Top Hat Sasquatch

This doesn’t really come as much surprise, but today Lucasfilm and Fox announced that the complete Star Wars saga is coming to Blu-ray in September 2011 and is available for pre-order now. Surprisingly, Lucas is giving us some choices, just not all the choices that we want. You can pick from:

• The Original (good) Trilogy – $45 on Amazon
• The Prequel (not-so-good) Trilogy – $45 on Amazon
• The Whole Saga – $90 on Amazon

The individual trilogies are 3-disc sets, with the complete saga clocking in at an impressive 9 discs. They’re claiming over 30 hours of special features, including never-before seen deleted and alternative scenes. No one really expected Lucas to do the right thing and release the original cuts of his films, so instead we’ll be treated to Han shooting second, extra CG, and young Anakin’s ghost in glories HD.

I really want to say I’m only buying the original trilogy, but I know I’ll end up with the complete saga. Episode I came out when I was 14 years old, and for a few years the prequels excited me because I was young and didn’t know better. It took me a few years to realize that they were not good films, and that George Lucas truly didn’t care about his fans, only about making more money. But that’s the topic for another post (or podcast).

Are You Buying Star Wars on Blu-ray?

Let us know if you plan on picking any or all of these sets up, if you’ve been looking forward to them, or if it’s Star Wars that’s going to finally make you switch to Blu-ray.

“That’s no moon…”

While I’m getting tired of the “nostalgic icon crossed with another nostalgic icon” school of t-shirt design, I have to say, today’s Ript Apparel offering is pretty nicely done.

The concept is pretty familiar, but the quality of the artwork makes it stand out in this case.  A too-simple, too-cartoony line drawing would just look cheap, but because this almost looks like a photograph, it works.

Either way, if you grew up on Pokeman and Star Wars, this shirt should be an easy hit.  Sort of like how you used to bullseye womp rats in your T-16 back home.

Head over to Ript Apparel and pick it up for $10 today only!  After 12:00 midnight Central, you’ll have missed your chance to catch it at all.

I just got a Panasonic GH2 micro four thirds camera, and I need as much practice as I can get taking photos and video with it, so I’ve randomly started photographing all the odds and ends around my house.

A few years ago I was at a library book sale in a small town and I found this 1963 version of Risk in mint condition. I think I paid a dollar for it, mainly because it looked so awesome. I’ve tried learning and playing Risk a few times in the past, but never with much success.

I love the art style and design of this game, from the actual board to the way everything is laid out when you open it up. The pieces are simple painted wooden cubes, an odd combination of bright and dull colors. The pieces, cards, and die are laid out symmetrically underneath the board.

More after the jump.

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Sifteo announced an early access program for its clever game cubes at the Consumer Electronics Show today. The company’s 1.5-inch cubes feature a color display and can interact with each other for games and educational play. The Early Access package includes three Sifteo cubes and USB wireless link for $99 ($50 off the anticipated price).

The starter pack, shipping at some point in the first quarter of 2011, also includes 1,000 game store points, 50% off a future Sifteo purchase, and a limited edition T-shirt. This is the only way you can get your hands on these hot little cubes before their national availability this fall. The first batch of Early Access packs is gone but you can sign up to be notified when they will be available again.

Sifteo was born out of the MIT Media Lab. It got its first big exposure at a TED Talk by CEO David Merrill in 2009. They were then known as Siftables.

I could talk all day long about these fun little devices but the best way is to show you. Head on over to Sifteo.com for a brief video demonstrating this remarkable new game system. Hopefully we can get our hands on a set of these so we can bring you a full review.

Location and Showtime Update! – We will be going to the State Museum’s IMAX Theater for the 8pm show.

Tron Arcade Contest – Our resident Tron geek, streetalchemist, has secured a few prizes to give away to Top 2 High Scores on the Tron Arcade machine outside of the theater. Our contest will run from 7pm to 745pm. Quarters will be supplied for official runs.

Showtime is at 8pm we will be giving away Tron swag until we run out to those that show up early.

Top Hat Sasquatch and our partner site, Horrible Night, are happy to invite all of you Indianapolis area gamers and geeks to come watch Tron: Legacy with us on Friday night, Jan 14th. We’ve chosen the IMAX theater at the Indiana State Museum downtown as the proper place to see this techno-fused, zen-Dude filled, special effects spectacle.

RSVP on the Facebook Event page