That's What I've Been Saying

Pocket Edward looks like David Boreanaz. Except Angel is way less of a control freak than Edward. And way cooler.

Thank God I was a middle school girl during the Buffy era.

Better Than 'Across the Unvierse'

Check out the trailer for the Beatles Rock Band. I've never actually played the game, but the trailer is really well done.





My favorite part? The penguins jumping.

For a Rainy Thursday

This makes me want to snuggle.


It also reminds me of Toy Story, and how toys are secretly alive. Which makes me feel really guilty about not playing with them anymore.

Meet Rebecca

Remember how pissed I was about American Girl retiring Samantha? They haven't entirely won be back yet, but I am interested in their new Jewish-American doll, Rebecca Rubin.

One thing I will say about American Girl--they take a lot of care in developing their historical dolls. With Native American Kaya, they did a lot of research with various tribes in order to find one that would have valued girls as members of the community in the 1600s. And it sounds like the same care has been taken with Rebecca.

"The preliminary research that led to Rebecca’s development started in 2000, said Shawn Dennis, the senior vice president for marketing. American Girl had wanted to do a doll focused on the immigrant experience. After work by two in-house historical researchers, and interviews with focus groups, it was decided to make the character Jewish.

'Russian-Jewish immigration, that group has an effect on the labor movement, that group has an effect on the burgeoning Hollywood entertainment business,' Ms. Dennis said. 'We thought it would have the makings of what would be a relatable story to tell.'"

I think this is a good move. When I worked at one of the American Girl stores, a girl came up to me and asked if we had any more menorahs. (Former 'Girl of the Year' doll Lindsey was Jewish.) It made me so sad to say no! As a ten year-old, I loved the holiday books; this little girl didn't get the same experience. Until now.

Of course, it is also weird that Rebecca lives in a New York tenement and the doll is priced around $95. But as long as it teaches girls about lives different than their own, that's the important thing.

Even so, I still want them to bring back Samantha.

It's Not Easy Being Green

"First Celebrity Swine Flu Fatality
And we all know who gave it to him……………"

Hehehe. Love hurts.

The Future Sucks

Since Star Wars, movie studios have learned that movie-tie-ins, especially toys, are huge sellers. Why just make a profit from the film when you can make a profit with every single item you could possibly sell? Enter this summer's tie-in products.

My favorite? The 7-11 Terminator Slurpees. These are supposed to be intense robots, not things you can suck crushed iced through. If robots are going to take over the future, at least they'll probably stop making stuff like this, so more power to them.

Push Me!

Lucky BART riders! I want a swing on the T!

Slide Fail

Pandas, you really need to work on your image.

Chicks Dig the Car

I'm not a huge car person, but I am impressed with the Batmobile replication. (Okay, it's the Batmobile from Batman Forever, but at least it wasn't from the one with poor Alicia Silverstone and Chris O'Donnell.) It was designed by Bob Causey and is actually driveable.

More pictures through the link!

Causey also helped build a replica Batmobile from The Dark Knight. Sweet!

Does It Open on a Hinge?

Check out this life-sized dollhouse by Canadian artist Heather Benning. She found an abandoned farmhouse and decided to transform it into a giant version of the toy beloved by many young children.

While most exterior walls were left alone, one side was removed and replaced with Plexiglass to provide the dollhouse-y, voyeuristic look. Inside, the rooms were painted bright colors and filled with 1960s furniture. (The farmhouse was abandoned in the 60s.)

As a kid who was wild about dollhouses, I think this is pretty neat. And again, I love wild public art, so this was right up my alley.

Road trip to Canada, anyone?

Quack Attack

Weird public art is awesome. Like this giant ducky by artist Florentijn Hofman! The title of the piece is "Rubber Duck" and it was floated in the Loire, in France in 2007.

From the artist's website:

"The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn't discriminate people and doesn't have a political connotation. The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties: it can relieve tensions as well as define them. The rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages!"

I love artists who use exclamation points in happy ways!

Stuff like this makes me so happy. It's not pretentious or obnoxious. It surprises people in their daily lives and makes them reassess their world, sure, but it's also just so delightful. Hurrah for Florentijn!

The Peanut Gallery

Milton Berle plus Muppets? I am in love.

My Little Pony (Movie) Tales

Freakin' brilliant. My Little Pony takes on classic film characters. And they did such a great job! The pony is definitely an artistic medium.

A few favorites:






They kind of remind me of the Dr. Horrible ponies.

Still Better Than Babalities

Get over here!

Art, with Jaundice

Legos are some of the coolest toys ever. Even as adults, you can have fun with them. The latest Lego creativity find involves great works of art. A few favorites:

They're frowning because their block crop didn't come in well this year.

Girl with the plastic earring.

Lego hands make this even cuter.

Help Me, Squeaky One. You're My Only Hope

Watch out, ducky!

Oh My God

I'm both really disturbed and really jealous. And I'd probably laugh like crazy if this Adult Big-Wheeler rode by.

But it did lead me to find that the Big Wheel (for kids) is still around. That warms my heart.

Beachcombers For the Win

Things you expect to find when you're walking by the shore:

• seashells
• seaweed
• seafoam
• maybe some trash

Something you might not expect to find:

• an 8-ft tall Lego Man

And yet one of these guys washed up on the shores of Brighton in England. No one knows where he came from. Everyone's first guess is Denmark, because of Legoland, but a Lego spokesperson says Lego has nothing to do with it. So who else has an 8-ft tall Lego Man but the actual company? And if it's a rogue Lego Man, how in the world did someone lose him? Wouldn't this be something you'd want to keep track of?

Either way, the people of Brighton love him.

"A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said town hall officials had no idea of the origin of the Lego man, but added that they saw no difficulty in letting it stay on the beach where it washed up.

He said: 'There's no problem at all. It will be interesting to see how long the Lego man stays there for. We'll keep an eye on it.'"

Brighton was always the place where trouble happened in Jane Austen novels. Maybe the Giant Lego Man was just looking for a good time and loose Giant Lego Women?

The Rainbow Connection

My life would be so much better with my very own Muppet.


It's coming soon to FAO Schwarz. So they'll each be $35,000, but can you really put a price on being able to walk around with a hysterical piece of foam on your hand?

Changes for Samantha

I guess 104 is too old. Samantha Parkington, aka American Girl's Victorian doll, is being retired.

What the fuck, American Girl? What. The. Fuck.

I loved Samantha. After reading The Secret Garden and A Little Princess I was primed for the adventures of a smart, sassy Victorian orphan. Plus her doll. It was like Pleasant T. Rowland had developed this idea of historical fiction plus toys just for me.

But now they tell me Samantha has to go away. That it will help them develop new dolls. Come on, AG. I know you sell a lot. Why are you pushing Samantha to the side? Why do you have to get rid of anyone? Hell, if you have to, get rid of those damn Best Friend dolls. Who needs them? Or that new chick, Julie, from the 1970's.

I wish I weren't upset about this. It's a doll, right? Seems kind of stupid. But it was a nice part of my childhood and I'm sad that girls won't get to experience that anymore.

On the American Girl website, you can share stories about how Samantha has affected your life. I don't want stories! I want more tiny accessories!

From the article:

"As an early American Girl enthusiast who also happened to own a Samantha doll, this announcement made me feel like a birthday girl who just realized Eddie Ryland salted her ice cream. (In other words, super-pissed)."

Damn straight, Kate Ward.

Good-bye, Samantha. We barely knew ye.