Slate ran a piece today about the gent who has lived in Barbie's curvaceous shadow for most of her 50 years: Ken. Two books have come out about Barb, but in both, Ken was given little play. In the article, writer Troy Patterson brings up a few interesting points: that infamous vague crotc...

  We give Barbie a lot of shit here at Scanner—for her tramp stamp, for being too skinny, for not acting her age and even for making a skeezy porno—but you know what? Fuck that. Barbie brought us a lot of joy back when we were wearing Kissing Coolers and thought that Sesame Street was our &...

Hey, geeks (or people like us?): it's National Grammar Day. [National Grammar Day] We were totally pissed we missed this last year and we're actually considering entering this time. It's the third annual Peeps Diorama Contest! [Washington Post] Barbie got a tramp stamp! [Jossip] Justin T...

Stories Covered Christian Bale spat Mattel Ghostbusters Action Figures Superbowl Trailer Roundup Supanova Gears of War film The Prisoner remake Stephen King lays the smack down Hellraiser’s Pinhead The Orphanage remake Yatterman trailer Goemon trailer Pacific Download MP3 Podcast - 29 megs Lis...

What is the xenophobic American religious right up to these days?  Once a while, I tune into the local all-Christian talk radio to try to understand the Christian Right a bit better.  I tuned in again tonight on my way home, and I was rewarded with one of those truth-is-stranger-than-fiction stori...

Mattel is releasing a new line of Star Trek Barbies. The toy company has made tiny, plastic versions of Kirk, Spock and Uhura, which will be available online and at retail at the end of April. The three are dressed in Starfleet outfits and each carries a phaser and a communicator. Except, the thing ...

Mattel Mind Flex - Theta Wave Game Controller Originally uploaded by JoeDuck Mattel Mind Flex was one of the most remarkable devices at CES 2009.  Simpler but coneptually similar to the Emotiv headset expected to be out soon,  Mattel’s device measures brain theta waves and lets you control a...

I talked a little the other day about the popular toy trends for 2009 featured at this years CES. The Consumer Electronics Show for 2009 wrapped up last night, so I thought I’d share some more of the cool toys and gadgets that were featured there. Green and cheaper was the main trend for the 2...

Filed under: CES 2009 Mattel was on hand showing off a pile of new toys at CES to be released in the fall. Easily the most intriguing is the Mind Flex, the perfect toy for someone who loves puzzles but hates themselves. With the Mind Flex, you guide a foam ball through a completely customizable obst...

Filed under: Audio/Video, Cell Phones, Computers, Video Games, CES 2009 It was a long and exciting first day at CES, with the Palm Pre proving to be the biggest announcement made at the show. It certainly made us do a double (and triple) take, but there's plenty more to report and lots of surprises ...