Friday 1 July 2011

Nerd Wars - T2 R2

No it's not some kind of lame Star Wars rip off, it's round 2! I know I keep posting what the challenges are and not showing you what I make. Well I'm kinda heading into Christmas present territory now so you might not see many pics. Sorry! This months challenges are as so:

Challenge (Team Spirit): IT'S FUN TO BE BAD

Every story has one. They’re the folks that give your stories something to fight against. Sometimes you envy them because they get to do and say all the stuff you wish you could say. They’re mean, they’re self-centered, and we love to hate them. Yup, this challenge is all about the Villains!

Your challenge is to create something for or reminiscent of a villain or bad guy (or gal!) in your nerdery.

Challenge (Nerd Culture): BIG (NERD) LOVE
A personal anecdote before we get to this month’s challenge. Like many of my fellow Nerd Warriors, I had difficulty selecting a team for Tournament 2. I like video games, yes, but I also like Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, playing board games, Firefly/Serenity, reading long book series, etc. I think I could play happily on at least a half-dozen teams and wish my cloning machine was working so I could. Alas, decisions must be made, but there is still that longing to hang out with other nerds who not-so-secretly want to be the Doctor’s next companion.

Your challenge for this month: switch teams! Well, not literally, of course, but you are tasked with making something representing a NerdWars team other than your own. When you applied for NerdWars, you were asked to list several teams you felt you might do well on. The time is now to show Elise that you were right.

If you are not sure what the other teams represent, take a moment to review the Team Description page. If you’re dead-set on loving your chosen nerd universe, I’d encourage you to try something new just for this month. I’m certain that every team would be happy to explain to you what they’re about and help you get started enjoying their universe.

A note on Team Spirit points: As this is will be a more difficult challenge to relate back to your own team, we’re going to try to reward those of you who really stretch to link your challenge to your home nerdiverse. To pick on my team a little, if a Team 1-Up member does a project based on an MMO for Team Epic, then claims Team Spirit because the MMO is a computer game, that will be worth one point. If one of Dumbledore’s Army can link their project to the Battlestar Galactica universe? Three points. Remember, Team Spirit is based on your home team, not on your project’s universe.

Challenge (Giving Geeks): PUPPY LOVE

Through some cruel twist of fate, most of our pets were not given thumbs. Unless you have a pet opossum - I am pretty sure those guys have thumbs. And some of those cats with extra fingers. ANYWAY, for most pets this is a huge bummer because they cannot knit, particularly for those pets who live in shelters, because jail is boring when you don’t have anything to do.

Your challenge is to do something for an animal to make that animal’s life better. Maybe it is donating a blanket to a shelter, making a toy for your mom’s ancient Siamese, or a little sweater for an otherwise naked dog. This challenge will also accept a donation of time: volunteering at a shelter, etc.

Challenge (Intellectual): MYTHS, MYTHOS, MYTHOLOGY
According to the dictionary, a myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people, or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

Your assignment this month is to craft something that illustrates or is inspired by a myth.

Challenge (Technical): ALTERNATE YARNALITY
Get out those goatees and break out the plastic bags, newspaper, fabric strips or any other non-traditional “yarn”
That’s right! This round your mission is to seek out and find new materials to use as yarn. To boldly knit what no person was intended to knit before.
The requirements are to weave, spin, knit or crochet an item made from sources not typically used in yarn.** People have been able to spin plastic bag and newspaper strips into pretty awesome yarn. Perhaps you have your eye on some scrap copper electrical wire just asking to be reborn. I cannot wait to see if paracord and bailing twine makes an appearance.
The focus on this challenge is to seek inspiration from somewhere you normally would not, so feel free to ‘speriment with some off the wall choices. That being said, some commercially manufactured yarns have added small amounts of nontraditional items such as steel wire or sterling silver to traditional wool yarn. These types of yarns will not be accepted.
Good Luck and Have Fun!

** Evil is optional

Challenge (Scientific): SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Question
Hypothesis
Experimentation and data collection
Analysis
Conclusion

You’ve done it a thousand times throughout your school career. This time it is for fun! Come up with a question and hypothesis for your craft, work it up and discover the results!

Submissions for this challenge should follow the scientific method format