I have my reasons for liking Sci-Fi…and none of them have to do with the dangerously appealing male characters in other-worldly costumes. Yeah, okay, that was a lie. The truth is, I fantasize about men in sexy Sci-Fi costumes.

So, I was hardly opposed to taking a peek at Convention Fans’ Top 20 Sexy Male Sci-Fi Costumes when it was presented to me by a friend. While I agreed with some of the elected winners, others left me perplexed and unimpressed.

That’s when I decided to make my own list. It is my opinion that this list should be expanded to include Sexiest Male Fantasy (including the paranormal genre) costumes as well. While technically Fantasy is NOT Sci-Fi, and visa versa, there is a great deal of overlap between the two genres which both fall under the umbrella of speculative fiction (so there). Besides, it’s my list so you don’t really have a say in the matter…but I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed!

Anyway, here’s what I came up with…

Medieval Majesty

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy – The chivalrous medieval-style warrior, whether peasant-like or knightly, will ever attract the romantically-minded female.

Lusty Leather

Jason Mamoa as Ronan Dex in Stargate Atlantis – # 7 on the CF Top Twenty List. Nothing says “All Male” like distressed, form-fitting leather.

Keith Hamilton Cobb as Tyr Anasazi in Andromeda – The long dreads and fitted leather vest strategically cut to highlight one firm pec really made Andromeda worth watching (no, I didn’t watch it for Kevin Sorbo).

Eclectic

James Marsters as Captain John Hart in Torchwood – The blending of historical, weathered and modern costume elements creates a Steampunk-feel that’s bad-boy appealing. (# 20 of the CF Top 20 list).

Adrian Paul wore many costumes in his role as an immortal, from kilts to aviator gear to tuxedos…and he wore them all well. But if I had to choose, the traditional Scottish plaids would be have to be my fave.

Attired for Adventure

Brendan Fraser as Rick O’ Connell in The Mummy - Reminiscent of the tough adventurer persona in Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones character. It has a rugged quality that says “I’m man enough to protect you, battle supernatural forces AND find you a nice little treasure!”

Military Masculinity

Michael Beihn as Dwayne Hicks in Aliens: Military togs give off that strong, fit and disciplined vibe that compels women to croon, “I love a man in a uniform.”

Tantalizing Tanks

Hugh Jackman as James Howlett (aka Logan) in X-men Origins: Wolverine - What girl wouldn’t smack her lips in the presence of the feral Wolverine looking alarmingly virile in muscle tank, dog tags and denim…GRRR! (#3 on CF top 20 in his X-men suit)…simple but savory.

Steve Bacic as Telemachus Rhade in Andromeda – His snug sleeveless T-shirt and long fingerless, leather gloves compliment his muscular arms perfectly (by the way, this guy also looks great in SG-1 in a Gladiator-like costume…that’s him at the very top of post).

Vampire Vestment

Alex O’loughlin in Moonlight - Thank heaven’s vampires no longer wear the goofy high-collared black cape and tuxedo-like suit. This long black duster over a tasteful button down Henley and snug jeans is more likely to seduce a woman into letting the undead bite her…right, ladies?

Werewolf Wardrobe

Jason Behr as Varek in Skinwalkers – Biker denims accessorized with leather holsters, arm cuffs and a cool tattoo (Oh, and great facial hair) hint at the beast within.

Michael Sheen as Lucian in Rise of the Lycans – Knowing that a primal creature lurks under all that structured warrior-y leather goodness could drive a gal wild.

“Dressed” to kill Dragons

Christian Bale as Quinn Abercromby in Reign of Fire - If one is going to slay the dragon and save his people (including his damsel in distress) he needs to demonstrate that he has the strength necessary to get the job done. I’d say this less-is-more “costume” rather proves that Quinn is up to the task. The minuscule proportion of the teeny-tiny neck scarf augments the broad expanse of his ripped chest (I think I’ll buy my husband one of those scarfs).

Okay, I’ve been waitng, most impatiently, to see the Sherlock Holmes trailer and now that I’ve seen it…

I admit, it looks exciting. And Robert Downey appears to do a fabulous job—not surprisingly–as Britain’s most famous detective (although his version of Holmes is quite cheeky).

But if I were to try and describe the movie to you, I wouldn’t know where to start…”Sherlock Holmes: A Swashbuckling Victorian Romp,” perhaps?

Maybe the post I saw on the Cinematical web site is an apt description. It states that the new Sherlock Holmes movie looks like a fusion of “Young Sherlock Holmes meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vs. Van Helsing: At World’s End….”

What do you think?

She’s been a cultural icon and fashion inspiration for fifty years. But now, Barbie’s celebrity status has landed her cleavage in some pretty quirky custom jewelry.

New York designer, Margaux Lange, fascinated by the impact that Barbie has had on popular culture, turned bits of the plastic icon into bracelets, earrings and necklaces…oh my! From arms to ears, now you can wear Barbie’s plastic appendages as trendy baubles.

There are even fashionable cuff links for Barbie’s guy fans.

I don’t know, these jewelry pieces are like something that came out of Sid’s room in Toy Story. I shudder to think what this designer would do if she got her hands on my beloved Legolas and Edward Cullen dolls.

[via Sky News]

As a kid, I was obsessed with the paranormal and the supernatural. Early on I developed a special place in my heart (and reserved a special place on my neck) for vampires.

So I don’t have to tell you how disappointed I am when vampire-based TV programs get cancelled. When CBS’s Moonlight came along, I thought, “Finally…another vampire show!” But it was cancelled within a year.

I don’t have cable, so watching HBO’s popular program True Blood isn’t an option for me. But I was excited to learn recently that, according to Variety, the CW has decided to sink it’s teeth into another vampire drama with the TV adaptation of the “Vampire Diaries.”

Originally published in 1993, years before the Twilight book franchise was published (and some argue that this “Vampire Diaries” was the inspiration for Meyer’s “Twilight” series), after the success of the “Twilight” series, HarperCollins re-released the “Diaries” with new covers. Since then, “Diaries” has hit the New York Times Bestseller list, and three more books have been commissioned.

“Diaries” tells the story of a young woman torn between two vampire brothers who are battling for her soul and the souls of her friends, family and small town where they live.

I must admit, I’m curious and, a little anxious. How will “Vampire Diaries” translate to the screen? Can the CW ride the wave of vampire infatuation generated by Meyer? Regardless, my heart has already staked a claim on this newest vampire effort!

I’ve recently come to the conclusion that Summer Glau has a magic belly button.

Her belly button changes in her various TV appearances, and I’m curious if the producers are using costume makeup, CGI, or maybe she had surgery?

And no, I’m not trying to mock her or objectify her body in typical Hollywood tabloid style. I’ve been a respectful fan of Summer Glau since 2002, when she starred on the beloved space western Firefly.

These days, she plays Cameron, the helpful, butt-kicking robot on the TV show Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. She’s a beautiful, sexy and talented actress AND ballet dancer. Summer Glau is totally amazing.

But… something is going on with her belly button! I think there’s a belly button conspiracy happening right under our noses, so I decided to post some comparison photos and try to get to the bottom of this navel mystery.
 

As you can see, Summer has an Outie belly button, plain as day. No big deal, really. The photo above is from 2006, during her guest appearance on the TV show The Unit.

The thing is, during this scene her belly button changes.

Here’s a picture from the same scene, and when she walks over to the guy — suddenly her Outie is gone, and she has a belly piercing instead. WTF?

 
We get to see Summer’s Innie with Piercing again during a quick shot of her in a kiddie pool.

 
But during a longer shot of the same scene, her belly button is purposefully hidden behind a newspaper. Is it to cut down on the cost of makeup/CGI?

What’s going on here? Quite a mystery, isn’t it? But wait - there’s more!

Now let’s jump to the year 2009. Just last Friday on The Sarah Conner Chronicles, we were treated to a quick scene of Summer in her underwear.

There’s no sign of her majestic Outie belly button. Where did it go?

So there you have it, Folks. Her Outie belly button has been terminated.

But how? Was it through surgery? Makeup? CGI? And how do you explain her belly button changes that occur mid-scene on The Unit? Either there’s something fishy going on, or she has a magic belly button.

If anyone has any further insight into the greatest navel mystery in history, please do share in the comments below.

Well this is an interesting bit of news.

Due to protests from a group of Native Americans, kindergartners at Condit Elementary School in California have been banned from wearing Thanksgiving costumes.

Some parents agree that the Native American costumes are demeaning and racist. Others feel that politics are being unfairly inserted into a fun (if not wholly accurate) tale of two factions setting aside their differences.

The debate is hot in the town of Claremont, CA. Despite the ban, many parents are sending their children to school in costume anyway.

Here’s a video from the LA Times. You can watch the two groups of protesters arguing with each other.

I’m interested to see how this plays out. Feel free to sound off in the comments below.

Sony recently held a costume design contest for the “Sackboy” character in their video game LittleBigPlanet, and fans have accused them of stealing costume design ideas from non-winning entries. Sony has released a statement denying this accusation.

If you’re not familiar with the game, take a look at the trailer above. Players control small customizable “Sackboy” characters to solve puzzles and interact with a 3D environment.

So what happened? Well, Sony picked a winner and offered the winning costume as a free download for LittleBigWorld players. THEN, they released additional costumes as well, but charged money for them. And that’s when the great Costume Controversy began.

Sony’s new costumes are remarkably similar to several non-winning contest entries. Fans have cried foul, accusing Sony of copying and profiting from their uncredited costume designs.

Here are a few examples of design similarities provided by the disgrunted gamers.

Fanmade Design:

Sony’s Design:

Fanmade Design:

Sony’s Design:

Fanmade Design:

Sony’s Design:

As you can see, there ARE strong similarities between the costume designs. But did Sony do anything illegal? It doesn’t appear to be the case. All contest participants agreed to Sony’s Terms & Conditions before submitting their artwork. The fine print of the contest rules makes it clear that all submitted materials became the property of Sony. Case closed, it would seem.

But Sony went a step further and denied that any copying took place at all. According to a Sony representative:

“This was always going to be a possibility when we ran the costumer competition - releasing new costumes which are similar in theme to ones that were entered. Here’s the fact of the matter, the art team who are responsible for designing new original (ie unlicensed) costumes were involved at the very final stage of judging, by which time the number of entries had been whittled down to 10 from each batch of entries (Europe, Japan, USA). If at any time we take inspiration from a costume competition entry that didn’t win overall we will contact the creator directly.”

Hmm, so what are the disgruntled Sackboy costume designers to do? There’s probably nothing they CAN do. Legally, Sony has their fine print to fall back on. Plus, it’s awfully hard to copyright a penguin or a shark.

But this costume fiasco does indeed make Sony look bad. Someone in their PR department should come forward and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that their new costumes pre-existed before the contest. Until then, their integrity and goodwill towards fans will be questioned and scorned by many.

Feel free to sound off with your opinion in the comments below.

PARAMUS, N.J. (CBS) - West Brook Middle School students celebrated Halloween last Friday by wearing costumes to school. But 13-year-old Alex Woinski was kicked out for showing up in a Jesus costume. Alex has long brown hair and bears a striking resemblance to Jesus, his friends say.

According to the school principal, his costume was offensive to some students, and this was the first time any student had dressed like Jesus.

“I don’t think I overreacted,” Principal Joan Broe told CBS news.

CLICK HERE to watch the CBS news video.
 
What do you think? Is the costume offensive? Did the principal overreact? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments below.

Ugliest. Wig. Ever.

Just think - for only 10 bucks, this could be yours!

The popular online dating service eHarmony.com has published a troubling article about “Photos that Make you Look Undateable.” [link]

Their advice? If you want to find love:

1. Don’t post a picture of yourself in a bar.
2. Don’t post a picture with your Ex obviously cut out.
3. Don’t stand next to a celebrity or something expensive.
4. Don’t wear a costume.

Huh?

We get that some people really like to dress up in costumes even when it isn’t Halloween. However, while your friends may understand your penchant for dressing like the original Superman at Comic-Con, most people perusing your profile won’t.

Since when does a little cosplay interfere with finding love? And if someone is turned off by your cosplay, why would you want to date them anyway? Is the goal to get as many dates as possible, or to find someone compatible? I think we have a Quality vs. Quantity issue going on here.

eHarmony says, “When you’re putting yourself out there, it’s best to save the fun photos for later on down the road.”

So… the key to getting dates is to be fake and boring. Nice.

Awww, look at the little furry animal…

Over at SourHumor.com they have a fun collection of animals in costumes. They are definitely cute.

 
The blogger writes, “If you think about it, we are really mean for making animals wear this stuff.”

Do you think that’s true? Sound off with your opinion in the comment section below.

[via SourHumor.com]

I really wasn’t planning on yet another blog about Dr. Horrible, but the lastest development in the Dr. Horrible costume world is too good of a story to pass up.

With the release of Dr. Horrible on the Internet, fans immediately began looking for ways to make a Dr. Horrible Costume. A key ingredient? The Goggles. It turns out they are standard welding goggles available at many safety supply companies.

A company called PendergastSafety.com advertised a pair of silver welding goggles that looked EXACTLY like the kind worn by Dr. Horrible.

So hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fans descended upon PendergastSafety and ordered these goggles. But instead of taking advantage of the surge in business, Pendergast told them angrily, “We’re a safety supply company, not a costume company. One girl literally received an email that said, “Just go away. Thank you.”

Unbelievable!

To make matters worse, Pendergast had the wrong photo on their website (this has now been corrected). The goggles are actually green, not silver.

Naturally, the many fans who did manage to receive these goggles were very disappointed in the misrepresentation of the product. Costumers are picky: If Dr. Horrible wears silver goggles, then green ones just won’t do.

When the customers demanded their money back, Pendergast told them to get lost, saying, “The picture is not the description. The fact that is does not match your costume is not our responsibility.”

A virtual war erupted on the Internet. Many keyboards were damaged in the furious typing that ensued.

And the really weird thing? Pendergast had previously posted on the official Dr. Horrible fan site, inviting them to purchase these goggles. It makes no sense to me that they would change their mind.

“We did not want these small orders and were shipping them because many of you have called and begged for them. Again please spread the word that we are not interested in selling these as a costume.”

This is blatent costumism. I thought our country had moved passed this kind of discrimination.

I guess Pendergast normally sells in bulk and just couldn’t handle all the individual orders. But is that any justification for being rude to their customers?

Wow, talk about Horrible service.