Too Much Awesome Podcast: Episode 5
July 5, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Toys
Kyle and I may not be birds, but friends of a feather, that is quite true.
Today we have the fifth episode of the Too Much Awesome podcast with the return of Kyle Martinak. In this episode, Chris and Kyle discuss the general topic of childhood trends, including what Kyle calls “Schoolyard Currency,” Pogs, Super Soakers, Nerf, Mr. Potato Head, Toy Story 3, and video games. Plus, Chris makes a point of wishing Bob Chipman, the Game Overthinker/Movie Bob, was his friend. So sit back, relax, and listen to two boys reminisce about their childhoods.
My Top 10 Most Unattainable Toys
June 29, 2010 by Kyle Martinak
Filed under Toys
Sure the Technodrome made you Commander Cool, but what other toys couldn't I have as a kid?
Remember a Christmas or birthday when you wanted that one special toy, but no one got it for you? Now you understand…it was ridiculously expensive, or impossible to locate. You were disappointed then, because there was no such thing as ebay or Amazon, and instead you got a sweater.
Backyard Shenanigans: Simple Backyard Toys for Spring
May 20, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Outdoor Toys
Is this exciting? As a picture, no, but as an activity, slightly more.
Not long ago I found myself at my Norwegian professor’s house for a barbeque with other Norwegian students (ja, jeg kan snakke norsk, er det bra?), and during said barbeque the weather was just nice enough to make full use of his backyard for some bocce ball. I had never played, but apparently I was very good. Afterward it got me thinking about some other backyard games I’d played in my childhood, and since summer is peaking right around the corner, why don’t we cover some of these activities? Alright, let’s go! Read more
What Do You Want?
May 14, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Toys
This doesn't particularly have anything to do with a monkey, but monkey's always make things better.
As you may have noticed, there’s been a short break in the usual postings both yesterday and today. Some uninteresting things were going on behind the scenes, but new stuff will be appearing by the end of the week (we hope).
Too Much Awesome Podcast: Episode 2
April 19, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Toys
In today's episode, we give you some of our personal tips about board games, as well as some handy suggestions for the toy industry.
After a slightly longer wait that we meant, we finally have the second episode of the Too Much Awesome Podcast starring Kyle Martinak and Chris Pranger. In this episode, we talk about video games a little more, toys once more, and make sure to go into greater detail about board games. Specifically, we gives some of our personal strategies to winning at board games, as well as some suggestions for Monopoly and the most effective way to play Clue.
The Most Popular Educational and Learning Toys As Of This Moment
March 1, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Baby Toys, Learning Toys, Melissa and Doug, Science & Discovery Toys, Toys, Wooden Toys
This right here is one of the most popular education-based toy around. And it's a video game system.
If I were pressed to defend the educational value of video games, I probably couldn’t do much other than say they can teach reading, math, problem solving, community interaction, cause and effect, and hand-eye coordination skills, so really I’d have an uphill battle talking about their benefits (wink). However, there are a handful of very popular toys being sold this very second to parents wishing to give their kids a little boost in the learning aspect of playing while still making sure the toy is fun (gotta love parents). But just what are some of the most popular educational and learning toys right now?
Talking Cars, Space Ships, and Classic Americana: The Most Popular Die-Cast Toys
February 12, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Toy Vehicles
They also make great gifts for your dad.
I’m taking another day off video games to go into one of my favorite things from my childhood: Die-cast cars. The term can be applied to a lot of things, such as Hot Wheels and the like, but I actually won’t be bringing Hot Wheels into this since, well, that makes for an article in of itself sometime next week. Okay, not the classic thought of what makes a car a Hot Wheels car at least. I can’t lie, I’m talking about the most popular die-cast cars right now, so Hot Wheels are going to show up in some way or another. Read more
Let’s Think Deep: Articulating Articulation
January 14, 2010 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Action Figures
Infinite articulation or zero? Time to Think Deep.
It’s been a few weeks since I Thunk Deep, so it seems about right to try my hand and brain at something a bit new and completely different than the last Let’s Think Deep article. As you may recall, last time was an elementary foray into quantum physics.
The 10 Most Ridiculous Ninja Turtle Action Figures
November 11, 2009 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Action Figures
Mutagen Man just barely didn't make the cut. So who did?
A while back I did an article about my favorite action figures of all time: Ninja Turtles. I hardly scratched the surface regarding what they did with the Turtles. Some of the toy line saw awesome Turtles. And then there are these, the 10 Most Ridiculous Ninja Turtle Action Figures.
Where the Wild Things Are: New Toys Come with the Movie
September 2, 2009 by Chris Pranger
Filed under Movie and TV Toys
This costume is coming to a Halloween near you.
Where the Wild Things Are is a classic book by Maurice Sendak. Every child should have read this book by now. Have you? If not, go read it right now. I’ll wait. I’m having a tea party right now, so I don’t mind.
