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THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. PLEASE CHECK BACK EACH WEEK FOR NEW GIVEAWAYS!
To celebrate the arrival of San Diego Comic Con this month, Media Mikes is teaming up with Comic Images for an awesome “Star Wars” plush toy giveaway. Check out them out below and if you would like to enter for your chance to win one of these great prizes, please leave us a comment below or send us an email indicating your favorite Star Wars character? This giveaway will remain open until July 26th at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to all fans of Media Mikes, worldwide!! One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.
Also if you like these items above, then you need to check out the three new lines and one new line extension that Comic Images will debuting at Comic-Con this year:
STAR WARS Creatures, a line of 10” plush featuring four of the iconic characters, including the beast-of-burden Bantha, carnivorous Rancor, snow lizard Tauntaun and icey Wampa. Each is made from soft, huggable materials, lending comfort (but watch your fingers and toes!) to each owner and can be purchased as a collection or as gifts.
STAR WARS Rag Dolls, a unique interpretation of traditional rag dolls featuring famous STAR WARS characters. The 7” plushes are made of safe, all-new materials and feature tremendous attention to detail. The line includes Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Yoda and Stormtrooper and are attractive to children ages 2 to 200 (as lifespans are longer in the Star Wars universe.)
STAR WARS Back Pals, an extension of the highly successful Back Buddy line, featuring Darth Vader and Yoda. For those who wish to strap on their STAR WARS passion for the world to see, these are plush, squared and fully padded to protect tablets, phones and other electronics as well as books, wallets and more. Crafted to show fully formed features, and with adjustable straps making them suitable for all ages, the Back Pals are sure to stop people in their tracks to ask, “Where did you get that backpack?!” And, continuing the tradition of introducing Star Wars characters as Back Buddies is the new 24” long Wampa Back Buddy, the newest member of that line.
Comic-Con attendees can see and hold all the new products at the Comic Images display at Comic-Con, Booth 2913B in the LUCAS PAVILION.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2013, Comic Images manufactures and markets licensed brand image plush and collectible toys, footwear, bags and more, featuring characters from STAR WARS, Marvel, Universal, Moshi Monsters and more. For more information visit www.ComicImages.com.
Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City
DVD (also available on Blu-ray)
Eagle Vision
Total Running Time: 92 minutes
Our Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Of the grunge trinity – Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots – STP has always been the band that is totally about straightforward, no bullshit rock and roll. That’s not to say that the other two bands weren’t able to go full throttle but, in Nirvana’s case, the music became secondary to the iconic (and now divine martyr) Kurt Cobain. And while Pearl Jam’s “Ten” will be one of the best debut albums of all time, subsequent releases became more Eddie Vedder-centric and increasingly more tepid.
Of course, it would have been very easy for STP’s musical career to become completely overshadowed by the chaotic self-destructive force of nature that is lead vocalist Scott Weiland. His drug and alcohol addictions are notorious and, because of them, the history of Stone Temple Pilots is riddled with stops and starts as Weiland exited and reentered the band – sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not. The odds were against them but, despite this, they’re somehow still on the scene and producing songs that are every bit as powerful as the ones from their debut album 20 years ago. Their story is a “Behind the Music” documentarian’s wet dream – second only to Def Leppard’s.
Just as their 2010 eponymously-titled sixth studio album proves that they can cut tracks that rival the classics from their heyday, “Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City” shows that they are still a band that, to quote Donald “Duck” Dunn from “The Blues Brothers” film, can “turn goat piss into gasoline.” They’re a fierce act – one that would probably cause any Bieberhead in the crowd to spontaneously combust.
“Windy City” captures the newly-reformed band in a March 2010 gig at the Rivera Theatre in Chicago. They don’t waste any time with pleasantries or introductions but, instead, launch into a devastating performance of “Vasoline”. Weiland doesn’t greet the crowd until three songs in when he introduces the song “Hollywood Bitch”, one of four tracks from their latest album. He’s got a somewhat unsettling stage persona: one that makes one wonder if he’s really kicked his multiple bad habits or is in remission – but he’s on all thrusters and in peak form when they launch into the track and the 14 remaining tracks.
Unfortunately, the visual aspect of the DVD isn’t nearly as stupendous as the music. Simply put, STP just isn’t that interesting to watch. Except for Weiland’s swagger filled with stagger, his trio of band mates is pretty stationary throughout the entire show. While abstract patterns are projected onto a backing screen, the cameras bob and weave and the editing cuts quickly to the measures of the songs. It’s pretty cut-and-dry stuff that would probably be yawn-inducing if the tunes weren’t the grungy gems that they are.
The audio – selectable between Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Surround – is excellent and the 16:9 widescreen picture is clean and crisp. A fairly brief interview with the band members is included as the sole bonus feature and makes up for the lack of any liner notes in the 4-page booklet that’s tucked away with the disc. It’s not an especially engaging, though, as the questions are largely boiler-plate (“What inspires you to write a song?”, “What bands inspire you?”, “Are you excited about the upcoming tour?” and the like) as are the band’s responses – except for when guitarist Dean DeLeo expresses his belief that the band “still plays too loud.” Regardless, if “Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City” is a barometer as to the future of STP, it should be a rather plush – albeit noisy – one.
THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. PLEASE CHECK BACK EACH WEEK FOR NEW GIVEAWAYS!
In honor of San Diego Comic Con this week, Comic Images and Media Mikes are teaming up to giveaway one of their brand new limited edition first-ever C3PO Super Deformed Plush. This is a 14” limited edition Super Deformed Plush made of gold lamé that will only be available at Comic Con and Celebration. This is a special and super rare giveaway for the biggest “Star Wars” fans.
If you would like to win one of these great prizes, please leave us a comment below or send us an email and let us know your favorite quote from “Star Wars” series. This giveaway will be open until Friday July 27th at Noon, Eastern Time and is only open to residents of the United States. Only one entry per person, per household; all other entries will be considered invalid. Once the giveaway ends, Media Mikes will randomly pick out a winner and alert via email.
If you are hitting up SDCC this year but sure to visit the Comic Images booth (#2913B), where Yoda, Darth and Chewy join Spidey and Frankenstein to rein supreme in all their geekdom. For more information about Comic Images product line, visit www.ComicImages.com.