Top Hat Sasquatch

Yesterday MTV Geek got an exclusive first-look at the new TMNT toys that will be coming out later this year, and they are amazing. I was going to hop on the bandwagon yesterday and post the initial photos but I decided to hold off so I could try to organize my thoughts on the two different lines in a little more depth. Playmates is releasing lines based on the new show as well as a TMNT Classics line modeled after the original cartoon. Today I’m going to talk mostly about those.

2012: Year of the Dragon Turtle

With the new CGI show airing on Nickelodeon this year and Playmates releasing these toys, it could be a huge year for the Turtles. I haven’t seen anything from the new cartoon, but I know lots of awesome people are working on it and it should appeal to kids without seeming like some recycled 80s fad. Combine that with the fact that these new toys look like the best Playmates have ever released, and we could potentially have ourselves full-blown TMNT mania again.
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Ready Player One is a futuristic novel by Ernest Cline (writer of Fanboys) that presents a dismal future in which most of the population spend all the time inside a vast virtual world called the OASIS. The eccentric inventor of the game was obsessed with 80s pop culture. Upon his death he devised a game to pass off his massive fortune to someone who could beat a series of challenges designed to test the player’s knowledge of the geeky bits of culture he was so obsessed with. Join Rob, Tim, and Tommy as they discuss the book, including spoilers, and try to decide if the pop culture references make the book unique or ruin the whole story.

The Top Hat Sasquatch team reads a lot of blog posts every day, and some slip through the crack or just don’t warrant their own post. That’s where Missing Links comes in. Every few days we collect the best links we’ve come across and pass them on to you.

LEGO Lord of the Rings News: LEGO Gollum Poster, LOTR Minifigs Revealed
Yet another awesome minifig reveal by LEGO for their Lord of the Rings line. Also a first look at the Orcs and Ringwraiths. So far, I like everything I've seen and can't wait to build these sets.

Threadless on the Xbox Live Avatar Marketplace
Your Xbox avatar can now wear Funkalicious, among other classic Threadless t-shirts. The circle is now complete.

Vortex, a USB keytar
As a musician and a geek, I approve of this keytar midi controller, even though half of the fun of keytars is standing up and looking like a dork in front of a lot of people, not just your computer.

Hyrulecraft, a complete Minecraft replica of Ocarina of Time, is now live
The lengths that geeks are willing to go these days to create awesome things astounds me.

Nickelodeon Universe Announces New TMNT Thrill Ride
Looks like I'll be going to the Mall of America sometime this year. This ride sounds great! Also, note the appearance of Shredder in this mockup. He looks kind of cool!

RetroBit RetroDuo Portable takes your SNES games on the go, $20 adapters bring NES and Genesis as well | The Verge
Looks like the portable SNES that Tim linked to around the holidays has some (much cheaper) competition.

At the end of Damaged #4 (See my review of #1-4), Frank, the soon-to-retire head of a special police task force, was teaching his young replacement, Cassidy, how to be a cop on the rough streets of San Francisco.  Meanwhile, Frank’s brother, Henry, a cop-turned-heavily-armed-vigilante, has taken on his own protege, Lordsman, a police officer sent to prison for refusing to help while a known gangster died in a car fire.  Lordsman, though, doesn’t agree with Henry’s philosophy of taking out the criminals to clean up the streets.  Instead, Lordsman believes the cure to the ills of society have to start by cutting off the head – the corrupt politicians and policemen.  When he goes on a mission without Henry in tow, he puts a dirty cop in the hospital with a career-ending injury, which only makes the police that much more interested in catching the vigilante duo.
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If you’ve been following me on Twitter, Pinterest, or around in the store lately you know I’m completely addicted to LEGO right now. 2012 is going to be a crazy huge year for the toy company, and a couple main reasons are the addition of the Lord of the Rings and Super Heroes lines. LEGO has been teasing us with posters of a few LOTR characters recently, but folks at the London ToyFair got some early shots of the new minifigures and they look amazing.

First off, I wish I could have LEGO Hobbit hair. It’s perfect. Second, Sam doesn’t quite look goofy enough, and Boromir looks a little odd. But you have to admit, seeing the Fellowship in minifigure form like that is pretty awesome.

Head over to FBTB for a smallish new glimpse at the Avengers. Who knew Captain America would translate to LEGO form so well?

Via From Bricks to Bothans