The Tweeathon Is On Hold

Due to some issues with my personal life, the Hyde and Geek / Kids Need to Read Tweetathon is on hold for now. I am still planning on holding the event but, at this time, I don't know when that's going to be.

Stay tuned to this page for more info and thanks for understanding.

Calling All Geeks! (The 2012 Edition)

For the last two years, I've hosted a fun (and often funny) experiment that I call the Hyde and Geek/Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon. The idea is that I will sit in front of my computer and tweet every ten minutes for 36 hours straight with no sleep and, after a while, very little sanity. All of this is done to help raise money for charity. In this case, the charity is Kids Need to Read, an organization dedicated to getting books into the hands of kids. For the past two events, I have (barely) managed to stay awake through the entirety of the event with a little help from energy drinks and a lot of  support from the good people on Twitter. In addition to keeping me awake, those same Twitter friends and followers have so far donated nearly $3500 for charity over the course of a now cumulative 72 hours!

Now, while it's a little later in the year than I would've liked due to a very busy schedule, the gears are beginning to turn on the 2013 edition of the Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon!

Last year, a lot of geek related businesses helped me to raise funds by giving away prizes like gift certificates to ThinkGeek, soaps from Luxury Lane and Geek Soap, tickets to Geek Girl Con, books from Crossed Genres, and many many more!

That's where you come in.

I'm looking to geeky businesses of all stripes who would like to help out a great cause and get exposure for their business at the same time. What I'm looking for are prize donations of any sort that I can give away to those who donate to the Tweetathon. This can be anything from gift baskets, samples of your wares, gift cards, random junk you have lying around your office, or just about anything else you can think of that somebody out there might want. In return, you'll get the name of your business plastered all over the charity page once I set that up, this blog as I post about the event, your name and business promoted throughout the Tweetathon, my eternal and undying gratitude, and most importantly... you'll be helping an awesome cause.

I'm also looking for anyone who has a blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, or any other online soapbox who would be willing to help me promote this thing so that we can blow it out of the water again!

If any of the above sounds like you, send an e-mail to Scott (that's me) at swank_stuff@yahoo.com or DM me at @hydeandgeek on Twitter.

New Trailer for Stop-Motion Horror 'ParaNorman'

It seems like 'Frankenweenie' isn't the only fun kids movie this year that's going to delve into darker territory. The new flick 'ParaNorman' from Laika is the story of a young boy named Norman (hence the punny title) who sees dead people. But when an evil witch threatens to cause the dead to return to life, it's up to Norman and his rag-tag band of friends to save the day.

Sounds pretty fun to me.

'ParaNorman' stars Kodi Smit-McPhee ('Let Me In') as the title character. The rest of the cast is rounded out with a few notable actors like John Goodman, Casey Affleck, and Tempest Bledsoe. It's written and directed by Chris Butler who handled the stop-motion film 'The Corpse Bride'. Check out the first full trailer below:

'Paranorman' hits theaters on August 17th, 2012.

The First Trailer for Tim Burton's 'Frankenweenie'

I haven't been a fan of most of Tim Burton's work since the horrible 'Planet of the Apes' remake back in 2001. It seems as if the once genius filmmaker has slipped into a coma of remakes and adaptations that have his visual flair but not his heart. Hopefully that will change with Disney's upcoming 'Frankenweenie'.

'Frankenweenie' is a full length version of Burton's own 1984 short film of the same name (and one of my personal favorites). It tells the heartwarming story of a young boy who tries to resurrect his dog Sparky after the canine dies in a car accident. The original short was filmed using live-action actors with a black and white retro horror vibe. The new version uses Burton's trademark stop-motion animation (the same that was used on 'Corpse Bride').

Today, Yahoo! Movies released the first official trailer for the movie and, so far, it looks very good! Check it out...



What do you think? Are you in the mood for a black and white stop-motion animated movie? Will Disney let Burton keep the update as creepy as the original? I sure hope so! If the movie is as good as the trailer, then I may become a Burton fan once again.

Protect Your Rights - Stop SOPA/PIPA

In February, the United States government is will continue discussion on a piece of legislation that can hurt the free environment that is the internet. Not only does it go against our personal freedoms as US citizens, it also threatens to weaken the stability of the internet as a whole.

Please... write your representatives in both the Congress and Senate to help stop the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) from damaging the internet... and your freedom.



For more information on how you can help stop SOPA and PIPA, please visit:

KeeptheWebOpen.com
FightfortheFuture.org