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February 22, 2012 Posted by : Kay

Geek Has No Signature Look

Category : Clothing Design, Elementary, Health and Beauty, Teens, TV, Movies, and Music, Tweens

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“People who know me know / That I try not to say too much just with my clothes.” –Hank Green

Ask a random stranger to describe a quintessential geek and, after they ask what quintessential means, they may cheerfully describe a scrawny, bespectacled introvert wearing ill-fitting clothes that might look stylish…on their grandparents. However, if the random stranger happens to be a geek, they may already know the definition of quintessential, and they will probably be wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

I think Hank Green sings it best in hhis upbeat ode, T-Shirt and Jeans:

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Kay Holt has a habit of getting science on everything.

 

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February 22, 2012 Posted by : Andrea Schwalm

The STEMmy Awards: 2012 Toy Fair Toys that Promote STEM skills in Girls

Category : Toys

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Recently,  I wrote about the many log-jams in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) career pipeline, particularly as this pertains to young women, and suggested that one possible solution to this issue was:

From a very young age, parents can promote a love of science, technology, engineering and math in the home through the toys they purchase and the activities they do with their children…additionally, parents should work to banish the stereotype of “the grim scientist in the white lab coat” from their child’s mind by making a point to introduce young children to scientists at every opportunity…

This precept was also one of my guiding principles as I walked the floor of New York’s Javits Center last week covering the 2012 Toy Fair: I wanted to find the toys that were teaching STEM skills and shaping positive STEM attitudes in children, particularly girls. As I walked through the Toy Fair I saw many exhibits proudly displaying awards from parent magazines as well as the toy industry and decided that to guide my Toy Fair experience, I would create my own award: The STEMmy.

Like all good awards, the STEMmy required criteria. Questions I asked when (mentally) bestowing this award were:

  • Does the toy promote STEM skill development?
  • Does the toy embrace “girl culture”? In other words, can a girl still feel and act like a girl while playing with this toy?
  • Does the toy widen the narrow cultural definitions of “scientist”?
  • What does the advertising for the company look like? Are girls represented equally? Adequately?

Here are my 2012 Toy Fair STEMmy recipients:

Eitech Ferris Wheel Metal Building Kit. Photo credit: EitechAmerica.com

C17 Eitech Ferris Wheel Metal Building Kit by Eitech ($149.39).

Product description: “1200 parts help you construct the rotating upright wheel and brightly colorful passenger cars. Step-by-step, easy-to-follow illustrated instructions are included. Includes gear motor (i=1:84) and illustrated instructions and tools for easy building (ages 8 years and up).”

Andrea says: Hands-down, the Eitech toys, Germany’s version of the erector set, were my favorite exhibit at Toy Fair. I loved the image the sales rep generated when she told me that “a girl and her dad” would probably take about 12 hours to build the ferris wheel pictured above. In addition to the ferris wheel, there were a Tower Bridge, an Eiffel Tower (with lights), and a motorized crane that all made my hands itch they looked so fun to build! The catalog does an excellent job of alternating pictures of boys and girls playing with the toys on each page–though the website still seems boy-heavy in its’ imagery.

Cultural caveat: The sales rep explained that these toys are made as a side line by a German steel manufacturer and that they are actually integrated into the German elementary school curriculum. Because American children would have less exposure to this system, these kits are probably more appropriate for slightly-older American children.

 

Cosmetics and Perfume science kits by Thames and Kosmos. Photo credit: Andrea Schwalm

Creative Cosmetics and Perfume Science kits by Thames & Kosmos.

Product description Creative Cosmetics: “Experience the beautiful side of biology and chemistry with this unique collection of experiments. The 32-page, full-color book guides you through the science and history of cosmetics, and gives dozens of beauty recipes and techniques. Activities include: mixing own personalized cosmetics, discovering what cosmetics are made of, and studying the biology of skin, hair, and nails. Ages 12 and up. The cosmetics in this kit were developed humanely, without animal testing.”

Product description Perfume Science: “Follow your nose on a fragrant journey through the science, history, and art of making perfumes. Experiment with countless fragrance combinations on your way to becoming a master perfumer. Start by learning about how your nose and brain work together to perceive smells. Next, play some games with scents to train your nose. After a look at the history of fragrances and the current theories behind perfume design, you will be ready to start making your own perfumes. Activities include: extracting fragrances from plants, designing your own fragrances, and making special scented crafts. Ages 10 and up. The perfume oils in this kit were developed humanely, without animal testing.”

Andrea says: The company Thames & Kosmos has created dozens of award-worthy, comprehensive, hands-on kits covering a broad range of science sub-specialties–from physics to construction to biology to alternative energy (and beyond)–but the two kits that seemed most worthy of girl-friendly, STEMmy accolades were their cosmetics and perfume products.

 

Little Bits magnetic electronic components Starter Kit. Photo credit: SparkFun.com

Little Bits Starter Kit ($89).

Product Description: “LittleBits is an open source system of modular electronics that snap together with tiny magnets for prototyping and play. Each bit has a simple, unique function (light, sound, sensors, etc), and modules snap to make larger circuits. Included in the kit are 10 color coded modules (power, input, output, and wire) that snap together magnetically to create larger circuits, guaranteed to keep kids (or you) occupied for hours. Not for children under 3.”

Andrea says: I defy anyone to see these little modular magnetic electronic components without wanting to touch them. The girl-friendly grape, pink, orange, and lime-colored pieces  come together with a satisfying magnetic tug and seem like an excellent tool for teaching early-elementary kids how to create electronic circuits. The $89 price tag is not cheap but could come down with time.

Incidental facts: Ayah Bdeir, the creator of Little Bits, is a graduate of MIT’s Media Lab and a TED Fellowship recipient scheduled to speak at the 2012 TED Talks.

 

Blinkin Bracelet. Photo credit: Mydazzu.com.

Dazzu Blinkin’ Bracelet (price currently unavailable-new for 2012).

Product description: “Make fun, creative projects then by using a computer, tablet, or smartphone you’ll enjoy programming your unique creations and sharing your programs and projects with friends online. Each kit contains programmable, interactive lights plus all the materials needed to create a one-of-a-kind, unique project.Spice up craft projects with interactive lights
that you program right from your computer, tablet or smartphone!”

Andrea says: I like to think of the Blinkin Bracelet as a gateway toy to the Arduino Lilypad. What I especially appreciated  about this toy is that it doesn’t just say to little girls “put me on and feel beautiful.” Through a patented system akin to bluetooth, girls take an active role in styling their bracelet, in that they can manipulate the rhythm of the LEDs on the light strip that comes with this bracelet cuff–all while beginning their e-textile journey…

Fun fact: In the future, the maker of the Blinkin Bracelet hopes to partner with Pantone’s “color of the month” so that girls can regularly download new colors for their bracelets by revisiting the Dazzu website!

 

Doc McStuffins Doll, part of Disney Jr's new lineup. Photo credit: Andrea Schwalm.

Doc McStuffins' medical kit. Photo credit: Andrea Schwalm.

“Time for your Checkup” Doc Doll (With Lambie) by Just Play in coordination with Disney Jr.  ($34.99-Aug. 2012).

Product Description: “Girls can bring home their new friend and sing along to the entire ‘check-up’ song with Doc as they nurture their own toys. Doc comes to life, speaking more than 10 phrases and can bring her friend Lambie to life with the touch of her stethoscope, which activates with lights and sounds.”

Andrea says: Many of the hurdles for women entering STEM careers  that I mentioned in my previous article had to do with attitudes, emotions and “cultural impressions.” At TEDxWomen last December, this issue was summed up repeatedly by the phrase “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

The truth is that by kindergarten, many children have already formed negative impressions of scientists because the exposure they have to the concept is outdated and stereotypical. This is why I have to give Disney props for their Doc McStuffins doll. The doll (and accompanying television show, slated to begin airing in March on the new Disney Jr. channel) give girls, particularly girls of color, a whole new way to see science and lab coats. The brief look at the show that I had recently also looked very promising…

 

Smartmax magnetic building rods are for boys and girls. Photo credit: Andrea Schwalm.

Girls can accessorize their Smartmax building system with pink cars and flowers. Photo credit: Andrea Schwalm

HONORARY MENTION: SmartMax Magnetic Discovery Basic 25 Building Set ($49.99) and Flower Fun set (new for 2012).

Product description: “This SmartMax Magnetic Discovery Basic Building Set from Smart/Tangoes USA is an open-ended play system sure to engage and entertain kids for hours. You will be amazed at the intricate structures kids will build with the colorful pieces – a combination of long bars, short bars, and 1.8″ diameter metal balls, all chunky and easy for little hands to manipulate. The magnet strength in each piece is just right for keeping them connected while letting go with a slight tug for deconstruction. The SmartMax Magnetic Discovery Building Sets all include a colorfully-illustrated model guide that teaches kids about magnets, and shows them ways to strengthen their structures and how to build towers and bridges. Extension sets sold separately. Ages 1 & up.”

Andrea says: I thought that the flower and pink car add-on sets to the Smartmax magnetic building system were very girl-friendly! A quick look at their website shows that they are changing their advertising to include more girls playing with their toys, too.

 

HONORARY MENTION: Swann Communication’s Micro Lightning – Gyro Balanced Remote Controlled Helicopter ($69.99-pink new for 2012).

Product description: “A high tech co-axial gyroscope system makes the Swann Micro Lightning easy to control and easy to enjoy. It’s also fully constructed and ready to fly – there is no setup or counterweighting required! The video game styled controller features two analog control sticks and a trim controller – all of which can be operated with little or no practice. This aerial assassin operates like a bolt from the blue and can be taken anywhere that fun is allowed! The Swann Micro Lightning is easy to re-charge on-the-go using the attachment on the remote control or via your computer’s USB port. Ages 11 and up.”

Andrea says: There is no question who this particular helicopter was designed for–this is a girl’s remote control helicopter–and I wanted to give kudos to Swann for releasing a product that says, “Ladies: You’re welcome in the hobby shop, too!” (Next stop: pink heli kits that get girls building and hacking!)

 

Of course, there are many great STEM-skill toys on the market for girls. These were just the toys that made a particular impact on me as I walked the floor of the 2012 Toy Fair. What toys would you add to the list?

Andrea has two jobs, two kids, and can't find her car keys. She was on Team Jacob, thinks Katniss and Gale would have ultimately made each other miserable, and firmly believes that fast zombies are against the rules. She adores serial commas and lives on Long Island.

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February 22, 2012 Posted by : Nicole Wakelin

On Explaining Wheaton’s Law

Category : Geek Life

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PAX East 2010 with Wil Wheaton, Image: Nicole Wakelin

The day you have kids, you have to change your language. I don’t mean you have to learn a new one, but that you have to start eliminating all the words you don’t want them to use once they’re old enough to talk. This is not an easy task. Once you try to stop saying the words that got you in trouble back in grade school, you’ll suddenly become very aware of just how much they sneak into your vocabulary. It may be okay for adults, but not when it’s your toddler who has latched onto a word and is gleefully saying “Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!” as you do your grocery shopping. It’s awful. Trust me.

Thankfully, my kids are now old enough to know better, and they know that if they say something they shouldn’t, then there are going to be consequences. This doesn’t mean I don’t slip up, particularly when I’m driving. It’s hard to spontaneously say “Oh, sugar!” when someone cuts you off because what comes to mind is considerably more colorful. Like most kids, mine surely know a few choice words but don’t dare use them, yet.

Of all the places not to swear, the worst one, the one where you have to be the most careful, is at a school. I accidentally said damn in my daughter’s first grade class and I felt lucky that I wasn’t reported and escorted from the building. They take this stuff seriously. The worst part is that you’re likely to get that look from the teacher, the one that made you want to hide under your desk when you were a kid. The only problem is that those desks are small and if you hide under one as an adult you risk flipping it over and that would probably be worse.

I am very, very careful to use only proper English anytime I’m at the school. I’m kinda proud, truthfully, and a little amazed that I haven’t slipped since that one time in first grade. You try to keep your cool when a kid accidentally squirts you with grape juice, or gets paint on your new shoes. I’m telling you, it is not easy.

One day last week I started chatting with a bunch of moms as we waited for our kids in the foyer at the end of the schoolday. The conversation turned to someone who was being a pain in the butt. (See, I said butt, not something more colorful. I can do this.) We were all in agreement that this person was being awful, and annoying and making things difficult for the rest of us. I shook my head and said the first thing that came to mind, Wheaton’s Law, and the minute that those two little words left my lips I knew I was in trouble.

These moms were not geeks. Not even close. They didn’t know Star Trek from Star Wars, Hobbits from Ewoks, or that Han shot at all, much less first. And they most definitely didn’t know Wheaton’s Law. It became one of those moments when the whole world slowed as they turned to look at me with that unmistakable expression of utter confusion and suspicion.

I tried to explain. Wil Wheaton? The guy who played Wesley on Star Trek? Sheldon’s nemesis on The Big Bang Theory? Nothing. They looked at me like I had a few screws loose. I tried to save myself by explaining that he’s this big-time geek and he has a blog and he has this idea that people should be nice to each other and not nasty and he summed it all up with Wheaton’s Law. I desperately tried to avoid saying the actual law.

So, of course, one mom asked what it actually was and I wanted to go hide under a desk again. Saying it meant saying a word that was clearly not acceptable in a grade school. The kind of word that will make kids giggle, and parents cast disapproving looks, but I was out of options. “Don’t be a dick.”, I said, and at that moment two girls exited the bathroom not three feet away, heard me, and giggled and whispered their way back to class. I am not even kidding.

What went through my head was a string of words that I didn’t say. I smiled and laughed it off as the other moms mostly smiled back. Although I did get a few shocked and disapproving looks. I couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t my fault this time. I tried not to say it, I really, really did, and it’s not my fault those little girls walked out of the bathroom at exactly that moment. I didn’t even know they were in there and, ugh. Darn you, Wil Wheaton, you’re gonna get me in trouble!

EDITOR’S NOTE: For geeky alternatives to bad words, see Brigid Ashwood’s post on “creative cursing!”

Nicole is mom to two wonderful little Geek Girls. You can find her writing about her geek obsessions over at TotalFanGirl.com and hear her on The GeekMoms Podcast as well as Sith Heads: Star Wars the Old Republic Podcast and The D6 Generation Podcast.

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February 22, 2012 Posted by : Kris Bordessa

Downton Abbey Paper Dolls

Category : Craft Room, Family Room, Printable Fun, TV, Movies, and Music

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Season two is over and you’re pining for a little Downton Abbey action, right? Worry not, GeekMoms! If you’ve already dished about the latest Downton Abbey episode here on GeekMom and you’ve followed our Downton Abbey pin board, you can get your fix with these Downton Abbey paper dolls. Paper dolls. Take a minute to appreciate the Dowager Countess’s facial expressions. Or the fact that yes, a dead Mr. Pamuk is part of the package.

Image: screenshot of Vulture.com

Kris Bordessa is the voice behind Attainable Sustainable: Reviving the Lost Art of Self-Sufficiency. She's authored several hands-on books for kids, including Team Challenges: Group Activities to Build Cooperation, Communication, and Creativity. She lives in Hawai‘i with her husband, two teens, 5 million Legos, and 5 ‘ukuleles.

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February 21, 2012 Posted by : Melissa Wiley

Downton Abbey: The Christmas Special

Category : TV, Movies, and Music

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Ahhh, now that’s what I want in a season-ender. The right blend of suspense, catharsis, and satisfaction.

Below this photo, there be spoilers…

How much would you love to see them on Dancing With the Stars?

As always, I hardly know where to begin. Let’s start with who was missing: Sybil and Branson. Sounds like things are going well for them in Ireland, and I’m glad Lady Cora made it clear to Lord Grantham that she will not be deprived of the joy of visits with her grandchild. But I missed Branson’s spark and Sybil’s velvety voice. I hope we’ll see more of them in Season 3. Because, yes, I am already counting the days.

Sir Richard just got nastier and nastier—all that grumbling over the servants getting a little down time. (Where down time = preparing a giant feast, cleaning and decorating the whole house, doing everything they always do plus more besides, BUT HEY!, after they’ve hauled all the food to the dining room THEY DON’T HAVE TO WALK AROUND THE TABLE PUTTING IT ON PLATES. Slackers.) And the constant babysitting of Mary, getting rough with her, berating her semi-publicly. It’s true she was cold and brusque with him. It would be hard not to be, with a man who’d informed you that one step out of line and he’d bring public disgrace upon your family.

And that was my one disappointment: in their break-up scene, I kept waiting for Mary to put it to him clearly. How could she love him, or even feel at ease with him, ever, after his threats and bullying? She actually apologized to him, for pete’s sake. He needed to hear it bluntly: he thought he’d purchased her, and although she was willing to go into business with him, essentially, merging their assets—her social position; his fortune—she was not willing to be owned. He tried to bribe her most trusted servants into spying on him. I think she should have spelled this out for him crystal-clear, sort of a grim version of Elizabeth Bennet’s “had you behaved in a more gentlemanly manner” speech to Darcy.

But the development and pace of the Mary-Matthew thread satisfied me immensely. What did you think?

Mary was hilarious in the game of charades—excuse me, “this isn’t charades, this is the game.” Her irritation at the others for failing to decipher her inscrutable gestures. And Dame Maggie was at her blistering best in that scene:

VIOLET: “Sir Richard, life is a game in which the player must appear ridiculous.”

RICHARD: “Not my life.”

CORA: “Sir Richard, your turn!”  

VIOLET: “How soon your your maxim will be tested.”

Having come to appreciate Edith, I was disappointed to see her backburnered once again. Loved her line: “Do you think I’m going to give up on someone who calls me lovely?” Even though the remark, and the relationship, were left hanging in a sorrowful silence, I think we haven’t seen the last of Sir Anthony. (Is he a Sir? I can’t remember.)

Okay, the Bates trial. NUMBER ONE: I’m glad Anna married him, glad she got those visits to prison. NUMBER TWO: Not impressed with Bates’s lawyers, nor with Lord Grantham, who fell apart the moment the questions got probing. Interesting that all the worst evidence against Bates seems to have come from Bates’s own statements: what O’Brien saw and heard, what Bates said to Lord Grantham about his horrible wife, the scratch on his head after his return from London. I was longing for a fiery William Garrow-style cross-examination by the defense. But I suppose we need to save some drama for season three…Well, Anna and Bates are certainly stoic enough to wait it out. I loved their sad, sweet parting.

I’m still wondering about the possibility that O’Brien’s the guilty party. Her eyes were black holes of pain during the whole episode, except the silly planchette board scenes, and she had a couple of cryptic remarks. Perhaps they were red herrings. Logistically, a case against her seems sketchy—did she sneak to London (no easy feat for a lady’s maid) and slip poison into Mrs. Bates’s tea or something? The m.o. actually fits O’Brien’s history; we’ve seen her act similarly before, plotting a somewhat impulsive crime—”the soapslip affair,” to quote a recent search hit in my blog stats. I realize “plotting an impulsive crime” is a self-contradicting phrase, but that’s what she did with the soap. Got all inflamed with rage and came up with a way to hurt Lady Cora that took a tiny bit of planning but was carried out still in that first flush of rage. And then she immediately regretted it, “This is not who you are,” and turned back to pick up the perilous soap, but alas, she was too late.

So I can believe that O’Brien might decide the only way to do penance for the pain she caused by vindictively meddling in Bates’s affairs was to remove the source of the problem. And I can imagine her whisking off to London on her half-day (does she get a half-day?) and pretending to have information for Mrs. Bates. I can picture a conversation between them, O’Brien speaking convincingly of her intense dislike of Bates and Anna, Mrs. Bates nodding with narrowed eyes, and when Mrs. Bates’s back is turned, O’Brien slips some poison into her cup. The arsenic Mr. Bates bought is a coincidence. That’s my theory. I don’t know if I buy it, myself, but I think I find it more plausible than Mrs. Bates actually suiciding….

But I digress.

I’ll leave Thomas to you in the comments (oh, Thomas!), and that very sweet scene between Daisy and her father-in-law. :)

Oh yes, and then there was the distraction-thread of Lady Rosamund’s betrayal. Have at it.

Episode Five recap.
Episode Six recap.

Melissa Wiley writes books for children and teens. She lives in San Diego with her comic-book-writing husband, a half dozen kids between the ages of two and sixteen, and about three thousand books. Melissa blogs about her reading life and her family's "tidal homeschooling" adventures at Here in the Bonny Glen. You can find her on Twitter and Google+.

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February 21, 2012 Posted by : Amy Kraft

Toy Fair 2012: Toys for GeekTots

Category : Toddlers, Toys

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Every year I begin Toy Fair the same way, strolling the aisle searching for the big trends and narratives of the show, and every year I end up gravitating to the same things: toys that I would buy for my kids right now. All my six-year-old wanted was news about Skylanders, so I found myself looking at toys that would appeal to my 21-month-old. These are some of the best toys I found for toddlers.

Tegu blocks, now with wheels. Photo: Amy Kraft

Tegu Blocks

I fell in love with these smooth wood magnetic blocks at last year’s Toy Fair, and this year they’ve added mobility. The magnetic wheels pop right onto any Tegu blocks. These blocks don’t come cheap (car building sets are $38), so I’ve permanently put them on the grandparent wish list, and they came through with a set this past Christmas. We’ll need the wheels come birthday time.

Irregularly-shaped blocks from Brinca Dada. Photo: Amy Kraft

Brinca Dada Blocks

Speaking of blocks I can’t afford, I love the shapes and colors of these new sets from Brinca Dada, which retail for $59. I need to stay far, far away from the Brinca Dada booth. Last year the thing I coveted most at Toy Fair was their super-deluxe Dylan House dollhouse. I still want it. (You know… for the kids.)

Rubik's Blocks from Jakks Pacific. Photo: Amy Kraft

Rubik’s Toys from Jakks Pacific

Okay, I’ll lay off the expensive hardwoods long enough to tell you about this new block line from Jakks Pacific based on Rubik’s Cube. I’d love to see some research done to see if playing with these blocks as a toddler can enhance your ability to solve a Rubik’s Cube later in life.

Pretend play camping sets from Campfire Kids. Photo: Amy Kraft

Campfire Kids Camping Sets

Upon discovering these delightful campground sets from Campfire Kids, I have determined that every kid needs a toy ax. So many pretend play possiblities!

Duplo building board books from Lego. Photo: Amy Kraft

Lego Building Books

Of course Duplo blocks are always a good bet for little builders, but now Lego has incorporated some storytelling into the building. This Busy Farm set comes with the book plus all of the blocks to make the animals on each page: a sheep, a pig, a rooster, and a cow. There’s also Let’s Go! Vroom! featuring vehicles, and Grow Caterpillar Grow with cute little critters.

Stacking cups and teethers from Green Toys. Photo: Amy Kraft

Green Toys

Our living room floor is currently covered in stackers and vehicles from Green Toys, so you could call us fans of these lovely toys made from recycled milk containers. Some new things in their line caught my eye, including the Twist Teether and the volumetrically accurate Stacking Cups. All of the cups are numbered, and you can pour them into each other to work on some early equations. Fill cups one and two, and pour them to fill cup three!

Count 'Em Up Popcorn from Learning Resources. Photo: Amy Kraft

Count ‘Em Up Popcorn

I like this Count ‘Em Up Popcorn game from Learning Resources both as an early math manipulative (see how perfectly the right amount of popcorn fits into each container) but also for pretend play. I can see my six-year-old setting up a movie concession stand with this one.

Anamalz. Photo: Amy Kraft

Anamalz

Yes, they’re hand-painted and made from sustainable woods and azo-dye-and-formaldehyde-free fabrics, but I really like these Anamalz environmental toys because they’re super cute!

Donkey and Elephant from Topozoo. Photo: Amy Kraft

Topozoo Animals

New to the line of Topozoo animal-building playsets are a donkey and an elephant. I think we should all buy both for our kids and teach them how to mix the two together.

Previous Toy Fair 2012 posts:

A Sampling of Toy Fair 2012

Oh, Lego, I Can’t Stay Mad at You!

Skylanders Has Giant News

Also, if Skylanders is your game, I’m giving away the Toy-Fair-exclusive Cynder on Media Macaroni, and Anton is giving it away on GeekDad.

Amy Kraft is a kids' media producer, writer, and game designer living in NYC with her family. She also writes the blog Media Macaroni.

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February 21, 2012 Posted by : Ellen Henderson

Study Finds Couples Who MMORPG Together Are Happy Together

Category : Bedroom, Family Room, Games, Sex and Relationships

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Photo from stock.xchng

In a subject suitable for Valentine’s Day, Slate.com blog Future Tense reported on Feb. 14 about a new study on massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and their effects on marriages. The study was conducted by Brigham Young University, and while the BYU press release about the study leads with bad news (“Online role-playing games hurt marital satisfaction”), there’s good news in the findings for GeekMoms and their spouses who like gaming.

According to the study, which was based on a study of 349 couples, “for couples in which both spouses play, 76 percent said that gaming has a positive effect on their marital relationship.”

Read the Future Tense summary here, or go directly to the BYU press release here, and tell us what you think — do MMORPGs help your marriage?

Ellen Henderson is a novelist and web strategist. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and son.

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February 20, 2012 Posted by : ChaosMandy

Introducing The GeekMom Book Club!

Category : Books, Books for Mom, Library, Mom Time, Support, The Web

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Image: Goodreads.com

Book clubs can be a lot of fun. You get to read books that you  might  not normally read and share your favorites with other people. But sometimes it’s hard to find people in your real life that would be interested in reading geeky books. I know that when I was a part of a book club at my last job, I wasn’t a big fan of any of the selections. But I dutifully read them because I wanted to be a part of the club.

The idea of a GeekMom Book Club came about as my fellow writers and our editors talked about our book club horror stories. For me, I picked Wicked as my book club selection for my work book club. I forgot about the violence that was involved in the book because it had been several years since I had read it. It wasn’t received well at all and I felt really embarrassed.

There was a lot of talk about what book should be chosen for the GeekMom Book Club’s first selection. My suggestion, The Hobbit, was picked. This is because I would guess that many people are going to want to re-read this book in anticipation of the first movie being released at the end of the year. Also I figured that this is a book that many people already own.

So we will be reading The Hobbit for February / March. You can join in and discuss this book in the comments of this post as well as over at our GeekMom Goodreads group. I’ll be putting up a poll at the end of March of several selections for April where everyone can vote on what we can read next.

If you love reading and would love to be part of a geeky book club, please join us for the GeekMom Book Club!

"Chaos" Mandy Horetski is an avid Browncoat, blogger, and stay-at-home mom who lives in the mountains of NC with her geeky husband and 3 year old princess. You can find her on Twitter as @ChaosMandy as well as on Google +.

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February 20, 2012 Posted by : Sophie Brown

The 11th Hour – A Sequel Which Never Quite Succeeded

Category : Family Room, Games

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The 11th Hour Logo © DotEmu

The 11th Hour Logo © DotEmu

Last week I revisited the classic 1992 game The 7th Guest. This week I’m all about its sequel, the much anticipated “The 11th Hour” and sadly, this review won’t be nearly as glowing. In fact, I’ll be fully honest and say I didn’t play this game for very long at all because I just found it so irritating.

The 11th Hour was released in 1995, three years after its predecessor. The game was very late to market, and this partly contributed to it’s failure to meet sales expectations upon release. Other contributing factors were that the game had been developed specifically for MS-DOS, despite Windows having become the standard gaming platform for PCs at the time leading to many customers being unable to run the game properly. Reviews at the time of its release were not that favourable either, a 1996 Gamespot review stated that producers Trilobite had failed to deliver on their promise of “broadening the interactive entertainment market by creating and delivering original, high quality products with mass-market appeal”.

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The official 1995 trailer for “The 11th Hour” 

Robin begging for help inside the "gamebook" © Sophie Brown/Trilobite

Robin begging for help inside the "gamebook" © Sophie Brown/Trilobite

“The 11th Hour”  is set 60 years after the events of The 7th Guest and sees you returned to Stauf’s mansion which is now in a significant state of decay. As with 7th Guest there is a long video introduction which sets up the plot in which you play Carl Denning Jnr, an investigative reporter for a fictional TV show called “Case Unsolved”*. The show’s producer (and your lover) Robin Morales has vanished after going to visit Stauf’s mansion several weeks earlier. You receive a package containing a form of electronic device referred to as the “gamebook” which is somewhere between a mobile phone and a netbook – think 1995 – and when opened it plays a video of poor Robin pleading with you to help her escape. We are then treated to a video sequence that looks almost painfully Twin Peaks-inspired as Carl hops on his motorbike and speeds off towards the house. Impressively, when Carl arrives there, it appears to have moved from the cliff-side outcropping we saw in The 7th Guest to a field near a small village. Maybe it is possessed after all? This is interspersed with clips of Robin and Carl’s relationship as they get together and break up. There’s also sex clips – quite a few of them which gave me something of a surprise and made me very glad I didn’t have the in laws over as I was playing. The 11th Hour pushed the mature rating far more than its predecessor ever did. Alongside the sex scenes there is also far more graphic violence than was seen during The 7th Guest along with references to rape, abortion, extra marital affairs and human sacrifice.

The "gamebook" shows you an unfathomable riddle © Sophie Brown/Trilobite

The "gamebook" shows you an unfathomable riddle © Sophie Brown/Trilobite

As Carl enters the house, the game itself kicks in and you find yourself once again in the hallway of Stauf’s mansion. The overall gameplay is broadly similar, actually make that virtually identical, to The 7th Guest as you move around the house solving puzzles in the different rooms. You walk around the darkened mansion carrying a flashlight which waves around as you walk, giving the scenes an early X-Files feel. One amusing fault with the game is that the speed at which you walk around the house is dictated by your computer, meaning that if you have a very slow system you will effectively crawl from room to room. Those playing on a dedicated gaming system on the other hand may find themselves zooming around as if they were Superman which can detract somewhat from the mood of the game. A new aspect has been added in to this game to differentiate it from its predecessor however – riddles. The Ouija board menu screen has been replaced by the gamebook you saw Carl receive in the opening video and it is here you will receive the riddles that need to be solved along with saving, loading, exiting and looking at the house map. The riddles are beyond obscure, in fact I have no idea how you’re supposed to solve them without looking up the solutions. The first once is received immediately upon starting the game (your skeletal hand cursor will pulse with a blue circle to indicate a new message) and is this:

“Winter coat worn for a mixer”

You then have to look around the house and find the solution to the riddle which will be an object, or perhaps something in a painting, I would honestly still be looking now if it wasn’t for an online walkthrough. The later riddles don’t become any clearer and many require you to beat a puzzle before you can solve them. Many are based around anagrams, others get you to think laterally and still others are just insane. At least one ended up being an anagram of a word I then had to look up in a dictionary to find out what it meant, and in another only half of a word was part of the anagram. In my book, that’s cheating. I sent some of the riddles to my mother to see what she thought of them. You see my mother is something of an anagram fiend and she was able to figure out far more than I did. She can spot something that looks like an anagram inside a sentence almost instantly, an odd choice of words or phrasing that jumps out like a red flag to her and signifies an anagram is present. What she couldn’t get was what on Earth you were supposed to do after you’d worked out the riddle, and neither could I. The solutions rarely tell you exactly what you need to find, instead most are more like vague hints so it’s up to you to work out what you need to hunt down next.

A typical puzzle in "The 11th Hour" © DotEmu/Trilobite

A typical puzzle in "The 11th Hour" © DotEmu/Trilobite

The puzzles themselves are similar to the ones in The 7th Guest with multiple games based around chess and others with pool balls, spiders and mirrors. Several puzzles have you playing against the game’s AI and in these cases it is often not actually possible to win depending upon the initial configuration of the puzzle, which makes the game as a whole incredibly frustrating. The walkthrough I used actually recommended getting Samantha to solve them instead, Samantha being part of the gamebook that you can turn to for hints and clues. As with The 7th Guest, the game claims it will penalise you for using too many hints or getting the gamebook to solve the puzzles for you. This is quite simply a lie; you can use the gamebook as much as you want and if you choose, have it solve every puzzle for you, a fact which succeeds in taking most of the challenge out of the game. Samatha is also a human character who you will meet during the game’s frankly ridiculous conclusion in which you have to make a decision about who to save from the evil mansion.

The dining room at Stauf's mansion © DotEmu/Trilobite

The dining room at Stauf's mansion © DotEmu/Trilobite

I didn’t finish The 11th Hour, in fact to be quite frank with you, I didn’t even get close. The game’s layout was so similar to The 7th Guest that it didn’t inspire me to want to investigate the house at all, I already knew what was in the different rooms before they opened. The plot was both completely insane (I think it might even rival Twilight’s Breaking Dawn” for complete nonsense factor) and failed to pull me in. I felt no connection to the characters and the style in which the video sequences had been shot gave the whole thing a bad soap opera feel which clashed terribly with the gothic horror story feel of The 7th Guest. Where Henry Stauf had once been a genuinely frightening presence within the house, here he feels more like Scooby Doo”villain mixed with the unnecessary bloodthirsty violence of the Saw franchise. The little changes have detracted, rather than added to the game and removed its generally disturbing sense of evil. Rather than having Stauf scream “come baaaack!” whenever you exit as he did in The 7th Guest, a woman’s completely monotone voice simply intones “don’t give up Carl.” It’s just lacking that certain something which the first game had in spades.

Back on it’s original release, The 11th Hour showed the gaming industry that sequels don’t always equal success and that it didn’t matter how much top of line graphics technology they threw at a product if the story and game play itself wasn’t engaging to the audience. Today this game is little more than a footnote hanging on the shadow of its much more famous and beloved older brother. Whilst certainly a technological achievement, the disjointed and inconsistent style of the game means that it hasn’t been remembered fondly. If you enjoyed the puzzles in The 7th Guest and want to try something much tougher, then I do certainly recommend this game. Time has not simplified it and those looking for a challenge will almost certainly find it here. The game is completable without the use of walkthroughs if you have almost unlimited patience, in fact my cousin completed it on its release although it took him several months; incidentally his name is Carl which must have added something for him when the game told him personally not to give up each time he exited. If on the other hand, you are looking for a bit of light hearted retro fun, or you are simply a fan of The 7th Guest then I suggest you stay away and not allow this game to sully your memories of a classic game.

*This game came out several years before the short lived real life crime TV show also called Case Unsolved.

A copy of this game was provided free for this review. The 11th Hour is available to download via DotEmu for $9.99. The iOS re-release has been postponed indefinitely at this time due to “serious technical challenges”.

Sophie's AvatarSophie Brown is a busy stay at home mother living in England with her husband, one year old son and two middle aged cats.  She is currently studying for a Bachelor's Degree in Natural Sciences and also writes the blog The Geek Arts. Sophie can frequently be found wasting time on Twitter.

 

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February 19, 2012 Posted by : Nicole Wakelin

Would Bacon By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet?

Category : Cooking and Recipes, Geek Life, Kitchen

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

ThinkGeek Bacon-Palooza, Image: Nicole Wakelin

It’s sort of a universally accepted fact that bacon is one of the best foods known to mankind. No other food garners quite the same level of fanatic devotion and adoration. As a result, it’s been incorporated into all sorts of recipes in an effort to create the ultimate bacon experience. I am guilty of adding more bacon than required whenever it’s called for because, it’s bacon, why not? I thought I was really living on the edge when I bought a bacon chocolate bar. This was at a little specialty shop in Boston and I walked out clutching my treasure, ready to fend off the masses who would obviously kill to have this for themselves.

I sat down on a bench and unwrapped my treasure thinking of all those shows you see on TV with people savoring weird foods. I decided to follow their lead and started with the aroma. It smelled like chocolate, which, although a wonderful smell, did not hold the promise of bacon. Then I cracked a piece off and looked at what I was about to eat. I saw teeny tiny little bits of bacon. Teeny. Tiny. This did not make me happy but I popped a piece into my mouth anyway. The chocolate was as good as it smelled, but the bacon was barely noticeable. I had just paid nearly $10 for a chocolate bar that did not live up to my expecations. The bacon was a lie.

Months later, I purchased a Talking Bacon plush from ThinkGeek. You press his side and he says “I’m bacon.” It was what my daughter wanted for her birthday more than anything. Yes, I was equal parts thrilled and scared. Bacon plush has been a big hit with every child in our neighborhood. He went in for show and tell and I had half a dozen parents contact me to find out where they could get him. Talking Bacon is the man!

One afternoon, my daughter’s friend, James, was marveling at the wonder of  Talking Bacon and asked where I’d gotten this amazing creation. I told him and then loaded up the site so he could see it for himself. It’s fair to say that his eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the assortment of geeky goods on the screen. Bacon popcorn! Bacon gumballs! Bacon jelly beans! I don’t think he could have been more excited if I’d told him school was cancelled for the rest of the year.

When his Mom came to pick him up, I told her that he might be asking for a bunch of bacon stuff, and then did the obligatory “Oops, sorry, I kinda set you up there. My bad.” apology.  She rolled her eyes, looked at her son, and told him she was not buying him a bunch of bacon stuff. He looked sullen. He gave her a masterful pout. He even made his lip quiver. No luck. So, James turned his charms on me. Me. Keeper of all things geeky. Writer of geeky stuff. Player of video games. I was his only hope.

I put this off for months, thinking he’d forget, but every single time I saw him, he asked if I’d gotten the goods. My answer was always “Not yet.” Then he showed up for a playdate with my daughters in an Angry Birds shirt which he proudly wore and, I thought, I just had to help this burgeoning little geek in the making. I contacted ThinkGeek.

And because ThinkGeek is so cool, they sent me a whole box full of bacon goodness. I was excited to try these bacony treats, but a little nervous. Unlike the bacon chocolate bar with barely discernible bacon, the whole box smelled like bacon when I opened it. Popcorn, gumballs, jelly beans, lollipop. Where to start?

I opened the tin of  Bacon Gumballs. They sure smelled like bacon. And they were a brick red color that looked like bacon. I decided it was best to have something to drink handy, like when my kids are forced to try something new, just in case the flavor killed me. I put it in my mouth and it was bacony. I chewed it and holy overwhelming bacon flavor! I didn’t think it was possible but it was actually too much bacon. I made it through maybe half a dozen chews before I had to spit it out and chug half a glass of milk.

My kids found this hysterical.

I moved on to the Bacon Beans. I’d learned from the gumballs and had a glass of milk actually in my hand as I popped a jelly bean in my mouth. I chewed, and chewed and, bacon explosion! Out with the jelly bean, down with the milk.  This left the lollipop and the popcorn. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but, I persevered and went for the Bacon Lollipop. Again, milk in hand, I gave the lollipop a few licks. It was tasty! It was sweet and had just a hint of bacon and, I liked it, I really liked it. My kids now wanted to try it but I told them they had to have a jelly bean and a gumball first. They declined.

Once the husband was home, I decided it was time to pop the popcorn. You know how, in an office, someone can pop popcorn on the other side of the building and you can smell it? Yeah, well I think my neighbors may have smelled the Bacon Pop right through the walls of my house. It smelled like the gumballs tasted and I was, um, terrified. I held my nose, grabbed a new glass of milk, and tried a few pieces. And then a few more. Another bacony success! If you can get past the overwhelming aroma, the darn stuff actually tastes really good.

So, in my quest for bacon I found two tasty treats in the lollipop and popcorn, and two that didn’t quite cut it in the gumballs and jelly beans. They are, however, the perfect thing to keep at your desk, luring in unsuspecting co-workers. Trust me, it’ll be good for a laugh. I even conned the kids over for a playdate yesterday into giving them a try and the looks on their faces, absolutely priceless. They did not like, except for one girl who liked the gumballs. She’s either exceptionally brave or crazy. I’ve yet to decide.

Ah, but what about the boy that started it all? What did James think? Well, oddly his Mom, who is a good friend, hasn’t responded to the texts I sent her about the bacon stuff. She must be really busy because she couldn’t possibly be ignoring me. I’m going to continue testing this on the neighborhood kids, but not to worry. Next time I see James I’ve saved a whole pile of bacon flavored tastiness for his geeky little heart.

Thanks to ThinkGeek for sending me (and James) all this bacon goodness!

Nicole is mom to two wonderful little Geek Girls. You can find her writing about her geek obsessions over at TotalFanGirl.com and hear her on The GeekMoms Podcast as well as Sith Heads: Star Wars the Old Republic Podcast and The D6 Generation Podcast.

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