Tag is a game that gets old as quickly as you do. There was always one kid that would end the game if tagged because he was too slow to get anyone else. That kid was me sometimes, it sucks. I’m not sure how popular the variations are, but I remember a few that I used to play.

Freeze Tag was a good one to play. Anyone tagged had to stand still until a non-It player tagged them to unfreeze them. It’s teamwork in its lowest form. Not counting one-on-one bouts, I’ve never seen a player freeze everyone. He’d be hailed as a god or something like that. But it just never happens. It would be one of the great feats of mankind.

Space Tag was pretty much the best form of tag possible, but it required a jungle gym. Don’t touch the ground or you’re it. I imagine this form has worldwide popularity. The crazy homies that felt ok running across the top of the monkey bars usually dominated. Inexperienced players (a.k.a. girls, who collected stickers and spread cooties) would always go down the slide.

Color Tag was a local Space Tag variation that could only be played at Kindergarten Park. This park had a sweet jungle gym and the ground was laid out in rubber tiles. The tiles were of different colors, the dominant color was blue. You were It if you were tagged or stepped on a blue tile. There was also some secret blue path to get to the geo-dome.

I remember one game pretty well. This kid Howard was It. He was one of the fastest kids in our grade–ADHD type speed. Now was the time to prove myself. I was chased up to the top of the jungle gym where the fireman’s pole was. The tricky thing is that the pole went straight down to a blue tile. I wasn’t even considering going down like that, I was a soldier. I decided to jump off the top of the jungle gym to avoid the tag.

I shattered my ankle. I was rolling on the ground in pain but at least I wasn’t It. Then Howard jumped down and tagged me anyway. I decided to go home, you know, because my ankle was cracked. Everyone called me a quitter. It was one of the darker days of my life.

I got casted up and was on crutches for weeks. As I was walking home one day, my left crutch went into a drain hole and snapped. Half fell into the abyss. For some reason, I played it off and walked home. I guess I thought nobody would notice that I was using uneven crutches. Kids laughed at me all the way home. It was one of the darker days of my life.

Cartoon Tag was easily the stupidest version ever. You run around just like normal, but if you were being chased, you could sit down and say the name of a Cartoon and you’d be immune until you stood back up. Cartoon names could not be repeated and characters didn’t count. Screaming “Roadrunner” onlly got you tagged. Pretty much every game ended in an argument about whether or not Power Rangers counted as a cartoon.

For some reason or another, I wasn’t receiving the automatic emails about comments posted, so I didn’t confirm a few, sorry about that. I took off confirmation for commenting. Until I get spammed to death it will stay that way. I also fixed the comments for individual pictures. So, um, comment! It’s pretty much the only feedback I get from the site other than word of mouth.

Kevin Nash - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Everyone saw the raw strength of Super Shredder. Seriously, if they didn’t happen to be underneath some wooden dock, we would have seen the demise of the Ninja Turtles. Under most circumstances, this would be a bad thing. However, this situation may have prevented the debacle that was Ninja Turtles III: Time to Time Travel!

Noah Hathaway - The Neverending Story

Atreyu is a true warrior. I cried when I first watched his horse, Artrex, die in the Swamps of Sadness. But the comeback made the death well worth it. On a side note, Water from Captain Planet teamed with Rock Eater would dominate Fantastic Four’s Human Torch and Thing.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Junior

Arnold killed a Predator, a T-1000, a T-X, and single-handedly saved the Martian civilization. He solidifies his awesome value by giving birth to a child in this movie.

Danny Glover - Predator 2

There has been a lot of Predator mentioned in this. That is because the original Predator set the bar by which all villains are judged against. He is an honorable killing machine. I’m guessing the Predator in the sequel isn’t as skilled as the one from the original, but I could be wrong. Either way, killing a Predator is a huge accomplishment. Danny Glover unleashes the death blow with the Predator’s own deadly smart disc. Most of all, he manages to stumble into the space craft where the other Predators make an appearance and show straight up respect for the man.

Billy the Indian - Predator

He is not afraid of death even in its rawest alien form. Before facing the Predator one on one, he takes a machete and slices his own chest to show he is ready to fight. I’m sure nearly everyone’s seen it, nothing on this earth could stop this raging Billy. What more can he do to prove his awesomeness? Not much. Later on we see the Predator ripping Billy’s spine out of his back with the skull attached.

I went with Junior to the Blue Scholars concert at the University’s union building. There I met up with Eduardo, Johnny, and Angela. Long story short, it was well worth it, which doesn’t mean too much since it was free. Short story long, there were four sets of performers: Fraggle Rock, Specs One, Lightheaded, and Blue Scholars.

Fraggle Rock was cool. Under the circumstances, I would have expected to be at the back end of the circle surrounding the B-boys. People seemed to let me through because of my camera, and I joined Junior in prime position. There’s not much else to say other than that the three were good.

Specs One did his thing. The beats were nice.

Lightheaded was sick. They were an unexpected surprise. To start off, one of their CD players was skipping, so Braille dropped a verse a cappella. He pretty much went off. Their chemistry was awesome. The crowd really got into their performance. They gave the DJ (who I don’t think was a regular member) about three minutes alone to scratch. It brought me back to middle school when I dreamed of rocking the wheels. Then I bought a Lightheaded shirt!

Blue Scholars were awesome, as expected. Geologic rhymed over the Juicy and Breathe beats. They performed ‘The Ave’, which I believe is on the re-release of the album. Something “…class! Get your education on the Ave.” It hit close to home, assuming he is talking about the nearby University Avenue, which he probably isn’t since I’m dumb.

I’ve only been to two other concerts that I can remember in my life. One I can’t remember the name of a single band, and the other concert featured Nas. It’s easy to see where this one fits.