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Fire Up Computers with “The Holiday Yule Log”

The Holiday Yule Log

The Holiday Yule Log: Everything You [i.e., Tech-Oriented Geeks] Need to Enjoy Home, Hearth, and Family for the Holidays

Nothing brings the winter holiday season to life like a festive fire crackling in the hearth. It’s the perfect complement to stockings hung by the chimney with care, and the sound of Christmas carols echoing in the chilly air… but what about those who live in apartments, college dorms, or hot southern climates — the fireplaceless among us? Now they too can bask in the cozy glow of a seasonal blaze with this clever book-plus-DVD set. Any computer screen is transformed into the holiday hearth, while the 50 page book provides such read-aloud favorites as The Night Before Christmas and the O. Henry classic The Gift of the Magi. Four sing-along lyric sheets for popular Christmas carols, and a great fruitcake recipe, complete this fun gift package.

Order now at Amazon.com:
The Holiday Yule Log

The Holiday Yule Log is distributed by Cider Mill Press Book Publishers, an independent publisher distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Dante Beatrix’s Nigel the Shark

New York City-based company Dante Beatrix is the caretaker of the Maakun Forest, a land populated by a diverse group of animals in the idealistic-yet-scientifically-improbable style of The Swiss Family Robinson (with the addition of a few dinosaurs). This forest evidently borders on the ocean, as well, since one of the residents is a shark. Despite being a natural predator, Nigel the Shark appears to live harmoniously with all his fellow Maakunans and, as his biography reveals, he is quite the culturally refined creature:

Nigel has a taste for the finer things. He’s a connoisseur of all things floating in the ocean. He can talk for hours about the wonderful chewiness of a North Atlantic fisherman’s boot, or the foamy crunch of an Australian surfboard. Nigel is also a devoted fan of opera and considers himself to be quite an exceptional singer. Fortunately for the other animals in the forest, Nigel does most of his singing underwater.

Fans of web series Ask the Sharky, starring a friendly shark from the coast of California who answers viewer questions and sometimes breaks into song, will leap at the chance to snap up merchandise of near-twin Nigel. Nigel appears, so far, on Dante Beatrix’s fashionable little kid backpacks, big kid backpacks, and lunch boxes.

The Nigel Lunch Box has a sturdy woven nylon handle and is made from a heavy canvas material that ensures that this tote will be your lunchtime companion for many years. It’s easy to wipe the entire lunch box down after every use, too, thanks to the canvas’ waxy laminate coating and a durable plastic lining on the bag’s interior. An overall layer of thick padding insulates food while protecting your apple from getting bruised, and since Dante Beatrix products are PVC, phthalate, and lead free, your snackables will be completely safe from any contamination. Nigel’s image, simple and minimalistic as all Dante Beatrix designs, is appliquéd and embroidered to the front of the light-blue lunch box and, in a cute touch, the metal zipper pulls are shaped like little shark fins. On the back of the lunch box is a small zippered pocket that’s just the right size to hold lunch money or a note, and below it is a cloth tag that provides space to write the lunch box owner’s name. The tag also advises you to “Eat your vegetables!” Hmm… it seems that Nigel may have a preference for vegetarian sushi!

Curious to meet Nigel’s friends? The other Maakun Forest inhabitants, featured on little kid backpacks, big kid backpacks, kid’s t’s, lunch boxes, and wheelie bags, are: Percival the Dinosaur, Juju the Ladybug, Rory the Lion, Yuka the Bee, Fei-Fei the Panda, Esther the Bunny, Señor Gomez the Penguin, Dieter the Monkey, Anastasia the Pig, and Alister the Stegosaurus. Until December 7, you have the chance to name the newest character, a brontosaurus, on Dante Beatrix’s Facebook Page. The prize is a wheelie bag of your choice!

The Dante Beatrix holiday sale has started, so use code HOLIDAY15 for 15% off your purchase of a Nigel Lunch Box and more through December 11.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Nigel the Shark Lunch Box

Or order directly through the Dante Beatrix website.

The Nigel Lunch Box and Maakun Forest collection are distributed by Dante Beatrix and its associated Stores & Online Retailers. For more information, follow Dante Beatrix on Facebook.

Get Seduced: StarWarsShop’s Dark Side Days Are Here!

from StarWars.com:

StarWarsShop’s Dark Side Days event is seducing shoppers with 25% off ALL in-stock merchandise for two days only — that’s just two days to get that $25 Force Action Lightsaber for under $20, that $60 Koto Commander Rex maquette for $45, or that $130 LEGO AT-AT for under $100! And that’s just for starters — remember, ALL in-stock merchandise is 25% off — there are NO exclusions — but you have to act FAST!

Discover the power of Dark Side Days at StarWarsShop Friday and Saturday for some of the best holiday deals you’ll find anywhere on Star Wars merchandise — you WILL be turned.

Geeky Goodness, Gadgets and Great Gift Ideas

Trying to figure out what the perfect gift will be for your favorite geek? Check out some of these awesome gift ideas.

Electronic Gadgets:

The Kindle Wireless Reading Device is presently the #1 Bestselling, #1 most wished for and #1 most gifted item on Amazon.com. At just over 1/3 of an inch thick it’s thinner than most magazines and weighs less then a paperback book. With wireless 3G technology, you can download your new books digitally in under 60 seconds from anywhere in the world! It reads like real paper without a glare (even in strong sunlight) and holds up to 1,500 books at a time. With over 360,000 books now available for download, Kindle will keep any book lover happy for years to come!

This 8 GB MP4/MP3 Player from Pyrus Electronics includes an FM radio, camera, voice recorder and features a 2.8 inch touchscreen. They also have a 4 GB version and for under $10 you can get an MP3 FM Transmitter (with remote) that plugs right into your cigarette lighter and transmits your favorite MP3s to your radio. It uses an SD card so your only limit is how big the card memory is.

The Electronic Lab 130-in-One Project is a fun way to learn about electronics and study the wonders of science. This kit will give you a jump-start on a great hobby with no prior electronics knowledge needed. Project components are assembled on a built-in breadboard by connection to spring terminals — no soldering needed — and use safe, low-voltage batteries. Comes with built-in speaker, 7-segment LED digital display, integrated circuits, rotary controls and clearly written instructions with schematics/diagrams.

The Genius PenSketch is a brilliant drawing and graphic editing tool. I’ve owned the previous model of this 9×12 tablet for almost three years and it’s been incredibly helpful and easy to use with any artistic project I’ve worked on. It has a USB connection and includes a wireless mouse, rubber-coated pen and software. This handy tablet includes lots of customizable features that I haven’t even begun to explore yet. While everyone dreams of having the massive, professional graphic tablets, Genius has provided an affordable, high-quality product that will help you master your digital graphic arts skills before spending the really big bucks on a professional set-up.

DVD Goodies:

Farscape: The Complete Series
Probably the best news I’ve had in years, Farscape is finally out on DVD at an incredible low price. Remember when IF you were lucky enough to find it at your local store, it had a hefty $120 per season price tag? Even online sources like eBay charged an average of $80 per season. Now, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and A&E Home Video have partnered to bring you the complete series for under $100! Tack on Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars and you’ve got a complete set! Still need more Farscape? Check out the books and comics that complete the back-story and fill us in on events since The Peacekeeper Wars.

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: The Definitive Collection
One of Jim Henson’s finest works is The Storyteller series, originally airing on HBO in 1987. The Definitive Collection includes 13 stories, 9 based on European fables, and 4 slightly grittier takes on Greek myths.

Jim Henson’s Fantasy Film Collection includes three of Henson’s best fantasy films: Labyrinth, MirrorMask and The Dark Crystal, all for one great, low price.

Pushing Daisies: The Complete First and Second Seasons is a MUST-have for anyone who loved other Bryan Fuller productions such as Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me.

Other great film ideas:

V: The Original TV Miniseries and V: The Complete Series
See where it all started with the original series!

Ultimate Sci-Fi Collection
This 20-disc set includes: Escape From NY, Mad Max, Rollerball, The Abyss, Alien, Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fantastic Voyage, The Fly, Independence Day, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Neptune Factor, Planet of the Apes (1968), and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Babylon 5: The Complete Television Series and the follow-up Crusade: The Complete Series.

Sanctuary: The Complete First Season
The little web series that could! Sanctuary made its jump from the web to television. This 4-disc set includes the entire first season plus many extras, including the original web series.

Earth 2: The Complete Series
A great show that ended too soon. Definitely worth adding to your sci-fi collection.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Complete Series includes all 65 episodes of this wonderful show.

Some of my other all-time favorites that your favorite geek might like: Krull, Tin Man, Willow, The Philadelphia Experiment, The Final Countdown, Time After Time, Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series Collection and Young Frankenstein.

Board and Card Games:

Fluxx 4.0
Looney Labs produces lots of great games that are fun to play. One of their most popular, Fluxx, has been updated with a new release and new art work, but the same great fun. Additional versions of Fluxx include: Martian Fluxx, Monty Python Fluxx, Zombie Fluxx, EcoFluxx and Family Fluxx.

Battlestar Galactica, based on the hugely popular recent series, is a semi-cooperative board game for 3-6 players.

The Dread Pirate Bookshelf Game is played on a wonderfully illustrated and aged treasure map with cast metal playing pieces, replica doubloons, wooden dice, treasure bags and pirate treasure. This attractive Bookshelf Edition comes packaged in an aged wooden book that will look great displayed in any room of the house.

World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game
Can’t talk your friends into playing World of Warcraft online with you? Maybe they’ll enjoy an exciting and fast-paced journey through the world of Azeroth with this awesome board game based on the popular online game.

Starcraft: The Board Game
Whether you choose to lead the versatile Terran, mysterious Protoss, or voracious Zerg, in Starcraft: The Board Game you’ll command an army like no other in the universe. Based on the popular computer game, here’s a fun way to get your friends hooked on another game classic!

Music:

Battlestar Galactica: Season One, Season Two, Season Three and Season Four soundtracks feature the mesmerizing music of Bear McCreary.

Requiem for Delinquency: Hob’s End is a great electronica album in the vein of Delerium and Enigma, with hints of Dead Can Dance.

The Best of Delerium features some classic cuts from one of my all-time favorite groups.

Pure Chill Out is a collection of chill, electronica and ambient music. This is another CD that is always in my CD wallet when I travel.

Café del Mar, Vol. 15 is the latest entry from this great music anthology. It’s perfect for playing games online, drawing or whatever else you find yourself geeking out with.

Final Fantasy XI Premium Box features 7 discs of the beautiful in-game music from the Final Fantasy series.

What would be on your wishlist? Feel free to comment!

Shout! Factory’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale

from Shout! Factory:

Buy any two DVD or CD Box Sets (over 120 to choose from) and get one FREE!

Whether you’re shopping for yourself or planning your holiday gift guide, Shout! Factory has the perfect purchases for you.

This sale only lasts until Monday, so start shopping today!

Message in a Bottle, and My Crop Circle

Message in a Bottle

Oceanography is given a playful spin with Message in a Bottle, a kit that will appeal to science geeks who still appreciate the art of sending and receiving handwritten letters on fancy stationary via snail mail.

The kit’s recycled glass bottle can be tracked by registering it at the official Message in a Bottle website. Mark your location on the enclosed laminated map with the included waterproof pen, then turn the map over and fill in the logbook with your bottle’s registered name and launch data. A greeting message, saying hello in several languages, is printed on this page along with an URL, so when someone discovers your bottle they can look it up at wheresmybottle.com and let you know where it washed to shore. The finder then adds their location to your map and updates the logbook before sending the bottle on its way again.

Part of the fun of sending a message in a bottle is personalizing the contents. A small memento representing your hometown makes your bottled message more meaningful to its recipients, as will something that reflects your personality and interests. Write your message in the form of a poem, paste a photobooth picture of yourself to the inside of the bottle or, if you’re a sci-fi fan, incorporate the Vulcan IDIC symbol to spread some universal peace. You’ll have a greater chance of a response if your bottle is easy to spot in the water, so decorate with lots of bright colours. Filling the bottle with neon pink and orange pom-pons, or shiny items that reflect the sun, is sure to attract attention. Once you’re done, pop the cork into the bottle, seal it with wax, and toss it into a current that will carry it out to sea.

While waiting for a reply, learn more about the conditions your bottle will be experiencing by reading the kit’s accompanying Message in a Bottle book. This 71-page pocket guide details the history of how people have used and studied water over the ages, shares real-life stories of message bottles, and offers a few other water experiments to try. Philip Richardson, a leading oceanographer from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, contributes explanations of currents, tides, and water-related weather in understandable scientific terms, and offers tips for a successful bottle launch. He also suggests ways to help raise environmental issues and conserve the world’s watery ecosystems. If the aliens of V are willing to travel across the universe to try to steal Earth’s water supply, then it’s surely a resource worth protecting.

My Crop Circle

If you prefer a little more paranormal in your science, then a close encounter with the My Crop Circle kit will really set off your PKE meter.

Create Your Own Natural Phenomenons
Plant It. Water It. Witness It.

My Crop Circle works much like a Chia Pet. You just moisten the dirt-free mat of “alien growing matter”, place it in the desktop growing tray, and evenly sprinkle the packet of grass seed over the surface. Wait a few days for the grass to sprout (while remembering to keep watering daily), then press one of the five included crop circle templates onto the growth. In addition to providing entertaining information on the history, science, and pop culture relevance of crop circles, the 64-page Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Crop Circles guide book has several photos that you can copy patterns from instead, or you can get creative and design your own extraterrestrial templates. Let the grass grow up around the template’s edges, then remove the stencil to reveal your very own miniature crop circle. “…You can be first in your office to cause a controversy, garner widespread curiosity, and freak out your colleagues just a little bit.”

Recommended Reading Level: Ages 10 and older.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Message in a Bottle
My Crop Circle

Message in a Bottle and My Crop Circle are distributed by Applesauce Press and Cider Mill Press Book Publishers, independent publishers distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Newest noisemaker from ThinkGeek Labs

from ThinkGeek:

We who are about to die of food coma salute you,

We’re happy the Hadron Collider is back on track, pending no more incidents with airborne carbohydrates. The possibility of Black Hole Friday will be a subject of Thanksgiving dinner debate! In the meantime, we’re launching you into the holidays with awesome news. There’s the synthtastic Bliptronic, the epic JetBib, two totally sweet contests (Bricktastic! and Bring the Rock!), and a preview of our holiday catalog, complete with 42% more zombies. We didn’t think we could fit that many zombies in, but rotting flesh compacts pretty well. Enjoy!

Find more What’s New items at ThinkGeek!

See the Future: Get the Magic Cheezburger!

from I Can Has Cheezburger?:

Life is full of tough questions: Is Ceiling Cat watching me? Will Basement Cat get me in my sleep? Can I has cheezburger?

Fear not: the Magic Cheezburger has the answers! This adorably NOM-able cheezburger is your window into the future (but don’t eat it!!!). It’s like a Magic Eight Ball that brings teh LOLz.

And remember: the only place you can get it is online at our LOLmart store!

More Weta News: November 2009

from Weta:

Earthquake Relief Art Exhibition in Chengdu — The Exceptional Exhibition
Richard Taylor has organised to take a unique collection of art, props and sculpture to Chengdu in China. This exhibition will also premiere a significant collection of fine art paintings from Greg Broadmore, the creator of Dr. Grordbort’s — a property that Richard Taylor and Partner Tania Rodger have developed with Broadmore over the past four years. Read more about the exhibition on our site!

Get your Christmas cards from our new Zazzle.com Dr. Grordbort’s Emporium!
Zazzle.com is an online marketplace that allows us to get closer to you. We supply the designs and they make it and sell it. You can currently get Dr. Grordbort’s Christmas Cards or a t-shirt, sweatshirt or hoodie with Dr. Grordbort’s logo. Check out the local stores for North America, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. Some of the stores are offering free shipping before Christmas!

Technology? Covered! Get Weta Gelaskins for your gadgets!
Together with our friends at Dark Horse Comics we’ve made a few of our Dr. Grordbort’s designs available on the GelaSkins.com website. They come in various sizes customised for different brands and models of mobile phones, laptops and personal gaming devices such as Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Check them out — it’s an awesome way to protect your valued gear!

News from the Shire
Ian Brodie and the team at Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm Tours will be giving us updates on what’s happening in their neck of the woods. We got the first update this week!

Another update on the work on the Bag End environment from Daniel Falconer
Weta has started work on a collectible environment of Bag End, Bilbo’s and subsequently Frodo’s home in Bagshot Row in the Shire. We haven’t seen much of Daniel recently and his update sheds some light on the reasons for that:

Work on the Bag End mini environment continues apace. One of the biggest tasks so far has in fact been the amassing of reference material. It’s surprising how little actually exists, and what does exist tends to be imagery from the same angles, but we’ve turned up some gems and found some interesting details we didn’t know about before. Approvals on the basic design have come from the studio and we’re deep into making the designs into a physical reality.

Miniature Pearce is here!
“Shiny” — was our test panel’s first reaction to the Pearce 75 Atom Ray Gun. And equally shiny is its minisculized counterpart. It is unique in that it has been miniaturised from a prototype. This is risky business, but who are we to argue with the scientists? At one quarter of its original scale, this finely detailed piece captures all the elaborate detail of its full scale counterpart and, like those larger guns, is made from metal. You simply MUST check it out here!

Richard Taylor’s and John Howe’s Forum Blitzes — check out the replies!
Both Richard Taylor and John Howe have recently been on the Weta Forum on The Shadow and Flame to answer questions from fans. Check out what they had to say. Richard Taylor here and John Howe here. And of course, there is plenty of opportunity to ask questions of other Weta crew, such as Daniel Falconer and David Tremont.

John Howe signs two new books at the Weta Cave
Tolkien and Fantasy illustrator and artist, John Howe, has two new books in the works, Fantasy Drawing Workshop and Lost Worlds by John Howe. John will be signing these books at an exclusive event at the Weta Cave in Wellington on Sunday 6 December. We’ll see you there!

Halo and Texas — what’s the connection? Now we know!
After our plea in the last newsletter, we had a few responses as to why more than half of the Halo Master Chief Sterling Silver Rings we’ve sold have gone to Texas. We reckon Deborah summed it up well:

I would say Texas is more of a state not afraid to stand up for what it believes in. And that means, if you’re a big businessman spending your days securing expensive contracts for your company, but you also like to kick back at night and play some Halo 3 with your friends, you’re not afraid to admit it! You would wear that Halo ring to work with pride, not afraid to fess-up to your geekdom.

Texas really does have a strong nerd base. And that nerd base is not just limited to the young crowd — people of all ages decide for themselves what they enjoy, not what people expect of them to enjoy or promote. There is a fairly broad spectrum of people who enjoy the Halo universe, as well as other games/movies/etc, and they aren’t afraid to proclaim it! Here you’re likely to find people just as proud of their vintage “Strongbad” t-shirt as you are somebody strutting around with their $3,000 handbag.

This is how you find us online!
http://fans.wetaNZ.com/Magnus/ | Twitter: @wetaworkshop | Facebook: Weta Workshop

First Tribbles and Now Spiders!

from Shout! Factory:

William Shatner sure finds himself in awkward positions. First there was a bevy of green alien chicks, then fuzzy, multiplying tribbles. We’re pleased to be bringing you another of his follies, 1977’s Kingdom of the Spiders. This cult classic finds Mr. Shatner protecting his local townies from big, hairy, killer arachnids. Watch him leap and bound over the infestation. The Special Edition DVD, set for release on January 19, includes all-new interviews with William Shatner, director John “Bud” Cardos and others, as well as in-depth commentaries, rare behind-the-scenes footage and the original theatrical trailer, all on a brand-new anamorphic widescreen transfer.

Star Wars MIMOBOT Vote and announcing 16GB Capacity

from Mimoco:

Star Wars MIMOBOT Series 5 is coming in March 2010 and we need your help to complete the series. Vote for your favorite character to be produced as the Series 5 audience choice MIMOBOT and get a 20% discount on the community-chosen design!

Your favorite MIMOBOT characters now in 16GB!
We’re happy to announce our top 12 best selling MIMOBOT flash drives are now available in the new and larger 16GB capacity! Carry even more kibbles ‘n bits than ever before on your favorite MIMOBOT design. It’s everything your USB port needs at every meal. And ya know, 16GB MIMOBOT drives make great gifts. We recommend loading them with love letters, the Lady Gaga album, and pictures of your dog and then giving them to your sweetheart.

Tim Burton’s Tragic Technology: Cell Phone and Laptop Skins Available Today!

The next wave of Dark Horse Skins arrive featuring artwork from the legendary Tim Burton

from Dark Horse Comics:

The popularity of skins that both personalize and protect our modern electronic devices is growing by leaps and bounds. Dark Horse Deluxe, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, and manufacturer GelaSkins have teamed up to launch a new collection of special designs for this contemporary platform, drawing on their longtime relationships with some of today’s most interesting and respected creative talents. Dark Horse is pleased to announce that the first designs featuring the original art and characters of director and artist Tim Burton are available now.

Burton’s career-spanning retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York opens November 22, 2009, and will continue through April 2010. Consisting of a gallery exhibition and a film series, the event will showcase Burton’s widespread influence on both artists and pop culture.

Dark Horse Deluxe has a long-standing licensing relationship with Tim Burton for his most personal work, the fascinating group of characters created for his book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. The art and story have inspired a range of figures, toys, journals, and other collectibles that bring the characters alive and have been dubbed the Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys.

The new products take the technological tools that are now ubiquitous — laptops, computers, cell phones, and related other electronics — and turn them into a hip palette for personal expression while serving the useful function of protecting them from wear and tear.

“We have been planning this new platform for some time,” Dark Horse vice president of sales, marketing, and licensing Anita Nelson remarked. “We are proud to have Tim Burton’s strange and wonderful characters as the centerpiece. We are so pleased he likes the designs and think fans will agree.”

The complete Dark Horse line of Tim Burton GelaSkins can be seen here.

All are available for purchase now!