Oakfairy

With Darth Vader, a Shadow Trooper, and an Imperial guard on the guitar, a Stormtrooper on the bass, and Boba Fett at the drums, this rock cover of the main Star Wars theme can’t get much more awesome than it is in this video.

[VelocityRecords]

The post This Rock Cover of The Main Star Wars Theme Kicks Ass! [Video] appeared first on Geeks are Sexy Technology News.

Over the weekend, even as most of us were celebrating the fact that a new Star Wars movie did not in any way suck , some portions of the internet got sucked into a pointless, silly debate. Is Rey, the film’s hero, a “Mary Sue”? The answer is no. Next question?

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This will be spoiler-free.

I cannot promise the comments will be spoiler-free.

Assume that the post will be safe.

But the area below it may be TOXIC WITH SEPTIC STORY SPOILAGE.

Let us begin simply with:

AHHHH OH SHIT I LOVED THIS MOVIE

WHEN CAN I SEE IT AGAIN

PYOO PYOO

VWOMMZ KZZZZH

BEE BOOP BLURBY DOOP

HAHAHA WHEEE

*flails around with a cardboard tube lightsaber*

*trips on scattered Star Wars LEGO bricks*

*falls down*

*pees self*

*composes self*

I’m back. I’m feeling much better now.

And now, a scattered smattering of thoughts in no particular order:

1. This is a love letter to the Star Wars universe — not just the universe, and not just the characters, but all the intangible narrative stuff that surrounds it. It is very much about how Star Wars feels. And how its stories are told. It is positively honorific of that. This is no small compliment when I say that The Force Awakens just plain feels like Star Wars from the first minute. It’s nostalgic, but not in your face about it, I don’t think?

2. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega need to be in everything together. Hepburn and Tracy, Bogey and Bacall — they had such wonderful chemistry together as these two people flung into adventure. Their characters are intensely fun to watch. You care from them from the first moment you meet each. (I would take more Poe Dameron, though — he’s awesome in TFA, but I want more!)

3. BB-8 is my master now. He is like a baby R2D2. He is like a dog and a kitten stuffed inside a roly-poly Christmas ornament. He’s super delightful and elicits pure joy from me shut up.

4. Kylo Ren is a surprisingly effective villain. Tragic and deeper than the trailers lead you to believe. He is far more than just some mustache-twirler. He is vulnerable.

5. It’s worth talking about how much fun this movie is. That is something that must be stated — fun is not as easy as you think to create. It’s certainly not the end-all be-all of the experience, nor should it be. Fun is a shallow metric. But it’s a vital metric just the same. A Star Wars movie that isn’t much fun isn’t one I want to see again. This film plays fun like a fucking symphony. It knows when to nail those moments of laughter and delight, it knows when to hit on tension and when to create those moments where you want to jump out of your seat, holding your head and screaming with fear or laughter or fear-laughter.

6. Some have noted that the film’s story bears a big resemblance to A New Hope, though I’d argue it’s beyond that — this film remixes a lot of beats from all the films of the OT (though very few from the prequels, I find). It feels designed to remind you of Tatooine and Endor and Hoth. It feels keen to echo archetypes and the Death Star and some of the same twists and turns — but then, at the same time, it twists them and turns them in new ways. It is a remix in the artful way, not the warmed-over rehash way — they’re playing the same notes but making a new, unexpected song with it. Myth, actually, works a lot like this, so I’m on board.

7. Sometimes, these beats become overtly fan-servicey, though. Not too many, but there are few moments that feel more like narrative artifice than genuine storytelling all in effort to elbow you in the ribs and say, EHH? EHHH? REMEMBER THAT OTHER THING? WE ARE REFERENCING THAT! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW! WHAAAAT? ISN’T THAT CRAZY? Sometimes, it works. Other times, it feels like a square peg stomped into a circle hole.

8. The film also occasionally engineers exposition in a way that feels like it’s because the audience needs it — at a few moments, characters exposit even though they should damn well already know what they’re telling one another. And it feels like classic AS YOU KNOW, BOB storytelling. Both characters know the story but we don’t, so somebody’s gotta be a mouthpiece for it. It’s effective in that it does deliver information, but it doesn’t always feel organic.

9. That said, exposition isn’t too heady or heavy — the movie actually doesn’t go out of its way to explain a whole lot. In this way it harkens back to A New Hope. Worldbuilding for me is best when its explanations are cast to the margins — like, A New Hope drops all this stuff in your lap and just expects you to deal with it. “What are the Clone Wars? Enh. Who is Jabba? Whatever. THERE’S SOME SHIT GOING ON YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND, HUMAN.” And then it skips past them, tra-la-la, not caring if you know. That may feel frustrating at first, but that’s a fertile seed-bed where your imagination grows. For years people expounded on what the Clone Wars actually were. It was awesome. And then the prequels came and — okay, listen, this isn’t prequel hate, but it’s worth noting that the prequels took a very different approach to this. The prequels seemed designed to prequelize not just the universe, but to give origin points for damn near everything. “HEY WANNA KNOW WHERE BOBA FETT CAME FROM? OF COURSE YOU DO BECAUSE HE WAS SUCH A VITAL CHARACTER IN THE FIRST THREE MOVIES, IN THAT HE’S A CHUMP WHO GETS TRIPPED INTO A SANDY SPACE SPHINCTER. LET’S PREQUELIZE EVERYTHING. HERE’S SENATOR DIANOGA. HERE’S THE SECRET PLANS FOR THE DEATH STAR TRASH COMPACTOR. HERE’S THE VERY MOMENT THAT HAN SOLO IS MESSILY CONCEIVED.” Episode VII does almost none of this. The 30-year-gap between films is not bridged with a great deal of information. A part of me hopes they never bridge it completely.

10. I get chills thinking of a few moments from TFA. Some real strong OH SHIT moments.

11. Listening to the soundtrack now and I like it a lot, though it didn’t stand out overly much while watching the movie? That may have just been because I was all OH SNAP OH WHEE WHIZBANG AAAAAH. That said, the last track just before the credits is magical. Which is appropriate, I think: this film does the impossible and feels quite a bit like magic. And it represents both kinds of magic: it vacillates between the smoke and mirrors of a magic trick, and then when that falls away it delivers something close to real narrative sorcery — a Jedi Mind Trick all its own.

12. Speaking of snap — OH SNAP WEXLEY. That’s right. Snap Wexley, played by Greg Grunberg, is also Temmin Wexley, from a little book called Star Wars: Aftermath. Don’t believe me? Boom! It’s official now, over at Star Wars Dot Com. This of course is the gateway to getting Mister Bones in a Star Wars movie. I PRAY TO MOVIE JESUS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

13. A small complaint about the film — it moves along at a breathless pace. That’s good, for a lot of it. I like that it isn’t there to waste our time. That being said… I don’t mind when a film wastes my time earnestly and with purpose. The Force Awakens doesn’t have a great deal of oxygen. The original trilogy is full of oxygen, and sometimes, quite curiously, that’s a function of budget. You can’t do two hours of whizz-bang stuff, so you pack it full of dialogue and character and tension and mystery. Jaws works because the shark was fucked up and so they had to do a lot of stuff with keeping the mechanical shark hidden. With films now, the budgets are big and the possibilities are endless, and this film takes advantage — as such, it races from set piece to set piece, barely pausing to catch its breath. It’s fine, mostly, but sometimes the film suffers from feeling like it needed to pause, slow down, catch some air. Quieter moments. It has them! It does. But overall, the story feels like it takes place over two hours instead of however long it actually takes.

14. The aliens in this movie are on fleek. Whatever “on fleek” means. Most of the alien species are unrecognizable, which is fun. People have screencapped and dissected the cantina scene from Ep IV for years looking for cool aliens — some scenes in this movie will get similar treatment, I suspect. Nice design. The whole film feels that way, too — everything feels used up, worn in, epic when it needs to be, intimate when it doesn’t. I go back to the word organic in terms of how it all comes together. It feels grown together. A forest of trees instead of a greenhouse of potted plants.

15. The spaceship battles are pyoo-pyoo kaboom awesome.

16. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that lightsaber fights happen. And they are jaw-dropping. In fact, one of the fights in this movie is maybe my favorite ever put to film. FOR REALSIES.

17. So, wait, when is Episode VIII coming out? Not tomorrow? GODDAMNIT

AND NOW WE PLAY THE WAITING GAME

From dream to reality in no time flat!

@MysteryCr8tve @scalzi @echthroi Scalzi. Check. Flame tutu. Check. Kitten cannon (Predator reference). Check. Enjoy https://t.co/c0hEZhDkY0—
Lar (@lartist) December 17, 2015

Perfect. Just, absolutely perfect. I could not be more pleased.

Ironically, as this was going down on Twitter, a bunch of MRAs/bigots/pathetic reactionaries were trying to impugn my manhood over there in various unimpressive ways. I trust my absolute delight at this picture communicates my concern about measuring up to their silly definitions of masculinity.

Update! 

Two more contributions!

Serious, my life is cool.

Long-term goals are overwhelming. You want to get a good job, lose weight, raise your kids right, and get rich. Good luck getting all that done by tomorrow. Instead, just focus on today.

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This is the cover to their underrated fourth album. And before anyone asks, their band name predates their “Scamperbeast” nickname. You have to keep the gags consistent, folks.

Admit it. You’d buy this album.

Since 1997, George Lucas has been hell bent on ruining the original Star Wars trilogy. Every new release—in theaters, on DVD, and on Blu-Ray—comes with more added garbage than the last. This fan-made version of the original trilogy is the best version of Star Wars you can watch.

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For the past few years—basically since Stargate Universe was canceled—I have been seriously jonesing for a TV show featuring spaceships and intrigue. It’s been a long dry spell.

But it’s over now. Monday, Syfy premiers The Expanse, a new series that will fill that awful void in your soul. It’s incredible.^*

I received the press kit containing the first four episodes of The Expanse, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I was completely blown away by what I saw.

There are two trailers online for the show: Trailer 1 and Trailer 2, to give you an excellent feel to the show.

Spoiler-free synopsis: A couple of centuries from now, humanity has colonized Mars, the asteroid belt, and a few gas giant moons. Mars and Earth have an uneasy relationship at best, and the Belt is in the middle, hauling ice mined from asteroids to both planets. A Belter ship is attacked, sparking what may turn into full-out interplanetary war.

Now, summing up the plot that way is like saying Citizen Kane is about a guy who misses his sled (spoiler alert), so don’t read too much or too little into it. The series is based on the book series The Expanse (the first season looks to be based on the first book, Leviathan Wakes, which I’m actually reading right now and is quite good), so there’s a lot of foundational source material to build on.

I won’t go into the plotting because I won’t spoil the show. But so far, it’s really good, with lots of subterfuge, subtlety, and tight action. The acting is excellent, and the special effects are superb. I mean really extraordinary. It’s also beautifully lit and directed.

Now look, I know. When most folks think Syfy they think Sharknado. The Expanse will change that. Syfy has clearly dropped a lot of cash into this, and a lot of creative power. The idea is that instead of cranking out one-off silly spectacles ripe for tweet-mocking, they want to make thoughtful, powerful anchor shows that are clearly designed for the long haul. The Expanse is the most expensive show they’ve ever made, and it shows.

The natural comparison is to Battlestar Galactica, but I strongly suspect this will be even better. I’ll note here this is not a show for little kids; it’s very adult. In some places, really very adult. And it’s very, very smart. Let me make two quick points (a very minor spoiler follows):

1) Whenever a scene takes place on Earth, there’s a brief establishing shot: a house, a city, that sort of thing. When they show the U.N. building in future New York City, you can only see the top few floors above a massive seawall (the Statue of Liberty has one as well). At least in the first four episodes I saw, there is no mention, no reference to this. Nothing. And you only see it for a few seconds. But the implication is that global warming caused sea level rise, so a huge seawall was built to keep the East River from flooding the city. I love that this was added; that sort of attention to detail adds huge depth to a story, especially upon rewatching.

2) In a critical scene, two Belters are on a ship that’s under thrust, and they’re running across a gantry. The thrust provides an artificial gravity, so their magnetic boots are off. But the drive cuts out, and they immediately start floating up and away from the gantry. One of the Belters grabs the other, attaches his tether to her, and kicks her up, away from the gantry. I was baffled for a second—I thought he was trying to kill her—then realized what he was doing: She went up, but he went down, to the gantry. Once he hit it, he switched on his mag boots, got his footing, and then used the tether to drag her down.

I almost whooped with joy! That scene was scientifically right on the mark. Perfect. I was talking to Ty Franck, one of the authors of the books, and he told me that Naren Shankar, an executive producer on the show, has a Ph.D. in physics, and he’ll start drawing diagrams as he discusses a scene, explaining how the forces work and why things go a certain way. When Ty told me that I may have blacked out for a second or two. I think my heart exploded.

Finally, I remember thinking.

I could go on and on. One thing: In a couple of scenes near the beginning it’s a little difficult to follow the dialogue. Part of that is due to the accents, some background noise, and also because they’re speaking Belter patois, which is a combination of many languages. However, don’t let it bug you; it gets better, and everything gets explained; you just have to be a little patient. This is a very minor complaint on my part, and really the only one I have.

Let that sink in for a sec.

So I strongly recommend this show. And if you don’t believe me, give my dear friends A Kovacs and Scott Sigler a listen; on their weekly podcast they praise it as well. They also make an excellent point about the Bechdel test in the show, a point I independently arrived at myself while watching. Io9 and ScriptPhD praised it as well.

Seriously. This is the show to watch. Go watch it.

^*Full disclosure: This will sound funny, but I want to be fully up front with y’all here, so here goes: The senior vice president of Syfy is a friend of mine (from long before she was with the network). I also know the authors of The Expanse book series (I was on a panel at Phoenix Comicon with Ty Franck). Finally, I was part of a paid promotional campaign for The Expanse on social media (see here and here). That campaign absolutely does not extend to this blog, where I am free (and quite apt) to praise or condemn whatever I want. Having said that, I only agreed to promote the show because holy cow, it really is that great.

Air pollution is a health problem in a lot of cities, but certain days are definitely worse than others. This interactive map lets you check always-up-to-date local air reports for cities all over the world.

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ollivander:

he’s here

I have nothing to say about this, but had the inexplicable urge to share this pic with every single human being I have ever known.

I love you, modders. I just love you. This BETTER be real!

Editor’s note: Yes, it’s real.

(imgur)

The post Yes Please: New ‘Fallout 4’ Mod Turns Moon Into Nic Cage’s Head appeared first on Geeks are Sexy Technology News.

Next summer, the Flaherty team of Superheroes will welcome a new team member to their family, and here’s the video they made to announce it. Taking Pregnancy reveals to a whole new level!

[Travis Flaherty]

The post The Geekiest and Most Awesome Birth Announcement Video EVER [Video] appeared first on Geeks are Sexy Technology News.

awwww-cute:

You have one terrible poker face (Source: http://ift.tt/1NM90EL)

Om du har svårt att komma igång, och att hålla reda på alla saker du ska göra, har du säkert försökt att skriva en massa olika listor. Problemet med dem är att det inte är speciellt tillfredsställande att checka av punkterna. Habitica är en kul och smart app för att på ett enkelt sätt hjälpa dig.

Idag pratas det mycket om gameification, det vill säga att göra någon form av lek och spel av allting. Habitica arbetar med det, genom att helt enkelt ge dig belöningar i form av guld när du kryssar bort uppgifter från din att göra-lista.

”Motivera dig själv till att göra vad som helst”, skriver Habitica på sin hemsida. Enkelt förklarat handlar det om en lättanvänt att göra-lista, där du varje gång du kan klicka bort en post belönas av guld. Gulden kan du sedan använda för att till exempel köpa egen belöningar – så som att se ett avsnitt av din favorit-TV-serie.

Missar du en daglig uppgift bestraffas du med lägre hälsa, så det går inte att prokrastinera hur mycket som helst för då kommer du lida i spelet.

Applikationen Habitica är ett kul och smart sätt att göra en att göra-lista, som motiverar dig till att öka produktiviteten.

Habitica är dock mer avancerat än så, om du vill. Du kan nämligen lägga in dina bra och dåliga vanor, och när du gjort något sådant får du klicka i det för att antingen belöna eller straffa dig. Du kan bland annat använda guldet för att köpa rustning för att få bättre hälsa.

Om du tillhör generationen av datorspelare, kan Habitica vara riktigt bra. Jag har själv relativt nyligen börjat använda det och ska se hur bra det fungerar på lite längre sikt, men hittills kan jag varmt rekommendera appen! Om du som undertecknad jobbar som egenföretagare, och inte har någon chef som piskar dig, är det ibland lite extra svårt att komma igång.

Habitica kan köras via webben, eller – vilket rekommenderas – använder du applikationen som finns för iOS och Android.

Follow @tkj

You might have heard the old adage “renting is throwing money away.” It seems like common sense. You don’t buy anything when you rent, but you keep to keep the house you buy. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

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It’s easy for a conversation to turn into a fight when you’re distracted or multitasking. Body language and eye contact are a huge part of communication, and when you’re not able to fully use them on the conversation at hand, it can often lead to a fight. Keep this from happening in your relationship with the “eye contact” rule: only have serious discussions when you’re both able to make eye contact.

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Who needs Netflix? With home theater apps like Plex and Kodi, you can roll your own sweet-looking library with all the TV shows and movies you like, with none of the junk. But which software should you use? Here’s how the two biggest solutions stack up against each other.

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pagingme:

my dog likes think she’s really small and can share a chair 

my brother left because there was no room on the chair

Jag måste ta upp en sak som jag har funderat på mycket under det här debutantåret. Varför är inte författande ett riktigt yrke? Alltså ett riktigt yrke där jag kan gå till jobbet mellan 8-17, få en regelbunden lön, pension och kollektivavtal? Jag tror inte på dem som har inställningen att författare är någon speciell typ av människor som lider fram sina verk och inte behöver trygghet utan lever gott på inspiration och nudelsoppa.

Trots alla författare som finns i Sverige kan endast 100 personer leva på sina böcker (källa Tidningen Skriva) och snittlönen för de författare som gör det är 120 000 per år. Ändå är litteratur en så viktig del av vårt samhälle och att läsa är bevisat bra för allt möjligt, bland annat för att lära sig empati.

Så varför ser det inte ut så här:

När du som ung vuxen (eller för den del senare i livet) bestämt att du vill bli författare så söker du in till författarlinjen. Den är precis som läkarlinjen, jurist- eller journalistlinjen väldigt populär och det är en urvalsprocess för att komma in. Så du kommer in (eller pluggar upp dina betyg för att göra det) och läser till författare i tre-fyra år – och får under tiden lära dig allt om språk, genre, berättarteknik, dramaturgi, kreativitet, målgrupper, branschen osv.

Efter utbildningen får du diplom och söker sedan jobb som författare på ett förlag. På ett kommunalt eller privat bolag. Ni förhandlar fram en månatlig lön som både du och din arbetsgivare känner er nöjda med. Om ni är överens så skriver du på ett anställningsavtal och börjar sedan där nästkommande måndag. Du gör ditt jobb – dvs det din rollbeskrivning kräver – t ex att vart eller vartannat år leverera ett manus för utgivning. Som i vilka andra jobbprojekt som helst, så lyckas du extra bra med vissa projekt och mindre bra med andra.

Du kommer kl 8 och går kl 17 (eller jobbar skift om det passar dig). Du har betald semester 5 veckor om året. Du har pension och kollektivavtal. Du har ledig tid för familj, vänner och vila på kvällar och helger. Du får en dator, programuppdateringar, en telefon och andra verktyg som behövs för ditt yrke, sjuklön när du har influensa, kaffe vid fikarasten och kanske till och med en bulle på Kanelbullens dag. Ni har mässor, frukostseminarier och events som du är med på. Under tiden som du jobbar fram manuset (och senare även marknadsför dina tidigare) har du möjlighet att bolla med kunniga kollegor – researchers, redaktörer, marknadsförare, säljare, produktutvecklare och lektörer på förlaget. Det är ett teamwork och du och förlaget har samma mål att nå – att producera bra litteratur och sedan sälja den. Visst, det är inget lätt yrke, det ställer höga krav på dig, men du är anställd för just din talang och kompetens.

Varför, varför, varför är det inte så här? Jag är säker på att det inte bara skulle skapa bättre litteratur utan också tryggare och gladare författare. För kan någon förklara varför författare inte är värda samma sociala trygghet som andra yrkesgrupper?

Jag är öppen för svar (eller anställningsavtal) vilken dag som helst.

Take your Squarespace Commerce store anywhere. The new Squarespace Commerce app lets you fulfill orders, manage product inventory, and resolve customer issues directly from your iOS or Android device.

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Fulfill orders with ease.

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Boost your business by addressing customer needs on the go. Whether you’re at the warehouse or in-between meetings, the Squarespace Commerce app lets you access order details, issue refunds, and even re-send order emails.

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As your company grows, it gets harder to keep track of what’s in your storeroom. Whether you sell online or in person, our app lets you quickly update inventory levels so you never have to wonder about your supply meeting demands.

The Squarespace Commerce app is available as a free download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and requires a Squarespace 7 account.

If you have any questions or comments, send us a tweet @squarespace. We’re always happy to hear from you!

NOTE: The Squarespace Commerce iOS App requires at least iOS 8.0. The Android app requires at least Android version 4.4 (KitKat).

You can do all kinds of cool things with citrus peels other than tossing them. Next time you peel an orange, lemon, or grapefruit, toss those peels in your dishwasher.

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In which two science fiction authors turn the greatest science fictional saga of all time into… another dysfunctional holiday family dinner.

(Because it’s long, and there are other things I am promoting today, I’m putting it on the other side of a cut. If you’re coming through from the front page of Whatever, click through, it’s worth it.)

Star Trek is a pretty big part of my life. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, I still watch the original series, and there’s that whole Next Generation thing I was part of for a little while when I was a teenage sweater enthusiast.

It wasn’t always awesome, but for the most part, it didn’t suck. I did work I’m proud of, and got to be part of something that will endure long after I’ve turned into a ball of light and returned to my original dimension. I’ve met countless people over the last couple decades who have shared how important Star Trek was to them, from helping them maintain relationship with their families to inspiring them to pursue careers in science and engineering. I also have a bobble head of my teenage self on the bridge of the Enterprise, which makes me feel strange but also good.

All of that stuff is really awesome, and I’m grateful for all of it, but the best part of Star Trek, for me, is the relationships we all formed as a cast. We were and are a family, almost thirty years after we first met.

…which makes it possible for silly things like this to happen:

hashtag blessed, you guys.