Neatest bit of history that I've discovered this week

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England is visiting the United States this week. Yesterday she visited the site of the World Trade Center in New York City and took part in a memorial service there for those who died in the 9/11 attack.

I didn't know until yesterday that Queen Elizabeth II had served her country during World War II. In fact, the Queen is the last surviving head of state who served in uniform during that conflict.

Here is a photograph of Elizabeth Windsor, all of 17 or 18 years old at the time, changing the tire on a British army truck...

The future Queen of England spent a lot of time as a truck mechanic and driver, enthusiastically doing her part to defend England against the dark of war.

I've always thought Elizabeth II was a classy lady. Knowing this about her now, my admiration for her has soared even more.

That was an incredible generation of individuals, sometimes in the most surprising of places. The thought of Queen Elizabeth II being a wrench-toting grease monkey once upon a time... somehow that seems just right, in ways I can't fully express.

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Dude spends $4000 on a life-sized War Machine costume!

Last week this blog joined others in oggling with admiration a full-sized costume of a Covenant Elite from the Halo video games.

Then two days ago I shared with y'all the "impressive... most impressive!" video of a German Star Wars fan's General Grievous costume.

If you have yet to be astonished at the costuming creativity that is apparently running rampant through the land, then this should drop your jaw to the floor: Anthony Le's full-sized, fully automated set of War Machine armor! That photo on the right? That's not a still from Iron Man 2: that is Anthony fully suited up.

Meanwhile I'm sitting here, looking at my humble Jedi Knight costume, looking back at the ingenuity of these other outfits, a single tear trickling down my cheek...

(Okay someday, Lord willing, I will at last put together that movie-quality Boba Fett costume that I've always dreamed of, muhahahahaha!)

According to the story at GeekTyrant, Anthony spent $4000 on his War Machine suit, and took him but one month to construct! It's made from high-impact urethane and held together with 1,500 rivets. The helmet was sculpted from clay and then liquid resin used to cast the finished item (with servo motors making the faceplate open and close like in the Iron Man movies). Add some LEDs to the chest and a motor to make the machine gun spin, and Anthony was all set!

But why just look at the pictures when you can see War Machine in full glorious action? Behold the video, true believers!

Words fail to describe just how glorious a piece of work that is. Bigtime props to Anthony Le for his hard work and cleverness!

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Oldest known illustrated Bible discovered in Ethiopia

I've long been fascinated by the history of Christianity in places like India and Ethiopia. There exist today in western India congregations of the faithful that claim - with some evidence - to have been founded by the apostle Thomas in the years following the earthly ministry of Jesus. And then there is Ethiopia: a land where Christianity is said to have arrived courtesy of the eunuch chronicled in the Book of Acts, chapter 8.

Add another page to the intriguing history of the faith in that land long known as Aksum: the world's oldest surviving illustrated Christian Bible has been found in an Ethiopian monastery. The Garima Gospels, printed on goatskin and written in the ancient Ge'ez language, is also said to be the oldest surviving book anywhere that still has the original binding.

So how old is this thing? The Garima Gospels have been dated back at around the Fourth Century A.D.

Sixteen hundred years old. And the illustrations - depicting the writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as the earliest known Christian rendering of a building (possibly the Temple of Jerusalem) - are still as vivid and colorful as when they were first drawn.

This is turning into quite an exciting time for biblical archaeology. Late last month the earliest known icons of Peter and Paul were announced as being discovered in the catacombs beneath Rome (they used lasers to uncover them: wicked kewl aye?), and now this. Unfortunately whether that alleged thingy on the slopes of Mount Ararat really is Noah's Ark is still anybody's guess. But hey: there should be some things we can't know for sure with just our physical senses...

...'cuz that's why it's called "faith" :-)

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Life-sized General Grievous costume

A few days ago this blog forwarded along a story about a full-sized costume of a Covenant Elite from the Halo video games. If that didn't stun and impress, maybe this one will...

A dude in Germany has built a costume of General Grievous from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (as well as being featured in numerous other Star Wars works of fiction). Yeah you read that right: a General Grievous getup. And it not only looks incredible but it moves incredible! Check it out!

This guy has a longer video here that has more detail of the costume.

I bet he's gonna get slammed with requests from people to loan Grievous' help on Star Wars fan films :-P

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Better get some bloggin' done...

This is gonna be a wild and packed week ahead. Maybe even a surprise or two that I may be inclined to share. Just keep watching this space :-)

So while I was enjoying this Fourth of July weekend those industrious folks at Muppet Studios uploaded another new clip onto YouTube! It's der Swedish Chef in "Pöpcørn"...

I'd love to know if the Chef's hands are being operated by one Muppeteer or two. If it's two, that would make this clip even more impressive!

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Taking off for the Fourth of July

I'm gonna step away from the blog for the next few days. Will return Monday. Perhaps then I'll even finally be caught up on my movies for this summer (if there might be anything good playing...)

In the meantime, have a great Independence Day weekend y'all! But don't let it be just about fireworks and hot dogs. Freedom, after all, is never free.

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A thought regarding politics...

Politics, like sex and death, is terribly over-rated.

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Truth in advertising?

If a law firm's TV commercials boast that they "know the local judges", is that really code-speak for "We know how to grease the right palms"?

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Heang Uy: Biking across America

The above photo was taken on the coast of Oregon a few days ago by Heang Uy. Heang is a friend from my college days, who has been a bigger inspiration to me than I've ever been able to articulate. He's a true brother in the Lord, a great teacher, and an excellent coach at his school.

And this summer Heang is bicycling across the continental United States! Word has come down the wire that sometime this evening Heang should be entering the Mountain Time Zone, headed toward Idaho. If all goes well he'll be pedaling back into North Carolina in August. In the meantime Heang Uy is out there somewhere: exerting both mind and body in an epic odyssey that will have him living the landscape like few dare to experience.

Pretty neat, aye? :-)

Here's Heang's blog, where he's chronicling his journey (accompanied with photos from the trek). Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he perseveres toward the goal!

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Full-sized Elite costume from HALO

I've seen many costumes inspired by video games, but this one has to top them all: a seven-foot tall fully-armored Elite from the Halo series!

Click on the above link for plenty more photos and a video of this getup. The guys who made this have also made a full-sized Master Chief costume.

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Funniest thing I've read all week

"Twilight is like World Cup soccer. They run around for 2 hours, nobody scores, and a billion fans insist that 'you just don't understand'."

-- attributed to one "jayrunquist"

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SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO or STAR BLAZERS, whatever it is... here's the new trailer!

So I'm pretty sure that every man, woman, child and dumb animal on Earth has by now seen the staggeringly excellent trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Meanwhile, our friends in Japan have just unloaded something just as eyeball-blowing spectacular: a new trailer for the Space Battleship Yamato (better known as Star Blazers on this side of the pond) live action movie! There was a teaser released earlier this year, but this one shows us much more.

One thing I'm worried about: how is the story from Season 1 of the animated series going to be compressed into one motion picture? Maybe Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers could become a live-action TV adaptation with modern technology. Perhaps on HBO? Then they wouldn't have to pretend that Dr. Sane was drunk on "spring water", heh-heh...

Anyhoo, what glorious eye candy awaits us from the Land of the Rising Sun! Can't wait to see this.

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Did y'all know that I have a Twitter feed?

Yes I do. And I use it for quite a bit of mirth and merriment!

(Okay seriously, for all of y'all going to see Eclipse tonight, hope you have fun :-)

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I like TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE already

I'm very thankful for the Twilight movies, because never again will I get flack from my sister for going to see the Star Wars movies premiere at midnight.

'Nuff said.

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"This is heavy!" BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy coming to Blu-ray!

I know at least two good friends who will without a doubt be buying this on the day it's released (and one of them would purchase it at midnight if he could, and you know who you are coughcoughEdcoughcough)...

This coming October 26th marks a quarter-century since Marty McFly hit 88 miles per hour and took his accidental journey to 1955. And to celebrate that milestone in movie history we're getting the Back To The Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy on Blu-ray!

GeekTyrant has posted a Mr. Fusion-full of details about the Blu-ray release of the Back To The Future movies, which is already one of the most loaded for any home release that I've ever seen.

If this set doesn't wind up on my shelf on October 26th, it will no doubt be on my list for December 25th!

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On salvation and pride

It makes as much sense to declare that all the members of another religion are damned to Hell as it does to assert that all the members of your own religion are destined for Heaven.

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Horse with no name: Equine-headed mystery lad appears on Google Streetview

People of Aberdeen, Scotland: the Horseboy is on the loose in your town!!

IT manager Russell Moffatt was using Google's Streetview feature to locate an optician's shop so he could get his eyeglasses repaired. But while doing the search he found something else: a person, apparently male, wearing a horse's head mask along with a purple shirt, standing on the side of a street in Aberdeen.

This mystery individual has quickly become known as "Horseboy" and as such things go on the Intertubes, has quickly acquired a herd of fans and well-wishers.

Horseboy is just the latest in a string of odd sights found by users of Google Streetview. Among other things people dressed as Japanese warriors, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Emmett Brown have been picked out of Streetview's data.

If I knew when a Google Streetview car would be coming past my house, I'd probably be waiting outside in my Jedi Knight costume :-)

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