The Cornetto Trilogy is one fantastic trio of films starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and directed by Edgar Wright.

Three guys, three film genres, three hilariously messed up views of the world, three flavors of blood and ice cream.

Fans think they’re pretty great, the others….well, best not to speak about what the “others” think about these movies…

The main characters in each film are played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, so it seems only fitting that toy makers A Large Evil Corporation made Pegg and Frost the focus of their (hopefully) soon to be released line of vinyl toys based on the Cornetto Trilogy.

So far this mysterious band of toy makers has had very little to say about the figures, besides "stay tuned for further details", but judging by the rabid commentor responses these figures are going to sell faster than a fresh poured pint at The World's End.

-Via Nerd Approved

And gentlemen on Coruscant now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here. Therefore do not miss the conclusion to William Shakespeare's magnum opus, Star Wars. His third play in the series, The Jedi Doth Return, is now available from Quirk Books.

We have previously seen the Bard's first two plays: Verily, A New Hope and The Empire Striketh Back. Now in this thrilling conclusion inscribed by Ian Doescher, Lord Vader and Master Luke engage in one last battle. You haven't lived until you've read Elizabethan Ewokese.

(Video Link)

Here is the trailer for the play, which includes selections from a stage production of it.

-via Blame It on the Voices

(YouTube link)

If the HBO series Game of Thrones had been on TV fifty years ago, the opening sequence could well have been designed by Saul Bass. Also, there would be no nudity, no profanity, and very little blood. German designer Milan Vuckovic took that idea and ran with it, designing an opening Saul Bass-style sequence with ‘60s style music, and forgetting the rest of the show. Groovy. -via Laughing Squid

Lizzy Whimsy adds wonderful captions to historical art to make them more relatable. And funnier! Redditor jerip123 collected the images of George Washington together to make a narrative album of the Father of Our Country acting like an everyday guy. There’s also a running gag about his wife Martha, who wants more children. You can see 33 of these panels at imgur and more of George's adventures at Rally 'Round the History. -via reddit

A limitation of the first phone lines in the late 1800s was that there had to be a line for each phone, which was connected to an exchange. Each call was then manually connected by an operator. Thus, the necessary lines were held by towers that looked like fibers connected to a loom.

These vintage photos show the Telefontornet, the telephone exchange tower in Stockholm, Sweden. A typical configuration, it was fraught with risks of danger from storms, fires and other calamities. By 1913, phone technology had progressed to the point that the Telefontornet was no longer used, though the tower stood until 1953 when it caught fire.

See more photos by browsing the collection at Stockholm's Museum of Technology, Tekniska Museet. Via Colossal. 

Images: Tekniska Museet

Artwork by Dave MacDowell

Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco's upcoming show Kubrick features the work of 67 artists, all inspired by the films of director Stanley Kubrick. The show runs from September 6th to September 27th. Locals or travelers planning to attend can RSVP via Facebook. Further description from the gallery's website reads,

"Spanning a plethora of mediums from sculpture and painting to limited edition prints, the show seeks to honor one of the 20th century’s most significant directors while also reinterpreting his impact in a contemporary context...

All the artists were allowed to select the film of their choosing, there were no guidelines on subject matter or content. Each artist was given free reign to re-interpret and render their take on Kubrick’s entire cinematic collection. Resulting in a variegated display, KUBRICK is an experiment in modernity, a cross-section between film and art."

Via Laughing Squid 

Artwork by Tracie Ching

Artwork by Nicole Gustafsson


Artwork by Robert Wilson

Akira Nagaya is a master of papercrafts. He can work wonders with any paper material--even ordinary post-it notes. He carefully cuts out images and scenes and folds them back so that they stand up. The effect is particularly stunning with a bit of backlighting.

Ultraman

Dragon Ball Z

There was flooding in Chicago last week, shutting down roads and damaging homes. WGN-TV sent its helicopter to one of the flooded areas. The news crew back at the station watched the footage and commented on it.

Yes, there was water damage. But, oh, look! There's a huge statute of the Hulk in one resident's backyard! The journalists quickly lose their focus and go to all-Hulk coverage.

(Video Link)

The best part of this video is the homeowner's response when he notices the chopper.

-via Uproxx

Grove Care is a home for the elderly in Winterbourne, Bristol, UK. It includes a facility for people with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. This facility features Memory Lane, a strip of three shops decorated to look like a stereotypical English village from the 1950s.

(Photos: Grove Care)

The shops are a post office, a grocery store, and a pub. There's also a working phone box. They're decorated with vintage advertisements and objects. Residents can visit Memory Lane and place a call, mail a letter, drink a pint of beer, and buy a cake.

(Video Link)

Memory Lane is an exercise in retro-decorating, a caregiving practice for people with dementia. Besides providing comfortable surroundings, retro-decorating taps into old memories to help dementia sufferers cope with daily life. In a 2011 article in The Guardian, June Andrews, a scholar in the field, describes how it works:

"If you have ever woken up in a strange hotel and had to spend five minutes trying to work out how to use the light switch or the shower you can understand how it might feel for someone with dementia when faced with a new style tap or a mobile phone," she explains.

"If you provide older examples of these objects, for example an old bakelite phone, someone with dementia might remember how to use it and be able to make a phone call, whereas they may not with a mobile phone, even if they had been using the mobile perfectly well just six months ago."

-via Nag on the Lake

In an internet full of movie trailers, it takes a very special kind of movie to stand out. While the idea behind the Automata seems recycled (that is wordplay because we are talking about robots), it wont take long for you to realize that this movie seems to be doing something most sci-fi doesn't get right. A mix between the fantastic and the believable. Granted, some may think it is just another "I-Robot" type of movie, there seems to be a lot more here than just shiny action going on here. It looks like Automata is, essentially, science fiction done right.

Yes, it seems the typical "we build smart robots to help us only to have them evolve beyond what we expected" storyline, but its visual look (think classic Ridley Scott) mixed with the old-school design of the robots has got my interest piqued about this one.

While it may not have Nic Cage in it (< sarcasm font), it still looks like a science fiction film geeks may want to keep their eyes peeled for. Set to be released in October, expect to be hearing more about this movie the closer we get to its release date.

(YouTube Link)

(The Good, The Bad, and The Vicious t-shirt now on sale at the NeatoShop)

In February and again in June, I made anime watching recommendations and asked for them from Neatorama readers. We had great chats about anime. So let's do it again, shall we?

I learned about Knights of Sidonia from Richard Eisenbeis, Kotaku's anime critic. He calls it "a mecha anime with a realistic twist." Knights of Sidonia, which is remiscent of Battlestar Galactica, is the story of the remnant of the human race struggling to survive in an inter-generational war against genocidal aliens. It is a superb series that demonstrates thoughtful and thorough worldbuilding. Some of these elements are truly original--not rehashes of common tropes. In any science fiction series, that is a tremendous advantage.

In real history, Japan National Railways--the government agency which operated that nation's rail network--was privatized in 1987. In the series Rail Wars, this event never took place and the JNR is still in operation. The series, which you can watch on Crunchyroll, shows the adventures of four young high school trainees who are trying to secure permanent positions.

Now the story of people trying to get jobs at a government bureaucracy might not sound exciting, but it is when it's a quasi-military organization beset with terrorist attacks and conspiracies. Even if you're not a railroading junkie, you'll be impressed by the complexities of modern railroading that the characters find so fascinating.

John Kenn Mortensen (also known on Tumblr and elsewhere on the Internet as Don Kenn), previously featured on Neatorama, draws monsters and other creepies with the matter of fact, unapologetic morbidity of Edward Gorey. Not at all reminiscent of Gorey is that Mortensen draws on yellow sticky notes. Usually flanked by children looking at them in horror or being terrorized by them, these ghoulish frights are as menacing as they are marvelous.

Mortensen's illustrations are featured in a new hardback book published in May of this year, which can be ordered here. Check out the artist on Tumblr and Facebook. Via Bored Panda.


 

 

Bat Slapped by PolySciGuy

The Bat reserves his patented face slap for special circumstances, situations where a quick smack to the face can diffuse the situation and prevent a full blown brawl. He doesn't like having to knock sense into people this way, but it's the fastest way to shut up a hysterical Robin or, in this case, stop some clown faced Joker from telling you his life story!

Slip on this hilarious Bat Slapped t-shirt by PolySciGuy and watch the laughs come rolling in, no laughing gas necessary!

Visit PolySciGuy's Facebook fan page, Tumblr and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more eye popping designs:

View more designs by PolySciGuy | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

If you've been following Homes and Hues and Neatorama, you might remember our post featuring 18 Geek Chic Bedspreads, Comforters and Duvet Covers. To celebrate Homes and Hues getting 1000 followers on Facebook, we've partnered with Cafe Press to giveaway a few of the great bedspreads we featured in that geeky bedspread article. You can pick any of their designs and get them in any size -and that's not all! You can also win a NeatoShop tee shirt of your choice and a messenger bag, cell phone cover or tee shirt of your choice as well!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mercedes-Benz, 2014

The grand-scale artwork of Gerry Judah has been center stage at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Sussex, England since 1997. The annual event takes place at the Goodwood Estate, in Chichester, West Sussex, England, home of the Earl and Countess of March. 

Gerry Judah and his family are originally from India. They relocated to London when Gerry was a young boy. He went on to receive a BFA from Goldsmiths College and did post-graduate work in sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Arts.

Pictured here are Judah's creations for the 2014 festival and several years prior. Each year a different luxury car manufacturer sponsored the event and was the feature of that year's sculpture. See more photos at Twisted Sifter. 

Images: Gerry Judah 

Porsche, 2013

Lotus, 2012