Agent Palmer

Sometimes the story is of the game and not just in the game.

Such is the case for my favorite games Wolfenstein 3-D, Doom, Quake, I played them all and I played them a lot. On occasion I still pull out the original Quake and play away my stress by blasting monsters to bits. So I was intrigued when I learned of Masters of Doom by David Kushner about the two Johns; Carmack and Romero, who came together to create these games and more.

If you’re looking for the whole story of the personal computer or microcomputer industry, you have to read a few books. You owe it to yourself to at least cover the two diametrically opposed players in the game: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

I’ve read the Steve Jobs biography written by Walter Isaacson, so next up was a Bill Gates biography called Gates: How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry and Made Himself the Richest Man in America by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews.

Chrono Trigger is one of those classic titles that generate nostalgia and a real sense of reverie amongst gamers. Released back in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System – it was a critical and commercial success.

I’m not exaggerating when I say few games released in the past 20 years measure up to this RPG masterpiece. Some younger gamers or those unfamiliar with gaming might not understand Chrono Trigger’s significance, but that’s okay.

I’m an old nerd whose wanted to write about this for a while.

Before I picked up What’s It All About? I knew that Michael Caine was a great actor of both the stage and screen. I knew him as Harry Palmer, Charlie Croker, and Alfie, among many others.

But in this, his first autobiography, you learn that there’s a lot more to the man. Maurice Joseph Micklewhite was born in England. He was not one who had success thrust upon him nor was he born into it. He worked his way up in a place where the class system existed and breaking out was no easy task.

I know, you’re not thinking, “Palmer was on another podcast,” but “what do Kiss, They Might Be Giants, and The Strokes have in common?”

Well, they all hail from New York, and that was the theme of Our Liner Notes Episode 6 “Agents of New York”, retroactively chosen by myself and hosts Chris and Paul Maier. And yes, all three bands hail from New York, but now you’re asking yourself, “what is Our Liner Notes?”