Go To Sleep - Planet Earth

For the last couple of days Nickelodeon has been pushing Sleepytime Lullabies via several blogs. I've sampled the album on Amazon and I'm sure it is very good, especially for younger kids. But it got me to thinking of the best media we have used to get Cole to take a nap, especially when he doesn't really want to take a nap in the first place. I use the word "media" because it is not actually a music album, it is a video series.



If you've never seen Planet Earth before it is a nature film series of superior quality. The cinematography is breathtaking sometimes, and at other times serenly beautiful. It is full of aerial photography of fantastic landscapes and animals in action. Cole is usually not willing to lay in bed and take a nap, but I can often talk him into watching television with me. Slide in an episode of Planet Earth to the DVD and get comfortable. This is one show that it is easy to sit down and watch with them. The smooth filmwork and calm narration are soothing and if you are a little bit sleepy it can push you over the edge into a relaxing sleep.
Warning: There are a few scenes that may be disturbing, usually scenes involving predators and prey. If you are like me you remember watching scenes like this on the Wild Kingdom when you were a kid. It is the real world and shouldn't necessarily be hidden from children, but it is probably not something you want to watch while trying to go to sleep. I suggest you keep your finger on the fast forward button or better yet screen the 11 episodes to find the ones that work best for you.

Planet Earth 5 DVD Set - Standard

Another Nine Bizarre Toys

Hare Krishna Zombie
The scary thing about this action figure is not that it is a zombie and not that it is a Hare Krishna (ok maybe a little). The scariest part of it is that it looks like Andy Dick.

It looks so much like him that I had to go to imdb.com to make sure I was wrong. It turns out it was some guy named Mike Christopher. Finally the nightmares can end.




Vincent Van Gogh Action Figure
Finally you can have an action figure of you you favorite depressed/bipolar/schizophrenic/alcoholic artist. Best of all, it comes with two interchangeable heads, so you can play with the single and dual earlobed Vincent Van Gogh. You can relive his frustration when his cousin refused his marriage proposal. You can re-enact his strange co-dependent relationship with Paul Gauguin. You can even recreate Vincent's eventually successful suicide, where he had to walk back home after shooting himself in the chest. Oh, and you can pretend to paint some pretty pictures too.



Cold War Unicorns
The Cold War between the USSR and USA has always been fought by proxies. North Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, most of Central and South America for example. In spite of the fall of the USSR, the Cold War is far from over. The epic struggle between two major political and economic systems has evolved to using fantasy creatures in their battles.



USA Vs Commies

"I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids. "

Major Jack D. Ripper (from Dr. Strangelove)

Now you can go where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were too afraid to go. With the USA vs. Commies army figures you can fight the next to last battle of the war the would have ended the Cold War. Don't worry about breaking or even destroying these little guys because when the next to last battle is over and the winning side is celebrating, the losing side launches their missiles and starts what would have been the last battle of the Cold War.



Devo Action Figure w/ Interchangable Heads
I am a Devo fan. I saw them at the Palmer Auditorium in Austin when I was 13. The high point of my junior high career was getting searched by a female cop at the gate. I chanted "jump, jump" like everyone else as one of the roadies adjusted the lights above the stage. Now that my Devo fan credentials have been thoroughly established, I have to admit that I am freaked out a little by the Devo action figure with interchangeable heads. I want it, but it scares me. Then again, maybe it is just Devo in general: fans like them but are a little freaked out by them at the same time (everyone else is just freaked out by them).



Monty Python Plush Black Knight

"Like most women, I don't 'get' Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I've tried to watch it with my boyfriend but it's just so stupid. Who would waste their time with such a stupid movie? Oh, when the special edition DVD came out he tried again, 'Honey, it's got an extra 24 seconds of previously cut footage!' Like that would help. He thought he was fooling me by giving me the bunny slippers too, like how could a harmless little bunny bite through an armored man's jugular vein? So Stupid. Then he gave me the Plush Black Knight. Who would want an doll of a man wearing armor? My boyfriend is the one that doesn't 'get it'. I thought he was the one, but he just doesn't understand me. I got so mad I ripped the doll into pieces and beat him with the bloody stumps."

Gi Joe G I Joe Search for the Yeti
I don't want any comments about how this is really an adult novelty toy. GI Joe is definitely a kid's toy. What confuses me about this is why is GI Joe searching for the Yeti? Did the USA declare war on the missing link? Or is the USA trying to capture the Yeti for part of a secret weapons project? It's hard to tell from the picture, but G.I. Joe has his rifle jammed in the Yeti's stomach while the Yeti looks like he is screaming in pain and is about to swipe at Joe with his giant Yeti paw. More pictures here from a guy who really likes this toy.



LEGO Orient Expedition: Yeti's Hideout
I always thought that Bigfoot/Sasquatch was cool. Ever since I was a kid and saw that In Search Of... Bigfoot episode and the Six Million Dollar Man episode where Andre the Giant played Bigfoot. At one point I was even pretty sure there was a bigfoot living in the woods near my house in Texas. I never really felt any love for the Yeti, though. Maybe it was because he was so far away, or maybe because it is so dang cold in the Himalayas (I don't do cold). Maybe it was because there is no way the Yeti exists. Come on now, if you were nine or ten feet tall and could throw boulders like they were baseballs, would you choose to live in one of the least hospitable places on Earth? Sasquatch could be real, because it is conceivable that someone (or thing) might want to live in the forests of the Northwest US and Canada. Hell I'd like to live there myself if I didn't have to live in constant fear of a wookie attack.



Plaid Shirt Zombie Action Figure

(sung to Monty Python's Lumberjack song)
I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay
I lurch at night and eat brains all day

(chorus)
He's a lumberjack and he's okay.
He lurches at night and eats brains all day.

I punch through walls, I catch humans
You can't hid from me.
I think I'll catch more humans,
and eat their brains, yummy!


Related post: The original 9 bizarre toys

Skimboard Surfer

At some point, probably when Cole was old enough to walk, summer stopped just being about staying cool and started being about staying cool while physically wearing Cole out (preferably while he was having fun).   Even though adults will probably pull a groin muscle when they go for a slide (you know you will) the Skimboard Surfer will keep you cool and wear out your kid.  I came across a skimboard in the store the other day and wondered what it was.  It looked like a giant guitar pick, too big for a skateboard, too small for a boogie board.  Now I know, it is a mini-surfboard to use with what is basically a slip 'n slide.  With short run and a little balance you can get some good speed up before you have to abort at the end of the slide.  One skimboard comes with the slide, but you can buy more relatively inexpensively and they come in a wide array of graphics. 

 

Skimboard Surfer (Color May Vary) at amazon.com

The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

It turns out that someone got tired of complaining about the sorry selection of home chemistry sets out there (like me) and decided to do something aout it. Robert Bruce Thompson wrote the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments to replace some of the old home chemistry books from mid-century (you have to go back that far to get a good one). The book was just released today and is available at Amazon.

"From the 1930s through the 1970s, chemistry sets were among the most popular Christmas gifts, selling in the millions. But two decades ago, real chemistry sets began to disappear as manufacturers and retailers became concerned about liability. The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments steps up to the plate with lessons on how to equip your home chemistry lab, master laboratory skills, and work safely in your lab. The bulk of this book consists of 17 hands-on chapters that include multiple laboratory sessions..."

"With plenty of full-color illustrations and photos, Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments offers introductory level sessions suitable for a middle school or first-year high school chemistry laboratory course, and more advanced sessions suitable for students who intend to take the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam. A student who completes all of the laboratories in this book will have done the equivalent of two full years of high school chemistry lab work or a first-year college general chemistry laboratory course."

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (Illustrated Guide) at Amazon.com

(via BoingBoing.net)

Iron Monger

Cole and I went to see Iron Man last Friday, and except for a couple of bumpy scenes, I have to say that it rocked. Cole already had an Iron Man Mark III action figure, now we are trying to get our hands on an Iron Monger action figure. This is the suit that the bad guy in the movie makes, so it is only natural to have this one also so Iron Man and Iron Monger can "fight". It turns out that I'm not the first one to have this idea, and they are a little hard to find. Amazon has one new one left as of right now, so I'd suggest starting there, possibly buying it from one of Amazon's alternative sources (listed on the right hand side at the amazon link) and then checking on ebay if you don't have any luck.

Iron Man Movie Toy Series 1 Action Figure Iron Monger at Amazon.com
Iron Man Movie Toy Series 1 Action Figure Iron Monger at ebay.com

Power House

In the Power House science kit your kids will learn about powering a model house using wind, light, plant, and electrochemical energies. In addition to the house, they will also build an electric train, a solar cooker, and even make their own chewing gum. There are 20 building projects and 70 experiments, plus an instructional manual. Sounds like several fun weekend projects for a future scientist or inventor.

link

Map Tangle - Put Your Right Food on Liberia

You know how this works. The game is like Twister, but played on a large map. Considering the general state of Geography knowledge with kids, this is a fun way to learn some world Geography while being active and socializing with other kids. Cards are drawn instructing the active player where to place a hand or foot, the object is to figure out a way to stretch and contort yourself to accomplish the instructions.

link

Save the Frogs!

Nothing grosses the girls out more in Biology class than the annual frog dissection event. Indignation, empathy for the dead animal, and general squeamishness are common responses (from both sexes) to cutting open a dead animal, even for educational purposes. With the Discovery Channel's Frog Dissection kit you can feel better knowing that you are only desecrating the body of a simulated animal instead of the real thing. This frog is made of plastic and rubber, which most people will agree are not alive. It has removable organs so you can get a good look at the small intestine after removing the liver. The dissection table is included and has trays and tools to use to poke around in the simu-frog. It has x-rays too, so you can see the muscles and skeleton that this ersatz Kermit will never get to use. Dissecting this frog has everything you could want except being able to watch the captain of the football team faint onto the Biology classroom floor.

Discovery Dissect A Frog

Remote Control Snake

I still remember when I was eight and I snuck up behind my mother with a toy snake. She turned around and running purely on instinct, grabbed it from my hands and flung it across the room. I don't know if she was trying to protect me or herself, but I never again doubted her reaction time or her ability to destroy my toys almost as well as I could. Now you can keep yourself out of range of your mother's unquenchable thirst for toy snake blood by using this remote control brown boa. It uses 4 AA batteries (2 in the snake and 2 in the remote) and can move in four directions using tiny wheels.


Remote Control Brown Boa at Hearthsong

Similar item at Amazon.com:
Remote Control - Green Mamba

Boccerball - whatever that means

It is a strange combination of soccer, marbles, and foosball. The best part is that it is 1/2 off at Amazon right now. Click on the link to see a video of a game being played to really understand.

Halex 60657 Boccerball Table Game

Kidsave - teaching your kids about money part4

Kidnexions has a cool program designed specifically for kids to help them manage their money and savings. The unique aspects of the software is that it motivates your kids by helping them establish a personal financial plan, include parental involvement, and explore various "what if?" scenarios. The demo is free to try, free free free.

link

(via theopinionatedparent.com)

related posts:
Teaching your kids about money part 3
Teaching your kids about money part 2
Teaching your kids about money part 1

More Cowbell! - Encouraging kids to be noisy

As much as I love peace and quiet, I realize that I won't have any ever again as long as there are kids in the house. It is a trade off that I'm willing to make, in fact sometimes I even help make a little noise myself. Kids are little noise factories, and they will find a way to make noise out of just about anything. One thing I have often pondered is at what point does noise become music? Obviously the answer to this is different for everyone. It is entirely possible that the noise your baby/toddler/child makes IS music to him even though it sounds like noise to you. Maybe we developed into the sophisticated music makers and music lovers that we are today after banging on pots and pans/the wall/the back of the airline seat in front of us when we were children ourselves. With that in mind, we should encourage our kids to make as much noise as possible, maybe with enough sophistication there won't be a Britney in our kids' generation.

There are lots of children's music sets out there, with a smattering of different instruments. We've bought and received several over the years. There is one thing that they never have, and it is the one thing that I remember always fighting for back in grade school music class to get to play. I'm talking about the "guiro", or as we always called it back in the day, "the scratchy fish":

Recognize it now don't you? In case you don't, the little stick is rubbed quickly back and forth across the "ribs" of the fish to make a unique sound. When it comes to percussion instruments, the guiro is actually pretty harmless and, most importantly, relatively quiet. There is also a younger kids version of the instrument, made out of plastic so they can gnaw on it as well as make noise, preferably not at the same time.

Happy noise making!

12" Wood Fish-Shaped Guiro
8" Multi-Colored Plastic Guiro

Iron Man Action Figure #1

The other day Cole and I were watching cartoons when an Iron Man movie trailer came on. Both of us froze completely still (a rare thing for him) and were silent for the entire two minutes or so (even rarer). The movie looks like it will be a popcorn fueled blast. I have been looking for good Iron Man toys for the last month, and unless you want to shell out $50 for some collectible type stuff there hasn't been much, or if there has been, it has been buried and hard to find. Not anymore, there is finally #1 in a series(?) of Iron Man action figures available. Get one while you can...

Iron Man Movie Toy Series 1 Action Figure Iron Man Mark 03 at amazon.com

You can view the trailer here (youtube) the movie premiers May 2nd.

Flashtastic Phun

Okay, it's not Phun, and it's not Crayon Physics, and it's not even Armadillo Run , but it is free and you can play it over the internet without having to download anything (except maybe Flash if you do not already have it). It is called Magic Pen and it is an excellent way to kill your lunch hour. Oh, and the kiddies might like it too!

related posts: Free (but phun) science software and Phun creations


(via Kottke.org)

Take a hike Ugly Dolls, CurlyQCuties are here

Hand-made (and home-made) in the US, CurlyQCuties are a unique alternative to the more and more commonplace Ugly Dolls. The cuties are made of soft fleece with a poly/cotton fill. They are the conception of an Austin designer who makes them out of her home. She can also do custom dolls, so if you want one with a different color, or extra spots, or a belly button you can have whatever you want. This is a good find and is the exact type of thing I like to put on this blog, unique toys with a pinch of weird mixed in. If only I got a commission from this one...

link

for other plush dolls click here

Battlestar Galactica Action Figures

Minimates are similar to Playmobil action figures, with three exceptions. First, where Playmobil avoids comics, movie, television, and video game licensing Minimates welcomes them. In fact, all of their line is based on these sources. Second, Minimate action figures have 14 points of articulation so they are quite a bit more posable than Playmobil. The third difference is that Minimates target a little bit older demographic. The manufacturer recommends the toys for children 5 and up, although some of the sources may be for older kids (Lord of the Rings movie and the tv show 24 for example).

Modern Battlestar Minimates at amazon.com

The movie and television licensing allows you to do something else rather special with these toys, #16 in my "101 things to do when your kid is bored" post is to make a short digital movie. Using lots of editing and/or stop motion pictures, you can make some pretty cool fan movies. Here is one of the better examples:

link (star wars in 3 min.)

Note: Battlestar Galactica season 4 started April 4th.

Related articles: Playmobil Oddities and Playmobil Romans

Rokenbok Part2

I ran across a good Rokenbok review by Stinkhead at NonToxicReviews.com, take a look:



NonToxicReviews.com


related post: Rokenbok

Robots, how big is big enough?

It won't cook your dinner or iron your shirts or walk the dog, but the Tekno Mega Mech remote control robot is 4 feet tall, moves via a remote control, and can speak five different phrases. It is a cool toy that has no practical use but to be big and cool. It's also on sale at $17.50 at amazon right now, that comes out to a less than $5 a foot.

Tekno Mega Mech R/C Robot 48-Inch at amazon.com

Rokenbok

Quite possibly the coolest construction/remote control/battery eating toy out there, Rokenbok toys combine the construction of Legos and K'nex with remote control vehicles into a micro-world of fun.

I'll keep it short, in fact I can condense it down to four words:

Build


Play


Build bigger



Rokenbok Conveyor Company Start Set at amazon

Rokenbok at ebay

Mario Composer

Mario is fast becoming (or is he already?) a cultural icon, for better or worse. He seems to show up in lots of strange places in addition to the myriad console games they are characters in, although you don't hear or see as much of his more reticent brother Luigi, why is that?

Mario Composer is a downloadable software program that allows you to compose your own songs using the music from the original Nintendo console game. You can watch Mario run along and jump from note to note on the score to the music you composed. It is an interesting combination of nostalgic video game and a music composition program. The sound put out by the program is not the exciting part (it sounds like the old Nintendo game), the excitement comes from figuring out how to compose a new song or score together familiar songs that sound pretty cool in spite of the low sound quality. If you have a kid that is already interested in music, this might put him into the Mozart category (just kidding). Even if your kid is only mildly interested in music this game might enhance his music appreciation and creativity. At the very least it is a fun toy to play with for a while. Here are a couple of youtube examples:

Link to Mario Composer

(via Metafilter)

Lots of Mario Brothers kitsch at Cole's Amazon Store