Banter Bites

Playing Games Is Big Business

How would you describe video games? Fun, entertaining, competitive, addictive, escape mechanism, time-suck? Or "all of the above"?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Video games are played by all ages, ranging from kids to senior citizens, but that doesn't matter to Red, who has never been remotely interested in them, while Black is fascinated with them – from a business perspective.


Red knows very little about video games nor had any desire to learn about them, let alone play them. Although she remembers Pac-Man being a very popular video arcade game when she was in college and the introduction of Nintendo's portable gaming machine, that's the extent of it. She admits that she was a geek in school, but she's never been a techie, and considers her computer a necessary evil and can't imagine using it or her phone to play games.

I don't get it. Or, maybe I'm old-fashioned. But if I have any spare time (ha-ha-ha), I'm going to grab a book and find a quiet place to escape and read. Not spend more time on a computer (or other gizmos) doing something that requires me to pay attention and results in me being "rewarded" with noises and flashing lights, or whatever video games do! Luckily, neither of my daughters is into them, which may explain why I'm so clueless about video games. In fact, I only know they're big business because Black has told me so.

Actually, Black has told her more than that, but because Red wasn't interested, it didn't stick with her (funny how our brain does that). Black didn't expect her to remember the various statistics she found fascinating or the details of how Pac-Man expanded the video game audience from being predominately adult males to include women and children, and has stood the test of time. Or, even that many of the skills needed to be a successful gamer (ranging from critical thinking to problem-solving) have real-life applications.

But Black did think Red might remember the article she forwarded (if she read it) about how the U.S. State Department announced its' video game diplomacy program as a fun and effective way to bring together students from the United States with students in Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain – to jointly develop and create social impact video games, while also learning more about each other's respective culture and beliefs.

Of course, Red, while intellectually appreciating all the things that Black finds so interesting about video games, still wasn't "sold", so Black decided to take a slightly different approach,

I recently read an interesting article that said that video games "need more badass middle-aged women." Although I am more sarcastic than badass … as we explore what direction for Red & Black to take next, what about a video game with its central characters being a super nice, warm and fuzzy mom "doing battle" with her sarcastic, racecar driving, sister?

Now that got Red's attention!

Today’s turbulent times for Jews may overshadow the celebration of the Jewish New Year, one of the holiest of the Jewish holidays. Yet, ironically, we feel it should strengthen its significance, as the holiday is a time for reflection on the past and hope for the future.

If you think today’s politics are ugly … let’s talk about a man who named himself “dictator for life” of the Roman empire, and is then assassinated by a group of senators, including his best friend. (However, there’s a “pretty” part – Cleopatra was his mistress.) Food trivia and leadership lessons aside, the fact July is named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

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We don’t know about you, but we hate bathing suit shopping. So, we can’t imagine what it must be like if you’re looking for a gender-fluid one. And why would anyone get their panties in a knot (as Black would say) if Target sells them? Or Pride-themed merchandise? But clearly, people did. Which makes us ask … why should Target have such a difficult time supporting their LGBTQ+ (there are variations of this acronym) customers? And, more importantly, why can’t we let people celebrate who they are without facing a backlash of prejudice and violence?!

Rainbows are beautiful and suggest something magical. But during Pride Month, they also become a symbol of love, support, and understanding for the LGBTQ community.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Until yesterday, when Black explained it to her, Red, like many people, didn't realize that Pride Month evolved from a tragic event, the Stonewall Uprising, into both a tribute and a memorial before it became a worldwide celebration of the LGBTQ community.

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