If you grew up with the Nintendo Entertainment System like I did, I’m sure you wasted countless hours blowing into your games trying to get a few more levels of gameplay out of them when they were on the fritz. Usually that didn’t accomplish anything besides making you look like a dork, but now you can relive your old NES memories while playing the harmonica.

Some genius on Etsy has jammed some harmonicas into old NES cartridges, and should be rewarded for his amazing idea, so head over to his shop and buy one or two.

I think I speak for us all in saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Found via Chris Coyier

If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t posted much since before the holidays here on SMC, here’s your answer. I’ve been trying to get this site launched for months, and I finally made myself finish it. It’s called Animation on Blu-ray, and well, that’s what it’s about.

My goal is to provide news, reviews, and a complete release database (and coming soon calendar) for all animated Blu-ray titles here in the US. I’ll still write about animated Blu-rays here a little bit, but for the most part I’m going to separate that content to the new site.

There are plenty of sites that aim to do the same thing for all Blu-ray releases, but I thought there was room for one that would be more specialized, for my fellow hardcore animation fans.

It’s still a work in progress, and I’m going to be adding more features soon, but I’d appreciate any feedback you might have!

Retro Thing is a great blog about all things retro, with a slant towards gadgetry and gaming. Now they are getting into the hardware business with the Retro Thing USB Controller.

They had this designed and manufactured here in the United States, it lights up blue when plugged in via USB, and they even took some extra steps to make it extra hackable for the DIY crowd. It’ll work on Atari, Amiga, and Commodore emulators, or as a controller for your very own MAME cabinet (which is something I’ve been meaning to do). For $30, it’s a steal.

Check out the full story at Retro Thing or jump straight to the order page and support the geek cause.

Remember when I made a list of the Best Beatles Covers from the Muppet Show, and I said I could listen to a whole album of Jerry Nelson singing? Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now thanks to his new album, Truro Daydreams.

Jerry Nelson is of course the super talented puppeteer/voice actor/musician that you probably know as the characters Floyd, The Count, Gobo Fraggle, and too many more to mention. I heard about a year ago that he was coming out with an album, and it looks like it was just now released. It’s a very cool blend of a lot of different styles of music, and I highly recommend picking it up.

It’s a $9.99 download from Digstation (requires signing up for an account).

Thanks to ToughPigs for the tip.

Everyone’s favorite 80s-themed t-shirt purveyor 80sTees.com has released an amazing Shredder Hoodie for anyone out there brave enough to wear it.

Everything about this is pretty brilliant, from the zip-up mask to the little knobby spikes and the purple back that looks like his cape.

The Shredder Hoodie is $60 on 80sTees, and if you buy me one I will happily tell the world how awesome you are.

Buy the Shredder Hoodie on 80sTees