Whirlwind is definitely my favorite. My other comment went into why, but specifically I really enjoy the jackpot shot, because the timing is very difficult and the payoff is huge. Other contenders would be Taxi (Gorbie cracks me up and those ramp shots are punishing but rewarding) and Pin*Bot (massive skill ceiling, banging IDM soundtrack that was ahead of its time). I haven’t played many post-Williams tables, but of the ones I have played I enjoyed Stranger Things for its simplicity and the Demogorgon shot.

This selection makes it obvious that I grew up on vpins, as Stern does not license their tables virtually. There are still many, many iconic tables I haven’t played or have only dabbled with: Twilight Zone, Black Lagoon come to mind.

Attack from mars I’ve only played a handful of times. The scores are too high for my tastes, but I enjoy the risk-reward UFO shot and it’s generally just a hilarious table.

If you’re lucky, you might have a club near you. Nothing but pinball. They’re usually pretty calm too. Check out the pinball map

I absolutely agree. A society must walk before it can run.

The statement “audiobooks aren’t reading” is an oversimplification. It would be better to say that audiobooks can be less beneficial to certain people.

I say this from personal experience - when I listen to an audiobook, I am not devoting my entire essence to the task, there is still room for other activity. I don’t like that. I think there is much to be gained through the solitary and mentally taxing reading that print necessitates.

But yes, many people prefer audiobooks. That’s okay. I still think people should challenge themselves, however, in both the books they read and how they read them, in order to broaden the scope of their understanding. The potential for personal growth is astronomical; who knows what one misses when they aren’t 100% committed to the information?

Re: progression, it has stagnated. I suppose there’s only so much you can do. But when you compare the tables of the 70’s to the tables of the 80’s to the tables of the 90’s the progression is astonishing.

It’s not really controversial, probably. I just wanted to get it out there.

This is unsubstantiated, but I imagine that if you asked a retro gamer (pac-man, dig-dug, galaga, etc.) about pinball they would probably say it sucks or that they don’t care about it or that it’s not for them.

Nobody talks about pinball outside of the niche circles, but I think it’s superior to traditional arcade games, superior to modern arcade games, and is generally a perfect amalgamation of the arts: music, artwork, mechanics, and code-based chicanery all contribute to something beautiful.

Take Whirlwind for example. It’s absolutely gorgeous in every way: the Gnosticism in the art, the insanely catchy soundtrack, novel mechanical elements, and brutal hostility make it the magnum opus of pinball, and a perfect embodiment of the chaos of a storm IMO.

Admittedly, the scene is not what it once was. New table manufacturers leverage existing IP instead of creating their own, and the few original tables that are still produced are mostly kind of slop. Compare Total Nuclear Annihilation to Whirlwind for an example.

While there is truth to this, there’s only one way to learn and the effects of alcohol are not linear.

Do not drink and drive!

I am very, very progressive. Here are my hot takes:

Transgender participation in sports can lead to unfair advantages. I hate that I believe this, as I do not want anybody to feel ostracized or as if they are discriminated against. But I think it’s true nonetheless :(

Reading smut does not count as reading. Listening to audiobooks does not count as reading.

The US was never the land of the free.

Music needs to broadly adopt alternative musical scales.

State-sanctioned suicide is essential to a developed nation.

Pinball is grossly under-appreciated, and its progression is a great example of doing new things with old ideas.

Any nation that wants nukes should be allowed to develop them.

Luigi’s Mangione’s eyebrows are off-putting.

Eating breakfast is stupid if you have a job that isn’t physical.

I’m sure there are more. FIGHT ME!

Not OP, but I would say a lot of cereal bag plastic has too much elasticity. This means that you will pull in the bag in attempts to open it, but the plastic will just stretch, until all of a sudden the elastic tension (?) is released and the energy is distributed through a hairline crack in the bag that goes halfway down. The sudden release of energy can also cause the cereal to go everywhere.

I feel people tend to forget that Canada almost voted in a Trump clone.

Yea my cat acts like there are things when there aren’t

Average DMT user