Seriously. I had no idea it was this bad until I watched these. And what is up with male Ryder being unable to make eye contact with Cora? He always seemed to be looking off camera.

That is pretty awesome. Great work. The downside to using gas cannisters as an effect like that is that you don’t get a lot of use out of them. After a half dozen or so bursts the effect gets weaker and, sadly, lame. When I was in the 501st we had a guy in our garrison who rigged up his Boba Fett jetpack nozzles to…

Thank you for not falling back on the term “assault rifle”.

Yeah, the dark wash in the nooks and crannies goes a long, long way.

In that vein, it might be useful to know that “Mahatma” was a title given to him. His given first name was Mohandas.

That’s for sure. With all the canards and horizontal stabilizers and tails going on there plus the red, white and blue livery, it almost resembles the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.

Aside from what everyone else has already mentioned about the AIM-54 being obsolete and out of commission with the aircraft it was design to be carried by, the Phoenix was tempramental and not at all optimal for shooting down fighter sized aircraft. They were weapons designed for a specific purpose. Cold War Soviet…

What I would love to see is a chart that includes these plants cross-referenced with pet safe species.

Thanks! There’s not much more to say about that story, but my father did have an interesting career in the Air Force with helicopters. He started off with H-19’s in the late 60’s, spent some time picking up downed pilots (and doing other things that he wasn’t really willing to talk about) in Southeast Asia in the…

Thanks for this article, Tyler. My father served with the 1st Helicopter Squadron until his retirement from the Air Force in 1996. He got to fly many various VIP’s and dignitaries in his 13 years with the squadron as a flight engineer/crew chief. One story my father liked to tell was after Desert Storm. Gen. H. Norman…

Many Bothans died to bring this photo to us.

It boggles the mind how the same USAF that is sprinting to retire the A-10 is the same service that finds creative ways to keep the B-52 flying and relevant in the 21st Century. The BUFF is just as far from sexy and whiz bang hi-tech as the Warthog, but both do their jobs extremely well and make more sense considering…

Do you care to elaborate as to why you believe one form of self expression and creativity is art and another is not? Or are you just going to proclaim yourself sole arbiter of the word?

The Yaya Hans and Jessica Nigris of the world are the most visible cosplayers out there for sure, but they represent a very tiny fraction of the population. As for people buying or commissioning entire costumes, that is definitely a gray area.

Yeah, I mean, most people build or put together a costume to be seen so that's a valid observation. The underlying reason for being seen is another thing. It could be narcissism, trying to improve self confidence, escapism, etc.

That's certainly one interpretation. Some people define cosplay as strictly anime inspired costuming. Neither is necessarily wrong. I used to be vocal against the word but I chilled out with age.

Especially if one has a strong emotional attachment to the character. There is an investment one makes when the costume is complete.

If it helps, think of it as wearable art.

One of my biggest joys is going to a con and comparing notes with other costumers (I prefer that term over "cosplayers", personally). Asking them their methods for construction, about the materials they used. Everyone is always very happy to talk about thus aspect of the hobby.

Why do artists paint or sculpt? Why do authors write? Why do composers... compose? Cosplayers do it for various reasons but for many I know (myself included), the joy lies in the process.