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![[OpEd]](/v2/images/stories/insight2.png "[OpEd]") ![[Retro]](/v2/images/stories/retro2.png "[Retro]")
Do it, Rockapella!
As an avid PC gamer and user I have to admit to “crossing the line” on occasion. By crossing the line I mean heading into “Apple Land” and using an Apple computer. Ahhh yes, like my first kiss in college, er I mean grade school I remember my first time using an Apple computer.
 The year was 1985 and the computer was this sleek, taupe colored speedster with a very simple name, Apple IIe. The program that I was running was called Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego. This game was supposed to be an educational tool for children, but it was a lot more fun as a video game. The premise was that a crime was committed somewhere in the world and you had to go around the world finding clues and ultimately solve the crime by arresting Carmen SanDiego. The game was wonderfully written and the language was full of puns with character names like “Withhold Nutting” as a snitch.
 Carmen turned out to be such a popular game that television producers decided to produce several spin off shows about the character. The two that I remember most were the animated series and the kid’s game show on PBS. I realize that I may be just a little old to watch a kids game show, but I bet that you watch the Simpsons, and isn’t that a kids show as well? We would make the show a little more adult by trying to guess the answers before the kids did and, of course, we turned it into a drinking game. The rules were simple, get a question wrong, you drink, if they say “Carmen SanDiego", everybody drinks. We were glad that the show was only 30 minutes long because they say her name quite often throughout the show and sometime it would get just a little excessive. The best part of the show came at the end, when a singing group would sing the show’s theme and we would all sing along in our happy state after drinking a few beers.
The game itself was actually a very good learning tool, I hate to admit it but I learned  more about world geography from that simple green phosphor screen on the Apple IIe than I did when I was in High School. The method that they used to teach was ingenious and almost insidious. By playing the game you were not even aware at times that you were learning, you just “remembered” where that country was and went there like you were going into your dresser for a pair of socks. So if you are feeling a little nostalgic, just click on the Amazon.com link on the right, yeah that’s it over there and go and buy a copy of Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego and have some fun relearning geography.
Readers have left 2 comments. 1. Untitled
TheGirl, Manager Heh. Rockapella actually has a BUNCH of albums out, including one that is the "soundtrack" to the show. I actually did spotlight for them for a week when they were in NY. great group of guys... at least that makeup of the band. A lot of the originals are now gone but I think two are still there. Good times. I think I'm going to see if there is a free online version and go play it now  2. Untitled
1shot1kill, Author I bet none of you still have an Apple IIe OR Where in the world is carmen sandiego.. well to show you a kid can be on top of things I STILL have my old floppy driven Apple II AND I still have Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego AND Where in TIME is Carmen Sandiego. Now thats a powerpack :-D 
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