Celebrate Being A Geeky Dad In Style

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The most excellent TeeFury, which offers different t-shirt designs daily that regularly connect with geeky sensibilities, is getting ready for Father’s Day by recognizing Dad’s superhero strength.

The shirt, designed by Sinclair Moore, was designed because he “didn’t want to spring for a laptop for my dad, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to save loads of money, and abuse my powers to curate this design so I could buy it.” His powers are our treasure, we say.

You can support the designer and father of two, as well as spoil your secret identity to neighbors and friends, by purchasing the t-shirt, available only today, June 5.

TeeFury – Tee Today. Gone Tomorrow.

New Free-To-Play Clone Wars MMO Coming This Fall

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For parents who grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy, it must be strange to think their children are more excited about Ahsoka and an animated Anakin than appreciating just how cool Darth Vader was back in the day. But it’s true, and until Uncle George blesses a new Star Wars movie proper and hands over the reins to someone a little more capable of recapturing the franchise’s magic, we’ll all have to live with images of Star Wars: The Clone Wars characters on pretty much every bedsheet, t-shirt, backpack and lunch box we buy for our kids.

Today, LucasArts will continue to feed this Rancor-sized beast by announcing a new free-to-play MMO for the PC, Clone Wars Adventures, which will be developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the makers of Free Realms (and Star Wars Galaxies, but we won’t hold that against them…yet). The announcement promises lots of family-friendly gameplay with a social aspect, so expect kids to go up against their friends in a virtual galaxy far, far away by battling on the ground with their customized lightsabers or in space with their own starfighters. Here’s the description from StarWars.com:

With Clone Wars Adventures a new generation of Star Wars fans can become the next great hero of the Republic and take their rightful place alongside the Jedi, Padawan and Clone Troopers. Players can speed through space in a starfighter, take out waves of battle droids in Tower Defense or test their brains with challenging Droid Programming puzzles. Players can also purchase legendary Star Wars outfits, items and accessories through micro-transactions using Station Cash, SOE’s virtual currency.

Minigames aim to further the virtual experience, and an embedded card game will also be available. Being a family-centric MMO, SOE is thankfully using the same tried-and-true parental settings from Free Realms, such as pre-canned chat and playtime settings.

As with any free-to-play MMO, it’s free until your kid wants the same cool outfits and perks as their friends, at which point we say “welcome to micro-transaction hell”. Still, it sounds like there’s plenty to do for free, and with SOE at the helm it has great pedigree in the online space.

Clone Wars Adventures will be released this Fall for the PC. For more information, check out the announcement on StarWars.com or on the Clone Wars Adventures official site.

Original Toy Story Soundtrack For A Song

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Readers, get ready for the Toy Story 3 onslaught.

Although the new Shrek movie beat out some stiff competition at the box office during the holiday weekend, it’s evident folks were growing a little tired of the ol’ green ogre and his band of fairy tale misfits. On the flipside, be it general public interest or the marketing muscle of Disney, Toy Story 3 is something to get excited about.

And we’re just talking about the parents. The kids are going to go crazy over it, so be prepared.

So, we at MDIAG! have prepared a little checklist for your long car rips to the beach. Did you pack your 12″ super action Buzz Lightyear? Good. Do you have your Toy Story and Toy Story 2 DVDs? Check. Did you get the movie music on your iPhone, iPod or MP3 player of choice? No? Well, Amazon.com has you covered.

Through June, as part of Amazon.com’s generally excellent monthly list of “100 albums for $5 each” deals, the original Toy Story soundtrack is being offered for download on glorious DRM-free MP3 for only $5. That’s a small price to pay to get some satisfied children on a long car ride in return.

MDIAG! is a big proponent of Amazon.com’s MP3 Downloads store, since the format allows near-universal compatibility with media playback devices, computers and other electronics, such as some GPS devices. And because they are MP3, they are DRM-free, so you only have to buy once and you can install it on whatever you like, as many times as you want.

So here’s our checklist. No ruined CDs? Check. Happy kids? Double check.

Original Toy Story Sountrack on MP3 [Amazon.com]

Toys ‘R’ Us Celebrates Toy Story 3, Offers Free Tix

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Looking back at the first half of 2010, it is difficult to say it has been a disappointing year for family movies, with Alice and Wonderland, How To Train Your Dragon and Shrek Forever After showing box office dominance. But coming off a year where we had one quality family movie after another, anything would look pale in comparison

At first glance of the Summer movie schedule, it might appear to be light, but don’t let the perception of a lack of tentpole family films fool you – there really is something to see every week through July, and with the right marketing and word of mouth there’s bound to be a few new franchises born.

If there is one sure thing, however, it’s Toy Story 3. The franchise that not only built Pixar but saved Disney in the process is getting it’s long-awaited follow-up, which was once in development by a new CGI company created by Disney before the Pixar acquisition. And if there is a match made in marketing heaven, it’s Toy Story 3 and Toys ‘R’ Us.

Actually, it’s probably Toy Story 3 and The Disney Store, but we digress…

This summer, walk into your local Toys ‘R’ Us or Babies ‘R’ Us store and you’ll be immediately greeted by Buzz, Woody and the gang with signage and promotion to last throughout the Summer. Both Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us will create specialty boutiques with exclusive toys, room decor and other merchandise to celebrate the return of the Toys. Here’s an MDIAG! important note: Babies ‘R’ Us will be the place to find the Toy Story 3 Imaginext line, for Mommy and Daddy Geek who want to share the excitement of the new film with their toddlers but are just too young to bring to the theaters.

The best part of this promotion? Leading up to the theatrical release of Toy Story 3 on June 18, Toys ‘R’ Us will be offering a free ticket to the movie with a $25 purchase of Toy Story merchandise. So be sure to get your Toy Story toys ahead of the movie – your kids will thank you later in life.

Click here to read the full press release.

Heavy Script Brings Down Muppet Snow White #1

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Muppet Snow White #1 (of 4)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Release Date: May 19, 2010
$2.99

Having  just returned from the family vacation to Walt Disney World, my life has been taken over by the Mouse. Visions of the Disney Princesses have taken over the visions of my children. The sounds of It’s A Small World have permeated my brain. We are now Disney junkies looking for our next fix. Great timing, perhaps, that BOOM! Studios released it’s latest Muppet comic in the Fractured Fairytales vein: Muppet Snow White.

Although The BOOM! Muppet releases attract a younger crowd by nature, they’ve always been cleverly written to entertain mom and dad as well. Muppet Snow White #1 takes every opportunity to break down the fourth wall by using characters Gonzo and Rizzo as The Brothers Grimm to “narrate”, by way of bickering with eachother about whether Camilla the Chicken or Spamela Hamderson would make a better Snow White and procuring license deals for Snow White’s lovable companion, Pepe the King Prawn, who also happens to be Spamela’s agent.

The entire comic feels very much like a Muppet Show production, with all your favorite Muppet characters playing a role, and there are some inspired choices among the cast. With Kermit as the Prince and Spamela as Snow White, Miss Piggy gets plenty of chances to take out her  “HIIIIYA!” karate rage as the Queen. I personally thought Fozzie’s wizecracks as the Mirror worked really well, but The Electric Mayhem as the Dwarves was my favorite, singing “Heigh-Hooo!” in the tune of The Ramone’s Blitzkreig Bop.

Gonzo and Rizzo take advantage of the fact that the comic follows the classic tale in the public domain rather than lampooning the Disney animated version which gives the book some additional jokes in the comparison, but is interesting in that the Muppets are now owned by Disney, and BOOM! has the Disney license.

And that brings me to the book’s fatal flaw. It’s a wordy book. Not only is there a lot of narration and dialog, but most of the humor would probaby fly above the normal school-ager. And for kids who don’t yet read, there are so many word balloons on each panel that the art, which has lots of color and great lines, suffers as a result. For adults, there’s such so much writing that it weighs down each page – it’s certainly not an easy page-turner.

Muppet Snow White would probably make a better television show or movie than what began with this issue. It still has nice art, most of the jokes hit rather than miss, and it has a great cast of characters in place, so I’m interested to see where it goes from here.

Duty Calls: MDIAG! Taking a Short Break

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As much as we want to spend every waking minute bring our readers smart parental commentary on the geek news of the day, there are times when we just can’t keep up the pace.

Unfortunately, we’re currently stuck in one of those times when responsibilities to our day jobs are taking priority over daily updates to the site. But do not fear – we’ll be back soon with the Daily Dad-gest, as well as some other great original features we have planned! Stay tuned!

These things will happen from time to time, and we’ll communicate to our readers as soon as they do. We hope you understand and keep coming back to MDIAG!

MDIAG! Reminder: Free Comic Day Is Tomorrow, May 1

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Free Comic Book day is held annually on the first Saturday of May. Comic shops across the world partake in introducing the wonderful world of comics to fans old and new, by handing out free issues specially created for the event, from all the major publishers.

Each year the selection of comics is geared toward readers of all ages, and this year is no exception. Most participating comic shops also have other events throughout the day, such as raffles, costumed characters to meet and greet with the kids, and special sales. To check for a participating shop in your area, go to the official web site and use the FCBD Store Locator.

Below is a preview of this year’s comics. To see the entire list, go to the FCBD web site:

ARCHIE’S SUMMER SPLASH! #1 FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W/A) Dan Parent.
Publisher: ARCHIE COMICS

“Whose BEACH is it Anyway?”: Sun, sand, swimsuits and cool rockin’ tunes — no, it’s not a cinematic “beach party” blast from the past, but a whole new summer splash from Archie and his friends! In this fun-filled free issue, Cheryl and her snooty friends from Pembrooke form an all-girl group to compete head on with the Archies at a summer beach music festival. Will Cheryl’s group be a tuneful treat, or mistaken for bellowing whales?

Doctor Solar/Magnus FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W) Jim Shooter (A) Dennis Calero, Various (C) Raymond Swanland.
Publisher: DARK HORSE COMICS

The dawn of a new age of superhero excitement begins on Free Comic Book Day as Dark Horse Comics proudly presents the return of two of the most legendary characters in the annals of comics: Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom and Magnus, Robot Fighter — re-imagined for the 21st century by comics legend, writer Jim Shooter! This FCBD extravaganza offers all-new Solar and Magnus stories, each heralding new series launches in summer 2010, and featuring interior art by fan-favorite Dennis Calero (X-Men Noir) and cover art by Raymond Swanland!

FRACTURED FABLES FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W) Bryan Talbot, Doug TenNapel, Alexander Grecian, Derek McCulloch, Ted McKeever (A) Camilla d’Errico, Doug TenNapel, Christian Ward, Anthony Peruzzo, Ted McKeever (C) Mike and Laura Allred
Publisher: IMAGE COMICS

This special FCBD offers a small taste of the new hardcover anthology from Silverline Books due later in the year. An all-star cast of writers and artists have been assembled to turn familiar fairy tales and nursery rhymes on their ear to make kids LAUGH! These humorous interpretations will delight any reader, regardless of their age!

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #155½ FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W) Larry Hama (A) TBD.
Publisher: IDW Publishing

This is what you really want! Larry Hama continues his original and ground-breaking G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero saga with the VERY NEXT ISSUE (but, you know, 15 years later). G.I. Joe has closed its doors, leaving COBRA to pillage, burn, and plunder!

IRON MAN/THOR FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W) Matt Fraction (A/C) John Romita, Jr.
Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

The perfect jumping-on point for any and all readers…and it’s FREE! When rogue mega-billionaires with world-destroying technology threaten the safety of the entire world…and the moon…Thor and Iron Man join forces! In time for the exciting launch of new stories and a bold new direction for Invincible Iron Man and Thor, superstars Matt Fraction and John Romita Jr. team up to bring you two of Marvel’s heaviest hitters like you’ve never seen them before! A major new direction for the Marvel Universe kicks off HERE – on Free Comic Book Day!

MOUSE GUARD/FRAGGLE ROCK FCBD 2010 Edition [Preview]
Creative Team: (W/A) David Petersen, TBD.
Publisher: Archaia Entertainment

Archaia is proud to present two amazing all-new stories in one fantastic flip-book! In the spring of 1153 the Mouse Guard deal with the onset of the spring thaw and the havoc it wreaks on their territories. Meanwhile, it’s time to dance your cares away as Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red return for a brand-new series of hilarious and heartfelt Fraggle Rock adventures written and drawn by some of the most imaginative creators in comics!

KiZOIC Presents: Shrek & The Penguins of Madagascar FCBD 2010 Edition [Preview]
Creative Team: (W/A) Dan Parent.
Publisher: Ape Entertainment

Ape Entertainment proudly offers KiZOIC Presents: Shrek & The Penguins of Madagascar! Featuring four stories by the artists and writers of the up-coming Shrek and Penguins of Madagascar comic books, these stories are guaranteed to tickle your funny bone and leave you begging for more! All-ages fun for everyone!

YOW! The John Stanley Library FCBD 2010 Edition [Preview]
Creative Team: (W/A) John Stanley.
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly

D&Q delivers another wholly original and boisterous FCBD issue that will entertain readers of all ages! YOW! The John Stanley Library spotlights the world’s greatest all-ages cartoonist, John Stanley, in a beautiful package designed by Seth. YOW! features new stories from the John Stanley Library: Melvin Monster, Nancy and 13 Going On 18, plus a story from the legendary one-shot Choo Choo Charlie and a Tubby story!

TOY STORY FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W) Jesse Blaze Snider (A/C) Nathan Watson.
Publisher: BOOM! Studios

With Toy Story 3 hitting theaters this summer, don’t miss this opportunity to get kids hooked on comics with a FREE issue from the ongoing Toy Story series from BOOM Kids! More all-new adventures featuring the world’s favorite toys with Woody, Buzz and the gang!

WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #0 FCBD 2010 EDITION [Preview]
Creative Team: (W) James Robinson (A) Eddy Barrows, Ruy José (C) J.G. Jones.
Publisher: DC COMICS

A war is coming, and all that stands between Earth and 100,000 vengeful supermen is one Superman! The conflict between Superman and General Zod erupts into all-out war this summer in a series that will shatter the worlds of Superman, Supergirl and the entire DC Universe — all brought to you by the hit creative team of James Robinson and Eddy Barrows! This special #0 issue featuring all-new material previews the conflicts to come while spotlighting a savage strike on Metropolis and the world — an attack that will shake Superman to his very core. After this, there’s no turning back — the War of the Supermen is here!

Unhappy Meals in Today’s Daily Dad-gest

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A toy in the box has been a staple of American foods since we can remember. How many of us ruthlessly hunted in the battleground of a cereal box until we scored our prey? The Happy Meal is the logical progression of this, except it has burgers and fries instead of Lucky Charms. But the toy remains the same.

Until now. Apparently some angry Santa Clara County supervisors must have had terrible childhood memories because they approved an ordinance to ban toys in fast-food meals.

“Hoping again to be a pioneer in promoting healthier eating, Santa Clara County supervisors on Tuesday approved the nation’s first ordinance that would prevent restaurants from using toys to lure kids to meals high in fat, sugar and calories.

“Under the ordinance, restaurants would not be able to offer toys for kids’ meals that exceed certain nutritional standards — more than 485 total calories, for instance, or more than 600 milligrams of sodium. That means, at Wendy’s, four chicken nuggets, mandarin oranges and low-fat milk would get a toy. But the crispy chicken sandwich, fries and chocolate milk would not.”

Um, we’re sorry to break it to you, but the toys only bring in the adults – it’s the fries that keep the kids coming. Just saying.

The ordinance only applies to a handful of restaurants in certain areas and small pockets of the county; restaurants within city limits are unaffected, and has to go to a final vote on May 11 before it is final.

We feel this is only a publicity stunt. Certainly Santa Clara county is doing this with our children’s best interests in mind, but there are other things they can do instead of taking the toy away, like create a promote a healthy lifestyle, increase after-school activities for kids, and improve the meals in the school lunchroom. All this stunt does is give sites like us something to write about and empowers other ill-informed politicians across the country to waste more taxpayer dollars on similar initiatives.

I think a bigger problem is the possibility we are contaminating an entire alien planet. It’s not enough we ruin the Earth, now we’re starting on Mars in the worst possible way. Researchers from NASA say bacteria from earth could be hitching a ride on our spacecraft, and inadvertently contaminating the Red Planet we all have dreams of visiting once in our lifetimes.

“Even though NASA and other space agencies do sterilize spacecraft in an effort to reduce the chance of contamination to other bodies in our solar system, recent studies have shown that microbial species are likely still hitching a ride. And in what might be a more-harm-than-good scenario, the sterile nature of spacecraft assembly facilities ensures that only the most resilient species survive, including acinetobacter, bacillus, escherichia, staphylococcus and streptococcus. So we’re likely sending the worst of the worst kinds of bacteria, at least by human standards.”

This could result in three possible ways. One: We might contaminate and destroy all existing alien life forms on Mars. Two: As the bacteria interact and evolve on Mars, we might create a life form more deadly than anything we’ve ever seen – something like the face huggers, perhaps. Or three: We might just tick off the aliens which already live there to come to Earth and get some payback. Gee, let’s give aliens one more reason to conquer and colonize our planet. Just have the 3D cameras ready, Hollywood.

Lastly, a study from the NPD group found portable gaming habits in children aged 4 – 14 are up 8% from when the study began in 2005. Now before the Santa Clara superiors try to ban gaming in public too, let’s think about this. The rise in portable gaming could actually be a good thing for kids. Many kids share daily commutes with their parents to and from day care and school due to the increase in dual-income families. With so many entertainment options being made available in the car to kids these days – DVD players, iPods, iPhones – a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP is a logical extension of these devices. What this also means is that kids aren’t wasting time in front of the TV when they should be studying or exercising, they are simply filling the downtime.

The other positive is all games are not destructive; they can be educational or provide other developmental benefits. There are several titles age-appropriate for younger children on the DS, and both Leapfrog and Vtech have portable products filling the “games-as-educational” need. And generally, the simplicity of the technology on the DS is more akin to the games we parents played as kids, where innovation and creativity trumped graphic and gratuitous violence. One can argue the Pokémon games don’t necessarily provide any educational value, but it would be hard to justify why they are bad for you.

Here are the other top stories of the day:

No Jokey: Paul Reubens Joins ‘Smurf’ Film [Deadline.com]

Imax, Warner Bros. pact on 20-film deal [The Hollywood Reporter]

How to Plan the Ultimate Star Wars Girl’s Birthday Party [Parenting Pink]

Iron Man-ia in Today’s Daily Dad-gest

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The internet made things easy on us today. Although Iron Man 2 opens in the US on May 7, it had its L.A. premiere last night ahead of its international releases this week. And in true Tony Stark form, it hogged the limelight.

Scarlett Johansson tells MTV Splash Page the obvious – that there’s no current plans for a Black Widow spin-off, nor is there a roster spot for her in the upcoming Avengers movie. We say, her action-genre resume prior to Iron Man 2 was solely comprised of two stinkers – The Island and The Spirit - so it’s probably good Marvel didn’t lock her in for the full package until after they got to see the finished product. We’re anxiously awaiting to see if she can successfully pull of the role, but we’ll be honest; we don’t have high expectations.

Iron Man 2 is getting an IMAX release day-and-date with the standard theatrical release, but High-Def Digest warns us to beware of imposters when choosing an IMAX theater for the big night. Here’s something we didn’t know – there are more than a few theaters claiming to be IMAX when they’re just souped-up standard screens:

“Teaming with cinema chains including AMC and Regal, they retrofitted existing non-IMAX theatres. Ladies and gentlemen, the birth of “fake IMAX.” Apparently these retrofits were almost called “Digital IMAX” or “IMAX Digital”, but executives were worried the “Digital” moniker would hurt “older” (real) IMAX15/70 screens. And who knows, marketing people are occasionally right about these things. But here’s the truth: the digital IMAX screens are only 28 feet x 58 feet. Sure, that’s still a nice-sized screen, but with a minimum $5-per-ticket surcharge for the IMAX brand, you’re not getting the same spectacle, quality, or size.”

There’s just one problem here. Iron Man 2 was not shot in IMAX, but rather in traditional 35mm format. What does this mean? It means it will be blown up to meet the 70mm standards of IMAX film. This is the equivalent of buying a standard DVD and upconverting it on your 1080p HDTV, but paying a Blu-ray premium price. Our advice? IMAX is cool when it’s used correctly, but here you’ll just be wasting the $5 surcharge for the IMAX theater. Save that money and buy a movie tie-in toy for your kids instead.

But with the Iron Mania approaching ludicrous speed, one question remains with the droves of Marvelites eagerly awaiting May 7 – is it any good? A few outlets are already publishing their reviews. Variety says it “the new pic feels more duty-bound and industrial”, a reversal from the original film’s “boyant and occasionally inspired” tone. The Hollywood Reporter writes, “everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel”. Both early reviews make mention of the script’s odd pacing, lack of focus and absence of the character’s apparent motivations.

We think it’s too soon to call it, but consider us worried. Will this end up being the Spider-Man 3 of the young film franchise, albeit one sequel early? By strategically interweaving all of their produced films within the same celluloid universe, did Marvel show their seams of being a relatively green studio hot off a lucky streak?

If Iron Man 2 fails to capture the audience of the first film, there could be major fallout. Thor and Captain America are in production but could definitely use some momentum from Marvel’s tentpole film franchise. Thor is a relatively obscure superhero with an unknown cast in the lead and a story that’s half modern-day, half Clash of the Titans. Captain America went young and booked Chris Evans for the lead role when it could have gone established with popular choices Jon Hamm and Aaron Eckhart. On top of that, Marvel hired director Joe Johnston, fresh off the box office bomb The Wolfman, to helm the film which is being pitched as a WWII period piece.

Then to top it off, there’s the payoff – The Avengers - which we could see not even happening if the next three movies are strikes. If it goes that way we’d bet Marvel would replace fan-favorite Joss Whedon with a more established, explosive marquee director to get the wind back behind the company’s sails. And then you can go ahead and forget about those proposed smaller films like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, ’cause they ain’t happening.

But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves here. The doomsday scenario we are proposing is enough to start a new crossover event, so let’s just see what happens after opening weekend, okay? Deep breath, deep breath…

MDIAG! Assemble…the other big stories of the day:

Watching R-Rated Films Linked to Early Alcohol Use [/Film]

Dreamworks Making Sequel to How To Train Your Dragon; Will Be In Theaters In 2013 [/Film]

How Game and Movie Ratings Work [Kotaku]