iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 18h

Today, @iwritewrongs.bsky.social and I recorded the final episode of our podcast. Yes, I found a way to mention Arleen Sorkin.

Arleen Sorkin in character for a production still of Open House.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Did you know that gnomes were invented by one guy? And no less in the 16th century, way later than you probably think? And the same person also invented antiseptic wound care? www.thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/blog/paracel...

thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com

Sylph, Undine, Gnome, Salamander and the Swiss Doctor Who Invented Them — Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games

Paracelsus changed the world of medicine but also, indirectly, most fantasy RPGs.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I was driving home from the grocery store and an old man in the passenger seat of the car next to me blew a giant wooden train whistle at me. I cannot tell if this was an act of malice or of whimsy.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Welp, guess I’m into Venom now

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Roy Romano was the main human on the popular sitcom Everyone Likes Roy, which was about a savage family that wished to kill itself

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I do sometimes feel I am like from a different planet than other gay men, and one of those times is when they're like "you have *absolutely* heard this song" and I'm like "I don't think so?" And so I go listen and nope — literally never heard it before now. cocksure.substack.com/p/what-we-ta...

cocksure.substack.com

What We Talk About When We Talk About “I Have Never Heard ‘Choosin’ Texas’” Even Though It’s Been The Number One Song For Five Hundred Years

Everyone has a hot little theory about what it all means. Mine is the correct one.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Mario popularized a particular death animation: hands up, face forward, falling through the bottom of the screen. But he technically stole it from DK Jr., who was the first to die that way — in a Mario game or in any video game. more: thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/m6#90

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Starting to feel like I’m overusing the phrase “I’d rather eat poison” to the point that I’m dulling the impact.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Super Mario World's Forest of Illusion is a reference to Zelda's Lost Woods. Both have the same Japanese name, 迷いの森 or Mayoi no Mori, and Forest of Illusion will trap you in an endless loop if you don't find the secret exit, not unlike the Lost Woods. more: thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/m6#79

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Phil Salvador @philsalv.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you search for "Rinoa," one of the first gifs is her throwing Irvine down a flight of stairs, which is relatable

static.klipy.com

Final Fantasy Viii Ffviii

ALT: Final Fantasy Viii Ffviii

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

How old does something have to be to have a two-digit phone number?

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

So I think I saw a pair of bald eagles flying over LA just now? I’ve literally never seen any in the wild before and I didn’t think they were even in California, but apparently they are.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

If I had a pet pig, I’d name it Hamdrew

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VGJunk @vgjunk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thrilled to have found a slightly higher-res version of the greatest videogame cover of all time.

Cover art for unlicensed NES game Luck Bingo. A chrome cyber-donkey with a klaxon on its head vomits out a stream of 7s.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Because my podcast is ending, I've launched a new personal Patreon for all my subsequent creative efforts. It's very much focused on Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games at the moment, but it's going to be the hub for all future projects. If you like my stuff, please support me.

patreon.com

Drew Mackie — writing and more about video games and pop culture in general

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

IT IS TIME TO BEGIN TODAY’S ADVENTURES

Both dogs stare at me eagerly as I wake up in bed

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Henry Gilbert (Beloved Podcast Personality) @talkinghenry.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Why does Homer befriend Ray Romano in this not-exactly-a-crossover Simpsons episode? We try to figure out “Don’t Fear the Roofer” on @talksimpsonspod.bsky.social—and we’re joined by @drewgmackie.bsky.social! Listen early & ad-free on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/talkingsimps...

Title podcast Image for Don’t Fear the Roofer on Talking Simpsons

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I like when I scan across something and my brain is like "GAY??" and then I have to look at it for a few seconds before I realize that no, not technically meant to be explicitly gay. Not that it matters.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

No my bathroom is still not done, but it is painted.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It's not random that Super Mario Odyssey reinvented Pauline as a singer. That actually goes way back: from the voice samples she had in an early version of Donkey Kong to a ditched Donkey Kong music spinoff to fully just being a singer in western media. more: thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/m6#89

Left: Screenshot from the cancelled Famicom title Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi (“Donkey Kong’s Music Play”), which features Pauline as a singer. Right: A page from a 1982 Donkey Kong coloring book.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here’s a telling detail about me: As a kid, I heard Julie Andrews sing “the hills are alive with the sound of music,” thought she meant it literally and became scared of hills for several years.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Because my podcast is ending this month, I make a new Patreon for myself and all future creative efforts. Made sense in my head, but this patron is accusing me of... double-dipping? And it's actively breaking my brain that he thought this made sense? I'm livid.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I remember interacting with my nephew and I asked him who his teacher was, and he was surprised I didn’t know — because he was six, and it had not occurred to him that everyone doesn’t know the things he knows. My point being that there are adults who still think this way.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I only care about Casey Wilson. If anyone on this show does a single thing to hurt a hair on her head, I will destroy them.

Vulture headline showing Kristin Chenoweth and Casey Wilson in cast of the new season of Traitors

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

For the second-to-last of Gayest Episode Ever, I wanted to cover... something that it not sitcom at all, but does have plenty to say about the prison of nostalgia: the Baby Doll episode of Batman: The Animated Series! It gets kinda personal! www.gayestepisodeever.com/episodes/bab...

gayestepisodeever.com

Batman vs. Sitcom Nostalgia — Gayest Episode Ever

While Batman: TAS is not a sitcom, this particular one has a lot to say about them.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It is wild how much better this post did with this art, which I spent way too long making today, as opposed to the less good version that it went live with yesterday. But I am really proud of how I drew SMB 1 Mario’s head upturned. Really bad Union Jack, however.

Custom pixel art of the SMB 1 version of Mario looking at one of the end-of-level castles displaying US, Italian and UK flags for reasons that will be apparent when you read this story.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

For once and for all, I've settled the debate about whether Americans or Brits pronounce Mario's name more accurately. thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/blog/pronoun...

thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com

What’s the Correct Way to Pronounce Mario’s Name? — Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games

Whether you say Mah-rio, May-rio or Merry-o, you’re probably doing it wrong.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

For once and for all, I've settled the debate about whether Americans or Brits pronounce Mario's name more accurately. thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/blog/pronoun...

thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com

What’s the Correct Way to Pronounce Mario’s Name? — Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games

Whether you say Mah-rio, May-rio or Merry-o, you’re probably doing it wrong.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Realizing the first depiction of nipples in the Super Mario Bros. games happened on the NES. Lookit them pixels.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I collected the SMB3 Mushroom Kings in both the NES and SNES because I couldn't find one online BUT ALSO! I futzed with the colors on purpose because it's always interesting to see who reuses these images and where they end up www.thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/blog/mario-1...

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Calling all hardware nerds: What would you call this particular thing?

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The term “reverse Sophie’s Choice” had not occurred to me until now but now I shall used it constantly to describe life

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I think about this every time I see an allen wrench, and then I think about its implications a for the greater Simpsons universe.

Scene from Simpsons episode “Eight Misbehavin’” in which Barr encounters Allen Wrench, an alien who demands tungsten.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

As soon as I posted, I realized that the first one had to be — could only be — this, and so now I switched it out.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I really like that now I can say that I’ve never experienced a Harry Potter anything and I always thought it seemed like a stupid thing for jerks who get off on faux British folkiness and anyone who tries to argue otherwise has to realize they are on some level defending an awful human being.

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Even though I have a lot of other stuff to do, I am a sick, sick person who decided to built an organizing page for my Mario 101 content, including new thumbnails that basically only I will ever see. Like I said, sick sick sick. www.thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/mario-101-hi...

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Yakumono @luigiblood.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Releasing now! Satellaview Super Mario Bros. 2 (BS Super Mario USA) MSU1 ROM containing all 4 episodes with full english dub on project.satellaview.org! #Satellaview #SNES Have fun!

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Drew Mackie @drewgmackie.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I have an IG alt, but it’s basically just me showing off my gradual transformation into a bear. It’s essentially PG-13 but makes it clear I’m into guys with bellies. Used to worry guys not part of this community would find it. Now, I’ve found it’s great at filtering out guys who just don’t get it…

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