His War, My War

Last weekend Skychick and I saw the Blue Angels perform over San Francisco Bay again, but this time we watched them from the middle of The Bay aboard the World War II transport ship the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien. Watching the air show from that perspective, on that ship, was nothing short of fucking awesome.

Trivia: The O'Brien is the only surviving ship from the 6,900 ship armada that stormed Normandy on D-Day. WOW.

Yes, yes the Blue Angels are a sexy recruiting tool for the Navy and the military industrial establishment is bullshit... but it annoys me that certain special interest Hippie Shit groups can't simply appreciate the history and skill displayed by these pilots. They fly their jets in formation as close as 18 INCHES apart.. 18 FUCKING INCHES! I can't cut a 6 inch straight line with a pair of scissors. Whatever... I've loved watching the Blue Angels perform since I was a little kid.

Program from Air Show '77
Moffett Field, Mt. View, CA - July 1977
(From the Umlaut Archives)

The Summer of '77 sure was badass; my Summer of Star Wars, KISS, and the Blue Angels! Growing up in Sunnyvale, CA meant my parents' house was only 5 miles from Moffett Field, which meant when the Blue Angels made their annual visit we had easy access to them. During their runs the jets would blast directly over my house! Pretty cool, right?

Trivia: The Blue Angels started visiting Moffett Field in the 1950's and continued to perform there until 1992. Ironically, 1992 also marked when Umlaut started his stint working at Moffett Field. Irony!

Whenever I see the Blue Angels perform, I think of my Dad. He couldn't make it to see them with me this year due to scheduling commitments. He's still a busy guy!

Yes, my Dad and I butted heads quite a bit when I was a teenager, but he was the person who gave me an appreciation of History and who created my inner World War 2 Geek. In 1945, as soon as he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy because he wanted to contribute to the war effort. He was 17 years old and initially stationed aboard the battleship USS Maryland.

Trivia: Prior to my dad signing up, the Maryland was a survivor of Pearl Harbor and had participated in major battles, including Saipan, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa. The ship was hit twice by kamikaze planes in 1944-45.

Later, my dad was stationed on a submarine chaser, the PC-1080 nicknamed Hell Hornet, and was steaming towards Japan when the A-bombs were dropped. It's certain that my dad would have seen combat if the invasion of Japan had gone as planned. I'm sure my dad wishes he had been older and participated in combat, but fate only had him old enough to be in the wartime Navy for the Summer of '45... but he served his country. Of course, if he had seen combat there's a chance I might not be here typing this. I chew on that sometimes.

At 17-years old my Dad left his small Central California hometown and found himself on a warship during The War. My late uncle once said that my Dad left home for the Navy as a boy and came back a man. When I was 17-years old I was listening to Heavy Metal bands thinking METAL was my war... and I still live my life in a state of retarded maturity.

My Dad is a badass Chink.

Snack Shack

Umlaut's brutha Mike put together a nice trailer for the 1st Annual Backyard Drive-In:


The drive-in of Umlaut's childhood was the Sunnyvale 1 & 2:

Sunnyvale, CA - Circa 1981-82 (Pic by Umlaut)

I have vague memories of seeing Tora! Tora! Tora! and Beneath The Planet Of The Apes at this drive-in... but can't remember what else. It was less than a mile from my parents' house; as a kid I was fascinated seeing the movies on the screens if we happened to be driving by the theater at night.. and it was cool how you could sneak into the theater during the day when it was closed (which is how I took the above pic).

Sunnyvale 1 & 2 has been gone for years, covered over by condos... Another time, another place.

The 94086 Revisited

Umlaut grew up in Sunnyvale, Silicon Valley, California (30 miles south of Alcatraz). Besides Umlaut, the most famous humans from the 94086 are Brian Boitano and Teri Hatcher. Also, Molly Hatchet guitarist Dave Hlubek (who co-wrote 'Flirtin' With Disaster') lived in Sunnyvale when his Navy father was based at nearby Moffett Field; when I was 15 years old I read that in a Guitar Player interview with Hlubek and it tripped me out. A Rock Star once lived in Sunnyvale?? No.. way.

Of course, the thing that fueled the most hometown pride was the fact that Atari was located only minutes from my parents' house.. Fucking ATARI! The first Pong machine made its debut at a bar in Sunnyvale.

I was in awe that ATARI was so close to my house; ATARI!! For me, 1977-78 was all about Star Wars, KISS, and the Atari 2600. My Sunnyvale civic pride spiked in 1983 when War Games came out and Sunnyvale was mentioned in the film's dialogue ("NO WAY... DID MATTHEW BRODERICK JUST SAY "SUNNYVALE"??!!")..

For the newbies: The sad irony of Silicon Valley is that it sits on some of the most fertile farmland in the entire world... but, after 100+ years of producing fruits and vegetables for the rest of America, probably 99% of that valuable land now sits under concrete and asphalt. Growing up in the 94086 was alright I must say.. When I was a kid there were still a few of the old fruit orchards around and there was also a Del Monte canning plant not far from my house; during the warm Summer days the air would actually smell sweet from the peaches the plant was processing. When I visit my hometown now it's all one massive strip mall and the orchards and the Del Monte plant are decades gone. Those long ago Summer days seem magical now.

During junior high and high school, we'd hang out at the Pizza Hut on El Camino Real a block away from the campuses (and only a parking lot away from the Wherehouse Records where I bought KISS Alive II..).. Drinkin' soda, eatin' pizza, and playin' video games.. Pizza Hut had all of the latest games: Tempest, Joust, Defender, Galaga, Space Invaders, Asteroids, etc. etc.. Good times. Defining times.

Fast forward to the 21st Century:

California Extreme: An Arcade Game & Pinball Celebration
August 11, 2007
Parkside Hall, San Jose, CA

I've been wanting to attend California Extreme for the last 2 years, but I always managed to miss it. As the San Jose Jazz Festival went on outside for the normal people, HUNDREDS of vintage 80's video games and vintage pinball machines from all eras created a meltdown inside Parkside Hall for the hundreds of nerds and geeks in attendance.

Dude, I almost got teary-eyed when I saw the sitting versions of Red Baron and Star Wars displayed side by side. Wow... I mean... WOW. I destroyed the Death Star on my first play!

(Pics by Umlaut)

As I sat in Red Baron after finishing my play, a guy stuck his head in to check out the screen and we started chatting. We agreed that it was great game; it was his favorite game as a kid and he actually owns a standing version but it's in need of restoration. The Geeks shall inherit The Earth!

There was one cul de sac of games that practically mirrored my old Pizza Hut circa 1981; I almost hyperventilated from the nostalgia.. Tempest next to Centipede next to Missile Command, etc.. Time Travel Rules!

(Pic by Umlaut)

I was surprised by how many of the games on display were created by Atari; many of them I had forgotten about over the decades (Food Fight?). I tried to take pictures of all the Atari games... I felt like I owed it to my inner 15-year old.

It was pretty much sensory overload: The darkened hall, the lights and sounds of the games... and to add to it they showed 80's music videos on a giant screen t.v. hooked up to a massive vintage multi-disc LaserDisc player and sound system. When was the last time you saw that Dexys Midnight Runners video?? Me neither.

"Come on Eileen!" (Pic by Umlaut)

Like I said: sensory overload... but both Timo and I agreed that Tempest was the game that holds up the best here in the 21st Century. The game play is still engrossing and it's timeless... Also, Timo reminded me that Tempest was the best game to play when you were stoned.

Other highlights: The Muhammad Ali pinball machine, Tron, and Lunar Lander (!), which was another Atari game I'd completely forgotten about. The only bummer was that the Apollo 13 movie pinball machine was out of order. I thought failure wasn't an option?

However, my favorite feature of the show was Lucky Ju Ju's Mobile Pinball Museum parked in the far corner. For the newbies: The Ju Ju Mobile Pinball Museum is a converted 1947 travel trailer that carries 5 vintage (pre-80's) pinball machines to events all over California (it can also be rented). Pinball at Lucky Ju Ju HQ in Alameda is one of Umlaut's sacred things.

Michael of Ju Ju recognized Timo and I and greeted us with a handshake. Inside the trailer it was a mini-version of Ju Ju HQ, with music provided by a small turntable playing a stack of old 45rpm (VINYL!) singles. So.. fucking... cool.

We took a break and headed over to Super Taq (!) for lunch.. As we scarfed down our food, Timo and I agreed that we don't understand how most people "our age" can't enjoy something like California Extreme; they've "grown up"... whatever that means. For better or worse, I live in a retarded state of adulthood. Case in point: Number of Iron Maiden shirts = 1 (mine)... which resulted in a confrontation of Biblical proportions:

Iron Maiden vs. Journey

Hope I die before I get old.

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