Night of the ‘Loving’ Dead [Artwork]

Artist Brian Walker of Brain Twist originally created this print for a local high school’s prom theme.

But you can now buy shirts of the print on the Brain Twist Etsy page!

[Via Etsy]



Magnificent “Maleficent” Paper Mache Dragon Trophy

A truly magnificent paper mache dragon head based on the dragon form of Disney villain’s Maleficent by artist Dan Reeder.

I was asked by a man who lives in France to make a dragon trophy of “Maleficent”, the dragon from Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty”. You would think that the simple lines would make this an easy task. But it wasn’t easy at all. It was quite a challenge, which I relished. I wanted to make the dragon that the cartoon would be based upon. But I couldn’t improvise very much without straying too far from the original drawings. And the lights were even a bigger challenge. Obviously I couldn’t get lights that would blast out of the mouth, eyes, and nose exactly like the cartoon. And the dragon had to look decent when the lights were turned off.

[Source: Paper Mache Blog]



Spider-Man vs Batman in Toronto [Video]

So geeks, who do you think will win the fight at the box office? Batman or Spider-Man?

[Via Buzzfeed]

50 years ago today: Telstar pioneers satellite broadcasting

We often talk of technology “making the world smaller”, and that concept was most vividly demonstrated 50 years ago today. The launch of the original Telstar satellite on 10 July 1962 was a true communications breakthrough, allowing for television, phone, and even fax transmissions to be beamed around the world via space rather than through transcontinental cables. It also allowed for even more precise time synchronization between North American and Europe.

Telstar was a truly international project, combining the efforts of American, British and French agencies. They created a satellite that is a mere 34.5 inches in diameter and weighs just 77 pounds.

It runs on just 14 watts of power, provided by a series of solar panels placed around the spherical surface. (Though technically black, these panels appeared blue in space, and combined with the satellite’s white background, Telstar does appear to have had some influence on the design of the R2-D2 character.)

The goal of Telstar was to carry signals across the Atlantic Ocean. Telstar performs an elliptical orbit, meaning it isn’t a constant distance from the Earth. As a result, although it circuits Earth in two and a half hours, it was only usable when it passed directly over the Atlantic, which allowed a 20-25 minute window for each orbit.

Although the television capabilities of Telstar were tested the day after launch, it wasn’t used for public transmission until July 23. European viewers had expected their first transatlantic moving pictures to be an address by John F Kennedy, though the uplink was in place earlier than expected so the first footage was actually a broadcast from a Phillies vs Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field.

Ironically it was human technological experimentation that spelled the end for the original Telstar’s broadcasting life. Nuclear testing by both the US and Russia created enough radiation to create two transistor failures on the satellite, the second of which proved irreparable in February 1963.

Though long out of operation, NASA reported as recently as 2010 that Telstar 1 is still in orbit.

As well as being the subject of a hit song by the Tornados, the satellite’s name was later honored in a range of commercial products including a Ford auto range and a British record label. GaS readers may also recognize it as the name of a range of games consoles in the late 1970s that mainly involved variations on the hugely successful Pong. Only the last of the 14 consoles in the range allowed for interchangeable game cartidges.

The most aesthetic homage to Telstar was an Adidas soccer ball created for the 1970 and 1974 World Cup tournaments. It was the first World Cup ball to use black and white panels, somewhat similar in design to the Telstar satellite, rather than a solid color.

NEW NERD LEVEL UNLOCKED: CERN Uses LEGOs in Experiments [Pics]

On a trip to CERN, David Gabriel Marks snapped these photos of physicist-artist(!) Michael Hoch with the Large Hadron Collider made from LEGOs.

On a totally new level of nerdery, scientists at CERN use LEGOs for logistics purposes, using them to create miniature models of experiments.

Mind = blown.

Photo by David Gabriel Marks.

Photo by David Gabriel Marks.

[Source: Smug Mug / Via I Heart Chaos]

Life-Size Lego Forest

To celebrate the 50th year since the first LEGO block landed on their chunk of the world, Australia is going all out with a year-long “Festival of Play.” They’ve got a whole heap of activities going on for the celebrations, mostly based in Sydney, including an awesome complete LEGO brick scale model of Rome’s Colosseum!

But the first major event, and the one that was probably the coolest, was the LEGO Forest built at Martin Place in Sydney. The forest then quickly migrated to Western New South Wales to Broken Hill. The flowers and trees are to scale from the iconic LEGO pieces, enlarged 66 times. They’re set to remain at Broken Hill till the 12th of July.

Nice to have something physical to experience, in this world of augmented reality and constant digital innovation isn’t it?

[LEGO Festival | Via Nerd Approved]

10 Exclusives to Get Your Grubby Little Hands on at San Diego Comic Con

The biggest hit of San Diego Comic Con’s Preview Night is the mad dash to get as many exclusive toys and swag as possible. With over a hundred things to choose from, it can be overwhelming. Here’s my top 10 picks for what to look for this year.

Kotobukiya’s Bishoujo Series Black Widow w/ Hawkeye Mask – $65.00 (Booth #3345)

Action Figure XPress will have this beauty up for sale. A nice tie-in to the Avengers movie franchise, though I’d personally like to see her with Bucky’s gun.

Hasbro’s G.I. Joe H.I.S.S. Tank Vehicle w/ Shockwave Deco, Destro and B.A.T Special Edition Pack – $64.99 (Booth #3329)

Returning with another great cross over, Hasbro has given the G.I. Joe world a Decepticon makeover. The Shockwave tank is worth the price tag alone.

Dana as Zuul from Mattel – $25.00 (Booth #3029)

There is no Dana, only Zuul! The new Dana action figure comes with two interchangeable lower halves so she can lounge on the altar or stand around all day long.

Adventure Time’s Fiona and Finn 2″ Figure Set – $15.00 (Booth #2343)

What time is it? Oh come on, you know the rest. From the popular gender-swap episode, Fiona gets her own figure complete with male counterpart, Finn!

Walking Dead Michonne from Skybound – $25.00 (Booth #2729)

One of the most anticipated characters from the upcoming third season of The Walking Dead. Now you can hack and slash zombies apart with your very own Michonne.

Hasbro’s My Little Pony “Derpy Hooves” – $19.99 (Booth #3329)

Every pony’s favorite pony. Derpy Hooves makes an exclusive appearance at San Diego. No word yet if they will censor her fan-given name.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellicarrier by Hasbro – $129.99 (Booth #3329)

Hasbro has all the good toys this year. Nick Fury’s private base is a massive 46″ long by 17.5″ wide, has nine rocket launchers, plus a pair of 3.5″ Captain America and Maria Hill figures, both painted in the Avengers movie style.

Jun Planning’s Batman: The Dark Knight Rises and Wonder Woman Pullip Dolls – $149.00 each (Booth #4150)

If large eyed Japanese dolls are your thing, Pullip has some oh so kawaii figures for you. Batman, in his stylish Rises outfit and looking oh so uuuguuuu (I believe that is super cute and adorable in baby / Tumblr speak). Wonder Woman looks tough as nails and super adorable.

Mattel’s Girls of Gotham Polly Pocket Dolls – $19.99 (Booth #3029)

Gotham’s favorite bad girls shrunk down for all your pint sized adventures.

Entertainment Earth’s Bloody Brock Sampson – $15.00 (Booth #2343)

From Adult Swim’s popular Venture Bros. show comes Brock Sampson, complete with bowie knife and the blood of a fresh kill.

If you want to see more of the exclusives being offered at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, check out the list here – http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_exclusives.php

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