| 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.
Axeman Ward sharpens up Blues
MARK this down as the day Carlisle United's season came back to life. The 360-mile slog to Sussex was worth the effort to discover that the Blues had rid their system of the worm that had burrowed in a couple of weeks ago. A match rich in sub-plots - a swathe of changes to the United team, a fistful of goals and a sending off for Brighton's George O'Callaghan - also threw up an important theme. It was that the business of scooping up important league points hasn't been unduly affected by Carlisle's recent, irritating stumbles against Grimsby and Stockport in cup competitions. On Saturday they earned a decent point from a collision with one of League One's form teams (Brighton had lost once in their last 13 prior to battle), but also plenty of marks for bringing some mental resilience to their work.
Disney's Hannah Montana doll beats Barbie as 'Most Desired Toy'
New York, Nov 21 (ANI): Disney's Hannah Montana doll, based on the popular TV series, has emerged as the most wanted toy among young girls. The doll has overtaken Barbie and Bratz as the most desired toy for young girls. Hannah Montana is an American Emmy Award-nominated teen television series focusing on Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus), who lives a double life as an average teenage girl at school during the day and a famous pop singer at night, concealing her real identity from the public other than her close friends and family. "It's everything Hannah. She's the hot property, from the doll to the play sets and everything that goes along with it," the New York Daily News quoted Jim Silver, editor in chief of Toy Wishes magazine, which features Cyrus' character on its current cover and includes the singing doll in its coveted "Hot Dozen" holiday toy list, as saying.
From an Iranian Childhood of More Work than Play, a Tycoon Rises
Were you to talk to Isaac Larian about his childhood in Iran, he would not wax nostalgic over childhood games or playthings. In fact, he would tell you that when his friends and cousins played or went on vacation, he did “constant, hard work" helping his father run a retail textile business. Today, Larian is president and chief executive of the largest privately held toy company in the world, MGA Entertainment, based in Van Nuys, California. (The ranking is based on market share comparisons.) On November 17, Larian was named national Entrepreneur of the Year at a ceremony in Palm Springs, California, for his “innovation, financial success and personal commitment" in building a world-class business, according to Ernst & Young, the accounting firm that sponsors the annual award.
Christmas Wish letters arrive at The Bulletin
Christmas Wish requests are rolling in, and it looks like it's going to be a busy year. The mission of The Baxter BulletinChristmas Wish project is to make sure every child has a nice gift to open Christmas morning (clothing and/or a toy) and food for a holiday meal. Application forms are available at The Bulletin officeat 16 W. Sixth St. The deadline to submit a Wish request is 5 p.m. Nov. 2. Forms may be brought to the office or mailed to P.O. Box 1750, Mountain Home, AR 72654. Wish is unable to accept forms via fax or e-mail. .
Games Asylum » The Simpsons Game
EA recently said that they were going to pull their socks up when it comes to DS development, and you can't argue with the effort they've put into this. It comes on the largest DS cart available, contains over twenty minutes of FMV, some 3,000 speech samples, a virtual Homer to play with and a handful of retro game parodies including Frogger, Space Invaders and Gauntlet. The thing is that EA themselves aren't responsible for the effort - Amaze did all the work. Oddly their company logo has been emitted from the start up sequence and isn't shown until the end credits. Bad show, EA. Although now in 2D, it follows the same story as the bigger console versions, right down to each Simpson having their own special skills. That story being that the yellow fellows know that they're in a videogame and eventually discover that they have to face their creator if they want to escape.
South Africa's derby hits world stage
The rivalry between South Africa's Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates might be less than four decades old and born of a rather unusual set of circumstances, but the passion and intensity involved nonetheless make it one of the biggest games in world football. On Saturday, however, the Soweto derby will be taken from its traditional arena in the outlying areas of Johannesburg to the coastal city of Durban on the eve of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Preliminary Draw. In an historic event, Durban's King's Park stadium will play host to the two arch-rivals in desperate need of a fillip after a languid start to the new South African Premier League season. Both, in fact, go into the game languishing in the bottom half of the 16-club standings, desperate to use a positive result in the derby to revitalise their respective campaigns.
Davies and Jeffries in frame as McLeish quits
Billy Davies and Jim Jeffries are the early favourites to replace Alex McLeish after he quit as Scotland manager to take over at Birmingham. The former Motherwell manager who was sacked by Derby County on Monday and ex-Hearts boss have been installed as 4/1 joint favourites by bookmakers Ladbrokes. .
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