Crave

(Credit: Branz.org)

Like most social-networking sites, Twitter isn't immune to lurkers, fakes, and creeps. The 404 Twitter account received over 600 followers in the last 24 hours, which leads us to believe that we're either becoming wildly popular or more likely, the new adds are demonized accounts; in other words, people that had their accounts taken over by a spam bot. This has to stop, Biz--stop teasing our egos!

In other ridiculous news, the CBS video print ad we picked apart in Episode 411 is fetching up to $400 on eBay--what the what? If we'd known that prices would skyrocket on the black market, we would have ganked a few more copies from our parent company, CBS! This is a great example of how you can buy practically anything online, including an 800 thread count Egyptian Cotton duvet cover or a set of custom-made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle drapes from your humble host's childhood...don't ask, just watch the show.

After the break, we get to a few Calls From the Public, including one from a caller all the way in the Caribbean! We also run down the 20 best cartoons from the 1990s, but they forgot about the X-Men cartoon! And where is "Teenage Mutant Ninja Frickin Turtles?!" Take a look at the list and let us know your favorites!

(Credit: Geek Stuff 4 U)

I don't know if this $125 Ninja Kunai 2GB flash memory drive is made of metal or not. They don't say in the product page description. What they say in the warning has me a bit worried, though:

Please note that this product is not a "real" Kunai, and cannot be used as such; also we would like to remind you that this product may be dangerous due to its sharp edge and MUST be handled with care.

GeekStuff4U.com cannot be responsible if you misused this product and hurt yourself or others with it.

So it is not the real thing but it can actually cut? Can I take care of my garden with it? Do they just mean you can use it to take one of your eyes out? Are they giving nerd ninja wannabes any kind of ideas here? I hate when Tuesdays come with so many questions.

(Credit: Geek Stuff 4 U)

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

(Credit: Uncommon Goods)

I still plan on living out my childhood ninja fantasies: jumping across thatched straw rooftops, stealing precious family heirlooms in the middle of the night, throwing pointy stars, and honoring my giant rat sensei by ridding the world of mutated rhinos and warthogs. And now I won't have to worry about getting wet in the process.

The handle to this Ninja Umbrella resembles the old samurai katanas of yore, replete with a crossed grip hilt and a cloth scabbard that you can swing across your back when the sun comes out. The umbrella section expands to a 3-foot-long canopy, and you can buy it here for $30. Do yourself a favor and don't read the description on there that claims ninjas do karate--everyone knows that NINJAS do NINJITSU. Duh.

The classic ape makes a comeback and competitive eating gets its own game--all on the Nintendo Wii console.

Virtual Console

• Donkey Kong 3 (1986, NES, 500 Wii points): Stanley the Bugman's greenhouse has been infiltrated by Donkey Kong. Armed with a can of bug spray, you must chase the ape away before he destroys the greenhouse.
  
• Ninja Commando (1992, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Ninja Commando is a top-down, vertical-scrolling shoot em' up, known for its unintentionally funny English translation.
  

WiiWare

• Major League Eating: The Game (Mastiff, 2008, 1,000 Wii points): Based on competitive eating contests held by Major League Eating, the game features a number of rounds that cover twelve different foods.
  
  

What games do you think are missing from the Wii Virtual Console? Sound off here!

Two new WiiWare titles this week along with some classic ninja fighting on the Virtual Console

Virtual Console

• Ninja Combat (1990, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Ninja Combat is a side-scrolling action game that puts you against an evil ninja clan known as the Kage Ichizoku. Fight solo or side-by-side with a friend through numerous stages until you reach Ninja Tower.
  

WiiWare

• Protöthea (Ubisoft, 1,000 Wii points): Protöthea is a top-down scrolling shooter that blends classic game elements with those of the new Wii controls. This single-player game will have you blasting your way through 10 missions in all.
  
  
• Toki Tori (Two Tribes, 1,000 Wii points): Toki Tori is a platforming puzzle game where you'll use your special moves to get through the 70+ levels the title has to offer. Add a second player who can draw hints onscreen to help you complete each puzzle.

What games do you think are missing from the Wii virtual console? Sound off here!

(Credit: Crave UK)

We've all been there: breathlessly plugging your camera into your computer, firing up your photo software, and stopping dead at the sight of horrifically blurry pictures. How to rectify the situation? Get a tripod. Lug that chunky thing to the pub, the beach, take that bad boy everywhere. Maybe not.

Or you could follow our advice and think differently. We've rounded up seven of the coolest, wackiest and most un-tripoddy tripods, monopods and camera supports money can buy. Click here for the collection.

(Source: Crave UK)

It's sure to be the next Facebook. It'll dwarf MySpace.com.

I bring you: The Ask a Ninja social network.

For anyone who's been using typewriters and watching over-the-air television the last couple of years, Ask a Ninja is the hit video blog in which a ninja answers questions about the lifestyle of sneaking undetected into locked buildings and opening victims up with katanas. And things like that.

The hit video blog is launching its own social-networking service.

(Credit: Ask a Ninja)

Well, the audience has gotten so big that the creators have decided to do something that almost no one else has thought of: launch a site on which the video blog's fans can network with each other, create friends lists, leave testimonials--surely about the best suggestions on how to slice up evildoers and the like--and so forth.

Ah, so I kid just a little bit.

The truth is, I'm just not sure how successful a deeply focused social network like this can be. The Ask a Ninja community may be passionate and strong, but is it big enough to support a whole social-networking service? Especially when it's possible to set up focused groups on other networks?

Well, of course, we won't know the answer for a while. But I'm skeptical.

Particularly, because I wonder how members will be able to tell their friends apart when every single one of them is wearing the exact same ninja outfit.

(Credit: tomwet.de)

I'm not really sure what this gadget's product page is saying, because it's all in German. But regardless, I want this toaster. It's sleek, black, and printed with a skull-and-crossbones as well as a bizarre Guns & Roses reference ("Sweet Toast of Mine") and get this--it'll brand your toast with a skull-and-crossbones as well.

Then your toast can have a pirates-vs.-ninjas battle with your Wee Ninja. Arrrrr!

(Via Notcot.org.)

(Credit: Elsewares)

The dual phenomena of video games and the Internet have spawned all kinds of odd subcultures. There are the obvious ones, like the l337 haxx0r bunch, or "Final Fantasy" cosplayers; and the not-so-obvious ones, like Vox bloggers with Blythe doll infatuations. (Apparently it's really big over there.)

And then there are Indie Ninjas, which Notcot recently devoted some attention to. We all know at least one or two of them. They're too geeky to be hipsters, a little too off-center to be straight-up geeks, and they have some weird interests. Maybe they're really into Homestar Runner, still play Mortal Kombat all the time, have a thing for samurai flicks, and have nicknamed you "Splinter." But most importantly, they will violently lash out at anyone who thinks that ninjas are inferior to pirates. Not even Johnny Depp in Captain Jack Sparrow mode could defeat a ninja, according to Indie Ninjas.

In order to make it easier to shop this holiday season for the Indie Ninjas you know and love, Notcot has made a gift list on "shopcasting" site ThisNext. From a vampire chair to SanDisk's USB-meets-SD card, I'm sure you'll find something.