Flippers and Butts

I have almost zero emotional connection to Ozzy Osbourne or his music, either as a solo artist or with Black Sabbath. By the time I was old enough to know who he was, he had already entered his pop culture meme phase as the bumbling star of The Osbournes, a show my schoolmates watched while I focused more on the music videos. His music was mainly reserved for trips to Patriots games or the odd play on the radio (shout out to Boston’s WAAF).

But I know he was hugely influential, made an impact on the lives of many of you, and his loss is being felt by many throughout the world. It reminds me of the shock and grief I experienced with the passing of one of my favorite artists, David Bowie. And there’s a bit of poetic symmetry in the way both of these revered artists were able to time their exits with a final creative act.

All that said, it didn’t feel right for me to throw an Ozzy song in this space this week. But in honor of him and celebration of his life and music, I’m sharing a song by Mountain Goats, called Passaic 1975. The song is about Ozzy Osbourne and is told from his perspective, touring in the 1970s. Singer John Darnielle (a noted Ozzy fanatic) had this to say about the song: “…Ozzy, so, he discovers that he can go around the world getting as drunk and wasted as he wants, taking off his shirt and telling people to get high, as he wants to do, and this is actually the best living he can possibly make.... So he, he, he tours the world, and you can hear on seventies bootlegs of Black Sabbath that Ozzy will, you know, like in between songs.... But when Ozzy hits that point, he says, 'Get high!' I have one from seventy-eight where he says 'Smoke it!' I love it so much, and I especially love it because as he's doing this, his life is unraveling. He is circling the drain. He's richer than any of us could ever imagine, and it's all going into his nose and, uh, and, and his fortune is evaporating, and he's losing his way. And every single night as he's losing his way, he's telling everybody to join him.”

And if you like this, The Mountain Goats released a whole EP called Marsh Witch Visions in 2017 that’s entirely about Ozzy.

After publishing this story on Jack Danger’s move to Head of Community at Stern Pinball, we got more direct confirmations of things we reported on in the piece from a 45-minute stream he conducted later that evening.

The key points include:

In rereading the transcript of this conversation, it’s very clear to me that this is where Jack wants to be in pinball. His excitement for the ideas he wants to execute bleeds through, so much so that I find myself excited to see what’s coming.

Reading between the lines, it seems that both he and Stern only have this position 75% fleshed out today, and will fill in some of the details as they move forward. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, as I wrote in the initial piece, I have doubts about how well this arrangement (DeadFlip as its own entity alongside official Stern accounts) will work out in the long term. Even with this latest update, I find myself scratching my head even more.

For example, Jack Danger plans to run his personal, monetized side project during office hours, ostensibly with the support of other members of the Stern team. Will other Stern employees be encouraged to explore their own money-making personal projects during company time? If not, what happens with any revenue that the DeadFlip streams create? I know we’re probably not talking about huge amounts of money, but it’s the kind of thing that has the potential to cause rifts in teams and awkward company dynamics if not managed correctly.

Still, though, it was nice to see Jack back on stream this week. I’m happy he’s happy and hope it all works out as planned for everyone involved.

Noah Crable does a deep dive on all of the Gottlieb “Street-Level” games released in the early 1990s. While simple games by today’s standards, if you’re unfamiliar with them, they tend to have a bit of cult-like following in certain pinball circles. I myself am quite fond of Hoops.

Speaking of Hoops, we also published a new tutorial for the game this week, also from Noah.

Earlier this week, Multimorphic sent out one of their regular company updates, where the most important bit of news was that Portal builds remain on track, with production set to start later this summer. They expect shipments to start in September, with each batch taking about a month to deliver. Orders received today, for example, would be shipped early next year. Steelbound and Row Mania game announcements were already touched on, but if you’ve been keeping up here, you already know about those.

It was a big surprise when Stern dropped this Insider Connected promotion yesterday, July 24th. If you update your Insider Connected app to the latest version, you’ll be able to play a mobile version of the Shark Hunter mode from JAWS and earn some limited badges. I have played it, it’s fun, and kind of a brilliant little thing to get people using the app more.

If you’re into competitive pinball, one of the premier tournaments on the annual calendar is this weekend and will be streamed by the incomparable Fox Cities Pinball. Be sure to tune in! And should you decide to gift some subs, they might ad lib a jingle for you.

Ryan and Scott from Pinball Map run a regular series that highlights one new or interesting pinball location each week. This week, Scott writes about The Fixin’ To.

To many in the Portland metro area, St. Johns is “the place that is 15 minutes further away than I am willing to drive”. And hey, I get it. But, prior to my first divorce, I once called this neighborhood my home, and I still believe that St. Johns is worth much more than 15 minutes of additional driving. It’s probably worth 20 minutes or MORE, and here’s why: First, the iconic St. Johns Bridge, with its elegant green spans, shares the same designer as Michigan's famous Mackinac Bridge (the connector of our precious upper and lower peninsulas). Second, its unique position at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers makes it strategically important during times of war. Third, in 1893, the area actually seceded from Portland over tax disputes. For a while it operated as its own little city! Finally, for entertainment seekers, The Fixin' To has pivoted from being a music venue into an impressive bar with an arcade in it, featuring 21 pinball machines curated by Chris Rhodes of Out Of Order Amusement.

“Why do I care?” you may have typed into ChatGPT. For Portland pinball enthusiasts, this is big news. The city's pinball landscape has long been defined by distinct regional powerhouses: Wedgehead holding down the northeast, Ground Kontrol commanding the west side, and Public House Pinball anchoring the southeast. What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today? St. Johns answers the call of Gondor or whatever by thrusting The Fixin’ To into the spotlight. “Why do I need a spot to play the 21 most recent Stern games?” you may have just posted to pinside. Delete that post before a moderator deletes it for you. This place stands apart from your typical pinball venue. With Chris Rhodes overseeing the collection, you'll find an eclectic mix: pristine new Stern machines fresh off the truck, meticulously maintained classics, and an assortment of rare oddities you probably haven't encountered before. It's a handcrafted lineup that completes Portland's pinball compass, giving the north side its own distinctive arcade destination.

If I haven’t sold you on geography or pinball, then please consider that The Fixin’ To has been a world class bar since 2010. They serve frito pie, and that’s fun because a lot of people don’t get a chance to try frito pie in this part of the country. This is also the kind of place where people have written fun things in the bathroom and no one is much bothered by it. Maybe you come here and play pinball for a while and laugh with your friends, maybe you just come here and people watch with an interesting drink. It’s a multi-purpose space.

The Fixin’ To is located in the beautiful hamlet of the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland Oregon. It is open each day from 1pm-1am and is all-ages from 1pm-5pm. I promise you that this part of town is very cool.

The Fixin’ To
8218 North Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203
Website

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