hey people its getting close to x-mas all the boys and girls are writing up list whats on yours for a family gaming unit this year with all the exclusives and price cuts what are your thinking about what are your dissensions based on dont know no worry ive got the details prices and games you need lets get started with the juggernaut the nintendo wii  (199.00) for everything that is great with this console it has some bad to warning the nintedo wii is very fun but if  getting it be sure to use wrist strap that comes in the box swing motion has lead to broken widows tvs and bones if wrist strap is not secure now that the bad is gone lets focus on the great not the most graphically incline but is the most innovative on the market with the ability to put gamers closer then ever to a virtual world in a fun feast of interactive games such as wii sports ea sports all play new super mario bros wii boom block and much more great pick up for family’s and gamers  now on to the big gun the xbox 360(199.00-399.00) suffers from a lot of problems the most important is the redring  of death it is when a console over heats and flashes a red error light and is left un playable but the error usually only occur to thought who dont take the proper precautions such as not leaving your xbox running excess of 36 hours or running on carpet and any other heat absorbing materiel other than that there is the perfect circle scratch it is when the console is hit or moved when running discs in this event the console grinds the lens casing to the game disc to avoid this keep off carpet children and or pets and keep on study resting place the greatest parts of xbox 360 is its online feature know as xbox live the premiere online gaming service provided by microsoft at only 7.99 a month you can enjoy the best online gaming experience not to mention free demo an trailers of upcoming games along with reviews previews a developer interviews all from your television screen with net flix you can enjoy all your favorite movies streamed strait to your xbox 360 you can also view tv on demand with shows from every major network now perhaps the best feature of xbox live is the xbox live arcade where you can relive the glory days of gaming with arcade classics such as pac man centipede space invaders paperboy and many more including mortal kombat  street fighter and sonic the hedge hog and new titles developed from major to indie developers and if you’ve played all the game and just want to relax from your xbox 360 you can listen to your favorite band right from your dash board with last fm and thats still not half of what the console is capable of connect it to an hdtv with hdmi and see the most sunning graphics in full 1080i with games like call of duty gears of war left 4 dead and halo to give you a gaming experience like no other but aside for that you have great family titles such as hasbro family game where you can play classics board games such as monopoly or sorry all around the xbox 360 is a great console as is the wii with this guide you should be able to make an informed decision on your console

Six in the morning, The colony wakes up to the air of chutneys and sambars,chai and coffee and wet mud from the freshly washed verandahs. The breeze from the trees is teasing the soil on the road and drainage is flowing lazily under the small bridges from gates to the road, and he rides in. As the red and green buttons jump up and down the spokes of the wheels of his cycle, he throws a rolled newspaper into the house with black gate and a wooden mailbox, that lawyer from Vijayawada’s house. Next, he slows at that old tamilian couple’s two storey-ed house to aim at the money plant-covered balcony on the first floor. Then he enters the street to the right.

His calves wet with sweat and the newspapers on the backseat wet with dew, Paperabbai continues his routine when suddenly two street dogs start chasing him. In haste, he inadvertently turns into that east facing street when the first rays hit him. The warmth was definitely not due to temperature. The light made him forget about the dogs and hence the dogs about him.

He stops in front of a small house in large plot, more than half filled flowering  plants. Mr.Suryanarayana comes to the gate and takes the newspaper by hand.

“Good Morning Sar”

“Good Morning oi, enti news ivvala, prapancham keshamamenaa?”

Paperabbai smiles while rolling some more papers into tubes. Mounts onto his atlas cycle and rides away into the morning fog with newspapers flying off every now and then.

http://www.box.net/shared/kld02z2b8r

Nocturnal Emissions have created this awesome parody of the classic coin-op game, Paperboy…  And, of course, there’s a big bear in it who says “This Japanese B-Boy ought to stop him!” which made the video even better…

Funny parody video of the Atari classic Paperboy — in real life.

“Keith is a jerk.”

via

When I was a kid, there was a place I was allowed to be one, fully and freely.

If I wanted to do any of the following:

• run around
• eat pizza
• puke up fountain pop
• play skeeball
• crack open the coin container on the spaceship ride and stock up on shit tons (which is way more than crap loads) of tokens
• collect a crap load of tickets
• stock up on magic tricks received in fair trade of the aforementioned tickets
• beat little kids at air hockey in order to overrun the table for my friends and I

I could.  At ShowBiz Pizza Place.  That was back before they were bought out and became Chuck E. Cheese and changed their name.

Anyzaxxon, when I was a kid, the arcade games were really what it was all about.  Paperboy, Tron, watching somebody else play Dragon’s Lair.  These are where my memories truly remain.

So imagine my surprise (I think this is my catch phrase for all my InASense, Lost posts) when I visited Chuck E. Cheese after a long hiatus (it was my friends’ offspring’s first birthday), and this was their game selection?

It's a virtual jump rope game. And my fantasy?

The joystick placement made me feel uncomfortable. As did the Hungry Dragon's face.

"Canning Master" makes me think of "sodomy." As does "Mr. Brown."

Nothing too bad, I guess. But again with the fantasy?

Um...

As promised, here is your Throwback Thursday Hip Hop jam. My uncle introduced me to this track when I was junior high I believe. I’ve been hooked on it ever since. I particularly remember going to high school dances and hearing this jam come out on the speakers. EVERYONE got down.

Paperboy – “Ditty”

PHOTOS BY ALEKSANDRA WYSOCKA: http://jpgmag.com/people/sullastrada

www.myspace.com/popesofchillitown

Homenaje al Paperboy, un videojuego de mi infancia bastante frustrante en el que uno controlaba a un chico que repartía diarios en bicicleta por un barrio con vecinos excesivamente negligentes. Empezó a partir de la idea de dibujar un gordito arriba de una bicicleta y por eso es más gordo de lo que se lo recuerda en el original… si bien estaba dibujado con aproximadamente 5 pixels así que no se puede suponer demasiado sobre su contextura.

Jag fick idag ett samtal från DN. Eller kanske snarare det företag vilka DN anlitat att sälja prenumerationer genom.

Telefonförsäljning har jag alltid mött med ett visst obehag. De är så luriga att bli av med – ett nej är aldrig ett nej i en säljares öron. Sen, kanske för att jag under en kort period även jobbat som telefonförsäljare och vet hur motigt det kan vara, så jag kan ju inte gärna vara otrevlig och avbryta den som sliter för att sälja och få en hygglig lön.

Men det är så otroligt gammalmodigt att sälja papperstidning över telefon. Jag är 27 år gammal, jag älskade att läsa tidningen i lugn och ro på morgnarna. När jag bodde hos mina föräldrar. När jag inte hade saker på schemat både morgon och kväll. När jag hade mer tid/När jag inte var så förtjust i att sova för länge. Vad ska jag med en tidningsprenumeration till? Jag kan erkänna att det i första hand är en fråga om bekvämlighet. Jag har ingen lust att springa till återvinningsstationen en gång i veckan. I andra hand är det en massa träd som ryker för att jag inte ska ha tid att flytta tidningen längre än från dörrmattan rakt i närmaste pappkasse.

Helt uppenbart blöder tidningen som medium, om det drabbat Sverige än så länge vet jag inte men jag tycker mig läsa varje dag om tidningar runt om i världen som går omkull (läst på teh internets).

DN har sin tidning, i PDF-format, gratis på nätet. Varje dag. Men de är förtjusta i anakronismen att sälja mig papperstidningar. Jag kan tänka mig att betala för tidning, absolut. Bloggar et cetera har sin plats i systemet, men kan i alla fall inte hittills konkurrera med det mervärde redaktionellt/journalistiskt material en “riktig” tidning ger. Jag kan tänka mig att pröva på eDN, och se hur jag tycker det funkar. Men ingen digital tidningsutdelare infinner sig. Ingen PaperBoy som har lust att cykla förbi mitt digitala kvarter? Please?

Growing up, the theater in my hometown had an arcade that was above the concession stands. I clearly remember the smell of popcorn mixed with games of Afterburner, Super Hang-On, and Paperboy. Killing time, both before a movie and afterwords, was never so much fun! Fast forward a decade…

My memories of Paperboy were recently rekindled when I came across vNES, a website that hosts Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games. Dodging skateboarders, runaway tires,  and unsupervised children recalled a time when videogames were more simple. However, please don’t read the word simple as meaning easy. Paperboy was never easy for me. Everything in the world of Paperboy seemed built to kill. Hitting common fences, dogs, and even construction workers meant a loss of life. I truthfully do not know how the nameless paperboy portrayed in the game kept at his job. I would have quit long after the old lady ran out of her house in newspaper delivery rage. Perhaps the silent paperboy was well paid? I doubt it. More likely a virtual slave to programming. I dedicate this post to him, the 80’s, and memories of waiting to be picked up at the local theater. Thanks Mom!

Such a promising kid.

For several months I served my community as a teenage paperboy, delivering the daily publications of the Commercial Dispatch, a small daily newspaper in a small town—Columbus, Mississippi. For those who may not be familiar with the requirements of the job, I must note that one does not become a paperboy overnight. There is a period of intensive training, a period during which one is given the lofty title of Assistant Paperboy. Following the mandatory interview with the paper’s Circulation Manager (the owner’s son), an interview in which I was deemed acceptable for training, I was assigned to a regular paperboy, one who was voluntarily leaving his employment for greener pastures as a carhop at a local eatery—that’s a subject for a future posting—I worked as a carhop at two different locations in the same city—I was fired from one location and voluntarily left the other.

For several weeks, at the princely salary of $1.50 per week, I accompanied the Paperboy on daily paper pickups and deliveries, learning the route and the necessary bookkeeping and public relations aspects of the job. The papers were delivered in evenings on Monday through Friday and early in the morning on Sundays—the paper was not published on Saturdays.

During the training period I met my boss after school Monday through Friday in the basement of the building, an underground area accessible by vehicles for pickups and deliveries and by our bikes. There we counted out our papers and placed them in a canvas bag similar to the saddlebags used by horsemen. The bags, printed with the newspaper’s name, had a hole in the center so it could be worn by the delivery person with its paper-filled pouches front and rear, or carried across the handlebars of a bike or across the luggage rack above the bike’s rear wheel. The bag was worn when the Paperboy had no bike and walked his route, or when the bike was out of commission. It also was worn by the lucky ones that had an in-town route with all-commercial customers—these were the plums, the most desirable routes available, gems sought after by any paperboy with even the slightest desire to succeed in the newspaper delivery field.

We never rolled the papers—I suppose the idea of rolling papers and securing the rolled paper with a rubber band had not been thought of at the time—or it may have been simply because the profit margin enjoyed by newspaper delivery boys did not allow the acquisition and use of such accessories. We delivered the papers flat, and I became rather proficient at sailing the paper across lawns for a considerable distance. In the beginning, of course, I manged to land the paper in or under bushes, in mud puddles and in ditches, everywhere except on walkways or driveways, or on the porch, the ideal final location for the toss. In such failed deliveries the decision had to be made whether to stop and correct the unsatisfactory delivery, or to accept it and hope that the customer would not complain—not an easy decision to be made, especially if the hour was late and supper was waiting at home.

Hey, don’t laugh—it’s no small task for one to control a moving bike with one hand, a bike loaded with 125 newspapers in a canvas bag lying across the handlebars with one side resting on the front fender and the other on the crossbar, surveying the terrain for an acceptable target while keeping alert for potholes, dogs, other moving vehicles, pedestrians, rocks, mud puddles and other possible impediments to forward motion, then selecting a paper with the other hand, positioning it correctly for throwing and, at the precise correct instant, releasing it toward its target. I must admit that an accurate throw under such conditions gave any paperboy, regardless of his tenure, a pleasurable feeling, albeit fleeting.

I followed my boss—the real paperboy—on my bike as he made the deliveries, making mental notes of street signs, house numbers, locations, dogs, potholes, traffic, etc. Dennis—I’ll call him Dennis because that was his name—rode a state-of-the-art bike, one powered by a small battery taped to the bike’s crossbar, with power going to a small motor mounted on the bike’s front fender. With the flick of a switch, the rubber-covered shaft of the motor pressed against the front tire’s sidewall and gave a power-assist to the bike’s motion. Before the motor could be used the bike first had to be moving—inertia had to be overcome by pedaling, then the motor took over. The system worked great on level paved surfaces such as streets and sidewalks, but was a bust on unpaved surfaces and had to be supported by some old-fashioned pedaling by the rider.

I must digress for a moment:

While in training, late in the evening on a cold winter day, the Paperboy and his AA (Able Assistant) delivered a paper to a service station and remained to warm up a bit before continuing on our route. The station manager offered us a cigarette—Dennis accepted one, but told the manager that I was “too young to smoke.” That put-down changed my life—I defiantly took the cigarette, and thus made the first step towards acquiring the nicotine habit, a habit that was finally conquered some 22 years later.

My employment as a newspaper carrier, a vocation that could have propelled me into the upper echelons of newspaper publishing, lasted only a few short months. Early on a beautiful sunny Sunday, I knocked on a subscriber’s door several times, each time harder than the previous knock, and finally the following dialogue ensued:

Man’s shout: “Who the (expletive) is it?”

My answer: “It’s the paperboy.”

Man’s shout: “What the (expletive) do you want?

My answer: “I need to collect for the paper.”

Man’s shout: “I already paid for the (expletive) paper.”

My answer: “No, I don’t have a record of your payment.”

His final shout telling me to go away included a name for me which alluded forcefully to the marital status of my mother at the time of my birth, so my final response was:

“Alright then, do without your damn paper.”

I heard more curses and the sound of feet hitting the floor so I took flight. I hopped on my bike, flew across the road and hid behind a small outbuilding. I waited there for what seemed an eternity, heart pounding violently and scared shiftless (as we used to say under such stressful times). Finally I peeked around the corner. There was no one in sight so I left the scene of the crime, finished my deliveries and went home.

The following day, Monday, was predictable—I knew well how the day would end. I reported to pick up my papers and was met by the circulation manager. The incident of the previous day was not mentioned. He sternly ordered me to turn in my canvas carrier-bags. This I did with alacrity, collecting my two-dollar deposit and then slinking pitifully away from the area with my head down and steps dragging.

But that was all for effect. I hated that damn job. That stuff they say about mail carriers, something on the order of “neither heat nor rain nor snow can delay us, blah, blah, blah” never applied to the crappy job of newspaper delivery boy. Looking back on it the only bright spot in my brief career was one evening around Christmastime when the circulation manager put several of us in the back seat of his new Cadillac convertible and with the top down drove us around to deliver our papers—and this was during a heavy snowfall—I must admit that was fun, but one can’t hang around for something similar to happen—it would probably never have happened again—at least not with me being one of the fortunate boys selected.

Oh, just one more thing—I checked my meticulously kept records and found that the customer whose complaint had cost me my job had in fact—yep, you guessed it—he had already paid me.

Oh, well, you win some and you lose some.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Here we go, 60-51 in GregHorrorShow’s Top 100 Games!

A quick recap on how I decided who came where:

I decided, as so many games mean so many different things to me, I should come up with a fair way to judge them. This is what I came up with:

Time Spent Playing

Storyline

Difficulty

Fun

Ground Breaking?

A few provisos before we hit the next ten games…

Firstly this is my list of my Top 100 games. I certainly don’t expect you guys to agree with it (though hopefully you’ll agree with some of the choices  ) and would welcome any comments.

Secondly, I’m not planning on putting the scores or totals up, just listing the games in the order they came out in.

Lastly, I never owned a Nintendo or Microsoft console so my experiences on these games were limited to friend’s houses etc – bite me

Let’s crack on with the next ten…

60. PAPERBOY (ZX Spectrum)

I reckon most people in the world have played Paperboy, with it’s near crushingly difficult streets and inhabitants. This is one of those games that will have you screaming in frustration one moment and celebrating a perfect delivery in the next. There are objects flying at you from every direction and all you’re trying to do is deliver the papers. Also loved the training sections at the end with the ramps etc. A nice slice of gaming history.

59. RAINBOW SIX VEGAS 2 (Playstation 3)

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 was a great follow up title featuring more of the same tactical SWAT style shenanigans. If you like your shooters fast and furious (ala Killzone 2) then this won’t be for you. Methodical planning and several ways to strike make this a tactical dream. But it’s still a FPS at heart and there are a few frantic firefights waiting for you as you return to the Strip.

58. HEAVENLY SWORD (Playstation 3)

Heavenly Sword was supposed to be THE game to showcase the power of the PS3. But somehow everyone got caught up in how good Nariko’s hair looked and the game got itself some lukewarm reviews, with it’s short length (5 Hours) cited as a problem. For me this was a fun hack n slash that actually did a few bits better than the genre defining God Of War games (combos for a start). Yes it was short but it was really enjoyable and the cut scene graphics still rank up there as among the best I’ve seen. Worth checking out, especially as you can get it for about a tenner now.

57. STREET FIGHTER IV (Playstation 3)

As comebacks go Street Fighter IV has to be up there with the best of them. Other than Mortal Kombat  nothing had come close to touching Street Fighter II for years – Tekken on the PSOne was the most fun following SF II but we all knew Ryu and co. wouldn’t be beaten. So imagine our surprise when the trailer for SF IV turned up. Sweet artistic graphics? Check. Decent roster of old and new characters? Check. Same move sets but with a few added extras? Check. Street Fighter IV is one of the best looking fighting games ever. And the fact they retained the move sets means anyone who has ever played Street Fighter II can pick this up and get involved straight away.

56. DESERT STRIKE (Sega Mega Drive)

Desert Strike sees you piloting a helicopter on covert missions in the Middle East. Whether it’s blowing up satellites or rescuing M.I.A’s (soldiers Missing In Action, not the pop star ) you will have a blast. Using a mixture of machine gun, rockets and hellfires (big rockets ) you will be tasked with all sorts of missions. The ‘copter was a bitch to control most of the time but that only made it more fun; seeing yourself bounce off a building as you reverse at full speed always raised a chuckle. Memories of my Dad being up until 3am playing this also raise a smile

55. CAPTAIN COMMANDO (Arcade)

For years this was known as the ‘game with the baby, y’know, the baby in the robot suit’ by me and my brother – much to the confusion of 99% of people we were trying to explain it to. This arcade machine suddenly appeared in a local shop one day and once we played it we were hooked. It’s essentially a re-skinned Final Fight but with the added bonus of being able to use ED-209 style bots throughout the levels. Oh and did I mention the BABY IN A ROBOT SUIT!

54. MIRROR’S EDGE (Playstation 3)

I completely applaud EA for putting this title out and trying something new. This is a game that is totally first person (while you play) but involves very little shooting and lots of parkour and hand to hand combat. It’s not often a company will take a punt on something as ambitious as this and it has it’s problems but Mirror’s Edge has a lot of heart and it was a great gaming experience – possibly one that might shape future first person games so that they aren’t all shooters.

53. ROBOCOP (ZX Spectrum)

Man, I loved Robocop on the ZX Spectrum. Shooting criminals, then putting together photofit ID’s of them. Then shooting some more… This was one of those games that looked amazing in the arcade and… quite frankly didn’t on Spectrum. However the gameplay was there and I spent a lot of time on the streets, trying to wipe out the OCP scum

52. SPACE INVADERS (Arcade)

Another classic like Pacman – the gameplay of this title is almost ingrained in our pysche. Defending yourself from the hoardes of aliens, while trying no to shoot at your own shields is one of the most basic yet fulfilling gaming experiences. This was back in the days when there weren’t levels as such, or an end to the game. It was all about the points. And they were there to be racked up in Space Invaders, as you faced huge numbers of enemies. There’s something almost tragic in the fact that basically you can’t survive the invasion – it’s just a case of fighting them off for as long as possible before dying as they take over

51. RACE DRIVER: GRID (Playstation 3)

Race Driver GRID is one of the best driving games on the market and featured a revolutionary new gameplay mechanic enabling drivers to rewind the race (up to 4 times) and effectively have another go at that tricky corner or overtaking manouvre. It really does bring a whole new dimension to the gameplay, making people more likely to take risks and therefore have more exciting races. The graphics of the game itself are really impressive and the crash mechanics are up there with the Motorstorm series. The World Tour mode is very deep and offers plenty of different options. Definitely one to pick up if you don’t already own.

So there we go, we’re at the halfway stage!!

Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed parece estar ganando adeptos cada día, y las revistas alternatas lo encumbraron el año pasado, pero no me había parado a escuchar su celebradísimo segundo disco, Roll With You, hasta hace unos días. Dicen de él que es el nuevo mesías del Soul, y hypes aparte, parece que pueden tener razón.

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

Al ponerme el disco con cierto escepticismo, no sabía lo que me esperaba, pero a medida que le daba escuchas, más me enganchaba. Soul, Funk, música de raíces negras hechas por un tío blanco, de Massachussets, y con sólo 24 años.

Temazos con vida propia como It’s easier, Take my love with you, Am I wasting your time o la animadísima (Doin the) Boom Boom, hacen que el disco vuele por sí solo, recordándonos además que la música es atemporal… y que el 2009 puede sonar a los 60.

Eli 'Paperboy Reed' - Roll With You

Las influencias son claras y están ahí, pero la clase y la habilidad vocal que demuestra Eli Paperboy Reed apartan cualquier atisbo de crítica destructiva tan pronto como se intenta.

Se trata de uno de esos discos que entran bien en cualquier momento. Clase, fuerza, Soul, Funk, Rock, un frontman con una habilidad vocal que quita el hipo, guitarras juguetonas, grandísimos arreglos de viento, y mucho sabor a clásico. Eso y mucho más es Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed, quien además parece tener un directo tremendo.

Sólo puedo dar las gracias a quien me descubrió este disco, porque me tiene maravillado.

It appears that on July 1st, Warner Bros. will assume control of the company currently known as Midway Games.  This will be the THIRD time that Warner will have control of the old Atari properties and also marks the end of an era for both Midway and the brand once known as Williams.  This article outlines a history of these four companies as they relate to each other. 

TIMELINE

1972: Atari is founded by Nolan Bushnell.

1973: Midway and Williams enter the arcade video game industry.

1976: Warner Communications acquires Atari.

1984: Atari splits into two: the consumer division is sold off as Atari Corp while Warner keeps the arcade division, Atari Games. 

1986: Atari Games becomes independent.

1988: Williams acquires Midway.  RIP MIDWAY

1990: Warner again acquires Atari Games.

1996: Williams acquires Atari Games from Warner.

1998: Midway becomes independent, taking all of Williams‘ intellectual properties with it.

2001: Midway closes its arcade division.

2003: Midway closes Midway Games West.  RIP ATARI

2009: Warner acquires Midway.

NOTES

Williams and Midway were fierce competitors in the pinball market before and after their entry into the video game world.

The 1984 split of Atari was really weird, as the intellectual properties were similarly split (for example, Atari Games could make Centipede games in the arcade and Atari Corp. could make Centipede games for consoles/computers).

When Williams acquired Midway in 1988, they only retained the services of two Midway game designers.  Although Williams kept the Midway name alive and used it even more than the Williams brand, the original Midway basically died with this acquisition.  This wasn’t really a huge loss, though, as the original Midway was really much better at importing Japanese games than creating games of its own.

Williams decided to leave the video game business in 1998, turning over all of their original intellectual properties to Midway and then spinning Midway off into an independent company.

Midway’s decision to close its arcade division in 2001 is significant from an Atari Games perspective, as the arcade was the only arena in which Midway/Atari Games had the rights to use pre-1984 properties (although they never really used them, anyway).

NOTABLE GAMES

Atari (1972-1983): Pong, Breakout, Warlords, Asteroids, Centipede, Battlezone, Missile Command, Star Wars

Midway (1973-1987): Wizard of Wor, Rampage (also imported Space Invaders, Galaxian, Pac-Man)

Williams (1973-1987): Defender, Blaster, Robotron 2084, Joust

Atari Games (1984-1995): Marble Madness, Paperboy, Gauntlet, Pit Fighter, Rampart, KLAX, Primal Rage, Area 51

Williams-Midway (1988-1998): NARC, Smash TV, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, Cruis’n, NFL Blitz, Revolution X

Atari Games (1996-2003): Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, San Francisco Rush

Midway (1999-present): Hydro Thunder, Ready 2 Rumble, TNA Impact

Tack vare diverse onlinetjänster (såsom Xbox Live) kan vi åter igen ta del av det här underbara spelet. Jag minns när jag var en liten knatte, då satt jag och avnjöt det här spelet på min gamla åtta bitars. Jag var nog en tio år gammal eller så. Men jag älskade det då och jag älskar det än idag.
Spelupplägget är så fantastiskt simpelt och genialiskt. “Du ska dela ut tidningar till de som prenumererar. Men samtidigt vill alla dig illa. Bilar backar ut, skateboardsåkare kommer, alkisar vill åt dig, hundar, katter.. ja listan kan göras lång”. Men det är ändå sjukt vanebildande. Så fort jag får en liten stund över så kör jag en vända paperboy på mitt Xbox. Dock är jag sjukt usel på det, men vad gör väl det i slutändan?

Men hur många minns Paperboy 2?
Detta var oerhört dåligt. Man valde att ta den simpla idén från första spelet och sen fullkomligt våldta den. Istället för att bara köra en enda gata upp, ska man nu cykla runt ett jäkla kvarter. Vilket förstör stämningen. Man måste plötsligt byta sida att kasta tidningen åt osv. Sen grafiken var ingen förhöjare. Nej detta var verkligen inget för mig. Istället hissar jag originalet till skyarna. Hoppar på min BMX och beger mig ut på min tidningsrunda….

I have a Blackberry, get countless e-mail newsletters, RSS feeds, Twitter posts, information aggregated in Google Reader and My Yahoo — needless to say, there are plenty of places where I can get my news. And one of the last places I turn for breaking news is The Boston Globe.

However, I remain a near 30-year subscriber for home delivery. Prior to that, I was the home delivery, spending 7th and 8th grade trudging up and down hilly streets in Somerville to deliver The Globe (and Herald and New York Times).

The prospect of not having a Globe, or any region losing its daily newspaper, saddens me. They’ve apparently worked out some of their problems for now, but it’s not like subscribership is going to spike anytime soon, or ever again.

Is it the tactile sensation of opening a newspaper and flipping pages? Getting newsprint on your fingertips? Simple muscle memory? I do think it’s some of that, coupled with my generation (mid-40s).

But the web doesn’t do it for me as a replacement for a newspaper. You can find exactly what you want online — search for it, tag it, rate it, save it, share it. Those are great virtues, but what are non-newspaper readers missing?

First of all, it’s reading the articles you are not looking for that make a paper worthwhile — the little surprises you may find in a lifestyle column, or the big revelations you may discover while reading a detailed current events analysis. And there’s the pictures, and flow, and ads and everything else you don’t get from a website.

It’s no surprise that the most popular “news” sites are Huffington Post or TMZ. There’s a drop in “weightiness” on the web. There are still great stories, but you won’t find them if you’re not looking for them.

A newspaper gives you luxuries. You can skim when you’re busy, immerse when you have, discover new writers and opinions.

And don’t forget the watchdog element. The Globe’s Spotlight team has brought to light critical issues that people need to hear about. If The Globe fails, so does this effort.

News  media is changing all around us. TV news struggles to hit big numbers during sweeps, and builds hardly usable online sites to serve as companions to “extend” the news. In most cases, these sites fail.

Adaptation is the path the Globe, NECN, WBZ and more follow in an attempt to keep rapidly diminishing ad dollars and readers/viewers.

The true path is innovation, and there’s far too little of that in traditional media.

I look forward to a future where I can recline in an easy chair in my senior years and open the Globe, read it and still enjoy it. I know I need it. And I think our community needs it — for instilling regional pride, showing geographic identification, tackling tough societal issues and giving a home to good stories written well.  

I recently took a walk down memory lane and revisited the 1980s arcade game Paperboy, which spawned many “remakes” and versions released for video gaming systems including some around today. Today I’d like to offer you five things newspapers could learn from that game.

1. Get the news in your customers’ hands. Paperboy does whatever he has to do in order to get the newspaper to his customers. Avoiding pedestrians and break dancers? No problem. Zombies? No problem. Newspapers outside the game world should also go to any lengths necessary to get their news to their customers. I don’t know how newspapers can do that when they are hacking their staffs apart. There are few left to do this work.
2. If someone does not read your newspaper, hit them over the head with it. In the 1980s arcade game Paperboy, the paperboy vandalizes the houses of non-subscribers. In other versions of the game, Paperboy receives points for getting the newspaper to hit certain targets in non-subscribers’ yards. While I’m not advocating vandalism, newspapers need to  figure out a way to get non-subscribers to see the paper. If they never look at it, they won’t buy it. And if they do look at it but can get the exact same product for free online, why pay? If you want people to pay, you have to offer them something they can’t get for free and show them it so they want it. The paper version has to have something different than online OR you have to start charging for online stories like you do the paper version.
3. Celebrate your successes. Tell your readers (whether in print or online) what you do well. When Paperboy gets a week’s worth of newspapers delivered successfully to his customers, a banner headline pops up proclaiming this. While newspapers shouldn’t be patting themselves on the back for simply delivering the paper, they should spend more time pointing out to readers what they do well. For example, why don’t newspapers remind readers that the journalists are the public’s eyes and ears? This is simplistic, but what about the occasional reminder along the lines of this: “You’re busy. You have to juggle work, family and a million other tasks. We understand. You can’t be there, but you care. We will be there for you and tell you what you need to know. Just like we have been for decades.”
4. If you move too slowly, you will be pushed in a direction you don’t want. When Paperboy did not move quickly enough to deliver the news, he was pushed by winds or swarms of bees. Newspapers have been slow to react to the online transition. The longer they wait, the longer they don’t take chances, the more likely they will be pushed in a direction they don’t want. It may already be too late, but I hope not.
5. Above all, stay alive. Paperboy had to avoid everything from traffic hazards to tornadoes in order to stay alive on his delivery route and get the news in people’s hands. Newspapers have to battle financial problems that threaten to kill the industry. Paperboy did what he had to do to avoid his obstacles. Newspapers must do the same. If keeping the news organization alive requires new ways of thinking and taking chances, do it. If keeping the news organization alive means putting most of your effort into the online, not paper, version of the product, do it. If keeping the news organization alive means being different and going out on the proverbial limb all by yourself, do it. Be like Paperboy. Be brave. Or you’ll lose your job.

Christopher Fowler started off as the author of horror and fantasy short stories and novels and his imaginative skills made for first rate fiction in a genre that is regarded rather sniffily in the literary world. He turned to mysteries and combined elements of his fantasy work in a series of delightfully zany mysteries featuring two oldish sleuths, Bryant and May, usually operating in wonderfully evoked London and South England landscapes. The books would make a first rate television series but as they don’t involve forensics they will probably never reach the screen.

His very English quality comes from his background as an only – and sometimes lonely – child growing up in a working class area of South London in the early 1960s. His parents are solid decent folk but they don’t have a lot of imagination and they have ended up with a son who has imagination by the truckload. Reading books and comics, making lists (ah, the sign of all of those who had anorak childhoods), movies at the local Odeon, games and kit sets, the ludicrous horror novels of Dennis Wheatley, it’s all here.

Even if your childhood was a New Zealand one, you will recognise a lot of what he is talking about as Kiwis still talked of “home” (i.e. Britain) then and English newspapers and magazines were the staple of every bookshop. Does anyone remember the weekly compilation editions – with the brassy yellow cover – of the Daily Mirror? I loved this book for its nostalgic evocation of the British cinema (the decade before it descended into witless sex comedies featuring Robin Askwith and two decades before it was all country house Merchant Ivory films) when most films were full of character actors who could be relied upon to be much the same in every production. It’s hard to think we will look back on Ray Winstone and co with the same warm fuzzy feeling we had for the likes of Hattie Jacques and the Carry On crew. It’s not all nostalgia, however, as he tempers the book with his adult awareness of some of the sadness of his parent’s life.

And…libraries come out of this very well as young Fowler recognises how much they’d helped him: “the printed page had not imprisoned my thoughts but had given them shape and set them free.” He speaks highly of the East Greenwich Public Library where “I caught glimpses of a world beyond my experience” and was helped by a librarian who inspired his reading. She sounds  just great and not all the dull stereotype we get so sick of. The latter appears in the next book I read, a bloated doorstop thriller, “A simple act of violence” by R.J. Ellory where “the lady at the desk looked like a librarian, sounded like one too.” She speaks in “hushed tones” (of course!) and peers at the detective “over half-rimmed spectacles.” she’s about  as believable as the plot in this ridiculous conspiracy thriller.