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Conference turris::womannotes-v3

Title:	Topics of Interest to Women
Notice:	V3 is closed. TURRIS::WOMANNOTES-V5 is open.
Moderator:	REGENT::BROOMHEAD

Created:	Thu Jan 30 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 30 1995
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1078
Total number of notes:	52352

734.0. "Zen and the Art of Playing Pinball" by CSC32::M_VALENZA (Plus �a note) Mon Mar 18 1991 15:03

    [Editor's note: the following fragment of what is believed to be a much
    longer manuscript was recently unearthed by archaeologists who were
    excavating the post-nuclear ruins of North America.  It is believed to
    be extremely ancient, and may even have been written during the Era when
    the Earth had an ozone layer and when people lived in cities above the
    ground; however, a small group of revisionist scholars dispute the claim
    that this fragment could be that old.  Regardless, it does provide a
    fascinating glimpse into the culture and philosophy of our mysterious
    forebears.]

    [For more information about pinball in the Ozone Age, we recommend that
    you read the treatise, "The Ozonian Temples" by M13; it discusses the
    so-called "Arcades", which are believed to have been temples in which
    the pinball machines served as the basis for sexual and magical rituals
    for the religion of that culture.  Note that certain very skilled
    pinball participants were known as "wizards", thus emphasizing the
    element of magic in the Ozonian religion.]

                    Zen and the Art of Playing Pinball
                                (fragment)

    shaking the machine without tilting, which of course lends a great deal
    of sexuality to the entire process.

    But there are machines that you really understand well.  You know how to
    earn a Special, you know how many times to send the ball up this ramp or
    that one to earn so many points.  On those machines, during certain
    magic occasions, you become one with it.  You no longer exist in a
    subject-object relationship with the machine; instead, a la Martin
    Buber, you *experience* the machine, and even the sense of time ceases.
    You co-exist with the random elements of game, and the machine becomes a
    kind of extension of yourself.  The machine clicks off the free games
    loudly, in a kind of multi-orgasmic paroxysm.  You have reached
    enlightenment.

    Those magic moments cannot last forever, unfortunately.  The human
    capacity to sustain this level of consciousness is limited, and
    eventually you return to a normal sense of reality, and shortly
    thereafter you lose the ball.  But it was an experience you can't...

    [Editor's note: The rest of the fragment is unreadable.]

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
734.1		LEZAH::BOBBITT	I -- burn to see the dawn arriving	`Mon Mar 18 1991 15:25`	10
	I've DONE THIS! I've become one with the machine. Whatever word you choose to use to describe this experience - flow, slack, oneness, melding - it happens! It's like when you're playing piano and you sit back and you just listen and watch and the circuit is complete - the music is happening through you but it's no effort.... I adore pinball. It's one of the cheapest highs I know.... -Jody
734.2	One with the Silver Ball	SSDEVO::YESSE		`Mon Mar 18 1991 15:44`	3
	Anyone who's ever pushed 'Firepower II' to its limit knows the feeling... It's funny, some machines are just that, machines; others invoke sheer ecstasy (above & beyond the backglass graphics!).
734.3	makes you question archeologists and sociological historians	HANCOK::DBANG::carroll		`Mon Mar 18 1991 15:54`	12
	Hee hee... reminds me of a story I read once in, I believe, Analog...in which archeologists from some unnamed future time are excavating a 20th century motel, and the explanations they give for various things they find. For instance, they think a toilet seat is a religious ceremonial head-dress. "Do Not Disturb" signs are clearly used for seance's. etc, etc. Cute. D!
734.4		LEZAH::BOBBITT	I -- burn to see the dawn arriving	`Mon Mar 18 1991 16:17`	15
	I have a picture of myself breaking a million eight on firepower II... what a rush! Some of my other faves - Centaur II, Pinbot, Paragon, Gorgar, Alien Invaders, Haunted House, Orbitor I, Xenon (just because of the sound effects)..... And, true confession, the only video game I can play with any facility is Tempest.... -Jody
734.5		LEZAH::BOBBITT	I -- burn to see the dawn arriving	`Mon Mar 18 1991 16:18`	5
	the book you're describing is "Motel of the Mysteries" by David Macaulay. I have it right here in my cube. Coincidence? you decide..... -Jody
734.6	:*)	SOLVIT::FRASER	But I don't have an accent; you do!	`Mon Mar 18 1991 16:24`	6
	With not just one, but two late '70s vintage pinball machines at home, both restored to 100% functionality - it is a religion and there are times when it all comes together and you can't lose the ball, regardless of what you do. Other times, however...
734.7		LEZAH::BOBBITT	I -- burn to see the dawn arriving	`Mon Mar 18 1991 16:29`	10
	yeah, the game always knows when it's playing a "match" or a "special freebie". It ALWAYS spits balls down the center lane during those games. so where do you live? ;) -Jody ps. there's a new usenet newsgroup about pinball, for those who read....
734.9		DELREY::ANDRIES_LA	and so it goes ...	`Tue Mar 19 1991 16:21`	9
	Pinball machines are terrific! The best players don't play the machine; they are the machine. Tempest is the most intense video game I've ever played. Pure in concept, visually dazzling, endlessly challenging. Can I borrow a quarter? :^) LArry
734.10		LEZAH::BOBBITT	I -- burn to see the dawn arriving	`Tue Mar 19 1991 16:28`	7
	Ooooh. I was so inspired I went to an arcade last night. Broke 3.5 million on BOTH Funhouse AND Whirlwind. wheeee! -Jody
734.11	Ok, Jody, I posted it, where's my money?! (*8	GAZERS::NOONAN	Get thee down, be thou funky	`Wed Mar 27 1991 09:14`	17
	I have seen the Goddess of Pinball, and she is Jody..... 14,500,000 on Fun House last night (4 balls) 3,960,000 on the first ball alone. I am a believer! E Grace
734.12		LEZAH::BOBBITT	corner of 18th and Fairfax	`Wed Mar 27 1991 17:14`	10
	Now ya done it..... blush -Jody
734.13	creeds to play pinball by!	LEZAH::BOBBITT	dance, the storm is over	`Wed Apr 10 1991 10:55`	9
	shamelessly heisted from someone's .signature file on the USENET: "What America Needs is 1000 Points When Lit" ;) -Jody