Pumpkin
Latest
ICYMI: Real-time drawing collaboration and sippable seawater
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google introduced a new cloud-connected whiteboard called the Jamboard, which is made for collaboration with coworkers, then the finished doodle can be stored in Google Drive. Meanwhile the SAROS is a wave-powered desalination system that can produce 3,500 gallons a water a day of potable water from seawater, up on Kickstarter with the aim of helping coastal communities get better access to drinking water. Finally anyone prepping for Halloween will have carving envy from this video. The Pizza Hut video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Destiny hollows out some pumpkins for Halloween treat
Visit the Post Master at the Tower in Destiny to grab a free trio of pumpkin head consumables, in celebration of Halloween week. The Post Master gives players three pumpkin heads, each lasting 30 minutes and wearable throughout your travels to other planets (via Eurogamer). Friendly reminder: Halloween is on Friday! Get those costumes together, people. Bungie retweeted a few photos taken by players with their three-eyed squash heads on, and we're left with just one question: Where does the candle go? [Image: @MoreConsole]
Amazing Cloud Serpent Pumpkin
Given that it's actually Hallowe'en today, this is an incredibly appropriate piece to be doing rather well on Reddit. It's an amazing pumpkin carving of a Cloud Serpent, that's caught the attention of many Blizzard people, and with good reason! It might not be totally clear unless you look at the picture at the bottom right of the header, then progress back through them, but the detail on this is just stunning. I am blown away by the pumpkin carving that people do every year, and this one really takes the cake. The use of varying depths of carving to create the detail of the scales, the faded-out saddle, and the bright glow of the eyes and the fire the dragon is breathing just blow me away -- it's all I can do to cut two eyes and a mouth! You should definitely hit up the Imgur to see the rest of the pumpkin, even the less interesting sides are amazing. And if remarkable pumpkin carving is your thing, Blizzard's contest is a must-see. Some of the things people create just blow my mind. And whoever carved this Cloud Serpent pumpkin should definitely enter the contest!
Limbo pumpkin is as eerie and beautiful as the game itself
We may not have held a pumpkin carving contest this year, but that didn't stop Joystiq pun'kin' veteran Dennis C. from creating a hauntingly gorgeous gourd for us all to gaze upon. Recreating two of the most nerve-racking scenes from Limbo's forest area, this carved masterpiece serves as an example of just how impressively captivating a hollowed out dead thing can be when given to the right artist.%Gallery-137923%
Apple-themed pumpkin carving for Halloween
The good folks at MacRumors have done us all a favor and rounded up all of the Apple-themed pumpkins they've seen this year so far. Most of them, like the one carved by Sbrocket seen above, have focused on Steve Jobs in some way, which makes sense given that everyone's still thinking about Steve and his influence. But all of these pumpkins are very well done -- I'd love to see them sitting out at a party or on a curb this Halloween. If you're carving a pumpkin and you happen to end up with an Apple-related design (sure, the Apple logo is pretty easy, but maybe try an app icon or an old Mac design?), be sure to take a picture and send it to us here at TUAW. We've love to check it out! You can post it to Flickr with a #tuaw tag, or give us a Twitter reply @TUAW.
These gaming pumpkins are a real treat, no trick
When planning a fun way to celebrate the fall season, we believe the early settlers tried a variety of creative, yet failed, traditions: Asparagus-eating contests The entire town acting out Hamlet at the same time, with their own grandfathers' skulls playing the part of Yorick Jumping off a 60-foot cliff into a pile of dead leaves Grave-robbing (that one stuck, but it became year-round and highly lucrative in a non-spiritual way) Eggplant, leek, corn and lentil carving Most of these died out with the maypole, but that last one may have led us to the modern fascination with pumpkin carving, which has now led us to these beautiful video-game-inspired pumpkins from ceemdee. This year's pumpkins feature Bastion, Doom 2, The Dig, Worms, Oregon Trail, Outlaws and Magicka. Apparently ceemdee has been doing this since 2009, and the squashy backlog is just as impressive.
LED pumpkin would be perfect for your next Sleepy Hollow dance party (video)
We can't all have heads as amazing as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, but this holiday season we can have pumpkins that are every bit as blinky. Mike Szczys has posted a detailed walkthrough of how to create the above Jack-o-creation at Hack a Day, which features a 5 x 14 matrix of LEDs on the front that can be programmed to light up in various ways, like the Knight Rider sweep or to simply scroll the message "HAPPY HALLOWEEN." That's shown in the video below, but hopefully version 2.0 can manage the tricks displayed in the second embed that's also waiting for you after the break.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Guide to Pumpkin Festival
Runes of Magic has been around long enough now that holiday events are making a second round. In the wake of the Juice Festival's first appearance, the Pumpkin Festival is one of the events getting a second go. Legend tells us that before humans rediscovered the continent of Candara, the land of Kolydia was ruled by tyranny. On a cold winter's night, unknown assassins wearing masks succeeded in eliminating the unsavory rulers and the hoi polloi rejoiced. The people started celebrating that day by wearing masks which became rumored to bring good luck. Unknown years and another continent later, humans made do the best they could on the underdeveloped land. The tale is said that a farmer carved out a pumpkin and put a candle in it. After seeing this, the Eye of Wisdom thought it would be a great idea to mark the day for rest and celebration before Winter. The mask wearing was added to this, kids added costumes and trick-or-treating, thus the Pumpkin Festival was born. I don't have a photographic memory nor did I painstakingly write down all event-minutea from last year, but this year's festivities look to offer more activities. On top of that, there are plenty of costumes, holiday furniture and even holiday mounts to obtain or buy. The only problem is the absence of any source to help you traverse the ins and outs of what you can do and what you can win. Until now. Click past the break for help making your way through this year's Pumpkin Festival.
How-to: geek up your pumpkin
BOO! It's Halloween and it's also a Saturday, so let's not hear any pathetic excuses for not carving pumpkins. While we're no experts, we've got a few tips for making your jack-o'-lanterns better looking and more unique.
Pumpkin Head mask returning to LBP in time for Halloween
If you missed your chance to grab the LittleBigPlanet Pumpkin Head mask, which was offered as a free Halloween promotion last year, don't fret -- Media Molecule is bringing the complimentary costume piece back to the game this Thursday. We're not certain how long the wearable gourd will be available to download, so make sure you act quickly, lest you be forced to wait another year before you get your Sleepy Hollow Sackboy on. [Via VG247]
Blizzard announces 5th annual pumpkin carving contest
Hallow's End is almost upon us, and Blizzard has once again announced their annual pumpkin carving contest. This is always a hoot -- I was only ever able to do the usual jack-o-lantern (once I did a Batman symbol, but it never really worked out), but there are always some real professionals in the mix on these contests, as you can see in the gallery below. Basically, carve a pumpkin featuring something Blizzard-related, showing "high levels of originality, craftsmanship, and possibly humor," light it up with a candle or other source, and then submit a picture over on the site by two weeks from today, Wednesday, October 28th.And some nice prizes this year: the top five submissions will all pick up a nice 32gb iPod touch, apparently supplied by none other than Apple (and of course you'll be able to run those Blizzard mobile apps if you win). Good luck to everyone who enters -- go grab your knife and the biggest "gourd-like squash" you can find and get to carving!%Gallery-75579%
Neo Steam lets in the soul reapers
It's October, and that means all of the spooky Halloween events are coming out of the woodwork. But how many of them are offering you a pair of steampunk goggles for completing them? Well, only one right now -- Neo Steam.Atlus is throwing open the doors to the Underworld, and all sorts of creepy-crawlies are invading their fantasy steampunk MMO. Defeating these event monsters will get you souls to trade in to special soul reapers to claim pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie for recovery purposes, but the big 250 soul turn in will get you a special pumpkin hat (as seen above) to commemorate the event.However, some monsters will drop event tickets, which enters your account in for a chance to win a pair of handcrafted steampunk goggles. So, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Kill stuff, get loots!
Happy Halloween! Check out some Nintendo-themed pumpkins
GameDaily has put together a cool gallery of different Nintendo-themed carved pumpkins, just in time to celebrate the holiday today. We suggest you take a break from nibbling on chocolate and other candy goods to check them out. And, yes, our favorite is at the top of this very post. Gallery: Show and Tell: All Hallows' Eve-Eve
Arduino-based pumpkin promises to scare off trick-or-treaters
Pumpkins outfitted with LEDs are certainly all well and good, but the ever-versatile Arduino platform has now upped the Jack O' Lantern modding possibilities considerably, and MAKE's Marc de Vinck looks to have made a decent stab at things with this immodestly dubbed "scariest pumpkin ever." To help it snag that title, de Vinck did away with the usual spooky halloween sound effects and instead opted for a car horn, which lets out a blast whenever someone presses the impossible to resist red button. That, obviously, presents a number of problems, and MAKE warns not to leave the pumpkin unattended, or let someone press their ear up against it. Or, if you're not quite ready to tackle the project yourself, you can simply get a taste of it at a slightly more tolerable level by checking out the video after the break.
New spooky forum avatars
Taking a gander at the official forums tonight will reveal something magically spooky.All the blue posters have been turned into glowing jack-o-lanterns, and all of us normal folks have turned into undead zombies.The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that this is a clue to the next stage of the zombie invasion. Tomorrow we'll all log on and have a strange urge for brains and only brains. Lots and lots of juicy... yummy... braaains. Insert Homer Simpson drool here.Of course this could just be another fancy bit for Halloween, but who knows....There is no indication how long this will last, and also there's no word if there'll be new Wrath of the Lich King avatars after this is done as there were when the Burning Crusade was released.
Breakfast Topic: The elusive achievements of Hallow's End
I have to admit. Achievements were a pretty bright idea. Holiday achievements, even more so. Now I have something to keep me focused through the holiday seasons, keep my eyes on the prize so to speak. For example, with Hallow's End fully underway, I've been racking up the achievements on my Hunter, looking to get that title. It's a nice goal to strive for. It's a good thing that the A Mask for All Occasions requirement will be off Hallowed Be Thy Name in 3.0.3, or I'd be in trouble. Collecting one of each different mask? Please. Actually, I haven't even managed to collect one single mask, leaving The Mask Task woefully undone. I'm not sure what it is, but even doing 3-5 Trick or Treats a day, I have not managed to get one of those flimsy things on my Hunter. In past Hallow's Ends, I seemed to be destroying masks constantly, saying not nice things under my breath. This year, I pray for one, and instead have to deal with Penny Pouches and Candy Corn and costumes and no sign of a Mask. The random number generator just hasn't been kind to me. As it is, I was afraid that the toothpicks would do me in. I didn't even get a set of Tooth Picks on my Hunter until yesterday. The other item I need to finish out my Hallowed Title is the Hallowed Helm, which comes both from the Headless Horseman and Trick or Treating. I've seen it drop from the Horseman a few times, but I've always lost the rolls. But it's a rare drop, a low drop rate and a bit of luck should be expected to be needed for this stuff. But here's the funny thing: I have actually found Hallowed Helms while Trick or Treating. The problem is, I got them on 2 of my alts, my Paladin and my Warlock. Not exactly useful for my Hunter. But I keep trick or treating, praying my Hallowed Helm luck will strike one more time, and in the meantime admire how badass my Warlock looks with a pumpkin head. How goes your achievement hunt? Do you have one or two Hallow's End Achievements that just keep eluding you? For that matter, how's your luck on the Headless Horseman? I know that despite having done a run a day on him, I have yet to see a sword, a horse, or a flying broom, so I'm interested to find if anyone is seeing those in abundance.
World of WarCrafts: Sinister Squashling
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.Hallow's End is almost upon us, and with that comes flimsy masks, a chance to be named The Hallowed, and a shot at looting something more cute than sinister. Even if you miss out on this seasonal in-game pumpkin pet, you still have the chance to befriend this small squashling IRL.Here is what you will need: Small (Fake) Pumpkin Small Stick Fake Leaves Vine Wire Acrylic Paint Hot Glue Gun Wire Cutters Paintbrush Pencil Click on the images below to view a gallery of step-by-step instructions. %Gallery-34622%
Blizzard hosts an annual Pumpkin Contest
I love this time of year -- the leaves are turning colors, there's a cool breeze in the air, and we're getting closer and closer to both Hallow's End and Halloween. And speaking of Halloween, it's time once again for the annual Blizzard pumpkin contest -- Bornakk has the deets on the forums. Just carve up a pumpkin at least as cool as this one featuring Illy D (it was one of last year's winners), take a picture of it lit, and send it to the judges through this form. The pumpkins last year seemed very influenced by Burning Crusade, so this year, we'll probably see plenty of Arthas and Death Knight pumpkins in the entries (I'd like to see a Nerubian pumpkin, myself).I can't wait to see the winners, though truth be told, I just can't wait for Hallow's End -- the best candy of all are the purple Epics falling like rain off the Headless Horseman.
Show and Tell: Early but eerie
In the fine tradition of American retailers, we'd like to get started on Halloween a little early this year. We've got pumpkins, costumes, and parties -- all things just ripe for you to undertake yourself once the holiday rolls around. Doing something gaming-related yourself? Make sure you let us know!Also, hey -- if you're looking to get started early on your spooky plans this year, maybe some of these will help get the (ooshy gooshy layers of) brain cranking out some ideas.%Gallery-31461% Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts.Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.
It's Halloween! Look at some pumpkins!
Having a wife that indulges you in your obsession with gaming is nice, but one that participates in said obsession is even better. Hence, we have these two lovely pumpkins, carved by reader Colleen and her husband (unless his name is Colleen, which we've never heard before), they're some of the most awesome pumpkins our little eyes have ever seen.If you have a Nintendo-related pumpkin of your own, be sure to link it in the comments below. And, if you didn't know, Joystiq is running a contest right now looking for these kind of creations.
