10 Things a Kid Had to Have

Veteran Claus reveals kids' secret desires

(NEWSER) - A 28-year veteran of the Santa Claus role has finally revealed in a blog what we already knew: Kids can be hilarious and heartbreaking. But he's got some perfect tales to illustrate it. Beyond the expected requests for the latest Barbie and video game, kids have whispered into Santa Carl Anderson's ear their desire for world peace and their pain at their parents' breakups, notes ABC News . "Kids see Santa as someone they can confide in," observes Anderson, 57. One little girl simply wanted a chair so she could write in a "little diarrhea" at her desk. "Of course she meant diary, but the misspeaks are pretty funny," said Anderson. More»

Construction toy sales booming, but then you have to build them

(NEWSER) - Toys that required assembly were once an end in themselves, and their elaborate instructions made the process fun. These days, parents shopping for their kids don’t have much of a choice. “Toys do have more parts today,” a store owner tells the New York Times . Shipping flat and not assembling at the factory “keeps the costs down. It’s the Ikea model.” But even parents who appreciate the savings have that distinct Ikea feeling when they open the box. "Just looking at the Lego packages makes me cringe," says one. More»

Upstarts move in while Mattel hits back

(NEWSER) - Barbie remains the best-selling doll in the world, but she's in a dogfight. Mattel is banking on a new iteration—complete with 12 movable joints—called “Fashionista Barbie” to combat incursions from the likes of Spin Master's “Liv” dolls, and MGA’s “Moxie Girlz.” The Wall Street Journal checks in on the toy wars and finds Mattel’s opponents to be cocky: “The Fashionista Barbies don't even come with a hairbrush,” says MGA’s founder. “Liv is a friend,” says Spin Master (whose toy has 14 movable joints). “Liv is now.” More»

Wired declares Klingon the king of sci-fi slang

(NEWSER) - Creators of true geek art follow JRR Tolkien’s example and craft fictional languages to populate their worlds. Wired lists the best examples:

1. Klingon. The Star Trek creation is the king of all sci-fi languages, with fully realized grammar and vocabulary.
2. City Speak. Blade Runner’s vision of earth as a mishmash of Western and Eastern cultures was greatly enriched by this language, described as a “mixture of Japanese, Spanish, German, what have you.”

Add some Marley, Beach Boys to the Disney playlist

(NEWSER) - Parents, don’t let Disney's catalog of saccharine tunes ruin any more of your road trips. There are songs that can bridge the generation gap, Lindsay Armstrong writes on Babble:

• Jackson Five’s “ABC”: School the kids on the alphabet and pop music—all at once.
• Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself": If it’s good enough for the Muppets, it’s good enough for your brood.
• Simon and Garfunkel’s “Me and Julio": The kids will love characters like “Mama Pajama” and “Rosie, the Queen of Corona.”