Author: ÜberSciFiGeek

Swim like a Mermaid

Children twelve years of age and under can transform into a mermaid this summer with the Mermaid Swim Fin from FINIS, “The Worldwide Leader in Technical Swimming Development”.

Mermaid Swim Fin -- Pink
Mermaid Swim Fin -- Pink

Features & Benefits: Adjustable Velcro strap for safe and fun use. Lightweight soft plastic and TPR (Thermo Plastic Rubber) foot pocket comfortably fits shoe sizes 1-7.

There’s a Shark Swim Fin, as well, and adults have an entire line of Monofins to choose from.

With the introduction of the Monofin in 1993, our tradition of providing high-quality and creative technical products to the swimming world began. We have worked with an extensive list of coaches and swimmers over the past 16 years to create products that optimize training and competitive performance.

Order directly through the FINIS website.

The Mermaid Swim Fin, Shark Swim Fin, and Monofins are distributed by FINIS and its associated Dealers.

Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year

Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year

Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year collects the first two years — February 10, 2003, to December 30, 2004 — of the popular Applegeeks webcomic.

Jayce, an introspective writer, and Hawk, an excitable artist and inventor, have unofficially taken up residence in the home of sweet and thoughtful Alice and hard-drinking, hard-smoking, hard-hitting Gina. The foursome’s busy trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives, and how the heck to fit their college classes in around marathon video-game sessions, visits to the comic shop, and offbeat road trips. But when Hawk gets fed up with constantly striking out with women and decides to create the perfect girlfriend in his basement lab, passing classes suddenly becomes the least of the group’s worries! If Hawk’s project is a success, will his creation be content to be the perfect girlfriend, or will she have dreams of her own? And… uh… how many more things is she going to blow up?

This trade paperback is a collectable retrospective for longtime fans of Applegeeks, and a perfect introduction for readers completely new to the series or webcomics in general. The online experience translates well to the printed page, and vice versa, with the full-colour comics faithfully reproduced on black pages that match the background of the comics on the website. The sleek, evocative design of the book makes reading Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year feel like sitting in front of a paper replica of a computer screen; even the fonts used support the illusion. The art on the book’s cover may confuse readers since it’s drawn in the current style of the comic, which bears little resemblance to artist Mohammad F. “Hawk” Haque‘s early work, but this variation is explained right up front in the illustrated foreword by Megatokyo creator Fred “Piro” Gallagher. Gallagher says, “What’s really impressive is that Hawk, much like Ananth, is not afraid to experiment and challenge his own creative boundaries. His sketchbooks show a remarkable diversity of technique and love of artistic expression.” Part of the pleasure of reading the first volume of Applegeeks is in watching this organic evolution.

Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year really shines, though, as a guide for anyone who aspires to create their own webcomics. Series writer Ananth Panagariya provides insider commentary on every page, his personal anecdotes addressing such creative and practical topics as character and storyline inspiration, story arc plotting, update schedule management, and fan interaction. The final section of the book, nearly a third of its pages, is filled with bonus material that will also open a valuable window into the webcomics business:

  • Pinups — Single panels of stop-gap art that Hawk, and occasionally Ananth, published when regular comic production got sidelined by real life commitments.
  • Fun with Fiction — Ananth’s short, alternate reality stories featuring Applegeeks characters.
  • Convention Antics — Stories and artwork from convention appearances, with an emphasis on social and professional networking opportunities.
  • Applegeeks_The Beginning Prequel Comic — A five-page, monochromatic comic that reveals the backstory of how Jayce and Hawk, the protagonists of Applegeeks, became best friends.
  • Guest Pinups — Applegeeks fan art done by other webcomic artists and industry professionals.
  • Hawk’s Sketchbook — A two-page spread of character studies.

If you just can’t wait for the second Applegeeks book, Applegeeks, Volume 2: Weird Science, to find out how the story continues, check out the Applegeeks Comic Archive. Of course, you’ll still need to read the print edition when it’s released on October 21, 2009, to get all the behind-the-scenes information and extras!

Recommended for ages 14 and up.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year

Pre-order at Amazon.com:
Applegeeks, Volume 2: Weird Science

Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year is distributed by Dark Horse Books, a division of Dark Horse Comics, in partnership with Applegeeks. For more information on Applegeeks, visit applegeeks.com.

News That Squishes

from Squishable:

Hey Folks!

If you were chewing away on a delicious sandwich filled with news, you’d want to make sure it was Squishy News! And here it is!

1) We’ve got some new Understudies! Yes, indeed, and you could not ask for niftier Squishy alternatives.

Psychedelic Owl Understudy — This owl is far out! This owl is… extremely rad? This owl is even better than whatever adjective the kids are using these days! And he’s so very huggable. This owl got me through my finals.

Kauzbots — You know what will make that cute member-of-the-opposite sex across the hallway notice you? Robots! But wait, she/he still doesn’t realize how great you are? How about Robots that support good causes! Allow us to present Refugee Rescue Kauzbot and Clean Water Kauzbot. For each cuddly little fellow you take home, cash gets donated to a charity (refugee help or clean water, take your pick). She/he will be very impressed!

2) Everyone knows about the negative effects of peer pressure, like really bad 80’s hairstyles. But spare a moment to think of the good stuff: because of peer pressure we’re now offering gift certificates! Thank the ridiculous amount of mail we got telling us we should have them. Buy one for your mom/teacher/local gas station attendant/gerbil.

3) Many thanks to the awesome folks who sent in pictures to help support Play Pumps International get clean drinking water to African Villages! You guys rock! Really! And just to add to the nifty, for every picture we receive this month of your Squishable and his humans, we’ll send a buck to Autism Speaks, which helps promote awareness of autism and fund research and things (up to $250)! Really good stuff! Send ’em to hugme@squishable.com.

Thanks folks!

Zoe and Aaron
Squishable.com

Father’s Day goodies at ThinkGeek

from ThinkGeek:

Hoopy Froods,

Wherever you were last week on May 25th, we hope you carried with you your very own massively useful towel in honor of International towel day. If you did not, may you suffer a hundred years of Vogon poetry readings. For those that did, we’ve assembled the following heap of goodies for you to gawk upon…

Avoid the Force Choke — Get dad something good for Father’s Day!

Unless you were hatched, spawned or cloned, you probably have have a father. And unlike some dads in geek history (who shall remain nameless *cough*Vader*cough*) we’ll bet your dad deserves an awesome gift for Father’s Day. We know how difficult it can be to get something cool and useful for your dad, and though we can’t guarantee the “useful” part of the equation, we have a lot of gift ideas for dads ranging from useful to useless but all of them very cool. So hurry up and get shopping because you don’t want to show up empty handed on Father’s Day, unless you enjoy a good Force Choke.

Father’s Day is June 21st.

Find more What’s New items at ThinkGeek!

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” DVD Hits Shelves Nationwide

from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog:

Entertainment Weekly‘s Picks of the Week

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (out Tuesday). Joss Whedon’s musical about a lovelorn would-be supervillain and the video blog he records in his home doesn’t exactly scream surefire hit, but it took the Internet by storm last summer. This sweet and sinister tale about the eponymous mad scientist (Neil Patrick Harris) who battles his arch nemesis, Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion, of Whedon’s dearly departed Firefly), for the affections of the crusading civilian Penny (Felicia Day) shot immediately to the top of the iTunes video chart, and was viewed over 2.2 million times in its first week. If you missed it then, here’s your chance to discover it. EW: An oral history of Dr. Horrible

"Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" DVD

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr. Horrible, a budding supervillain 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 archnemesis 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…

DVD Features Include:
Over 90 minutes of bonus material

Distributor: New Video

condition:human updates

from condition:human:

C:H Ep5 is going to be delayed due to scheduling issues with the cast! I’m working on updating the website to give you guys a sneak peek at this episode as well as some new behind the scenes stuff! Also, we are going to be on Vuze soon and I am hoping to re-cut and fix up some of the visual aspects of eps 1-4 plus remaster the sound for all eps! The copies on Vuze will be the highest quality available so far!

Thanks everyone!
Trenton

“Weird Al” Yankovic: Internet Leaks

from “Weird Al” Yankovic:

INTERNET LEAKS
…is NOT the name of the next Weird Al album (we have no idea yet when that’s coming out)… but Al will be “leaking” new tracks to the Internet over the summer, and for bookkeeping reasons we had to call them SOMETHING, so “Internet Leaks” it is! Al’s T.I. parody “Whatever You Like” retroactively becomes the first song in the collection, and there will be 4 new original songs released digitally over the next few months. The first new song (and video!) will be out on June 16, and will be available wherever mp3s are sold or stolen.

Legend of Neil T-shirts Have Arrived

from The Legend of Neil:

Get your very own “You Deserve it After Committing Murder” T-shirt from the brand spankin new Legend of Neil Store. We’ve got posters too (which if you buy in conjunction with a T-shirt will be signed by creator Sandeep Parikh and star Tony Janning).

Help support the web-series you love, and look damn good while doing it. The T-shirts are high quality and come in almost every size imaginable including woman’s cuts. So get em while we got em (we only ordered 200) so they’ll go fast.

Spread the word and post the link on Facebook and Twitter: http://effinfunny.com/legend-store/

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV 4-DVD set due out this July

from Shout! Factory:

The Uproarious MST3K blasts off again on DVD!

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV

Featuring MST3K Film Episodes The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Zombie Nightmare and Racket Girls, Limited-Edition Mini-Posters, and All-New Bonus Content

In Stores Nationwide July 7, 2009, 2009, from Shout! Factory

In space, no one can hear you laugh. Unless, of course, you are aboard with the hilarious and beloved space travelers on The Satellite of Love from Mystery Science Theater 3000to skewer B-movies. To further celebrate Mystery Science Theater 3000’s cinematic chuckle fest, Shout! Factory, in association with Best Brains, Inc. proudly presents Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV 4-DVD box set on July 7, 2009. The side-splitting 15th collection of the famed MST3K features the show’s never-before-released film episodes The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Zombie Nightmare and Racket Girls, four limited-edition mini-posters, along with a wealth of new bonus content, including new interviews with the stars from Zombie Nightmare Frank Dietz and Jon Mikl Thor in Zombie Nightmare = MST3K Dream featurette, Glimpses Of KTMA: MST3K Scrapbook Scraps I (original wrap-around segments from the KTMA season), Behind the Scenes: MST3K Scrapbook Scraps II, Kevin Murphy and Trace Beaulieu in a Sneak Peak from the Upcoming Hamlet A.D.D., and Promos. Join Joel, Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot as they supply their own playful brand of commentaries on some of cinema’s most misunderstood “masterpieces” in Shout! Factory’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV. This collectible 4-DVD box set is priced to own at $59.99.

The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy
The battle between machine and the undead comes to a chilling conclusion when an insane scientist invents a robot for the sole purpose of stealing an ancient artifact guarded for eternity by an Aztec mummy!

Only the second show produced after MST3K’s original year on KTMA, this remarkable episode features J. Elvis Weinstein as a virtually unrecognizable Tom Servo, plus the first part of the classic short Commando Cody & The Radar Men From The Moon.

The Girl in Lovers Lane
After his spoiled protégé’s frequent missteps leave him with the responsibility of making things right with the law, local pimps and hoodlums, Bix Dugan’s life as a drifter may finally be coming to an end. And what a shocking ending it is!

Join hosts Joel Hodgson, Servo and Crow as they send up the movie that divided the MSTie nation. Love it or hate The Girl In Lovers Lane, this memorable episode’s song — “What A Pleasant Journey” — is guaranteed to have you in stitches!

Zombie Nightmare
When a young baseball player is struck and killed by a car full of rambunctious teens, his grieving mother convinces a mysterious voodoo priestess to resurrect her son, allowing his zombied corpse the vengeance necessary to finally rest in peace.

The Satellite of Love crew — Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot — takes on this 1986 zombie classic starring Adam West and Tia Carrere in her very first feature film role!

Racket Girls
When lowlife wrestling manager-turned-gangster Umberto Scalli takes $35,000 from the wrong crime boss, he’s forced to run for his life. Real-life female wrestlers Peaches Page, world champion Clara Mortensen and Mexican champion Rita Martinez — as you’ve never seen them before — star in this sinister tale of deceit, drugs, prostitution and smack downs!

In this hysterical episode from MST3K’s sixth season, Mike Nelson, Crow and Tom Servo challenge the “gorgeous gals of the ring” for the comedy championship of the galaxy! But what’s funnier? The riffs onboard the Satellite of Love — or the Racket Girls themselves? Also includes the popular short Are You Ready for Marriage?

ABC picks up “V”

“V” Cast Promo Image
“V” Cast Promo Image

V, a remake of the 1983 TV miniseries, is coming to ABC’s 2009-2010 mid-season schedule.

The world awakens to find spaceships hovering over all major cities. Though the aliens claim to come in peace, some do not believe them. Homeland Security agent Erica Evans discovers that the aliens have plans to infiltrate our governments and businesses in a plot to take over the planet. Erica joins the resistance movement, which includes Ryan, an alien who wants to save humanity. However, the aliens have recruited earth’s youth, including Erica’s son, to serve unknowingly as spies.

For more information, visit HDFilms, IMDb, and VisitorSite.net.