The Legend of Zelda - An unfortunate coincidence

When I was a bit younger, I loved to play certain video games. One of the games I frequently rented but didn't own was The Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past.

I wasn't particularly good at it and my sister and myself would play it with the trusty Game Genie to make sure that our adventure wasn't cut short by lack of ability with a controller. Out of all of the Legend of Zelda games, this one still remains my favorite; perhaps because of all the childish wonder associated with it, or maybe just because it was a really good game. In any case, it will always be a treasured part of my childhood. (And, just for the record, I did beat the game as an adult without cheating.)

~   ~   ~

When I was in college my organ professor mentioned a young organist named Paul Jacobs. He memorized the complete organ works of Bach and performed them in several locations, and in one case, all in one day in an 18 hour marathon. He has also memorized the complete organ works of Messiaen and performed them on several occasions. At the age of 27 he was made chair of the organ department at Juilliard. He also was the first organist to ever receive a Grammy award for a solo organ album. Here he is playing some Reger:

Of his many students at Juilliard, there is one who gained some notoriety this last year for a series of concerts featuring the complete Organ Symphonies of the French organist and composer Louis Vierne. There are six symphonies and they make for an imposing program. The finale to the sixth symphony in particular features some famous scales in the pedals that still inspire fear in organ students. Here's an example of his fine playing:

~  ~  ~

There is a certain special glitch in the Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past, a certain special room. It is actually a loading room used when the game's program gets confused and doesn't know where to send the little green character. Apparently there are 5 ways to get there and when you do, it's just a simple square room full of rupees (currency in the game) and a 'telepathy tile' that gives the player a message. There's nothing very special about the room except that it's a somewhat famous 'glitch' in the game that can be found if you do some special things in a particular way. The story behind the room is:

Nintendo held a contest in a 1990 Nintendo Power magazine, where a randomly-selected winner would get to appear in a future NES game. To win, the person had to take a picture of the elusive Warmech boss in the game Final Fantasy, and mail it to Nintendo Power. The grand prize was a cameo appearance in The Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past. 

The room is the cameo appearance, and the winner of the grand prize was -- Chris Houlihan.

The organist, a student of Paul Jacobs, making a commanding start into his career is -- Christopher Houlihan.

Let's just be clear; as you guessed, they are not the same person.

If you look up the organist on the YouTubes, which I recommend you do, you will see a few confused and profanity laced comments about the Chris Houlihan room. Here's a sample exchange:

      TurkishHegemony - You the guy who has the secret room in Zelda?

      

      christopherhoulihan - NO-- Sorry, nothing to do with Zelda.

      godsadog - WHY U NO THE ZELDA GUY?

What an unfortunate coincidence. As a consolation, these comments are not very recent. Since his Vierne tour last year, I think his fame has exceeded that of an obscure secret room in an old video game, so I think he will seldom be troubled with this association again. I wish him the best of luck!