Star Wars group costumes. Photo by Ashley Thalman / Say Yes.
Perfect for Halloween: evocative outfits that are easy to create almost entirely by using everyday items. Sometimes it’s the whole that matters more than individual details. Great job!
Credits: models Aaron, Kayti and little Monroe Oldham; photography by Ashley Thalman; styling by Sarah Larsen; production by site manager Ashley Aikele; creative direction by Liz Stanley at Say Yes.
This post has been edited.
In Making Stuff occasional feature, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.
File 770 has a nice roundup of ten clips from and about The Martian, ranging from teasers and trailers to interviews and talks. The coolest is perhaps a 20-some minute call between two The Martian actors and two of six members of the International Space Station crew:
From the ISS, Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren were on the horn; from the movie cast, Sebastian Stan and Mackenzie Davis during a visit they made to Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in September.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
Rob James-Collier certainly knows how to put fun in fundraiser! For his London Marathon fundraiser run, the actor (who played the sly footman Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey) wrote and directed an exclusive Downton Abbey clip to benefit the Chiltern MS Centre. Filmed on his smartphone in between takes, the spoof features other Downton actors and lightsabers!
In the end, James-Collier raised more than £15,000 and created a second episode as a thank you. In this second installment, the whole house gets in a Star Wars mood with even more lightsaber action! The absolute best, though, is when the two venerable old ladies, the Dowager Countess and Mrs. Isobel Crawley, played by Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton, pick up lightsabers!
J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Story of Kullervo edited by Verlyn Flieger will be published only a few weeks from now in the U.S. The October release was preceded by a late August launch in the U.K.
“Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters. ‘Hapless Kullervo’, as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny.
“Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates.
“Tolkien wrote that The Story of Kullervo was ‘the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own’, and was ‘a major matter in the legends of the First Age’; his Kullervo was the ancestor of Túrin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. In addition to being a powerful story in its own right, The Story of Kullervo – published here for the first time with the author’s drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work, The Kalevala, is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien’s invented world.”
As The Kalevala is my national epic, it feels odd to see the storylines and names used with little or no change by a celebrated international author. I’m used to thinking of my country and culture as small and unimportant. Perhaps that is our strength, after all – we’ve managed to hold on to some unique features in our little corner of Europe.
Lately there’s been some talk about casting Idris Elba as the most famousest of British spies, most notably a Bond author stuffing his foot in his mouth about the hypothetical casting. Vulture had the brilliant idea of asking video artists Diane Bullock and Mike Schuster to put together a mock trailer for the upcoming movie Spectre with Elba as 007.
The more I hear about this adaptation, the more excited I get – and I’m not big on survival flicks! I’m looking forward to seeing more of Donald Glover (whom I only know from Community), Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sean Bean (who better not die in this one!). I’m also curious about Kate Mara (whose performance I liked in the otherwise deplorable Fantastic Four reboot). I think I also noticed Michael Peña – Luis in Ant-Man – get some space shuttle time.
In any case, it’s going to be especially good after a weak movie August and a disappointing September.
Such an easy look to put together: overalls, yellow t-shirt and bag, plus commercially available Minions goggles that won’t break the bank. Making memories doesn’t have to involve grand gestures!
In Making Stuff occasional feature, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.
I just love the 9 ¾ door and the flying envelopes – very low effort but big impact. And that’s not all – first of all, every student will get their Hogwarts letter, and, later in the year, the kids will be quizzed and sorted into houses. The discussion on Reddit also touches on the kind of teaching that this room is meant for, so it should be helpful for other teachers.
Looks like it will be a lot of fun both for the teacher and the kids! I can’t but echo one of the commenters – “So awesome!! Keep being amazing!!”
In Making Stuff occasional feature, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.
“We are a team of Tolkien fans who are passionate about creating a beautiful, inspirational and fully-functioning replica of Peter Jackson’s depiction of Minas Tirith, as seen in his Lord of the Rings films.
“We all share a love of Tolkien’s work, and a desire to challenge the common perception of community and architecture. We believe that, in realising Minas Tirith, we could create not only the most remarkable tourist attraction on the planet, but also a wonderfully unique place to live and work.”
Realise Minas Tirith on Indiegogo.
If the project sounds far-fetched to you, rest assured: the team knows it’s a long shot:
“Please only donate within your means, and in the knowledge that this project is a light-hearted venture with virtually no chance of succeeding. […] We make no claim on the image or name of Minas Tirith, and will happily cancel this project should any dispute arise over such.”
Two things come to mind: it’s a fascinating example of 1) how throwing money at something has become an established way to show public support for a project or person, and 2) how the Internet allows people to engage in collective daydreaming across the globe.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
Co-Geeking 