Happy Fathers Day! Here’s a holiday greeting from the series that features the worst fathers in all of pop culture -lots of them- treating their sons as expendable tools to further their ambitions of power. After all, that’s what Game of Thrones is about. Contains spoilers for those not current with the HBO TV show. The season finale is tonight. You might want to watch it with your father. -via Geeks Are Sexy
To say that Captain America is an idealized version of a normal human being is an understatement- he is human perfection incarnate, his mind and body working as one well oiled machine, created to take down the evil Nazi empire, and that nefarious bonehead the Red Skull.
But have you ever had the nature of his perfection spelled out for you?
Leave it to Dorkly to do an amazingly succinct job of spelling out how Captain America is quite possibly "the most perfectly conceived character in the entire Marvel Universe", read these six little illustrated panels and you’ll probably come away unable to think of that star spangled superhero the same way ever again!
-Via Dorkly
People are getting used to seeing strange things going down in cities these days, from flash mobs to human statues to buskers of all types trying to wow audiences and earn a buck, but no matter how desensitized you are seeing a seven foot tall orc walk into a shopping mall, complete with armor and a face only a mother orc could love, is bound to be a bit of a shock.
Luckily, the orc in this video isn’t actually one of Sauron's dark forces, he’s just an over seven foot tall guy named Olivier Richters decked out in an incredibly good costume, with equally amazing makeup by Rossanne Puck Aafjes, and when he hits a Dutch shopping mall looking all fierce and orcy the people react...mostly with nervous laughter!
-Via 22 Words
(Image Via Supernatural Law/Batton Lash)
Whether you believe in ghosts or not is irrelevant, at least according to the powers that be, because there are laws in place related to ghosts and hauntings that were created to help protect the living...from being ripped off by the living in the name of the afterlife.
For example- if you’re looking to buy a house in New York the realtor has to tell you if it’s haunted or lawsuits may be filed against them.
Looking to practice necromancy in San Francisco? You’d better have a fortune telling permit, or the spiritualist squad will storm your lair and shut you down, and don’t even think about hunting Bigfoot in Skamania County, Washington, or you may find yourself imprisoned for committing a felony!
The Legend of Zelda gets a Game of Thrones intro, courtesy of The Pixel Kingdom. To be exact, this is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The 16-bit format and overhead view works well with the style of the TV show intro. Now if someone with a little time would put some violent Game of Thrones clips behind the beautiful Legend of Zelda Main Theme. -via Gamma Squad
Wax is a sculpting medium that can be used to create extremely realistic works, and as any visitor to one of the wax museums across the country know it’s the chosen medium for photorealistic sculpture, and wax works don’t come much better looking than the works of Bobby Causey.
Bobby is a self taught artist who has been creating incredibly realistic sculptures of movie characters like The Joker, Hellboy, and Jack Torrance from the Shining for private collectors and galleries for years, with finely painted detail, hand punched hair and just the right accessories to complete each character.
Bobby even created his own replica of the Batmobile from the 1995 movie Batman Forever, and it's every bit as spot on as his amazing sculptures.
-Via Nerd Approved
Combining romantic elements with an enjoyable action movie is a tall order, but a few movies have managed to combine the two genres quite successfully in the past, Romancing the Stone and Mr. and Mrs. Smith immediately come to mind.
That which cannot be easily accomplished in a feature length motion picture can often work out just fine in a short film, for example this very entertaining rom-act-com called Epilogue, created by Dylan Allen for Amalgamated Picture Co.
It’s got the guns and the fun you come to expect from an action flick, and yet it manages to blend the romance into the story in an organic way that really makes you feel like you're watching the epilogue to an epic action movie.
(Barely NSFW due to language)
-Via GeekTyrant
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.
Created in 1938, “Superman" was the first-ever superhero. Sometimes, in life, in sports, or in the arts, the "first" is succeeded by newcomers and it's popularity is eclipsed and surpassed. Not so with the Man of Steel. Superman remains, after three-quarters of a century, the most popular and beloved superhero the world over. (Superman placed #1 on IGN’s “Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list in 2011.)
Superman’s #1 status remains intact and this indisputable fact remains true, despite the appearance over the intervening years of Batman, Robin, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Captains Marvel and America, the Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, and countless others. Okay, let's take a look at a few things you may not have known about Superman.
*Created in 1938 by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-American artist Joe Shuster, Superman is generally acknowledged to be the very first "superhero.”
In fact, the term is derived from Superman. Although we commonly refer to superheroes as "superheroes", before superman, heroes were ordinarily called "mystery men" or "masked heroes.”
* He was originally a villain.
(Image credit: Joe Shuster)
In 1933, Siegel and Shuster had initially created a bald, telepathic villain bent on dominating the world in a short story called “The Reign of the Super-Man.” This "bad guy" version of Superman appeared in science fiction #3, a fanzine Siegel published. Siegel re-envisioned the character later that year as a hero, bearing no resemblance to his villainous namesake.
About twenty years ago prolific anime creator/writer/director Hayao Miyazaki took a short break while working on Princess Mononoke to overcome a case of writer’s block, and in the process he created an animated music video that’s every bit as good as his feature length films.
The animated short was created for the Chage & Aska song “On Your Mark”, and it clocks in at an epic seven minutes in length, plenty of time for the anime master to tell a mighty fine tale about an angel and life underground.
-Via Nerd Approved
Writer/director Woody Allen has gone from unknown comic to film industry innovator to oddball tabloid target in his lifetime, and ever since the days of Sleeper and Annie Hall Woody has been seen as an odd duck.
Caricatures of Woody have shown up in cartoons, comedy movies and television shows, and once upon a time Woody was the star of his own comic strip called Inside Woody Allen.
The strip was drawn by Stuart Hample and ran in daily newspapers from 1976 to 1984, exploring every possible situation an “angsty, neurotic Jewish everyman” could encounter in his life, except for the strange turn of events that actually took place in his later life!
Read more about Woody's comic strip days over at Dangerous Minds
Tetris is one of the most popular puzzle games ever created, a simple premise that was executed in the most addictive way possible, and resulted in many puzzle game fans starting a gaming addiction that lasts a lifetime.
But where did that block dropping game with the Russian theme begin, and how is it that a thirty year old game is still so darn addictive? What does piracy and PTSD have to do with Tetris, and can the game actually be beat in marathon mode?
These pressing Tetris related questions and more are answered in the Gamma Squad article Ten Fascinating Facts About Tetris On Its Thirtieth Anniversary.
From the outside, this Boca Raton mansion looks a lot like any other multi-million dollar property, but the mansion of ex-CEO of FriendFinder, Marc Bell has a serious geek side that might not appeal to the average buyer, but is just perfect for a nerd lord seeking his kingdom.
The eight bedroom, sixteen bathroom palace features a Star Trek theater, a Star Trek bar, a full size arcade, a Call of Duty gaming room and more. It can be yours for only $35 million.
You can see more of the great geeky goodness over at Homes and Hues: This Chic Star Trek Mansion Could Be Yours
Looks like someone built a homemade Alien xenomorph as a Halloween decoration. It’s not much to look at, but it moves, so it could be scary in the dark. But no…
In this Stan Winston Studio ALIENS test footage, James Cameron directs SWS puppeteers as they manipulate a rough "proof of concept" Alien Queen made out of garbage bags, foam core, and ski poles.
So what we are really seeing is the birth of the Alien queen! I did not know they did this, but I’m glad it’s available for all to see. I learned about it in the post 15 Secrets of the Hollywood Creature Feature at mental_floss.
There's been a lot of press lately about Luigi's intimidating death stare featured in the new Mario Kart commercials, but when you think about it, can you really blame Luigi for being a triffle aggravated? After all, he's been stuck playing second fiddle to his shorter, chubbier brother for over thirty years.
After all this time, I think it's time to show Luigi that he's loved too. And here are some superfans with the ink to prove it.
On a side note: as with most tattoo posts, I rarely have the name of both the artist and the person with the tattoo, so if you have any info on these pieces, let me know in the comments.
This piece by Dorian is a fantastic example of why Luigi is so likable -he's never cocky and he's comfortable in his own skin.
At the same time, Luigi's never one to back down from a fight as this tattoo by Shannon Ritchie proves.
Of course, Luigi knows when it's best to run away as well as Heather Maranda, a reader of Mario Mayhem knows all too well.
That bravery comes at a cost too. After all those fights, Damian James knows that Luigi has suffered just as much in the name of the Princess -but he has to settle for Princess Daisy who is never even locked up in the same castle as Peach.
It makes you wonder, if you were this overlooked, wouldn't you also turn to smoking shrooms or some other substance that makes you see ghosts, monsters and man-eating flowers? Thanks John Gorman of Providence Tattoo for illustrating this point so well.
So maybe next time you see the Luigi Death Stare, cut the guy a break -he's had to deal with a lot of crap thanks to his big brother and he never complains. In fact, I think we should all aspire to be a bit more like Luigi.
One Week Friends (Isshuukan Friends) is a currently-airing anime series that Kotaku's anime critic Richard A. Eisenbeis calls one of the "Five Anime of Spring 2014 You Should Be Watching."
My rule when encountering anime recommendations like that is to try a series for one--and only one--full episode. I did and was immediately hooked.
It's a sweet, romantic tale that is quickly becoming one of my favorite anime series. You can watch it for free on Crunchyroll.
I'm not the only person to find One Week Friends appealing. It's inspired a lot of fan art, the best of which I've rounded up here. Warning: spoilers.
One Week Friends is a high school romance. Yūki Hase, the lead male character, is a typical if somewhat dorky and awkward teenager. He notices that a girl in his class, Kaori Fujimiya, always seems sad. She never talks to anyone and appears to have not a single friend. Karn Wongprasert shows her pain in this digital image.
One Week Friends is so captivating in part because it's so realistic. The characters are flawed people. Hase doesn't know how to approach Fujimiya. He's not suave. He simply walks up to her at the end of class one day, bows politely, and asks if they can be friends. Hase's approach, as shown by Yogi Park, is direct and clumsy. It's also successful.
