Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2096

Jeff Goldblum Returns For JURASSIC WORLD Sequel

“If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it’s that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, it expands to new territories and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, uh…well, there it is. I’m simply saying that life, uh…finds a way.”

Those wise words of one Dr. Ian Malcolm still ring true today, as it was just announced that Jeff Goldblum has joined the cast for the Jurassic World sequel.

Exclusive: Jeff Goldblum joins '#JurassicWorld' sequel https://t.co/XMjSthjOXa pic.twitter.com/4EFl74CQaP

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 26, 2017

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goldblum is set to reprise his role as Dr. Malcolm in the forthcoming Jurassic World sequel, joining stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. This will make it his third appearance in the JPU (Can we call it that? Is that a thing yet?) after appearing in 1993’s Jurassic Park and 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. No word on how large Goldblum’s Malcolm will factor into the next film, but we can imagine he’s probably even more fed up with being right about the dino-mayhem that seems to plague the world despite his best efforts.

We’ve got our fingers crossed that the filmmakers will finally listen to the fan fiction we keep sending in where he and B.D. Wong’s Dr. Henry Wu battle to the death on yet another island where Wu’s made Human/Dino Hybrids. We call it “The Island of Dr. Dineau.”

If not, we’ll settle for this to somehow happen:

Image: Giphy

Kidding aside, we absolutely can’t wait for plot details to trickle out, and we really hope Goldblum’s involvement is more than a mere cameo. The world needs more Ian Malcolm in it and having him and Pratt’s Owen Grady onscreen as much as possible feels like the best move any film could ever make.

What do you hope for the Jurassic World sequel? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Featured Image: Universal Pictures

7 WTF-worthy movie monsters that time forgot

iZOMBIE: Liv Gets the Scoop with Some Very Gossip-y Brains

Warning: This recap contains spoilers, undead and otherwise, for the iZombie episode “Wag the Tongue Slowly.” Go find some brains to eat if you haven’t watched yet.

Did you hear about what Liv did in the latest installment of iZombie? Come closer, I’ll tell you everything in the kind of whisper that totally isn’t quiet: she ate the brains of an office gossip. Yikes.

While Liv relished in learning and dishing secrets to solve a murder with Clive, there was also some progress made on the zombie front. Well, kind of. Ravi’s potential solution for the loss of memory caused by the cure didn’t work, and Major’s getting worse… and Peyton is still attracted to Blaine, which I don’t entirely hate for some reason? Liv and Clive tracked down an unsavory individual from the zombie message boards and learned he was just as dead set on killing zombies in person as he seemed on the internet. He said things like, “You can’t murder what ain’t alive.” So, that’s reassuring.

Since Major’s on mercenary rations from Fillmore Graves, we didn’t get a different personality from him this time around. We witnessed him flip into full-on hero mode as he focused on finding Natalie and fulfilling his promise to help her, but it was from the heart and not inspired by someone else’s brains. Major knows he’s potentially on his way out, and I like seeing a bit of the heart of gold we initially saw in him back in season one before he was affected by any of the zombie craziness. And for gold stars, he got to make his dashing(ish) rescue to “I Don Quixote.” It’s not a song I hear on network television, or any television, often enough.

The Meal

Let’s talk brains! Liv snacked on the head matter of Cheryl, an office gossip at a dental supply company. She excelled at her job but made enemies of her co-workers by spilling details about them to others. Liv went simple with Cheryl’s brains by chopping them into bite-size pieces and mixing them into a pre-made can of a southwestern style soup. I don’t know if I can make this meal fit my theory about the recipes matching the owner of the brains. If Cheryl was work-focused and wanting to keep cooking easy, then canned goods might have been a go-to for her?

Anyway, it was one of the less appetizing food creations I’ve seen on the show.

Liv

Now, for the brain. Not much about being a gossip is positive. Cheryl was constantly inserting herself into the business of her co-workers and giving up dirt on them to whomever would listen. The stack of complaints human resources had on file about Cheryl was so big it filled a massive binder. But a thirst for information is an asset when one is doing police work, so at least Liv got some kind of advantage out of it; she couldn’t wait to dive into reading every report, phone and text logs, and message boards. Of course, her motivations on Cheryl’s brain were unhealthy—she wanted to know all the details possible for the sake of holding the knowledge and using it. Knowledge of others’ secrets is power. (Think of Varys on Game of Thrones.)

Cheryl’s hurtful actions made me think of the gossips I’ve known in my life—we’ve all come across them and probably participated in gossiping. Sometimes the urge to gab comes from a place of anxiety; if you can get the dirt on someone else, your own problems seem minor by comparison. Sometimes gathering and dropping information is rooted in insecurity; if you can manipulate who knows what, it gives you some measure of power. It can also be based in getting attention, being bored, or being resentful or angry.

But did Cheryl have power? It didn’t seem like her methods led to any gains. She shared details that broke up marriages, cost people promotions, and more. She did it often enough, and in such an intentionally harmful way, she isolated herself from those around her. Why would anyone want to risk giving anything away to her when it could be used against them?

Liv thankfully didn’t take Cheryl’s gossiping tendencies to the extreme. She could have easily fallen to a bad place where she spent her time digging up skeletons belonging to people in her immediate circle instead of focusing on solving crime. The closest Liv got to obnoxiously nosy territory is when she kept tabs on Peyton and Blaine.

Rose McIver brought the nuance to Liv’s assumed personality, as usual. She practically drooled over any fresh tidbit coming her way. It was apparent Liv enjoyed getting to the be one who controlled the flow of confidential info. And that part is especially important because I think the moment of triumph at extracting or divulging intel is what gossipers get some sort of high from.

Did Liv’s behavior in this episode remind you of anyone you know? Head to the comments and tell me your thoughts about she portrayed the gossiper.

Images: The CW

This Tattoo Brings FANTASTIC BEASTS’ Niffler to Hogwarts

What if a Niffler showed up at Hogwarts? You can’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind. I’d pay a stack of sickles to watch the Niffler slinking around the halls of the castle introduced in Harry Potter, swiping valuables as he strolled along. And can you imagine Snape chasing the Niffler around? I can’t get these thoughts out of my head after viewing this ink mixing the worlds of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

Hogwarts/Niffler | Source: Tamara, inked by Josh Reynolds at Mind Bender Tattoo

The design of this tattoo is utterly whimsical. Which, let’s be real, we could all do with more of.

Drop down to the gallery below and see more geeky tattoos featuring the likes of Pokémon, Batman, an elegant Freddy Krueger design, and more. So many tattoos, so little time.

If you have nerdy ink on your skin or you’re a tattoo artist that applies pop culture, STEM, music, or other nerd-inspired ink (in other words, I want to see practically all the tattoos) on a regular basis, then please hit me up because I’d like to highlight you in a future Inked Wednesday gallery. You can get in touch with me via email at alratcliffe@yahoo.com. Send me photos of the tattoos you’d like me to feature (the higher resolution, the better) and don’t forget to let me know the name of your tattoo artist if you have it, as well the name of the shop he or she works out of. If you are the tattoo artist, give me links to your portfolios and/or Instagram accounts so I can share them with our readers.

Featured Image: Tamara

Vince McMahon Biopic Gets a “Hell Yeah!” at TriStar

One of the problems with movies about pro-wrestling is they rarely know how to make it as intriguing as the actual profession itself. In part, this is due to the level of secrecy that traditionally surrounded the business, deliberately nurtured in part to make some fans believe they’re witnessing a genuine competition, but also to cover up talent payment and compensation. Darren Aronofsky‘s The Wrestler was the rare drama that got it right, but typically the best wrestling movies are documentaries, like Beyond the Mat or Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows.

A biopic of WWE head honcho Vince McMahon, however, could be a fascinating tale. Not only is he the guy who made pro-wrestling the national pop-culture behemoth it is today, but he has also consistently presented himself on-camera as a thoroughly rotten human being. He says he’s playing a caricature of the kinds of executives he used to hate; those in the business who dislike him might claim he’s just being himself. Nonetheless, with the Hollywood Reporter today announcing that a biopic is in the works at TriStar, endorsed by McMahon and coproduced by WWE Studios’ Michael Luisi (sources close to Nerdist have confirmed the story), we have to wonder: how “warts and all” is it going to be? McMahon loves to promote his product, but he has no compunction about humiliating himself if it makes for good TV; this is, after all, a guy who has been showered in sewage, thrown from a cage, and had his head shaved by Donald Trump.

The movie is currently titled Pandemonium, and we have to wonder who they could possibly get to star. If it were about the Vince of today, I’d unhesitatingly say Harrison Ford has the necessary growly authority, but ’80s Vince? Can Eddie Redmayne bulk up in time? Is WWE going to try to push Shane McMahon as a possible star? Would John Cena be this meta? Andrew Lincoln might be an interesting longshot if they can catch him between killing walkers.

McMahon certainly has a great life story. Here’s hoping he lets it all be told.

Who would you cast as Vince? As Hulk Hogan? As Dwayne Johnson? Share your thoughts in our comments.

Image:WWE

The War on Drugs Gets a Humane Exploration in THUMPER (Tribeca Review)

When telling stories of the war on drugs, dealers are often portrayed as greedy if not overtly evil, while addicts are frequently exhibited as tragic or pathetic. But writer-director Jordan Ross extends earnest empathy to both in his feature debut, a gritty crime-thriller called Thumper. Making its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, this intriguing film travels through the volatile environment of a low-income neighborhood filled with broken homes, aimless teens, and impoverished everymen pushed to their limits to make ends meet.

Ross made his name helming a string of episodes of the MTV documentary series True Life. And he applies the show’s reliance on setting and observational moments to his narrative film with a keen eye. Thumper begins in a humble home in happy-enough chaos. Playing wily Wyatt, Orange is the New Black‘s Pablo Schreiber bobs and weaves around a dingy kitchen, a bouncing baby in one arm, a lounging toddler on the floor. His head is shaved, revealing scalp tattoos of spiders and cobwebs. His muscles bulge as he scrambles to get the kids ready and hollers for his unseen wife. She slumps in, bleery-eyed and irate, and is quickly jostled out as Troy (Grant Harvey), a bleach-blonde teen with shifty eyes, is ushered in for a drug deal. Also roped into this illicit home business is his doe-eyed pal Beaver (Daniel Webber).

Guided through a labyrinth of backyard toys, this suspicious threesome enters a locked-up shed where dangerous chemicals fill shelves, and where this burly meth cooker threatens to throw blinding acid in the eyes of any who cross him. But Wyatt isn’t a malicious man hell bent on hooking the wandering youth of his downtrodden neighborhood. As Thumper winds through its ensemble story of these men and the woman who comes between them, Wyatt’s revealed to be an Iraq War vet scraping by to feed his family and pay for the costly prescriptions that keep his battle-sparked anxieties at bay. He cooks meth, but only enough to keep his family fed. And when the teens who flock to him become too dependent, he not only turns them away, but chides them, “you’re better than this,” playing the role of the tough-love father that they may not have.

Yet Wyatt is not the protagonist of this picture, though Schreiber’s electric and swelling performance steals the show all the same. Instead, Thumper follows Beaver’s mysterious classmate Kat (The 100‘s Eliza Taylor), who claims she parties, but solidly shrugs off offers of drugs, and often asks too many questions. Naturally, Kat is a narc. And while she’s committed to cutting down on the poorly made street drugs that are causing ODs and deaths throughout her precinct, her scowling boss (Game of Thrones‘ Lena Headey in an almost comically underwritten role of sneers and vague threats) wants collars, even if it’s of petty dealing teens instead of big pushers.

In an ambitious move for a first-time filmmaker, Ross strives to not only tell the story of the undercover officer who feels torn between her private life–that contains a young son Kat rarely sees–and the well-being of these tricked teens, trapped by poverty and hooked on drugs. It’s a story that folds in a few characters too many, so several feel like little more than strung-out set dressing. Mostly, the movie focuses on Beaver, Kat, and Wyatt, and how her pursuit of the latter could make the former collateral damage. As more details of their lives are unfurled, it’s fascinating to see how each is trapped by their circumstances, be they abusive parents, pressure from a seething boss, or a culture that only values veterans superficially. And as this tense trio races into a suspenseful showdown, our hearts ache for each of them. Because while some will walk away from this climactic confrontation, there will be no outright winners. Pain is everyone’s prize.

To his credit, Ross has created a compelling premise that explores the drug war through an unnervingly humane lens. However, his overreach of so much backstory and so many characters leaves too little screen time to smoothly develop their arcs. There is little room for nuance, meaning Kat’s turn from chilly covert to infatuated ally feels forced and jarring, especially in one crotch-grabbing scene where she gets alarmingly intimate with her teen faux beau. It’s a trespass likely illegal, and at the very least a very bad idea. But Thumper is at too much a sprint at that point to take in the weight of its anti-hero’s actions.

All in all, this is a strong and engaging drama from a promising director who dares to urge empathy for figures traditionally dehumanized. And the performances are stirring. With his simple vulnerability, Webber plays a stellar foil to the Taylor’s alluring femme fatale. She steadily shoulders Kat’s overburdened arc, but can’t smooth the rough edges of Ross’s overeager script. In the end, its Schreiber who is the clear standout, playing both villain and festered hero with an exhilarating intensity and surprising tenderness that makes Thumper worth the cost of admission.

3 out of 5 burritos.

Images: Parliament of Owls

Kristy Puchko is a freelance entertainment reporter and film critic. You can find more of her reviews here. Follow her on Twitter! 

Disney’s THE LION KING Remake Casts Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Timon and Pumbaa

We may have to change the name of that signature song to “Huh huh huh-kuna matata.” Seth Rogen, known among many things for his signature deep laugh, and Billy Eichner, of Parks and Recreation/Billy on the Street fame, are, according to The Wrap, in final negotiations to voice the comic-relief warthog and meerkat in Jon Favreau‘s photo-realistic update of The Lion King. (It feels odd calling it “live-action” when all the animals will likely be CG.) While Favreau didn’t use motion-capture for the animals in his remake of The Jungle Book, he did use visual references that included real animals and videos of the actors’ performances, so it’s safe to say you might see some resemblance to the stars in the final rendering, however subtle.

Timon and Pumbaa were originally voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. The ubiquitous Lane has at times been replaced by Kevin Schon and Bruce Lanoil in subsequent sequels and spin-offs; Sabella has continued to play Pumbaa in most media to this day, save one Disney skating video game for which Leslie Hedger did the honors. Together, they helped turn “Hakuna Matata” into both an earworm of a song and a national catchphrase that is inevitably the first Swahili phrase learned by many children.

Nerdist has reached out to Disney for confirmation, but they do not comment on casting rumors. We figure if Seth Rogen can make a talking sausage compelling, a lovable warthog is no problem.

With Donald Glover as Simba, and James Earl Jones returning as Mufasa, the Pride Lands are slowly filling up. Who would you like to see join this circle of onscreen animal life? Comment below with your best suggestions.

Images: Disney

Is a Disney live action cinematic universe in the works?

Should STAR TREK 4 Begin Planting Seeds For THE NEXT GENERATION?

Will the modern Star Trek movie franchise live long and prosper, or have we boldly gone everywhere we were going to go? Although Paramount Pictures announced a fourth Star Trek films around the time that Star Trek Beyond hit theaters last summer, the future of the franchise is anything but certain.

In a recent interview on The Today Show (via IGN), actor Zachary Quinto (“Mr. Spock”) was asked about the status of the fourth Trek film:

“I know that they are working on a script for another one and we’ll see how that all plays out, but the nice thing about that experience is that the time in between those big tentpole films allows us to go off and cultivate a lot of different creative experiences for ourselves. I’m hopeful that we’ll do another one, but there’s no guarantee.“

So why is it up in the air? Although Star Trek Beyond got great reviews, it wasn’t a runaway success at the box office, making only $343 million on an $185 million dollar budget. Star Trek films have historically always had a problem doing great business in countries where the original Star Trek TV series didn’t leave a huge cultural footprint.

Nevertheless, the franchise does have a built in fanbase that always turns up for opening weekend, and would probably come back for seconds and thirds if the movie is good. It would be very sad for Paramount to throw away one of their only reliable franchises besides Transformers. Paramount needs to stop trying to make Trek the next billion dollar franchise like Fast and the Furious and just let it be what it is–a steady, reliable performer if you can bring them in on a reasonable budget.

Given Quinto’s comments, what should happen now with the franchise? It might be time for Paramount to start thinking about how to play out this series in a more long-term manner. Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige have Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, respectively, mapped out for the next several years, going well into the next decade. Likewise Fox has announced four (!) more Avatar movies going up to 2025. Someone at Paramount needs to take the same approach for Star Trek. There is seemingly nothing that modern fans love more than knowing that a serialized franchise film is part of a bigger picture.

The original Star Trek crew had six movies, while the Next Generation crew had four. Considering that the new Pine/Quinto crew is by far the most successful series of Trek movies ever (yes, even adjusted for inflation, 2009’s Star Trek is still the biggest money earner) it would seem silly to halt them after just three. If the Fast and the Furious crew can have eight movies, then surely we can get at least one, maybe two more adventures for this Enterprise crew, who are all still in their prime, right? But even if we do get just a movie or two more from the J.J. Abrams crew, maybe it is time to start planting the seeds for the next movie iteration of big screen Star Trek. Yes, I’m talking about Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D.

The next logical step for the Star Trek movie franchise is to start thinking about what comes next, and that’s the inevitable reboot of The Next Generation crew for the big screen. Although those movies would likely be several years away, it would be wise to start planting the seeds now, over the course of the next few films featuring Kirk, Spock, and the gang. If the first Avengers movie could tease fans for a movie that wouldn’t come out for six more years, then why can’t Trek do the same?

For example, what if we are introduced to the character of Data much earlier in the timeline of the Kelvin universe (the official name for the “side-timeline” of the J.J. Abrams Trek)?  Maybe Data’s creator, Dr. Soong, cracked the code for a sentient artificial life form much sooner in this timeline, and Data could be our “bridge” character between the two series? We could even see Data serve as an junior officer in Kirk’s crew in the final Pine/Quinto movie, and then we could see Data as the executive officer on Picard’s Enterprise? And how about I suggest something really crazy? What if in this timeline, Data is a woman? Maybe…Tilda Swinton?

Other elements that are crucial to the Next Generation timeline could be seeded in the next Star Trek film. For example, the Klingon/Federation alliance is a crucial part of the cosmology of TNG. It’s why there’s a Lieutenant Worf on the bridge of the Enterprise-D after all. Maybe we could see how, in the Kelvin universe, that crucial partnership came to be. There are lots of other ways the TNG era could be teased in the last few original crew movies (or movie, if we only get one more) without having to resort to baby versions of Picard and Crusher making cameos. I mean, no one wants to see that.

Modern moviegoers feel more confident in a franchise if they feel the people behind the scenes have a greater plan in mind when handling their favorite franchises. Paramount needs to be tacking this approachwith Star Trek if they want fans to invest in it in the same way. Trek should have years of life left in it on the big screen, as long as the people in charge start treating it the way it deserves to be treated. If the fans knew that the studio had more solid long-term plans for the movie series, it would only serve to excite them more for everything that’s yet to come.

What are your feelings on the big screen future of Star Trek? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below.

Images: Paramount Pictures / CBS Television / Marvel Studios

Real life tricorders are coming sooner than you expect

The Writers Panel #330: The Handmaid’s Tale

Executive Producer Warren Littlefield (former president of NBC) and creator Bruce Miller (The 100; Eureka; ER) discuss their adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel, why the time is right for the story, working with Hulu, their history together, and lots more.

The Handmaid’s Tale premieres April 26 on Hulu.

Follow @BenBlacker and Like the show on Facebook!

How Video Game Gear Can Make Your Workspace Healthier

As you may have gathered, I’m a writer. Pumping out words for Nerdist and a smattering of other websites is my only job and has been for a couple years now. It affords me a lot of freedom in terms of my schedule and I have the comfort of working from home, meaning that I sit at a desk in my house for hours every day and type and scroll and scroll and type (and look at memes on Reddit).

If you happen to be in a college library or a coffee shop at the moment, take a look around and notice the people on their laptops. They’re probably not exhibiting great posture right now, are they? If most of those people maintained their current level of slouch for 30 hours a week, that probably wouldn’t be the greatest thing for them, huh? There’s a real risk of developing health problems as a writer or anybody who spends more than a few hours a day at the computer. That’s something I recently decided I should pay more attention to.

But where do you start? I first realized that perhaps my eyes could use some protection when I came across a pair of Game Grumps edition computer glasses, which help block blue light emitted from your computer screen. That light can give you a real headache if you stare into it for too long (apps like f.lux also achieve a similar effect, so I use a combination of glasses and f.lux). I had previously noticed that sometimes my eyes would be sore after a long day of work, and implementing these two technologies has made a noticeable difference in how I feel at the end of the workday (although I opted for a much cheaper pair of computer glasses myself, plenty of which can be found for under $15 with a quick Amazon search).

That made me think: What else could I do to make working on my laptop all day healthier? In March, I learned about Dr. Caitlin McGee, who specializes in physical therapy for competitive gamers. After reading her story and absorbing her advice, I made the connection that tools used to help keep gamers at their best could be combined with traditional office ergonomics to give computer-bound workers a bunch of options.

To demonstrate what I mean, let’s look at my own home office set-up, which is by no means perfect, but it works pretty well for me at the moment and is a decent example. This set-up is specific to my personal needs and wants, yes, but my hope is that it can serve as a starting point for those wanting to think about optimizing their own space, whether it’s at home or in a more traditional workplace. So, here’s what I have going on:

Let’s start from the top and work our way down. Also, let’s try not to worry too much about my very scuffed desk that could definitely be replaced. You should see how rough it is under my keyboard, which was strategically positioned for this photo.

I decided a couple weeks ago that my screen should be higher up, since every computer ergonomics guide I’ve ever seen recommends that your screen be placed at around eye level to reduce strain on your neck and promote a more upright posture. I was able to achieve this by placing a $6 bamboo cutting board on my desktop speakers and resting the laptop on that. Depending on your situation, you could try some sort of monitor stand or mounting your screen to the wall if you have a desktop-based setup. There are options for each that can be had for under $20 on Amazon.

There is of course one fatal flaw to having my laptop positioned that highly: I’d have to raise my arms to shoulder height to type on it, which I’m obviously not going to do. Still, I figured that the workarounds would be usable and cheaper than getting a decent monitor, so I set out to find a keyboard and mouse.

I was able to snag a used Apple bluetooth keyboard in pretty good shape for $16 on eBay, but of course, there are plenty of options for typing interfaces, and I’m sure a bunch of websites you trust have offered up some carefully considered rankings of their favorite keyboards. What gave me a bit more trouble was my trackpad. I love the multitouch gestures that are possible on my MacBook Pro’s trackpad, but with this set-up, using them isn’t practical. Apple makes a standalone bluetooth trackpad, but that’ll run you around $100 and I wasn’t feeling that. I even tried buying a broken one for cheap and fixing it, but I seem to have overestimated my tinkering abilities in this instance.

This is where gaming gear comes in. A traditional right-and-left-click mouse wouldn’t be anything close to a suitable replacement for my trackpad, but I realized that gaming mice have a lot of buttons that you can customize to do whatever you want. After doing some research and considering my needs, I went with the Logitech G300s, which I got for under $22. From there, I had to configure this thing to recreate the trackpad experience as adequately as possible, and in just a couple days, I’ve figured out a pretty good set-up for myself.

This particular mouse has nine customizable buttons so gamers can move critical keyboard functions to their mouse for ease of use, but these buttons can also be programmed to recreate trackpad functionality as well as I need it to. Below is a screenshot of Logitech’s mouse software, which allowed me to, in tandem with the keyboard settings in System Preferences, bring all the trackpad features I regularly used to my mouse.

I configured it so the two left buttons switch back and forth between desktops, the right buttons activate Mission Control and the Notifications sidebar, and the two middle buttons let me easily and quickly scroll up and down webpages. There are other gaming mice at various price points that offer more or fewer customizable buttons and other features, so assess your own needs and figure out what’s best for you if you decide to take this approach. Personally, though, I believe the G300s should work great for most users.

Aside from that, there are tons of gaming gear options that can address issues that other users may have. For example, e-sports shorts have moisture-absorbent panels to wipe your sweaty hands on, wrist braces could be useful for people whose forearms get sore during extended typing sessions, and gaming chairs are designed with prolonged periods of sitting and keyboard or controller use in mind.

While I’ve dealt with most of my needs in my current home office configuration, I’m sure there are a bunch of gaming (or non-gaming) innovations I’ve missed that could be helpful. For instance, Lifehacker‘s “Featured Workspace” series is recommended browsing for creative and beautiful home office inspiration. If you have any other suggestions, hit us up on Twitter or in the comments below, and share your wisdom with your desk-weary brethren.

Images: Marco Arment/Flickr, Derrick Rossignol, Logitech,

Cosplaying Cat is the Ideal Dinner Companion

Instagram is for two things (and don’t say unicorns and frappuccinos): cats and food. Fuzzy pets and photographic meals are where our attention lies, and if you’re lucky, the stars will align and the two will be combined in your feed to grace you with some of the greatest photographs on the internet.

Like most of us who use Instagram, @rinne172 photographs pictures of her meals. Beautifully laid out dishes, nicely prepared food, each photo with one added element—her 3-year-old cat, Maro. Maro is a cat like no other, he has the patience of a feline angel—sitting stoically in front of gorgeously prepared meals with the patient obedience of a stone statue.

Taken at home in Japan, the photo sessions take anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 hour for more detailed meals. @rinne172 told me that since starting an Instagram account in 2015 Maro has always been a composed and trusted dinner companion.

Hot off the grill steak, sauteed shrimp, even freshly cut sashimi doesn’t phase this cool kitty. More than that, he even endures elaborate costuming such as hats, wigs, and glasses. This cat is a saint. All the while, he sits. Patiently on his mark—never breaking—whether he’s wearing a chef’s hat or dressed up like a samurai.

While your attention will undoubtedly be drawn to the cat, @rinne172’s cooking skills shouldn’t be overlooked. Handmade mochi, sushi, and extravagant holiday meals all provide a beautiful tableau for Maro’s portraits. But just how does he maintain his composure around such sumptuous feasts? @rinne172 says, “Maro only likes canned food.” Well, every performer has their demands.

Check out more of Maro’s meowthwatering photos in the gallery below and on @rinne172’s instagram.

What do you think of this feline photo subject? Let us know in the comments and if you have a pet who loves taking photos, tag @nerdist and @justjenn on twitter. We need our daily dose of happiness.

Images: @rinne172