If this comes off as ranty then it is because I feel particularly touchy when it comes to the capacity for injustice in man. I’ve been preparing an article on Noriega and the 1989 invasion to Panama, labeled “Just Cause,”� and that, tangled along with things happening at work and my personal life that I will not discuss here for fear of this place becoming too bloggy again, have made me very bitter over the course of the week. I apologize for the bleak welcome to this piece, but I just want to vent out with snark and come out with something positive, if possible. Speaking of something positive, I have very positive announcements of stuff happening around the city over the coming weeks; 2 in particular. I’m going with the most immediate first: The N Day.

Long story short, ladies and gentlemen, was that on September 23^rd, 1889, Nintendo of Japan was born. The brainchild of mild-mannered Japanese businessman Fusajiro Yamauchi, the company started out manufacturing handmade Hanafuda cards, which are basically playing cards but prettier and more elaborate. Throughout the decades, the Nintendo company tried its hand into various business ventures, most notably taxi companies and love motels. Yes. Nintendo used to run a push button love motel. They also ventured into the food manufacturing business, toys and even ran a TV network for a while. All of these ventures failed, and even their hanafuda cards we’re taking a drop in popularity with the passage of time. Up to their necks in debt, the company was running out of options and facing shutdown, until one day Yamauchi was at a Nintendo hanafuda factory and noticed an extending arm, a pet project maintenance engineer Gunpei Yokoi, and ordered to have it mass-produced as a Christmas toy. The “Ultra Hand”� toy that resulted sold approximately 1.2 million units and put Nintendo back on the map; Yokoi was promoted to product development.

It was at this time in the early half of the 1970’s that Shigeru Miyamoto was hired to work on Nintendo’s Research & Development branch, being mentored by Yokoi. In 1978, magic started happening.

Nintendo released its first arcade title, Computer Othello, followed by a string of hits including one that featured a certain Italian plumber trying to rescue a damsel in distress from the clutches of a very pissed off gorilla. Donkey Kong, created by Miyamoto, became a massive success practically overnight when it was released in 1981, and to this day it is considered one of the most challenging of all time. With the Intellivision, Colecovision and Atari 2600 paving the first steps into the home video game console market, Nintendo took a crack at it in 1985 by releasing the Nintendo Entertainment System, with Super Mario Bros. as its flagship title. The rest, as they say, is history: with more than 20 years in the industry and pioneer of the way we have played video games to this day, 5 home consoles and the undisputed success of the Game Boy make it one of the biggest, most important companies of the last 100 years. Hell, more kids today recognize Mario before Mickey Mouse.

I grew up with Nintendo. I developed my hand-eye coordination, reflexes, a lot of my motor, deduction and analytical skills while playing with Nintendo’s systems. Because of Nintendo (along with many other things, but one should give credit where credit is due), I am who I am. Video games are now in the mainstream and things now are WAY different than when I first jumped on the bandwagon, but like I mentioned earlier, the way we play video games today grew from Nintendo soil, and somebody has to praise them like they deserve. That is the basis for the N Day gig, a (hopefully) yearly affair where Porto Diao with Butterfest (as partners in crime) celebrate gamer culture, the creative spirit and the thrill of sharing experiences, victories and good memories together the only way we know how; with the power of music. Check out the specifics here and here.

Earlier in the week I received an email from the Theater Guild of Ancon, letting me know that they are staging a production of “Seussical”� a musical based on the books of Dr. Seuss that first debuted on Broadway in the year 2000. As you might expect from the title, the story is a mishmash of Seuss’ most popular tales. According to the play’s Wikipedia entry, the main plot is taken from Horton wears a Who!, the iconic fable of Horton the elephant and the mishaps he goes through to protect the people of Whoville, who just so happen to live on a speck of dust. Other characters that appear include the Butter side Uppers/Downers from the Butter Battle Book (my personal favorite), Gertrude McFuzz from the story that carries her namesake, and the Cat in the Hat, a somewhat omnipresent narrator that serves as both a bystander and catalyst to much of the events that occur in the musical.

For the forthcoming TGA production, which has shows on the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th of October at 8PM, the Apple Creative Theater has taken the production and adapted it with an under-18 cast; the kids range from 6 to 17-year olds who attend various English-speaking schools in Panama such as ISP, Balboa School, Oxford International School (hey, that’s my school!), and some who are home schooled. This ensemble must be a handful, but director Charles Todd Apple seems to be a real trooper, commanding the cast with wise, skillful direction every step of the way. In order to feel like my name-dropping duties are complete, here is the complete cast list for “Seussical Jr.�”:

Horton: Billy Shyne

JoJo: Evelina Preciado

Gertrude: Gemma Turnbull

Mayzie: Charlotte Arnoux

Sour Kangaroo (Mr. Mayor): Ana Lorena Quijano

Who (Thing 1): Nerys Apple

Mrs. Mayor (Bird Girl): Maria Jose’ Recalde

Who (Thing 2): Emma Quetel

Who: Katie Savastuk

Bird Girl: Alannah Quetel

Bird Girl: Valeria de Sanctis

Cat in the Hat: Samantha Kirk

Wickersham Brothers: Gabriel Garcia de Parades/Cane Walden

Director/Music Director: Charles Todd Apple

Stage Manager/AD: Aviva Cohen

It seems like they’re going for the full thing (the children’s version of “Seussical” is only one act long), since there are characters in the cast that suggest they’re going for the original script. This should be fun for the whole family, so much so that I think I’m going to go check it out. It’s been a while since I haven�’t gone to the theater, and I hear that the last children’s show held at the TGA turned out to be a bucket of fun. You can check out the TGA website by clicking here, and for tickets just contact this e-mail. Donation is $10.

To finish this off, I want to announce to you, dear reader, that I got myself an Xbox 360 this past weekend. I got it with BioShock, and I believe the game is a modern classic. I’s still a little early to tell, but the story was awesome and has a great deal of replay value; I’m already going over it again after beating it yesterday. I’m still getting the hang of this whole deal, hooking myself to Xbox Live and what not (my gamer tag is, you guessed it, “Rob Rivera”), checking out the arcade, demos, etc. I never had a chance to check this generation of video gaming (my Nintendo Wii praise notwithstanding) and now that I’m knee-deep in it, it’s really cool. I can’t wait for Halo 3. I mean, have you seen the ads?

So once again I’m off the wagon in regards to video game. I just hope the Xbox 360 doesn’t fart out a Red Ring of Death on me beforehand. I’ll hurt, but it won’t hurt as much as if I had gotten the console in Panama; for those of you who live abroad, get this: the Premium version of the Xbox 360, after arduous inspection of several novelty/video game shops, is being sold at a whopping $550.95 (tax not included). Hell, there’s a place in the Multiplaza Mall that is selling it at $700. And don’t even get me started on the PlayStation 3’s price tag! I could buy a car for the price they’re asking for that toaster. Anyway, with my nifty setup, I bought the console online thru Amazon and having it arrive at my house, ready to go, cost me $450 and change. Xenu bless the internet.

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