Amazon Taunts Me: Summer Edition

Author: Stephen Gerding May 12th, 2008 No Comments »

I actually like that Amazon sends me sporadic emails full of “You bought X recently, maybe you’ll like Y!” suggestions, but sometimes it just makes me sad. This morning, for instance, I received an email because I buy toys online from time to time. You know - for the kid and her friends. At any rate, it was the summer toys email, full of inflatable water games and the like. Generally nothing special, and I’ve gotten used to not owning a pool so I gloss over most of them. However, right now I’m a very, very sad nerd dad because there’s no chance in hell I’d be able to fit this beauty in my lovely, ultra tiny and concrete covered SoCal backyard.


Instead, I think we’re gonna settle on getting this little guy. For our daughter, that is. I hope she understands…

Slide N\' Splash Whale Pool
General, Toys

Insane Bubble Machine

Author: Stephen Gerding April 22nd, 2008 No Comments »

Got this for some summer fun the other day while at TRU. Not in the summer toy section, mind you, but in the new pets area. The bubble solution smells - and supposedly tastes - kind of like barbecue chicken. Amazon sells one too, sans food-flavoring.

JumBubbler


General, Toys

TRU Putting All It’s Eggs In The Mach 5’s Glove Compartment?

Author: Stephen Gerding April 21st, 2008 No Comments »

Walking into the local TRU, you’d think it was owned by Warner Brothers or something. They have a fairly massive Speed Racer display in the front of the store, greeting arriving customers with the electric neon look we’ve all already started to associate with the movie. Additionally, they have a random end cap display or two set up over in the action figure/car section of the store across the way. Judging by the semi-depleted pegs, either this TRU didn’t get a full shipment, or people are genuinely into the idea of the movie…or at least the toy tie-ins.

speedracer_tru_1.jpg


More hi-quality camera phone pics after the jump.

Read More »

Movie/TV, Toys

Watchmen Figures Debut @ NYCC

Author: AF Duncan April 18th, 2008 4 Comments »
Watchmen action figures

Rorschach action figure

Movie/TV, Comics, Toys, Conventions

Dollar Store Bargain - The 99 Cent Radio

Author: Stephen Gerding April 16th, 2008 No Comments »

During my bi-weekly trip to the local 99¢ Store, I came across the following iPod-styled FM radio and, quite frankly, had the buy one. Take a look for yourself and tell me you could resist.

GoRadio!


Cracking the plastic casing open took a little bit of slice and dice, but once I had the radio freed I was pretty stoked to find out that the photo of the dude blowing the sax is permanently stuck to the radio and not just some teasing insert! Bonus Points!

You go, GoRadio!

The functionality is predictably limited. You can change stations only by clicking on the “Scan” side of the disc. Clicking “Reset” takes you all the way back to the beginning, and there’s absolutely no indicator of what station you’re currently tuned to. That said, the reception is impressively strong and within seconds of plugging the earbuds into the jack, I was listening to the dulcet tones of the Tom Tom Club.

GoRadio in the palm of my hand


For a buck, I wasn’t expecting anything much, so I’m pleasantly surprised to be writing this post with the earbuds comfortably pumping music into in my head-holes. Just think - without GoRadio, I may never have known Mariah Carey wrote a song telling her man they can have sex but he better not have the video pop up on YouTube! Oh, silly Mariah…

General, Music, Toys, Radio

Dark Spirit Pretty Much Confirmed

Author: Stephen Gerding April 15th, 2008 4 Comments »

Looks like this confirms that he movie Spirit will be dressed in black rather than blue, unless the Photoshop monkeys at DC made a huge mistake. From the product description (emphasis mine):

This 1:6 scale figure is clothed in an authentically detailed film outfit including suit, overcoat, hat and non-removable mask. Manufactured to order. Packaged in a deluxe 4-color window box with a fifth panel.

I think it looks fine, but yeah, I’m kind of disappointed we’ll be losing the iconic blue suit. Not enough to want to even think about dropping $99.95 for this thing, but enough to still be interested in the movie.

"The Spirit" figure
Movie/TV, Comics, Toys

Nifty: The Visible Pinball Project

Author: AF Duncan March 21st, 2008 No Comments »

I love pinball, which, much like vinyl, will never ever be as popular as it once was but is just way too awesome to ever completely die. So, I was happy to have stumbled upon the very cool Visible Pinball Project, a working, see-through pinball machine that shows how the ingenious devices do what they do.

This is definitely the kind of thing I’d find in World Magazine or a National Geographic book or whatever as a kid and pore over for hours…and then ultimately retain none of the visual or practical information. Anyway, more pics HERE.

pinball.jpg
General, Toys

Exclusive NY Comic Con Biggie Smalls Vinyl Figure

Author: Stephen Gerding March 18th, 2008 2 Comments »

A lot - an awful lot - of KFR Google-related traffic has to do with the vinyl Biggie figures we posted about almost two years ago, so I figured I’d let people know about this. The New York Comic Con has listed their con exclusive items to be sold at their April 18-20 show, and a special repaint of the Biggie fig is among the items you can get in your grubby little, hip-hop loving hands. At $30, it’s pretty darn inexpensive.

Biggie - Yellow JerseyThe Notorious B.I.G. Yellow Jersey Exclusive

Notorious B.I.G. (aka Christopher G. Wallace) is an all-time great, an unparalleled storyteller, and a man whose talent can only be compared to the size of his legend. The Notorious B.I.G. action figure stands 9″ tall and will captivate Biggie fans of all shapes and sizes. This exclusive version available at New York Comic Con features Biggie decked out in the outfit he rocked in his Juicy video. It includes a removable towel, gold chain, sunglasses, and microphone. Only 2000 have been produced and will be available at the Mezco Toys Booth (1041) for $30.

Comics, Toys