Anybody else who grew up in the 1980s and remembers the song “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins? Here’s a treat: Jackson McKay mashed it up with X-wing clips from Star Wars movies for a really thrilling video.
Danger Zone: X-Wing Tribute (Ep IV-IX & Rogue One) by Jackson McKay on YouTube
What a blast! 😀
Found via Tor.com.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
Cross foxes are a color variation of the red fox (like the silver fox, which I have heard of before). They seem to inhabit the more nothern reaches of the Northern hemisphere.
Looks like they can have a variety of fur coloring, from mostly black and grey with only a little red, to almost half and half.
What I can’t tell from the photos and texts is how bright the red coat might naturally be—I’ve seen some striking photos with really bright red and deep black. I suspect those may be photoshopped, but of course individual variation is always possible. And, naturally, if you wanted to use cross foxes with saturated red-black coats as inspiration for a fantasy story, no-one’s stopping you! 🙂
Aren’t they handsome?
Found via Jonathan Webers on Twitter.
Images via Flickr: Father and child by The Humane Society of the United States (CC BY-ND 2.0). Side profile by Robert Kowaluk. Closeup by Stephen Brown.
Out There is an occasional feature highlighting intriguing art, spaces, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.
By this writing, after the government relaxed some of the covid-19 restrictions / recommendations, some of my native country Finland’s libraries have already opened, and others are preparing to open.
“I love a library. The idea of reading books for free didn’t kill the publishing business; on the contrary, it created nations of literate and passionate readers. Shared interests and the impulse to create.”
– David Byrne, musician and author
Judging by my family, friends, and social media bubble, the openings are very welcome, even though at this stage you can’t really spend time in a library yet (they’re only open for picking up materials, not for lounging or programming). Visiting the library is also at the top of my list of things to do after the Stay at Home Advisory is no more!
Stories are such a huge part of our lives, and we like to talk about them regardless of the shape they’re in. What remains to be seen is how moving increasingly towards digital media will affect physical libraries.
Quote attributed to David Byrne at The Guardian, July 17, 2015; found via American Libraries November / December 2015, p. 28.
Image by Eppu Jensen
Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.
This shall most definitely pass!
Marco at 3dartem on Etsy makes and sells 3d-printed table lamps featuring the top of Gandalf’s staff from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies.
If the power supply weren’t 220 V type L, I’d seriously consider buying one. It’s absolutely gorgeous!
(We have no connection, financial or otherwise, with Marco.)
Image by Marco at 3dartem on Etsy
In Making Stuff occasional feature, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.
Happy Star Wars Day!
Have you heard of Ikea hackers? It’s a site for sharing projects modifying the DIY furniture store’s products. The hack below is both clever and timely: exploding Death Star ceiling lamp.
(Note: The Ikea hackers post I’m linking to has a few different options; I like Maria Krüger’s best, so the pictures are from her project.)
The hack starts with the PS 2014 lamp with copper insides. First it is spray-painted grey before details are applied. Maria Krüger masked in some stripes and used darker grey to paint most of the outer pattern.
Here’s a closeup of her Death Star:
And the finished lamp:
She’s also posted a short video of the lamp Death Star “exploding”:
Star Wars Death Star Lamp – IKEA PS 2014 Modification – Todesstern Lampe by Maria Krüger on YouTube
Isn’t it handsome? I’m not sure I’d have the patience. Or maybe I should say that I don’t care for the Death Star enough to go through the trouble and mess with paint. Now, if you have a fabric project, we might talk…! 🙂
Images by Maria Krüger via Ikea hackers
In Making Stuff occasional feature, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.
Hanging around World of Warcraft and taking advantage of the Winds of Wisdom buff inevitably leads to new transmogs. Here’s my new female gnome arms warrior mog:
I was idly flipping through the various leg slot possibilities when I noticed that one of the plate legguards has this short skirt-like fold at the top. I was able to find a color-matched chestpiece to go with it, and noticed they vaguely reminded me of ancient Mediterranean garb. I then turned off the head, shoulder, cloak, wrist, glove, waist, and boot slots; in the end, the only pieces I mogged were chest, shirt, legs, and the weapon.
Awesome roar, right?!? LOL!
If interested, you can have a look at the set in Wowhead’s Dressing Room.
Image: World of Warcraft screencaps
Of Dice and Dragons is an occasional feature about games and gaming.
Oh my goodness, the Hubble telescope has turned 30 years!
More specifically, it’s been operating, up there in Earth orbit, for 30 years. It was projected to be in service only about 10 years when it launched on April 24, 1990, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Impressive.
Read more at the NASA website:
Happy belated birthday, Hubble! Thank you for all of the space pics you’ve sent down.
Found via File 770.
Image: Large Magellanic Cloud, a vast star-forming region composed of the giant red nebula (NGC 2014) and its smaller blue neighbor (NGC 2020), by NASA / ESA / STScl via NASA
The world’s oldest yarn or cord has been found. The fragment was discovered at the prehistoric cave site Abri du Maras in the south of France.
The 3-ply cord fragment was made from fibers by twisting, likely of inner conifer bark, and found on a stone tool. A number of artefacts at the same site also have plant / wood fibers adhering to their surfaces, but the remains are not extensive enough to classify as cords.
The researchers estimate the meaning of the find thus:
“While it is clear that the cord from Abri du Maras demonstrates Neanderthals’ ability to manufacture cordage, it hints at a much larger fibre technology. Once the production of a twisted, plied cord has been accomplished it is possible to manufacture bags, mats, nets, fabric, baskets, structures, snares, and even watercraft. […]
“Ropes and baskets are central to a large number of human activities. They facilitate the transport and storage of foodstuffs, aid in the design of complex tools (hafts, fishing, navigation) or objects (art, decoration). The technological and artistic applications of twisted fibre technologies are vast. Once adopted, fibre technology would have been indispensable and would have been a part of everyday life.”
Fascinating! Like the research team says, fiber making allows for an incredibly large variety of material culture, from utilitarian objects to clothing to decorative motifs. As a bit of a fiber nerd, it’s tantalizing to think that people were making yarn already 40,000 years ago.
Found via CNN. Read more in Scientific Reports.
Image: Hardy, B.L., Moncel, M., Kerfant, C. et al. in “Direct evidence of Neanderthal fibre technology and its cognitive and behavioral implications” via Scientific Reports
In the village of Zalipie in southern Poland, some blossoms never stop blooming: they’re painted. Not just on the walls inside or outside, but on ceilings, beams, stoves, sheds, dog houses, wells, buckets, paved ground, and bridges.
No one apparently knows exactly how the flower-painting tradition came to be. Common features of the origin stories involve covering up stains, or simply perking up the homes, or uplifting people’s mood following World War II.
Regardless of the custom’s origins, it’s a fascinating feature of village life. These kinds of details would make spec fic stories even more alive, wouldn’t you say?
Found via Good Stuff Happened Today on Tumblr. More photos e.g. via My Modern Met or your favorite search engine.
Images via Flickr: Cabin by magro_kr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Museum interior by mksfca (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Sweep well by magro_kr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Shed by Mariusz Cieszewski via Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CC BY-ND 2.0). End of house by magro_kr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Out There is an occasional feature highlighting intriguing art, spaces, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.
To ease some of the covid-19 cabin fever, Wendy and Richard Pini have released a pdf version of an ElfQuest coloring book that was included in a past Kickstarter project of theirs.
The coloring book is free to download for private use, with one catch. In their words:
“One condition: You may not post images of the uncolored line art from the coloring book publicly online anywhere. The art is still copyright Warp Graphics. Thanks for your understanding. Bootleggers already steal ElfQuest images for unauthorized t-shirts and such; we don’t want to give them any more access than they’re already thieving.”
Thank you for sharing!
Image by Wendy Pini
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
