The Sega-Nintendo War

Console wars can get nasty, and during the Sega-Nintendo War, ultra-passionate fans argued bitterly to defend their choice.

Console wars can be an amazing phenomenon for gamers to witness. When two consoles are struggling for dominance of the video game market, both manufacturers will compete to create some of the best system features and highest quality video games ever made. Console wars can also get nasty, as they involve fans who are ultra-passionate about their favorite console and they’ll argue to defend the choice they’ve been spending their money on. That’s exactly what happened in the 1990s when Sega and Nintendo went into a console war. This is the story of the Sega-Nintendo War, one of the greatest business wars of all time.

A History of Console Wars

Console wars are nothing new to the world of gamers and gaming. Before there were video games, the manufacturers of board games and backyard games competed for the greatest market share. When the earliest home video game systems were released—Pong, Atari, Magnavox, Nintendo Color, etc.—those consoles’ manufacturers were competing for dominance in market shares.

Fierce competition started up with future generations of video game systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Atari 2600, and of course, the Sega Master System. The latest console war is between the Sony PlayStation 4, the Microsoft XBOX One, and the Nintendo Wii U. That doesn’t even include various handheld game systems.

Beginning of the Sega-Nintendo Console War (Read more)

Here's what the Libertarian Party won this election

UPDATE (12/31/16) In Southeastern Virginia, Tidewater Libertarian Party Vice Chair Jessica Abbott was elected to Virginia Beach City Council. She is the youngest (27) person ever elected to VBCC, and with 60% of the vote, she is the first challenger to defeat an incumbent by more than a 4% margin.

UPDATE (11/11/16) Libertarian Senator Laura Ebke (Nebraska) is still in office and runs for reelection in 2018.  Also, Libertarian Rep. Max Abramson (New Hampshire) won 4% in the race for governor and thus qualified the LP for automatic ballot access in New Hampshire. Additional states where we won ballot access not listed in the first draft include New Hampshire, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Many Libertarians feel demoralized after the general election.  One of the two authoritarian demagogues was going to win no matter what.  The most painful part is that our national ticket couldn’t clinch that 5% (and even people on the Gary Johnson campaign are unhappy with Governor Bill Weld).  Regardless of the disappointment, LP Nevada still applauds Governor Gary Johnson for bringing the Libertarian Party up to new milestones and for carrying forward the message of our platform.  Here are some of the victories we gained this election: 

(Read more and be pleasantly surprised!)

The Career of Carrie Fisher, Sci-Fi Princess (Part 2: 1985-2016)

"Instant gratification takes too long." Carrie Fisher

Courtesy of Time, Inc. via Fair Use

Continued from Part 1: 1969-1984

Star Wars catapulted the young Carrie Fisher into stardom overnight, which led to wild partying and drug use.  Since her recovery from those days, she always took responsibility for her actions and put forward the message that she had a real problem that required real help, and she was strong enough to eventually get it. As someone who really struggled with a nasty drinking habit, I fully appreciate Fisher’s advocacy for addiction therapy and mental health treatment. Sometimes a person with a dependency issue is just too damn scared to admit an uncontrollable problem and get help. Who better to get that last nudge and encouragement to clean up your act and walk tall again than from the Princess of Alderaan?

Better yet, Carrie Fisher took all that negativity, all those mental health problems, and all the wild times (both good and bad) and used them to create new works which are beautiful and inspiring. Her time off the deep end resulted in an overdose and hospitalization episode in 1985. This traumatic episode led to a slow renaissance in which she emerged as a writer. The 1985 episode and the times before and after inspired Fisher to write a novel, Postcards From the Edge, loosely based on herself. The 1987 novel was a success and also the beginning of Fisher’s rich writing career. She adapted it into a screenplay and Postcards From the Edge became a movie in 1990, directed by Mike Nichols (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Working Girl, Charlie Wilson’s War).

Fisher wrote several more novels loosely based on her own life. (Read more)

The Career of Carrie Fisher, Sci-fi Princess (Part 1: 1969-1984)

Published by OMNI Magazine

"She'll always be royalty to me." -The Force Awakens

Carrie Fisher passed away this morning, and her passing leaves tens of millions of sci-fi and Star Wars fanatics stunned. Already, the obituaries and Facebook tribute artwork are flowing freely as people communicate their sadness at this passing. I’m one of them, though this moment is admittedly more bittersweet than it is sad. In her sixty years, the famous sci-fi princess lived a full and robust life as an actress, a talented writer, and a mother.

She performed on stage, performed for television alongside Lawrence Olivier, and wrote many books and screenplays...  (Read more)

Rogue One: Take Two for Star Wars!

Originally published by OMNI, the science fiction portal for great minds.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story does the original trilogy justice and pushes the boundaries of film-making!

"...imagine one dynamite movie where Scarlett Johansson, Emma Watson, and Emilia Clarke appear beside Lauren Bacall, Olivia De Havilland, and Marilyn Monroe!"

***This article contains major spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, this is your only warning.***

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a movie that gets it right! For the first time in more years than I care to remember, I left the theater genuinely in awe and wonder after a Star Wars movie. Episode 7: The Force Awakens was a fun movie, but it had nowhere near the same emotional impact as Rogue One. The performances are great, the real-world celebrity and Star Wars celebrity cameo character appearances are a huge treat, and the suspense is real. Unlike Episode 3 where everyone knew exactly how the plot would turn out, all anyone knows about Rogue One is that it’s about the mission to steal the Death Star plans, which leads to the destruction of the Death Star in Episode 4.

The acting is spot on, with just the right blend of convincing acting and a touch of original trilogy-style campiness.  (Read the rest at OMNI.)