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Robot band will fend off co-workers

If nothing else here at Crave, we're all about finding new ways to disrupt your workplace with various toys and robots, especially on a Friday afternoon. And though we generally prefer items that can fly, crawl or jump on command, there are a few more traditional forms of juvenile gadgetry that can draw equally amusing results. To wit: the "Animated Robotic Power Trio."

Armed with a tiny guitar, keyboard and drums, your own personal band will play in sync with any MP3 player to the certain dread of any cubicle mate within earshot if its product literature … Read more

Future Implications: Killing in video games

In a recent blog entry posted here,, an African woman expressed anger and distaste for the alleged "depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young? fearing, hating, and destroying Black people." And while I understand where she is coming from (no one likes to see their own people being killed), it seems she is echoing an ever-increasing issue with video games: over-sensitivity.

Ever since graphics became the big thing in … Read more

Will the Transformers movie spark a backlash from parents?

A full-out assault has arrived in my living room. Transformers movie tie-ins are being marketed non-stop through ads on Nickelodeon, selling everything from Burger King kids' meals to Pontiac cars. We only watch about a hour of commercial TV a day, but there are multiple ads featuring the Transformers being shown within a single commercial break. The contradiction of a violent action flick based on Hasbro toys is spelled out right in the Burger King commercial--hey kids, get your kids' meal with one of eight toys based on characters from the movie (PG-13, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13).

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has turned a spotlight on this situation but has not yet received a lot of response. Transformers star Shia LaBoeuf has said that producer Steven Spielberg fought back against a proposed R-rating. Yet the movie is being marketed to kids all the way down to the toddler years. (Opti-mash prime Mr. Potato Head, anyone?)… Read more