All year it’s been a pleasure bringing you all the pop culture products that smart people obsess about. This is by no means a diffinative list of All Things Geek that I’ve loved, but these are the things I’d most loved to receive if I hadn’t already received these products who were provided by brand, and no other compensation was given for fair review. These are my standouts and I hope you find something you Geek out about for yourself or a loved one!
2015 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir
This is a delightful Reserve Pinot Noir, fruity but complex with a bright acidity, a perfect wine to pair with the next issue of Mike Mignola’s iconic Hellboy! This special bottling is the first in Stoller Family Estates Hellboy series sourced from a selection barrel aged in French oak for 10 months. Impress both the Comic book lover & Wine snob on your list!
$50 pre order here! https://www.stollerfamilyestate.com/Shop/Specialty
Please note, this wine is available for pre-order and will ship out January 2, 2017.
Bait: Off-Color Stories for You to Color
New York Times bestselling novelist and cultural trickster Chuck Palahniuk’s Bait: Off-Color Stories for You to Color. Each story is paired with pieces of colorable original art, nearly 50 in all.
Dark Horse Books will publish Bait: Off-Color Stories for You to Color as a 8.5 x 11 inch hardcover album, with uncoated and white interior paper stock, accompanied by a cover illustrated and colored by Duncan Fegredo and designed by Nate Piekos.his first ever coloring book for adults, was published by Dark Horse Books. Bait is both the coloring book debut and the second short story collection for Palahniuk, author of Lullaby and Fight Club. The book contains eight bizarre tales, illustrated in detailed black and white by Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer), Lee Bermejo (The Suiciders), Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy), and more. This is the perfect gift for Palahunik fans and Adult Coloring Book Aficionados!
The Only Living Boy: issues 1-5
Inspired by classic pulp novels, old-time radio broadcasts and Saturday morning cartoons, Harvey Award Winning Creators David Gallaher and Steve Ellis’ adventure series THE ONLY LIVING BOY features the adventures of Erik Farell, a runaway boy who awakens on a strange planet to discover he just might be the last human alive. Erik must befriend an insect princess and a mermaid warrior in order to defeat an evil dragon and a slew of dangerous creatures!
“My experiences as an educator informs so much of THE ONLY LIVING BOY ,” said Gallaher. “Growing up can often feel lonely and isolating. As a teacher. I saw first hand how anxiety can haunt children. With this series, I’m exploring how children adapt to adversity.”
Gallaher’s fantastic story & Ellis’s exotic locales are filled with dangerous creatures but the characters are instantly relatable to young readers. They grapple with issues like intolerance, finding self confidence, and feeling like the odd person out. Perfect positive messages for YA or anyone who wants a good old fashioned adventure tale! Read David’s incredible personal essay about teaching Special Education Students in my original Article of issue #1
Issues 1-5 are currently available!
Amazon Echo
AMAZON ECHO is a Bluetooth enabled speaker you control with your voice. The “Alexa” Voice Service provides hands-free voice control for Amazon Music, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Plus, Echo is Bluetooth enabled so you can stream other popular music services like iTunes from your phone or tablet. One Button Shop on Amazon, ask for a weather report, make to do lists, find recipes and pretty much anything else you can think of with this amazing little machine. It can also act as the hub of your Smart Home setup paired with Bluetooth smart home systems.
IAmElemental Courage Core Power Female Action Figure, 6 1/2 Tall by IAmElemental
I’ve been reporting on IamElementals line of female action figures for awhile now from Kickstarter to thier campaign against childhood cancer. You can read my latest piece on the September article “IAmElemental Female Action Figures Tackle Childhood Cancer” Most recently thier empowering female action figures have been named among the finalists for Toy of the Year!
“Our fans love IAmElemental because we bring something extraordinary to the toy aisle: action figures with healthy body types, forward-thinking design, and superpowers based on character traits like Bravery, Honesty and Curiosity. As a startup company, we are so honored by this industry recognition for our Series 1/Courage female action figures, and we are thrilled that Series 2/Wisdom has joined them on toy store shelves in time for the holidays,” said Chief Elemental Officer Julie Kerwin. So order one for anyone on your list that can appricate that women & girls can be brilliant, beautifull and badass!
Carver: A Paris Story
This is a no nonsense, violent, layered, personal story of an ordinary man, Francis Carver, surviving extraordinary circumstances and what is left of that man in it’s wake. Carver is no Superman, he’s not Bond, he lives in a seedy world filled with denizens reasonable people avoid. Carver is also a relic of his time. His story is a revelation on a war I thought I was quite familiar with but in Chris’ talented hands, it was fresh and nuanced.
A must for Historical fiction buffs and anyone who can appreciate a mature, nuanced take on Film Noir and bare knuckled WWI intrigue. His personal essay documented here in “DON’T Call Me Francis! Carver:A Paris Story is a must read.
ENCLAVE AUDIO CINEHOME HD WIRELESS HOME THEATER SYSTEM
This game changing system from ENCLAVE AUDIO boasts-
No AVR. No wires. No foolin’!
This is true 5.1 wireless surround sound folks! plug n play, no tricky configurations, set them up anywhere and these speakers kick! They blow pricer systems (cough SONOS) completely away!
If your lucky Geek is looking to upgrade and wants an affordable, versitle 5.1 system, the CineHome HD offers 14 distinct drivers in 6 individual speaker enclosures that sound as good as systems three times the price! 24 bit wire-free audio with HD quality tottaly immersive sound and all you do is plug each component in to power and the components find and optimize eachother! I was up and running in ten minutes flat! Plus, it’s Bluetooth enabled to synchronize with any Bluetooth device with the Free Enclave Audio app you can have full on theater quality sound anywhere for deck parties, BBQ’s or outdoor movie nights!
TROBO
Co-Created by Chris Harden & Jeremy Schienberg and winner of the popular science award at Toy Fair 2015, TROBO is an interactive, very huggable Bluetooth enabled playmate for kids 2+.
Both the Newton and Curie models read short very engaging and age appropriate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) based stories featuring your child, downloaded from the Free TROBO App available from the Apple AppStore on iOS devices iPhones & iPads. Scan your enclosed QT code for the free TROBO app to your device and you or your child will be walked through a simple but robust character creator where you add the child’s name, gender, hair style, hair color, skin color and age range that will put your child’s avatar in the story!
TROBO reads the story to your child as he or she follows along simultaneously on the screen. Every story concludes with a fun review quiz that reinforces what topic was learned like “What do Sharks Eat?” or “How is Lightning Created?” plus a description of the applicable career involved. TROBO is A terrific gift for young geeks!
LOOTCRATE MYSTERY SUBSCRIPTION BOXES
Lootcrate was founded in 2012 by an entrepreneurial team of geeks and gamers who thought that online retail was missing the sense of community, interactivity and mystery that we fell in love with at shows like Comic-Con and PAX. Loot Crate delivers curated monthly subscription boxes that include exclusive licensed merchandise from top global entertainment and consumer product companies. With phenomenal support and content curation at its core,
Loot Crate’s mission is to deliver mystery and delight every month. LootGaming, LootAnime, specialty franchise specific boxes like FIREFLY or HALO and LVLUP Mystery Apparel Boxes are also available! Available in single, 3, 6 & 12 month subscriptions delivered right to your door! It’s a GREAT VALUE 4-6 items over $45 of retail value in every crate for a saw buck ($20) and a chance to win a monthly Mega Crate worth over $2,000 in value!! You can’t afford NOT to subscribe!
Order a new Lootcrate subscription using this link for the ultimate in geek gifts for your Pop Culture lovin’ Geek in your life!
click on Baby Groot and use the code “LOOTR3” for $3 off! You’re welcome!
The Fifth Beatle
The Fifth Beatle is the graphic novel debut of Tony Award Winning Broadway Producer Vivek J. Tiwary. This New York Times #1 Best Selling exploration of pop culture & personal identity brilliantly chronicles the story of “Gay, Jewish, Kid from Liverpool” Brian Epstein, The Beatles visionary manager. Myself being a “Bleek (Black Geek) from The Bronx” could relate to Brian’s outsider status and my discussion with Vivek (pronounced like cake) a self described, “Weirdo Indian Kid from the Lower East Side” made me realize what we shared in common.
“He was Gay and Jewish from Liverpool. It’s a felony to be gay in the U.K. Anti-Semitism was rampant in the country and Liverpool prior to the Beatles was a port town without any cultural significance. I don’t want to suggest I had a remotely the obstacles in my life that Brian faced, but I’m a first-generation American, my background goes back to India, I figured If a Gay Jewish kid from Liverpool could bring the world the Beatles, why couldn’t a weirdo Indian immigrant from the Lower East Side write comic books and produce Broadway musicals?” This graphic novel is a remarkable achievement with nearly universal appeal. A must for Beatles fans, ’60’s musicologists and anyone looking for an inspirational mentor.
If you wish to learn more read my full interview with Vivek and make sure you see his 2014 TED Talk embed at the end.
Stay tuned Geek Nation! I’ve got another list of Geeky Holiday pleasures coming soon!
Photo / Art Credits – by manufactures unless indicated.