Here's an interview I did for Creative Christians podcasts last week. We talk about Toyland, Crazy Chins, Blurt and more.
Now the fine print, which I am told must be included...
The podcast is sponsored by God’s Word Collectible Gifts Found at http://www.godsword.net To hear other Creative Christians podcasts you can find them on the sponsors website or subscribe to them in iTunes.
Give God’s Word as gift, collect God’s Word in your heart.
The countdown to the Sarasota Film Festival and the World Premier of our documentary film, Toyland continues. Here is the first trailer for the film. Find our more at www.sarasotafilmfestival.com.
Director Ken Sons & I started this adventure nearly four years ago when we went to a local Wiffle Ball tournament on a whim and "shot some footage." A lot of ground has been covered since that fateful day. We traveled to New York City twice to film at Toy Fair and the Times Square Toys R Us store. We went to Los Angeles to shoot at Mattel and at Otis College of Art and Design. Next it was off to Chicago to interview the grandson of the founder of Radio Flyer, the home of "America's Little Red Wagon." While we were there we visited Big Monster Toys, the most prolific toy design company in the world and met with John Spinello, developer of the game of Operation.
Our most memorable trip was the one we took to meet Betty James, the developer of Slinky. She delighted us with story after story of developing Slinky with her husband in 1945, the introduction of the Slinky Dog in 1952 and even her run-in with the unpredictable Marvin Glass. When we were done chatting, Betty took us out for "The best mushroom soup in the world." And it was.
Toward the end of our time together, she excused herself from the room and returned a few moments later with a parting gift. It was a 1988 bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne, which Ken and I accepted with one caveat: Betty had to promised to come to the premier of the film and have a toast with us. She agreed.
Last year, Betty James died at the age of 90. The toast will still happen in about a month, but it will be bittersweet.
I'm prepping for the NESSEA show next week, aka ED EXPO. It's a trade show for "Suppliers and service providers that produce educational materials, furniture, supplies, and services for today's classrooms." Maybe it's because I had teachers who made learning fun, but I am very excited to be promoting Blurt at this show.
I saw an Ad Council ad recently which was telling. I tried to find it online but couldn't. The ad featured a bold ranking of nations. It looked something like this:
1 Hong Kong (China) 2 Finland 3 South Korea 4 Netherlands 5 Liechtenstein 6 Japan 7 Canada 8 Belgium 9 Macao (China) 10 Switzerland 11 Australia 12 New Zealand 13 Czech Republic 14 Iceland 15 Denmark 16 France 17 Sweden 18 Austria 19 Germany 20 Ireland 21 Slovak Republic 22 Norway 23 Luxembourg 24 Poland 25 Hungary 26 Spain 27 Latvia 28 United States
Now I'm not saying sports aren't important. I learned many valuable life skills on the courts and fields of my youth, but you've got to admit that this ad is true because it strikes a nerve. Why aren't we as enthusiastic about having great schools as we are about having great local NFL franchises? Why aren't teachers better paid? Why don't we enter the education race in 2010 the way we entered the space race in 1957?
I know, there's no money. I just wonder what the cost will be.
Kate & I just had some fun with an original Tip It game. Yet another game from Marvin Glass & Associates, Tip It was released in 1965 by Ideal Toys. Players alternate the colored discs in a stack on each small post and then must use the spatula-like tool to remove the disc matching the color they spin. It's wonderful fun to see the little acrobat balance on his nose precariously. Tip It is a well designed game with AWESOME cover art! One of my old school favorites... Mad Men meets The Brady Bunch!
Here I write about toys, play and the essential skill of squeezing more fun from life. I've written two books on the toy trade including Timeless Toys (Andrews-McMeel) and the WHAM-O Super-Book. (Chronicle Books). Games that I've designed or co-developed include TriBond, Blurt!, Mad Gab, and Crazy Chins. I am featured in TOYLAND, a new documentary film on which I also served as Creative Consultant. Join the fun, seize the play!
