Codswallop! Doctor Tremont is at it again. Not content with the direction Earth’s Venusian campaign is taking, he’s been seen through the sooty window panes of his laboratory hugging his knees, rocking back and forth chanting barely coherent phrases in something that resembles Nedderdüütsch. Or possibly plain German. We have no doubt something will be revealed next week, as he has hung a sign on his door bearing the inscription “Fischen gegangen — zurück Dienstag”. We shall keep you posted by carrier pigeon. So don’t bloody cook or eat it this time!
Public Service Announcement
Lord Cockswain’s Top 5 tips for the endurance of hardship while on Safari.
1. Drink plenty of fluids morning (Gin), noon (Pimms or Claret) and night (Any well salted Islay Single Malt).
2. Do not bring women or children. Dogs, however, make great company and servants, while expendable, are indispensible.
3. Arm for all eventualities. There is no such thing as “over-kill”. It’s “under-kill” you want to avoid!
4. Wear sports attire. While a silk smoking jacket may be appropriate on board your ship, it’s too slippery for Toop wrestling.
5. Keep a log. All real explorers do. Scientists will one day find the answer why.
Not a Grordbort’s Collector yet? Buffoon!
Luckily, you have just run out of excuses, as we have decided to completely forego all sense and sensibility and extend our Dr. Grordbort’s Starter Pack until 7 April. 1x VICTORY, 1x Dingus Directory, 1x Victorious Mongoose — Miniature version and 4x postcards, one of which has been befouled by Greg Broadmore, the rapscallion. Get the whole kit and kaboodle for a measly US$49! That’s what the gun itself normally costs! (Bits of it will also make satisfying gifts, once you have ripped out anything of real value.) Also: Good news from the sweat print shop: The Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory is now in its 4th Print Run! Hazzaah!
Grand Theft FMOM!
At a recent stocktake, it became apparent that somebody has run off with 470 out of the 500 F.M.O.M. Wave Disrupter Guns manufactured by F.M.O.M. Industries and less than 30 remain in the entire Universe! We are currently investigating this atrocity and will keep you posted. Meanwhile, if you need an F.M.O.M. — don’t delay — the remaining 30 will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Unconfirmed reports from the bean counting department suggest the guns have been acquired entirely legally through sale and purchase agreements by customers across the planet, but we refuse to believe this can be the case for so many guns. We always assume foul play!
Dr. Grordbort’s has set up camp in Hongkers!
Hosted and presented by the wizardly Hong Kong based technological upstart CYBERPORT. Richard Taylor Esq. and Greg Broadmore attended the official opening Pomp and Circumstance this week. See more autophosphorescent etchings here!
Have you been insulted by the buffoons on the Forum yet? Go on — it’s a blast!!!
New J!NX Classic Tee: Face Wars
In the old days, people could gauge each other on the merit of their lifetime achievements. A knight could boast of his prowess in battle and show spoils of his conquests. A Pirate had his booty. A farmer had his harvest. Wiseguys kept a tally of all their broken kneecaps. However, now that we are in the age of Digital Faces and Virtual Achievements, how do we determine who is on top? Two words: Cage Match.
The rumors are true — well, the ones regarding Shout!’s forthcoming release of Max Headroom: The Complete Series anyway. We really aren’t in a position to confirm or deny some of those other salacious page-turners. Of course, you do remember Max Headroom. He was the spokesperson of a generation. He did soda commercials, hosted his own music video program and was even in an Art of Noise video back in the day. The eponymous character was the center of the cult favorite, which lasted only 14 episodes in 1987-88. It starred Matt Frewer as a reporter whose mind is downloaded into a computer to create a virtual clone who exists in the digital world. A little ahead of its time perhaps? The cast was rounded out by Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambor and W. Morgan Sheppard. More details to follow as we get closer to the August street date.
Keep up with the latest Shout! news throughout your day by following us on Twitter and Facebook. Plus, visit our YouTube page for trailers, clips and music videos.
The End is near… Bag End!
Check out the third installment in Daniel Falconer’s article series about the creation of a miniature collectible of Bag End from The Lord of the Rings. It’s getting near launch… keep an eye out before Easter!
Only one left: Strider’s Sword Edition #10 — Will it be yours?
Your last chance to own this incredible piece of art as well as fully functional weapon from The Lord of the Rings. Made at the hands of Weta Master Swordsmith Peter Lyon. The other nine swords have already been reserved by collectors. Will number 10 be yours?
New Lord of the Rings merchandise
A New Zealand Map of Middle-earth and a The Dark Lord Sauron T-shirt are available at the Weta Cave and to NZ customers on our website. (Unfortunately our licensing agreement only permits us to sell these to New Zealand customers.) Daniel Falconer designed both! Check them out! AND… The Miniature shields have started arriving in our warehouses. We are experiencing a few customs delays in our US and UK warehouses, but rest assured — we’re processing the orders as soon as we have the all clear!
The Art of District 9 — new book from Weta this year
We’re very pleased to reveal that we are working on an Art Book cataloguing the awesome work Weta’s artists and craftspeople did for Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. We promise to bring you ongoing updates on the progress. In the meantime — please join the friendly crowds in our online forum and tell us what you would like to see in the book! As a member of the forum (did we mention it’s FREE?), you can also Win District 9 Goodies in our forums in a fun competition by our friend and king of the forums, Charles Song.
The Exceptional Exhibition opens in Hong Kong
Richard Taylor and Greg Broadmore are currently in China for the opening of Dr. Grordbort’s Exceptional Exhibition at Cyberport. See the photos we just received!
Easter at the Weta Cave? Or at WonderCon in San Francisco?
Weta’s friend Phil Davis will be at WonderCon at the Moscone Center in SF 2-4 April. Go see him! For those of you who find Miramar, Wellington an easier place to get to, we have a fantastic line-up of guests at the Weta Cave:
Friday 2 April | 10am-11am | Champ the Chopper author Rebekah Palmer
Saturday 3 April | 11am-12pm | Sculpting demonstration with Weta sculptor Gary Hunt
Sunday 4 April | 1pm-3pm | Meet acclaimed Tolkien artist John Howe at a book signing
Monday 5 April | 1pm-2pm | Digital sculpting demonstration with Weta artist Scott Spencer
See the WotWots in person!
Here’s a free activity for parents who are wondering what to do during the school holidays. Take your no doubt grateful kids to see the WotWots in person at a selection of shopping malls in New Zealand and Australia. Check out where and when.
Theatrical Release Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray plus “Prancing Pony” Shirt
Save $5 on this exclusive shirt when you pre-order the Blu-ray. Available only at WBShop.com! Created to celebrate The Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray, and based on the pub where Frodo first meets Aragorn!
Lord of the Rings Boutique!
Visit our boutique for the trilogy in all formats, plus jewelry, posters, and other collectibles.
The first video from Nervous Hands. This song is off their new EP I’m Taking My Own Head, Screwing it on Right, and No Guy’s Gonna Tell Me it Ain’t.
Written & Directed by Matthew Glover — for Pommelhorse Productions.
Director of Photography/Editing: Antonio Aguirre
Production Assistant: Todd Daninger
Production Assistant/Sound: Dan Bob Schlueter
Production Assistant: Amanda Lyn Guerin
Props/Art Direction: Jodi Trotta
Featuring:
Chris Knutson
With:
Adam Fielitz, Amelia English, Sarah Lemanczyk, Mark Nelson, Jodi Trotta, Christopher Kidder, Sasha Walloch, Dylan Fresco, Julie Ann Neville, Amado Sleiman, Robin Dodge Pechuman, Michael Custard, Todd Daninger.
Nervous Hands:
Peter Clowney, Sam Landman, Steve Nelson
Special Thanks:
Kristin Bark, Cindy Framiciscus, Debbie Nichols, Chris Nichols, Julia Clowney, Becky Welander, Sarah Lemanczyk, Kenner, George Lucas, all the guys at Mos Eisley, Han, Lando, Chewy, & “Hoth Leia” (the hottest Leia)
Ever wanted to be in two places at the same time? Now you can.
WowWee has a long history of creating imaginative, high-tech toys, dating back almost 30 years. Originally developing toys for other companies, their focus shifted to their own branding in the late 80s when they began offering robotic toys and remote-controlled animals. As technology advanced, WowWee has stayed at the front of the game, creating unique robotic offerings that incorporate the highest quality and cutting-edge technology while maintaining a beautiful esthetic design.
They offer stylized humanoids, cuddly animals and even a realistic chimpanzee, as well as more traditional robots in both humanoid and creature forms. Their most popular and innovative offering has been the series of Robosapiens, first released in 2004, which have sold millions of units in the past 6 years. Newer models offer a range of multimedia functions including speech capability and user customization.
Taking those multimedia developments to another level, WowWee now introduces the Rovio, a Wi-Fi enabled, programmable, wheeled robot that includes a webcam, microphone and speakers. A step up from other mobile robotic toys, the Rovio is not just a glorified RC car but a useful tool. Because of its Wi-Fi capability, not only can it be programmed to patrol your home so you can check on things when you are away, the Rovio can be used to represent you in meetings, gatherings and just about any other scenario you can imagine.
The Rovio comes with an installation disc but it’s recommended that you get the newest software directly from their website. Once installed, you connect the Rovio via a USB cord to your computer to set it up. When I first plugged it in, it wasn’t recognized. After powering it down a few times, it was finally recognized and from there, it was simple. Initial setup was quick and the interface is easy to use. The quality of the sound is clear both in the speaker and the mic. The video size, quality and speed can be adjusted so if you need a clear picture more than speed or vice versa, it’s as simple as a few clicks.
Moving and controlling the Rovio is easy as well. The interface is accessed by typing the address into a browser. I typically use Chrome, but the speaker and mic functions didn’t work. I tried Firefox and Safari with the same results. When I loaded the interface in Internet Explorer, everything functioned correctly, so keep in mind that you currently must have Internet Explorer loaded on whatever computer you are logging into Rovio with. Moving Rovio is as simple as clicking on one of the directional icons or even clicking on the Rovio icon in the center of the directional pad, dragging and dropping it where you want to go.
While installation, setup and controlling the Rovio is easy, getting the remote access to work might be a challenge. First off, you have to set your wireless router to allow incoming connections. You also need to know the IP address assigned to your Rovio. Most home networks have dynamic IP addresses (changing each time the device is connected to the network). This can cause a problem for you if there is a power outage, or some other situation arises that resets your IP address for the Rovio. When you are home, it’s not a problem because the software includes a utility called Find Rovio that searches for its current IP address and allows you to connect to it. As for finding it when you are away from home, there are free services that will look for your Rovio’s IP address and connect you to it by simply going to the web address you’ve assigned for it, but it does require the purchase of a domain name with the companies offering the service. The average price is about $40 per year for the domain, so if you don’t have your own website to piggyback it off of, you can always choose one of those services to connect to.
Since it can get complicated getting the remote access to work, WowWee tries to make it easier by offering some comprehensive tutorials on YouTube to talk you through each step. Once you get it set up, the possibilities are endless. You can access your Rovio from any internet connection, including your cell phone, PDA or even game systems.
If I had a wish list of things I’d change about the Rovio, I think the biggest issues would be battery life, browsers supported, and the adjustability of the camera. The battery only lasts about an hour so, if you have a larger house, you might want to invest in a second dock so that it can get to the nearest dock wherever it is when the battery runs low. My Rovio died before making it “home” a few times. As I mentioned before, the Rovio is only fully functional at this point if you use Internet Explorer. When I tried adjusting the video settings in IE, the quality would change but not the image size, so while sound and video worked with IE, the video picture wasn’t as sharp or clear as it was with Chrome. As for the neck, it has only 3 positions (as you can see from the image above). It does not rotate or pivot between the mid and upper setting. Granted, I was just chasing my dogs and family around the house, but the camera angle limitations were a bit frustrating.
All in all, the Rovio is fun to play with, easy to use, and has a lot of potential uses. With the frequent software updates offered by WowWee, I’m sure browser support and camera functionality (if not position) will continue to improve.
Features:
Easily control Rovio remotely 24/7 from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Use any web-enabled device: PC or Mac, cell phone, smartphone, PDA or even your video game console.
Rovio detects your computer settings and guides you through the setup process.
Its head-mounted moveable camera and wide range of vision enable you to see and hear exactly what Rovio sees and hears, on your screen.
Set waypoints so that Rovio can navigate itself around your home, without having to control each step yourself!*
At the click of a button, send Rovio back to the charging dock using its self-docking capabilities — even when you are not at home!*
Guide Rovio through dimly lit locations with the aid of its built-in LED headlight.
Rechargeable NiMH battery included
1 x Charging dock with built-in TrueTrack Beacon
3 x Omni-directional wheels
1 x Head-mounted VGA camera
LED illumination
1 x Speaker and 1 x microphone for 2-way audio
USB connectivity
Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11b and 802.11g)
*Rovio requires additional TrueTrack Room Beacons (each sold separately) to navigate or self-dock across multiple rooms.
The Rovio can be purchased through Amazon, or wherever you find your favorite high-tech toys.
Thank You!!
First off, we want to thank everyone for the spreading the word about the plight of our majestic amphibious friends. They are still in terrible danger, but thanks to your efforts, a few young murlocs still have a place to call home.
Fun Facts Contest
As our way of showing our extreme gratitude, the Save the Murlocs Foundation have worked with J!NX and D.E.H.T.A. to bring you the FUN FACTS CONTEST! Just visit our Facebook discussion page and share your stories and anecdotes about murloc living, and you can win a $50 J!NX Gift Certificate!
Autograph fans attending Celebration V in Orlando August 12-15 can look forward to meeting their favorite cast and crew stars from the Star Wars movies, particularly from The Empire Strikes Back, when Official Pix returns to Celebration with a great list of guests.
“We are once again honored to be chosen to produce the autograph program for Lucasfilm, and for Reed Exhibitions at Celebration V,” says Ben Stevens, co-owner of Official Pix.
Stevens and Philip Wise, partners in the company, plan to bring guests whose combined careers span all six episodes of the saga, with special attention to guests from The Empire Strikes Back to honor the 30th anniversary of the beloved movie, and from the popular television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Official Pix will use an efficient fast path system to minimize time spent waiting in line, allowing more time for fans to enjoy the abundance of Star Wars programming at Celebration V. The company is the licensed supplier of authentic Star Wars autographs, and have brought memorable guests to Celebrations II, III, IV, and Japan. Collectors can rest assured that they will get their autographs on high-quality prints of unique images of the stars.
The company plans to use a coupon system at the show, with details soon to be announced. In general, fans will purchase and use an appropriate number of coupons for each autograph. The coupons will be good for autographs on Official Pix Celebration V images, or can be used for autographs on items brought from home. Fans should note that licensed Star Wars products are typically acceptable, but signing non-licensed items, like homemade images or toys, is up to the discretion of each autograph guest.
Collectors who do not wish to wait may purchase previously-signed photos from many of the stars who will be signing in the Official Pix area in the exhibit hall.
Autograph guests who will appear at Celebration V will be announced soon, and new guests will be added and announced as the show draws near. Look for updates at starwarscelebration.com and officialpix.com.
Twi-Hard. A once proud word that has been shockingly cheapened by over-use. It used to mean something. These days, any given twelve year old girl with Team Edward wallpaper on her iPhone can be the star of a “Vampire Fever” cover story photo in USA Today. It’s not right. Just because some soccer mom blows two months of grocery funds on an elaborate face tattoo replicating the iconic “Cullen baseball” scene, that DOES NOT make her a real Twi-Hard, okay? It’s something you earn. It’s something you live.
Forgive our emotion on this issue, but it’s just that Mike, Kevin, and Bill are probably the biggest Twilight fans on the planet. Just survey Kristen Stewart’s file of restraining order requests, and see which names pop up the most (Stephenie Meyer’s file is alarmingly similar). So it should surprise no one that these three sparkly warriors trekked to the theater dozens upon dozens of times to feast upon the sweet succulent cinematic nectar that is New Moon. After the fourteenth viewing, the girl at the ticket counter was unable to make eye contact with them, muttering something about “grown men” under her breath. The pimply popcorn vendor filled his friends’ inboxes with texts like “OMG third time today,” while the theater janitor constantly fought the urge to beat them with his mop. In a word: epic.
But the shame they endured, along with the suffering of their long-neglected wives and children, is your gain. Thanks to these endless, obsessive, life-destroying viewings, Mike, Kevin, and Bill are able to present this RiffTrax of New Moon on the eve of its DVD release. Let’s just hope that, now that the ride is over, they can put their lives back together once and for all (they’re not making any more of these movies, right?).
