With Lost ending and Super Mario Galaxy 2 launching, today may be the most upside-down and sideways date in pop-culture history. No matter what planet you're on or alternate timeline you're in, I'm sure you'll find time to recognize this week's anniversaries with us.

May 23

1959 -- Happy birthday, Takahashi Meijin! Known as Master Higgins here in the West, this Husdon Soft executive was famous for his ability to press buttons very fast. He topped out at 16 shots per second, but his speed has declined in later years. I am sure his wife is still a very happy lady.

1969 -- The Who releases the album "Tommy," a rock opera about a child who, despite his disabilities, is an excellent pinball player. The fact that the titular character also lead a messianic movement should give you some insight to how popular pinball was or how drug-addled the band members were. Probably both

2000 -- Ion Storm releases Daikatana. It would go on to be one of the industry's most notable commercial and critical failures. Controversial advertisements preceded the game, in which former Id employee and video game hotshot John Romero claimed he was about to make you his bitch. Funny enough it kind of worked the other way around, once the game hit store shelves.

May 24

1972 -- Ralph Baer demonstrates his Magnavox Odyssey for the first time. Its success would go a long way to making Baer the lively old coot that he is today.

2000 -- Looking Glass Studios goes out of business. The company developed franchises like System Shock and Thief and employed many big names. Looking Glass alumni include Ken Levine (BioShock), Warren Spector (Deus Ex), Harvey Smith (Deus Ex), and Seamus Blackley (the man responsible for the Xbox). That's a payroll I'd like to have.

May 25

2006 -- Reggie Fils-Aime becomes Nintendo of America's president and chief operating officer. While we can't give him all the credit, the fact that he told worldwide audiences that he was going to kick ass and take names, only to see Nintendo products dominate the video game marketplace...well, he has a good sense of timing, if anything. John Romero could learn a thing or two about talking trash from Reggie.

May 26

1995 -- Bill Gates sends his famous internal memo "Internet Tidal Wave." This call to action designated the Internet as Microsoft's number-one priority, and we can certainly see the results today, from the Zune Marketplace to Xbox Live. That said, I was 13 years old at the time, and even I could have wrote that memo. Is it a notable accomplishment when Bill Gates mentions on his camping trip that bears shit in the woods?

May 27

1986 -- Dragon Quest debuts. The franchise, known as Dragon Warrior in North America until recently, is incredibly popular in Japan, but has failed to find a large audience here. Nothing can better exemplify this than the fact that I have never played a Dragon Quest game and have nothing of interest to say about this anniversary.

May 28

1982 -- Trip Hawkins founds a little company called Electronic Arts. It would go to become the most important third-party publisher in the industry. Getting its start in development, the company would move into publishing by 1990 with Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble. It was a fairly modest beginning to a business strategy that would make the company billions of dollars.

1993 -- Super Mario Bros., the film based on the game, opens in theatres. You really can't find a better example of a movie failing to adhere to its source material. I can sum that up in five words: Dennis Hopper as King Koopa.

2003 -- The 3DO Company files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Interestingly enough, Trip Hawkins also started this company, although it certainly was much less successful than Electronic Arts. Much less.

May 29

1992 -- Dylan Cuthbert cuts his teeth on early 3D programming with the release of X, a 3D game on the...Game Boy? And now he does 2D games on the PlayStation 3? Does he also wear shoes on his head and hats on his feet?

Question of the Week: What is your favorite "so bad it's good" video game movie?