Remembering the '80s and James Dio

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The first video game I ever played was "Galaga." The second was "Pac-Man."

While I always preferred "Ms. Pac-Man" to the original, the dot-chomping, ghost chasing Pac turned 30 last week, recalling an age when video games took a quarter and five minutes to play (if you were good), as opposed to a few hundred dollars and having to give up the real world for a virtual one.

You also had to go to an arcade to play "Pac-Man" (at least until it was made available for the Atari 2600 in 1982).

How many readers remember the "Aladdin's Castle," an arcade right next to the bright yellow "Corn Dog on a Stick" in the old Charlestown Square Mall?

We had to walk through the wooden-barrel entrance in 1980. "Space Invaders" was still popular, as was "Asteroid," both released a few years prior, but "Pac-Man" was king.

The song "Pac-Man Fever" became a Top 10 hit in 1982, there was a Saturday morning cartoon and even a "Pac-Man" cereal, which was the same thing as Lucky Charms, only with Pac and ghosts instead of green clovers and blue diamonds.

Three decades later, Pac-Man remains one of our most recognizable pop culture icons.

Long may he chomp.

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Two years after "Pac-Man" debuted, heavy metal legend Dio released its debut album "Holy Diver."

Fronted by former Black Sabbath and Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio, the band quickly became one of the most influential heavy-metal acts and the hit singles from that album as well as "Rainbow in the Dark."

These remain classic rock radio staples to this day (turn on VH1 Classic any night of the week after 2 a.m. and you can see the videos).

On May 16, Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at 67, leaving behind legions of fans for whom the singer personified the genre.

You know those "devil horn" signs people make with their hands that is associated with heavy metal but used at everything from pop concerts to sporting events?

Dio popularized it.

It was a gesture his Italian grandmother used as a symbolic warding off of evil spirits, something Dio adopted for use at his concerts and in his videos.

With the possible exception of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Dio was widely considered to be the most technically proficient vocalist in the history of heavy metal and was certainly one of its most important figures.

He will be missed.