Cyberpunk has a name, and its name is Melissa Scott. She almost single-handedly redefined the genre with her famous science fiction novel, Trouble and Her Friends, now in a trade paperback edition by Tor after its original publication in 1994. Trouble and all computer hackers in her world face the problem of...

Let me just jump right into this and tell you what I was looking for:  I needed a way to keep the kids occupied at times while the only device I had on me was my iPhone 4.  Now, I know there are a few other devices that allow your child to...

Are you too cool for school, or too school for cool? Meet the kids and teachers of Astronaut Academy in Dave Roman’s cool new graphic novel Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity. It’s a collection of strips from Roman’s webcomic Astronaut Elementary. Their stories are told with dialogue that comes straight out of Japanese...

Relive the Harry Potter books and movies by playing the entertaining and fun Wii game, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, in the comfort of your own home! You can learn how to cast spells, unlock characters, play Quidditch, and defeat Professor Quirrell and all of the other evil wizards who work for...

If you do not read any further, I will go on record as saying the Thunderstorm is the best water gun ever invented for kids.  If you don’t believe that statement or just want to find out some more, keep reading as I extoll the virtues of the Nerf Super Soaker Thunderstorm....

Rollors is evolutionary, not revolutionary, but that does not mean you need to pass it by when it comes to lawn fun–quite the opposite.  Our family plays, horseshoes and Bocce, among other games outside, so we were familiar with the concept.  What Rollors does, though, is bring a better way to score, some...

It’s a post-apocalyptic world. The dead have risen, and in our war against the zombies, the living –we– have lost. Humanity still survives in fenced-in, isolated small communities, and people get on with life the best that they can. Still, whatever caused the original outbreak continues to make anyone who dies or...

Last week I was able to attend the Soft Opening of Star Tours – The Adventures Continue while at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and I have a few thoughts to share about the ride and the Star Wars Weekend for 2011. Let’s talk about the ride first. Since it was a preview I...

Is being true to oneself and having fun while doing it more important, or pleasing one’s parents? That is a question that is often very difficult to answer, and it’s one that, eventually, most of us face. It’s a question that Dennis Ouyang, an Asiatic teen in the First Second (0:1) graphic...

Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii is a fun-filled game for 1-2 players that the whole family can enjoy playing, regardless of your age level. Now, I’ll admit that when I started playing the game, this was not my initial opinion of it. At first, I thought the word “yarn” only meant...

What do an orphaned street musician, an apprentice clockmaker, and a maid in a grand hotel have in common? Not much, on the surface; but in the magnificent, page-turning novel The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby, the lives of these three children soon interlock, like the turning gears of a clock,...

Alienation, an unsolved murder, and a ghost who is not-so-friendly are the subject matters of Anya’s Ghost, by the extraordinary author/illustrator Vera Brosgol, for First Second (:01). Anya is like any typical teenager–well, any who are embarrassed by their families, are self-conscious about their bodies, and have a hard time trying to...

American Idol‘s top 4 results were shocking to many. Like many seasons before it, they always have a shocker. In this case it has now happened twice this season. Before I go on about who was eliminated, let’s go through the overview on what went down on the elimination show. The night...