Eppu – Page 3 – Co-Geeking

Official Trailer for the Rebooted Red Sonja

August 8, 2025August 3, 2025EppuLeave a comment

The Red Sonja reboot I mentioned a while back has a trailer out now:

Red Sonja | Official Trailer HD by Samuel Goldwyn Films on YouTube

Hm. Not very many fantasy elements, merely the large cyclopian monster on the arena. Other than that it reminds me of Game of Thrones and not in a good way, sadly.

I’m looking forward to another trailer—at least I’m hoping we’ll get another one—and a few more details, since at this writing it still doesn’t look like there will be a theatrical release in Finland.

Finally, a PSA since some people on the Internet seem to need it: this version of Sonja does not wear a chainmail bikini. I am not an expert in armor, but I do know what chainmail looks like, and this isn’t it. This is scale mail of some sort.

According to IMDB, this version of Red Sonja is already out in Australia, Greece, and Kazakhstan, with releases coming in the U.S. (Aug 13, 2025), Ireland (Aug 18), and Thailand (Aug 21).

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Ropecon and Rainbows

July 31, 2025July 31, 2025Eppu1 Comment

The 2025 Ropecon—the largest non-commercial RPG convention in Europe organised entirely by volunteers—is over. Thank you, everybody! I’m exhausted and happy. (And sick; con crud got me this year. Bleah.) I do need to get one thing off my chest, however.

I’m going to make an exception and write in Finnish this time, because I’m responding to a post about inclusion at the con by Merli Juustila, the chair for Ropecon ry., the entity running the con, published this June before the Helsinki Pride parade. (FYI: Juustila’s post is Finnish only.)

TL;DR for those who do not want to attempt Finnish: apparently every year for many years now, the organizers get complaints about rainbows at Ropecon and why that should be; it’s a gaming event, after all, or so says the feedback.

My response: Obviously, it’s because it’s a part of people’s identity and part of their lives. By the same logic, you might as well complain about historical dances, cosplay, card games, kids in strollers, or black clothes being visible all over the place during Ropecon.

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Kangina: Half a Year’s Worth of Fresh Grapes from a Pile of Mud

July 16, 2025January 12, 2025Eppu1 Comment

Kangina are traditional, ecological, and effective northern Afghani mud-straw containers for keeping fresh fruit good longer. They work best with a particular type of grapes with thick skins and a late harvest.

Freshly formed bowls are first baked in the sun for a few hours. The fruit is then placed inside, another bowl is placed on top, and the join sealed with more mud.

Atlas Obscura Stefanie Glinski Kangina Pile

The kangina are then stored in a cool, dry place for up to five or six months. To open, you gently crack the kangina halves apart. (Seen, for example, in this Voice of America video.)

Definitely not quick or low-effort, but still an impressive way to preserve fruit and introduce variety into your winter diet, isn’t it? Perhaps not the best containers for a party of intrepid D&D adventurers to carry with them, either, but certainly an inspired method of storing food they could run into while resting between quests.

Images: Grapes in a kangina by Voice of America via Wikipedia. A storage pile of kanginas by Stefanie Glinski via Atlas Obscura.

Out There highlights intriguing art, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.

Murderbot Season One Is Over

July 14, 2025July 20, 2025EppuLeave a comment

So, the first season of Murderbot tv adaptation ended. I have thoughts and feelings! But: more importantly, the announcement was already made via multiple channels that the series has been renewed for season two!

Tumblr mysticalalleycat Premium Quality Entertainment

Yaaaaay!

Tumblr improbabledreams900 Murderbot S1E10 Smile

I will want to binge the whole series through one more time at least and ruminate on some of the changes before I can say anything sensible.

For those interested who might’ve missed it, Reactor has published a free Perihelion story by Martha Wells.

Images: Premium quality entertainment via mysticalalleycat on Tumblr. Smile via improbabledreams900 on Tumblr.

This post has been edited to correct a typo.

In Seen on Screen, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.

Repurposing Old Wind Turbine Blades as Bike Shelters

July 2, 2025December 8, 2024EppuLeave a comment

Apparently, for a good long while, retired wind turbine blades were difficult to deal with. (Sounds like recyclable blades have since been created.) They were made of materials that can’t easily be recycled and are bulky to just dump.

Repurposing used blades has been an obvious solution. But as what? Among others, they’ve been turned into utility poles, playground equipment, bridge girders, and park benches, for example. In addition, in Aalborg, Denmark, sections of old, disused wind turbine blades have been set up as bike shelters.

This is an older project by now, but I thought it clever and worth noting. Also, it’s cool how the shape of the repurposed section nods just a tiny bit towards the Art Nouveau spirit.

Image by Siemens Gamesa, found via World Economic Forum

Out There highlights intriguing art, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.

Trailers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps

June 27, 2025June 26, 2025Eppu1 Comment

For a long time, superheroes and mutants were kept apart in Marvel Cinematic Universe screen adaptations due to contractual hassles. No more! Wolverine & Deadpool started opening doors and pulling characters from their earlier, separate silos into a more comprehensive world.

The Fantastic Four is now getting a new adaptation. The group’s gone through a few attempts before. I haven’t seen the 1994 version, but it looks like the lovechild of ST:TOS, the original MacGyver series, and Indiana Jones. I am okay with the 2005 and 2007 adaptations as far as the characters and actors are concerned. Alas, the 2015 abomination was dreadful all round, except for Michael B. Jordan and Kate Mara.

The upcoming movie looks to integrate the Fantastic Four into the MCU. Here’s the teaser trailer…

The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official Teaser | Only in Theaters July 25 by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

…and the first full trailer…

The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official Trailer | Only in Theaters July 25 by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

…and the final trailer:

The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Final Trailer | Only in Theaters July 25 by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube

It seems quite cheesy at first—very sixties, and the tv show intro that the full trailers start with is so corny. The Silver Surfer and Galactus seem appropriately celestial, but these clips don’t really give us much; they just imply a run-of-the-mill slugfest. I’ve gathered that’s not all, though, that the multiverse is somehow involved.

I do like Pedro Pascal’s work, but I can’t quite see him as Reed yet. Vanessa Kirby should also be fine as Sue, but I know next to nothing of Joseph Quinn (playing Johnny Storm) or Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm; although technically I have seen him in Andor s1, but am drawing an absolute blank on his role).

A month to go and I still have no idea whether it’s worth seeing this on the big screen. MCU’s really struggling lately.

FF:FS is set to premier on July 25, 2025.

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Quotes: Online, I Can Be in My Head and with Interesting People

June 18, 2025February 16, 2025Eppu

In an older article about disclosure when writing online, author Roxane Gay includes the following explanation of what being an introvert online means for her:

“For me, one of the biggest draws of the Internet has always been how I can be alone and yet find connection with other people. I am an introvert. I can fake extroversion, but it is exhausting. I prefer quiet, even when I am happily around other people. I spend an inordinate amount of time in my head. Online, I can be in my head and with interesting people. I can be alone but feel less lonely.”

A fantastic explanation—which, of course, means that it lines up with my experience of the world, heh heh. 🙂

I’m sure if you’re reading this you know that in general introverts do not hate people—that would be misanthropy—nor do they fear social encounters—that’s shyness. (Well, of course they can, but it’s not baked into every introvert.) It seems there’s now more understanding in general that introversion is about social energy, and that introverts recharge by being alone.

I’ve come to realize that alone time is just a part of how my introversion manifests itself. I feel enormously better, for example, if my home is in a corner instead of the middle. Text-based communication is better than voice. Listening before leaping is a better strategy at meetings or gatherings. And sometimes, when I want to be around people but don’t have the energy to actually engage, it’s enough to hang out in a library or a less-busy corner of a mall, or go out to eat, or spend time browsing in a brick-and-mortar store.

Life is so much easier when you know what makes yourself tick. 🙂

Gay, Roxane. “The Danger of Disclosure.” Creative Nonfiction 49, https://creativenonfiction.org/writing/the-danger-of-disclosure/

Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.

Living Vicariously Through Social Media: Red Lights in the Vatican

May 21, 2025May 10, 2025Eppu1 Comment

In his work, video director, photographer, and art director Aishy plays with color and light. One of his most striking projects is the Red Lights: Vatican series. Interior views from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City become striking and very different from their everyday state.

Aishy’s work is often described as having a sci-fi or cyberpunk flair. However, what his Vatican photos remind me of is how ancient Mediterranean statues and buildings in their original state were not the bland off-white or grey we currently know, but vibrantly painted.

Instagram Aishy St Peters Basilica Vault

And to get back to the cyberpunk idea: wouldn’t it be more interesting—or at the very least less ubiquitous—if your next dystopia were not visually mostly black or grey, but eyeball-bustingly garish in color? Surely that could also be quite dystopic, right?

There are some specific examples I can think of. The throne room in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, for starters, looks magnificently arresting. I’m just a little tired of red (or the combination of red and black). Sure, it’s a strong color often linked to strong emotions, but it tends to be overused. How about orange instead, like the Las Vegas of Blade Runner 2049? Or in Jupiter Ascending? Perhaps purple, turquoise, or chartreuse?

Just tone down the use of those ever-present blacks and greys, thanks.

(As a sidenote, the ancestry festival in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker delighted me for its happy colors, even if the planet itself was another desert.)

Images by Aishy via Instagram: Dome. Vaulted ceiling.

The Visual Inspiration occasional feature pulls the unusual from our world to inspire design, story-telling, and worldbuilding. If stuff like this already exists, what else could we imagine?

Tonight: Eurovision Galore for Finnish Fans

May 17, 2025May 17, 2025Eppu3 Comments

Eurovision 2025 is a very exciting year for Finnish fans—we have not just our official representative, Erika Vikman, but as a bonus, the Finnish comedy group KAJ represents Sweden. Finland probably never has been as invested in following the winning odds—because KAJ’s song is so Finnish through and through, it really feels like we do have two representatives!

Reddit Eurovision Finns Watching Odds Like

In addition to the two acts, I was surprised to find that Finns have had their fingers in other countries’ Eurovision pies, too: besides Erika Vikman’s stage show, designer Ari Levelä has participated in creating the visuals for Austria and Cyprus, and Estonia’s song Espresso Macchiato is co-written and produced by Finnish songwriter Johannes Naukkarinen. It is indeed a very exciting Eurovision year for Finland!

The grand finale takes place late tonight, 22.00 / 10 p.m. our time, and it’s going to run at least four hours. (Gosh, I almost have a headache from the mere thought of staying up that late!)

I’m really torn. I really hope KAJ wins, because Bara bada bastu is so joyful, cozy, and sweet, exactly what the world needs right now. But only if KAJ guys get to keep their quirkiness, happiness, and wholesomeness, because it’s part of their charm, and you can’t do that if you’re sleep deprived and exhausted and harangued by media and fans alike. Plus, it would give Sweden their 8th Eurovision win, pushing them ahead of Ireland (both have seven wins ATM), which as a Nordic person I would LOVE.

At the same time, though, Erika Vikman’s win would be stupendous—it would be the second time Finland wins, the first win for a female solo artist from Finland, and a win for female empowerment. It’s a catchy song with a great beat at the end, and a challenging tune (i.e., meant for a skilled singer). Apparently, after Thursday’s second semifinal there’s been a surge of interest; some have even wondered whether she might really turn out to be this year’s dark horse.

Moreover, Erika’s is an act where a grown-up woman dresses and sings how she wants, instead of a serving of bare female flesh centered around stereotypical male sexual desire (i.e., a slip of a girl decked up in barely-there sparkly cover-ups furiously gyrating and tossing her hair). (*cough* Cyprus 2018, Cyprus 2019, Cyprus 2021 *cough*) Acts are acts, sure, but like KAJ’s, Erika’s seems to contain a certain amount of authenticity that people respond to.

Ohwell. In the end, I suspect I’ll just be overjoyed that Finland has two such strong contenders this year. Following Käärijä’s second place in 2023, recent years have been exceedingly good from the point of view of Finnish Eurovision fans, and that’s not something to sneeze at. 🙂

As a cherry on top, all of the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland) AND all of the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) qualified for the grand final. All at the same time, for the first time. Yay for us smaller countries in the north! 🙂

Reddit Eurovision 2025 All Nordics Baltics Cropped

Images: Odds screencap via WaterNeedsYou on Reddit Eurovision. All Nordics and Baltics via Henroriro_XIV on Reddit Eurovision (cropped).

An occasional feature on music and sound-related notions.