Sunday, October 13, 2013

Pens That Work Everywhere


  • The Fisher Space Pen is a pen that writes in SPACE. Space pen. Super space pen. TO THE MOON! But seriously, this is the actual pen they developed for space, used by real astronauts. It writes upside down, right side up, and in temperature extremes and telescopes so that it fits in your luggage more easily. Or your space helmet. You can choose from silver rocket colour or the deep black of space. (although fun fact, Space isn't actually black, it's just that the stars are so far away that their light is infrared when it reaches us so we can't see it). $19.99 
  • The Inka Pen Travel Pen is another super pen that works in hot or cold, high altitudes or underwater! Good for divers, explorers and people who work in dreadful conditions. Like the rain. It doesn't look as cool as the space pen, but it folds down into a 3" little pen, and the handle converts into a little case that you can carry on your keyring, so it's much more portable. It even has a secret stylus - and you can get refills, too! Not to mention the magic words "lifetime manufacturer warranty". $12.99 

Also see the True Utility Telepen Telescopic Pen and the Maxpedition All-Weather Trekker Pen. And of course, the super impressive Uzi Tactical Defender Pen

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Dress Up As Captain Malcolm Reynolds

Mal's costume is based on classic cowboy-wear. If you have the money (a LOT of money) there are sites out there that specialise in TV and Film replicas - Mal's coats and pistol, for example. If you don't have several hundred dollars, you can easily put together his outfit yourself (or a very close version of it).

Costume Elements
  • Coat
  • Shirt
  • Trousers
  • Suspenders
  • Gun
  • Boots
  • Dog tags
  • Spaceship
Malcolm Reynolds Metal-plated Pistol Prop Replica

    • Otherwise just get a generic cowboy duster. It should be light brown ("mustard"), have a small collar and no shoulder flaps and hit just below the knee. There are real, decent quality dusters from US$90 and up, and there are lots of cheap gunfighter costume options available in the $30 range.
    • This kid's version below left is pretty much perfect for a tiny Mal 
  • Shirt - he wears eight or nine different ones, but always collared, buttoned, long sleeved shirt in a single colour. The red shirt is probably the most dramatic and best suited, colour-wise, and the one that's used the most in promotional art and screenshots, so is also the best known, but any plain, long-sleeved, collared, earth-coloured shirt would do. And I lied; the clay-brown shirt he wears fighting the Operative at the end of Serenity (the film) is actually subtly striped (or checked in large rectangles - hard to see!)
brick red shirt firefly mal reynolds long sleeved cowboydark brown cowboy shirtdark blue gray shirtblack shirt captain reynolds costumedark

  • Suspenders and trousers - pretty straight forward, just buy similar styles (for example the ones from Amazon below, or browse through the links afterward). The trousers have a stripe down the side, which you'll have to add yourself with ribbon.
    • Mal wears various different suspenders - doesn't really matter which, although he seems to wear this light brown type the most, he also wears black ones and lighter brown - again, plain and practical and earth colours.

  • Boots - riding boots will look fine, or pirate-style boots, with the flap cut off. His boots are actually low-cut shoes with glued on spats. 



  • Dog tags - Show that you fought for the Alliance in the Unification War with your own dog tags.
    • ThinkGeek now sells Malcolm Reynolds Dog Tags. While these are optional, they also make an awesome little collectible for later.
           Malcolm Reynolds Dog Tags

  • The ship! - Mal is nothing without his ship, unfortunately, he can't really ride around in it while on Earth. But you can always slip a Serenity Keychain into your pocket!
Serenity Keychain

The replica of Mal's gun is available from ThinkGeek, as well as via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk - only the last one will ship to countries outside the USA. 





Zombie Warning Posters, Signs and Tape

These zombie themed warning signs are a must have for any Halloween party, night of the living dead or macabre science laboratory in which the boundaries of life and death are perverted. So when your innocent visitors skip into the arms of the staggering, flesh hungry undead, you can point smugly to the signs and say, over the sounds of their screams, "you were warned". Also suitable for retail use.




Zombie Warning Signs and Posters on Amazon.com!
Make sure people get the point and sow the seeds of doubt and fear with some official looking warning signs.






Zombie Warning Tape from Amazon.com!
Mark off the danger areas of your back garden and inside the house and wrap it around the letterbox or any visitors that lurch suspiciously slowly in their drunken stupors!