geekosystem

SOCCKET is one of the neater ideas in green energy I've been following lately. A durable soccer ball that houses a small generator, SOCCKET gets charged up when kids play with it -- just 30 minutes of getting kicked around provides enough juice to power the included LED lamp for up to three hours. The project has been tested, revamped and improved in communities around the developing world, and as of this week, they're trying to boost their ability to produce the power-generating playthings with a Kickstarter that's worth at least your attention -- and probably a little bit of your money, too.

LEGO is one of those companies that constantly and consistently produce odds and ends that are worth purchasing. They're also notorious for supporting whatever's going on in popular culture with themed sets. Case in point, the company's revealed that a new Star Wars X-wing starfighter set will be coming out in May! Rejoice! Probably the only unfortunate part is the cost, but if you're a real enthusiast that shouldn't stop you, should it?

When they're not ripping out each other's circuits or trading histrionic catchphrases back and forth, even the mightiest of Autobot and Decepticon warriors enjoys kicking back and letting all their troubles and PTSD melt away on the comfort of their living room couch. Sadly, never has this piece of home furnishing been made in the same scale as Transformers figures of our youth, forced to remain standing and never experience the simple pleasure of reclining back or laying their metallic heads on an armrest -- until now! Takara Tomy, the Japanese manufacturer of Transformers toys, has finally heard our incessant pleas for a practical, yet stylish, couch fit for Optimus Prime and is currently offering printable papercraft furniture on the their official website. So if you're handy with a pair of scissors and tape, this is something you owe it to yourself to check out.

YouTube is rife with a plethora of stop motion LEGO films, ranging from the thoroughly entertaining to outright abysmal. Still, a majority of them aren't any longer than 10 minutes since not everybody is willing to devote hours of their time tediously making small LEGO figurines move across a table. Though we can't speak for the dedicated folks behind the feature length fan film Castlevania IV: Legend of Vania. Created by Hovinet Films -- a small studio consisting of three brothers from Finland -- Castlevania IV was a seven-year labor of love that runs for a whopping 146 minutes! Believe us, after watching the movie, you'll have a conflicting urge to start playing with LEGOs and play Castlevania on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Decisions, decisions...

The complex character diversity of The Transformers universe rivals that of the Star Wars saga and those of Marvel and DC Comics -- an impressive feat for a bunch of robots that turn into vehicles and other weapons of destruction. Since the Transformers' debut in 1984, both the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons alike have conscripted a number of like-minded warriors to take up arms in the name of their respective causes, quickly swelling the ranks from a small handful to far too many for even the most dedicated of fans to keep track of. Granted, having such a massive influx of new recruits means that Optimus Prime and Megatron are bound to have a few that, to put it gently, didn't quite fit the model of the Autobot or Decepticon ideal. In other words, some Transformers were ten kinds of crazy that made their own comrades question their place in the war. That said, it's time to roll out with 8 of the most bizarre Transformers ever!

It's a widely accepted scientific fact that kids these days just don't fear the omnipotent judge of the righteous and damned, Santa Claus, like they once used to. Years ago, the prospect of having one's gift withheld and given a lump of coal instead was enough to convince children to behave. Today, the little brats have the absurd notion that they're entitled to being showered in free material goods. This year, things are going to be different. Cartoonist Mark Anderson has constructed the ultimate mobile weapon in bad behavior deterrence entirely out of LEGO: The LEGO Santa Claus Mech!

If you, by some infinitesimal chance, happen to be one of the two winners of yesterday's $587.5M Powerball jackpot, then have we got something you'll most certainly want to spend your abounding disposable income on: This solid gold LEGO brick being sold at the paltry sum of $15,000. Rest assured, this isn't some grandiose knockoff, this is a 100% official building piece straight from LEGO itself.

Just in time for the holidays, Michael Rosenblatt, the lead designer of the first iPod Touch, has a new toy -- Atoms Express. Atoms Express is a modular building toy that claims to let kids "make things that do things." We've always wanted to let kids make things do things! That's the best. It's currently making its way through Kickstarter right now, but maybe we can have it in time for the holidays next year? Please?

If someone were to pitch us an action figure that's essentially robotic versions of Disney's popular characters mashed together to form some kind of Voltron, we would have probably turned them down. That was before we saw what's being called the Chogokin King Robot Mickey & Friends action figure being released by Tamashii Nation. Now, it's pretty much all we want.

Cubify's new line of Cubify Robots can be taken apart and put back together, letting kids indulge in bouts of destruction, construction, and Frankensteinian creation. They currently have 6 colorful robots to mix-and-match -- 7,776 different kinds of adorable should keep them occupied until they're old enough for LEGO.

This video, called "The King of Legoland" by Micaël Reynaud features what appears to be the contents of his 1980's-era toychest. Each LEGO is carefully displayed, every Transformer transformed, the hood of every Hot Wheel lifted, and every bauble gently held by latex gloves. It's fun, it's catchy, and it's a neat little look back at the toys that helped make us into the adults we are today.

Andrea Petrachi (known artistically as Himatic) has created a series of "cyber sculptures" using discarded electronics, gadgets and toys. His recycled sculptures are both disturbing and endearing, reminding us that there are ways to re-use objects no longer of value, but also that we have so many goods to re-use because of our own mass consumption. Nothing drives home the point that we have too much stuff than a cyborg rubber ducky (who is seriously scary-looking) or really any robot-like sculpture with a disembodied children's toy for a head.

I think this clearly opens up the possibility of a Mr. Potato Head-centered Toy Story spinoff, and that's either wonderful or terrible. Set to be released at this year's Toy Fair, a new line of Star Trek-themed Mr. Potato Heads will include not only the highly accurate representation of Captain James T. Kirk and the Klingon Kor (pictured above), but also Lt. Uhura and Mr. Spock. It does not say if Kirk and Spock come with moustaches for their evil counterparts, but surely you still have your old Mr. Potato Head moustache. Somewhere. Surely, you must have known this would happen someday, Star Trek Potato Heads.

Remember that homeless dalek that was found in a school in St. Thomas, England?  And then adopted by a well meaning memorabilia collector, and placed next to another dalek? I think they started breeding... (via Comics Alliance.)

Or, you know, for the kid you know who has been expected to save the world on a weekly basis by piloting a giant robot that may or may not be fueled by their dead mother's soul. Like you do.

For those children, or children at heart, Namco Bandai has made this lovely collectible set of Polly Pocket/Mighty Max-esque replicas of NERV headquarters.