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Geek Gift Guide 2012: It’s Splendor Galore at 20 Bucks and Under
It’s that most wonderful time of year again when we scheme, sleuth, rush and hustle our way through holiday gift shopping for all our favorite geeks. Boyfriends, girlfriends, moms, dads, sons, daughters, bosses… naughty and nice, everyone deserves a little sugar! To say that this is a daunting task is an understatement of the elves-are-height-challenged […]
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Back to the Future: Super7 Resurrects Kenner’s Lost Alien Action Figures
Well over thirty years ago a small company in Cincinnati hatched a plan to sell a line of 4″ action figures based on characters made popular by a horror film. Sadly, the plan was abandoned well before the product was brought to market. Sadly I say, because the parties involved were (and still are) two […]
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Designer Con 2012: Pasadena’s Dirty Little Secret Busts Loose
Navigating from the west side of Los Angeles to Pasadena in 17 minutes flat was the first sign of a great day in the making. OK, so it was painfully early on a Saturday morning, but its still such a rare occurrence that it was hard not to feel as though good things would follow. […]
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The Incredible Toy Shops: Star Case of Tokyo
I’m not sure it can come off as anything other than bragging, but here it is: this week I’ll return home from my fifth trip to Japan in as many years. And this trip offered a long-awaited opportunity while passing through Tokyo to drop in on a small toy shop that’s been on my radar […]
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Halloween Pretty Much Sucks and I Think I Know Why
Welcome to Halloween. It’s without a doubt my least favorite time of year. Why? Because dressing up for Halloween is my least favorite thing to do. (I’m also not a fan of candy but that’s a conversation we’ll save for another time.) So why the hang up? Yeah, I’ve wondered that as well from time […]
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Happy Birthday Lego!
Still Building Awesome at 80To most people on the planet Legos are a fact of life. It’s been going on for generations now: kids begin sticking the insidious plastic blocks together before they’re potty trained and adults inadvertently step on their sharp edges at night only to discover the true meaning of pain. Few among them stop to think […]
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Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyovers for L.A. and S.F? Oh, Hell Yes
Next Monday morning the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the baby of NASA’s fleet, leaves Kennedy Space Center for the last time. Strapped to the back of the Millennium Falcon (oh, one can dream – actually it will be fastened snugly to a 747 jumbo jet), Endeavour will make it’s way over the course of four days […]
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And You Shall Know Thy Toy Lightsabers!
It’s hard to imagine better relief from a sweaty Tuesday afternoon than a surprise visit from Brian Stillman. OK not exactly a visit per se, but this new teaser/featurette from the NYC-based director is a close second. If you didn’t grow up in the 1970’s, then the subject matter of toy lightsabers both licensed and […]
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Two Years and Counting: Gentle Giant Jumbo Star Wars Action Figures Keep On Rolling
At the 2010 San Diego Comic Con I came across something remarkably familiar. It was a Stormtrooper action figure sure enough. Four primitive points of articulation… hmm, how retro… a lot like my old Star Wars guy! Hey wait, it was my old Star Wars Stormtrooper, only something had changed. Indeed it had. This was […]