Tons of comic and science fiction fans were likely disappointed on Monday when technical issues on the Comic Con International 2011 web site led to the re-scheduling of ticket sales.  Continue Reading

Among the sea of Stormtroopers and die-hard comic fans, celebrities also come out to celebrate Comic-Con in San Diego (and perhaps promote their movie, TV show, etc., of course!)

Comic-Con 2010 is under way in San Diego, and runs through the weekend.  For more about the event, click here.

Some of the celebrities spotted so far have included Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Helen Mirren, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Jerry O’Connell, and Seth Green, according to reports and photos.

Stars of some popular TV shows, mostly those of a science fiction nature, will be on-hand.  The cast of CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory,” which highlights the lives of four comic-loving, nerdy, but loveable guys (at least in my opinion) will be back (Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and Kaley Cuoco).  The cast of HBO’s “True Blood” will also appear, as well as the the creators of the children’s pop-culture show, “Yo Gabba Gabba.”

Members of the cast of the upcoming movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (opens August 13) will help kick off the 22nd annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on Friday night at Comic-Con.  Cast members scheduled to appear include Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Satya Bhabha, Alison Pill, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Mae Whitman, and Ellen Wong.

For more about San Diego’s Comic-Con 2010 events, autographs, schedules, and more, click here.

Hello Kitty wine will soon be available, but there are debates as to whether it is appropriate.

Some critics say having a cartoon character on a bottle of wine promotes underage drinking. But for others, it is just considered a fun bottle for adults who grew up (mostly in the 1980s) enjoying Hello Kitty products by Sanrio.

In fact, the product’s tagline reads: “Our favorite girl has grown up!”  And so have lots of fans of Hello Kitty.

For those interested, there will be four different types of wine: the Angel and Devil Pinot Neros, Brut Rose, and a demi-sec Sweet Pink sparkling wine. The wines are produced and bottled in Italy, and will be available for purchase on the Hello Kitty Wines website soon (NOTE: site is under construction).  Prices will reportedly range from $19.99 to $29.99.

Do you think it is appropriate to have a cartoon character on a bottle of wine? Share your thoughts below.

Brittany Murphy King of the Hill: Brittany Murphy is the voice of Luann on King of the Hill.  King of the Hill is a popular adult cartoon, and there’s no doubt that KOTH fans will miss Brittany Murphy’s voice.  Who will be the next Luann on the show? King of the Hill would not be the same without Brittany Murphy’s voice.

Brittany Murphy isn’t only known as Luann on King of the Hill.  She’s also known for movies such as “Sin City”, “8 Mile”, and “Clueless.”  She was also married at one point to Ashton Kutcher, who expressed his sadness today via Twitter. More on that here.

The cause of Brittany Murphy’s death is sort of unknown.  It’s known that she had a full heart attack, but it’s not certain what the cause of that ailment was.  Was Brittany on drugs? Was she anorexic? There are a lot of unanswered questions.

King of the Hill fans along with everyone that loved the actress note that this is a sad day.  There are lots of preparations to be made for her funeral.

Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman has angered some parents. Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman aired recently and was an instant source of outrage.  See the video clip below and judge for yourself whether you feel this is inappropriate or not.

Neil Patrick Harris was the voice of Frosty.  The Inappropriate Snowman was a joint promotion for “Frosty the Snowman” and “How I Met your Mother.”  In the video, Frosty speaks about his porn collection and even talks about going to the strip club and various women.

The video is funny to some, but in a twisted sort of way.  Others were very upset about the promotion, and cited that they ruined a popular children’s Christmas special.

The dialogue wasn’t written especially for this video.  Frosty and everyone is reading authentic lines from “How I met Your Mother” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Critics speaking out on mainstream media sources say that using a Children’s show to promote an adult comedy is inappropriate.  TV Bloggers think the video clip is “hilarious.”

What is it? Is Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman funny, or just plain wrong?

The latest “Sesame Street” Muppets to be featured on this week are the famous duo, Bert and Ernie.

Search engine Google is honoring “Sesame Street’s” 40^th anniversary with a series of special doodles on its logo.  Big Bird was featured on Wednesday, and Cookie Monster was featured on Thursday.

“Sesame Street” will celebrate its big anniversary on November 10, 2009.  To see highlights of the upcoming 40^th season, click here.

The “Sesame Street” Muppets have also made several TV appearances this week, including “Today” on NBC Friday morning.

With a few more days to go before the anniversary celebration, Google will likely honor a few more “Sesame Street” Muppets on its page. Which Muppets would you like to see? Share your comments below.

Cookie Monster turns Veggie Monster? Sounds like a Monster Mix-up. Cookie Monster and Veggie Monster are the center of a viral internet search today as Cookie Monster recently celebrated his 40^th birthday.

Nutrition has changed since Cookie Monster graced American TV screens some 40 years ago.  Now, parents try to keep their children away from refined sugars and starches made popular in part by cartoon-like characters such as Cookie Monster.

Still yet, a Cookie Monster as Veggie Monster sounds more like a bad Halloween costume than a smart well-thought out switch.  There were some rumors that the producers of Sesame Street were going to turn the crumb-gobbling monster into a veggie-gobbling monster to promote healthy living.

I am sorry, but a blue monster gobbling up bits of carrots churns my stomach.  Crumbling cookies are funny. Shredded carrots and bits of corn are not.

Luckily, as Gather.com points out the rumors about Cookie Monster turning in to Veggie Monster are FALSE.  American children will be able to watch their favorite blue monster gobble up chocolate chip cookies for many years to come.

The Cookie Monster/Veggie Monster discussion leads me to wonder if Cookie Monster really does play a role in the way children see nutrition.  If you think about it, Cookie Monster isn’t really eating the cookies – he’s crumbling them up and getting them everywhere. This action is more for laughs than to program children to eat massive amounts of chocolate chip cookies.

Parents must play a crucial role in the development of healthy living habits for their children.  Children for the most part learn by example.  Therefore, healthy parents can for the most part raise healthy children.  If you are a parent that sits on the couch eating Chips-A-Hoy Cookies straight from the box, and are worried about your child as they are constantly eating cookies too – they are probably learning their habit from you and not the furry monster they watch on TV.

Cookie Monster is also a great way to teach your child about entertainment.  Sometimes people – or characters – do things to entertain us.  Cookie Monster isn’t eating cookies because it’s super healthy and what you should do – he’s eating, or rather, crumbling them to make kids laugh.

Cookie Monster is my hands-down favorite Sesame Street character. Although Sesame Street toned down the cookie-gobbling and added songs such as “A Cookie is Sometimes a Food” he plays a big role on Sesame Street. Veggie Monster just wouldn’t cut it.

Thanksgiving wallpaper is awesome. Thanksgiving wallpaper is great, as Thanksgiving is the next big holiday. Thanksgiving wallpaper will make you feel in the mood for Thanksgiving, which is a short three and a half weeks away.

What are some popular Thanksgiving wallpaper themes? Great Thanksgiving wallpaper themes include turkeys, Pilgrims and Indians, Family Guy, and the Simpson’s also have their own Thanksgiving theme.

Of course, you can always create your own Thanksgiving wallpaper for your computer.  Simply open up “Paint” and create your own pictures.  After you save your photo, go to File>>”Set as Background”.  Personally, I prefer my wallpaper centered over tiled, but if you have a cool leaf pattern or a collage of fall colors, a tiled wallpaper may look awesome as well.

Another option for Thanksgiving wallpaper is to take a digital photograph of your family staged with Thanksgiving decorations.  Import the photo in to Paint to add the text “Happy Thanksgiving 2009” and set as your wallpaper using the instructions above.  This will give you a very personalized Thanksgiving wallpaper for your computer.

Another really cool Thanksgiving wallpaper that you can create yourself is to make a list of what you are thankful for.  Write it in really attractive handwriting, photograph it, and then set that as your background. This will serve as a powerful reminder of what you are thankful for each year.

If you don’t want to make your own Thanksgiving wallpaper, you can find several free wallpapers online. Make sure your virus protection is current and that you don’t download any files from any sites that seem questionable. Never, ever download a Thanksgiving wallpaper file if it ends in “.exe”, as this is a file that will install a program on your computer.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is touted as a children’s book, but more adults seem to appreciate it.  The book is creative and leaves much to the imagination of anyone that reads it.  The book had nine lines of dialog, but readers liked it mainly for the incredible drawings. 

The movie was released today, and it stays true to the book in many ways.  Again, it seems to be a movie made more for adults, then children, although it is certainly suitable for children.  Just like the book, the movie opens with Max running through the house screaming chasing the family dog, and trying to get attention from anyone who will listen.  The movie moves through Max’s interactive imagination with many dysfunctional and fun loving characters.  For a while, things go well, but then drama must be portrayed.  Voices are portrayed by Hames Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, and Catherine O’Hara and their performances are all touching when matched with the furry creatures in the movie. 

Where the Wild Things Are is portrayed through the eyes of a nine-year-old child and it will undoubtedly become a movie classic for adults and children alike.   Many reviewers have given it 4.5 stars.

Description of the toy on the box: Zhu Zhu Pets are the world’s first innovative, realistic, interactive, plush, and artificially intelligent hamsters that talk and move around in their own playsets. Zhu Zhu Pets include two play modes: nurturing mode where the hamsters coo and purr, and adventure mode where the hamsters explore their habitat with intelligent audio and mechanical responses to various habitat stimuli. Over a dozen add-ons can be purchased to build an ever-evolving hamsterworld for your hamsters to play in and explore. Zhu Zhu Pets are the newest craze among kids and expected to be the most popular toy of the year!

There are five different Zhu Zhu hamsters:

Patches – the flower-loving hamster
Chunk – the laid back surfer hamster
PipSqueak – the petite powerhouse hamster
Mr. Squiggles – the hamster who loves to explore
Num Nums – the hamster with an affinity for yummy food

A short list of accessories for Zhu Zhu pets:

Hamster funhouse
Hamster wheel and tunnel
Hamster-mobile and garage
Spiral slide and ramp
Adventure ball
Surfboard and sleep dome
Skateboard and U-turn
Pet bed and blanket
Pet carrier and blanket