Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Week's Best 4/30/13

I skipped last week, so this is more like "week-and-a-half's best." Still, here are my favorite internet finds of late:

This Paperman cosplay Linden V. found is so fantastic I just can't stand it:

That's Chris and Wendy, and the photos are by Flickr member crimsonyte.

Chris' action shots are hilarious:

And this is my absolute favorite:
Hee!
(Go see the rest of the photo shoot here.)

Amy Mebberson posted this beyond-brilliant MST3K cosplay from Chicago's Comic Con (C2E2) over the weekend:
LOVE LOVE LOVE.


And just one more cosplay shot, also from C2E2 and posted by Kevin on Twitter, because how could I not post this?

BEST FAMILY PORTRAIT EVER.

Seriously, have you ever seen Gozer cosplay before? Because I haven't! Mega props to all three of these guys!


It's been ages since I shared any good urban decay photos, so here's a huge post of fabulous shots by Frits Vrielink of the Chateau Miranda, an abandoned castle in Belgium. [Warning: first link contains NSFW thumbnail images/ads for other posts. Sorry, guys; they didn't show up in Firefox, so I didn't realize they were there!]
These shots are especially tragic in their beauty; let's hope someone saves this castle from total destruction sometime soon:

Check Vrielink's site for more; he has a massive portfolio of urban decay photography just like this.


This link has been going around the past few days: 66 Behind-the-Scenes photos from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. You've probably seen most of these before, but c'mon, these just never get old:


Pretty sure I've never seen this shot ( pun intended) of Ford, though:

DAT FACE.


On a completely random note, this purse looks like a giant binder clip:
Awesome. 
(Made by Peter Bristol, found via SuperPunch)

For my fellow Dizgeeks, you must - MUST - see the new Mystic Manor ride-through video from Hong Kong DL! It's amazing! People are calling it Hong Kong's version of the Haunted Mansion, but really, it's so different and non-ghost-related that I'd call it an entirely original creation. Check it out:


Doesn't the main guy remind you of the explorer dude from the Fraggles? Anyone? Anyone? And that monkey is TOTALLY Abu, only cuter. Love him.

(I also trust you Dizgeeks have heard about the next 24-hour-Disney day? You can bet I'll be there in the wee hours, taking more pictures!)

And finally, last weekend Jennifer Black asked Wil Wheaton to explain to her newborn baby girl why it's awesome to be a nerd/geek, and then she recorded his answer to play for her daughter later. Happily Jennifer posted that vid for the rest of us to see, too, though. It's super-duper awesome - and all the more so when you consider Wil answered this completely off-the-cuff. I can only aspire to be this eloquent IRL! Grab a tissue and watch:


Which dovetails perfectly with this library poster featuring Simon Pegg:

I found that via Emma Watson, by the way - aka Hermione Granger. How fitting. :D


***

Oh, and I nearly forgot: time to announce April's Art Give-Away Winner!

So, the randomly selected winner is.... Justy! Congrats, Justy, and please e-mail me your mailing address & choice of art from my Pinterest give-away board. And for everyone else: remember, there's always next month!

43 comments:

  1. Kevin, the guy cos-playing Tully, is a friend of mine from college...it's awesome to see his adventures pop up in my facebook feed, but even cooler to see them here!

    (also--we did a covert Star Wars marathon in our lecture hall just for the surround sound. awesome)

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  2. I hi Jen! I just thoughts would mention that there is no warning firThe link to the abandoned castle.... The photos are porn on the bottom... Like literal porn....not ok!

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    1. ACK! I'm so sorry! For some reason those thumbnails don't show up in my Firefox - I don't have ad-block on, so I'm not sure why - but when I opened the link with Chrome I saw them. Well, I didn't see any porn, but definitely NSFW stuff. Sorry about that! I just added a warning to the post.

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  3. And he's wearing Tom Baker's scarf! yay!

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    1. I fell out of my chair when I saw that. I tried to jump up and down in excitement but forgot I was sitting cross legged on a chair with wheels.

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  4. Alas, I have seen Gozer BURLESQUE.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJMLP91s1M&list=PL35B4DA9646CE904F&index=39

    Check out the Epic Win Burlesque troupe. They'll blow your mind.

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  5. I am sad. I can only watch Wil, not hear him. I can get a few seconds (or milliseconds) at a time, but most of it is dead silent. It's not my headphones (they work great on everything else I watch), so I don't know what's going on. Like I said, sad.

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    1. follow the video through to youtube, lately imbedded videos have been having issues but seem to play fine on the main site.

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    2. If you're using Firefox, I've been having the same problem lately with a lot of videos. Have you tried accessing it through multiple browsers?

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    3. I think YouTube has been screwy lately. Yesterday it was doing the same thing to me on my desktop, and it just did it for me right now on my laptop. So I don't think it's just you.

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    4. I am also sad. Are you using Firefox as well?

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    5. If you go to the Calgary Expo page, there's a link to the archive of ALL the panels. Wil was Early Saturday I believe, in the Palamino room. Awesome con. ;) http://www.calgaryexpo.com/

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    6. I am on Firefox, tried on here as well as Youtube, no luck. I'll have to try later on different server.

      I have not noticed other Youtube errors and I have been on frequently for the past week. Bother.

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  6. That castle makes me think of the castle in Robin McKinley's book, Spindle's End.

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  7. Jen, did you see the concept art for the new parade at magic kingdom that was posted on the Disney blog past week? The Mickey and Minnie float with the hot air balloon as the center piece made me think of you.

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  8. Bit of trivia: my sister made the scarf Wil is wearing! He was completely geeking out when she gave it to him at Kansas City's Planet Comicon and gave her a big hug and a shout-out at his panel.

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  9. Definitely saving Wil's video for my son!

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  10. That castle totally looks like Hogwarts. Maybe we only see it as decaying because we're Muggles. Sad.

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  11. That surely was a terrific video. And everything else was great too. Thanks very much for sharing with us, Jen.

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  12. I am now working on convincing my husband that we need to take a trip to Hong Kong, stat. I have made it a personal goal to visit all Disney parks in my lifetime, and I have the USA ones down. That ride looks amazing!

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  13. Dear god, that is a fantastic video. Thanks to Jennifer for getting Wil to explain such a great concept, and thanks to Wil for putting it into such an eloquent speech!

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  14. I would love to meet Wil. I had the biggest crush on him. But I will have to settle for meeting Geordi Leforge, I mean LeVar Burton. He is giving the commencement speech this weekend at my college graduation ceremony. He was one of my favorites on STTNG. I remember walking around with banana clips or headbands over my eyes pretending to be a female
    version of him. BTW my graduation is open to the public if anyone wants to hear him speak. It is being held in Moline Illinois at the Iwireless center.

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  15. There's an entire forum devoted to Urban Exploration, and it's honestly PAGES upon PAGES of photos of abandoned buildings and the like. It's insanely fun to browse through if you're a fan of urban decay o/ http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/

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  16. Maaaaaaan.. Now I wanna go to Hong Kong...

    Oh and the explorer dude from the Fraggles = Uncle Traveling Matt? Of "Dear Nephew Gobo, Today I saw some Silly Creatures doing something strange.." fame?

    I blame Jim Henson for making me prefer calling my nephew "Nephew " =P

    Once again, everything is awesome! Thanks for sharing. =)

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  17. OK... My crush on WW has grown even larger. ACK...

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  18. I am absolutely playing Wil's video for my daughter in a couple of years. Absolutely eloquent, and brought tears to my eyes.

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  19. I love that old castle... I hope someone restores it soon! It's such a beauty. I also really really wish I lived in Belgium where they just happen to have abandoned castles laying around. I'm sure there are a million safety hazards, but I think that that old castle would make an *awesome* costume photoshoot location. Round here I'm suck with cornfields or suburbia.

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  20. I absolutely love Wil Wheaton and everything he does or says in public, he just such a true, honest person. If you have a twitter I fully suggest that you follow him, "wilw".

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  21. And the Empire pics come just in time for Star Wars Day! I'm actually having a viewing party on Saturday to celebrate. Jen and John, if you lived closer I would totally invite you as guests of honor. Hope you have a great Star Wars Day celebration of your own.

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  22. What makes the Cosplay awesome is that it's shot at California Adventure...how fitting!

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  23. I just read this post which linked to your previous 24hr disney day post. We were there for that day, did some park hopping in the middle of the day and came back about the time you got there. We got there right after opening, and there was a fog on main street and the HUB. I got one fantastic shot of the castle in the fog...it is my favorite! Next time they do the leap year 24 hr day try to do the early stuff and hope for some fog! The fog was gone by the time we got to the haunted mansion...I was hoping for a good pic! We'll be going to the one on May 24th along with you, but have to wait until after work to jet over there (I'm in St. Petersburg). We can't wait as the last one was so much fun!!! After reading this post I now really want to go to the Hong Kong park to go on that ride!!

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  24. I want to know how Gozar made those bubbles on her costume. Fan.Tas.TIC!

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  25. Wil Wheaton is AWESOME! Despite what Sheldon Cooper says :)

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  26. OK, no one else has said it, so I will. I LOVE the Tom Servo dress! That is the coolest thing! As I've been cleaning out my kid's toys, I keep stopping myself from throwing out/donating these old gumball machines they have because I look at them and think "What if we want to build our own Tom Servo one day?" Also, the video with Wil Wheaton is great :)

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  27. Mystic Manor looks fun! I understand that a lot of the decor came from the Adventurers Club, which is bittersweet for me.

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  28. So excited to win! And it was great seeing Simon Pegg and Harrison Ford before seeing my name. It started a great day :D

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  29. Jen, have you heard about the Orlando Museum of Arts Steampunk themed first Thursday event tonight?! It is in collaboration with actors from the FRINGE festival (my favorite event of the year!) dressed up and mingling! Sounds like a picture-taking, dream come true!

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    1. Yes, someone just mentioned it yesterday, so John and I are planning on going! Not sure if anyone is going in costume, so I'm planning to dress "steampunk lite." :) I'll be sure to bring the camera!

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  30. Now I know who Gozer is. Thanks, Jen. :-)

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  31. Had to laugh when I saw the Binder Clip purse! I just showed it to a friend yesterday and then saw it here. I sell used office supplies at work and have a customer who is a binder clip fanatic. Her hubby laughed and agreed when I showed him her perfect Mother's Day gift. I love that purse...Thanks for being on the same wavelength as me, Jen!

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    1. I used to use binder clips as purses for my barbies so i loooove it

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  32. At the moment I'm doing my dissertation on conservation of heritage sites so the first link is extremely fascinating. It sucks that places like that are left to crumble when they could be easily repaired and turned back into their original condition.

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  33. Just wanted to say Thank You for posting that video about Mystic Manor! That was incredibly awesome, and I am thankful that whenever I come to your site, there is always some sort of awesomeness to be found.

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