DIXON – The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” is not welcome in the city.
According to city codes, it is unlawful for any person to keep or use a pinball machine in any public place. Or as the code says, residents are prohibited from keeping “any game played with any number of balls or spheres upon a table or board having holes, pockets or cups into which such balls or spheres may drop or become lodged and having arches, pins, and springs, or any of them, to control, deflect, or impede the direction or speed of the balls or spheres put into motion by the player.” Maybe readers missed it, but the Dixon City Council repealed Monday its ban on allowing fortune tellers to advertise, leading me to ask if there are any other odd codes on the books. City Attorney Rob LeSage said the city has done its best to stay in front of outdated codes, but some slip through the cracks. In this case, a fortune teller showed up at City Hall asking what she needed to do to open a business, and the city clerk discovered the odd law. The tone was light when commissioners voted in favor of repealing the code that LeSage told them was unconstitutional. Upon inspection of the city’s codes, nothing seems as strange as the city’s advertisement ban for fortune tellers. Most of the codes make sense. However, I learned an arcade or youth center may have its work cut out for it installing a pinball machine. At one time, and maybe still, it was common to gamble on pinball in taverns. Points tallied could be turned in for money. Old hat games, such as bagatelle and pigeonhole, also are outlawed. So is any sleight-of-hand or card trick game used to swindle people. For many obvious reasons, swine cannot be kept within the city limits, but any person may keep up to 3 Vietnamese potbellied pigs, a pet craze popular in the 1970s. Upon some research, these types of pigs that reach as much as 150 pounds can be house-trained, and make decent pets. It is unlawful for any pig owner to build a barbed-wire fence to keep them on their property, or any resident for that matter. Read more here saukvalley.com Anyone who thinks adults playing video games and drinking beer in Boba Fett costumes is a bad thing needs to get out more.
Spacebar Arcade—aka Boise's final frontier for any geek, male or female, who just wants to blast enemy ships while sipping a cold one in peace—opens its doors for the Pinball Wizard Tournament on Thursday, July 18. Sign-ups begin at 7 p.m. and the battle starts at 8 p.m. Pinball Wizard is a three-machine tournament in which players are randomly paired off to duke it out for the ultimate title and some out-of-this-world prizes. Each pair will compete in a two-player round on the Star Wars, Star Trek and Hook machines. Competitors will be ranked according to score, with the highest score receiving the most points. First place winners on each machine are awarded 100 points, second place earns 90, third place gets 85, and so on. In the event of a tie, finalists battle for the crown in a head-to-head deathmatch for the highest score. It's not exactly rocket science, but it is a chance for all grown-up arcade goers to test their skills against like-minded nerds, while enjoying brew specials from Crooked Fence Brewing Co. Admission is free, and yes, Spacebar's technically an arcade, but it's a bar nonetheless, so the tournament is reserved for those old-school gamers 21 and older. Costumes aren't required, but losing the title of ultimate Pinball Wizard is socially justified if it's lost to an intergalactic bounty hunter. Via boiseweekly Pinball, y'allTilt! Pinball enthusiasts, rejoice — Brandy and T.C. DiBella of Asheville are planning to open the Asheville Pinball Museum in downtown in mid-August. There will be 20 to 30 machines available to play, said Brandy DiBella. Many of the games are old classics, such as Cyclone, Harlem Globetrotters, Spiderman, Superman and Captain Fantastic games.
Visitors will pay one entry fee, $10 for adults and $7 for children, and get unlimited free play, she said. There will be snacks and drinks for sale, too. D ViBella works as a nurse, while her husband works as a middle school teacher. The couple hit on the idea of a pinball museum last December after DiBella said she bought a pinball game for her husband for his birthday. The Asheville Pinball Museum will be located at 1 Battle Square on the ground level of the Battery Park Apartments building, in the space formerly occupied by the Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar. In a Business Insider article citing US Industrial production a reference to Stern pinball and their manufacturing highlights made in the USA production. While no company is specifically mentioned in the article it, Stern is referenced in the image and it is nice to see pinball inching ever closer to the forefront of awareness in the general public. U.S. industrial production grew 0.3% in June, which was right in line with expectations.
"For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production moved up at an annual rate of 0.6 percent," said the Fed. "In June, manufacturing production rose 0.3 percent following an increase of 0.2 percent in May. The output at mines advanced 0.8 percent in June, while the output of utilities decreased 0.1 percent." Capacity utilization ticked up to 77.8% from 77.6% a month ago. From the Federal Reserve's G.17 report: The production of consumer goods increased 0.5 percent in June following a decline of 0.3 percent in May. The output of durable consumer goods advanced 1.1 percent in June. Every major component of consumer durables either increased or was unchanged, with automotive products and home electronics posting the largest gains—1.4 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. After having decreased 0.4 percent in both April and May, the output of nondurable consumer goods rose 0.3 percent in June. The index for non-energy nondurables stepped up 0.5 percent, driven by gains in the indexes for foods and tobacco and for paper products. The output of consumer energy products declined 0.3 percent, marking the third consecutive monthly decrease for this index. The index for total consumer goods moved up at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the second quarter, a rate of expansion substantially below the increase of 5.6 percent in the first quarter but about the same as in the fourth quarter of 2012. The smaller increase in the second quarter reflected a deceleration in the output of both durables and non-energy nondurables. The index for business equipment moved up 0.5 percent in June after having fallen 0.1 percent in May and 0.2 percent in April. The gain in June reflected increases of 0.5 percent for transit equipment and 1.1 percent for the industrial and other equipment category. Conversely, the production of information processing equipment dropped 1.0 percent. For the second quarter as a whole, the output of business equipment rose at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, about half of its rate of increase in the previous quarter. The indexes for information processing equipment and for industrial and other equipment recorded substantially slower gains in the second quarter than in the first quarter. By contrast, the index for transit equipment rose at an annual rate of 6.4 percent last quarter to more than reverse a decrease of 2.9 percent in the first quarter. The output of defense and space equipment increased 0.1 percent in June, the first monthly gain for the index in 2013. The index decreased at an annual rate of about 3 1/2 percent in both the first and second quarters. Among nonindustrial supplies, the production of construction supplies edged up in June after having edged down in May; output decreased more than 1 percent in both March and April. The index fell at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the second quarter after having jumped 14.3 percent in the first quarter and 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. The index for business supplies edged up 0.1 percent in June, its first increase since March; the index decreased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter to reverse about half of its gain in the previous quarter. The production of materials to be processed further in the industrial sector advanced 0.2 percent in June, the same rate of increase as in May. The output of durable materials gained 0.4 percent in June, led by an increase of 0.8 percent for equipment parts; the index for consumer parts moved down a little, and the index for other durable materials was up slightly. The production of nondurable materials edged down 0.1 percent, as decreases for paper materials and for chemical materials outweighed the rise for textile materials. The output of energy materials stepped up 0.4 percent. For the second quarter as a whole, energy materials advanced at an annual rate of 5.2 percent after having increased 2.2 percent in the first quarter. In contrast, the indexes for both durable and nondurable materials decreased last quarter after having recorded increases in the previous quarter. The output of total industrial materials increased at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the second quarter, well below the gain of 3.4 percent in the first quarter. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/industrial-production-june-2013-2013-7#ixzz2ZE33fLTS It's hard to believe that a city that fell head over heels for Caine Monroy and his faith-in-mankind-restoring cardboard arcade once voted to ban arcade games like pinball and claw machines, but it's true.The LA Times's Framework blog(coincidentally?) took a look at this bizarre chapter in our civic history this weekend, the same day Caine announced he was packing it in. In 1939, the mayor and police commissioner urged the public to support an ordinance that declared the games "nuisances in public places" and subject to seizure by the police "on the grounds that the machines are used forpetty gambling, so widespread that the police are totally insufficient in number to enforce the law." In October of that year, 400 Angelenos packed the city council chamber to be heard on the matter, and six weeks later Proposition 3 was easily passed by voters. Even more surprising than the fact that it passed with a sizable majority is this: the ordinance stayed in effect until 1974.
via http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/07/pinball_and_claw_games_were_illegal_in_la_from_1939_until_1974.php LAKEWOOD — The “Wizard of Oz” pinball machine features an old-time story in which Dorothy needs to be saved from the flying monkey, the lion needs courage, the scarecrow needs a brain and the tin man needs a heart.
Yet in a 21st century twist, players follow the story — and their score — on a 26-inch LCD screen. The playing field brightens with colorful LED lights. A crystal ball displays 31 different videos. “You’re basically telling a story through game-playing,” says Jack Guarnieri, president and CEO of Jersey Jack Pinball Inc. “You’ve got to get Dorothy home.” Jersey Jack Pinball is rolling out its “Wizard of Oz” game, a painstakingly built pinball machine that is turning heads as fast as Dorothy’s house spins with a perfectly played shot. It combines newfangled technology with an old-school game in a way that industry observers say could win back consumers who left pinball machines for video games at home and arcade games that offer redemption prizes. By way of proof: Guarnieri started the Lakewood business in 2011 without the help of bankers, instead depending on pre-orders from customers to raise the $2 million he needed to get started. Two years later, the company is on pace for annual sales of $8 million. The “Wizard of Oz” game is front and center at the Silver Ball Museum in Asbury Park, which offers visitors the chance to play dozens of pinball machines, some of which date to the 1930s. Fedak Arashi, 19, a camp counselor from Middlesex supervising a field trip to Silver Ball last week, took aim at the record 136,461 points set by someone named Jim S. He didn’t come close to the record. Arashi said he was neither a fan of “The Wizard of Oz” nor pinball. But he walked away with what sounded like new-found respect. “It’s a pretty good pinball machine,” he said. “I give it two thumbs up.” Jersey Jack Pinball employs about 50 workers at its 42,000-square-foot headquarters in an industrial park in Ocean County and at a smaller office in Arlington Heights, Ill. It has given New Jersey a manufacturing company that — aside from the high-definition screens and digital stereo sound systems — is decidedly low-tech. Workers have as many as 5,000 parts to assemble for the finished product. They make 10 machines a day, five days a week. And it’s tough to envision much room for automation. Even with a six- to nine-month wait, sales have been brisk. The company sells a standard pinball machine for $7,000 and a limited edition pinball machine — one with emerald-colored rails, legs and wire ramps and a glass top that doesn’t reflect light — for $10,000. Guarnieri pulled up a photo on his iPad of musician Slash, standing in front of his new “Wizard of Oz” pinball machine. Read more via thedailyjournal An eight-and-a-half-minute video clip in which Stern Pinball, Inc., the world's leading maker of real pinball games and the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) Manufacturer Of The Year, takes you behind the scenes as its team works on the METALLICA pinball machine can be seen below.
Stern Pinball, Inc. earlier in the week announced its third annual Comic-Con International pinball tournament where players and fans will have the opportunity to play Stern's latest METALLICA Pro machine, celebrating one of the world's foremost heavy metal bands. San Diego Comic-Con attendees will be able to compete in a pinball tournament for the chance to win a cash prize and pinball backglass by signing up to play at booth #503. The tournament starts July 17 on Preview Night at Comic-Con. Qualifying participants will be selected to return if they advance in the tournament. The finals will be held on Saturday, July 20. Stern is excited to offer game enthusiasts,METALLICA devotees and comic fanatics a chance to experience first hand the highly sought-after METALLICA pinball game. "Since their launch in May, Stern's METALLICA machines quickly developed a massive following," said Jody Dankberg, director of marketing and licensing for Stern Pinball. "We are thrilled to 'officially' debut the Pro version at San Diego Comic-Con where our craftsmanship will be put to the test as players experience the unique features and addictive nature of METALLICA pinball." In addition to the annual tournament, Stern Pinball will sponsor a few attention-grabbing giveaways, including a Kirk Hammett guitar, and will also host an exclusive autograph session with famed pop culture artistDirty Donny Giles on Thursday, July 18 at 2 p.m. Attendees can find Stern Pinball at the Nuclear Blast America and JSR Merchandising booth #503. The METALLICA game continues both the Stern Pinball and the Sternfamily tradition of producing quality pinball machines for young and old. The company traces its lineage to Philadelphia in the 1930s when Sam Stern entered the business of operating pinball games. Sam Sternsubsequently became part owner and president of Williams Manufacturing, a pioneer in the pinball industry, and passed his lifelong enthusiasm for the game and the business of pinball to his son Gary Stern, who founded Stern Pinball. Today pinball remains one of America's favorite pastimes. The METALLICA pinball machine is available through authorized Sterndistributors and dealers. To learn more about the METALLICA pinball game and Stern Pinball, visit www.sternpinball.com via blabbermouth Walking into Kickback Pinball Cafe in Central Lawrenceville is like walking into a pinball machine.
A ramp leads into the restaurant and coffee shop, where simple red-and-white tables and stools are set up like bumpers in pinball machines. Exposed brick walls -- a standard feature in Lawrenceville eateries and businesses -- seem almost out of place amid the brightly colored floor and clanging pinball machines. A gleaming red espresso machine sits behind the long, clean counter. The menu, neatly printed on large chalkboards, consists of lunch fare and coffeehouse staples -- drip coffee, lattes, hot tea. My husband, Joshua, and I stopped by for a quick lunch and a bit of pinball over the weekend. Joshua glanced at the menu, announced he would have the grilled cheese, and then inquired about tokens to play pinball. We ordered $2 worth of tokens; the "almost famous" grilled cheese with sun-dried tomato, cream cheese, mozzarella and Swiss ($6.50); and a caprese sandwich with tomato, mozzarella, pesto aioli and a balsamic reduction ($7.50). The barista passed a stack of tokens across the counter, and Joshua immediately selected a machine and started playing. The dings and clangs from the pinball machines make conversation a bit challenging, but that's part of this coffee shop's charm. I asked for an iced tea and was told it wasn't on the menu, but the barista offered to make some for me ($2). I grabbed my tea and Joshua's iced coffee ($2) and sat at a table next to a pinball machine. "It's your turn," he said. Despite being horrible with anything involving hand-eye coordination and having no real strategy for playing pinball, I beat my husband twice at a game called "Silver Bullet." Expletives were uttered and he wandered off to play pinball by himself. He selected an Addams Family-themed game. He exhausted his supply of tokens just as our food arrived. Tomatoes were secondary to cheese on both of our sandwiches, but we didn't mind a bit, and Joshua was pleased with the hefty slabs of mozzarella holding the cream cheese in place. We enjoyed the meal, but I figured I wouldn't be doing my due diligence as a reviewer if I didn't test the mood at Kickback in the morning as well. When we stopped by on a weekday morning on our way to work, the pinball machines were silent. I was disappointed to see a small pastry case containing only one sad cookie; I'd hoped for a croissant. We ordered a latte ($2.50) and a mocha ($3.50). Joshua said his latte was a little too foamy, but my mocha was good -- not too sweet or chalky. Kickback has been open since May, and while a breakfast menu would be a welcome addition, the cafe already seems at home among other nostalgic spots -- Arsenal Bowling Lanes, Rather Ripped Records and Tender Bar and Kitchen -- in the 4300 block of Butler Street. Kickback Pinball Cafe is at 4326 Butler St., Lawrenceville; 412-682-3200. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/local/munch-goes-to-kickback-pinball-cafe-694964/#ixzz2Yl91wXYT As the resurgences of pinball marches on in the US and across the globe, another pinball museum, this time in sunny Southern California prepares to launch, IF fans of pinball are willing to pitch in.
From the Kickstarter page: Long before video games found their way into the home, arcades across America were filled with the lights and sounds of mechanical pinball machines and the young people who were enamored by them. These machines are now finding their way back into the spotlight in barcades, private collections, and professional pinball tournaments. Pinball doesn’t need to be SAVED – it needs to be SAVORED! We know YOU ARE GENEROUS and you'll want to be part of this historic opportunity. Before you CHOOSE A REWARD to the right, let us tell you a bit more about the project. Why a Museum of Pinball?
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