“Squishables are cute giant balls of squishy love. They’re soft, huggable, cuddly, and all-around awesome,” say Squishable.com co-founders Aaron and Zoe of their signature, Asian-designed stuffed animals.
A couple years ago we were backpacking around Southeast Asia doing some volunteering and being bums. We ran into our first fat, fuzzy piggy in Hong Kong and bought it as a tribute to Jhonen Vasquez. When we got back to the US he was immediately kidnapped by rabid fans. We took the hint.
How do you adopt a Squishable of your very own? Easy!
Order your Squishable of choice — for the purpose of this review, the Squishable Octopus.
Track the parcel online as it wings its way towards you.
Squee and do a happy Snoopy dance when the box arrives.
Open the box, marvelling as the giant pink octopus emerges, its body expanding to about double the size of its cardboard packing cube.
Begin a Squishable Hug-a-Thon.
No need to hide the schoolgirls, this well-mannered octopus just wants to be friends! Hug him! Take him to restaurants! Introduce him to your parents! This octopus is one classy cephalopod! 14 squishy inches of tentacle, polyester fiber, ages 3 and up
The Squishable Octopus is incredibly soft, like an oversized, fabric-covered marshmallow. Sporting tentacles, silky pink- and cream-coloured fur, and a big, friendly smile, it could easily pass as a benign alien from any light-hearted anime series or whimsical sci-fi show like Farscape, and would make a great creature prop for an amateur sci-fi web series. Squishable.com’s suggestion is to “Use ’em as a pillow. Throw them at people.” The manufacturer’s tag reads “pillow is intended for decorative use only”, so apparently the Squishable Octopus was originally meant to be a funky throw pillow rather than toy, but something that adorable just begs to be played with. It’s no surprise, then, that Squishables have become more popular as playthings than home décor accessories. (P.S. Does anyone name the fluffy Squishable Octopus anything other than the obvious “Octopussy”?)
Squishable.com generates warm fuzzies by doing more than sell plushies, though. Engaging in admirable social practices, this business leverages the squishy power of its website to Save the World. Contributions are made to a number of charities, including Kiva, a non-profit organization that alleviates poverty by microfinancing small businesses in developing countries. In addition, a dollar for each picture posted in the Squishable picture gallery is donated to a monthly cause. Planet-friendly products marked as Good Karma Items are Fair Trade, handmade, or crafted from renewable materials.
Big Squishable Animals, the Squishable Wardrobe, and Squishable Understudies are distributed by Squishable.com. For all the latest product news, follow Squishable on Facebook and Twitter.
Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls, a website dedicated to the positive promotion of girl power, presents Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: What Planet Are You From?, a picture book written and illustrated by site creator Lauren Faust.
Meet Milky Way and her intergalactic entourage, the Galaxy Girls! Each girl is named after some heavenly body, and none are afraid to be as individual as every star in the sky. With 11 girls in this celestial sorority, there’s bound to be one you can bond with. You may be a total hottie, sizzlin’ with solar power like the Sun. Or like Pluto, a rockin’ rebel who rejects demeaning labels like “Dwarf Planet.” Perhaps you’re an orbital oddball, like artistic, green-skinned Mars. Or a kind-hearted environmentalist with a soft spot for cute animals, like Jupiter. Read on, for this book is your personal guide to the girlaxy, and with a little personal insight you can find out… What Planet Are You From?
Independently published in 2007, What Planet Are You From? is a professional effort that deserves a much wider audience than it’s received so far. Like Neil Gaiman’s Blueberry Girl, it’s a refreshing alternative to the sea of pink, glittery, substance-free fluff that currently floods the bookstore shelves reserved for young girls. Fashioned in the style of an astrology guide, this small hardcover encourages girls to think about who they really are, not just who society and the media tells them they should be. As Faust writes on her website:
What do girls like? The first things that come to your mind may be: clothes, hair, make up and fashion. And you would be right. Most girls DO enjoy these things, and it would be foolish to ignore that fact. But who only likes one thing, right? The world often forgets that girls love art, sports, music, culture, animals, learning… the list is infinite! And, sadly, sometimes girls forget that, too. So why can’t girls be cute, stylish, cool, AND smart, empowered and a little different?
They can. Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls offers the best of both worlds for girls. Fun with trendy, funky clothes and hair styles AND a wide variety of personalities, nationalities and outside interests. Each character has a specific activity she loves and accessories and wardrobe that correspond. They are each individually adorned with a personal symbol and color scheme that define her and her life style.
So, there’s a girl for everyone! All you have to do is figure out… What Planet Are You From?
Faust worked on the popular cartoon series The Powerpuff Girls, and its visual influence can clearly be seen in the brightly-coloured and dynamic art of What Planet Are You From? Elements of Rainbow Brite and Sailor Moon give the simple yet iconic designs a touch of cheerful nostalgia, as well. The eleven Galaxy Girls — Milky Way, The Sun, Mercury, Venus, The Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — are given four pages apiece to tell their stories. (Earth is absent from the book since Lauren Faust fills the role of “Mother Earth” on the Galaxy Girls website.) Biographical information is listed on a two-page spread, with the name and picture of the described character splashily revealed when the page is turned. Nearly blank backgrounds allow readers to imagine whatever setting they desire. The book would make a memorable reading activity at a slumber party and, as an added educational bonus, can be used to help teach budding astronomers about the celestial objects that make up the solar system.
What Planet Are You From? is a stellar gift for girls of all ages, delivering a message that every child should take to heart: “Remember, there may be millions and millions of stars in the girlaxy, but each and every one is astronomically awesome and unique… and you are too!”
Once you’ve joined the Solar Sisterhood, proclaim your choice of Galaxy Girl mentor by picking up a t-shirt, poster, postcard, sticker, button, or patch at the online shop, and visit the Etsy shop where Faust sells handmade plush art dolls of the girls featured in Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: What Planet Are You From?
Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: What Planet Are You From? is distributed by My Firefly. For more information on the book and its author, visit the official Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls website and its related Facebook and MySpace pages. Lauren Faust may also be followed on deviantART and MySpace.
Benton Jennings, Mary Cseh, Tom Konkle, David Beeler and Brittney Powell are members of P.O.S.H. on KoldCast.TV's new Safety Geeks: SVI
Tom Konkle, one half of the comedic troupe Dave & Tom, talked to us recently about some projects he had in the works. With one of those projects, Safety Geeks: SVI, coming to fruition, we thought it would be a great time to touch base with him and find out what’s been going on with his new show since last we talked.
ÜberSciFiGeek (ÜSFG) Last time we talked, you had a webseries in development. Episode 1 just premiered. Tell me about your new webseries, Safety Geeks : SVI.
Tom Konkle (TK)Safety Geeks was a labor of love that allowed me to do a comedy series as edgy, surreal and out there as I wanted it to be while trying to make it as professional and polished as possible. It is about a “semi-elite” safety team formed by an eccentric trillionaire who use their resources to ineptly investigate Darwin award type accidents.
(ÜSFG) What inspired you to do Safety Geeks: SVI?
(TK) I wanted to write this with my writing and producing partner David Beeler because it makes me laugh. I discovered I had been writing Adult Swim type comedy anyway and when they wouldn’t have us at the time (we did pitch the show to them) we decided to hang it out there and make it ourselves. There are SO many procedural crime dramas and it’s a great hook to hang the absurd scenarios on because everyone knows the conventions, like westerns were to Blazing Saddles, hospital dramas to Scrubs, etc… I really want to do a science fiction comedy as well because if there is a genre I love I want to work in it with my own voice which happens to be a comic one.
(ÜSFG) You’ve shot a lot of standalone comedy sketches and commercials. What was it like to film your new series?
(TK) It’s a BIG difference having to orchestrate a whole series and story arc from doing many, many sketches and one off films. The people moving aspect is difficult just getting the schedules down for all the talented SAG actors we had in the series, as well as the long hours to get it done on a deadline. Often the day would end at 4am with only me, David Beeler and Brittney Powell in the stage with Roger (Tonry) filming the main characters stuff after all the guest stars and effects were shot all day!
(ÜSFG) What can we expect from Season 1? Will it follow a story arc from episode to episode or will each episode be a self-contained story?
(TK) Season one has a main story arc which will be resolved in the final episode which is episode 12 but there are also mini stories and arcs like a possible connection between Budwin and Dr. Randi happening, learning more of Reginald’s past and Budwin’s secrets as well as seeing Dr. Randi in her first job! Every episode ends in some kind of cliffhanger, so we want you to come back. Hopefully as is the case with anything I do funny trumps everything, and it will be fun and funny and although normal to me, some say it’s downright bizarre.
(ÜSFG) How many episodes are planned for Season 1?
(TK) There will be 12 episodes ranging from 7 to 9 minutes in length.
(ÜSFG) You play Budwin Yacker on SG:SVI. Tell me a little about your character.
(TK) Budwin is actually a strange fit for me. I am usually more “showy” as a comic character like my Bo-Hey No character in the Invention with Brian Forbes series or the genie in our show etc… however I think he is a painful and imploded man who is very funny and dry in his awkwardness. It’s like he is a funny Vulcan really. We refer to Budwin now as Spock/Belushi (John Belushi not Jim). There is a nice competent person in there somewhere, but let’s face it, he was so sheltered from danger and controlled as a young person with horrible silly nightmare experiences it will take some work to draw it out. Who knows, maybe Dr. Randi Minky is the one who will finally draw Budwin out. Budwin imploded and parts of himself actually passed themselves, he probably joined the Army to get less structure.
(ÜSFG) Some of your cast has worked together before. How did the new ensemble get along? What was it like on the set?
(TK) Everyone was so cool and understanding of how we were trying to do something new and different without the resources available to the big companies and they were supportive. No attitudes, just laughs.
(ÜSFG) You are using a lot of digital effects and sets for this series. How do you like working with green screen? Does it slow down or speed up production schedules?
(TK) Green screen was the way to go. I didn’t set out to break the record for effects shots in a comedy but somehow we have ended up with more composite effects shots than the first three original Star Wars movies combined! It made shooting faster on set mostly, though Roger Tonry and his team had to take great care in lighting and staging the action and people. Roger and I worked very closely together on shot selection, planning schedule, and actors’ comic performances on set. Roger is a dream to work with. I am lucky he has the personality he has and that he allowed me to fully contribute with him on that. The green screen slows you in post because literally everything is created, positioned, rendered etc… and it takes days and days. Two teams of friends, Thor Melsted and Mike Smith, handled the effects and visual compositing and I worked with them both in person and on the Internet and texting and email. This could not have been made without technology and the Internet today.
(ÜSFG) How did you ever get The Whotles to do your theme song? Did you get to meet Raji Dandri and Teat Pownsend? What were they like?
(TK) The Whotles… well, what can I say. I am a musician and write music as does a Mr. Sherwood who I have done music with before, but The Whotles, come on, how lucky are we there? I do see Teat Poundsend occasionally, mostly in the mirror, and Mr. Sherwood updates me about Raji Dandri. We did songs together as Who fans and I loved how it turned out. You can see an exclusive Whotles webcam online of them recording a song.
(ÜSFG) Anything else you want to share?
(TK) Thank you so much for asking about the show. Please watch it in HD on KoldCast.TV. They are our sponsors and the best distributors a web series could have.
Episodes 1 and 2 are currently available. Look for the rest of Season 1 on KoldCast.TV.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr. Horrible, a budding super-villain whose plans for world domination continually go awry. His two goals: getting accepted into the Evil League of Evil, and working up the guts to speak to his laundromat crush Penny, played by Felicia Day (The Guild). The only thing standing in his way is Captain Hammer, Billy’s superhero arch-nemesis played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly). With one big score, Billy could get into the E.L.E. and earn the respect of Penny, but only if he can keep her away from the dashing Captain Hammer…
The Crew #101 — Pilot
In the first episode of The Crew, the crew investigates a mysterious engine error.
Cast:
Tom Wilkenson: Philip Bache
Tim Waterson: Brett Register
Patrick Fargent: Craig Frank
The Crew is comedy blending wit, situational humor and human interaction nestled in the environment of the space ship Azureas. If the characters from the hit television comedy The Office were the crew members on board the Star Ship Enterprise, our show is what you would get.
Episodes of The Crew are available on KoldCast as well.
Solvar, an Irish-owned family business, has designed a sterling silver “Tree of Life” pendant for their Fáilte product line that would make a brilliant accessory for an elven costume.
The Tree of Life…
“Celebrate your Celtic Heritage”
Its branches reach in search of Learning & Knowledge.
The trunk symbolises Strength,
Its flowers & fruit Renewed Growth
and its roots represent our Ancient Celtic Heritage.
According to a tag enclosed with the necklace, “This fine piece of Irish jewellery has been crafted by Solvar Ltd. Ireland. Each piece of gold and silver is authenticated and hallmarked by the Irish Assay Office.” The company also produces many other pieces appropriate for medieval roleplaying, such as rings, bracelets, bangles, brooches, pendants, neckletts, earrings, tiaras, and hair pins. Materials used include silver, gold, white gold, diamonds, marcasite, marble, crystal, and enamel.
Luuna, the French graphic novel series written by Nicolas Keramidas and illustrated by Didier Crisse, has been translated into English by TOKYOPOP, a manga publisher that’s broadening its catalogue by adding English language editions of comic books from around the world. The three-volume Luuna, in which “a Native American girl must save her tribe from her own curse”, is one of the titles leading this expansion, marketed as an example of “Europe’s most popular graphic novels”.
Luuna, Volume 1 collects the books “Night of the Totems” and “Twilight of the Lynx” from the original French publishing run. Printed on oversized pages in full, rich colour, it introduces the titular heroine and sets up the epic journey, bother outer and inner, that Luuna must go on to save her soul from being corrupted by the forces of evil.
On the night of her coming of age ritual, Luuna, a young girl from the mystic Paumanok tribe, enters the sacred wood.
There she will face Hohopah, the Heart of the Forest, and be assigned her totem, the animal incarnation of her inner-self.
But unbeknownst to Luuna, this night belongs to Unkui, the Evil One, who demands that her soul be shared!
Now Luuna is cursed with not one, but two totems: One white — the reflection of all that is good in her; the other, black — representing the darkness that resides in us all, and capable of terrible destruction.
Unable to return to her tribe, Luuna embarks on a quest to seek out the wise spirits of the earth and with their help, rid herself of the cursed totem. But little does she know that Unkui is not finished with her yet, and has set his fiendish minions on her trail…
A dark action-fantasy based on Native American mythology, similar in tone to the later “Wild Hunt” storyline of ElfQuest, Luuna manages to avoid the blatant clichés and stereotypes normally found in comics featuring tribal people and their beliefs. This respect for the source material is even directly referenced in the story when the leader of a group of evil forest spirits, out to kill Luuna’s trio of red-hued sidekicks, commands “Gut those redskins!”, and one of the offended sprites quips, in a winking aside to the reader, “Redskins?! What a dumb name! Redskins!” Luuna and her kin seem like genuine people who just happen to live in a world where forest spirits and magic actually exist. While she may resemble Disney’s Pocahontas in appearance, Luuna is a more well-rounded, relatable character who, despite being the token princess, has common human flaws and a dark side she must struggle against. She’s also given a plausible reason for being able to talk to her animal friends, as she’s a member of the Paumanok, a guardian race chosen by the gods to maintain the balance of nature.
The expressive artwork in Luuna is reminiscent of Jeff Smith’s Bone comics. The clean, bold lines, in the style of traditional cel animation, make the drawings look deceptively simple and cartoon-like until repeated readings reveal little background details and nuances of body language that add greater depth to the story. Colour is used to great effect, as well, emphasizing the cycle of lightness and darkness that Luuna goes through. The first volume of Luuna concludes with a sneak preview of eight art panels from Luuna, Volume 2, but since the dialogue has been removed from these pages, they serve mainly as a tantalizing hint of what will happen next on Luuna and her companions’ travels.
The publication date for Luuna, Volume 3, hasn’t been announced yet, but Volume 2 will be available in July 2009.
Recommended Reading Level: Young Adult (13+) for adult themes, non-sexual nudity, occasional adult language, frightening situations, and intense scenes of violence.
This Star Trek: The Original Series replica is set to launch Dream Cheeky‘s line of electronic Star Trek devices, which will also include a Bluetooth version of the communicator, a webcam modelled in the shape of the USS Enterprise, and an LCD photo keychain that resembles a Starfleet badge.
Star Trek USB Communicator Internet Phone
Product Features:
Built-in microphone and earphone, works with Skype, MSN, AIM, Ichat, etc.
Built-in speaker with 21 sound effects
Individual microphone mute button
Volume switch 6 foot long USB cable
Compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X 10.5
Our Season 2 DVD has TONS of extras, including a “Play All” option without credits, English subtitles, commentary tracks, script, gag reels and many many extra bonus videos!
In addition, you will be able to download the episodes in HD format from Amazon’s Download on Demand service the day the DVD launches, an amazing feature for instant gratification!
International DVDs will be coming shortly, but Season 1 also available at Amazon.com May 19th as well. Thank you for supporting the show!
[Scene: Vulcan landscape. Cue Spock vs. Kirk fighting music.]
[Kirk] Spock, snap out of it!
[T’Pau] He cannot hear thee, Outworlder.
[Kirk] Oh, wait, let me make sure my shirt is torn.
[Spock] Grrrrrrr…
[T’Pau] The air is thick, and the Lirpa is not made for thee.
[Kirk] Then, can we use these instead?
Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Scotty, Uhura, Dr. McCoy, Sulu, Chekov — all these names have one thing in common. Sure they are all serve on perhaps the most famous ship of the fleet: the NCC-1701 USS Enterprise. But the most important thing they have in common is: they all eat with their Starfleet issued titanium sporks; because sporks are the utensils of the future. And just for you, we snuck an empty photon torpedo casing full of them off the ship. But only 1701 of them. That’s right — these awesome sporks, laser engraved with the Starfleet emblem and “NCC-1701 Mess Hall” are a limited edition of 1701 pieces (each one individually numbered). They are the ultimate Star Trek collectible because titanium sporks are so durable they will last until we’re really exploring the final frontier. Time to boldy eat with something no one’s eaten with before: the Star Trek Limited Edition Titanium Spork.
So there a crap-ton of events coming up that I wanted to share with you all where we’ll be promoting The Legend of Neil and The Guild and actually selling T-shirts and what not!
Meet Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh as they screen an episode of Neil plus the first sketch they ever shot together! It’s at the Comedy Central Stage in LA! For the first time ever LoN t-shirts will be available for sale!
Meet Sandeep Parikh (creator of Neil and Zaboo on The Guild) and the rest of The Guild (minus Felicia). They will be on hand signing autographs, judging contests and mixing and mingling:
Friday: April 24
Autographs 1-2 pm (main room)
Karoke Judging 4-6 pm The Guild Season One Screening with Cast Q &A session 8-9:30pm
Saturday: April 25
Autographs 11-1pm (main room)
Panel: The Making of a Web Phenomena (Cast and Guild producer Kim Evey discuss what goes into making The Guild.) 3-4pm The Guild Season Two Screening with Cast Q &A session 6:30-8pm
Sunday: April 26
Anime Music Video Judging 9-10:30am
Details are still vague but the plan is still to premiere Season 2 of The Legend of Neil, and hold a Q&A! But seriously, with or without us, this event is more than worth going to. It’s the Con of all Cons (no offense other cons).
