Happy St. Patrick's Day - Muppet Style!

Have a good one, mates!

Library Girl (music video)

Here's a cute little ditty that about the girls who hang out at libraries and bookstores.

"Extra frothy!"

I have a feeling that this one will go viral. It's just too awesome not to.

Check out the rest of musician Reina del Cid's videos on her YouTube channel.

She Don't Like Firefly (music video)

This fan-made tribute to Joss Whedon's Firefly is brilliant!

Spoiler warning: The lyrics contain a spoiler if you haven't seen the film Serenity.

Other than that... enjoy the Browncoat goodness!

Calling All Geeks!

Last Summer I did an experiment that I called the Hyde and Geek/Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon. The idea was that I'd sit in front of my computer and tweet every ten minutes to help raise money for charity. In this case, the charity was Kids Need to Read, an organization dedicated to getting books in the hands of kids. I managed to stay awake through the event  (thanks to a ton of Red Bull), had a ton of fun, and my awesome Twitter friends and followers rose to the challenge and raised nearly $2000 for charity!

Last season's Tweetathon was such a success that I've decided to do it again! In fact, I'm considering making it an annual event. But to the point of this post...

Last year, my good Twitter-pal, Brian Truitt of USA Weekend helped me out by giving away a copy of The Losers on DVD to one random Twitter-ite who helped to promote the Tweetathon through some retweets. So, as I began planning this year's event, I thought to myself "What if other geeks and friends would like to help out by giving prizes?"

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 during and after 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, and my eternal and undying gratitude.

I'm also looking for anyone who has a blog, a 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.

Cute Vader Attacks in This Volkswagen Superbowl Commercial

Aside from my NHL phase years ago, I've never cared much for sports. However, I do sit with the family and watch the Superbowl each and every year. I mean, c'mon! I get free chicken wings while getting to watch the latest movie trailers and hilarious commercials. Plus, the actual game provides me ample time to take food and potty breaks. It's perfect!

Here's one of the commercials from the upcoming Superbowl XLV and it, as is expected, awesome!

Bonus: It's Star Wars! Enjoy!

10 Things I've Done that You (Probably) Haven't

For the record, I blatantly stole this idea from fellow blogger Teresa Jusino who in turn stole it from someone else. As Teresa puts it, it's not stealing, it's "being inspired" by.

So here's a list of 10 random things I've done that I would think you haven't. Feel free to comment, add your own list, etc...

1. Ran fan-interference for The Misfits before a concert.

2. Went to a rockabilly concert with Brian O'Halloran.

3. Threw away an autographed photo of Steven Spielberg because I was mad that it wasn't signed by E.T.

4. Been punched and horribly bruised by a 2 time martial arts hall of fame inductee and MMA fighter.

5. Went shopping for action figures at Target with Jason Mewes.

6. Been stared down by a full grown wolf in the wild from less than 10 feet away.

7. Played Rock Band with Tony Todd.

8. Received a Hallowe'en card from the High Priest of the Church of Satan.

9. Stood at the helm of The Edinburgh Trader from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

10. Survived an exploding gas furnace from less than a foot away.

This Retro Poster for Pee Wee's Big Adventure Rocks!

Check out this AMAZING retro poster for Pee Wee's Big Adventure from artist Mark Welser...

Then, after you're done basking in the awesome, head over to Mark's Etsy page to see more retro posters.

Also: follow Pee Wee Herman himself on Twitter!

Poe's The Raven Narrated by Q

Hallowe'en approaches! What better way to celebrate than with a little Poe?

That it's a brilliantly creepy rendition of The Raven by John de Lancie (Star Trek: TNG's Q) doesn't hurt either.

Turn down the lights, close your eyes and enjoy the fear!

 

Hyde and Geek Comic Test Run

I've been toying with the idea of doing a comic strip here at Hyde and Geek but I haven't decided on the art direction or final characters. Below is the first strip I've created just to test the waters of what it might look like. Keep in mind that this isn't the final strip nor is there any promise that there will be any more. Enjoy!

Also, I know some of my readers are artists and webcomic creators. If you have any advice and/or input, I'd appreciate it greatly.

A List of Random Things that I Love...

• the way my wife looks so beautiful without even trying - I'm especially glad that she doesn't realize this or she'd never have married me
• my kids for letting me see the world through their eyes on occasion and experiencing a wonder that only children have
• a fall afternoon when the summer heat is long gone but the chill of winter is still just an unpleasant thought for tomorrow
• the near perfect still of the night at 3am when normal people are asleep and the world feels magical and ancient
• the cold of a dog's nose
• that I'm in my 30s and cartoons, Muppets and toys can still make me smile
• the feel of fresh grass under my bare feet
• that I live in America
• the smell of fresh ink when you crack open a new comic book
• the pencil stain on the side of my hand after an intense session of writing or drawing
• anything made by my kids for me
• the fact that some of those things made for me say "world's best dad" when I often feel so far from that praise
• the smell of a book - fresh and new or old and dusty, it doesn't matter
• cleaning my house while singing along to Cat Stevens tunes when there's no one around to hear how silly I sound
• the still chill in the air just before it rains
• that my mother let me be me and never forced me to be something that I'm not - I hope that I can do the same for my own kids
• and the knowledge that someone who is as hard-headed and downright odd as me could end up with the life that I'm living right now

The Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon

Update: The Tweetathon is now OVER! However, the page will remain live for a while so you may still be able to CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

-------------------------------------------------

Followers of my Twitter will know that I am a huge Browncoat (that's a fan of the TV show Firefly for the uninitiated). One day around a year ago, Firefly star Nathan Fillion tweeted about a charity that he co-founded called Kids Need to Read.

As a Browncoat, I took a look at the charity. Then, as a reader, a father, and an elementary school teacher-in-training, I fell in love with the Kids Need to Read mission to provide books to underprivileged schools and reading programs.

To assist them in their goal, I am holding a 36 hour charity tweetathon this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, August 3rd and 4th in an attempt to raise $4000 for charity. That means that, beginning at 10am EST on Tuesday, I will be sitting at my computer on Twitter and tweeting at least once every 10 minutes for the duration of 36 hours straight. That means no sleep and no cheating by using Twitter from my phone or iPod. I haven't stayed awake for 36 hours straight in almost two decades so, if you're following me on Twitter, be prepared for some insane drivel to be spouted after the 20 hour mark or so.

How can you help with this event? Just follow me on Twitter, retweet my links during the tweetathon to help spread the word and, most importantly, donate! CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW! Also, if you have any inside lines to celebrities on Twitter to help spread the word, that would help immensely. I set my goal high for this event and I have no doubt that my geeky followers on Twitter will help me to blow this one out of the water!

Now buckle in, folks! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

And again... Click here to donate!

-------------------------------------------------

Related links:

The Kids Need to Read official site

Follow Kids Need to Read on Twitter

Follow Scott (Hyde & Geek) on Twitter

Scooby Doo! Mystery Inc. Comes to Cartoon Network

I've been a fan of Scooby Doo for as far back as I can remember. I think the idea of a team of monster-hunters like those of Ghostbusters and Monster Squad, both of which I am also quite enamored, will always get the 8-year-old me excited like nothing else ever can.

And tomorrow night, Scooby Doo returns to Cartoon Network in a new incarnation called simply Scooby Doo! Mystery Inc.

The show features the voices of Frank Welker (the original Fred) and Matthew Lillard (of the live-action Scooby Doo movies) as Fred and Shaggy along with a host of guest voices including comedian Lewis Black and Tony Todd (Candyman).

It looks like Cartoon Network is sticking to the classic mystery formula, complete with guest stars on a random basis. I sure hope so because I'm wanting this thing to be full on double rainbow!

Watch the teaser below and I'll return later this week with my fan-review.

Visit the official Scooby Doo site on Cartoon Network.

Wil Wheaton's Roots (t-shirt)

The first J!NX t-shirt design by Wil Wheaton was fun but his second is pure brilliance!

I began playing Dungeons & Dragons in the 5th grade. For the first 20 years of my current 25 year run as an RPG player (well... mostly GM), I played the good old fashioned way. I spent countless weekends visiting far-away fantasy worlds with just a couple of rule books, some graph paper, a pen, a bag of dice and a few good friends.

These days, we've got pre-printed map tiles and miniatures and a ton more pre-made adventures but nothing... NOTHING will ever top those days. I remember vividly one adventure where I did get to sit in on the player side of things and our DM had our adventurers face off against the Predator. Let me say that again. We faced the frakkin' Predator. The alien bounty hunter... in a D&D setting. Sure. It didn't make any kind of story-sense at all and our entire party got slaughtered, but it was one of the best nights of gaming I've have ever had. I think I'm going to go dig out my original D&D rule books and give them a read.

Thanks, Wil, for designing a shirt that so perfectly evokes those memories for me. It is made of pure win.

Click here to purchase the "Roots" shirt.

Click here to visit Wil Wheaton's blog for more gaming goodness.

Scott Pilgrim vs. Scott?

The latest rage this past week has been the Scott Pilgrim vs The World avatar creator.

Just for random fun, here's mine...

12-Minute GeekSix Interview featuring Me

Last evening, I was interviewed by Josh of GeekSix.com in the second of his 12-minute spontaneous interviews. In that short time, we discussed my blog name, who's my favorite tweeter and who's better: Kirk or Picard? Maybe it was in my head but I was sure that I could hear Twitter nearly exploding with the overload of our combined awesome! But I'm sure it was more like this...

Head on over to this page to read the interview in its entirety.

...and be sure to follow Josh on Twitter while you're at it.

Get Rid of those Comic Long Boxes for Good

I've long since had The Sultan gaming table from Geek Chic on my want list. Today, I was showing The Sultan to a friend and found that the gang that made The Sultan are now making a nice piece of furniture to store comics and cards! I love me some RPGs... but comics are my life-source. It's not officially on sale yet and there's no price given but, regardless, this thing just went on my if-you-want-to-be-my-best-friend-forever gift list!

Click here to check out the Alexandria Codex on the Geek Chic site.

Snoop Dogg is a Jedi Master!

I just came across this new ADIDAS ad hawking their line of Star Wars clothing and shoes and it is made of pure win! It's a revision of the cantina scene and it's much better than the last time George Lucas revised it with the idea that Han shot first. It stars Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk, David Beckham, and Oasis' Gallagher brothers. 'Nuff said! Just watch!

Want a HUD for Your Web Access? It's on it's Way!

I was tweeting yesterday about how cool it would be for someone to make a pair of sunglasses with 4G access and a HUD (that's a heads-up-display for you who don't like games or sci-fi) display that would allow me to read my e-mail and tweets on the fly.

How shocked was I to find out that two of my Twitter pals (@K1ngB00 and @ValVictory) work for a company called Microvision that is working on exactly that technology!

Not only can you check messages via these uber-cool glasses. You can also get GPS, watch movies and even play video games!

If you think this stuff is as awesome as I do, you can click here to check out their site and read up!

It's like the Sixth World of Shadowrun is upon us!

And, before you ask, after Warren Ellis and Mark Waid, I've been given third dibs on a pair once they hit the street. Go get yer own!

Wil Wheaton Does Gaga with Bonus: Felicia Day

This is a video of Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day doing Rock Band to Lady Gaga's Pokerface at this year's Phoenix ComicCon! Need I say more? Enjoy!

Everybody Needs "Validation"

I had to watch this short film for class and it's just become one of my favorite pieces of film ever! It's sheer brilliance! I won't give anymore away but if this doesn't make you smile, you probably aren't human.