Clearing away the Myst

I've seen Alzheimer's at its very worst. The eventual loss of mobility, madness, violent behaviour, and most of all, memory loss of loved ones. No one is exactly sure how to avoid it, however it's always advisable to exercise not only your body, but your mind as well. Memory games, Soduku, crossworlds, trivia, card games are all examples of small things a person can do to keep the mind active.

If you're a visual person there were a number of hit games in the 90's. Myst, a first person mystery adventure game created by Robyn and Rand Miller was first released in 1991 for Macintosh. The game quickly gained momentum, becoming a surprise hit that expanded into a series for Microsoft Windows and other platforms.

With beautiful exotic locations, the player is "dropped" onto the island of Myst in the role of a "Stranger". Like peeling layers of an onion, the player must find clues to discover the back-story of characters bit by bit. With no violence, time limit, or obvious enemies, the game must be solved by logic and patience. Mystery lovers paradise.

Recommended Ways of maintaining a healthy mind:

Reading, playing an instrument, or learning a new language

Take different routes home and to work

Brain teasers and strategy games

Observation. Lovin' mystery is a good thing after all. The 5 w's to solving crime. Who, what, where, when, and why!

80s lost

Leisure Suit Larry

Ah.. anybody remember those primitive choppy images of prostitutes, pimps, cliché bars, taxi rides and hotels? Originally considered a soft porn adventure, Sierra On-line created a world for Larry Laffer, a balding loser in his forties to... get laid. I remember laughing with a lot of my friends, easily cracking through the questions with a notepad until we were permitted into his sleazy world. That was then. In recent years the gaming industry has progressed far beyond our expectations or nightmares, where murder, theft and whoring are the next generation norm for entertainment. Released in Japan in 2006, a "hentai" rape-based game "RapeLay" made close to $100 million. Although it's now banned from shelves in Japan and pulled from Amazon, the domestic Japanese market is unlikely to fade anytime soon. I won't go into details of the sheer perversion and indecency but it makes me wish for the days of Leisure Suit Larry.

Multi-million toy commercials

So far only Transformers and G.I. Joe have been churned into action packed candy cotton. Can't Hollywood think of anything fresh? They probably can but it's a heck of a lot easier to just make a blockbuster that already has a set market. My question is... what do kids watch? The Saturday morning time slot is a pale comparison to the packed programs of the past. Sure there's Spongebob, but one show can't compare to the explosive creative burst of the 80's where the Smurfs, Voltron, Thundercats, the Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock ruled the waves. I guess the most we can look forward to is the onslaught of remakes coming our way.

Fashionistas & Hollywood

The part of the 80s that I sometimes think... why why WHY BRING IT BACK? The colors, thick theatrical makeup, leggings, jewelry, hair, shoulder pads, neon, silver and acid washed jeans ... it makes my head spin.

Although little kids can get away with wearing absolutely anything... hope to see a few little David Bowie and Madonna outfits this Halloween!