Happy Puppy Vintage Computers

This anthology of children-related tracks originates from the globally conscious Putamayo Records catalog. Artists from Africa (Senegal's Touré Kunda, Congo's Ricardo Lemvo), Europe (France's Manu Chao), the Caribbean (Jamaica's Cedella Marley Booker), North America (Buckwheat Zydeco and Eric Bibb from the U.S.; Canada's Teresa Doyle), South America (Brazil's Nazaré Pereira), and Australia (Trevor Adamson) offer tracks, and while the styles and moods vary, the album gels excellently. Even if the multicontinent angle strikes you as too catholic, it bears reiterating that this is a "playground" session, a collection that begins with a Senegalese in-line dance and continues through "Mardi Gras Mambo," a bongo-playing French monkey, and much more. And while the songs are playful, there's nothing in the way of tossed-off music. It's all first-rate, with the artists at the top of their games. --Andrew Bartlett

This lively collection of global songs takes children and parents on a musical journey to faraway places where they can beintroduced to other people and places around the world. A trip to the World Playground makes exploring other culturesa adventure for music fans of all ages! Featured artists include Manu Chao,Taj Mahal and Cedella Marley Booker.*Parents’ Choice Winner 

Putumayo's Playground series consistently lives up to its name by sending far-flung cultures out to recess, freeing them to reveal their musical fun sides. The metaphor ends there, but the parallel to actual playgrounds doesn't: as any parent who's felt forlorn at times knows, nothing nullifies a dreary afternoon funk more effectively than a trip to the neighborhood playground. So it goes with the series. Animal Playground, the latest to swing, slide, and see-saw its way into agile imaginations of all ages, is a fine-tuned creature feature as playful as a giant-pawed puppy. Even if you don't know what forro is (North Brazilian dance music), or that "Cantigo do Sapo" has something to do with a little singing frog, you'll want to shake a tail feather in time to the beat; that holds for Quartetto Cetra's right-on Italian reworking of "Old McDonald," "Nella Vecchia Farroria." No disrespect to the other exotic offerings here ("Aves," from Honduras, for example), but the English-language songs are most winning of all: Canada's the Be Good Tanyas captivate with "The Littlest Birds," and you can't help but a love a man who cries crocodile tears from his puppy dog eyes, in this case Jon Langford who, when he's not a Wee Hairy Beastie belting out "Animal Crackers," leads the excellent punk/folk band the Mekons. --Tammy La Gorce

Animal Playground is the latest release in the award-winning Playground CD series from Putumayo Kids. The new album presents a multilingual collection of animal-themed songs from around the world. The enhanced CD also includes an original music video for the song “No More Monkeys,” produced by Putumayo and shot on location in Trinidad featuring Trinidad-born artist Asheba. Since children of all nationalities are fascinated by animals, Putumayo found it only natural to create a collection of exceptional songs featuring animal themes and folklore from across the globe. The 13 tracks on the album will guide listeners on a journey that begins in North America and ends in Africa without skipping a beat in between. Music fans of all ages will want to jump, hop and sing along to the playful, upbeat melodies of Animal Playground.

A funny thing happened to Finian's Rainbow in between its debut as a Broadway musical in 1947 and its appearance as a film in 1968. After 21 years, its theme of racial tension in the American South was no longer cutting edge, and the fact that its heroes are a group of sharecroppers called the Rainbow Valley Tobacco Cooperative dates it even further. Add a number of subplots and the heavy hand of a 29-year-old Francis Ford Coppola directing his first and only musical, and the two-and-a-half-hour running time feels bloated. Hermes Pan (best known for the classic Astaire-Rogers movies) is credited with choreographing the overbusy musical numbers, but he was reportedly overruled by Coppola at every turn. Still, there is a lot to enjoy in this movie, most notably Fred Astaire in his last lead role in a musical. Fred plays Finian McLonergan, an Irishman who has traveled to America in hopes of planting a pilfered pot of gold near Fort Knox and watching it grow. Even at 69, Fred shows he is still capable of a sprightly step and warbling "Look to the Rainbow." Another plus is the casting of '60s pop icon Petula Clark as his daughter, as she sings with an unaffected loveliness. Finally, the score by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg includes two of the best Broadway songs ever written--"Old Devil Moon" and "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"--as well as the comic ditty "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love." --David Horiuchi

This strange, 1985 experiment by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) starred the up-and-coming Tom Cruise in a fairy-tale world of dwarfs and unicorns and demons. After the horn of a unicorn is broken, darkness and winter descend upon the world. Cruise's character, helped along by a magic sprite played by David Bennent (The Tin Drum), descends into hell to save paradise. This movie is almost a classic case of art direction gone amok. The somewhat amorphous Cruise doesn't lend much dramatic focus or artistic definition, but the drama between Tim Curry's satanic majesty and Mia Sara's character, who becomes a sort of princess of the netherworld, is pretty captivating. A mixed experience all around that makes one wish it had been more successful. --Tom Keogh

Disney's Recess: School's Out dipped in and out of theaters faster than fans of the cable TV show could snap their lunch boxes shut--kind of nice for parents whose idea of grown-up detention is sitting through such fly-by-night kiddie features. Now that home screenings are an option, though, plan for the ages 5-and-older set to settle in for reruns. Also plan to get sucked in yourself--if the screwball plot doesn't do it, the soundtrack will. While TJ and Principal Prickly (the latter the unfortunate bearer of the "saggy butt" that becomes this movie's clunkiest running gag) bust in on a crew of fiendish would-be teachers during summer break, slices of vintage grooviness--Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild," Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense and Peppermints," and Robert Goulet's "Green Tambourine" among them--get you cheering along, whether you're 3 or 43. The reason for all the retro funkiness revolves around the chief bad guy, Phil Benedict, a one-time educational visionary and former Prickly schoolmate. Back in the day, Benedict was a radical school revolutionary, but his manifesto for better test scores misfired when it called for a ban on recess, a concept so barbaric it got him canned from a cushy government job. Now, undeterred in his mission to make life miserable for kids, he's hatching a switcheroo scheme that will forever pull the shade on summer and thus summer vacation. Predictably, right at trigger time, TJ, Prickly, and the gang roar in to the rescue. It's an ending that's as pat as any on the TV show, but so what--this is a movie that aims for summer-linen lightness. Just as the Fifth Dimension promise on the soundtrack, it lets the sunshine, as well as a few well-timed chuckles, in. --Tammy La Gorce

The Third Street Elementary School kids are teaming up to save summer vacation for kids all over the world in Disney's Recess: School's Out—the hit theatrical movie that The Washington Post calls “Great Fun!” The school year is finally ending, and T.J. Detweiler is looking forward to summer. But boredom quickly sets in when his friends leave for camp—until T.J. uncovers an evil plot to do away with summer vacation! A crazy former principal, Dr. Benedict, is planning to use a laser beam to alter the weather and create permanent winter. Faced with the dire threat of year-round school, T.J. rounds up the Recess gang and bands together with some unexpected allies—Miss Finster and Principal Prickly—in a nonstop adventure to save everyone's summer break. As the kids discover the heroes inside themselves, a platoon of wacky characters, far-out music and sci-fi surprises turn this madcap mission into a major victory for fun!

Save money on batteries! Lightweight and long power cord allows you to plug in and read just about anywhere. For use with Folding LED, Duet 2, Mini, Triple, Vusion, XtraFlex 2, Navigation, and Pedal Board lights.

Play structure has something for everyone! The perfect warm-weather project for do-it-yourselfers with kids or grandkids, this play structure has something for everyone. While kids see the obvious fort, treehouse, jungle gym, castle and pirate ship all rolled into one, grown-ups will appreciate the projects subtler aspects-namely, its a safe, sturdy and creative place for kids to play, and it even looks nice. The projects built-in ladder leads to a six-foot-square platform (about five feet off the ground) covered by a colorful canvas top. Theres a smooth hardboard slide with a sandbox at the bottom, and another sandbox underneath the platform, in the shade. The structure is built mostly from standard 4-by-4s, 1-by-8s and 1-by-6s, and requires only basic tools. Although its not a small project, simple and sturdy post-and-platform construction keeps it within the scope of most woodworkers. And with similar play structures going for up to $2,000 in stores, do-it-yourselfers willing to put in the work will enjoy big savings. The completed play structure stands a little more than 10 feet tall (at the peak of the gable).

FULL HOUSE:COMPLETE EIGHTH SEASON - DVD Movie

Half the fun in following a long-running series comes from watching the cast grow and change. In Full House's final season, Joey (Dave Coulier) grows out his hair, seventh-grader Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) starts wearing makeup, and preschoolers Alex and Nicky (Dylan and Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit) form complete sentences. Other (non-cosmetic) developments: Jesse (John Stamos) forms a new band--and dubs them Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets (yikes!)--while senior D.J. (Candace Cameron) prepares for college. As in years past, the best episodes incorporate dream sequences. In "Making out Is Hard to do," Jesse imagines he's the subject of a documentary--with Kimmy Gibler (Andrea Barber) as his wife. "My Left and Right Foot" mixes humor with horror when Michelle (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) imagines she's a circus clown because her feet are growing so fast. The third-grader also appears in the season's low point, "Claire and Present Danger," in which she dresses up as a trash-talking floozy (tiny tarts are rarely a good idea). After eight years, Full House hadn't run out of steam, but family sitcoms were on the wane. Though the show was never the coolest or most cutting-edge, its life lessons still apply. Sometimes it could even be unexpectedly insightful, as when Danny (Bob Saget) remarks, "When kids seem the least lovable, that's when they need love the most." He jokes that he stole the line from his Ziggy calendar, but truer words were never spoken, and the Tanner household was never short on love. Fans who missed the final episode ("Michelle Rides Again") will also be pleased to find that the writers came upon a clever way to unite Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen onscreen. That's right: two Michelles--in her imagination, of course. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

A hot prospect threatens his college career by playing in a high stakes street basketball tournament. Starring Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur and Marlon Wayans. Year: 1994 Director: Jeff Pollack Starring: Duane Martin Leon, Tupac Shakur, Marlon Wayans

This rousing basketball drama centers around Tommy "Shep" Sheppard (Leon), a former high school basketball star now haunted by the accidental death of his best friend, and Kyle Watson (Duane Martin), an arrogant high school player in danger of slipping into crime. Though Shep avoids commitment in his life as a security guard, his attraction to Kyle's mother (Tonya Pinkins) draws him out of his protective shell--but Kyle is more interested in mentorship from Shep's gangster brother Birdie (Tupac Shakur). Above the Rim is melodramatic but played with grit and energy by a solid cast, particularly Shakur. Writer-director Jeff Pollack keeps the story moving and gives the characters enough spin to rescue them from being clichés; the result is engaging despite its formulas. Also featuring Bernie Mac and Marlon Wayans. --Bret Fetzer

The Original 3D Bozo Bop Bag has bounced backed into action. This 're-inflation' of the classic consists of all the same features as it did in the 1960's: 3D hair, squeaky 3D Bop Bags nose, a 'bop zone', sand filled base for the bounce back action and is made of durable vinyl. Bozo stands at a whopping 46 inches and comes poly-bagged within a sturdy box-with Super Fun graphics. Take your frustrations out on Bozo, he'll keep bouncing back!

CUTE LITTLE CHIHUAHUA (CHI CHI) WALKS HEAD NODS TAIL WAGS PLAYFULLY POUNCES

This sensational science toy will give you a break from a busy and frustrating day. This Nuts Magnetic Sculpture features extremely strong magnets in the shape of nuts that allows you to stack up and up! Make your tool pyramid while having a fun interactive break from your day. A great office desktop display for your machine shop or anything to do with cars and machines. Recommended Age: 8+ Years. Dot inlay Tune-o-matic Bridge Rosewood Fingerboard Adjustable/detachable neck High gloss finish Manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty

Bulletstorm X360

Bulletstorm is a first-person shooter (FPS) in which players find themselves stranded on a planet that although once an adult-oriented paradise planet, is now hell incarnate, complete with savage mutants and flesh-eating gangs. The goal is simple: survive, escape the planet and pay back the SOB who sent you there. Additional features include deep 2-4 player support, a wide variety of ways to defeat enemies both large and small, an impressive arsenal of weapons and a Marvel Comics written storyline. Story Set in a futuristic utopia, an elite peacekeeping force thwarts the rumblings of civil war. But deception within the ranks has caused two members of the most feared unit, Dead Echo, to strike out on their own. Now washed-up mercenaries turned space pirates, Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato's latest quest for a quick buck goes south. Stumbling upon their ex-commander's warship, the Ulysses, Grayson engages this behemoth head-on. Outmanned and outgunned, his only option is to ram the Ulysses in a suicidal bid at redemption. Narrowly surviving a crash landing and now stranded on the abandoned paradise planet of Stygia, Grayson and Ishi find themselves surrounded by hordes of mutants and flesh-eating gangs. They survive on two objectives: get off the planet alive and exact revenge on the man who sent them there. Unleash a Bulletstorm with Grayson and crew. View larger. Frantic FPS Fun Taking the role of Grayson Hunt, wield over-the-top combat moves and some of the most uniquely innovative weapons ever seen in a first person shooter that all feed into Bulletstorm's distinct 'skillshot' system for unprecedented levels of frantic gameplay. Unleash the Bulletstorm. Game Features Incredible New "Skillshot" System - Combine outrageous gunplay with Bulletstorm's unique kick, slide and leash mechanics as you kill with skill. Every enemy presents a new opportunity for stylish, over-the-top and ever increasingly bloody ways to take them down. The Circle of Awesome - Kill with skill to rack up the points. Cash in these points for upgrades. Use these upgrades to pull off even bigger and better "skillshots" and earn even more points. Bulletstorm's upgrade system truly is a circle of awesome that rewards players who kill in the most creative ways. Badass Weaponry - From your trusty Peace Maker Carbine to the explosive Flail Gun, Bulletstorm delivers an arsenal of the most inventive, death-dealing weapons ever seen that truly put the fun back into the First Person Shooter. A Pulp Sci-fi Adventure - Featuring a script by the acclaimed Marvel Comics writer Rick Remender (The Punisher), Bulletstorm takes you on a journey filled with plot twists and turns from betrayal to revenge and ultimately redemption. A Dangerous Planet of Forgotten Paradise - Travel from scorched desserts to tropical forests and an adult playground resort on a beautifully realized paradise defiled, delivered by the power of the Unreal Engine. Additional Screenshots Amazing graphics quality. View larger. Kill with skill at each turn. View larger. A planet full of dangers. View larger. 2-4 multiplayer support. View larger.