and a Gernaral.  Man the General's were nice bikes, but kinda heavy.  I loved my Redline for racing, and the GT was great for ramp.

being a serious skateboarder growing up, i never got into bikes.  but man, the redlines were awesome.  had a couple friends with them.

not knowing anything about bikes, for some reason those really resonated with me.

I did both.  My first board was an Alva.  I eventually went through a lot of decks when it went all new school around 92 and 93.

[bob]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Lol!  I started with a Huffy.  Eventually I had a Redline, GT, and a Gernaral.  Man the General's were nice bikes, but kinda heavy.  I loved my Redline for racing, and the GT was great for ramp.

being a serious skateboarder growing up, i never got into bikes.  but man, the redlines were awesome.  had a couple friends with them.

not knowing anything about bikes, for some reason those really resonated with me.

I did both.  My first board was an Alva.  I eventually went through a lot of decks when it went all new school around 92 and 93.

yup, i think it was '92 when "Questionable" launched and turned the whole thing upside down.

[CGQuarterly]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Lol!  I started with a Huffy.  Eventually I had a Redline, GT, and a Gernaral.  Man the General's were nice bikes, but kinda heavy.  I loved my Redline for racing, and the GT was great for ramp.

My first bike was a Murray 3000, which was a wannabe BMX bike from K-Mart and which I can't find a picture of anywhere on the internet.  Then a couple of years later I got a Murray Street Machine which was a bit bigger, I think was a 3-speed, and had more of a mountain bike geometry.  Later I got a Huffy that weighed a fucking ton, and used to ride that 5 miles each way to work and back.  Finally got a Specialized Rock Hopper, which was way better.  Never did get to have a cool BMX bike.

[geise]

Never did get to have a cool BMX bike.

Never say never!  You can still get one!  Ride that shit to work while doing tricks.

[esteban]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Lol!  I started with a Huffy.  Eventually I had a Redline, GT, and a Gernaral.  Man the General's were nice bikes, but kinda heavy.  I loved my Redline for racing, and the GT was great for ramp.

My first bike was a Murray 3000, which was a wannabe BMX bike from K-Mart and which I can't find a picture of anywhere on the internet.  Then a couple of years later I got a Murray Street Machine which was a bit bigger, I think was a 3-speed, and had more of a mountain bike geometry.  Later I got a Huffy that weighed a fucking ton, and used to ride that 5 miles each way to work and back.  Finally got a Specialized Rock Hopper, which was way better.  Never did get to have a cool BMX bike.

At least some of you guys got Kmart bikes.

I sh@t you not, I had a goddamn Monsoon and Stingray when they were so f@cking not kool.

I wanted a 10-speed generic bike, from Kmart.

I had a red maroon Monsoon. It was a bigger frame than the two blue Stingrays I used in prior years.

I would pretend that I was 100% OK with having goofy bikes ancient eras...but I would have loved a "modern" one.

I have to admit, I am glad I learned to appreciate things that were out-of-fashion. Even if it was out of necessity.

[SignOfZeta]

I had a Huffy bootleg of a stingray that was all black (I think only the wheels were plated) that said "Space Invader" on the chain guard. Talk about uncool.

I went through a shitload of bikes back then until I eventually switched to skateboards. You get so much less hurt derfing on a skateboard. Also, bikes are several times the price of a skateboard.

[CGQuarterly]

Actually, that Murray 3000 was how I found out that K-Mart wasn't cool.  I rode the bike to school the day after I got it and other kids noticed that I had a new bike, and someone asked where I got it.  So I just told him, "K-Mart".  Like so fucking what?  "Your family shops at K-Mart?!?  You're poor!"  Etc. etc.  I had no idea that K-Mart had a bad rap.  What the fuck was wrong with K-Mart?  They had a luncheonette and everything.

Do kids go through that shit today with WalMart and Target?  Costco?

[bob]

Actually, that Murray 3000 was how I found out that K-Mart wasn't cool.  I rode the bike to school the day after I got it and other kids noticed that I had a new bike, and someone asked where I got it.  So I just told him, "K-Mart".  Like so fucking what?  "Your family shops at K-Mart?!?  You're poor!"  Etc. etc.  I had no idea that K-Mart had a bad rap.  What the fuck was wrong with K-Mart?  They had a luncheonette and everything.

Do kids go through that shit today with WalMart and Target?  Costco?

k-mart is pretty r@re and HTF now.  at least in my neck of the woods.  so maybe its "cool" to shop there now. 
regardless of the perception of being poor, walmart sells junk for bikes.  just think of the careless, with zero knowledge of the product chain of custody.  nobody that actually cares about it is involved in the end-to-end distribution of the bike.

[csgx1]

I had a similar experience and reaction in middle school.  Back when Super Mario 3 NES was initially released (late '80s) it was sold out at all the major local stores.  I ended up finding a copy at K-Mart.  A lot of my friends/classmates wanted to buy the game too and asked me where I found it.  I told them at K-Mart and they had more copies if they wanted the game now.  I basically received the same kind of negative response:  "You and your family must be really cheap and poor to shop at K-Mart." 

Back then I couldn't understand how buying a $55 NES game at K-Mart gave an impression that my family was poor.

[HailingTheThings]

I had a similar experience and reaction in middle school.  Back when Super Mario 3 NES was initially released (late '80s) it was sold out at all the major local stores.  I ended up finding a copy at K-Mart.  A lot of my friends/classmates wanted to buy the game too and asked me where I found it.  I told them at K-Mart and they had more copies if they wanted the game now.  I basically received the same kind of negative response:  "You and your family must be really cheap and poor to shop at K-Mart." 

Back then I couldn't understand how buying a $55 NES game at K-Mart gave an impression that my family was poor.

People are A**holes, yo. I have fond memories of getting a bunch of HeMan figures at Kmart on clearance when I was very little. One of them being Grizzlor. Yay.

[martinine]

Ha! I bought my Mario 3 at Roses. Roses makes K-Mart look like a Christie's auction. I didn't care at all what anyone thought about where I shopped as long as I could play that new hotness!

[PukeSter]

I'm still amazed that both k-mart and Sears are 10 minutes from my house.

[TheClash603]

You guys were poor.

My dad got my games from the Fingerhut catalog, like anyone with class.

[esteban]

You guys were poor.

My dad got my games from the Fingerhut catalog, like anyone with class.

I know, right?

My dad gave me three copies of SMB1 when I asked for SMB3.

[bob]

You guys were poor.

My dad got my games from the Fingerhut catalog, like anyone with class.

I know, right?

My dad gave me three copies of SMB1 when I asked for SMB3.

what a perfect response.   

Clash, great fingerhut reference.  my family was a frequent order placer with fingerfut.  they shipped everything in huge boxes that could survive the apocalypse.  some weird cardboard that never broke down.  we used those boxes for YEARS to store our christmas decorations.

[TheClash603]

You guys were poor.

My dad got my games from the Fingerhut catalog, like anyone with class.

I know, right?

My dad gave me three copies of SMB1 when I asked for SMB3.

what a perfect response.   

Clash, great fingerhut reference.  my family was a frequent order placer with fingerfut.  they shipped everything in huge boxes that could survive the apocalypse.  some weird cardboard that never broke down.  we used those boxes for YEARS to store our christmas decorations.

My family never had much money growing up so Fingerhut was the supplier if most of my Christmas gifts.  I assume that by the following Christmas my parents paid off the past Christmas' gifts which they were charged 50% over retail...  I guess it beats credit card debt?

I don't recall the indestructible boxes, but as a child from the era with styrofoam McNugget packages, I don't doubt it!

[seieienbu]

Ha! I bought my Mario 3 at Roses. Roses makes K-Mart look like a Christie's auction. I didn't care at all what anyone thought about where I shopped as long as I could play that new hotness!

I went to a Roses while visiting relatives in North Carolina sometime around 2006.  They had new in box Sega Saturns and a few sports games.  That memory always stood out to me.  They had been using shelf space for 10 years and would possibly never sell.  I kinda of wish that I'd bought one of the Saturns but oh well, already had one.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I am new the community as well, welcome !

Welcome JillKoy!!

[NightWolve]

Edit: I REALLY wanted a Mongoose when I was a kid.  Got a Murray from K-Mart instead. 

Ah yeah, those, hah! They were 2nd place for me, always wanted those blue diamond backs as they were called. Also had to settle for K-Mart brands in the end... ;)

Speaking of fringes of society stuff:

I'm quite the Macross fan and all. I have the DRYL Perfect Edition CAV laserdisc. I was mail ordering Macross model kits from photocopied catalogs that said, "Check your local TV listings soon for "Robotech", the English version of Macross!!!" hand written in the margins. I had Kawamori draw me an SD VT-1D, which sits framed on my dresser. Etc etc...

I remember a long time ago there was this skinny dude with a beard that would always be able to get you out of print Japanese model kits, Macross and stuff. This was before email. Like, 1987 or something. Between mailing him a letter ("Can you get a Max Type movie version VF1J 1/110th scale?), getting a reply letter ("Yeah, sure, when I go to Japan next spring."), sending him a payment (checks sometimes took months to clear in the 80s), and then him sending the kit it would sometimes take nine months or more. It sounds crazy now (Hobby Link Japan can have this kit on my door in 5 days flat now) but I can't emphasize enough that this guy was a fucking hero back in the day because it was him or nothing. Its fully possible that that Urashiman kit sat on his living room table for a month before he mailed it to me without me knowing, but I will never forgot the fun I had as a kid finally getting my package from guys like him and other shops and stuff. This shit taught me patience.

While the guys Zeta's criticizing were outdoors hiking through the wilderness, he was indoors at home meticulously working on the latest addition to his Japanese model kit collection.

If Zeta didn't know anyone still doing scouting type stuff, it's probably because he already filled his social circle's role of resident "weirdo". I don't doubt that he may very well have gotten to hang around people with far fewer hang ups than him, but I can't imagine joining in with his  buddies, after a long day of shooting beer bottles in the woods, head banging to Maiden while getting high. Going by his posting history here, I can only envision him waving his figure at them for having Eddie tattoos and making such poor life choices, while counting down the days until the proliferation of the internet. So he could finally take breaks from modeling to criticize the life choices of people he's never even met.

I don't think that Zeta was molested during his clandestine meetings with that skinny bearded gentleman. I'm sure he was a great guy and all that, but Zeta simply *must* have heard by now that it isn't cool to be old enough to drive yourself to the meet up with your out-of-print Japanese model kit importer.

But I actually think that Zeta's hobbies are cool, or at least I find them interesting, even if they're not for me. I have other nerdy/geeky/weirdo stuff that I spend my limited free time on. But just like many older scout enthusiasts, my free time is limited because I have a relatively normal and fulfilled life outside of my non-mainstream hobbies.

Everyone active on this forum is a "weirdo". If you're socially well-adjusted, you know exactly how it sounds to a regular adult, if you explain exactly what the PC Engine is and the kinds of discussions which take place here. You don't have to shove it in people's faces, but you shouldn't feel insecure about your passions in life.

Wow, that came from BT ? Hahaha! *FEEL THE BERN!!*

[GoldenWheels]

Nobody else got their games at Service Merchandise huh? Maybe that's a regional thing. I was always impressed that the games were sold next to jewelry.

[wildfruit]

You guys were poor.

My dad got my games from the Fingerhut catalog, like anyone with class.

I know, right?

My dad gave me three copies of SMB1 when I asked for SMB3.

Lold HARD at this

[SignOfZeta]

I think most of that anti-Kmart stuff had to do with it being the 80/90s. $150 Polo shirts are nowhere near as popular as they are now, in fact compared to my preppy ass most kids look...homeless, pretty much, nowadays, so I doubt there is as much fashion shaming.

For anything but clothes, tools, bikes, and electronics though I don't really get the Kmart stigma. I got most of my Transformers and King Vitamin and whatnot from them and they come from the same factory as the ones they sold at Hudsons so it's a pretty stupid line of thought, IMO.

[nectarsis]

I think most of that anti-Kmart stuff had to do with it being the 80/90s. $150 Polo shirts are nowhere near as popular as they are now, in fact compared to my preppy ass most kids look...homeless, pretty much, nowadays, so I doubt there is as much fashion shaming.

For anything but clothes, tools, bikes, and electronics though I don't really get the Kmart stigma. I got most of my Transformers and King Vitamin and whatnot from them and they come from the same factory as the ones they sold at Hudsons so it's a pretty stupid line of thought, IMO.

You obviously have little/no interactions with high schoolers-mid late 20's....the "fashion" crowd is worse than ever.

[shabba]

I grew up in a bumble fuck town in Georgia named Rome. We had a Wal-Mart and a K-Mart. Every kid knew that you NEVER, EVER shopped at K-mart, even if you actually did, and that any toy you got for xmas or b-day was from Wal-Mart or Wilbro or, if it was a video game, KB Toys. I wore a pair of blue jeans to school in 1988, so about 8th grade, and because they were so blue (fucking blue, sooooo fucking blue), some kids asked me about them. They were Levi's and expensive so there was no questioning my parents taste...BUT I committed the forever sin of saying they got them at "JC Penney, right across the street from K-Mart". Those mother fuckers heard "K-Mart" and for the next 5 years, my hands never touched quality boobs.

I had a Redline bicycle in 1979, most bad ass bike in Fort Worth Texas. I left it out front of my home one day and it was stolen because 5 year olds are fucking irresponsible. My grandmother gave the police an apt description of a "colored guy" that made off with the bike, reinforcing the stereotype in my mind of a purple colored man stealing my things. When it was not recovered, and after I had sufficiently cried my eyes out for days, my parents bought me a Mongoose. I found out years later that it was a competition bike with a 3 piece pedal set and the frame was chromoly. I sold it to a dude in Australia in 2012, all beaten up and in shitty shape, for $900 bucks. True story.

I got fat after that and started playing video games. Fat dropped off, got some pussy, ruined for life and 20 odd years later, I'm on a website devoted to video games. Jesus H.

[HailingTheThings]

I grew up in a bumble fuck town called Rome in Georgia. We had a Wal-Mart and a K-Mart. Every kid knew that you NEVER, EVER shopped at K-mart, even if you actually did, and that any toy you got for xmas or b-day was from Wal-Mart or Wilbro or, if it was a video game, KB Toys. I wore a pair of blue jeans to school in 1988, so about 8th grade, and because they were so blue (fucking blue, sooooo fucking blue), some kids asked me about them. They were Levi's and expensive so there was no questioning my parents taste...BUT I committed the forever sin of saying they got them at "JC Penney, right across the street from K-Mart". Those mother f*****s heard "K-Mart" and for the next 5 years, my hands never touched quality boobs.

I had a Redline bicycle in 1979, most bad ass bike in Fort Worth Texas. I left it out front of my home one day and it was stolen because 5 year olds are fucking irresponsible. My grandmother gave the police an apt description of a "colored guy" that made off with the bike, reinforcing the stereotype in my mind of a purple colored man stealing my things. When it was not recovered, and after I had sufficiently cried my eyes out for days, my parents bought me a Mongoose. I found out years later that it was a competition bike with a 3 piece pedal set and the frame was chromoly. I sold it to a dude in Australia in 2012, all beaten up and in shitty shape, for $900 bucks. True story.

I got fat after that and started playing video games. Fat dropped off, got some pussy, ruined for life and 20 odd years later, I'm on a website devoted to video games. Jesus H.

I might like you, just a little, though. : )

[NecroPhile]

Nobody else got their games at Service Merchandise huh? Maybe that's a regional thing. I was always impressed that the games were sold next to jewelry.

One of my first exposures to the Turbob was at Service Merchandise.  I never bought anything there (they were gone by the time I got a Duo), but I played a lot of Bonk on their demo unit.

[shabba]

Nobody else got their games at Service Merchandise huh? Maybe that's a regional thing. I was always impressed that the games were sold next to jewelry.

I remember this place. We had to drive to Atlanta to one but my father bought several lenses for his Minolta camera in the late 80's at that place for good prices. I think he might have bought my original Nintendo there (but he really got it at K-Mart. That's a secret) as well as games for xmas. Neat place that got edged out by Wal-Mart/K-Mart who is now being edged out by Amazon. Funny how that goes.

Good call on Service Merchandise. I had forgotten that name completely.

[bob]

did anybody have Caldor?  i used to find games cheap there.  it was one of those stores that got the stock that didnt sell at other stores so everything was discounted.  it may have been a northeast chain.

[khyron65]

did anybody have Caldor?  i used to find games cheap there.  it was one of those stores that got the stock that didnt sell at other stores so everything was discounted.  it may have been a northeast chain.

That sounds a lot like a store we had down here in south florida called BEST

[shabba]

did anybody have Caldor?  i used to find games cheap there.  it was one of those stores that got the stock that didnt sell at other stores so everything was discounted.  it may have been a northeast chain.

That sounds a lot like a store we had down here in south florida called BEST

We had those in North Georgia as well. Another one that I had forgotten about. Wow.

[shabba]

did anybody have Caldor?  i used to find games cheap there.  it was one of those stores that got the stock that didnt sell at other stores so everything was discounted.  it may have been a northeast chain.

That sounds a lot like a store we had down here in south florida called BEST

Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, Best was headquartered right here in Richmond and died off 2 years before Service Merchandise in 1997 (which actually lasted until 2001 before croaking at the very end of the year). I never knew.

[khyron65]

did anybody have Caldor?  i used to find games cheap there.  it was one of those stores that got the stock that didnt sell at other stores so everything was discounted.  it may have been a northeast chain.

That sounds a lot like a store we had down here in south florida called BEST

Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, Best was headquartered right here in Richmond and died off 2 years before Service Merchandise in 1997 (which actually lasted until 2001 before croaking at the very end of the year). I never knew.

That is crazy. Down here a whole slew of stores just disappeared in the late 80s early 90s. BEST and Zayres where the first to go then Service Merchandise and Ames. They seemed very popular and my cheap parents went there pretty regularly so I had a lot of childhood memories of the places. Anytime someone mentions them I always have fond memories.

[csgx1]

Never got any game stuff at Service Merchandise.  I only remember the merchandise rolling off a conveyor belt and I thought it was the coolest thing ever when I was a kid. 

Also, never heard or seen Caldor stores on the west coast.

My family used to go to Macy's Clearance.  I think Macy's still has clearance centers for discount and damage furniture only.  In the '80s they used to discount everything from clothing to electronics.  I got a Sega Master System with 3d glasses from there for cheap.

[GoldenWheels]

Loved the print  Service Merchandise catalog too. That was Toy Porn for kids (even JCP used to have a sweet glossy catalog too with games as I recall, though maybe I am thinking of Sears)

Had Caldors in CT for sure; but to me they were like K-Mart was to some of you fellas. You didn't say when you got stuff there. Or when you bought clothes at Marshalls!