Springsteen, Pac-Man, Bad Smells

Thursday morning links.

* For my people, the right to listen to Bruce Springsteen is literally a matter of life and death.

* Also in the news: a "sniff-squad" of qualified experts is being brought in to determine whether the landfills in Northhampton, Massachusetts, are "bearable" or "foul beyond belief."

* Retro Sabotage has a 100% true documentary on the secret origins of Pac-Man as a tool for mass manipulation and brainwashing.

Very early in its development, it was decided that the game itself should also, at a symbolic level, carry consumerist values. The main character was then reduced to a mouth eating everything that came across its path. At first it would be chased by a stylized specter, symbolic of guilt, but, during play, the guilt itself would be overcome and swallowed.

The North Korean version of the game, towards the end of the documentary, is actually sort of fun...