Monday, October 26, 2009

Ladies of the 80's

Mattel has taken Barbie back to the 80's, and not just with the re-release of the Barbie & the Rocker's Barbie out now. No, they have scheduled for this December 2009 & January 2010 to release the 3 coolest Barbies ever. Debbie Harry Barbie,
Joan Jett Barbie,
And how cool is this? Cyndi Lauper Barbie!!!
For me, the Cyndi & Joan are must haves. They will set you back somewhere between $50 to $60 each. Even though they are scheduled for release in Dec./Jan. Let's hope they get them out in time for Santa to place one under the tree!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Star Wars in Concert: A Review


Okay, I'm a super nerd. I admit it. I paid $75.00 to go see the Star Wars Orchestra play John Williams music set to laser lights & video clips & shed a few tears. The seats were amazing. 3rd row floor, no one in front, so it felt like 1st row. The show however seemed to be lacking a little. Now, like I said, super nerd, so to many I'm sure it was absolutely fantastic. To me the show didn't seem to have the emotional depth it could have. The clips were randomly spliced together & some of them just seemed out of place. The repeats of scenes throughout seemed lazy as well. With 6 movies to pull clips from I found it strange they had to repeat so many. Watching the chase scene from Coruscant in AOTC while listening to "Astroid Field" from the Empire Strikes Back soundtrack just didn't work. There are certain moments that are so one with the music to replace them with other scenes just doesn't work. You find yourself waiting to see a particular moment only to find that moment confused by some other scene that just doesn't quite fit. There are other scenes that would work there, but not the one they chose. The laser lights were great & did seem to be placed perfectly with the score as well as the use of the pyro when scenes of Mustafar appeared. Some of the "chapters" were dead on. For example "Bother & Sister", perfect. The emotion was there, the depth, & the score all combining into a truly moving experience. Others just seemed to fall short. The giant metal arms with cameras on the end that swooped up & down between the audience & the stage seemed odd. Everyone on the floor, as well as the rest of the crowd I imagine, had their view obscured several times throughout the performance. Anthony Daniels did an outstanding job of storytelling & you felt that you just might be in that Ewok hut when C3PO was telling the tale in Jedi. Overall, I enjoyed myself. If I had to rate it I would give it a C or 3 out of 5 stars. The prop replicas were really built up & once you got there you realized there wasn't going to be a museum type showcase of things. Under 20 items scattered about with backdrops to stand in front of. One of Amidala's dresses, the Chewbacca, Vader, C3PO, Imperial Officer, Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, Trade federation soldier, & Royal Guard costumes, a few helmets, a handful of minor character weapons, and a Yoda prop replica. The most exciting "prop" there was John Williams original penciled sheet music. Where were the lightsabers? How about models of the Falcon? X-wings? Nothing from Luke, Han or Leia. Not even anything from Anakin. No Jedi robes or Han in Carbonite. Even the Merchandise tables were lacking. Anything wearable I wanted didn't come in my size. L or XL were my only options. When will these companies catch a clue that some of us don't share any resemblance to the Simpson's "Comic Book Guy"? They did have a few things in children sizes. T-shirts were $35.00, hoodies $65 & $75, programs $30. The cheapest thing you could purchase was a $10 keychain that resembles a lightsaber that lit up. No John Williams exclusive Star Wars in Concert figure? Come on guys, you're missing the boat. Again, I say, I know, I know, super nerd. I had a great time & am glad to have gone, I just think it could have been quite a bit better than what we got. Still, I love Star Wars and am glad to see new types of entertainment arise from it. Next time, just try a little harder. May the Force be with you.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Battlestar Galactica T-shirts coming



Entertainment Earth just started listing several new Battlestar Galactic shirts. Some have the cast, some the symbols, some the cylons & some some just fun phrases like the one above. There are old school shirts from the original series & lots of new series shirts as well. Check them out here.

Uncle Milton's Dagobah Frog Habitat


The company Uncle Milton offers up this fun science lab the Dagobah Frog Habitat. It's an aquarium tank with a Dagobah Swamp theme and background scene just like in Empire Strikes Back. Yoda's hut can be used by the frogs to hide in. Learn how tadpoles turn into frogs by watching them transform right before your eyes! you get a mail-in coupon for live tadpoles in the box. It also includes an informative learning guide.

Star Wars Legacy Figures Wave 9

Wave 9 of the Legacy series of Star Wars figures should be hitting the stores sometime this week or next. We get a Jedi Luke with no cape or vest (finally!) and no bulging muscles. There is also a slave Leia, Biker Scout Trooper, Rancor Keeper (long time no see buddy), a couple more ewoks, an Anakin, Middle aged Obi-wan & more. Most of this wave seems to be from the Return of the Jedi film.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Brandi Carlile's Newest

I was lucky enough to get to see Brandi on Wednesday night. She was amazing. Great performer as well as and amazing stage presence. She sang one number completely without the mic, 3 acoustic songs, and one heck of an encore containing Folsom Prison Blues & Stand By Your Man. If you get a chance to see her, do not pass it up. She puts on one heck of a great show. She's one of those rare artists that you walk away from a show loving even more than when you went in.

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Go check this out....

So my friend Stephen Schwake has a website up. If you like art, this is your guy. His stuff is fresh and brilliant. It has a very retro feel yet at the same time feeling new & different. Go check his site out here: Stephen Schwake

New Futurama out in October



Good News Everyone! Finally the Professor, Nibler, & Hermes are here. Entertainment Earth has a great price on these at $23.99 for the set here.

That's better than I've been getting paying $15.99 each at Hastings. Or was it $13.99? Anyway...Entertainment Earth = good deal.

Mom & Chef Bender should be next, arriving sometime in December. Woo-hoo! That is good news!