Natalie

When Irish singer-songwriter Hozier played Paris this month, a surprise was waiting. When he reached the chorus of his hit song, "Take Me to Church," a 20 person choir in the front row joined in with him. More here.

David Wong, Cracked: The True Meaning of Christmas (That Everyone Forgets)

Let's say we find out an asteroid is going to hit the earth at some point over the next three months. It may kill all of us, it may kill some of us, it may splash harmlessly into the ocean -- but there is no stopping it. All we can do is hunker down and see what happens. How would you react? How would humanity as a whole react? Well, I know how: we would prepare as best we could, and then we would surround ourselves with the people we love most and party our asses off. We would do it, because we would realize it might be our last chance. I know this, because we have Christmas.

title from H.P. Lovecraft's The Festival

Yesterday we shared with you a little tidbit buried in a Variety article—that The Jim Henson Company is working on a sequel to Labyrinth, the movie that slingshotted so many geeks of a certain *cough* age straight into puberty. Alas, we are here to tell you that Variety punked us all—the Labyrinth sequel is not actually happening. Your mileage may vary.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

“While [the Jim Henson Company is] working on a Fraggle Rock movie and a Dark Crystal sequel, as the Variety article stated, there are currently no plans to reboot, revive, or make a sequel to Labyrinth. It’s one of those legacy titles that is floated at most meetings, but, sadly, nothing is actually in development at the moment.”

Looks like Sir Didymus isn’t coming out of retirement quite yet after all. Your dreams of further David Bowie bulgeitude will have to remain just that—dreams.

(via: Dark Horizons, thanks to anon tipster)

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Throw a baby in the air and give a big ol’ F.U. to adulthood: Labyrinth II is really and truly happening.

Considering the pivotal impact Labyrinth had on me as a wee ’90s pup, the announcement of The Bulge’s Return actually feels a little anti-climactic. Hidden in a Variety article about Billy Crystal joining the production of Which Witch (totally rad news, by the way) is this gem of a sentence:

It [the Jim Henson company] is also working on a quartet of legacy titles in the Henson library — a Fraggle Rock movie that’s been in development at New Regency; a sequel to 1982’s The Dark Crystal; a sequel to 1986’s Labyrinth; and a movie based on the Emmet Otter character.

TALK ABOUT BURYING THE LEAD, VARIETY! Forget Billy “The Dark Crystal” Crystal (sorry, Billy, but you just don’t have the same androgynous appeal), is David Bowie attached? What about Hoggle? Or Ludo? HAS ANYONE TALKED TO SIR DIDYMUS’ AGENT?

Jim Henson Company, if you happen to need any ideas for Labyrinth: The Second One, get at me. My friend Emily and I made a pretty compelling sequel in my backyard in the mid ’90s. It’s edgy stuff.

Sequel-haters to the left, y’all. You won’t take this one away.

(via io9)

Previously in dance, magic, etc.

• 7 important life lessons learned from Labyrinth
• Toby is all grown up and directing a live-action puppet movie
• Jareth belongs on the Iron Throne

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So you know how every once in a while Netflix likes to switch out the movies and TV shows it currently offers you on Instant Watch with different movies and TV shows? Well… the good news is we’re getting Gilmore Girls! The bad news is that Rory and Lorelei’s adorably fast-paced antics come at a terrible, terrible cost to humanity.

Starting October 1st, the complete series of Gilmore Girls, season 2 of Arrow, Galaxy Quest, Django Unchained, the 1984 version of Annie (that is the Carol Burnett one, yes good), The Phantom of the Opera, Catching Fire, and many more titles will begin to roll out on the online subscription service over the course of the month.

For one thing, The Hunger Games is leaving, which makes no damn sense when you consider that it’s going to be replaced by its own sequel. What, is this the actual Hunger Games? Are you not allowed to have more than one tribute winning at once?

It gets worse, though: we’re also losing both Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU (Detective Benson, NOOOO!), as well as Battlestar Galactica, both Ghostbusters movies, Mean Girls, A League of Their Own, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Why. Why are you doing this to us, Netflix? Did mankind not birth you? Have we not been good to you? How dare you turn on your creator!

Anyway, you have your assignment, soldier: watch as much of these expiring titles as you can. Otherwise, there’s always Rebecca Pahle’s BSG newbie recaps from last year, which come highly recommended.

*Sniff* We’re gonna miss you, Colonel Tigh. Let flights of Ellens sing thee to thy rest.

(via Gothamist)

Previously in

• All The Best Places To Watch Anime That Aren’t Actually In Japan
• Remember Popples? Netflix is Giving Us a New Series in 2015
• Netflix Research Reveals Our Depraved Love of Spoilers

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It is kind of (really, totally) possible that I have a bit of a Labyrinth problem. I mean, my given name is Sara (aitch-less, but what can you do?), I have the entire soundtrack, including the instrumentals, memorized, and my apartment is possibly more than a little reminiscent of Sarah’s room from the movie. Add to the mix that I like owls a little too much and did before Harry Potter was even a thing. And I just know that, should I need them, a Muppet slumber party will erupt from my bedroom mirror. It just hasn’t happened yet because I haven’t needed them enough. Ahem. But that’s all beside the point. Somewhere along the way, I began to realize that maybe the reasons I love Labyrinth so much have more to do with the wisdom hidden within than they do with my desire to name my next pet Sir Didymus. And that will happen. Even if it’s a girl.

Without further revelation of the depths of my personal nerd-dom (oh, who am I kidding… there’s more), I present some important life lessons learned from Labyrinth.

What to do when life isn’t fair.

Sarah frequently exclaims, “It’s not fair!” It isn’t fair that she has to babysit when she would rather cosplay in the park. It isn’t fair that the denizens of the labyrinth keep messing with her to keep her from reaching the Goblin King. It isn’t fair that her parents just don’t understand. Throughout her journey in the labyrinth, Sarah learns that when life isn’t fair, sometimes you just have to suck it up and function. One of my favorite quotes from Jareth, the Goblin King, is when he replies to Sarah’s “It’s not fair!” with, “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?” That’s truth, people. Life-changing truth. Later, when she needs Hoggle’s help and takes his shiny things to force his hand, he protests that it isn’t fair, and Sarah says, “No, it isn’t. But that’s the way it is.” She’s grown as a character and is losing her adolescent selfishness and replacing it with resourcefulness and resolve.

It’s okay to cosplay in the park by yourself.

Sometimes, all you want is to put on your princess dress and hit the park. If you feel the urge, do it. Be yourself. It’s possible that Sarah didn’t have friends—that issue is not directly addressed in the movie. It’s equally possible that she did have friends and they also like to cosplay in the park. As a kid watching the movie, I remember this being a pretty big deal. Baby me was all, “I can do that… outside? Where the people are?” And now adult me is like, “Yeah, pumping gas in my steampunk ballgown. Bring it, world!” Sarah was my first concrete example of letting my costume nerd out to the world, and I thank her fictional self for being confident and awesome. And for making me irrationally obsessed with wearing peasant blouses with vests that look like they were shaved off the cushion of a couch. Yes, still. After all of this time? In the words of Professor Severus Snape—always.

There are some stenches that are VERY hard to shake.

I’m about to get metaphorical via some oddly literal examples. The Bog of Eternal Stench is a very real threat, a physical one, in the movie. It’s a disgusting, farty-poo-mess that gurgles and belches and will make you smell bad forever. Forever. I can’t take out the trash and smell dumpster without retching. I am cursed with an absolutely awesome sense of smell, which, as far as superpowers go, is just about the worst. I can smell skunk well before everyone else in the car, and well after they have ceased to suffer from nasal assault. So, as a kid who literally threw up from smelling bad smells, Sarah risking an eternity of the worst smells ever to brave the swamp was impressive. She was a total badass.

I remember being an introspective young teen and wondering, “Would I stink forever to save my friends and family? Could I?” Sarah’s bravery in plunging (pardon the expression) into the Bog of Eternal Stench was very real for me. For that matter, Hoggle’s terror of the swamp was something I totally understood. Stinking forever is a big deal, people. A big, hairy turd of a deal. Incidentally, the only other movie to make me question my life and devotion to my loved ones similarly was the scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom where Willie had to stick her hand in that horrible bug-hole filled with millipedes and other crawly bugthings to save Indy. I still think, when I meet a gentleman of interest—could I stick my hand in that bug hole for you? Could I? Could I even do it for a much younger, hotter Harrison Ford? That’s how you gauge true love. If you would risk the Bog of Eternal Stench or the Temple of Doom Bug Hole—your love is real. Carry on.

Back to the metaphor—Sarah was willing to bear the literal stench forever to do what was right. Even if it stayed with her forever. This is applicable in real life. Doing the right thing often marks us. Whistleblowers and activists face those kinds of choices and lose careers, relationships, and dreams. Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons also leaves its mark. Sometimes we have to decide if we can live with the “stench” or live with ourselves.

Give people a chance.

Sometimes Hoggles need a chance to evaluate their own lives and make good choices. Not everyone you meet is going to start off amazing. They may not be physically attractive. They may not be entirely pleasant. There may be real reasons for that. We don’t know where people are coming from and how far they’ve come. At one point in the movie, Hoggle remarks, “You have to understand my position. I’m a coward. And Jareth scares me.” Hoggle thinks he knows himself, that he’s a coward and will always be so. He’s rightfully afraid of what the king of the land he lives in could do to him. Jareth has threatened and he has shown that he’s not squeamish about punishing those he perceives as traitors. Hoggle does not want to stink forever or be forgotten in an oubliette. Those are legit fears. Imprisonment and forever-stink would make me think twice about committing to a cause. Hoggle tried to play the double agent, and Sarah was justifiably upset when he betrayed her, but Hoggle came through. He grew as a character, overcame his fear, and stood strong when it really counted. No one is perfect, but sometimes the most imperfect among us pull some amazing out of a hidden reserve we didn’t even know we had. Don’t be a pushover, but give others the chances you’d like them to give you.

Sarah friend?

Oh, Ludo! Of course Sara friend! One of the best character-defining moments for Sarah is when she rescues Ludo from those little jerkweasels with the pointy spears. She’s past whining about fairness and well into taking decisive action. She sees bullies taunting and hurting a large creature who could be dangerous for all she knows, and she stops them. Not only stops them (that girl has some great aim with a rock!), but also gives comfort to the creature. Ludo is enormous and can apparently talk to rocks, but for all of his size and unique skillset, he found himself victimized. Ludo is a reminder that bad things happen even to the strongest people and that friendship is magic. Like, pony-magic. After Sarah rescues Ludo, he declares her his friend in one of the damn sweetest scenes in a movie ever. When she says, “Oh, you seem like such a nice beast,” and he’s like, “Friend?” There is just something about that exchange that makes my sarcastic jerk of a heart thump a little bit in there. Stop that, heart! I totally want my phone to say, “Sarah friend” in Ludo-voice when my besties call. I need this to be reality.

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask!

When Sarah and company need to cross the bridge guarded by Sir Didymus and his noble steed Ambrosius, Sarah again uses her noggin and comes up with a good solution. Ludo and Sir Didymus fought, and Sir Didymus is still not backing down, even though he was defeated. He swore not to let anyone pass without his… without his… his permission! Dang it. All they needed was his permission and they could carry on! Sarah gets to the heart of the matter by dissecting his oath like a lawyer looking for the loophole, and she finds it. There are two lessons here. First, Sir Didymus is a formidable foe in a tiny package. Not judging ferocity of heart by size/shape is the message he brings. Sir Didymus possesses bravery (even if Ambrosius doesn’t always) enough for a creature twenty times his size. And maybe more. He kind of reminds me of Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy, with all of his pocket-sized badassery. And now I want fanart of Didymus as Rocket and Ludo as Groot. Internet? Can you make that a real thing? Second, asking for what you need and being specific are really important. If you can avoid a huge fight, literally or figuratively, by just asking some questions? Try that first.

When a man in Magic Pants wants you to live underground and lord over a bunch of muppets with him, and you’re fifteen years old, you tell him no, even if the dress is AMAZING.

Once you turn 18, where you spend your time is your own business. That white owl flapping at your window? That owl does not have your Hogwarts letter. That owl is a shapeshifty Goblin King manchild who is willful, lonely, and totally a better babysitter than you, Sarah. Seriously, that kid was cracking up when Jareth sang to him. I’d cry too if my babysitter yelled at me for snuggling a teddy bear. Sarah was an awesome adventurer, but kind of a sucky babysitter. We can’t all be good at everything.

Sigh. That dress really was amazing. And I’m over 18. I’ll be chillin’ Underground should anyone need me.

Sara Goodwin has a B.A. in Classical Civilization and an M.A. in Library Science from Indiana University. Once she went on an archaeological dig and found awesome ancient stuff. Sara enjoys a smorgasbord of pan-nerd entertainment such as Renaissance faires, anime conventions, steampunk, and science fiction and fantasy conventions. In her free time, she writes things like fairy tale haiku, fantasy novels, and terrible poetry about being stalked by one-eyed opossums. In her other spare time, she sells nerdware as With a Grain of Salt Designs, Tweets, and Tumbls.

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Fans eagerly awaiting Gotham will get more than just a look at its first episode at Comic-Con. Fox is also setting up some theme park-type attractions for fans to zipline around the Gotham City skyline and ride around in Gotham City Police cars. I mean, if Batman is still a preteen, someone has to swing around the city’s rooftops, I guess.

If you’re heading to Comic-Con, here are the details on how you can play Batman yourself from Fox:

Visit fox.com/comiccon2014 for all the latest FOX FANFARE 2014 information, including daily schedules, breaking news from all of the panels, as well as exclusive videos and photos. In addition, visit www.Facebook.com/FOXTV for a feed of all live tweets from each panel, FOX talent at Comic-Con and information from the press rooms, as well as the latest new videos.

“GOTHAM” – ZIP LINE

Where: Between the SD Convention Center and the Hilton Bayfront Hotel

When: Thursday, July 24 – Sunday, July 27

Hours: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Daily

EXPERIENCE

FOX will create Gotham City for fans to channel their inner superhero by ziplining (130 feet long and 30 feet high) through the GOTHAM city landscape! Following the adrenalized experience, participants will receive a shareable photo of their heroic zip line experience and will be awarded with exclusive GOTHAM prizes. Follow fox.com/comiccon2014 to find out when GOTHAM producers and cast, including stars Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue, will be making appearances at the experience.

“GOTHAM” UBER POLICE CARS

Where: Downtown San Diego

When: Thursday, July 24 – Sunday, July 27

Hours: Thursday – 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Friday – 2:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Saturday – 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Sunday – 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

EXPERIENCE

For the fans afoot at SDCC who are UBER users, specially-designed GOTHAM police cars will hit the San Diego streets to pick up passengers throughout the convention weekend—for free—via the UBER app, by selecting GOTHAM PD on the UBER “slider.” Inside the GOTHAM-branded cars, passengers will get a sneak preview of special GOTHAM content. Those fans who are new to UBER and who sign up for the app using the code GOTHAMPD will get a free first ride up to $30, wherever UBER is available. Track the GOTHAM “patrol rides” on UBER’s San Diego Twitter and Instagram.

Fox is also doing some kind of Sleepy Hollow VR experience with the Oculus Rift, and you can check out their Comic-Con event page for more details on their zany fictional world immersion plans.

(via SuperHeroHype, image via Fox)

Previously in Gotham craziness

• The new Gotham TV spot has all the tragic gravitas you’d expect
• Carol Kane and Kyle Massey have been cast in Gotham
• You can wait in super long lines to see the Gotham and Flash premieres at Comic-Con

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Lorde's Royals, covered on plastic cup and voice

One of the joys of camping is cooking round the fire, and eggs make a great start to the day. To avoid breaking eggs in a bag or cooler, pre-scramble them and pour them into a resealable plastic bottle. They'll survive the trip, and won't make a mess when you cook them.

Read more...

Pale butterflies mirror each other on a stalk in this macro image submitted by Muhammad Mochtar, a member of our Your Shot photo community.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot. Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

At the Rip Current one-year anniversary party on Saturday, AleSmith Brewing Company owner Peter Zien told West Coaster that big expansion plans are underway…

By January 1, 2015, Zien and the team plan to be producing beers at a new 105,000 sq ft facility less than a mile from the current digs. AleSmith’s working relationship with the city has been so great that they are renaming the road — Empire Street — to AleSmith Court.

Inside the building, the new 80-BBL German-made Krones brewhouse, along with a slew of fermentors, will eventually have a capacity of 150,000 barrels/year. The location will also include San Diego’s first creamery since the 1930s because Zien is a master of making his own cheeses.

As for the current AleSmith location, Zien hopes to sell the brewery and tasting room turnkey and possibly stay on as an equity partner.

7 month old baby pulls tail of cat. Cat scratches baby. Father of baby kicks cat butt. Then things go rapidly downhill between the 22 pound house cat "with a history of violence" and the family...

Independent.ie: "The 911 operator stayed on the phone with the caller to ensure the family, including the dog, remained safe in the bedroom as the cat screeched in the background," a Portland Police Bureau press release said.

CBS News: "The cat remained behind bars in the custody of the family and officers cleared the scene and continued to fight crime elsewhere in the city," Portland police said in a release.

KGW.com: Video of the cat and interview with the mother.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Oregon owners of a 22-pound housecat that trapped them in their bedroom after attacking their baby say they're not giving up on their pet and are getting it medical attention and therapy.

The 911 call and the inevitable Twitter account.

Last year, Steam announced that the platform would soon allow users to share their entire library with another Steam user. Now, the feature is available for all users.

Read more...

What if you performed clay forensic facial reconstruction on a bottle of Crystal Skull Vodka?

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Redditor Boothin shared this shawl their wife made by tweaking one pattern and combining it with another. The end result was a beautiful and cozy garment that is also an accurate map of our sky as seen from the North Pole. By all means, join me in the Jealous Corner.

(via Neatorama.)

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Elizabeth “Effin’ Effie Trinket” Banks has stepped forward from the producer’s chair to direct the sequel to smash hit Pitch Perfect. Yay, lady directors of successful franchises!

Pitch Perfect, an inexpensive comedy featuring a primarily female ensemble cast based on a screenplay from a female writer, made nearly $100 million more than it cost to make, with another $135 million in home video sales, and plantinum sales of its soundtrack and the hit single “Cups.”

(cue Susana going “Oh so that’s where ‘Cups’ is from)

Universal Pictures, who produced the flick, recognizes that much of that success came from Elizabeth Banks’ vision as producer (including casting decisions) and her drive to get the movie made. They’re willing to bank on her first time in the directors chair for Pitch Perfect 2. Pitch Perfect isn’t exactly challenging gendered genre stereotypes in the way that say, lady-led or focused movies in the action or thriller genres do, but it was only a few years ago that Hollywood was on tenterhooks over whether an ensemble cast of female comedians could pull off a raunch comedy film.

It’s still an impressive and rare deal for a big studio to give a widespread release to any genre movie (in that classic definition of genre where if it isn’t a Drama, it’s a genre flick) that is all in one written, directed, and starring women. And I’m surprising no one by saying that I think more studios should be doing so.

(photo credit to Cousart/JFXimages/WENN.com)

Because sometimes being a puss in boots isn’t seasonal. It’ll cost you $2,100, but sometimes there are people who really deserve to have a cat anus pointed at their face, even if it’s on a shoe.

(via Fashionably Geek.)

Previously in Shoes

• Doctor Who Shoes
• Adventure Time Shoes
• Star Wars Shoes

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I love pink, and I'm not afraid to say it. But when it comes to interiors, pink can be more than a little intimidating. How do you incorporate it into your home without said home looking like a Barbie dream house? Apartment Therapy has some ideas. 

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Everyone’s still buzzing over Texas State Senator Wendy Davis‘ epic filibuster in defense of a woman’s right to choose. For good reason, too. I hope it proves to be something that people remember—and talk about, and teach their kids about—for decades to come.

That enthusiasm has found a surprising outlet on the Amazon.com page for the bright red running shoes Davis wore while (literally) standing up for women’s rights for a grueling 11 hours. Actually, no, it’s not particularly surprising that people would leave reviews praising Mizuno Women’s Wave Rider 16 Running Shoes for their ability to “outrun [the] patriarchy.” This is the Internet, after all.

But it’s still fun.

(via The Daily Dot, top image by @TCDP)

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This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

The fennec, or desert fox, is a canine mammal species of the genus Vulpes, which inhabits the Sahara Desert and Arabia. This is the smallest species of the family Canidae.

This photo and caption were submitted to the 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. Have photos of your own travels you would like to submit? Enter today!

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