Author: Mike Flacy

    Editor-in-Chief for The CheckOut. During my free time, I love to write about pop culture, home theater, digital photography, social media, mobile technology and cool gadgets!

    If you are interested in having The CheckOut crew review one of your products, send me an email to reviews at bensbargains dot net. (Of course, replace at for @ and dot for .)


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    Check out my most recent posts:

  • qwerty-keyboard-sofa-side
    Why Type When You Can Sit? The QWERTY Sofa

    Developed by an Italy-based architecture and design firm called ZO_loft, the QWERTY sofa is pretty much exactly what you think it will be; an odd amalgamation between that hunk of plastic that you pound your fingers on every day and...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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  • c3po-alarm-clock
    Shut Up and Take My Money: Star Wars Talking Alarm Clocks

    Forget the alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed. I want to wake up to the sweet sound of Chewbacca screaming in Shyriiwook, the language of the Wookiees. Sold on Firebox, these old school alarm clocks...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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  • Nostalgic Calvin and Hobbes Fan Art

    Calvin & Hobbes has always been one of my favorite cartoon strips. I fondly remember snatching the funnies out of the Sunday newspaper (you know, back when newspapers were a big deal) and carefully reading strips in...

    • Posted 13 years ago
    • 208
  • Arrested-Development-Michael-Bluth
    9 fantastic posters for the fourth season of Arrested Development

    If you still need a reason to subscribe to Netflix Instant, I can’t imagine a better one than getting to watch the fourth season of Arrested Development. Becoming available on May 26, 2013, Netflix users will be able...

    • Posted 13 years ago
    • 0
  • old-spice-shower-commercial
    Old Spice brings the funny raining down on you

    Old Spice is no stranger to hilarious advertisements and that’s completely evident in the company’s  most recent commercial. While the ad doesn’t have the zany randomness of Isaiah Mustafa asking you to look at rapidly changing scenarios or the ridiculous insanity...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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  • PATTON-OSWALT-STAR-WARS
    The most amazing Star Wars movie pitch ever created!

    Easily one of the most impressive single takes in Parks & Recreation history, Patton Oswalt made a guest appearance recently and absolutely stole the show with an eight-minute speech on his idea for a Star Wars movie that also...

    • Posted 13 years ago
    • 1
  • Hadouken! meme explodes on the Internet

    Breaking out in Japan recently, schoolgirls have started posting Street Fighter-style images of throwing imaginary Hadouken! lighting balls at each other. One girl will get into a pose of launching a lighting ball and anyone else around her will...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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  • Five Amazing Movie Object Posters

    Designed by Maxime Pecourt, check out these five movie posters that mix in objects found within movies such as The Matrix, Batman, Aladdin, E.T. and Men in Black: (Maxime also has a pretty awesome “24 Faces” of series that...

    • Posted 13 years ago
    • 0
  • Nixie Ramos
    Ramos alarm clock diabolically forces you to get out of bed

    Finally starting to ship after raising over $150,000 on Kickstarter, the Ramos alarm clock is designed to make sure heavy sleepers and snooze button addicts actually get up at the right time. When the Ramos alarm clock goes off...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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  • Beercade: the arcade game that rewards winners with beer

    Developed by the McKinney creative agency, the Beercade replaces the coin slots on a traditional arcade machine with beer taps and encourages players to compete for some frosty, ice cold beer. Featuring a custom made game called The Last...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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  • super-mario-coin-block-lamp
    Shut Up and Take My Money: The Super Mario Coin Block Lamp

    Developed by a group called 8-Bit Lit, the Super Mario coin block, interactive lamp turns on and off by tapping the bottom of the lamp and even includes the classic Super Mario coin sound after each tap. After...

    • Posted 13 years ago
    • 0
  • roku-3-review-feature-slide
    Roku 3 Review

    Popular with consumers who have ditched expensive cable and cut the cord, Roku hardware has long offered access to many popular streaming video applications for a fairly low cost. Released during March 2013, the new Roku 3...

    • Posted 13 years ago
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