| Hot toys '07 | Retailers stocking shelves
The first trick-or-treater is barely out the door, and Christmas is already on retailers' minds. Aisles down from the costumes and candy corn are fake fir trees and candy canes. And Columbia-area merchants are quickly stocking shelves for wide-eyed children — and adults. Traditional dolls and character plushes, such as Fisher-Price's Tickle Me Elmo and Ganz's Webkinzs, are expected to sell big in Columbia, along with the new video console wonders of PlayStation 3, Xbox and Wii. The Consumer Electronics Association found that households with Internet access will spend an average of $172 on electronic toys for their children. In fact, the Guitar Hero III video game and controller set that retails for about $100 has been named an overall top seller this Christmas by Toys "R" Us.
Retailers stock up on what consumers want this holiday
Interactive games, penguins, dolls, candles and figurines are all hot gift items for the holidays this year, according to the predictions of store managers and owners.Electronic toys and games that encourage physical involvement, such as the Fisher Price Smart Cycle and Nintendo Wii, also will be popular gifts this year, area merchants said.The Smart Cycle is a colorful, stationary bike that plugs into the television set. Children pedal as they play games featuring well-known characters, such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.The Smart Cycle is expected to be one of the most popular Christmas items at the Rock Falls Wal-Mart, said Linda Carlson, store manager.The Nintendo Wii is a video game system in which participants play games by doing something physical, such as swinging a golf club or throwing a touchdown pass, rather than just sitting and pressing buttons."The control is innovative; you actually move the control.
Back in the New York Groove; Vikings thrash Giants
"New York Groove" is a song performed by legendary Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley on his self-titled 1978 album. It also happens to be the ditty that the New York Giants used to play after they scored a touchdown at Giants Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings defense may just claim the song as their own.
Two years ago in North Jersey, Vikings safety Darren Sharper picked off Eli Manning three times, returning one for a touchdown in a 24-21 Minnesota win.
And, while it didn't count, the Vikings trashed the New York Jets, 37-20, during a preseason game at the stadium in August, when both Sharper and linebacker Chad Greenway returned interceptions for touchdowns.
Fast forward to this past Sunday when Sharper, safety Dwight Smith and Greenway all returned Manning interceptions for touchdowns as Minnesota stunned the New York Giants again, 41-17.
Get 'em before they're gone
The real players in the debate over the hottest toys aren't the industry experts, of course, but kids.Cost isn't the decider. Ask any parent who watches a child unwrap a high-priced toy and then play with the box.That said, there are industry awards for creativity, quality and engineering. The 2007 awards listed below come from the Toy Industry Association, a 500-company trade group of toy producers and importers. Its membership accounts for 85 percent of the toys sold in the United States.The winning toys and nominees were released into the market in 2006. Several of them made Toy Wishes magazine's Hot Dozen for the 2006 Christmas season. We've included this year's Hot Dozen from Toy Wishes for the coming year, followed by a list of toys judged the best in the industry.The Hot DozenToy Wishes magazine's annual choices for hot toys for the coming season.• American Idol Talent Challenge (Tech2Go, $50) -- An interactive game combines karaoke with "American Idol" judging.
[watch out for webcreepz]
[W]hen Gail Devery's 9-year old daughter received a $29.95 membership in the Miley Cyrus Fan Club as a gift, Devery figured online access to the MileyWorld.com site that came with the membership would allow Dani to watch music videos of the Hannah Montana star or play games.What she didn't know was that MileyWorld also features an interactive chat room, and there's no way to know who is lurking in there."I wasn't very happy about that. I told her I was going to limit what she would be allowed to do," said Devery, who lives in Bloomington. Her concern grew after she learned that when Dani registered as a member, she used her own name plus a five-digit number. "The first time I heard this voice say 'Hi, Dani' when she logged on, it really scared me," Devery said. With fun names like MileyWorld, Club Penguin, Webkinz and Neopets, social networking sites specifically targeting elementary- and middle-school kids are exploding.
Weber sees Illini need for scoring
By now you should be ready for the 2007-08 men's collegiate basketball season that began recently with exhibition games that left this observer wondering if any upsets would cause reference to football and Appalachian State's defeat of Michigan.For the University of Illinois, the preseason foes were Quincy and Kentucky Wesleyan, members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference of the NCAA Division II level.But on Sunday, the University of Illinois opened its 2007-08 campaign against Northeastern U. of Boston, which posted a 13-19 overall record last season, including a 9-9 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association.Illinois, meanwhile, comes off a 23-12 season, including 9-7 in the Big Ten Conference, that was one of the strangest in school history as the result of six players missing a combined 58 games and 200 practices due to injury.Despite the injuries and using seven different starting lineups, Coach Bruce Weber led Illinois into the first round of the NCAA tournament (and a 54-52 loss to Virginia Tech in which the Illini were outscored 12-0 to end the game).The 23 wins marked the eighth consecutive season that the Illini posted 22 or more victories.
Adults seek to restore bond between kids and nature
On any given Saturday, if you want to find Alex and Matthew Weber, you'd better put on hiking boots. Alex, 9, and Matthew, 7, aren't going to be at soccer practice, watching TV or playing computer games. They're probably going to be exploring the woods or tromping around a nearby creek. And it's not just on weekends. After school, the kids play in the stick teepee in their woodsy south Charlotte backyard. When darkness falls, they walk with their parents to hear night sounds. Many Americans recall a kind of feral existence as a kid, scrambling down ravines, building forts and climbing trees, returning home only when the street lights blinked on. But ask these adults what their own kids' lives are like and you hear something else. Homework, sports, music lessons, video games and TV cram most corners of their lives, and if they're outside it's often on a playground or sports field.
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