Parents and Kids Talk Radio

The PKTR Show's 50th Podcast!!

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Tune in to our 50th show of Parents and Kids Talk Radio on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 2:00 pm (ET).

But before then...

We want you to enjoy this show as much as we do. Send us an email or comment below with your own topic ideas - we're always open to suggestions.

Also, if you see a great article that you think may interest us, send us the link and we might talk about it during our "Idle Chit Chat" segment!

We can't wait. So, whether you're setting a reminder through Siri, hand-writing the date in a calendar, or merely relying on your memory, we hope that you'll join us and have fun (and maybe even learn a thing or two).

Has It Really Been Two Years??

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:56:00 +0000

Reviewing all of our earlier shows and show notes, we chuckled when we watched what, to us, is now a classic.

In honor of the two year anniversary of our posting it on this blog, we're rerunning it for you today.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did:

Ready 2 Rumble on Wii

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Do you like boxing in video games? Have you ever done boxing on Nintendo's Wii? If not, we have a game you should check out.

Ready 2 Rumble (Wii) is a fun, invigorating game that is best described as an extremely buffed-up Wii Sports boxing. There are multiple moves, such as the uppercut, hook, jab, etc. There are also heavy versions of all the punches too, which makes it fun to really smash the opponent.

The characters can range from funny to seriously tough.

There are some real people-- Shaun White, Jon Travolta-- while there are some not real people that you create in championship mode. In championship mode you create your own boxer, but that guy starts out as the worst boxer possible-- 1/100 strength, 1/100 punch speed, 1/100 agility, etc.

You build up your strength in training activities-- hit the mitt, speed bag, medicine ball, jump rope, and others. The only downside to this championship mode is that many of the training levels do not read your movements with the Wii remote, and it is extremely tough to build up that level. Also, if you already have something built up, let's say 98/100 strength, if you do something like jump rope that is very difficult, it lowers your strength, so you have to do a strength exercise again.

Also, beating the Gym level and the next cage are both fairly easy, but when you get to the next round, the game suddenly gets very tough.

That being said, multi-player is fun, because the other person, assuming they know how to play, should be better than a breeze or really tough match like the sporadic playing in championship mode. It is fun and sometimes even a brief workout to play someone else, especially if you're playing in an advanced arena, for then you have roaring fans and spouts of fire next to you when you walk out of the entrance gate.

Overall, Ready 2 Rumble has an enjoyable multi-player boxing, but in the single player modes, it seems the game-makers just tried too hard.

RATING (10 being the best): 5.7/10

Keep in mind: Older teens (and those looking for more challenging boxing than that found in Wii Sports) might like the precision required by the various punches, but younger kids will likely become frustrated. Our rating is based on that notion. Modify it for your kids' preferences.

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Here's a video trailer. Check it:

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Special thanks to Romeo Corsi and the folks at RocketXL for giving us a review copy of the game.

Clothes for Teens - PKTR #49

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:11:00 +0000

Abercrombie & Fitch. What kind of reaction do you have when you read that name? Something pleasant or a bit of a shudder?

We have some fairly strong opinions about the company and teen clothing generally. Download this week's show to hear them.

The PKTR hosts will also tell you about their new microphone, called the Snowball. What do you think? Might take a few adjustments before its full potential is realized...

We couldn't do a show this week without briefly mentioning the H1N1 flu virus, so if you're sick of hearing about it, just move to about 15 minutes into the show to bypass the discussion.

That hand sanitizer that smells like freshly baked cookies? Here you go. You're welcome.

Ready 2 Rumble? We tell you our initial impressions of the Wii game by the same name and will have a review coming soon!!

We're also eagerly anticipating the upcoming release (May 19) of EA Sports Active and tell you a little about it on the show.

Then, it's on to a discussion of road rallies and puzzle hunts. Do you know what they are? Do you have any great resources to share? We'd appreciate it!

But enough of the idle chit chat...we have so much to say about clothing for teens and kids. Do you buy Abercrombie clothes? Do you proudly carry around their shopping bags? If not, which stores do your kids prefer? Has the Abercrombie craze jumped the shark? Passed its prime? Faded into oblivion?

How about Hollister?

Somehow, to the PKTR hosts, the folks at Hollister seem to get it right while the A&F staff are caught up in ego and pretense (despite their connection).

Finally, we wrap up the show with our favorite (for this week) iPhone/iPod Touch apps (including a brief mention of Twitter). Here's the photo our happy tween host created with ColorSplash:

Thanks for listening!!

Wii Boxing - Get Ready 2 Rumble

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:41:00 +0000

We're getting ready to review a new Wii boxing game for teens and up.

Check it out here.

And here's the official website.

Stay tuned!

Kindle 2 and the Kindle iPhone App - PKTR 48

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:30:00 +0000

It's hot, it's cool, it's the talk of the town and we talked about it on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Kindle 1 (the first version)

Kindle 2 (compared to the hefty Story of Edgar Sawtelle)

What are we talking about? It's the Amazon's Kindle 2. In this show, the PKTR co-hosts tell you what they think of the Kindle Apple application for iPhones and the iPod Touch.

Want to listen or download it? Click here.

Here's the link to the Kojo Nnamdi show we mentioned several times...

And here's the link to Rob Pegoraro's article on the Washington Post site.

The Electric Company - PKTR 47

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:29:00 +0000

If you want to hear about a great new show for young kids learning to read, you'll want to download our first show of the year!

We'll tell you about the new show called, "The Electric Company."

Sound familiar?

Find out whether we talked about the same show that was on back in the 70s.

Download our show and we'll let you know.

Then tune in again next Saturday to Blog Talk Radio's Parents and Kids Talk Radio at 2:00 pm (ET).

In the meantime, you can check out The Electric Company's new website here.

But first!!

We start the show with a discussion of the dog whisperer, Cesar Milan (pictured below), and an article he wrote this month, called "What Your Pet Can Teach You." Good bits of wisdom to start off the year on a good foot (er, paw?). Yuck, yuck (insert rimshot here).

The rest of the first half of the show is devoted to The Electric Company, then 30 minutes in, we'll tell you about our most recent favorite iGames (our way of more briefly saying games found in the iPhone/iPod touch applications store), including Scoops!

Thanks for listening!

Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

What They Play - Real Moms Feature

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:45:00 +0000

We here at PKTR often try to help our listeners and readers find fun things to do in family life. Our regular listeners know how much we love playing and talking about all sorts of games, including board games and video games. In fact, with respect to video games, we've even talked about other websites that talk about games, like What They Play.

Well, they say that what goes around comes around, right? And this week, we're happy to say that Soapbox Mom is featured as one of the Real Moms on What They Play, the parents' guide to video games. The site's founder asked six moms questions about video games, fitness and attitudes about games. Read the questions and our responses by clicking here.

Happy Holidays from PKTR!

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:16:00 +0000

PKTR will be taking some time off to enjoy the holidays and the new year with family and friends.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Announcing the Winners of the Wii Games - Rayman Raving Rabids TV Party!!

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:53:00 +0000

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We have winners in our Rayman Raving Rabids TV Party giveaway! It's the first game where you control a character using your bottom (on the Wii balance board)!

Congratulations to Pete of My GPS Camera Phone

and PG of Annoyingly Boring!

Each of our winners won a copy of the Wii game, Rayman Raving Rabids TV Party!! That game was one of our top picks this year and is undoubtedly one of the most fun games of the year!

Thank you to everyone for participating by leaving comments here and on our companion blog, Soapbox Mom!

Happy Holidays from PKTR, Soapbox Mom and Ubisoft!!

Rayman Raving Rabids TV Party - PKTR 46

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Our holiday show is tons of fun, mostly because we tell you all about the Wii game we gave away today. It's called Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party and it was one of our top video game picks this year.

Seriously, doesn't this look like fun?

We begin the show with some chit chat about Christmas and holiday shopping. Here's the post we mentioned about how to decorate a Christmas tree.

We'll also tell you what we think about some of the shopping bags which some of the stores give you to carry around the mall...

Christmas music comes up in the show, too. Do you like it? What are your favorite songs? One of the hosts will tell you her top five.

Then, we take off on a quick tangent to talk about Heroes (perhaps inspired by Rayman Raving Rabbids?)...

Or maybe the photo above just reminded us of the Isaac Mendez character in Heroes as he paints the futuristic paintings...

Either way...

it's not long before (somehow!?) an iPhone app works its way in to the show. You might be surprised to find out which one. Actually, it's the third top selling application. which one?
iFart (I still can't believe we talked about this...) was the iPhone application the boys of our household demonstrated for you. Ugh. Uh, sorry?

Anyway...

Here are the stick figures we told you about in the show. This part of the game (called "Shake It") is one of our favorites.

You just have to play it to know about this:

Finally, here's the Rabbid Pack we told you about during the show:

Sorry, the Rabbid Pack is only available in the United Kingdom.

Congratulations to our winners! Thanks, again, to Ubisoft for the games.

As always, thanks for listening!!

Another Wii Game Giveaway on PKTR!!

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:09:00 +0000

We're thrilled to tell you that our listeners have another opportunity to win a Wii game!

The kind folks at Ubisoft have provided us with TWO copies of Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party to give to our listeners.

This is one of the most fun games we've played this year (and that's why it made our list of Top Picks - Video Games on Wii and PS 3)!

Want a chance to win?

This week, we're asking you to leave a comment telling us which video game is your (or your family's) favorite video game. That's all you have to do.

Besides, now that the election is over, what else do you have to do?

You have until Saturday, December 20 at 4:30 pm (ET).

Tune in to the show that day at 6:00 pm (ET) when we'll announce the lucky winners on our live radio show!

Good luck and Happy Holidays!!

----------> And remember to check my blogger friend Michelle's site, Scribbit, for more great holiday giveaways!

Wii Game Giveaway and iPhone Apps Update - PKTR 45

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:34:00 +0000

In today's show we announced the winners of our Wii game giveaway!!

Congratulations to the winners:

Ashlie of Mommycosm

and

April R of Sweet Leaf Tea!

Each will receive a copy of Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip for Nintendo Wii.

Download the show to hear about the game.

Even the website is cool! Check it here.

Thanks to everyone who participated by leaving comments on our companion blog over at Soapbox Mom!

Twilight and a Wii Game Giveaway!! - PKTR 44

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Download the show to hear about what we thought about the movie based on Stephanie Meyer's book, Twilight.

We start the show talking about products with eucalyptus and if you, too, like it, how you can easily enjoy the scent in many ways...

Next, we'll tell you how to throw a party for friends easily, inexpensively and with little or no intimidation factor. Just do it!

Here's the link to Oprah's website and her twist this year on her favorite things. We love it! And - bonus! - here's a terrific link which provides many, many holiday entertaining ideas.

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The recipe, as promised, for our fool-proof appetizer is one of the easiest I've ever made:

Goat Cheese Appetizer

8 - 10 ounces of marinated goat cheese
olive oil
fresh thyme
pink peppercorns

Bake the goat cheese at 325 in an ovenproof serving dish until bubbly and just a bit golden brown on top (about 45 minutes). Remove from oven, sprinkle olive oil, thyme and pink peppercorns and serve. Best with pepper crackers and grapes (in our opinion).

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Then, about 22:30 in, we move on to the discussion about Twilight and other holiday movies.

We recommend using your judgment to determine whether to let your preteen read the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn. Approximately three fourths of the book is intense and mature content. We advise that you read it first then decide whether your daughter will like it.

Finally, we'll tell you about that Nintendo Wii game we'll be giving away this week. Just leave a comment to enter!

By leaving a comment, you'll have a chance to win this game:

Here are the links to other giveaways:

Scribbit

Mom Generations

Mogul Baby

Mom Central
5 Minutes for Mom

Thanks for listening!

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Entries will be accepted until Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 12:30 pm (ET). Giveaway is only open to US residents and US addresses (no PO Boxes). See additional rules here.

Wii Game Giveaway Coming Soon!

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Join us on Saturday, December 6 when we'll announce which of our top picks (discussed in our show last week) we'll be giving away!

Two lucky winners will win one of these great video games.

Check back soon for more details.

Note that our show will broadcast live at 5:00 pm on Saturday (instead of our usual 2:00 pm timeslot).

Election 2008 - PKTR 42

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:44:00 +0000

Our topic today is the presidential election.

Listed below are some of the websites we discuss in today's show:

My Debates

538

Rock the Vote

Elections '08 Map Gallery - Google Maps

Fact Check

Survey to Select a Candidate

Obama

McCain

YouTube - YouChoose

The White House Project

VP Debate clips

Here are some others worth visiting:

Roadkill Refugee

Politico

CNN

The 39 Clues - PKTR 41

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:45:00 +0000

It's here! The exciting adventure series we told you about last December, "The 39 Clues" has been released and is now in stores. We received our copy just moments before the show was taped, so bear with us as we try to make sense of it.

You'll notice a gap in the show at the 10 minute mark - but stay with us - we return within two minutes. Technical difficulties...

Think of this show as our initial impression of the hot-off-the-press first book, "The Maze of Bones" in what will ultimately be a ten book series. Rick Riordan, author of "The Lightning Thief" and all of the books in the Percy Jackson series, wrote the story arc for The 39 Clues as well as this first book.

On our next show we will have much more information for our listeners when we do a full show about The 39 Clues, so tune in again on October 4 to Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Thanks for listening!

Success in School: Tips for Parents and Kids - PKTR 40

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:55:00 +0000

Summer is over and we managed to get the kids back in school - what have we learned in the process?

Plenty!

Today's show will provide oodles of tips and ideas to smooth the transition from summer to school time. If things are still a bit bumpy in your household, listen to this show. We'll have helpful hints that have worked for us.

From school supplies and stocking your own homework/office area to the clothes that the kids love to wear. PKTR hosts share what's worked for them, what they've learned and other things they've observed.

Listen to the last 15 minutes when we'll give you updates on the latest iPhone apps, too, including these:

Hanoi, Hanoi Plus, Lumen lite, iDoodle2 lite, Etch-a-Sketch, Enigmo, Audi A4, KoiPond, TiltSnake, Bubble Wrap, iChoose, Coin Toss, Cradle and Labyrinth LE.

Thanks for listening!

Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

The Big Apple - PKTR 39

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:05:00 +0000

Planning a trip to New York City? Then you must listen to our show. It's all about great things to see if you're taking kids to Manhattan.

Download it here.

Thanks for listening!

iPhone Apps 2.0 - PKTR 38

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:51:00 +0000

A couple of shows back we told you about the new iPhone 3G and a few of the initial applications available in Apple's app store. Today, we're updating the info, so we're calling this show iPhone Apps 2.0.

We start by sharing our experience standing in line to buy an iPhone. Next, we provide some insights about Twitter and then it's on to the topic of the day - applications!

App developers are pumping out new applications so quickly that it's almost overly time-consuming to figure out which ones to add to our iPhones or iTouches.

On today's show, we'll tell you all about our top apps. We've tried so many that we are excited to share our findings. We will give you quick overviews of our favorites along with some criticisms.

Bottom line? We found so many fun and interesting applications that if you needed another reason to get an iPhone or an iTouch, you'll probably find one here! For example, look at this:

If you use Twitter, you will probably love Twitterific. Listen to the show and we'll tell you why.

We also tell you about DeBlob, Texas Hold 'Em, Jawbreaker (renamed reMovem), Etch-a-Sketch, Crash Kart, WordPress, Fotomatic, ColorTilt, Enigmo, Break, DizzyBee, Remelody, Math Quiz, Super Monkey Ball, Bubbles and more!

Update: Bubbles is no longer free (it's $0.99). Also, after spending more time with Break, my kids have revised their comments and feelings about Break. They say, "This game stinks." So...for what it's worth...

This one, Enigmo, is probably best for the parents in the house. Look at this brief review:

Thanks for listening!

Join us again next week for Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Have any questions about syncing Apple apps? Check here. Need troubleshooting assistance? Click here.

Nintendo News - PKTR 37

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:58:00 +0000

Listen to the show as the PKTR cohosts tell you about all the latest news from Nintendo!

Soapbox Mom attended BlogHer 2008 in San Francisco and has some exciting news to share!

First, she'll tell you a little about that conference, including a party involving none other than Guy Kawasaki (thank you, again, Guy for a fantastic party!!), then the hosts will tell you a little about one of the exhibitors, Picnik, and what that means to you, finally the hosts tell you that they're thinking about attending E3* next year (or maybe even the E for All Expo later this year)! Why not? According to Seth Schiesel in the New York Times, we're the kind of people that fuel Nintendo.

Just look at John Davison's fantastic site, What They Play - The Parents Guide to Video Games. He seems to agree with us, anyway... We'll tell you a bit about his site (but you should go there right now and be sure to bookmark it!!). You'll have no more excuses for acting clueless about what your kids are playing on their game systems.

At about 15 minutes into the show, it's all things Nintendo, baby!

After a furious rant by Soapbox Mom about EA and its Rock Band title (hoo boy, is she mad!!). If you've ever wondered what she sounds like mad, be sure to listen to the show. And if you're from EA, just tell her that you received the flippin' broken, defective, sliced drum pedal, OKAY?! That's all she wants. Just tell her you received it and that everything's okay. OKAY?!

Ahem...

Back to the show...

You'll hear about this title:

Yes, it's true, Animal Crossing will soon be released for the Nintendo Wii!

You'll do more of the fun activities that you've enjoyed on the DS, but now it's full screen fun on the Wii!!

Here are some great screenshots, compliments of the cool team at Nintendo:

In this show, the PKTR ladies also tell you about Wii Music, Wii Sports Resort, and more.

Thanks for listening! Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

*(E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo)
Update: We have since been advised that E3 attendance is by invitation only, so if anyone out there can get us an invitation, please send us an e-mail and hook us up!! (pktalkradio at yahoo dot com)

Away at BlogHer08!

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:04:00 +0000

No show on July 19, 2008.

PKTR host, SoapboxMom, went to San Francisco to attend BlogHer '08.

Please join us next week for another Parents and Kids Talk Radio show.

iPhone Update! - PKTR 36

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:57:00 +0000

Listen to today's show to hear all about our thoughts about the iPhone 3G and some of the coolest applications available in Apple's app store!

Wall-E Movie Review - PKTR 35

pktalkradio@yahoo.com (PKTR Hosts) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:08:00 +0000

Download this week's show to hear what we have to say about Wall-E.

We'll tell you about this guy:

(maybe?)
Who is that?!

and this main character:

Who reminded us of something we've talked about in an earlier show...
Hmmm...

How did we feel about this?

Click here to listen and you'll find out.

Thanks for listening! Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.