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Rosie PopeNaming your baby is a preeeetty big deal. So do you think you're taking it seriously enough? Really? Because you could pawn it off on think tanks and focus groups instead of doing the job yourself.
Oh, if only I were joking. The first episode of Bravo's newest reality show, Pregnant in Heels, served up a first look at what happens when the uber rich get pregnant ... and turn to pregnancy concierge Rosie Pope to help them prep. Enter branding expert Samantha Ettus and husband Mitch Jacobs, founder and CEO of a business capital firm. They want to brand their baby.
They have a point. As Samantha says, "The first impression people give is their name." Fair enough, but then she goes on to point to her first two kids, Ella and Ruby, and admit they've had two attempts at branding a kid and "I don't know that we've done it as successfully as we could." Ouch, Mom, that's my name!
Nevertheless, they're not going to screw up with baby number three, a boy. So they've called on Rosie Pope to help them test out their names on a focus group like it's a new form of toothpaste.
But first, they need to come up with names, and they want a think tank to help them do it. Pope does her duties well; she brings in a linguistics expert, a poet, a baby name blogger, and more to sit around a table and bring up baby names that fit the requirements Ettus and Jacobs have: No J names, no E or R names, and nothing that ends in S. They want easy to spell, and nothing decorative. Did they mention they've already been through thousands of names? Oh, and they already have a name they're playing around with: Bowen.
Their requirements make a lot of sense (hello easy to spell!), which begs the question ... why do they need a think tank to do this? They've already done the heavy lifting?
Pope nails it with her simple summation: "Holy moly, these people are crazy." Not surprisingly, that little gem is already raising Ettus' ire on Twitter. But her point is made as Ettus and Jacobs move onto the focus group, and quickly dismiss the people inside the little room any time they disagree with them.
The whole point of the focus group was supposed to be to find out what other people thought of their child's name -- hence that first impression. But as the couple dismisses the whole thing and calls for a dinner with their friends to get THEIR opinion, their real MO comes out. "It's groundbreaking ... who's ever done a focus group for a baby name before?" they say.
Ah. So it's not about the name per se. It's about breaking ground. Gotcha.
In the end, the couple stick to their guns. They name their little boy Bowen Asher Jacobs. They probably wasted a lot of time with all those groups and meetings, but GOOD for them! Naming your baby is such a personal thing, it's nice to know they came back to their own preferences instead of letting someone else have the final say.
Do you think of baby naming as branding? Would you be able to put it out to a committee of experts and go with their suggestions?
Image via Bravo
I just registered as I wanted to comment on the reality TV show Pregnant in Heels above. While I do believe that there is quite a lot of man made and contrived scenarios that contribute to the reality TV craze. As far as Pregnant in Heels; I do believe that this one could actually be funny as the participants are all quite a bit loony. I could not imagine having a greater love of my shoe collection over loving my unborn infant.
The one thing however of great interest to me as I have discovered is the one couple who is featured on the TV commercial as well as the long clip. The fellow in the back of the cab with his wife who is telling jokes has quite the website and it appears has been on Fox and Friends in New York. His site is http://www.theouterspacemen.com. His F&F's clip and the show clip is on his site. It seems that he has written this amazing science fiction book and the book is critically acclaimed. I have contacted him and asked that he sign a book to me. The book is called "The Outer Space Men" and this guy seems to be right up my alley as I love Sci Fi. I will let you all know how this future reality show guy holds up to the written word.
For all that fuss, they certainly picked an ugly name. Bowen reminds me of backwoods hicks in the boonies. I think they did better the first two times.
My rules: easy to pronounce, easy to spell, "pretty" if a girl's name, "strong" if it's a boy's, either easily shortened or already short, not too common, not too crazy, nothing that's easily mocked (sounds like/rhymes with a swear or something), and a middle name that has a completely different feel from the first, in case they hate it anyway after all that effort I put into it.
I don't see how this is any different to the thousands of name polls we see on cafemom! Everyone wants to have the perfect name for their child. This couple obviously have the money to spare to do this.I do not, so I come on here and ask people's opinions!


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Space Invaders
|Video Game
| [[Midway
Bally Astrocade
Sega Saturn
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Game Boy
Nintendo 64
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance]][[Category:Midway
Bally Astrocade
Sega Saturn
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Game Boy
Nintendo 64
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance games|Midway
Bally Astrocade
Sega Saturn
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Game Boy
Nintendo 64
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance games]]
|Tomohiro Nishikado
| HuCard
Compact disc
Sega Saturn
| Arcade:
2-Way Joystick, 1 Button
Atari 2600 Joystick
Atari 5200 Controller
Turbo Pad
Super Nintendo Controller
Sega Saturn Controller
Playstation Controller
Nintendo 64 Controller
|Fixed Shooter
| Cheats | Codes | Covers | Credits | Soundtrack | Patches
Space Invaders is a 1978 arcade video game by Midway. Space Invaders was a widely popular arcade game, and still holds it's place today as one of the most beloved and most played arcade games. Space Invaders legacy has spanned decades after it's original 1978 release, being ported to dozens of platforms, including online video game stores such as Xbox Live Arcade and more. Space Invaders had a major impact on the Arcade market and video games in general, and was one of the earliest examples of successful Japanese arcade machines.
Reception & Legacy
Space Invaders (スペースインベーダー Supēsu Inbēdā ) is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. In designing the game, Nishikado drew inspiration from popular media: Breakout, The War of the Worlds, and Star Wars. To complete it, he had to design custom hardware and development tools.
It was one of the forerunners of modern video gaming and helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry (see golden age of video arcade games). When first released, Space Invaders was very successful.
The game has been the inspiration for other video games, re-released on numerous platforms, and led to several sequels. The 1980 Atari 2600 version quadrupled the system's sales and became the first "killer app" for video game consoles. Space Invaders has been referenced and parodied in multiple television shows, and been a part of several video game and cultural exhibitions. The pixelated enemy alien has become a pop culture icon, often used as a synecdoche representing video games as a whole.
Space Invaders pits your space ship, three lives, and four destroyable shields against an onslaught of aliens from above that only get faster. You maneuver from left to right, shooting enemies, while taking cover underneath your shields. The shields can be destroyed by the enemy shots, or by you yourself. While shooting through your own shields gives you more openings to hit the aliens, it also puts your ship at risk.
The enemies gradually come down until they reach the bottom. The more you kill, the faster they move. Eventually, when there is only one left, it will move at high speeds as it increases speed, drops down, and reverses direction.
Occasionally, a mothership crosses the top of the screen, awarding the player points for hitting it. Although the point values are thought to be random, players of the arcade game have found out how to make the mothership award the maximum amount of points (300 points).
The game is somewhat unique in that it is basically unbeatable.
Space Invaders was created by Tomohiro Nishikado, who spent a year designing the game and developing the necessary hardware to produce it.[1] The game's inspiration is reported to have come from varying sources, including an adaptation of the mechanical game Space Monsters released by Taito in 1972, and a dream about Japanese school children who are waiting for Santa Claus and are attacked by invading aliens.[2][3] However, Nishikado has cited Atari's arcade game Breakout as his inspiration. He aimed to create a shooting game that featured the same sense of achievement from completing stages and destroying targets, but with more complex graphics.[1][4] Nishikado used a similar layout to that of Breakout, but altered the game mechanics. Rather than bounce a ball to attack static objects, players are given the ability to fire projectiles at their own discretion to attack moving enemies.[5]
Early enemy designs included tanks, combat planes, and battleships.[1] Nishikado, however, was not satisfied with the enemy movements; technical limitations made it difficult to simulate flying.[1][6] Humans would have been easier to simulate, but Nishikado considered shooting them immoral.[6][7] After seeing a magazine feature about Star Wars, he thought of using a space theme.[1][4] Nishikado drew inspiration for the aliens from H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds—he had watched the 1953 film adaptation as a child—and created initial bitmap images after the octopus-like aliens.[1][4][6] Other alien designs were modeled after squids and crabs.[1][6] The game was originally titled Space Monsters, inspired by a popular song in Japan at the time ("Monster"), but was changed to Space Invaders by Nishikado's superiors.[1][4]
Because microcomputers in Japan were not powerful enough at the time to perform the complex tasks involved in designing and programming Space Invaders, Nishikado had to design his own custom hardware and development tools for the game.[1][6] He created the arcade board using new microprocessors from the United States.[4] The game uses an Intel 8080 central processing unit, and features raster graphics on a CRT monitor and monaural sound hosted by a combination of analogue circuitry and a Texas Instruments SN76477 sound chip.[7][8][9] Despite the specially developed hardware, Nishikado was unable to program the game as he wanted—the Control Program board was not powerful enough to display the graphics in color or move the enemies faster—and he considered the development of the hardware the most difficult part of the whole process.[1][6] While programming the game, Nishikado discovered that the processor was able to render the alien graphics faster the fewer were on screen. Rather than design the game to compensate for the speed increase, he decided to keep it as a challenging gameplay mechanic.[4][10]
Space Invaders was first released in a cocktail-table format with black and white graphics, while the Western release by Midway was in an upright cabinet format. The upright cabinet uses strips of orange and green cellophane over the screen to simulate color graphics. The graphics are reflected onto a painted backdrop of a moon against a space background. Later Japanese releases also used colored cellophane.[11] The cabinet artwork features large, humanoid monsters not present in the game. Nishikado attributes this to the artist basing the designs on the original title, Space Monsters, rather than referring to the in-game graphics.[1]
Despite its simplicity, the music to Space Invaders was revolutionary in the gaming industry. Videogame scholar Andrew Schartmann identifies three aspects of the music that would have a significant impact on the development of game music:
- Whereas videogame music prior to Space Invaders was restricted to the extremities (i.e., a short introductory theme with game-over counterpart), the alien-inspired hit featured continuous music—the well-known four-note loop—throughout, uninterrupted by sound effects. "It was thus the first time that sound effects and music were superimposed to form a rich sonic landscape. Not only do players receive feedback related directly to their actions through sound effects; they also receive stimulus in a more subtle, non-interactive fashion through music."[12]
- The music interacts with on-screen animation to influence the emotions of the player. "That seemingly pedestrian four-note loop might stir us in the most primitive of ways, but that it stirs us at all is worthy of note. By demonstrating that game sound could be more than a simple tune to fill the silence, Space Invaders moved videogame music closer to the realm of art."[13]
- The music popularized the notion of variability—the idea that music can change in accordance with the ongoing narrative. The variable in Space Invaders (tempo) is admittedly simple, but its implications are not to be underestimated. "Over the years, analogous strategies of variation would be applied to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, form, and a host of other parameters, all with the goal of accommodating the nonlinear aspect of videogames."[14]
|At the deepest of conceptual levels, one would be hard-pressed to find an arcade game as influential to the early history of videogame music as Space Invaders. Its role as a harbinger of the fundamental techniques that would come to shape the industry remains more or less unchallenged. And its blockbuster success ensured the adoption of those innovations by the industry at large.
—Andrew Schartmann, Maestro Mario: How Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an Art
Space Invaders Deluxe
A sequel game called Space Invaders Deluxe (also Space Invaders Part II) was released in the arcades by Taito in 1979 and Midway in 1980. While similar in gameplay to the original, it deviates from it in some small ways. First of all, there is the addition of a flashing UFO that crosses the top of the screen that is worth 500 points if you hit it when it's visible. Secondly, from the second wave on, some of the middle-row invaders will split into two smaller invaders. And thirdly, the mothership will appear in later levels to drop reinforcments into the advancing formation. It also includes an intermission scene between waves where one of the invaders flees to the top of the screen, calling out SOS! SOS! SOS!
- Alien in bottom two rows ("skull") -- 10 points
- Alien in middle two rows ("toaster") -- 20 points
- Alien in top row ("conehead") -- 30 points
- Mystery ship—50 to 300 points, depending on how many shots have been fired between appearances
- Flashing mystery ship in Space Invaders Deluxe—200 or 500 points, depending on the chip set being used (Midway or Taito)
Atari 2600 version
The Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders is one of the most successful arcade-to-home ports ever made and released for the system. While simplified in some aspects (there are only 36 invaders to deal with, you have only 3 shields to hide behind, and the mother ship is always 200 points), it is made up for in the multitude of game player variations, such as:
- Moving Shields: the player's shields move back and forth.
- Zigzagging Bombs: the invaders' bombs drop in a zigzagging pattern.
- Fast Bombs: the invaders' bombs drop faster.
- Invisible Invaders: the invaders only show up briefly when you hit one of them.
- One Player: your standard one-player game.
- Two Players Alternating: your standard two-player game, when each player takes turns.
- Two Players Competing: both players play at the same time, shooting at the same group of invaders. Here the game ends when either both players lose three laser bases among them or the invaders land.
- Two Players Competing, Alternating Shots: same as Two Players Competing, except that each player takes turns firing. If a player takes too long to fire, his laser base automatically fires a shot.
- One Player Moves Left, Other Player Moves Right: the left player can only move the laser base to the left, the right player can only move it to the right. Either player can fire.
- Players Alternate Control: the left player moves the laser base until he fires a shot, then the right players has control until he fires a shot, and so on.
- One Player Moves, Other Player Fires: the left player moves the cannon, the right player fires.
By using the difficulty switches, the player(s) can select to choose a small laser base (B setting) or a wide laser base (A setting).
Impact and legacy
After the first few months following its release in Japan, the game became very popular.[7] Specialty arcades opened with nothing but Space Invaders cabinets,[1][7] and by the end of 1978, Taito had installed over 100,000 machines and grossed over $600 million in Japan alone.[15] Within two years by 1980,[16] Taito had sold over 300,000 Space Invaders arcade machines in Japan,[17] in addition to 60,000 machines in the United States,[16][18] where prices ranged from $2000 to $3000 for each machine,[19] within one year.[20] The arcade cabinets have since become collector's items with the cocktail and cabaret versions being the rarest.[21] By mid-1981, more than four billion quarters, or $1 billion, had been grossed from Space Invaders machines,[22] and it would continue to gross an average of $600 million a year[23] through to 1982, by which time it had grossed $2 billion in quarters[24][25] (equivalent to $4.6 billion in 2011),[26] with a net profit of $450 million[25] (equivalent to $1 billion in 2011).[26] This made it the best-selling video game and highest-grossing entertainment product of its time,[24] with comparisons made to the then highest-grossing film Star Wars,[24][27] which had grossed $486 million[27] in movie tickets (costing $2.25 each on average)[24] with a net profit of $175 million.[27] Space Invaders had earned Taito profits of over $500 million.[1][28] The 1980 Atari 2600 version was the first official licensing of an arcade game and became the first "killer app" for video game consoles by quadrupling the system's sales.[11][29] It sold over two million units in its first year on sale as a home console game,[30] making it the first title to sell a million cartridges.[31] Other official ports of the game were made for the Atari 8-bit computer line and Atari 5200 console. Taito released it for the NES in 1985 (Japan only). Numerous unofficial clones were made as well, such as the popular computer games Super Invader (1979)[32] and TI Invaders (1981).
An oft-quoted urban legend states that there was a shortage of 100-yen coins—and subsequent production increase—in Japan attributed to the game,[1][33][34] although in actuality, 100 yen coin production was lower in 1978 and 1979 than in previous or subsequent years.[35][36] The claim also doesn't hold up to logical scrutiny; arcade operators would have emptied out their machines and taken the money to the bank, thus keeping the coins in circulation.[36] Reports from those living in Japan at the time indicate "nothing out of the ordinary ... during the height of the Space Invaders invasion."[36]
Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto considered Space Invaders a game that revolutionized the video game industry; he was never interested in video games before seeing it.[37] Hideo Kojima also described it as the first video game that impressed him and got him interested in video games.[38] Several publications ascribed the expansion of the video game industry from a novelty into a global industry to the success of the game. Edge magazine attributed the shift of video games from bars and arcades to more mainstream locations like restaurants and department stores to Space Invaders.[39] Its popularity was such that it was the first game where an arcade machine's owner could make up for the cost of the machine in under one month, or in some places within one week.[20]
Technology journalist Jason Whittaker credited the game's success to ending the video game crash of 1977, which had earlier been caused by Pong clones flooding the market, and beginning the golden age of video arcade games.[40] According to The Observer, the home console versions were popular and encouraged users to learn programming; many who later became industry leaders.[34] 1UP.com stated that Space Invaders showed that video games could compete against the major entertainment media at the time: movies, music, and television.[7] IGN attributed the launch of the arcade phenomenon in North America in part to Space Invaders.[41] Electronic Games credited the game's success as the impetus behind video gaming becoming a rapidly growing hobby and as "the single most popular coin-operated attraction of all time."[42] Game Informer considered it, along with Pac-Man, one of the most popular arcade games that tapped into popular culture and generated excitement during the golden age of arcades.[43] IGN listed it as one of the "Top 10 Most Influential Games" in 2007, citing the source of inspiration to video game designers and the impact it had on the shooting genre.[44] 1UP ranked it at No. 3 in its list of "The 60 Most Influential Games of All Time," stating that, in contrast to earlier arcade games which "were attempts to simulate already-existing things," Space Invaders was "the first video game as a video game, instead of merely a playable electronic representation of something else."[45] In 2008, Guinness World Records listed it as the top-rated arcade game in technical, creative, and cultural impact.[46]
As one of the earliest shooting games, it set precedents and helped pave the way for future titles and for the shooting genre.[44][47] Space Invaders popularized a more interactive style of gameplay with the enemies responding to the player controlled cannon's movement,[4] and was the first video game to popularize the concept of achieving a high score,[2][33][44] being the first to save the player's score.[44] While earlier shooting games allowed the player to shoot at targets, Space Invaders was the first in which targets could fire back at the player.[48] It was also the first game where players were given multiple lives,[49] had to repel hordes of enemies,[7] could take cover from enemy fire, and use destructible barriers,[50] in addition to being the first game to use a continuous background soundtrack, with four simple diatonic descending bass notes repeating in a loop, which was dynamic and changed pace during stages,[51] like a heartbeat sound that increases pace as enemies approached.[52]
It also moved the gaming industry away from Pong-inspired sports games grounded in real-world situations towards action games involving fantastical situations.[53] Whittaker commented that Space Invaders helped action games become the most dominant genre on both arcades and consoles, through to contemporary times.[54] Guinness World Records considered Space Invaders one of the most successful arcade shooting games by 2008.[33] In describing it as a "seminal arcade classic", IGN listed it as the number eight "classic shoot 'em up".[41] Space Invaders set the template for the shoot 'em up genre.[53] Its worldwide success created a demand for a wide variety of science fiction games, inspiring the development of arcade games, such as Atari's Asteroids,[55] Williams Electronics' Defender, and Namco's Galaxian and Galaga, which were modeled after Space Invaders's gameplay and design.[56][57] This influence extends to most shooting games released to the present day,[7] including first-person shooters such as Wolfenstein,[58][59] Doom,[60] Halo[61] and Call of Duty.[62] Space Invaders also had an influence on early computer dungeon crawl games such as Dungeons of Daggorath, which used similar heartbeat sounds to indicate player health.[52]
Space Invaders' concept of a gradually increasing difficulty level also revolutionized the gaming industry. [1]
Remakes and sequels
- Main article: List of Space Invaders video games
Space Invaders has been remade on numerous platforms and spawned many sequels. Re-releases include ported and updated versions of the original arcade game. Ported versions generally feature different graphics and additional gameplay options—for example, moving defense bunkers, zigzag shots, invisible aliens, and two-player cooperative gameplay.[11] Ports on earlier systems like the Atari home consoles featured simplified graphics, while later systems such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and PlayStation featured updated graphics. Later titles include several modes of gameplay and integrate new elements into the original design. For example, Space Invaders Extreme, released on the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable, integrated musical elements into the standard gameplay.[63][64] A spin-off for WiiWare, Space Invaders Get Even, allows players to control the aliens instead of the laser cannon.[65]
In 1980, Bally Midway released a pinball version of the game. However, few elements from the original game are included, and the aliens instead resemble the xenomorphs from the film Alien; Bally Midway was later sued over the game's resemblance to designs by H. R. Giger.[66] Different ports have been met with mixed receptions; the Atari 2600 version was very successful while the Nintendo Entertainment System version was poorly received.[11]
Taito has released several arcade sequels that built upon the basic design of the original. The first was Space Invaders Part II in 1979;[67][68] it featured color graphics, an attract mode, and new gameplay elements, and added an intermission between gameplay.[69] According to the Killer List of Video Games, this was the first video game to include an intermission.[33][69] The game also allowed the player with the top score to sign their name on the high score table.[70] This version was released in the United States as Deluxe Space Invaders (also known as Space Invaders Deluxe), but featured a different graphical color scheme and a lunar-city background. Another arcade sequel, titled Space Invaders II, was released exclusively in the United States. It was in a cocktail-table format with very fast alien firing and a competitive two-player mode. During the summer of 1985, Return of the Invaders was released with updated color graphics, and more complex movements and attack patterns for the aliens.[11] Subsequent arcade sequels included Super Space Invaders '91, Space Invaders DX, and Space Invaders '95. Each game introduced minor gameplay additions to the original design. Like the original game, several of the arcade sequels have become collector's items, though some are considered rarer.[21] In 2002, Taito released Space Raiders, a third-person shooter reminiscent of Space Invaders.[71][72]
The game and its related games have been included in video game compilation titles. Space Invaders Anniversary was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and included nine Space Invader variants.[73] A similar title for the PlayStation Portable, Space Invaders Pocket, was released in 2005.[74] Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part II and Return of the Invaders are included in Taito Legends, a compilation of Taito's classic arcade games released in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC.[75][76] Super Space Invaders '91, Space Invaders DX and Space Invaders '95 were included in Taito Legends 2, a sequel compilation released in 2006.[77]
In popular culture
Many publications and websites use the pixelated alien graphic as an icon for video games in general, including video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, technology website Ars Technica, and concert event Video Games Live.[7] There have also been Space Invaders themed merchandising, including necklaces and puzzles.[78]
The game—and references to it—has appeared in numerous facets of popular culture. Soon after the game's release, hundreds of favourable articles and stories about the emerging video game medium popularized by Space Invaders aired on television and were printed in newspapers and magazines. The Space Invaders Tournament held by Atari in 1980 was the first video game competition and attracted more than 10,000 participants, establishing video gaming as a mainstream hobby.[55] The Arcade Awards ceremony was created that same year to honour the best video games, with Space Invaders winning the first Game of the Year award.[79] The impact of Space Invaders on the video game industry has been compared to that of The Beatles in the pop music industry.[80] Considered "the first blockbuster video game," Space Invaders became synonymous with video games worldwide for some time.[81]
Within a year of the game's release, the Japanese PTA unsuccessfully attempted to ban the game for allegedly inspiring truancy.[15] In North America, doctors identified a condition called the "Space Invaders elbow" as a complaint,[82] while a physician in The New England Journal of Medicine named a similar ailment the "Space Invaders Wrist."[83] Space Invaders was also the first game to attract political controversy, when a 1981 Private Member's Bill called the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill" drafted by British Labour Party MP George Foulkes attempted to ban the game for its "addictive properties" and for causing "deviancy"; a motion to bring the bill before Parliament was briefly debated but defeated by 114 votes to 94 votes – the bill itself was never considered by Parliament.[84][85][86]
Musicians drew inspiration for their music from Space Invaders. Video Games Live performed audio from the game as part of a special retro "Classic Arcade Medley".[87]
The pioneering Japanese synthpop group Yellow Magic Orchestra reproduced Space Invaders sounds in its 1978 self-titled album and its hit single "Computer Game",[88] the latter selling over 400,000 copies in the United States.[89]
Other pop songs based on Space Invaders soon followed, including disco records such as "Disco Space Invaders" (1979) by Funny Stuff,[88] and the hit songs "Space Invader" (1980) by The Pretenders,[88] "Space Invaders" (1980) by Uncle Vic[90] and the Australian hit "Space Invaders" (1979) by Player One (known in the US as Playback),[91] which in turn provided the bassline for Jesse Saunders' "On and On" (1984),[92][93] the first Chicago house music track.[94]
Space Invaders is referenced in the lyrics to Rush's 1981 hit song "Tom Sawyer," and the game is singled out for special thanks in the liner notes to the band's Permanent Waves album.[95]
The game was also sampled in I-F's "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1997),[96] the first electroclash record.[97]
In honor of the game's 30th anniversary, Taito produced an album titled Space Invaders 2008. The album is published by Avex Trax and features music inspired by the game.[98] Taito's store Taito Station also unveiled a Space Invaders themed music video.[99]
Multiple television series have aired episodes that either reference or parody the game and its elements; for example, Danger Mouse,[100] That '70s Show,[101] Scrubs,[102] Chuck,[103] Robot Chicken.[104] and The Amazing World of Gumball.[105]
Elements are prominently featured in the "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" segment of "Anthology of Interest II", an episode of Futurama.[106][107]
In 2006, the game was one of several video game related media selected to represent Japan as part of a project compiled by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.[108][109]
In the same year, Space Invaders was included in the London Science Museum's Game On exhibition meant to showcase the various aspects of video game history, development, and culture.[110]
The game is also a part of the Barbican Centre's traveling Game On exhibition.[111]
At the Belluard Bollwerk International 2006 festival in Fribourg, Switzerland, Guillaume Reymond created a three-minute video recreation of a game of Space Invaders as part of the "Gameover" project using humans as pixels.[112]
The GH ART exhibit at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, included an art game, Invaders!, based on Space Invaders's gameplay. The creator later asked for the game to be removed from the exhibit following criticism of elements based on the September 11 attacks in the United States.[113]
A French street artist known as Invader made a name for himself by creating mosaic artwork of Space Invader aliens around the world.[7][114]
An arcade-accurate homebrew port of both the original arcade game and its sequel Space Invaders Deluxe has been developed and released for the ColecoVision as Space Invaders Collection.
The Gameboy version which was released by Nintendo as a "Super Gameboy compatible" game has an unlockable Super NES version of the game that can be activated when it is played on a Super NES using the Super Gameboy.
See also
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Staff (January 2008). "Classic GI: Space Invaders". Game Informer (Game Stop) (177): 108–109.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kevin Bowen. The Gamespy Hall of Fame: Space Invaders. GameSpy. Retrieved on January 27, 2010.
- ↑ Williams, Kevin. Arcade Fantastic – Part 1. GameSpy. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved on September 19, 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Staff. "Nishikado-San Speaks". Retro Gamer (Live Publishing) (3): 35.
- ↑ Loguidice, Bill; Matt Barton (January 9, 2009). The History of Pong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry. Gamasutra. Retrieved on January 10, 2009.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Kiphshidze, N; Zubiashvili, T; Chagunava, K (October 2005). "The Creation of Space Invaders". Edge (Future plc) (154): 7–13. ISSN 1512-0112. PMID 18323584. http://www.next-gen.biz/news/creation-space-invaders. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Edwards, Benj. Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Space Invaders. 1UP.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2008.
- ↑ Space Invaders Videogame by Bally Midway (1978). Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
- ↑ Morris, Dave (2004). The Art of Game Worlds. HarperCollins. p. 166. ISBN 0-06-072430-7.
- ↑ Glenday, Craig, ed (2009). "Record-Breaking Games/Space Games". Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition. Guinness World Records. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-904994-45-9.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named
- ↑ Schartmann, Andrew. Maestro Mario: How Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an Art. New York: Thought Catalog, 2013.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Can Asteroids Conquer Space Invaders?". Electronic Games 1 (1): 30–33 [31]. Winter 1981. http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Dale Peterson (1983), Genesis II, creation and recreation with computers, Reston Publishing, p. 175, ISBN 0-8359-2434-3, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DL1YAAAAMAAJ, retrieved May 1, 2011, "By 1980, some 300,000 Space Invader video arcade games were in use in Japan, and an additional 60,000 in the United States."
- ↑ Jiji Gaho Sha, inc. (2003), Asia Pacific perspectives, Japan, 1, University of Virginia, p. 57, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CTRWAAAAYAAJ, retrieved April 9, 2011, "At that time, a game for use in entertainment arcades was considered a hit if it sold 1000 units; sales of Space Invaders topped 300,000 units in Japan and 60,000 units overseas."
- ↑ Ellis, David (2004). "Arcade Classics". Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games. Random House. p. 345. ISBN 0-375-72038-3.
- ↑ "Video arcades rival Broadway theatre and girlie shows in NY", InfoWorld 4 (14): p. 15, April 12, 1982, ISSN 0199-6649, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15, retrieved May 1, 2011
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Kohler, Chris (2004). Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Indianapolis, Ind.: BradyGames. p. "represented+a+significant+portion+of+the+cost" 19. ISBN 0-7440-0424-1. "Within one year of its US release, an additional 60,000 machines had been sold. One arcade owner said of Space Invaders that it was the first arcade game whose intake "represented a significant portion of the cost of [buying] the game in any one week." That is, it was the first video game that paid for itself within about a month."
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ellis, David (2004). "Arcade Classics". Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games. Random House. pp. 411–412. ISBN 0-375-72038-3.
- ↑ Glinert, Ephraim P. (1990), Visual Programming Environments: Applications and Issues, IEEE Computer Society Press, p. 321, ISBN 0-8186-8974-9, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NMtWAAAAMAAJ, retrieved April 10, 2011, "As of mid-1981, according to Steve Bloom, author of Video Invaders, more than four billion quarters had been dropped into Space Invaders games around the world"
- ↑ "Video Warriors on the Screen", New Scientist 95 (1317): p. 377, August 5, 1982, ISSN 0262-4079, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MdyCKvgw4ksC&pg=PA377, retrieved May 1, 2011, "But this is 1982, and the game Space Invaders – as the Disney handout enviously reminds us – grosses over $600 million a year."
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Making millions, 25 cents at a time. The Fifth Estate. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (November 23, 1982). Retrieved on April 30, 2011.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Space Invaders vs. Star Wars", Executive (Southam Business Publications) 24: p. 9, 1982, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-KwTAQAAMAAJ, retrieved April 30, 2011, "According to TEC, Atari's arcade game Space Invaders has taken in $2 billion, with net recipts of $450 million."
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 CPI Inflation Calculator. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved on March 22, 2011.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "Space Invaders vs. Star Wars", Executive (Southam Business Publications) 24: p. 9, 1982, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-KwTAQAAMAAJ, retrieved April 30, 2011, "They compare this to the box office movie top blockbuster Star Wars, which has taken in only $486 million, for a net of $175 million."
- ↑ Kevin Bowen. The Gamespy Hall of Fame: Space Invaders. GameSpy. Retrieved on April 30, 2011.
- ↑ Kent, Steven (2001). Ultimate History of Video Games. Three Rivers Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.
- ↑ Hutcheon, Stephen (June 7, 1983). "The video games boom has yet to come". The Age. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fC5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=npQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4131,3188851. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ↑ Weiss, Brett (2007). Classic home video games, 1972–1984: a complete reference guide. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 108. ISBN 0-7864-3226-8.
- ↑ "Super Invader Is Reader's Choice". Softalk (13). April 1981. http://apple2history.org/appendix/aha/aha78/. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Craig Glenday, ed (March 11, 2008). "Record Breaking Games: Shooting Games Roundup". Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Richards, Giles (July 24, 2005). A life through video games. The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved on May 22, 2008.
- ↑ JAPAN 100 Yen Y# 82 Yr.42(1967)-Yr.63(1988). World Coin price Guide. Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved on February 27, 2013.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Fox, Mark (2012). "Space Invaders targets coins". World Coin News (Krause Publications) 39 (2): 35–37. http://www.academia.edu/2568838/Space_Invaders_targets_coins. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ↑ Sayre, Carolyn (July 19, 2007). 10 Questions for Shigeru Miyamoto. Time. Retrieved on September 4, 2007.
- ↑ Snyder, Daniel D. (March 21, 2012). How Hideo Kojima Became a Legendary Video-Game Designer. The Atlantic. Retrieved on March 22, 2012.
- ↑ Edge Staff (August 13, 2007). The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming. Edge. Future plc. Retrieved on September 18, 2008.
- ↑ Whittaker, Jason (2004). The Cyberspace Handbook. Routledge. p. 122. ISBN 0-415-16835-X.
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Buchanan, Levi (April 8, 2008). Top 10 Classic Shoot 'Em Ups. IGN. Retrieved on September 7, 2008.
- ↑ "Atari Offers Largest Game Library". Electronic Games 1 (1): 40–41 [41]. Winter 1981. http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ↑ "Classic GI: King of the Hill". Game Informer (Cathy Preston) (178): 108. February 2008.
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 Geddes, Ryan; Hatfield, Daemon (December 10, 2007). IGN's Top 10 Most Influential Games. IGN. Retrieved on July 11, 2008.
- ↑ Kaiser, Rowan (May 10, 2011). The 60 Most Influential Games of All Time. 1UP.com. Retrieved on December 25, 2011.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named
- ↑ Craig Glenday, ed (March 11, 2008). "Record Breaking Games: Shooting Games". Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
- ↑ "Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games". Electronic Games 1 (2): 34–45 [44]. March 1982. http://www.archive.org/stream/electronic-games-magazine-1982-03/Electronic_Games_Issue_02_Vol_01_02_1982_Mar#page/n42/mode/1up. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ↑ Brian Ashcraft & Jean Snow (2008), Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers, Kodansha International, ISBN 4-7700-3078-9, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wX8kAQAAIAAJ, retrieved May 1, 2011, "Space Invaders offered a novelty: players had three lives. Those who got good at the game could play for as long as they could keep from being blown to bits."
- ↑ Brian Ashcraft (January 20, 2010). How Cover Shaped Gaming's Last Decade. Kotaku. Retrieved on March 26, 2011.
- ↑ Karen Collins (2008). From Pac-Man to pop music: interactive audio in games and new media. Ashgate. p. 2. ISBN 0-7546-6200-4. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lFEYAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time, Focal Press, p. 232, ISBN 0-240-81146-1, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=M_bFdsP9L7oC&pg=PA232, retrieved May 1, 2011
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Essential 50: Space Invaders. 1UP.com. Retrieved on March 26, 2011.
- ↑ Whittaker, Jason (2004). The cyberspace handbook. Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 0-415-16835-X.
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 "Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games". Electronic Games 1 (2): 35–45 [36]. March 1982. http://www.archive.org/stream/electronic-games-magazine-1982-03/Electronic_Games_Issue_02_Vol_01_02_1982_Mar#page/n35/mode/1up. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ↑ Osborne, Scott (June 1, 2001). Hall of Fame: Galaxian and Galaga. GameSpy. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.
- ↑ "The Making of Defender". Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (55): 34–39. October 2008.
- ↑ Strickland, Ronald (2002). Growing Up Postmodern: Neoliberalism and the War on the Young. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 112–113. ISBN 0-7425-1651-2. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oxsj7-aTN9IC&pg=PA112. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ↑ Gee, James Paul (2004). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 47. ISBN 1-4039-6538-2. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BZIY7TGKySsC&pg=PA47. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ↑ Mäyrä, Frans (2008). An Introduction to Games Studies: Games in Culture. SAGE. p. 104. ISBN 1-4129-3445-1. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iI0kAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved April 10, 2011. "The gameplay of Doom is at its core familiar from the early classics like Space Invaders ... it presents the player with the clear and simple challenge of surviving while shooting everything that moves."
- ↑ Jones, Steven Edward (2008). The Meaning of Video Games: Gaming and Textual Studies. Taylor & Francis. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0-415-96055-X. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=N7ACHel_UxcC&pg=PA84. Retrieved April 10, 2011. "The developers of Halo are aware of their own place in gaming history, and one of them once joked that their game could be seen as "Space Invaders in a tube." The joke contains a double-edged insight: on the one hand, Halo is first and finally about shooting aliens; on the other hand, even the 1978 2-D arcade shooter, Space Invaders, designed by Tomohiro Nishikado for the company Taito, is more interesting than that would suggest."
- ↑ Simon Carles (November 16, 2010). No More Russian – Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2, One Year On. GameSetWatch. Retrieved on April 9, 2011.
- ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (April 2, 2008). Space Invaders Extreme Set for US. IGN. Retrieved on June 7, 2008.
- ↑ "Space Invaders". Official Nintendo Magazine (29): 46. May 2008.
- ↑ IGN Staff (June 17, 2008). Space Invaders Set for WiiWare. IGN. Retrieved on August 19, 2008.
- ↑ "A Whole Different Ball Game". Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (45): 47. January 2008.
- ↑ Space Invaders Part II. The Arcade Flyer Archive. Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved on September 27, 2011.
- ↑ Davies, Jonti (May 16, 2005). Space Invaders Pocket. GameSpy. Retrieved on September 27, 2011.
- ↑ 69.0 69.1 Space Invaders Deluxe, klov.com. Accessed on line March 28, 2011.
- ↑ The Definitive Space Invaders. NowGamer (January 19, 2009). Retrieved on September 30, 2011.
- ↑ Space Raiders: Release Summary. GameSpot. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.
- ↑ ed. Rico Komanoya, ed (2004). "Space Raiders". Japanese Game Graphics: Behind the Scenes of Your Favorite Games. New York, NY: Harper Design International. pp. 116–121. ISBN 0-06-056772-4.
- ↑ Calvert, Justin (January 22, 2004). Empire signs Space Invaders titles. GameSpot. Retrieved on May 10, 2008.
- ↑ Nix (May 12, 2005). Boot to the Head for Bootleggers. IGN. Retrieved on June 7, 2008.
- ↑ Sega and Empire Interactive Launch Taito Legends for PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC. Sega (October 25, 2005). Retrieved on May 5, 2008.
- ↑ Surette, Tim (August 13, 2005). Sega goes old school with Taito. GameSpot. Retrieved on May 10, 2008.
- ↑ Sinclair, Brendan (April 10, 2007). More Taito Legends headed to US. GameSpot. Retrieved on May 10, 2008.
- ↑ Paige, Earl (September 25, 1982). "Children's Video Promotions Help Boost Volume". Billboard 94 (38): 19. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mSQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT19&dq=Space+Invaders. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- ↑ "The Arcade Awards". Electronic Games 1 (1): 38–9. Winter 1981. http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ↑ Horwitz, Jeremy (July 8, 2002). "Technology: Mortal Apathy?". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/08/technology/08MIDW.html. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- ↑ Chris Kohler (2005), Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, BradyGames, p. 18, ISBN 0-7440-0424-1
- ↑ Forester, Tom (1988). High-tech society: the story of the information technology revolution (1st MIT Press paperback ed. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p. 155. ISBN 0-262-56044-5. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Gqgb946KPfQC&pg=PA155.
- ↑ "The Video Game Invasion: What Is It Doing To Children?". The Herald Journal. December 18, 1981. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q4MsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x80EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4620,4423386. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ 30 Great Gaming World Records. Computer and Video Games. ComputerAndVideoGames.com (February 14, 2009). Retrieved on January 26, 2012.
- ↑ "Electronic and Computer Games: The History of an Interactive Medium". Screen 29 (2): 52–73. 1988. doi:10.1093/screen/29.2.52. http://screen.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/2/52.extract. Retrieved January 25, 2012. "In the UK, the Labour MP George Foulkes led a campaign in 1981 to curb the 'menace' of video games, maintaining that they had addictive properties. His 'Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill' was put to the Commons and only narrowly defeated."
- ↑ Template:Cite hansard
- ↑ Microsoft (August 28, 2007). Microsoft Brings Video Games Live to London. GameSpot. Retrieved on September 7, 2008.
- ↑ 88.0 88.1 88.2 "The Wire, Issues 221–226", The Wire: p. 44, 2002, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qyFMAAAAYAAJ, retrieved May 25, 2011
- ↑ "Computer rock music gaining fans". Sarasota Journal: 8. August 18, 1980. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7s4mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h44EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4481,2128223. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ↑ Lovelace, Craven (August 27 2010). Take a waka-waka-waka on the wild side. Grand Junction Free Press. Retrieved on July 15, 2011.
- ↑ Template:Discogs release
- ↑ Jesse Saunders – On And On. Discogs. Retrieved on May 23, 2012.
- ↑ Church, Terry (February 9, 2010). Black History Month: Jesse Saunders and house music. BeatPortal. Retrieved on 2010-04-10.
- ↑ Bracelin, Jason (May 22, 2007). "House music finds a home". Las Vegas Review-Journal: p. 1E. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11950293F0B8B3B8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved May 23, 2012. "A native of Chicago, where house was first popularized, Saunders is credited for producing and releasing the first house single, "On and On," on his own Jes Say Records label."
- ↑ Permanent Waves liner notes. Retrieved on March 10, 2012.
- ↑ I-f – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass. Discogs. Retrieved on May 25, 2012.
- ↑ D. Lynskey (March 22, 2002), "Out with the old, in with the older", Guardian.co.uk, archived from the original on February 16, 2011, http://www.webcitation.org/5wYAn5jqu
- ↑ 30周年記念 スペシャルコンピレーションアルバム発売! (Japanese). Taito Corporation (2008). Retrieved on April 6, 2009.
- ↑ 弓削 (October 21, 2008). ź�舗限定で配信中のアニメーションPVを大公開しちゃいます! (Japanese). Retrieved on April 6, 2009.
- ↑ "Custard". Danger Mouse. ITV. 1982-01-04. No. 12, season 2.
- ↑ "Donna's Story". That '70s Show. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2001-11-20. No. 84.
- ↑ "My Bad Too". Scrubs. NBC. 2008-04-10. No. 7, season 7.
- ↑ "Spy to you". Chuck. NBC. 2009-03-03. No. 11, season 3.
- ↑ "Suck It". Robot Chicken. Cartoon Network (US). 2006-04-02. No. 1, season 2.
- ↑ "The Phone". The Amazing World of Gumball. Cartoon Network (US). 2012-09-18. No. 7, season 2.
- ↑ "Anthology of Interest II". Futurama. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2002-01-06. No. 18, season 3.
- ↑ Baker, Chris (December 17, 2007). Videogames & Futurama, Part 1: Raiders of the Lost Arcade. Wired News. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
- ↑ Wyman, Walt (October 4, 2006). Japan honors NES, PS2, Mario. GameSpot. Retrieved on May 9, 2008.
- ↑ Ɨ�本のメディア芸術100選 (Japanese). Japan Media Arts Plaza. Retrieved on May 5, 2008.
- ↑ Boyes, Emma (October 9, 2006). London museum showcases games. GameSpot. Retrieved on May 9, 2008.
- ↑ Barbicon: Game on. Barbicon International Enterprises. Retrieved on June 3, 2010.
- ↑ Space Invaders—Guillaume Reymond—video performance. NOTsoNOISY (2006). Retrieved on May 22, 2008.
- ↑ Remo, Chris (August 25, 2008). Creator of Space Invaders-Based 9/11 Art Piece Pulls Exhibit. Gamasutra. Retrieved on August 25, 2008.
- ↑ Fairey, Shepard. Space Invader. Swindle Magazine. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved on May 6, 2008.
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Space Invaders
- Official website
- Space Invaders 35th anniversary portal (Japanese)
- Template:Arcade History
- Space Invaders at the Killer List of Videogames
- Space Invaders wiki guide at StrategyWiki

subset: commoncrawl


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Our People
What do we love? Long drives into the sunset. Short hikes to thundering waterfalls. Secluded campsites with heart-stopping views. Night skies so dark the Milky Way looks like a freeway. Yes - we do get around. Rest assured that if it's in one of our itineraries, we've been there. This happy crew of National Park road trip junkies has more road and trail miles under its belt than most of us like to admit. But the West is in our blood and we can't get enough of it. And getting to share these places that we love with other nice people every day, well... We can hardly wait to get to work in the morning. (OK - there are some days...)
Wanderlust is definitely a prerequisite for employment with Tracks & Trails. We get out there and get the real scoop on roads, trails, campgrounds, and restaurants. We also keep tabs on what's new from our network of people who live and work in the places you'll visit. We read everything we can get our hands on: brochures, magazines, blogs, websites. And we get lots of great ideas and feedback from our clients. All of this knowledge goes into each Tracks & Trails Western Driving Adventure, making every trip an incredible journey.
So check out a few of our pretty faces, learn what we do here at Tracks & Trails, then click through to read what each of us has written for the T&T Blog.
Dan Wulfman & Sheri Ballard - Tracks & Trails Founders
From the start nearly 15 years ago, Sheri and I have been 50/50 partners in Tracks & Trails. We each gravitate naturally to different areas of the business, which has probably helped keep us together for 20 years. I handle finance, sales & marketing, operations, and the technology stuff while Sheri looks after the product, crafting new itineraries, documenting all the details for our website and Adventure Kits, and researching new activities and attractions. One thing we do collaborate on is raising our super-awesome sons, Chase and Gabe, and spending at least a month on the road with them every summer.
Nancy Kendrick - Creator of Fabulous Itineraries and Trip Consultant
Like most others on our staff, Nancy wears a couple of very important hats. While you may work with her as your Trip Consultant, she also builds the vast majority of itineraries for clients that work with our other Trip Consultants.
Lisa Carroll - Trip Consultant and Reservations Guru
Besides helping many of our cutomers plan the perfect trip, Lisa is responsible for making most of the reservations for our clients' itineraries. It's a big job, but Lisa is a maestro with our reservations system and keeps all the details straight.


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(WHAS11)- Robert Stock is a name known throughout the fashion world for eclectic designs and inspiring new trends.
WHAS11's Adrianna Hopkins welcomes the multi-award winning designer and discusses his take on the mix of modern and vintage that is Derby fashion.
Robert Stock, designer and creator of Robert Graham, will be at Von Maur on Saturday from from 1-4 p.m. signing autographs and assisting customers with Derby styling.
Free gifts will be given with Robert Graham purchases.


text:
Moving lists between workspaces
You can move lists between workspaces that you are an owner or admin of by opening the preferences menu at the bottom of the left sidebar and selecting "Move Lists Between Workspaces".
This will launch a dialog where you can select lists from the your current workspace to be moved to the new workspace. Just select the lists you wish to move and click "Choose Workspace" to move to the next step.
From this next step, you'll be able to choose from any of the other workspaces you're an owner or admin of. Simply select your destination workspace and click "Confirm" to continue on to the next step.
If you need to invite new members to the other workspace, you'll be asked to set the roles of these new members before confirming the move. If this is the case, the "Confirm" button will say "Set Roles" instead. Simply click it to continue on to the next screen.
From this next screen you can choose the roles for each of the new members of the destination workspace, explained here. Once you're finished choosing the roles of the new members, you can continue to the final step by clicking "Confirm".
Finally, you'll be able to confirm the new lists and members to be added to the destination workspace. If you're happy with move, click "Move Lists" to begin moving the lists over.
Moved lists will appear in the destination workspace below your existing lists and groups in the sidebar. Once the lists are fully moved to the destination workspace, you can then start interacting with your lists as usual.
If you own the the destination workspace, you may run into the limitations of your plan by inviting new people to it. If this is the case, clicking "Move Lists" will load a small upgrade form where you can choose a better plan. If you do not own the destination workspace and run into the owner's plan limitations, you will not be able to continue.


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Dierks Bentley kicks off his 2011 Country and Cold Cans Tour with special guests Jerrod Niemann and the Eli Young Band this Thursday, October 6th in LaCrosse, WI and runs until November 19th in Denver, Co. The Wounded Warriors Campaign, Believe in Heroes is joining forces with Dierks. There will be a series of preshow parties hosted by Dierks on select dates. At each party, fans will have the chance to win prizes and give back to veterans. Prizes include merchandise, ticket upgrades, and limited edition autographed handwritten lyrics of his single, "Home."
About the partnership, Dierks said:
"I meet so many service men and women at our shows, so I love being able to support the Wounded Warriors Project and honoring the heroes who have served our country. This program fits perfectly with the message of 'Home,' so we are going to do what we can between now and Veterans Day to really honor these people. I hope fans will plan to get there early and be part of it!"
For more information on the Country and Cold Cans Tour and the Wounded Warriors project, go to www.dierks.com and www.woundedwarriorproject.org.


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So I guess this is a call to action: The LG and T community need to make more of an effort to support the B's among us. Being bisexual doesn't mean being selfish or sitting on the fence, it means being brave enough to live in the gray space.
And though I could write a whole other piece just about the stereotypes associated with bisexuality — like that bisexual people can't be monogamous, or that they are just "confused" — coming out as bisexual means saying, "I don't care if you think I'm just a promiscuous perv and I don't care if you think it's a phase and I don't care if you don't accept me as part of the gay community, this is who I am." We need to provide a loving environment for our bisexual brothers and sisters and make them welcome among us. And maybe we need to learn to look at ourselves and accept some gray in our lives, too.
(Source: ameliasong, via bazycrastard)
The Peculiar Kind: web series about queer women of color
The Peculiar Kind is a web series that candidly explores the lives and experiences of queer women of color with eye-opening and unscripted conversations. Episode one of The Peculiar Kind explores "Party Etiquette" i.e. Jealousy, Flirting, One Night Stands, Using Protection, Getting Home Safely, & Hate Crimes. Included in this episode are "OUR NEWS", a segment brought to you by Kimberley McLeod (ELIXER.com) and The Peculiar Kind Spotlight Presents which features Kimmie David (RightRides.org). The Peculiar Kind can be viewed on www.youtube.com/ThePeculiarKind or www.ThePeculiarKind.com/episodes.
Totally date-able, smart-ass queers alert, yall.
Super shallow moment of the day: after watching this for about 2 seconds, I was like "Every person in this video is a total babe!!".
Language and content NSFW.
"They've been chasing us for years. We're going to chase them back!"
So there is this website, http://gayhomophobe.com/, that tracks homophobic politicians that turn out to be gay or engage in same-sex sexual behavior. The details of their public outing can be found on the website. What's encouraging is that some have turned around completely and now work for gay equality.
There's also a documentary about this idea: http://outragethemovie.com/.
This idea makes me feel a little bit queasy, but then my brain tells me that if you're aggressively voting to take away LGB people's rights and dignity, then it is just to be outed as a hypocrite.
Whitehouse Holds LGBT Health Conference
This is a big deal.
For more information on lgbt health issues, visit http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/
We call it "Gay Walmart"
Catering mainly to the gay male crowd, Out of Bounds is a tiny, happy little shop not too far from campus, selling flags, shirts, bumper stickers, novelties, DVDS and other NSFW goods.
They do free HIV tests once a week, from what I gather from their adverts.
EROS calls it "Gay Walmart". My rainbow flag I am using as a curtain is from their shop!
They are behind an Enterprise Rent-A-Car and thus are a little hidden from the road.
This shit is totally fabulous. Love the bendy-ness of ties, booty shorts, high heels and dress shirts.
Not feeling very comfortable with the use of the T-word typically used as a slur against trans* people in the lyrics, however.


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Watch Episodes
¡Adelante! - #1107
July 19, 2012
Adelante profiles members of the National Lawyers Guild protesting the Iraq War; Hispanic professionals of Greater Milwaukee present a conference on leadership in the Latino community; and, State Representative Pedro Colon talks about the recently approved in-state tuition initiative that will allow qualifying undocumented students to pay state fees in college. Host/Producer: Patricia Gomez.


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The Fall Festival will take place on Saturday, October 25 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Alvin Community College. There will be fun, food, and activities the whole family will enjoy.
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Castleville will hold it's Valentine's Gala in Castleville Cupid's Quest and players be act as cupid to make sure that all the couple's will be on loving mood during this Gala. The quest will have 9 stage and most of the tasks will be holding and watching the cupid's to there work and avoiding being stunned. One tip though prepare ahead the materials for the spells because we will using this alot on this Castleville Valentine's Day quest.
Quest 1: Castleville Love Triangle
Visit Yvette's House
Have 3 Honey
- Honey can be get from tending Flowers
Place the Pink Paint Statue for the Valentine's Gala
50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 2: Castleville Relationship Reminder
Collect from any building in your Kingdom
Stun 2 frenzied Cupids
- Click on the Cupids to stun
Cast the Cupid Calmer Spell 2
50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 3: Castleville Cupid Catcher
Have Bleeding Hearts (collect Bleeding Hearts by posting a request to friends)
Calm 2 stunned Cupids by casting Cupid Calmer on them
Spend 10 Charmstones in the Charmstone Market
- Click on the Market then click the Charmstone TAB buy any decorations
1 Love Potion, 50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 4: Castleville Awefully Awkward
Complete construction on the Pink Paint Statue
- Click on the Pink Paint Statue to see what items it needs to complete it
Collect 1 Bucket of Pink Paint from the Cupid Fountain
- Click on the Cupid Fountain then spend Charmstone to collect Pink Paint
Use 1 Bucket of Pink Paint
- Click on the Pink Paint item in your inventory then click on a building to paint it pink
50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 5: Castleville I Left Something Turned On at Home
Cast Cupid Calmer on 3 stunned Cupids
Craft 1 bottles of Rafael's Cologne
Harvest 10 Sugar Cane
50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 6: Castleville Love Hurts
Have 5 Love Bug
- Post a request to your friends for Love Bug
Calm 5 Stunned Cupids
- Cast Cupid Calmer from your Spellbook
Craft Sonja 3 Flaming Grog
1 Heart Shaped Pond, 50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 7: Castleville Can't Get Her Out of MY Head
Calm 5 Stunned Cupids by casting Cupid Calmer
- Cast the Cupid Calmer from your Spell Book
Spend 30 Charmstones in the Charmstone Market
Build 1 Chocolate Fountain
- Place the Chocolate Fountain from your inventory and then click on it to see what materials it needs
1 Pink Loveseat, 50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 8: Castleville Genevieve and Geriatrics
Calm 7 Stunned Cupids by casting Cupid Calm Down
Use 3 Buckets of Pink Paint
Craft 7 Heart-Shaped Lute
- Craft Heart-Shaped Lute in the Studio
50 xp, 2500 coins
Quest 9: Castleville The Valentine's Gala
Craft 3 Candy Hearts
- Candy Hearts can be crafted in the Kitchen
Buy 40 Valentine's Decorations from the Charmstone Market
Use 3 Buckets of Pink Paint on buildings
1 Valentine's Gazebo, 50 xp, 2500 coins


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How (if i should) do I find my cat(s) a new home?
March 19, 2012
How (if i should) do I find my cat(s) a new home? Or Litter training 3: This time it's purrsonal.
As I have asked multiple times on here I seem to always be having litter problems with one of my cats (not entirely sure which one, but I have my suspicions). It seemed to improve for a small point in time, but now it's gotten to the point where anything and everything seems to be fair game and it's not really okay. My girlfriend is fed up, and, though I am also kind of grossed out by the situation, consider it part of pet ownership, clean it up and hope things get better.
Though things don't seem to be improving. I am starting to think that the issues is space. We have two people and 3 cats in a about 750sqft studio style apartment. I don't want to get rid of any of them. It seems like failure and i worry about them. They each take their turns coming to me for attention everyday (my girlfriend hates all three of them at this point). Two of them are litter mates (Buster and GM, yes all my cats are named after Arrested development characters). They are a year older than the third (Gob) and they don't always seem to get a long. GM, the one we got first (we got Buster a day later) is a bully at times and my actual worry is that he is preventing buster from using the litter boxes in a territorial thing. If you project human emotion on to buster he always seem depressed and at least once a week there seems to be a massive screaming and scratching fight between him and GM, with GM backing him into a corner while he growls and hisses (though he seems fine for the 15 minutes that he really wants attention from me).
The only option I seem to have is to give one or both of them to my girlfriends family. They have a house in a country like situation and the cats would be more or less full outdoor cats at this point (right now they are full indoor and have been their whole lives). I don't feel great about this, but i don't know what else to do. I feel like a horrible failure as a "pet parent". I try not to personify them too much, but I worry that I am letting them down and that they will despise me if I put them in this new situation, not to mention cars and wild animals and the other cats that already have a strong bond there, the super hot summers and the inhospitable winters. Long story short, I don't want to do this. But what other option do i have?
Gob has been given a golden ticket because he's litter trained.
I'm going nuts, and my apartment, though luckily not carpted, feels like it has become an anything goes minefield for cat urine.
posted by
Pets & Animals
(23 answers total)
1 user marked this as a favorite
Perhaps a short trial of the country living situation is in order? You could see how it goes for a month or so, I doubt your girlfriend's parents would hold the cat(s) hostage.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
As a general rule, you need 1 more litter box than the number of cats you have (so you should have 4). How many do you have? With your square footage, this may be something you just can't provide. Don't feel bad!! Part of pet ownership is a learning and growing process, and making the best choices on the information you have at the time, and further educating yourself as needed. In this case, it might be best to re-home 2 of the cats since you could probably provide a good home for one of them in your apartment.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
5 favorites
Can you report back with any of the suggestions from the previous thread that you tried?
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
2 favorites
I had a pee problem with an otherwise happy, healthy, littertrained cat once. I had tried everything, but I could not stop him getting it in his little bonnet that he had to reclaim anywhere a male slept in the house and other 'bonus' spots (potplants, corner of room etc) When I had friends over, he would reclaim the couch etc. It was sporadic, he'd be fine for a while, then back to it for weeks. I felt awful, frustrated and like a bad pet parent too.
It escalated when I went to housesit and my cat decided he had to pee on the owner's bed and anything he put down for five minutes. I was mortified and decided to try the Last Resort as suggested by my vet. He now takes Clomicalm at night (tablet form) and is still happy, healthy and NO LONGER PLAYS PEE GAMES EVER.
My understanding is that clomicalm for cats is an off-label application, and your vet should be be able to give you suitable information. I didn't make the decision lightly, but I am happy with the outcome. Good luck, it is frustrating, distressing and not something you can stop by asking them nicely.
posted by
Trivia Newton John
on March 19, 2012 [
2 favorites
If it were me, I would think seriously of getting rid of any partner that hated my cats. I am not being snarky, but suggesting you think very seriously how you would feel about a continued relationship with this person if you did get rid of your cats, especially if something bad happened to them. It does sound like an overcrowded situation for both cats and humans, and nobody is happy, but making indoor cats into full time outdoor cats is pretty much a recipe for disaster for those poor kitties. I hope you do find a solution everyone can live with, but really, your girlfriend is not being helpful.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
11 favorites
I haven't looked at your previous questions, but what helped my lady baby with her litter problems was...
1. changing to limited ingredient food
2. going to a crystal litter (way reduced pee smell)
3. getting a litter box with a filter on it to eliminate the smell of their waste.
I wouldn't put an indoor-only cat into the country -- my cat would flip the fuck out. I would, however, put the word out to friends that I was looking to rehome an indoor only cat, like on Facebook.
Another solution would be to plan to move -- 2 ppl in a studio sucks ass, let alone with three cats.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
1 favorite
It would be helpful to know what you've tried - I scanned the other threads and it doesn't look like you've gone into that. Two things that have worked for my friends both had to do with the litterboxes themselves. How many do you currently have? Is there room for the 4 recommended? Can you do at least 3? Also, try getting a box with a larger footprint. My old roommate got a large flat plastic tupperware (like for storage) and we used that; it turned out her cat just really wanted more room (for its seriously fat ass). Another friend got one of those deep green plastic storage bins with a lid. He cut half the lid off and gave his cat a top-entry, very private litter box. She apparently needed more privacy (prissy little brat).
Have you tried all kinds of different litter? Are you cleaning boxes every day? Have you talked to your vet?
These are the kinds of things you need to do to be a responsible pet owner. If you have done everything you can to exhaust every possible option, then I think ThePinkSuperhero's idea of a test run in the country is a good one. If I had to choose, I would choose the toughest most aggressive one (to give the remaining 2 a better shot at getting along nicely). That's a very hard choice to make, but if you do absolutely everything you can, within reason and within your means, then I think it's okay to make that choice.
this thread is useless without pictures!
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
3 favorites
i have a wonderful, loving, sweet, yet needy and somewhat emotionally fragile cat. he started peeing on things: shoes on the floor, clean laundry on top of the washing machine, my boyfriend's lovely wool coat, and eventually, pretty much anything i left on the floor. finally my vet suggested Prozac. he's been on it for a couple years and the peeing has completely stopped. you might check into that. i imagine it'd cool a lot of the territorial tensions, too.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
1 favorite
Although I am not a fan of outdoor cats, in my experience most of them work out better going that way than the reverse. Unless there are roads or something else involved. If you are in a small space, having a cat that doesn't use a litterbox is pretty intolerable. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it will be a problem even without your girlfriend being grossed out. No one is going to want to even pop their head inside cat pee central, even if they like cats.
That said, trying a variety of different litters does help. My sister's cat hated the extremely expensive litter she used when she was moving it to being an indoor cat, after it was an outdoor/indoor cat for years. She cycled through a number of litter substances. Plus it may be that your space is simply too small for this number of cats, especially if one is aggressive.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
posted by
on March 19, 2012
I know you say litterboxes, plural, but might one be the most favoured awesome litterbox that they all want to use? Maybe you can make another litterbox zone that is appealing, or add another litterbox, although possibly you are simply running out of room. You sound like you are very crowded, is moving possible? Maybe medication of some kind, as has been suggested, or those plug in cat hormone things will be helpful in calming things down.
If all else fails, it is PERFECTLY FINE to re-home a cat or two. Is it possible for your girlfriend's family to allow him/them to be a mostly indoor cat to ease the transition from inside all the time, to mostly outside? Can he/they have a cat-door, to allow inside and outside as required? The cats are not people, and they will not "resent" you, or cry little kitty tears if they move, especially if they like the people or other animals in the place they are moving to, you are not required to live in a miasma of cat pee in order to be a good pet owner. You are obliged to
do your best
to provide them a safe home, and a peaceful existence, but not to be miserable yourselves for their sake.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
2 favorites
Which of the suggestions from the previous question have you tried?
Stuff I've heard work in this situation:
- Litterboxes with bigger footprint. I have two cats and one litterbox, but it is one of those gigantic Rubbermaid storage tubs. Used a heated knife to cut a hole into the side so they could get in. Acts as a nice covered litterbox without making them claustrophobic.
- More litterboxes. We had normal-sized litterboxes growing up, and had a rule of one litterbox per cat. You probably want to go with the # of cats + 1 rule given the problems you're having.
- Cat Attract in ALL the litterboxes.
Outdoor living is actually pretty dangerous for cats--I think the statistic is outdoor cats tend to live half as long as indoor ones. Especially if the cats have been indoor all their lives, you may not be putting them into a happy situation. If you go with it try to see if they can have an indoor/outdoor dual option, and make sure they're vaccinated up the wazoo for everything.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
I should mention that one of my cats used to go outside the litterbox, even as a tiny kitten, until I got the gigantic one that could fit four of her (eight if stacked).
posted by
on March 19, 2012
So there are several problems in play here:
1. Girlfriend not a cat fan
2. Cats may be bullying/bullied
3. Whichever cat is pissing around now has an entrenched habit you'll have to break
4. You are all on top of each other in a tiny space w/ apparently not enough litterboxes to boot.
So, assuming you're not going to pick the cats over the girl, you have the choice of moving to a larger space/getting more boxes or re-homing one or more cats.
Be aware; if you do rehome some of them, it's no guarantee that the remaining one won't keep marking, though of course this time you'll know who did it and can work on retraining. But don't assume that rehoming two cats will make the remaining cat peachy keen.
If you do rehome cats, I would say do not just give them to the girlfriends' family. For one thing, what if you break up...will they just get rid of them because you are the Evil Ex?
For another, kitties who have been indoor their whole lives are not going to adjust well to outdoor kittyhood.
For a third,
outdoor kittyhood in the country is pretty rough
. Because of coyotes, wild dogs, hidden barbed wire, other cats, etc. Outdoor kitties don't live as long. Outdoor kitties who used to be indoor kitties are even more likely to get hurt. What do they know about cars, other animals, what to do when it rains? Not a damn thing.
So if you're going to rehome, then find indoor homes for the cats. If you care about them at all.
If you can't be bothered to do that much, then please give them to a no-kill shelter, because at least they'd be fed and sheltered.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
4 favorites
I can't answer the litterbox part of your question, but I can speak to the rehoming part.
When I lived on a farm, I adopted a cat who had been an indoor-only cat all her life. She became indoor/outdoor by my choice, but within a couple of years she chose to spend almost all her time outdoors (in the barn in winter; roaming around in summer). I assume she wouldn't have chosen it if she were unhappy out there. She did freak out the first couple of times I took her outside, but I sat with her on the grass on my lap for a while, and eventually she started tentative explorations, and after a few days she was very at home outside.
My only concerns for your rehoming plan would be whether someone would be willing to take the time to help the cat transition, or whether they would just dump it outside and hope for the best. Also the winter you mention. My cat would snuggle up in hay in the barn in winter (which included snow, but no temperatures below -10 C (14 F). I would worry if your cat would not have the opportunity to go somewhere warm and indoors-ish in the winter.
posted by
on March 19, 2012 [
1 favorite
I can't really speak to the litterbox issues, since all my cats have been outdoor cats. But I agree with
that some cats will probably do okay transitioning to outdoor living
they are helped along and introduced gradually. I would definitely not want to just throw them out the door and let them fend for themselves straight off. They need to develop outdoor confidence and some "street smarts," which will probably be hit-or-miss, depending on the personality of the cat. And yes, the winter weather issue would be a pretty big concern... I live in the southwest, so it's less of a problem here, but my family still sets out a cardboard box stuffed with hay or old blankets on the patio for the kitties to curl up in on chilly nights. I would feel terrible for a cat left outside without shelter in a northern climate.
If you decide you really can't keep the cats, try to find indoor homes first, then see if the gf's family would be helpful in "transitioning" them as mentioned above. A trial run doesn't sound bad either.
Good luck.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
Well, I tried different litter, Feline pine and World's best, with mixed results. For a while we weren't having issues.
I added another litter box at the new apartment, which put us up to three, but they are all in the same spot.
\The weird thing was there was a four day period where they were staying at a one room house that was pretty much just for them and they had one litter box for the three of them and there were no issues the entire four days. Actually now that i think about it that box was stocked with only non-scoopable clay litter. Maybe i'll get a bag of that and see if that helps.
I hadn't tried the larger litter box, may be worth trying. I already have some pretty big ones. I know they have ones where there's a whole in the top and it's already like a large rubbermaid tub.
I guess i thought I had tried a lot of the suggestions and that was why i hadn't said exactly what i had tried.
Make no mistake, I don't want to put them in a dangerous position.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
I added another litter box at the new apartment, which put us up to three, but they are all in the same spot.
This is the most obvious problem. You need four, and you need them all over the place. OK, not
over the place, but around...you know? Like, one by the front door, one by the back door, one upstairs, one downstairs...that kind of thing. Cats are...weird...and like to have choices. If they feel like they don't have choices, they'll...well...pretty much do what they've been doing and poop randomly around your house.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
I know a family that had two brother cats who were fine with each other until a move, and then they fought and marked. The bigger cat bullied his brother and the brother would mark. Nothing worked and eventually they found a new home for the bullied cat -- he is much happier there and the marking stopped completely.
posted by
on March 19, 2012
You really need to have the boxes in different places. That way, even if the bully cat is scoping out one of the boxes, the other guys still have a safe place to go.
posted by
on March 20, 2012
Yeah, the litter boxes shouldn't be all up next to each other. And good idea on trying the clay litter! A change of litter can cause quite the protest.
For the indoor vs. outdoor argument: I am generally pro-letting your cats outside (not all the time, but some of the time). I grew up in an area that's pretty ideal for it, and the biggest worry is neighborhood cats. However, my cats were allowed out from youth, so they had street skills. In fact, my second was a stray I adopted from a shelter, and he won a fight with the screen on my bedroom window in a very defiant "you
not be thinking of keeping me inside all the time" move. But I would be very worried about transitioning indoor cats to full outdoordom. If they are combo indoor/outdoor they should be okay, especially if the transition is done gradually and is an area that's fairly safe for cats to go outdoors.
If you decide to re-home any of your cats, go with asking around at work, with friends, etc. You really just need to say that you don't have the space for all of them in your studio and you're looking for a place that they will have the space they need. People will understand this and you never know who might be interested in a new kitty!
posted by
on March 20, 2012
You need one litterbox per cat plus one, and they need to be in different places. Also try "
Cat Attract
" litter, it works amazingly well. You also need
diffusers adequate to cover the entire apartment (so you may need more than one). You also likely need to do more to reduce your cats' stress and improve their quality of life, there is some great information
. You could also speak to your vet about this, and if s/he can't help, ask for a referral to a behaviorist or veterinary behaviorist. While there are certainly some cats who are "uncurable", in most cases, this behavior can be fixed.
posted by
on March 20, 2012
1) Move litterboxes to different places, at least two places
2) Seriously give Cat Attract a shot, it isn't a gimmick.
I based my homemade Rubbermaid tube litter box off the
Clever Cat
design you're talking about. I originally ordered it and sent it back when it arrived because I realized it was silly to spend $40 on something I could make for $6. Originally I cut a hole in the top of the tub, but my cats didn't like the top-entry which is why I cut the hole in the side. Your cats might go for it, though. It definitely cuts down on smells and litter-kicking.
posted by
on March 20, 2012
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Sony Confirms Closure Of 'Important' Wipeout Dev Studio Liverpool
Tom Hopkins
Sony has confimed the closure of WipeOut studio Sony Liverpool.
Published on Aug 22, 2012
Sony Liverpool, creator and developer of the Wipeout franchise, has been closed with all ongoing projects cancelled, Sony has revealed
A thread on Grcade (via NeoGaf) first reported the closure, which was followed by a tweet from Studio Liverpool developer Sand Lobban which simply reads:
"End of an era today for Studio Liverpool. Honoured to have been a part of it."
Studio Liverpool began life as Psygnosis back in 1984, before being acquired by SOny in 1993 and becoming SCE Studio Liverpool in 2001.
The studio was most recently best known for its work on the WipeOut franchise including most recent release WipeOut 2048 for PS Vita.
It's unclear what's led to the closure - at the time of writing the studio still had multiple vacancies available - we've contacted Sony for comment.
Sony sent over the following statement:
"As part of SCE Worldwide Studios, we do regular reviews to ensure that the resources we have can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects in an increasingly competitive market place. As part of this process, we have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios.
It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.
"However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers.
"Our Liverpool Facility will continue to operate, housing a number of other vital WWSE and SCEE Departments."
Sony will continue to house various departments (FQA, GFPQA, XDev, CSG-Video, Localisation services, WWSE Finance) at its Liverpool campus.
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Keratin 101
What is a keratin treatment?
Think back to a simpler time, before flat irons and hair dyes created a reason to give your strands extra TLC: A keratin treatment (prices vary by salon; keratincomplex.com for locations) restores your hair back to that untouched, healthy state. "The advanced formulation restores and restructures hair by infusing a special blend of natural keratin deep into the damaged cuticle," said Raubeson. "There are treatments for every hair type, but overall, hair becomes softer and healthier."
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Every product seems to have keratin in it. What does it really mean?
What's in a name? If you're using a product with the wonder protein as a key ingredient, then everything. "Keratin makes hair healthier without breaking the bond -- meaning your strands still have body and curl without the frizz." Raubeson said. Although using a shampoo or conditioner infused with keratin isn't the same as actually getting the treatment, damaged strands, or hair that is frequently heat-styled can benefit from the ingredient. Suave's Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo ($5; drugstore.com), Frederic Fekkai's Fortifying Hair Mask ($49; fekkai.com), and TIGI's Deep Restoration Shampoo ($30; tigihairreborn.com for locations), are all among our product must-haves.
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What kind of products should I use after getting the treatment?
Steer clear of products that contain sulfates, as well as shampoos and conditioners with sodium chloride. These elements cause the treatment to wear off faster, leaving you with a two to three month wear time, as opposed to the typical four to six months. Swap out your products for more gentle options, like Jonathan's Smooth No-Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner ($18 each; jonathanproduct.com), which have hydrolyzed keratin added to their formulas.
Are there any at-home alternatives I can try in my spare time?
No time to call your hair stylist? Don't worry. The Keratin Perfect Hair Essentials Collection ($95; sephora.com) comes with everything you need to take the smoothing treatment home from the salon. Although it doesn't last as long as its salon counterpart, the five-piece system is perfect for prolonging your smooth strands between appointments.
I already have straight hair, but want to try a treatment that creates the same high-shine results.
Although keratin treatments work well on every hair type, booking an appointment for super-fine hair might be overkill. Instead, opt for Sebastian's Cellophane treatment (prices vary; sebastianprofessional.com for salons), which create a covetable glossy shine, and can be fine-tuned to enhance specific tones in your hair color. Afterwards, use the Trilliance Shampoo and Conditioner ($13 and $14; sebastianprofessional.com) to keep your strands shining.
What happens if I use a product with sulfates on my treated hair?
If you accidentally grab the wrong product in the shower, don't fret. Although sulfates and sodium chloride cause the treatment to wear off, you can replenish the keratin in your hair by loading up on products rich in the protein. "We recommend using Keratin Complex's Intense Rx ($61; keratincomplex.com)," Raubeson said. "This reinvigorates the hair with keratin and emollients, and revitalizes hair during thermal styling." Another option we love: Sally Hershberger's Super Keratin Spray ($13; ulta.com), which can be used to soften damp and dry strands alike.


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"I have ordered this card twice after enjoying it so much the first time. I found it versatile and the perfect size for a short note...sometimes a thank you note or a sympathy note...it worked well for both. I deleted the "thank you" heading and inserted my name at the top. That left a little more room to write."
"I am very pleased with this card. It is beautiful in orange and I think pretty unique. I changed my name font and love the way it turned out."
"I ordered these cards for my brand new granddaughter and her Mommie loves them and looks forward to writing short and sweet notes for all the treasures she is receiving from family and friends."
"These cards have a nice weight to them. The design is adorable without being too cutesy. My nine year old was thrilled with her new stationery."
"i actually ordered this in the black, white & grey tones. i love it. i always want a little something to send after i visit someone to thank them. this is a trendy little postcard that expresses me perfectly. its really high quality like everything ive ordered from tiny prints"


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|We specialise in importing and the wholesale distribution of a range of products from candy to cereal and everything in between.
We are able to bring in products under your own brands, under our brand names or we can work with you to develop a range of products and brands to suit your requirements.
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"New Moon kept my attention till the end, just like the others books, I was wondering if the movie reached all your expectation of seeing your storie on the big screen. Thank you so much for given us Twilight Saga!!! Daniela Grandi/ Brazil"
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The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers.
1 Readers' Reviews
July 11th, 20044:47 pm
Undoubtedly the most neglected great movie from Hollywood's most neglected great director, Hero probably addresses the faults and ambition of modern democracy with more wisdom than any other film in the six decades since its release. For all the finger pointing, name calling, and promises made to win the vote, it remains true that the electorate becomes enamored with paticular candidates for reasons no more transparent than why a girl falls for a guy.
This film features no high powered celebrity. Certainly Eddie Bracken is wonderful as the woeful Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith, showing much more range than the nervous Norville from Morgan's Creek. The viewer is genuinely synmpathetic as fate dumps all the anxiety it can muster on this poor soul, before saving his keester in the last five minutes. Otherwise, William Demerest leads Prescott's usual corp of character actors through their solid paces.
Especially effective are the performances of Ella Raines as the girl he left behind, and Stephan Gregory as the not so spoiled rich fiance. They bring a very human touch that helps keep the film from drifting into hyperbole.
But the lack of stars really brings into focus the genius of Sturges, combining razor wit with a genuinely tender outlook on the Amercian dream, as only a man with worldly propective and talent to burn can do. The return home of an unassuming everyman has much to say about all of us, with the promise of serenity after the storm.
— rzzzzz, Falls Church, VA


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This is delicious! Turned out creamy and smooth. I didn't strain the rhubarb but used my immersion blender to puree it before chilling. Don't forget to add the lemon juice I tried it before adding and it was way better with than without. Also my rhubarb wasn't entirely red so it turned out more peach colored. Kinda reminds me of grapefruit sorbet but different....
Rhubarb Sorbet
ADDChef Posted: 06/03/09
PaulHewett Posted: 12/26/12
The kids loved it!
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Welcome to the
Hunt County Historical Commission
Meeting Notice
September 30, 2014
7 p.m.
Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum
The Hunt County Historical Commission meets in Greenville, Texas on the 4th Thursday of January, March, May, July, and September. (this month is an exception!)
The November
meeting is usually held on the
If you would like to receive email notification of meetings, send your request and email address to our secretary.
We invite you to visit historical sites and events in Hunt County. Your virtual visit includes:
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City councilman and congressional candidate Dan Halloran stopped by the "Million Big Gulp March" on Monday.
The event was designed as a protest against
"Only you, not the government, should make decisions about you and your family's diets. And soda is not inherently bad for you," Halloran said. "Many responsible, healthy New Yorkers choose to consume soda in moderate amounts on certain occasions, such as at a movie or baseball game."
Above, Halloran poses with some Big Gulp enthusiasts.
Our challenge to you? CAPTION IT!