My Top 42 Video Games

42.) Super Return of the Jedi… SNES

41.) Super Smash Bros… N64

40.) Castlevania… NES

39.) Earthbound… SNES

38.) Perfect Dark… N64

37.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time… SNES

36.) X-Men 2: Clone Wars… Sega

35.) Street Fighter II Turbo… SNES

34.) Super Punch-out!... SNES

33.) Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3… PS2

32.) NBA Live 2003… PS2

31.) Crystalis… NES

30.) The Legend of Zelda… NES

29.) Banjo Kazooie… N64

28.) Silent Hill… PS1

27.) Super Castlevania IV… SNES

26.) X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse… PS2

25.) Star Fox 64… N64

24.) Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition… SNES

23.) Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty… PS2

22.) Goldeneye 007… N64

21.) Super Mario All-Stars… SNES

20.) Mario Kart 64… N64

19.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past… SNES

18.) Resident Evil… PS1

17.) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night… PS1

16.) Madden ‘10/ series… PS2

15.) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest… SNES

14.) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City… PS2

13.) NBA Jam… SNES

12.) Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball… SNES

11.) The Simpsons: Hit and Run… PS2

10.)  WWF No Mercy… N64

9.) Super Mario World… SNES

8.) Zombies Ate My Neighbors… SNES

7.) Donkey Kong Country… SNES

6.) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time… N64

5.) Resident Evil 2… PS1 > N64

4.) Super Metroid… SNES

3.) Super Mario 64… N64

2.) Tecmo Super Bowl… NES

1.) Resident Evil 4… PS2/ Gamecube

Album Cover Collages

I've always liked to decorate walls more so than look at a blank surface. In high school and college, I put up band posters. By my mid-30s, they were all worn and torn. Rather than buy new ones, I got the idea to re-purpose my CD booklets by arranging them inside poster frames. It was a way to hype an array of music rather than just one band. There was also an element of creativity to it. 

The project started with this one circa 2016. I had no clue that, years later, I'd wind up making 7 of them. Connecting the squares together with color schemes, angles, and themes gave me many hours of nerdy fun. I put together 3 and 4 during Covid shutdown. Doing regular puzzles feels sorta exasperating to me, so I'm thankful to have a weird brain that wants to invent its own puzzles. I got to pay my respects to some of my favorite things, which is good for the soul. 

Number 7 was made in 2023. By that point, I was running low on booklets/ material. I wasn't exactly psyched about the prospect of buying more CDs either. I'm no master of budgeting, but even I could figure out that paying my hard-earned dollars for CDs was getting a bit silly. This summer, I finally started to reduce my collection--which got upwards of 260 or so at its peak. The urge to unclutter came to me late, despite the fact that I've been using iTunes and Apple Music like a normal person for several years. 

I donated to Goodwill, cashed in what I could with no effort to haggle at Half Price Books, and flicked a few dozen burned CDs into the garbage. 

The collages are staying with me, though. We're in it for the long haul. Priceless and worthless mean the same thing, so I'll just enjoy the show. Rock on. 

#1: Top Zep

#2: Floyd Corners

#3: No Repeats

#4: Arms Outstretched

#5: Eyes in the Middle

#6: Look Diagonal 

7: Hippie Colors