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Friday, January 11, 2013

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and Sites

January 11th, 2013Top Story

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and Sites

By Melanie Pinola

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and SitesYour desktop wallpaper can inspire or motivate you, help organize your icons and folders (or even serve as your to-do list), or simply serve as amazing eye candy. Here are several fantastic tools for keeping your wallpaper from getting stale.

Automatically Download and Update Your Desktop Wallpaper

The easiest way to keep your desktop looking good with a fresh crop of wallpapers is by having them automatically come to you.

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and SitesFor Windows:

  • John's Background Switcher not only is our favorite wallpaper manager, the free program can grab photos from Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, Vlastudio, RSS (e.g., DeviantArt), Picasa, Google Image Search, and more.
  • If you've got a multi-monitor setup, DisplayFusion offers more monitor customizations and can also load photos similarly from popular online sources. There's both free and Pro versions (you'll need the $25 Pro license for random image rotating).
  • If you're a fan of Microsoft's Bing homepage images, the Bing Desktop program will sync your desktop background with the daily Bing.com wallpaper. It also adds a Bing search bar and news headlines to your desktop.

There are many others, including Wallpaper Juggler, which downloads images from interfaceLIFT and WallpaperStock, but the ones above are the most feature-rich.

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and SitesFor Mac, we've recently highlighted Kuvva Wallpapers, which offers a curated selection of images from artists and photographers.

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and SitesFor Windows, Mac, and Linux, there's Wally, which refreshes your wallpaper at your designated intervals with images from sources like Flickr, Picasa, and Photobucket.

Seek and Ye Shall Find: Great Wallpaper Sources

Keep Your Desktop Wallpaper Always Fresh with These Tools and SitesThere's no shortage of awesome wallpaper sources. We've highlighted several of our favorites a couple of times : VladStudio, 4Chan /Wallpaper Forum, Social Wallpapering, InterfaceLIFT, DeviantART, Wallbase, SimpleDesktops, and the last hive five winner, Digital Blasphemy. (See our most recent hive five for best wallpaper sites and the earlier version for descriptions of these sites.)

Plug those URLs/source feeds into your wallpaper switcher for a surprise every time your wallpaper changes.

Of course, I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention our own curated Wallpaper Wednesdays. (Add it to your RSS feed.)

There are two other great ways to easily find beautiful wallpapers and automatically send them to your desktop wallpaper folder: Desktoppr and IFTT:

  • Desktoppr is an awesome wallpaper search engine that syncs with Dropbox (that's a screengrab of it in the top image above). You can search by resolution, date, and popularity, and the Dropbox syncing means you only need to set it up once for all your computers to have those wallpapers.
  • If you're browsing Flickr and find a photo you'd like as a wallpaper, this IFTTT recipe makes it easy to do that. Any time you favorite a Flickr photo, it will send it to where you want to put it in Dropbox. Make that Dropbox folder your wallpaper folder, and that's it. You can create (or find) similar recipes for Facebook and Picasa on IFTTT.

Using the solutions above, you should never have to worry about running out of wallpapers or being bored by your desktop. Enjoy!

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There Is a Visible Penis Outline in One Direction's New Video, and Other Gifts from the Most Homoerotic Group on the Planet

January 11th, 2013Top Story

There Is a Visible Penis Outline in One Direction's New Video, and Other Gifts from the Most Homoerotic Group on the Planet

By Rich Juzwiak

There Is a Visible Penis Outline in One Direction's New Video, and Other Gifts from the Most Homoerotic Group on the PlanetLike most of their videos after their second, "Gotta Be You," in "Kiss You" they are seen in a homosocial frolic (females, if they show up in their videos at all, are generally portrayed in fleeting, blurry shots and/or in the background). In "Kiss," the boys sing to each other. Harry Styles (Taylor Swift's on-again-off-again) tweaks Zayn Malik's nipples. Zayn kisses Harry. Louis Tomlinson, who it is has been rumored to have a thing with both Harry ("Larry Stylinson" is how the hypothetical couple is referred to) and Zahn (together they are Zouis), pops his hips, showing off the outline of his possibly half-stiff cock, or wand erection, if you will.

There Is a Visible Penis Outline in One Direction's New Video, and Other Gifts from the Most Homoerotic Group on the Planet(See gifs for evidence. Apparently, Louis is prone to public wood.)

This is just the latest and most overt example of the X Factor UK alums' nearly nonstop deluge of open flirtation with each other and the idea that they are, in fact, boy band members who have sex with boy band members. Denials be damned, "Kiss You" is their most bromantic offering yet.

One Direction fans who aren't swooning tweens approach this game of Spot the Gay as a sport. Entire Tumblrs are devoted to sniffing out and reporting signs of their intergroup gayness. What makes One Direction beautiful is what makes them seem gay. The evidence of the group's homoeroticism has been covered ad nauseam elsewhere, but just to recap:

All of this is very adorable, but it's also a very tangible sign of how times have changed — instead of asshole-clenched paranoia at the suggestion of gayness, kids these days are courting the inevitable speculation on their sexuality (if you want to know what I mean by inevitable, type the name of any male celebrity into Google and then type "G" — "gay" will come up almost always). In this way, they control that conversation and their game also works as a challenge: So what if we are? They prove that there is no good rebuttal to that question.

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Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

January 11th, 2013Top Story

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

By Patricia Hernandez

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too. What most of us get to see, cosplay-wise, is the part where a costumed fan stands before the flash of the camera, posing as their favorite characters from movies, comic books and games.

What most of us experience is the 'product.' The end result. But there is a person underneath that costume. That person has a story, that person has reasons for putting themselves out there for the world to see. And that person likely put in a lot of work to bring a character to life. Turns out, there is a whole lot more to cosplay than just what can be photographed and put into galleries.

To be a cosplayer is to be a fan—the cosplay itself not much different in spirit than writing a fanfiction or hoarding collectibles of your favorite media. "I don't think anyone in their right minds would hot glue N7 armor to their skin for a Mass Effect cosplay or go two days without sleep while sewing Super Sentai suits if they weren't a fan of it," Elizabeth DeLoria, an Australian cosplayer with a fiery attitude explained to me in an interview. "When you're a fan of something, cosplay is like the ultimate homage."

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is also an element of escapism to cosplay. A nerdy outcast can find not only an outlet for their devotion to something, but also a strong community that shares a similar passion.

Such was the case with cosplayer Kat Elisabeth (photographed by Ger Tysk above as Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender), who was "teased pretty badly" growing up because of her interest in games, anime and sci-fi, she told me on an online chat. That didn't stop her from fostering "a love and connection to [characters]" that was strong enough to want to bring said character into our world. In the face of such obstacles, every convention can feel like a victory, Kat said.

"When you're a fan of something, cosplay is like the ultimate homage."

The issues are not always bullies, though.

"I used it to get away from domestic violence and abuse, my family's terrible financial status, problems at school, and sometimes, myself," Kat revealed. "I cosplay to breathe life into fabric, to get rid of me for a few days, as an escape, and for a love of the culture."

The culture is key component to why cosplay has found such popularity. The social aspect of cosplay is huge; in its most 'traditional' expression, cosplay is a thing you do with other people, for other people (not to say you can't do it for yourself, too.)

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

Kat as Rosa from Assassin's Creed

"The vast majority of my friends are cosplayers," DeLoria explained, and entertaining people through your cosplay means "being asked for photos, making passersby smile, watching kids freak out because they're meeting Batman for real."

Of course, as sincere and as earnest as the sentiments fueling cosplay are, they still have to put a costume together. First a character must be chosen. Or, perhaps it might be more accurate to say that the character chooses you. Folks tend to gravitate toward characters that they feel a connection to.

The degree to which a cosplayer might take it upon themselves to create a costume and reach "screen accuracy" is staggering. Sometimes, the efforts require you to go through a crucible of sorts. "There is a lot of pressure, I personally feel, in looking exactly like your character," she explained.

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

Elizabeth as Thor

Meeting expectations to adopt a character's essence can be grueling. Things go wrong with your sewing machine, your wigs, your props, you run out of money, real life gets in the way, you don't know how to put something together, the paint job went wrong, the glue didn't hold, you didn't lose enough weight—the number of things that can get in the way when doing cosplay is crazy.

Going the extra mile to cosplay can also be expensive, and certainly there are cosplayers who are willing to shell out as much money as it takes to 'become' a character. As respectable as that dedication to being accurate is, it's not something DeLoria and Kat always have the privilege of doing. They have to regularly improvise and sometimes even rely on individual flair for a costume that's not exactly a recreation.

"I prefer to not worry about screen accuracy," DeLoria said, "because it means I can also add a little bit of artistic license while still keeping it recognizable."

Plus budgeting means having to be creative, which in a way could be seen as a test of how much passion a cosplayer has. When someone figures out how to use $2 plastic bins instead of foam or wonderflex for a part of a costume, it's difficult not to feel awe at their ingenuity.

"What stops me from cutting myself a break due to my economic status and mental issues is that I know someone out there has it worse, and is still doing stellar work."

"Its hard to accept that you WON'T produce amazing, awestriking work without some cash, effort, and time, time time," Kat said, "What stops me from cutting myself a break due to my economic status and mental issues is that I know someone out there has it worse, and is still doing stellar work. And I will find that sonofabitch and throttle them until I learn their secrets."

Wearing something is not all there is to a cosplay though, and this is where things get particularly fascinating. Both Kat and DeLoria have taken up extra hobbies to supplement their cosplays. In researching for Avatar cosplays, for example, Kat came to take up martial arts such as tai chi and kung fu. This allowed her to take up better poses for pictures, as well as be able to assume a character more fully.

Sometimes, this also involves adopting affectations for skits and acts that one puts on whenever they're interacting with fans. If you cosplay as, say, Commander Shepard, for instance, you might like ending conversations with his signature "I should go."

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

Elizabeth as Bane

"When I put on my Bane mask it's almost impossible for me to not imitate his voice and stride around," DeLoria remarked, "When I'm Mary Jane I call everyone 'tiger.' It's often just little things but if I can get people to laugh or get excited because it feels even a little tiny, itsy bitsy bit real to them, that's a rewarding feeling for me."

DeLoria has also taken up dieting and weight-lifting in the past. Sometimes, what you do to look like a character isn't healthy. DeLoria recalls going on a 'very intense' exercise kick for a Valkyrie cosplay, along with eating habits that left her in pain. "I have a body type that I'm not comfortable doing a lot of cosplays in" DeLoria divulged, "I have big hips, a large bust, I'm not the most physically fit of people."

Given how much of your body can be on display in cosplay, the extent of stress one feels can be great.

"No amount of working out, creams, lotions, or makeup would leave me satisfied," Kat recalled, when thinking about her earlier cosplay days. "I had poor body image anyways, and an eating disorder slowly creeping up on me before emerging into full static bloom last year that left me crying over my body after hours in the gym when I should've been doing schoolwork."

One's natural body poses more challenges than one might think when it comes to cosplay. Well-meaning cosplayers will tell you that it's not about looking exactly like a character, especially if it's physically impossible, but rather about having fun and engaging with the community.

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

Kat as Yoko from Gurren Lagann

Still, I've occasionally stumbled on darker parts of the community, who get angry when someone dares to cosplay as someone that's a different gender, race or especially body type. Kat told me about an early cosplay where she was called out for not being the right skin tone, and she's had to "lighten my skin, cover freckles, [and] attempt to color my darkass eyebrows."

Those alterations stem from a desire to recreate a character and she doesn't have a problem doing it. "The effort and experience in the end is more worth it than looking just like them," she assured me. The issue is when other people don't respect a cosplayer simply because they put themselves on display.

Sometimes, accusations of doing a 'sexy' cosplay merely for attention rise, and here is where the 'fake geek girl' stuff pop up—is that cosplayer actually clueless about their costume? While unfair, in a twisted sense the insecurities make sense: if some of the cosplay community is made up of defensive outcasts that have rallied together for the communal love of a piece of media, someone not actually being knowledgeable about that media might be seen as 'threatening.'

But as women, the pressures that both DeLoria and Kat face are tied with the expectation that a woman's body is public domain and they have a responsibility to never subject people to anything less than a hyper-idealized body. Anything else is offensive and a blatant disregard for the poor sensibilities of a hyper-entitled viewer.

When you look toward 'sexy' cosplay as a means of empowering yourself, as DeLoria does, things get complicated. In a culture that is convinced that a woman can 'ask for it'-dressing provocatively as, say, Metal Gear Solid's EVA-can cause people to think they are being invited to flirt, touch or harass a cosplayer.

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

Elizabeth as EVA

"I find it's a hard balance because I am a very sexual person and I enjoy characters like Ivy and Black Cat where I get to play around a little bit with that, but at the same time I know a lot cosplayers aren't like me and I don't want to perpetuate this idea that if you're in a 'sexy' cosplay, you HAVE to be flirtatious and want to flirt. I like getting into character when I cosplay and it's part of why I choose the characters I do, but a lot of cosplayers don't, so sometimes I worry that while I'm prancing around calling everyone 'sweet-heart' and blowing kisses that I'm making some people think it's okay to assume all the other cosplayers at the convention are going to act the same and be okay with that kind of interaction."

Kat has a number of stories of cosplay-community gone wrong when it comes to 'sexy cosplay.'

But as women, the pressures that both DeLoria and Kat face are tied with the expectation that a woman's body is public domain and they have a responsibility to never subject people to anything less than a hyper-idealized body.

"I don't ask for the comments of 'WHORE/BITCH/SLUT' or 'PUT ON SOME CLOTHES' while I'm trying to get to my hotel, nor do I ask to be glomped/grabbed/have someone try and remove my top/kissed/pulled at/or anything like that. It just makes me feel worse about myself. I can't look exactly like this pale, really oddly proportioned, yellow-eyed bitch on the screen, so obviously I'm just here for people to ridicule, no matter how much I like the character."

There are even instances when, after an assault, depending on what the cosplay was, a cosplayer might be blamed for the incident. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have dressed like that" is a literal thing someone has said to Kat, and there have also been occurrences where people shut down any conversation that brings up an incident of assault.

She's not discouraged, though—the love for cons and cosplay is too great.

"People have a right to feel awesome....I try to make my costumes to the best of my ability, and really have to work on realizing that I can't please everyone/wont always have the right complexion/body type, etc [but it's fine as long as it makes] ME happy."

"For the most part," DeLoria clarifies, "we're a pretty welcoming bunch and watching the uninitiated become one of us over time is something we really enjoy...I firmly believe that if you want to cosplay a character, you should go for it."

And ultimately? Despite the time, dedication and sometimes drama that the cosplay life can create, the camraderie, culture and strength that cosplay gives is worth it.

"I've met most of my best friends and have been introduced to this amazing (though sometimes frustrating) culture," Kat declared. "Totally heartfelt and touchy feely, but fuck it, I'm being honest. I'm not that high schooler running away from herself through wigs anymore..I love the collaboration, the ability to fly my nerd flag, the challenge, the community, the characters I choose, and bringing it all together, through literal blood sweat and tears (and lots of being broke.)"

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