Scott's Random Thought for the Day (My Message to Eternity)



I think I’ve decided what I want on my tombstone. You know how if you take a walk in old cemetery you’ll find grave stone which will say something like this?

Archibald Pillcock
1825-1888
“She Shines Like Lamp Light
The Shrimp Howls at Midnight”

You look at this, and you ponder it. What does it mean? Why were these phrases so important to this person? What message should you, the living, take away from this most solemn of places?

I’m pretty well convinced that inscriptions like that are just gibberish, and the dearly departed left them solely to confuse and frustrate anyone who might still be alive. These are not so much grave markers as permanently upraised middle fingers to those with the gall to still draw breath.

I can appreciate that.

That’s why I’m going to have this put on my tombstone:

“Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.”

This should be instantly recognizable to anyone who had a Nintendo circa 1988. It’s the Konami code, which is mainly famous for giving you thirty extra lives in the Central American politics simulation Contra. This was brought up on the BMMB message board last year, and even though I hadn’t thought about it for years I found that I instantly remembered it. Not only that, but my fingers did a little dance of recall as if I was holding an NES controller. I have an easier time recalling the Konami code than my own social security number, or how to spell my girlfriend’s name. I will remember it till the day I die… and why not go that extra step and chisel it into stone above my mortal remains?



If I had any Photoshop skills I'd mock up a image to see what it would look like. I think layout might be important. The end part (B, A, Start) might not weather well so I'd probably want to break it up somehow. I'll definitely give this some more thought.

Posted: Wed - January 5, 2005 at      

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