King Tut's Face Reconstructed

More exciting archaeological news for you. National Geographic features this report and photo of an amazingly life-like recreation of the young ruler of Ancient Egypt.


Photograph: Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, and National Geographic Society, 2005

Based on an earlier CT Scan of the boy king's mummy, Paris-based forensic sculptor Elisabeth Daynès created a silicon-skinned bust using the previously acquired data and combined it with average traits of today's Egyptians. The CT data was then sent to a U.S. forensic team, who worked to verify the findings, without knowledge of who their subject was.

The reconstruction will be featured in the June issue of National Geographic, in the touring exhibit Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, and on the National Geographic Channel's upcoming special King Tut's Final Secrets.

You can read more about the reconstruction at scotsman.com, CNN.com, and The Washington Post Online.

Also recently in the news was a discovery that is considered to be "the most beautiful mummy ever found in Egypt," according to Dr. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The nearly 2600 year-old mummy was buried in a wooden sarcophagus beneath 20 feet of sand in the necropolis of King Teti, who ruled Egypt more than 4,300 years ago. While the mummy's identity and sex are unknown, it's certain that it dates back to the 30th Dynasty (380-343 B.C.), which lasted about 40 years and marked the end of Egyptian rule over the country.

More photos can be viewed here, with further information available this Dicovery Channel link.

Action Figurism

With echoes of events in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story, Delfin Vigil shares his fun story at SFGate.com regarding the liberation of Star Wars figures from certain doom at the hands of neighborhood bullies and cleaning-frenzied parents planet-wide.

For those of you not familiar with the brave tale of General Calrissian, I present a brief synopsis for you here. "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," one-time gambler and previous Administrator of Bespin's Cloud City, hero Lando Calrissian participated in a plan to rescue his old buddy Han Solo from Tatooine's vile gangster, Jabba the Hutt. Under Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker's plan, Lando, disguised as a Skiff Guard, infiltrated Jabba's palace and crew and began to gain the Hutt's trust. Because of Skywalker's cunning strategy and Lando's ingenious shroud, Calrissian was able to help save the Carbonite-frozen Solo from becoming Sarlaac food.

No doubt, the valiant rescue in George Lucas's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi inspired Delfin to take action and rescue not only Lando, but other members of the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. Mr. Vigil comments on the sad events in action figure history:

"What followed was the first of many acts of racism and sexism I witnessed as a child committed against Star Wars toys. I call it action figurism. While I believe it's safe to say action figures of all colors and genders lost their plastic lives to mutilation via matches, firecrackers, hammers and microwave ovens, I noticed that a Lando or Princess Leia were often the first to go."

With more amusing anecdotes that I'm sure many of us can relate to, Vigil's quest to stop 'action figurism' is well documented. Hurry over to read his story before it's too late...many Bothans died to bring us this information.

A warning to mothers everywhere: The preceeding is a story of greed, envy, corruption, tragedy, compassion, and ultimately, redemption. Don't let your children have to go through such tragic events. Take note and 'save the toys' before it's too late. Happy Mother's Day!

Photos courtesy of Colacola.se.

May 7 - Free Comic Book Day

As Michael Ryan reminds us over at Palaeoblog, Saturday, May 7 is Free Comic Book Day. So head on to your local comic shop and pick up some great specially-made freebie editions like Flight, Superior Showcase #0, Bone Sharps, Cowboys, & Thunder Lizards, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, The Batman Strikes and Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge.

Sadly, Free Comic Book Day is not a day where you can venture into a comic book shop, pick out any book, and walk out without paying, but rather a great way to introduce new readers (and remind previous ones) to the world of comic books and graphic novels. Publishers produce special editions to give away at local comic shops to support the endeavor and there are often some great little gems distributed.

You can read more about it on the official website.

You can also use the Store Locator to find a shop near you.

Disney Theme Parks' Pixar Presence

Some of you readers might be noticing my lack of Pixar content lately. This is due to the fact that I collaborate with Ken Bautista on Luxo, a Pixar blog. I try to make sure that I'm not mirroring content here and duplicating information. We usually try and do a post a day, if not one or more every few days, so there's always something new to read and fun links to check out.

Speaking of which, I just finished a rather lengthy report at Luxo dealing with the Pixar-based Attractions and Rides at the Disney theme parks. It's certainaly not 'the go-to guide' but still manages to provide a good overview on what's available and what Disney has in store for park visitors.

With lots of great links to photos and videos of construction progress and in-ride movies, it's sure to whet your appetite and have you planning your next Disney vacation. I can't wait to see some of the new attractions for myself!

All this blog stuff has me keeping my writing skills sharp and I know they're improving daily. It's also proven to be a fantastic way to discover new things on the Internet and meet some great people. Who knows, it may eventually turn in to a writing career of some sort.

Thanks to the readers here and at Luxo for allowing me to share my admiration for animation, film, Pixar, illustration, music, technology, the sciences, and other fun, informative stuff. It's been a great ride so far and only looks to get better!

M Is for MONSTER

I've been busy editing a half-hour documentary for a client so my updates haven't been as frequent as I like, but hopefully I've got some neat things for readers in the next few days. In the meantime, because I'm a sucker for great illustrations, I thought I'd share this fun painting (an homage to one of my favorite filmmakers) from Monsters, Inc. M Is for MONSTER, a wonderful A to Z children's book featuring the Monsters, Inc. characters illustrated by Pixar artisan Ricky Nierva.

The book is dedicated to Maurice Noble, who trained the "Classic Style" to a whole new generation of Disney artists. It's certainly not a book that will hurt your wallet, and it's easily one of simplest, yet most beautiful children's books to be created.

A fun bit of related trivia for you: Like the creature Ray Harryhausen animated in It Came From Beneath The Sea, you'll notice that Pixar's octopus in both the Monsters, Inc. film and Ricky's illustration has only 6 arms. As any Harryhausen fan knows, the creature in It Came From Beneath The Sea featured only 6 appendages, not only to save on production costs, but also because there would be fewer of them for Ray to keep track of when animating. The viewer makes the assumption that the other two are underwater or behind structures. A clever film trick from a true master. It's great to see that Pixar not only honored Harryhausen, but the film character and technique as well.

The History of Dinosaur Comics - Part 6

Head over to Palaeoblog for Part 6 of Steve R. Bissette's The Paleo Path: The History of Dino-Comics. This week's feature is the Classics Illustrated series. As usual, Steve and Michael have dug up some nice artwork to compliment the article.

The History of Dinosaur Comics - Part 5

Just a reminder that the latest (Part 5) History of Dinosaur Comics has been posted at Palaeoblog. Part 5 continues the focus on the Turok: Son of Stone comics.

Steve R. Bissette and Michael Ryan are really providing us with an excellent comic book history of the beasts that once roamed the planet. Even as imaginative as the stories are, they fleshed out the amazing giants long before the readers became palaeontologists, filmmakers, writers, and illustrators. Along with their counterparts, Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen, and others like Steven Spielberg, William Stout, Mark Schultz, Ricardo Delgado, and Frank Cho, they provided stories that inspired backyard bone diggers to become professionals in the field.

If you haven't been reading this informative series, head over to Part 1 now. With Steve and Michael as your guides, you'll time-travel back to a prehistoric era filled with dynamic, inviting cover art, painstakingly beautiful interior illustrations, and addictive serialized adventures.