By the time superhero flicks became the box office smash hits they are today audiences had come to expect more from the costuming department than a simple spandex getup, and thus the updated supersuit was born.
Fawnia Soo Hoo of Fashionista spoke with veteran designer Alexandra Byrne, who created the super new looks you see in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, and Oscar nominated costume designer Michael Wilkinson, who created the updated styles seen in Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman, about what goes in to designing today's supersuit.
They were all too happy to discuss the process at length- from conceptual and research stages to materials they've used in the suit's construction and why to how many people it takes to get Ben Affleck in the new Batsuit (apparently it's a six handed operation).
Japan is not limited by Western sensibilities of what is an appropriate ice cream flavor. Let us be glad, else we might never get the chance to try beef tongue ice cream or foie gras ice cream.
Now we can try one more meat-based ice cream. Rocket News 24 reports that the city of Fukuoka is hosting the Karaage Festival--a celebration of a type of fried chicken dish. Visitors will be able to eat karaage-flavored ice cream. Let's go!
The horror fiction writer Eric Carle created a tale that will terrify generations of adults and children--if it's told the right way. Altering traditional literature for optimal character development is one of the essential roles of the father. That's why, when I read The Rainbow Fish to my kids, I have Rainbow Fish sell his scales at a steep markup price and become the richest fish in the sea.
Gamers who enjoy the feel of dice, miniatures, boards and cards often become avid board gamers, and these days board games run the gamut from insanely difficult and time consuming to easy to learn and quick yet fun to play.
Many board game enthusiasts are akin to the eager little Puppy when they first get the gaming itch- they dig the whole scene and are eager to play again.
But when addiction has fully set in, and playing is no longer just about having fun, that's when a gamer's dark side comes out and playing a board game becomes a very serious affair.
Dorkly's Tony Wilson and Jake Young created this illustrated guide to board gamers a few years back, which helped me identify a few gamers in my group who might be hiding their sinister side from the rest of us...
Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly the sort of building that every city needs to convey its splendor. A cobra tower could house a hospital, a school, charitable non-profits, or, you know Cobra.
Vasily Klyukin is a Russian architect who designs unconventional buildings, such as a hospital that looks like a ship. He now proposes building an Asian Cobra Tower because . . . well, it's awesome, that's why.
There's a lot more than basketball going on at the basketball game. Some people avoid the famous Kiss Cam. Others enjoy the attention and smooch on demand to the cheers of the crowds. It's cute.
It's also big money. The LCD screens are huge advertising draws, so the arena operators do their best to get attention up there. That's why the Kiss Cam exists.
How does it work? How do the camera operators choose which people to focus on? It looks like a smooth and easy task, but that's only because the best professionals in the arena staging industry are running the show. Vox takes you behind the scenes to describe how they do their jobs, including how they operate the Kiss Cam.
Would you travel back in time to kill Hitler as a baby? It's a classic ethical dilemma. A better question is: could you kill Hitler as a baby? Granted, he's not a super-soldier. But I'm pretty sure that he could face off against an infant under any combat conditions.
It's a surreal horror movie that will leave you wondering what world you're living in. Alan Resnick's short film This House Has People in It begins with a couple arguing about their vacation plans. Then you notice that they're casually stepping over a body on the floor as they talk.
The events are captured by security cameras throughout the house. Appropriately, the film's companion website is a sales page for a home security system. Well, not really home security--just home surveillance. Nothing is safe inside this home.
You can say a lot of bad things about Gordon Ramsay if you base your opinion solely on the way he acts on TV, but all that cursing and screaming is there for ratings sake and in real life Gordon is far more amiable.
He's also the kind of guy who enjoys showing people the ropes in the kitchen, and you'd be surprised how much you can learn from him when he's not screaming orders at you!
Gordon has been posting cooking videos on his YouTube channel for about six years now, and this time he has blended five videos into one powerhouse lesson in mastering 5 basic cooking skills- finely chopping an onion, cooking rice, deboning a fish, sharpening a knife and cooking pasta.
This is perfect for gaming night with your friends! Planet Licker is a game that you play with a special USB-connected controller. It doesn't have buttons, but popsicles. To activate them, lick them. The goal is to maneuver around mines to lick every planet in the region. Gamasutra interviewed the creators at a recent convention:
Why popsicles? Did you test out any other edible items?
FRANK: Our first test used ice cubes. We considered gelatin because of its moldable properties, but the idea of licking gelatin seemed too weird because that’s not a gesture you normally perform with that food when you eat it. Ice pops work because they are something people lick anyway, and they’re able to take on the form of most any shape we design on the computer as a 3D model. We’re still considering making the controller in candy, but it would require a bit of extra engineering as sugar isn’t conductive enough for our game.
The story goes that in 1807, Giuseppe Bertoleoni, a man from Genoa, was facing bigamy charges. He fled the city with the pair of sisters that he had married and made his way to Tavolara, an uninhabited island off the coast of Sardinia. It's about 2 square miles of rocks and goats.
In 1836, King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia came to the island to hunt the goats. He met Paolo Bertoleoni, the son of the original settler, who introduced himself as the King of Tavolara. King Tonino, the current monarch, shared the story with BBC Travel:
“When he landed, Carlo Alberto introduced himself by saying, ‘I’m Carlo Alberto, the King of Sardinia,’” Tonino said. “And so my great-grandfather replied, ‘Well, I’m Paolo, the King of Tavolara.’”
After killing several goats and feasting for three days at Paolo’s home, Carlo Alberto was so delighted that he said, “Paolo, you really are the King of Tavolara!” before sailing off, according to Tonino. Joking or not, Carlo Alberto later confirmed that the far-flung island had never officially been part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and he sent Paolo a scroll from Carlo Alberto’s royal family, the House of Savoy, that certified the monarchy’s status.
Perhaps King Carlo Alberto was joking. But the Bertoleoni family took this proclamation very seriously and claimed the tiny island as their own independent kingdom.
King Tonino, 83, has ruled the island and its 11 inhabitants for 22 years. He also owns and operates the only restaurant on the island. It's a humble royalty:
These days, when he’s not fishing for squid or gardening outside his squat bungalow, his majesty lords over Tavolara's 11 part-time residents, 100 nimble mountain goats and a few species of endangered falcons that live atop the island’s 565m limestone peak. For the past 40 years, Tonino has been personally escorting visitors to his family’s island palace – first by rowboat, and now via a 25-minute ferry that he operates from Porto San Paolo.
“My family may have had a beautiful past,” Tonino said in a soft voice, “but we work hard and live simply, just like everybody else.”
In fact, running the kingdom is very much a family business. While the king and his nephew, Nicola, captain the summer ferry, the prince and princess in waiting, Giuseppe and Loredana, now run the beachside restaurant. Giuseppe’s nephew, Antonio, wakes up early to go fishing every morning and supplies most of the clams, lobster and fish that fly out of the kitchen each afternoon and evening.
You might think this is a digital rendering of Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, but it's actually lip makeup. Andrea Reed is a true master of her craft. She uses lips for both high fashion and as individual works of art. The results of her precise, detailed work are breathtaking.
This is Morestead, a professional race horse. He's been called "the Naomi Campbell of the modeling world." And you can see why. He's the very definition of a classic English gentleman in this bespoke 3-piece tweed suit.
Morestead is participating in the Cheltenham Festival, a major British horse racing event. To celebrate the occasion, fashion designer Emma Sandham-King sewed him a suit using Harris Tweed, which is the finest handwoven tweed fabric from the Outer Hebrides. The BBC reports:
Ms Sandham-King and her team of seamstresses and tailors spent four weeks creating the suit using more than 18m (59ft) of tweed.
The suit, modelled by race horse Morestead and champion jockey Sir Tony McCoy, required 10 times as much fabric as an equivalent human suit.
The horse-sized garment was commissioned by bookmakers William Hill.
Ms Sandham-King said: "Creating the world's first tweed suit for a horse has been one of the biggest challenges that I have faced in my career as a designer.
"Some models can be real divas, but veteran racing horse Morestead was calm and a pleasure to work with."
Floyd is a Siberian Husky in the UK who needs a home. Stare into his Hypnotoad-like eyes and think about his future in your home. You want to adopt him, don't you?
Floyd has heterochromatic eyes that stare into your soul. The Coventry Telegraph reports that staff at Dogs Trust Kenilworth thinks this puts "people off." He has a cheerful, friendly disposition that is so captivating that you won't be able to break eye contact with him, no matter how much you want to. Nonetheless, he's up for adoption:
And Dogs Trust supporter relations officer Helen Barlow said: “Even with his striking good looks and bouncy personality Floyd is often passed by despite his efforts to catch the eye of potential owners.
“He needs a patient adult owner who will give him plenty of time to help him settle in to family life.
“This energetic boy is looking for an active adult home and would prefer to be king of the jungle as the only pet in home.”
Getting pierced is generally a lifetime commitment, because our faces, ears and various body parts are often left with a hole that won't close up by the piercing process.
But ever since the 90s people have been getting pierced all over the place without giving it a second thought, making themselves look like a walking psychological profile.
Where a person chooses to get pierced says a lot about them, and while most people hope their piercings make them look rebellious, dangerous, or trendsetting they really just make them look like a person with a future full of regrets.
