From Blast-Off to Lift-Off- The Sonic the Hedgehog Jump to Other Media

Sonic the Hedgehog is a creation nearly twenty years in age that has proven its worth not only in the success of its original video game release and subsequent sequels, but also in the worlds of comics and television.

Following the adventures of a little blue speed demon as he does battle with Dr. Robotnik and strives to free his captive friends, the Sonic the Hedgehog series is one that has introduced myriad new worlds and characters across many incarnations.

Some friends, some foes, all fun!

It all started in April 1990. After Sega asked its research and development department to create a new icon for a new decade, Sonic the Hedgehog was born. With the 16-bit Sega Genesis system on the horizon, Sonic the Hedgehog was just the product that would show gamers how far video games had come in the five short years since the debut of Super Mario Bros.

And show them, it did!

Followed a year later by Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the universe was growing. With Miles Prower, or “Tails” for short, Sonic had a new ally in the fight against Dr. Robotnik. Two years after that, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 debuted and brought with it the introduction of Knuckles the echidna. Unlike Tails, Knuckles was a rival instead of a prot?.

The creation of Knuckles was a huge success and led to a co-headlined follow-up, Sonic and Knuckles, in which the pair must overcome their differences to stop another takeover by Dr. Robotnik before it is too late. It was clear to see, at this point, that Sonic the Hedgehog’s world of adventure was only just beginning to flourish. Since then, there has been a host of new characters join the danger and the fun. So many the video game series could no longer contain them!

If the games are not enough, watch for Sonic and Friends (and Enemies) in these other media outlets:

* Sonic Comics: Since 1992, Sonic the Hedgehog has been a fixture in comic books and manga with seven different series, including three from famed American publisher Archie Comics, two of which are still going strong.

* Sonic Gamebooks: Choose your own adventure with one of six Sonic gamebooks. These allow the reader to affect the story by making choices throughout that affect the events of the overall narration.

* Sonic Novels: Published by multiple houses, there have been eighteen novels written that explore and expand the Sonic the Hedgehog Universe.

* Sonic Animated: Sonic the Hedgehog has made one of its biggest impacts in the world of animated entertainment. With the youthful Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, in which Family Matters’ Steve Urkel, Jaleel White himself, became the first voice of Sonic, and the edgier Sonic the Hedgehog, there have been nearly 75 individual episodes and an animated feature film to the blue speedster’s credit.

Twenty years strong, Sonic shows no signs of stopping. With every new generation, it is likely he will be buzz-sawing his way to victory over the forces of darkness for some time to come. Whether it is in video games, comic books, novels, cartoons, or feature films, Sonic the Hedgehog is here to stay.

Montblanc George Bernard Shaw Writer Series – Limited Edition Pen – a Collectors Dream and an Appreciating Investment

Since the year 1992, Montblanc has dedicated one writing instrument a year to a great author in history who has been recognized world-wide for their literary genius. Not only are the pens dedicated to the author but they are artistically inspired by the life and works of the author giving each Writers Edition pen a unique story and personal history. When designing Writers Edition pens, Montblanc always goes one step farther to make each piece have a little more value. A finishing touch and final tribute to the author is their personal signature that is beautiful engraved into the side of each cap. In other words, each and every Writers Edition pen is autographed by the respective author to whom the pen is dedicated. This is indeed one way to make each pen even more valuable and worth collecting along side each and every pen being individually identified as 1 of the limited collection produced.

The most recent addition to the Montblanc Writers Edition pens is a beautifully marbleized dark green lacquer that is divided by platinum into a series of rings that progressively widen from the point to the cap. The pen is signed by and dedicated to George Bernard Shaw, an Irish born composer and literary critic but most importantly a dramatic playwright. Shaw spent most of his life in London and wrote more than sixty plays in his lifetime. Pygmalion is quite possibly one of Shaw’s greatest works and of highest recognition. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926 and an Oscar in 1938 after producing a screenplay for Pygmalion. A key symbol found on the George Bernard Shaw Writers Edition pen is the flower engraved on the nib of the fountain pen. This flower is the symbol for the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, one of the leading characters in Pygmalion.

The George Bernard Shaw Writers Edition pen is yet another beautiful homage to a great author by Montblanc. Shaw was a brilliant satirist in the 20th century when wit and playfulness were at a loss. Shaw was a conservative man and did not pay much attention to public greatness or recognition as he considered them a form of social-evil and inequality. However, his lovely wife was the influencing factor in bringing Shaw to accept his honors and awards in order to pay tribute to Ireland, his home. Still today, long after Shaw’s brilliant and witty life with us, we desire to pay tribute to him, his social beliefs and witty light-heartedness that helped many through hard times by creating a pen that honors him and his origin, Ireland. Let us take this pen and continue to honor Shaw by writing words of laughter and wit while simultaneously collecting one of the valuably limited 16,000 fountain pens, 18,000 ballpoint pens, or 4,000 sets produced by Montblanc marking the Writers Edition pen of 2008. Buy Montblanc from authorized dealers like PenBoutique.com for genuine Montblanc pen.

Antique Coin Collections – 6 Tips To Make Your Antique Collections Trendy

The fun involved in coin collecting is becoming more famous with every passing day. It is one way to generate income, apart from being the hobby for many.
The set of coins that are most sought after by all the collectors can be termed an antique coin. These are the coins that are purchased from auctions, or coin shows, and even in malls in the tourist areas with a historic background. These coins vary according to the period, and how long it has been in existence. The history and the origin also matter.
These are the following tips one might consider while purchasing antique coins:
1. The buyer must be sure that he is buying a genuine antique coin, and he is not cheated with the counterfeit coins that are being sold in markets. A thorough inspection must be conducted on the coin before one gets it.
2. The very expensive coins can be purchased later, when the collection gets bigger, in the initial stages, its always better that the collector goes for the less expensive ones.
3. The collector needs to consider every other aspect before he buys the coin. There are people who are ready to cheat you, and one needs to be extra careful when buying antique coins, because the fidelity of the coin is at stake when you are buying it from an outsider.
4. The value of the coin must always be assessed by a person who has vast knowledge in this field.
5. Always narrow down the option to a specific era, or to a specific origin. This will help your search, and make your job easier.
6. Its very important that a person needs to take utmost care to preserve the coin, in order to keep the value of the coin high. The appearance of the coin also adds on to its value. The collector must always be aware of the fact that excessive cleaning of the coin will only depreciate its value. The older, the better!
The antique coins are so much fun to collect, and it is the collector’s pride if his collection has some of the most enviable antique coins. The hobby peps up the collector’s life. And, this is one hobby, where patience will play a very big role. Keep the passion of coin collecting going, and make this one interesting thing to do.

Playing Poker Games Online

If you are looking for a new hobby and don’t want to pick up something new, then perhaps you may wish to pick up the game of poker. Chances are, you are already familiar with the game because poker is such a well known game that is being played by millions of people all over the world.

Traditional poker involves a banker. It is the job of the banker to distribute cards to each player. The first card is always face down, and the second card is always face up. The card with the face down is kept private until the very last minute. Nobody knows the true value of the card except for the player himself. This makes the game more interesting and exciting because no one knows for sure who is going to win until the end of the game.

In the middle of the table is an existing pool of money. This pool of money consists of the initial bets. As the game progresses, the pool of money gets larger and larger. Usually, those who get good hands will start raising one another. It will be a competition of wits and guts. Back to the game.

Whoever has the largest value on the second card gets to call the shots now. Calling the shots means he or she can raise the bets. For example, the individual can choose to add 100 dollars to the pool of money. Imagine yourself as a player. You can choose to follow the bet at 100 dollars, or you may choose to raise the bet to whatever amount you choose to. If you follow the bet or raise, you stay in the game. You have to decide on either one. Otherwise, you fold and the game is over for you.

All cards from now on will be uncovered. The banker will distribute one more card, and the same process starts all over again. Players will then fold or raise one another. This will go on until the fifth card.

In poker, the largest hand is the Royal Flush. The Royal Flush consists of the cards Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. Whoever has the Royal Flush automatically wins. And the winner can collect the entire pool of money on the table. (Note that the banker only distributes cards. The banker is NOT a player on the table.)

Then there is the Straight Flush – cards running in sequence and of the same color but the largest card is not an ace. This is the second best hand in poker. The third best hand is four of a kind. That means you have four cards of the same number in the your hand (e.g. four Tens, or four Kings, etc). These are followed by a series of poker hands, ranking from best to worst.

As you can see, the entire game requires quite a bit of strategy. Since you don’t know what the covered card is, you can’t be sure what the final hand is going to be. If you think that you stand no chance of winning, be sure to fold early to prevent further losses.

Lesney Matchbox Toy Cars – The Original

The enthusiastic collecting of small diecast cars all began with one company back in 1953. With a simple conception of a toy car for his young daughter, Jack Odell of Lesney Products kicked off a completely original brand of toys and collectibles that are still as popular today as they were over fifty years ago. Regrettably, Lesney Products, the original, designer of the Matchbox diecast car, is no longer in business but Lesney Series Matchbox toy cars from its day remain greatly hunted after.

From their birth, Lesney Series Matchbox toy cars ruled the miniature diecast industry. When originally introduced, they were untouchable. Lesney Products was the very first producer to distinguish the market niche for tiny diecast cars and no one had came up with anything yet to fill that need. The first car ever distributed was a green and red road roller designed to fit inside a match box so Jack Odell’s daughter could take it to school. An quick hit and using their clever matchbox marketing, 2 extra cars were introduced. Those were a cement mixer and dump truck. With these three miniature facsimiles, a new age came about blasting Lesney Products to the prominence of toy production. The line was expanded to become established as the 1-75 Lesney Series Matchbox cars.

At this period in their chronicles, Lesney Series Matchbox cars were being marketed by a business known as Moko to develop the Moko Lesney Series. All of this thrived to become the golden era of British diecast. The three world companies each had market share and were lucrative. They were doing great and would mimic each other on advancements in their advancements. They were contrasted enough from one another that they were not in dead competition so it seemed all was fine and none of these companies could do wrong.

Lesney Series Matchbox cars quickly hit forthright competition from the United States when Mattel released their series of Hot Wheels cars. Even though Hot Wheels cars were often dream vehicles and not replicas like Lesney furnished, they were colorful, quicker, and had a operating suspension. Their wheels permitted them to roll rapidly on tracks and solid exteriors. Lesney responded as quickly as they could but it wasn’t fast enough. In only two swift years, Lesney had lost their US hold on sales. Soon, the UK followed. They slowly recovered for a short stint in the mid-70’s but by the end of the decade they were in crucial financial trouble. Lesney went broke in June, 1982. As a result, the cars manufactured before this become much hunted after collectibles and still are today.