'House Of Cards' Season 4 Trailer Teaser..(Read...)

Green Magic Homes is a company that manufactures per-fabricated shells that can be used to build Hobbit-hole style homes. The shells can be assembled by as few as three people in in three days. Just like Hobbit holes, these houses are designed to exist under a layer of soil and turf and can even produce food if you decided to grow some veggies on the roof. Heck, if you are not a fan of greens, they can even be covered with sand or snow, depending on where you live...(Read...)

The holidays have arrived and it’s time to hang those stockings and trim that tree. While traditional holiday decorations are certainly festive, why not also add some of your own personal geekiness as well? If you can’t find the perfect tree skirt at your local craft faire or on Etsy, you should try making one yourself! A tree skirt pattern is incredibly simple and would be a great project for a beginner sewer/crafter. I’ll be walking you through how to make a very simple tree skirt, but first, let’s discuss how to integrate some geek into your project.

There are quite a few ways to add a touch (or more) of geek to your tree skirt:

1. Use a geeky fabric.
2. Use a mix of geeky fabrics and plain fabrics.
3. Use a plain fabric and use ribbon, trim, paint, or markers to spell out a geeky word or make a shape/figure.

Geeky Fabric

If you’re going to use some geeky fabric in your project, it’s time to go shopping. Luckily, there are some great licensed fabrics available for purchase. One of the biggest fabric retailers, Jo-Ann Fabric, has a great selection of licensed fabrics, including whole series devoted to Star Wars, Marvel, Nintendo, The Walking Dead, and Doctor Who.

Photo Credit: Jo-Ann Fabric

Fabric.com also has quite a few licensed and general geek prints, including a whole section devoted to outer space.

Photo Credit: Fabric.com

If you can’t find a fabric featuring your own favorite character or fandom, head to Spoonflower.com. Here you can upload your own custom design and have it printed on a variety of fabric choices. The process can take a few extra days though, so place your order soon!

Plain Fabric and Trims

If you’re planning on mixing a geeky fabric with a plain one, I would recommend making sure they are similar materials. It can be very difficult to sew two pieces of fabric together when one is silky or shiny and one is cotton (which is what 90% of licensed fabrics are).

For a simple treeskirt made with a plain fabric, I would highly recommend using a felt material. This material is cheap, easy to find, stiff, and comes in large rolls. It would be very easy to cut this into the pattern below and you could then add your own designs without sewing a stitch. I drew Serenity on a tan felt just using a black Sharpie. You could pair this with the word “Shiny” made with a piece of ribbon or other trim for a quick and easy Firefly-themed tree skirt. You could even add a few layers of orange trim on the outside of the skirt to pay homage to Jayne’s infamous hat.

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

For your trims, you can use ribbon, bias tape, sequin trim, thin lace, or any other fun decorative trims that you can get your hands on.

Patterns

There is no shortage of tree skirt patterns available online. For a great compilation of 10 different DIY tree skirt patterns, check out this article from Tip Junkie. You can incorporate your own geeky fabric or designs into these general DIY patterns. Now, I’ll quickly walk you through how to make a very simple tree skirt. This diagram shows the basic shape and size that you want your final tree skirt to be in.

Image Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

You can make this pattern in any size to fit the 10′ tree in your living room or the 10″ tree sitting on your desk at work. The diameter of the large circle should be wide enough to completely cover the width of the bottom branches of your tree.

Step 1: Cut out a large square piece of fabric. The square should be as wide as the diameter of your finished tree skirt.

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

Step 2: Fold the square in half twice so that you now have a square a quarter of the size of the piece of fabric.

Step 3: Use a yard stick or a piece of string to mark a quarter circle on the fabric. Place the ruler or string in the corner where the fabric is folded together and use a pencil to mark the radius of your circle every inch or so. Use a pencil to connect these marks into a quarter circle on the fabric with the folded corner at the center of the circle.

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

Step 4: Use fabric scissors to cut along the quarter circle that you drew. If you were to unfold the fabric now, you would have a complete circle.

Step 5: Before unfolding, cut a small circle on the folded corner where your tree trunk will sit. This circle should not be more than a few inches across (unless you have a very large tree).

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

Step 6: Unfold your fabric into one large circle which will have a small circle cut out of the center. Then cut a single line from the outside corner to the inner circle. This will be how you fit the skirt around your tree.

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

Step 7 (optional): If you are using a fabric that needs to be finished, use a sewing machine (or tape) to sew a hem around the entire piece of fabric. If your skirt does not need finishing (ie: if you’re using felt), then you can skip this step.

Step 8 (optional): If you’d like to add a closure along the straight line you’ve cut, you can add some button closures or ribbons. This will allow you to attach the circle together after placing it around your tree. You can also simply drape your skirt around your tree and skip this step.

Step 9 (optional): Decorate! This is where you can add details like the black pom trim below.

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

Step 10: Enjoy your new festive decoration and start shopping for some geeky presents to put under it!

Photo Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

Featured Image Credit: Dina Kampmeyer

ESPNW, a division of ESPN devoted to women’s sports and female fans, has released Impact 25, an annual list of the 25 most influential female athletes and professionals in the world of sports. The list includes MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, NFL coach Jen Walter, photographer Lauren Greenfield, and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Here’s where things get really cool. ESPNW teamed up with Marvel to transform these celebrated women into original superheros. Each design is illustrated by various Marvel artists. You can check out a few of the images in the gallery below, then hit up the full list to see each image in both sketch and final form.

Which athlete is your hero? Let us know in the comments!

Feature image illustrated by Jamal Campbell

All images property of ESPN & Marvel

 

Before you feel the force when Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18th, this exciting news will hit you right in the feels. The highly-anticipated film will include a pink version of R2-D2, known as R2-KT, in honor of a young fan who succumbed to a brain tumor 10 years ago.

In 2004, Albin Johnson was a devoted Star Wars fan and the founder of 501^st Legion, a “charity work in cosplay” fan club. He shared his love for the franchise with his daughter Katie. The Johnson family’s world was abruptly turned upside down when Katie was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in November. While seeking solace at church, Albin noticed a window shaped like an R2 droid. He took it as a sign to build his daughter a guardian angel and companion of her own. R2-KT would watch over Katie while she slept, much like R2-D2 did for Padme in Attack of the Clones.

R2-KT, which was named after Katie, is the brainchild of R2 Builders Group, another Star Wars fan club that specializes in building replica robots. Their founder, an engineer named Jerry Greene, was touched by Johnson’s sad story and began to mobilize a talented group of volunteers to assemble the droid. However, the team was under extreme time constraints because Katie’s health was rapidly declining. In the meantime, she was given a “temporary” R2 that belonged to Andy Schwartz, a member of R2 Builders Group. As suggested by Katie’s older sister Allie, the droid was painted pink and Katie was thrilled about her new companion.

Source: R2-KT.com

In the meantime, the team continued creating R2-KT. Jerry Greene took the reins on the project and sent out a signal to the Star Wars fandom to help donate parts and money to make Albin’s dream come true. The entire process was detailed by Jerry on a special webpage and included photos of the parts they used and how the volunteer team worked together to build the droid in only one year.

Photos Source: Project R2-KT

About a month into the project, Katie passed away in her sleep on August 9^th, 2005. She was 7 years young, but her story had made a huge impact around the world. The Star Wars community, including George Lucas, poured out words of encouragement and support to the Johnson family. In July 2006, R2-KT was completed and Albin made the droid his travel buddy as he visited charities and Star Wars events all over the USA. The bright pink droid has gained notoriety over the years and even had an action figure fashioned in its honor by Hasbro!

Now, R2-KT will represent the life and legacy that Katie left behind on the big screen. According to Albin Johnson, he was approached by Mary Franklin of Lucasfilm, who asked him to present the idea to the President of Lucasfilm. The idea was green-lighted and R2-KT will be the latest addition to Star Wars feature film canon. The Johnson family celebrated the news on their R2KT webpage by debuting a mission patch (see featured image) with Chewie, BB-8, and R2-KT:

“This weekend we were cleared to share the news that R2-KT will be making a cameo in Star Wars. Now it’s viral. To honor the occasion we asked Juan José Matamoros to design a fitting mission patch. We also asked that he include Chewie on the big screen, because Peter and Angie Mayhew are the most wonderful people in all of Star Wars and they were very close to Katie when she was with us. So the new star sits alongside her friend BB-8 and watches Chewie back in action! Each patch is a whopping 5 1/2″ wide and fully embroidered – just $8 apiece, free shipping to anywhere. Paypal to r2kt@r2kt.com – we’ll even drop in a R2-KT round sticker with each order. All proceeds go to the Give Kids the World Village, where Katie stayed on her Make-A-Wish trip.” –Source: R2KT.com

In a galaxy far, far beyond this current life, Katie is certainly thrilled by the incredible adventures of her companion.

Feature Photo Credit: R2KT.com

A crowd favorite mastiff during the agility portion of the Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show at The National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado...(Read...)

Dear Santa, I posted my Christmas list a few years ago and by “a few” I mean “two years ago” because that’s more or less the entirety of how long I have been alive. Things have changed.  I remember being so positive that all I wanted was a set of cold, metallic car keys to put […]

Who hasn’t wanted to be in the Star Wars universe at some point in their lives? I know I do… sometimes a bit too much. Anyway, our editor-in-chief found this Star Wars name generator and thought it might be fun to play around with it. And write an article about it. Because that’s what you do when geeks are allowed to run a website.

Image credit: ootinicast.com

Writer’s note: “Mandalorian” is not a race. It’s a multi-species clan that adheres to a set of war culture tenants. Much like the Sith, the Mandalorians started as a race known as Tuangs. When they died out, the culture lived on. But I digress…

Let’s try this out, shall we? My name is Courtney Kraft, and my birthday is December 29th. According to this generator, I would be: Kraco, Hutt Scavenger. A Hutt? Really? Fine.

Image credit: cheezburger.com

So what about some of the other Geek & Sundry crew?

• Felicia Day: Dayfe, Human Scavenger
• Ryon Day: Dayry, Gungan Scavenger
• Wil Wheaton: Whewi, Gungan Scavenger
• Matthew Mercer: Merma, Human Scavenger

 

What’s your Star Wars name and occupation?  Let us know in the comments below for a chance to win an R2-C4 figure from Kotobukiya!

 

Feature image credit: Scott Winn

---

ELIGIBILITY: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase from GeekandSundry.com will not improve your chances of winning. This Giveaway is open only to individuals who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. The following individuals are not eligible: employees, contractors, directors and officers of Sponsor and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors, web designers, judges, representatives, agents and advertising and promotion agencies and any other entity involved in the development or administration of this Giveaway, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling or “step” of each) or household members (those persons whether related or not who live in the same residence for at least three months during the twelve-month period preceding the start date of the Giveaway). All prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians on their behalf. Winner may be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and complete relevant tax forms as a condition to the delivery of the applicable prize. Void where prohibited by law. All applicable federal, state and local laws apply.

Do you miss the simpler days when your homework involved coloring in pictures? Ah, first grade…

In 1984, Putnam Publishing Group released a Dune Coloring Book and a Dune Activity Book. The books were a bit, um, dark for children and subsequently got pulled from the market. Inspired by this, Dune fan and nerd master chef Chris-Rachael Oseland transformed her Kitchen Overlord’s Illustrated Geek Cookbook into a coloring book for adults. Well, I just assume it’s for adults because I want it.

The book features Tom Gordon’s illustrations from the original cookbook. No recipes, but plenty of love for all things geeky. You will be able to purchase it though Amazon in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, Oseland kindly shared images from the original Dune Coloring Book. Sample a few of the disturbing images in our gallery, then hit up The Kitchen Overlord to see the full set.

What classic sci-fi or fantasy movie would you like to see return as a coloring book? Let us know in the comments!

Featured image credit: Tom Gordon

Above is the latest teaser trailer for Game of Thrones season 6. Sadly, it’s just that…a teaser. There’s no new footage. My best guess is that the voice over is the Three Eyed Raven telling Bran that the past events are past, and there’s nothing to be done about them. They were all terrible, as we’re reminded in a montage of the crappy things that have happened to our favorite characters. The future, however, is not yet written.

At the end, it sounds like Bran replying, “They have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Well, he’s right. Season 6 will be the first season where viewers will not have the books for reference. It’s actually kind of exciting. Is Jon Snow dead? Where did Sansa and Theon go? Will Arya get her sight back and become faceless? Where will Brienne’s quest take her? What’s next for Daenerys? AND WHERE THE HELL IS LADY STONEHEART?!

What questions do you want answered next season? Let us know in the comment section!

Feature Image Credit: HBO/Youtube

It should be no secret that we at G&S absolutely love geeky songs and song parodies! From I’m the One That’s Cool to the Book Tour Song, we’re all about the geek music. Here are five of our favorite channels for geeky parodies!

Library Bards

Check out this awesome Shake It Off/Hobbit parody from Library Bards (featuring one of our amazing Twitch hosts, Erika Ishii)! The Library Bards are an up and coming nerd parody group featuring Xander Jeanneret (TBS’ King of the Nerds) and Bonnie Gordon (ABC’s The Quest). You can see more on their channel here.

 

Todrick Hall

Todrick Hall tends to focus on producing high-quality Disney parodies and videos. This medley he and Pentatonix produced for The Wizard of Oz is simply astounding! Check out Todrick’s channel here.

 

Animfantastic

It’s hard for me to pick just one song from Animfantastic to feature here, but their Final Countdown/Age of Ultron parody takes the cake! Featuring past and present G&S Twitch hosts, previous G&S vloggers, and not one, but two bands that have been featured on the Twitch channel, this parody is a cornucopia of recognizable faces. Catch more stuff from Animfantastic (including an awesome Hobbit/Billy Joel parody) here.

 

Instalok

Instalok is unique on this list as their videos are focused specifically on League of Legends. The parodies are awesomely hilarious (and their videos are nothing to sniff at either)! Just look at this hilarious Radioactive parody. Make sure you click here to find more of their music.

 

The Hillywood Show

Check out this hilarious Pirates of the Caribbean parody from The Hillywood Show. The Hillywood Show is known for their super slick parody videos. Recently, they partnered with Nerdist to produce an awesome Supernatural parody. Keep an eye out for their upcoming Hocus Pocus parody on their channel here.

 

Featured Image Credit: The Hillywood Show

We’ve been kicking around the Never Leave Home Again (Unless You Really Want To) Guide for New Parents for a long time now. Over on our local site, we call it the Home Delivery Guide and go deep into everyone who will bring me a hot dinner on a given weeknight.

Be we can go bigger than that!

Disclaimer: yes, rookie moms should leave the house every day for fun and adventure. But that doesn’t mean you have to run all your own damn errands, right?

Nom Nom, time to eat again

Seriously, three meals every day? And snacks?! I can’t tell you exactly why prepping food becomes more than twice as hard, but it does.

Meal prep:
Blue Apron is a joy for date night or for the parents of one small (barely on solids) baby who wish they had the creativity to plan unusual meals and the wherewithal to shop for them. I tried them for my family of five before they started family-size boxes. I found it way too complicated for the every day.

Similar service is offered by HelloFresh, Gobble, and Plated. If you like this type of service, you should definitely try them all to see which meal style best suits your family. Many offer free or deep discounts for the first box. Plated aims for 30 minutes or less from box to dinnertime while Gobble thinks you can put their dinners together in ten minutes. This I gotta try!

Freshly goes one step beyond the assembly kits and offers chef prepared meals delivered to your door. They claim to be very fresh and healthy but I found the dishes lacking in yummyness.

Restaurant Delivery:
Don’t want to put your meal together from a kit? I feel you. There are so many services who will place your order, pick up the food, and drive it to your house, I can’t see why you and your baby would ever have to brave winter to pick up Thai food again. Seriously, check out TryCaviar, GrubHub, DoorDash, PostMates, or Eat24. Look for weekly coupons in email.

Clothes without the shopping

Stitch Fix is my go-to stylist within the internet. Each month — or less often if I prefer — a personal shopper attempts to match my size, shape, style, and clothing needs with her massive inventory using sophisticated algorithms and a dash of pinterest. I have had the best luck with dresses because the outfit is instantly DONE. The possibility of the next perfect fix keeps me going back for more, I’ve been a customer for about 18 months now.

• Try Stitch Fix and never leave to go shopping >
• Read about my experiences with Stitch Fix

Eyeglasses are not strictly fashion but they are also not meatballs, so I’m including them here.  Whitney had a great experience with Warby Parker for trying, choosing, and buying new glasses. That said, she did have to leave the house for her optometry appointment. There’s no app for that yet.

Don’t forget Amazon! Whitney has heard me say, is my favorite pants store. I have purchased many good and terrible items of clothing. So, if you want to round out your fixes in nearly-real-time, check out the wide array of choices on the world’s largest book store.

When I do a search on the app, I always like to filter by prime and then the best reviewed product to save me time. Then I can sort by price or whatever. Generally speaking, Prime purchases are returnable and refundable up to about a month, which is great because they’re not all winners.

• Try Stitch Fix for a month or two >
• Buy your nursing bras and yoga pants from Amazon >
• Update your eyeglasses with Warby Parker >

Massage

Zeel offers same-day in-home massages. Is there a better way to spend naptime? I tried a similar service and loved it! It wasn’t at all creepy to have a stranger set up a massage table in front of my TV so I could get naked for a rub-down; instead, it was a delight. Mostly on the East Coast, there are now massage therapists out near us.

A little bit of everything

Both PostMates and Google Express will go to countless big box and neighborhood stores to run your errands for you. Event Costco. And yet another gang of people who will order your carry-out food and bring it to you. Check their sites to see if you’re metro area is on their ever-expanding list yet.

TaskRabbit has stepped is also in the delivery game, but they also will come over to do all the other stuff you don’t want to do because you’re holding a baby: cleaning, handyman, packing + moving, or catering your party.

• Google Express is offering a FREE 3 month trial, which is totally worth doing for the winter! Otherwise, service is a subscription.
• PostMates charges a bit per delivery. No membership required. Just roll over and think about Chicken Tikka Masala and some toothpaste, click your app, and BOOM.
• TaskRabbit matches you with a “rabbit” who will do your job and you agree on a payment within some recommended limits.

Now that you don’t need to run to the store for toilet paper and nipple cream, go out and have fun with your baby!

Some affiliate links are included above, but mostly we want you to be happy and have fun during the first years of motherhood! All opinions are mine and sometimes Whitney’s.

There is no question as to which space vehicle Neil deGrasse Tyson would choose...(Read...)

Full of romance, intrigue, and memorable fight scenes, when you look at Star Wars closely you may be surprised to discover it shares a bit with a number of equally epic and classic plays by playwright William Shakespeare. Both Shakespeare and George Lucas left a lasting impact on the world’s culture and with these similarities it seems fitting that eventually the work of these two bards would meet. All it took to bring them together was author Ian Doescher.

Doescher came up with the idea about three and a half years ago. It was the result of a combination of rewatching the original trilogy, reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and attending a Shakespeare festival where he saw a creative modern take of the play The Merry Wives of Windsor called The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa all around the same time. Doescher told Geek & Sundry that it was at the festival the idea clicked that it would be fun to rewrite the Star Wars films as if they were Shakespeare plays. The rest is history and a captivating series of books that gives the adventures from a galaxy far, far away a twist fit for the stage!

The first book, William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, was released in 2013 and was followed over the next year with The Empire Striketh Back and The Jedi Doth Return. In order to combine the two different worlds Doescher said he first had to figure out a few things.

“I was debating do I want to be referring to blasters and lightsabers or should I take that into sort of more of a Shakespearian context and maybe make it like crossbows and swords or something like that. I sort of decided that would be going too far in the Shakespeare direction because I think one of the tricks with writing a mashup is making sure that each side gets its fair due,” he said. “Then I was also trying to figure out how to do the action sequences because there’s so much of that in Star Wars particularly towards the end of the movie and so I remembered that in Henry V Shakespeare has the chorus come out and fakely apologize that on the Elizabethan stage they can’t show these mighty battles that they are supposed to be portraying. The chorus sort of became the ones who were narrating the action so I ended up using that.”

Of course he also watched the movie again and looked up the script to fill in character names and any dialogue he may have missed when previously watching it.

“Then it was just ‘Ok. How can this go into iambic pentameter? Is the character alone on the stage here to have a soliloquy or an aside with the audience?’ or something like that,” he said.

Doescher didn’t stop with the original trilogy. Earlier this year he released The Phantom of Menace and The Clone Army Attacketh. The saga concluded in September with Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge. The biggest challenge Doescher faced when trying to write the prequels plays was that he didn’t know the movies as well as the original trilogy.

“I actually got together on a conference call with a group of about six or seven friends to talk through the issues of the prequels before I started writing all of them, sort of my own little like prequel council,” he said. “I wanted to make sure not only that I was addressing all of the issues, but also on a basic level that I was making sure that I understood all of the plot points. I mean the prequels are kind of like some of Shakespeare’s most confusing histories, where there are all power plays going on and things like that. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t make some sort of big mistake in the retelling of them.”

Other challenges he faced with these prequel books were making sure they included something new for people who had already read his previous books and facing the problem of what to do with Jar Jar Binks. Doescher said that before he was even going to write the prequels he heard from people joking about him killing Jar Jar off in the first scene. He ended up having a discussion with his editor about if he should be trying to fundamentally change the prequels. After all, he also had people telling him he had the opportunity to “fix” the prequels!

“[My editor’s] argument, which I think was ultimately correct, was that the people who are going to be buying these books were basically going to be expecting them to be roughly the same thing as the original trilogy were. They weren’t going to be expecting huge plot differences or things totally changed, so he was making a case for adapting the movies as they are,” he said.

Doescher still dealt with Jar Jar however, and did something with the character that he said he hopes “makes sense both narratively and… fun for people who love to hate him.”

With the Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge now available, the circle of Shakespeare and Star Wars Doescher created is now complete–at least until the release of The Force Awakens. We all know there is much more Star Wars on the way, and while right now fans can enjoy Episodes I through VI in this fun format, it does beg the question of whether the new trilogy and anthology films may ever receive the same treatment. According to Doescher, it’s a possibility.

“The truly honest answer right now is I don’t know yet… I’m hopeful that if nothing else I’ll be doing The Force Awakens,” he said.

You can learn more about Shakespeare Star Wars on the Quirk Books website!

All image credits: Quirk Books

The Japanese firm Thanko offers a brilliant new product called the Chin Rest Arm. It’s a adjustable clamp-mounted padded arm. You can use it to nap, if you wish. But you can also use it to just slouch, thus preserving precious energy for other, more important tasks once your shift ends. It looks ridiculous!..(Read...)

A very brave goat who was given as food to a tiger in a Russian zoo has become the fierce animal's bestie...(Read...)

Express your love of old-school video games by making a Super Mario Bros. Chain Chomp to menace the other ornaments on your Christmas tree! This unbreakable ornament is an ideal project for you and the kids to make together on a chilly afternoon.

What You Need

• Round papier-mâché ornament (found at Michael’s and other craft stores)
• Dark blue, white, black, and silver acrylic paint
• Black permanent marker
• Toilet paper roll
• Elmer’s glue (optional)
• Clothespins (optional)
• Hot glue gun
• Paint brush

Get Started

1. Begin by painting the round ornament dark blue. Two or more coats may be needed for full coverage. Allow the paint to dry completely.

2. While the ornament is drying, paint the clean toilet paper roll silver on both the outside and inside. Let the paint dry.

3. On the front of the ornament, paint a white football shape for the mouth. (Use this screenshot for reference if needed.) Paint two small white circles above the corners of the mouth for the eyes.

4. Allow the paint to dry completely. (The dry toilet paper roll can be used to hold the ornament in place so that the ornament doesn’t roll around before the white paint dries.)

5. Use the black marker to draw the lines for the Chain Chomp’s teeth inside the mouth.

6. Use the black acrylic paint to make two small circles in the white circles to finish the eyes.

7. With the silver paint, paint a small circle on the bottom of the ornament. Allow all paint to dry completely.

8. Cut the silver toilet paper roll into 5 strips about half an inch wide. Cut each strip once vertically so that the strip can be reformed into a smaller circle.

9. Form the strips into chain links by shaping the cardboard into a circle about half an inch in diameter. Pull the next strip through the first circle, gluing the ends together to form a chain of five strips. Hot glue can be used for this step (but not recommended for kids). If you or your kids are using Elmer’s glue to avoid possible burns, hold the ends of each chain link together with clothespins as they dry.

10. Use the hot glue to attach the silver chain to the silver circle you painted on the bottom of the ornament.

Your Chain Chomp ornament is complete!

What is your favorite geeky ornament that you hang on the tree every year? Let us know in the comment section below. 

 

Photo Credit: Kelly Knox

Thanksgiving is a time of family and thankfulness and STUFFING YOUR FACE! If you want to host the geekiest holiday smorgasbord for your friends and family try adding a few of these recipes to your menu.

Elven Lembas Bread

Image Credit:Nerdy Nummies

Lembas bread (or waybread) is a nutritious cake meant to keep you going on long journeys that was given to the Fellowship of the Ring in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It is noted to be tastier than most other travel snacks and perhaps a bit magical since evil creatures are repulsed by it. There are a lot of varying opinions on how to make Lembas bread, but my favorite versions are similar to short bread. Here is a great recipe from Nerdy Nummies. Just make sure you are not inviting any hobbits over.

Elven Lembas Bread Recipe by Nerdy nummies

Image Credit:l-o-t-r/tumblr

 

Salladhor Saan’s Hot Wine

Image Credit: Chelsea M-C/Inn at the Crossroads

Lembas bread can be a bit dry and your guests may like a different kind of fantasy story so why not serve Salladhor Saan’s Hot Wine from The Game of Thrones series? This mulled wine uses cloves, honey, vanilla, and limes to produce a spicy, sweet drink akin to sangria. Salladhor Saan, the Lysene pirate, offers this drink to Davos, the Onion Knight, in book four and Davos comments: “Hot wine is better than a compress, my mother used to say.” This wine will warm your guests bellies and get them ready for the oncoming meal.

Salladhor Saan’s Hot Wine Recipe by Chelsea M-C/Inn at the Crossroads

Pumpkin Pasties

 Image Credit: Food In Literature

In the Harry Potter series, the Honeydukes Express food trolley provided Hogwarts students with tasty snacks as they traveled to the famous wizarding school. These miniature pumpkin pies are adorable and delicious! My favorite part of this recipe is that the site offers free printable packaging for your pasties so they can look like they came right off the trolley.

Pumpkin Pasties Recipe by Food In Literature

 

Nuclear Turkey

Image Credit: D Sharon Pruitt

The piece-de-resistance is an entire turkey basted in Nuka Cola. The soft drink was made famous in the post apocalyptic Fallout video game series and was recently made real by the Jones Soda Company. The soda itself, is berry lemonade and this recipe is theoretical untested, and not for the faint of heart nor taste bud. We hold no responsibility if in fact this recipe causes you to mutate a third hand from your stomach, but that hand may become very useful when serving dessert, so try it at your own risk! Just substitute Jones Soda Nuka Cola for the sprite.

Nuclear Turkey Recipe from E-How

Portal Cake

Image Credit: Valve

With the main course mutating within your stomach, it is time for dessert! One of the most recognizable video game snacks it the cake from Portal. Its decadent deliciousness teases you throughout the game and with this recipe the cake will not be a lie (unless you decide not to share).

Portal Cake Recipe from Instructables

Mudder’s Milk

If you haven’t eaten enough after all that, end your night with the fantastically filling Mudder’s Milk from Firefly presented by our own Critical Hit Cocktails with Mitch Hutts.

 

What are your favorite geeky recipes? What foods from your fandoms do you wish was real? Are you brave enough to try the Fallout Turkey? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image Credit: Warner Bros. / Harry Potter

This chess  set from Raw Studio that rolls into a tube, complete with 32 chess pieces —that’s just 16-inches long. They are made from hand-polished stainless steel rings that have been cut to look like queens, kings, bishops, and the rest of your army. They all fit together like a stacking puzzle tube, with just enough space inside to insert the included leather chessboard when it’s all rolled up. Good idea, but the price at $600, expensive!..(Read...)

Katniss is crazy about Pita. Haha!..(Read...)

Jon Snow is not dead.

Maybe.

With the release of the new poster coming out for the HBO series, Game of Thrones, we witness a bloodied Snow filling the entire space. Is this us looking at the corpse of our beloved hero or one of the biggest spoilers to hit the web?

We know that Kit Harington has been keeping his mane, and it’s a known fact that he’s coming back for the next season. There are also a billion fan theories that are going to completely fall apart if he dies. Why go back to the wall if our dear hero dies? Who will take the place of “ice” in the Song of Ice and Fire? Who will be the new focus of all our fanfic if he goes away?

So how does he get out of this? The series started out firmly placed in reality, but as time has gone by, more magic has started to seep into the world. Bit by bit, things that we haven’t been able to explain have started happening like Bran’s shifting into the conscious of other beings. Could this have carried over to his brother?

The last line of the chapter when Jon is attacked by all of his brothers is “…He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold…” Could this be an indication that he’s breathed his last breath or managed to switch over to something else in the cold of the forest? Maybe he’s a part of Ghost for now until they can fix his body.

What is your favorite theory about how Jon Snow is coming back or not coming back? Let us know in the comment section below.

Image Credit: Game of Thrones/Twitter

"Spock wrestles with his human emotions and embraces his friendship with Kirk and the crew. "..(Read...)

Is one of your life goals to have the Enterprise floating on your walls? Do you want nothing more than to snuggle into Avengers sheets at bedtime? Do you wish the light on your nightstand was a lightsaber? Of course you do. So do I. But for the longest time, a bedroom made of our favorite comics and movies were “kids’ stuff.” Well screw that! I want my lightsaber lamp.

Fortunately for us, the internet is answering. ThinkGeek just released these sweet Avengers bed sets that will actually fit Queen and King sized beds. There are multiple U.S.S. Enterprise wall decals. And lightsaber lamps do exist! A simple Google or Etsy search these days can turn up almost anything your heart desires. And if you can’t find it, somebody will custom make it for you.

Looking for inspiration to deck out you own sleep space? Check out our gallery of these geek chic bedrooms!

Feature image credit: portalbedroom.com

I adore pecan pie in most any form, and this collection certainly attests to that! Pecan pie is a classic dessert all on its own, but it also lends itself well to many variations. And that doesn't just stop with pie! Here you'll find delicious odes to pecan pie in the form of cakes, brownies, cheesecakes, muffins, and more from both Bake or Break and some of my favorite bloggers.

Get out your stash of pecans and get ready to bake!

 1. Deep-Dish Pecan Pie from Bake or Break
 2. Coffee Pecan Tart from Pastry Chef Online
 3. Coconut Pecan Tarts from Bake or Break
 4. Chocolate Drizzled Pecan Pie Bites from Nutmeg Nanny
 5. Brown Butter Pecan Pie from Bake or Break
 6. Deep Fried Pecan Pies from Southern Bite
 7. Black Bottom Bourbon Pecan Pie from The View from Great Island
 8. Rustic Ramekin Pecan Pies with Bourbon from Rachel Cooks
 9. German Chocolate Pecan Pie from Chocolate Moosey
10. Salted Caramel Pecan Pie from Bake or Break
11. Chocolate Lovers Pecan Pie from Floating Kitchen
12. Caramel Pecan Hand Pies from Joanne Eats Well with Others
13. Chocolate Kahlua Pecan Pie from Chocolate, Chocolate, and More
14. Dark Chocolate Brownie Pecan Pie from Melanie Makes
15. Mini Pecan Pies from Bake or Break
16. Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie from Around My Family Table
17. Classic Pecan Pie from Bake or Break
18. Waffle Pecan Pie from Cupcake Project
19. Deep Dish Porter Pecan Pie from The Beeroness
20. Chocolate Gelt Pecan Pie from Kitchen Tested
21. Pecan Cheesecake Pie from Bake or Break

22. Pecan Pie Bars from Like Mother Like Daughter
23. Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars from Beyond Frosting
24. Pecan Pie Cupcakes from Bake or Break
25. Pecan Pie Brownie Bites from Baking a Moment
26. Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars from Bake or Break
27. Pecan Pie Crisp from Bake or Break
28. Caramel Pecan Bars from Bake or Break
29. Pumpkin Cake with Pecan Pie Glaze from Keep It Sweet Desserts
30. German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars from Bake or Break
31. Pecan Pie Milkshakes from Floating Kitchen
32. Overnight Pecan Pie Oatmeal from I Heart Eating
33. Chocolate Pecan Pie Muffins from I Heart Eating
34. Pecan Pie Shortbread from The View from Great Island
35. Bourbon Pecan Pie Stuffed Baked Apples from bethcakes
36. Roasted Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Bites from Food Faith Fitness
37. Chocolate Tipped Pecan Bars from Donuts, Dresses and Dirt
38. Pecan Pie Granola from Barbara Bakes
39. Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies from The Beeroness
40. Pecan Pie Blondies from Bakerita
41. Pecan Pie Coffee Cake from Bake or Break
42. Pecan Pie Cheesecake from Bake or Break

The post 40+ Twists on Pecan Pie appeared first on Bake or Break.

In perhaps one of the most anticipated new shows of the Fall, Jessica Jones will become Marvel’s first female-led superhero show. With a dark, noir tone, the show follows Jessica after she has abandoned her superhero alter-ego, Jewel. Jessica becomes a private investigator working on cases involving people with unusual abilities. Check out the basics you need to know below.

The Story

The 13 episode first season takes place in the same universe as Daredevil and may have appearances from characters in that series. Jessica Jones examines Jessica’s life as an old enemy makes a reappearance. Kilgrave (David Tennant) comes into town seeking to use his powers to control Jessica once again. His abilities allow him to convince anyone to do almost anything, making him a dangerous foe. This brings back a lot of Jessica’s issues and impacts her new life as a private investigator.

The Characters

Jessica Jones – Krysten Ritter

Jessica suffers from PTSD, which stems from the situations she encountered as a superhero–including many associated with Kilgrave. Now that she’s left the masked life, she has decided to open a detective agency. Jessica focuses on her clients and making it through the week rather than trying to “save the city,” like many other superheroes of the Marvel Universe. Played by the brilliant Krysten Ritter, she’s snarky and rough around the edges compared to the traditional superhero.

Luke Cage – Mike Colter

Luke Cage has a deep history with Jessica Jones. He’s quiet and mysterious but plays an important part in Jessica’s life. With a dark past and a future in his own series coming to Netflix, Luke Cage is one of the most interesting pieces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it moves forward.

Trish “Patsy” Walker – Rachael Taylor

Trish is Jessica’s best friend and plays an important role in showing a complex female friendship on the show. Not only do the two characters have a long history, but they approach issues from unique perspectives. It’s important for Jessica to have a friend to depend on, but who is also willing to stand up to her. The depiction of their friendship could be one of the most interesting parts of the show.

Jeri Hogarth – Carrie-Anne Moss

In the comics, Carrie-Ann Moss’ character was a male but for the Netflix series the high-powered attorney who hires Jessica for difficult cases is now a female. Like Luke Cage, Jeri is a potential ally to Jessica if she’s willing to let her be.

Kilgrave – David Tennant

David Tennant’s character, Kilgrave (also known as the Purple Man), is a creepy villain. In order to accomplish his devious plans, Kilgrave uses his power to control those around him. Because of his dark history with Jessica, Kilgrave is able to impact her more greatly than others, causing her to make plenty of questionable decisions throughout the series. Just remember he’s the bad guy, even though he’s David Tennant!

What to expect

While Jessica’s history in the Marvel comics includes interacting with S.H.I.E.L.D., The Avengers, X-Men, Ms. Marvel and many more, I’m not expecting to see any of them in this series. However, there will be crossovers with members of Marvel’s Daredevil. With Kilgrave in the picture messing with her psychologically, we can expect Jessica to make some pretty terrible decisions personally and professionally. While we like to assume that good and evil are always pretty obvious, I have a feeling there will be many times in this series where the lines of right and wrong are pretty blurred.

Jessica Jones will be available for you to binge-watch on Netflix on November 20, 2015.

What are you hoping to see happen on Jessica Jones?

Image Credits: Marvel’s Jessica Jones / Facebook

This was one of my first really popular comics, and panel three is one of the most popular images I ever drew, right behind the logo of the comic.

It’s true. I have a fake looking smile. Any time I show teeth it looks weird and unnatural. It’s an affliction that both of my brothers suffer as well.

Any time our mom tried to take a picture of the three of us, it always went the same way. We’d smile with our mouths closed. Mom would tell us to smile. We’d say we were. She’d say “No, smile pretty! With teeth!” We’d say our smiles look fake. She’d tell us not to be silly and order us to smile. We’d do it, then she’d yell, “No, not like that! Don’t make stupid faces! Smile pretty!” There would be some arguing, and eventually she’d take a picture in which we all looked angry.

Looking at this comic now, I’m more than a little uncomfortable with the punchline in panel four. It’s not a joke I’d make today. In my defense, this comic was written back before people started referring to all homeless people as hobos. Back then it still meant men from the 1940s or earlier who hopped freight cars with their belongings in a bindle. The idea that it was such an anachronistic image added to the humor for me. As I remember it, a year or so later, some city with a large rail yard was terrorized by what the evening news called a “Murderous Hobo.” I heard that and asked, “Have we made no progress as a society?”

You can comment on this comic on Facebook.

As always, thanks for using my Amazon Affiliate links (US, UK, Canada).

As always, thanks for using my Amazon Affiliate links (US, UK, Canada).

Now that we’ve had the weekend to consume all of Daredevil and watch one to four episodes of Game of Thrones, let’s discuss the True Detective season 2 trailer that dropped last Thursday. As a fairly new convert to the True Detective universe, I have some general thoughts about what I expect to see this upcoming season.

1. Neo-noir.
True Detective is known for its dark nature. Whether or not this season intensifies or stays similarly haunting, the storyline of this season and its change of location make it sound like something straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel. According to the synopsis on the HBO website, in this season “a bizarre murder brings together three law-enforcement officers and a career criminal, each of whom must navigate a web of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California.” Colin Farrell’s character Ray Velcoro is described as being a “compromised detective,” and that shot 12 seconds in when he lights his cigarette just screams noir. If the trailer tells us anything it’s that this season will be just as well-shot as the first, using immaculate lighting to set an eerie tone through out and place us in a gritty noir-style, Californian landscape.

2. Stunning cinematography.
Editing issues aside, the trailer looks great. As I briefly mentioned in the above paragraph, this show has always done a fantastic job with its cinematography. The first season was shot by Adam Arkapaw and though I haven’t been able to find confirmation on who this season’s cinematographer will be, the shots they have chosen to show us thus far look like they hold up to what is to be expected of the show.

3. Strong female characters.
There have been some complaints about the way female characters are treated in this show. According to the show’s creator Nic Pizzolatto, season 1 was told from the male leads’ perspectives (Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson). The female characters on the other hand served as victims, prostitutes, and wifes, daughters, and lovers to the male leads. However, season 2 introduces Rachel McAdams as detective Ani Bezzerides. Not much has been said about her character, but to me it seems that McAdams will serve as the sort of moral fulcrum to the group, as the HBO release describes her as being, “often at odds with the system she serves.”

4. A greater variety in storytelling.
As previously mentioned, Pizzolatto explained that the first season was told through the perspective of Detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart. Behind-the-scenes, each episode was written by Pizzolatto (which remains true for season 2) and was directed by Cary Fukunaga. However, it has been made known that season 2 will be directed by at least 4 different directors. Justin Lin has been confirmed by HBO to be directing the first two episodes and IMDb has Daniel Attias, Janus Metz Pedersen, and Miguel Sapochnik as directing one episode each. What does this mean as far as consistency between episodes? Nothing really. Most shows are directed by a handful of reoccurring crew. However, True Detective does have a very mini-series like feel to it. I’m sure Pizzolatto will have enough of a say in each episode to keep a consistent thread through out. However, we will see if each director will choose to focus on different aspects of the show different ways.

5. Mild disappointment.
Not to be a total downer here, but as an audience, we are bound to be at least mildly disappointed by season 2 of True Detective. We knew next to nothing about Season 1 of True Detective going into it, which is part of what made it so great. On the contrary, there is an enormous amount of hype for Season 2. Due to its early success we’ve set unrealistic goals for this upcoming season. Thus, even if Season 2 is as good as Season 1, we’ll just think it’s average. If Season 2 isn’t as good as Season 1, we’ll say that it’s bad. Only if Season 2 goes above and beyond Season 1 will we give it even close to the same amount of praise the first season received.

But what about you guys? What do you expect to see in the upcoming season of True Detective? Let me know in the comments. True Detective returns to HBO on June 21st, leaving you plenty of time to binge-watch the first season.

We obsessively check online reviews to see if a movie is worth seeing or a restaurant is worth visiting.  If anyone was considering having a newborn baby and wanted to read the Yelp reviews first, here they are. *              *               * If […]

The first time you did it I was ok with it. It had been a long 40 weeks and after a rough labor I had given birth to what appeared to be a naked, nine pound version of Rupert Murdoch.  Something shriveled and bald that couldn’t see more than six inches in front of its […]